Can Near Death Experiences Show Life After Death?

While psychology has long used the scientific method to help determine cause and effect relationships, the near-death experience may not be so easy to study. For many, the main question of near death experiences is whether there is a part of us that is other than the body. Questions about the spirit world, life after death, and the existence of a “soul” become a tried-and-true reality in the minds of some near-death survivors. However, some scholars continue to wonder, question, and explore whether the near-death survivor’s experience is valid or simply the result of sedation or expectation. Those who favor verifiable proof can use the scientific method by forming a hypothesis and then using one or more techniques to test the hypothesis: 1) naturalistic observation, 2) systematic evaluation, and 3) experimentation.

Clearly, the use of naturalistic observation cannot be used in the study of Near Death Experiences (NDE). For obvious reasons, there is no means by which an experimenter can simply observe what goes on inside the head of someone who is suffering from an NDE. However, it might be feasible for one to observe what is happening in the body of the one near death. Even if data is obtained on the body, it is unlikely that an investigator will be called to the scene when an NDE is expected. This is due to many factors, one of which is the fact that it may be impossible to predict who will experience near death.

Information on NDEs has been collected through a form of systematic evaluation called case histories. Case histories, also known as case studies, are collections of detailed information about an individual’s past and present life. From the collection of stories about NDEs, four central elements have been identified as characteristics of NDEs: 1) the person hears the news of their death, 2) withdraws from the body, 3) meets other important people, and 4) a final return to the body. 2 Russell Noyes and Roy Kletti have distinguished three stages in the typical near-death experience: 1) resistance or struggle against imminent danger 2) life review characterized by remembering past events and 3) transcendence, a calm of the mind with detachment from one’s own individual existence.3 The usefulness of these case histories lies in determining similar patterns and experiences so that understanding of the subject is increased. While the case histories tell us what the person believed had happened to them, this information cannot provide evidence that such spiritual or “out-of-body” experiences actually happened. Those who insist on hard numbers and tangible evidence may find case histories lacking the kind of concrete evidence that proves or disproves the validity of the claims of those who claim to have seen the “other side.”

Certainly, information on the near-death experience can be collected through surveys, another form of systematic evaluation. Through these surveys, a researcher can measure people’s attitudes and activities by asking near-death survivors about their experiences. However, the questions used in such surveys must be carefully crafted to control for bias. For example, the question “What did you experience during the time the doctors thought you were dead?” it would be a biased question because it contains assumptions. (“What did you experience?” Implies that the person must have seen or heard something.) If administered correctly, an NDE survey will be a collection of responses from a representative sample of individuals; therefore, a wide variety of responses could be expected. For example, while some might assume that all NDEs would be enjoyable (i.e. warm, bright light and seeing loved ones), NDE research has found that some NDEs are scary and have been termed near-experience experiences. “infernal” or “incomplete” death.

Standardized tests, another form of systematic evaluation, could be used to measure the mental and emotional well-being of near-death survivors; This information can be helpful in determining who can be trusted the most with the experience. For example, if 100 people answered that they saw a bright light and heard the voice of God, and all 100 people are known to suffer from psychosis, we might be hesitant to accept their experiences as fact. Projective tests, such as the Rorschach test or the thematic perception test, can help researchers understand the personalities of near-death survivors. This could help them interpret the data collected from near-death experiences.

A third approach to testing hypotheses is experimentation. Unfortunately, this option is essentially off-limits to near-death researchers. It certainly would not be ethical to almost kill someone simply to study what happens. One could imagine a science fiction description of administering a potentially lethal injection of a drug while the subject’s brain is connected to medical devices to determine brain activity. Even if such experiments could provide a television screen image of what the subject was seeing in his brain, questions about validity would persist. The evidence that another world exists would still lack scientific foundation because we would remain limited to the report (even if we could see what the near-death survivor saw in his head). For ethical and practical reasons, this approach cannot be used. In determining the meaning of NDEs, some point to the need for the study to go beyond the lines of the normal scientific method. For reasons already discussed, NDEs cannot be studied in the same direct way that the thickness of a blade of grass is measured.

When it comes to explaining why some near death see a bright light, hug their dead loved ones, or look at their bodies as they float above them, there is plenty of room for disagreement. Some attribute the phenomenon to the reality of the afterlife, while others attribute it to mind-altering drugs that may have been administered (for medical purposes) before the near-death experience occurred. Others insist that those who believe in an afterlife experience another world because that is what they hoped to see. However, Karlis Osis and Erleundur Haraldsson report that “‘Neither medical, psychological, or cultural conditioning can explain deathbed visions.’ 5 They reach this conclusion based on their observation that some deathbed visions do not match what the experimenter believed to be honest about life after death. For example, some children have reported being surprised that the angels they saw did not have wings. According to Osis and Haraldsson, the evidence points to the existence of an afterlife.

As a Christian, I believed (and still do) in the existence of an afterlife. When I “coded” in 1999, I was not influenced by any medicine or drug. Being that I believed so much in Heaven, I was surprised not to “see the light” or anything unusual. For me, my spirit was not hovering over my body; instead, it felt like 1000 hands were holding my spirit on my body. As the nurses yelled, “No pulse!” I struggled at first to tell them that I was fine. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t speak, open my eyes, or move. At first I was scared, but not for long. I soon realized that I was dying. I began to think of my husband and the child who would soon die in my body as a result of my death. (I was pregnant). I thought, “So that’s what death is like,” while peaceful Christian music played in my head like a radio. When I woke up on life support, I was amazed at my recovery.

Unlike my previous experience, I had a “bright light” episode as a teenager. My wisdom teeth had just been surgically removed while in the hospital. I was taking a lot of medication when I decided to get up and go to the bathroom. My mother found me passed out on the floor and woke me up from what seemed like a near death experience. Although I have no reason to believe that I was close to death, I saw a bright light while I was unconscious. It was hot and not scary. However, he was under the influence of medications.

As a Christian, I would like to report that my true near-death experience provided evidence or clues about life after death. However, I simply lack such a story. However, I don’t doubt that others have seen more than I have. In my opinion, all experiences should be valued, even if they are imagined, because we lack the ability to demonstrate that there is no afterlife.

Not seeing “the light” or hearing God’s voice during my NDE has not detracted or diminished my faith in God. In fact, what I did walk away from “knowing that I know that I know” is that there is a part of me that is not physical. When everything else went out, it was still there. I find it irrational that we are only flesh and blood, and if there is “more than meets the eye” in terms of our makeup, then it makes sense that when our bodies give up, there is a place for what remains. .

However, no matter what evidence may emerge regarding NDEs, it will always be a matter of faith-faith to believe that what one reports is true or faith to explain the multitudes who report knowing, first-hand, that there is an after. life.

1 Richardson, Deborah South. “Psychology.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. [Place of access.] November 2007 [http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar449660].

2 DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encounter with Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, Mc Graw Hill. Page 517.

3DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encounter with Death and Dying”. (2005, seventh edition). Boston, Mc Graw Hill. Page 521.

4 DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encounter with Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, Mc Graw Hill. Pg. 519.

5 DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encounter with Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, Mc Graw Hill. Page 521.