Do you believe near death experiences are just a result of a body shutdown, or is there more to it than that?

[Kayla45]

Many people have reported profound experiences when they were on the verge of life and death, there are far too many told for it to just be a coincidence, right?

[Siri137]

I'm not sure about this. For years I've had an interest in NDE's (a term coined by Dr. Raymond Moody in his book 'Life After Life'), but many of the stories are, I have to admit, rather silly, and the accounts often just don't make sense.

For example, people will often claim that during their experience they didn't notice the passage of time, or that time was irrelevant, or that they'd been told by someone over there that time just doesn't apply, and yet they'll also describe a sequence of events (ex. first they were out of the body, then they went through a tunnel, then they met deceased relatives and so on), but a sequence of events very strongly implies the existence of time. Changes in state occur over time, it's what time is all about. If things can change then time must of necessity exist.

Then of course there are those who claim that while "over there" they were given insight into all, or most, of life's big mysteries. However, upon returning they'll claim something like, "Oh, I had to relinquish all my knowledge before returning. So sorry, but I can't give you the answers". Really? Why? Isn't that rather strange, awfully suspicious? It's almost as though those who are behind all of these strange experiences are deliberately fooling these people. They're hiding something.

If something seems too good to be true, then... well, you know how the rest goes. It just all seems so fake, so silly and (as I like to call it) "Disneyesque". If these experiences are in any way real, if they're not caused by a process of the brain, then I can only conclude that these poor people are being deliberately misled for reasons unknown.

[bingbongbangbung]

well when one isn't fully awake, time does seem to pass by differently; like for me what seems like minutes in a dream is actually hours going by irl. also the visions of relatives and dieties and spirits are heavily influenced by one's memories and their religious/spiritual affiliation, as well as that special chemical that get released near death to make us feel calm before dying (it's on the tip of my tongue, but it's something Joe Rogan brags about taking). the tunnel of light i believe is confirmed by experts to be a result of the brain hallucinating due to a lack of oxygen... as for everything else, I don't know how to explain or dismiss it.

[strateguy632]

to siri, order does not include how many seconds or milliseconds per event just order.

[chrissykerdock]

i can tell you there's a spiritual world for sure... i met or heard my guardian angel more than a few times... and she saved my life... my experiences were like other people's... it's not the way you think it happens... to this day i don't know why my life was saved as i had no great destiny waiting for me but i know did and that's that... i believe in the spiritual world... never almost died... i can say i met a nurse from the 1920's in a hospital when i had a 105 degree temperature... as i looked up her clothes... what she wore wasn't what other nurses wore... and she held my hand... i knew she was from another time or world... i know it sounds crazy but this did happen... i even looked it up and there were a few other people who wrote about this occurence that happend to them... yes believe in the spiritual world it does exist.

[strateguy632]

great story from somebody age 37 about 1920.

[chrissykerdock]

@strateguy632 re-read it the person was from that time period.

[DJB72]

Mine was fairly profound. I had a 3 month hallucinatory coma - aspects of the real world mixed with pure hallucination. I don't recommend it. I've been a Christian well over 30 years but aspects of what I saw after my heart stopped surprised me. It's hard to explain.

I heard my ribs break during the CPR but I didn't feel pain. It was like watching a movie. Time in the hallucination moved at the same pace as the real world until the moment my heart stopped - then it slowed down to start with.

I didn't see a tunnel or bright light etc. I did have time with a figure I met when I was a boy who had nail holes in his wrists and a spear wound in his side. The first time I met him I knew nothing about how the Romans crucified with nails or anatomy of where the spear would need to be thrust to pour out blood and water without breaking any bones.

It was like meeting an old friend for coffee, then going home.

I woke up two weeks later.

No. I don't think it's that my neurons were firing.

I met a man some years ago whose NDE was different. He went to hell after being repeatedly stung by a box jellyfish. Ian McCormack. Google him.

[OfDeath]

There are so many because they are not coincidence. But it isn't not a coincidence because of anything divine. The way dying affects the neurological processes and sensory perception consistently produces the same type of experience and all of it can be explained with scientific understanding of physiological processes.

There is a very simple exercise you can do to consistently determine an unknown when you know a couple of the possibilities. In this case, the exercise would go something like this: Is it more likely that these "near death experiences" are a gateway to the afterlife or can they be explained by the physical sciences?

We can indeed explain the causes of many symptoms of these experiences. We have no direct, reliable or verifiable evidence of the afterlife. So the more likely possibility is these experiences are a natural reaction to death.

[Siri137]

"We have no direct, reliable or verifiable evidence of the afterlife."

Actually, we do. They're known as veridicial NDE's.

"Is it more likely that these "near death experiences" are a gateway to the afterlife or can they be explained by the physical sciences?"

Maybe there's a third option here, one we just haven't considered. Why must it be one or the other? False dichotomy fallacy.

[bingbongbangbung]

@Siri137 if it's near death, then it's not evidence of the afterlife because the patients would technically still be alive. the vast majority of NDEs occur when the person is about to or has "died" from their hearts failing, but their brains still had some activity left before they were be able to be revived. only the small minority of those that are considered brain dead (not a slur, it's a medical term) that has such experiences wouldn't be fully dismissed by science.

[OfDeath]

@Siri137 It's only a false dichotomy when it is implied that there are only two options. In this case, we are trying to ascertain whether or not NDE experiences have something to do with a spiritual afterlife. You can't just make accusations of logical fallacies without understanding the context first.

Furthermore and to your only point, there haven't been any verified veridicial NDE's. A lot of them have been found to be either outright lies or misunderstandings. Things like seeing clip boards earlier or overhearing conversations which gave away information have been found to have contributed to the patients knowledge of things they "couldn't have known".

So the question is raised again: is it more likely that a patient overheard information, semi-consciously aquired it in a mental state too deteriorated to remember events in correct chronological order, lied, had opportunity to take in surroundings, had previous expert knowledge, learnt things after the fact and later claimed to have discovered these things during an NDE whether aware of it or suffering chronological confusion? Or is it more likely that they experienced a spiritual out of body experience?

The first option are all things we know definitely happen and the second is in the realm of fantasy. So which do you think is most likely?

And by the way that is not a false dichotomy as it is not implied that those are the only possibilities.

[Anonymous]

there's definitely something more than science can explain. It's almost comical to watch them try though. So many people, as they are dying, start having conversations with loved ones who have gone on before them... It's almost like those people are there and welcoming them into heaven or whatever you believe in. But it makes me giggle and fart to hear science try to come up with bs reasons for why this happens.

"Well, we can't see the angels or spirits, therefore they probably don't exist" is not science.

[AngryCarl2]

Actually science is fine with stuff that you can't see. You can't see dark matter but most scientists believe that it makes up most of the Universe.

[Anonymous]

In 1688 Emanuel Swedenborg was born. At or in his 50s he used psychic powers 2 talk 2 soul guides. Here r 6 things he talkd about that people who've had current near deaths hav talkd about.
1. God
2. Jesus
3. You're drawn 2 heavn or hell. God doesn't send.
4. Christians n non-Christians go 2 heavn.
5. Reunions w/family.
6. Ghosts, 1 or 2 near deaths talkd about them.

There was a person who had a near death n they saw someone get a certain candy bar in anothr part of the hospital. I think the person near death asked them n it was true.

A guy was adopted. In his near death he saw his biological sister. He got with his biological parents n saw her picture.

[strateguy632]

wishful predictions

[exitseven]

There are things in the universe that we cannot perceive with our senses. People get a glimpse of these things under certain conditions. Maybe almost dying let's us experience some of these things

[bingbongbangbung]

yeah our senses actually shield us from perceiving what reality actually is, since most of our sensory organs are garbage compared to other animals; for example, our eyes can only perceive the visible light spectrum, while UV, x-ray, and other spectrums of light are completely invisible to us unless we use scientific tools.

[lildkman1090]

Near death experience I overdosed twice and was gone for almost 9 minutes the first 7 the second and I was watching my body both times and it was very intense and scary

[strateguy632]

the vision is confirmed. if they saw elija or jesus is the conflict , so each adding his own religion into the vision.

[slatyb]

There's no evidence that it's anything other than a phenomenon in the brain. In any case, there's nothing for us to do.

[strateguy632]

as if you dont lnow WITNESSES are evidence. why do we need a witness protection program if a witness isn't evidence?

[slatyb]

@strateguy632 Witnesses are evidence when the were conscious and are reporting an external event. "I saw some spooky lights when I was near death" isn't evidence of anything.

[AngryCarl2]

It's hard to study something that only happens when you die. We can hardly kill someone to observe their reactions. Personally I prefer not to speculate. What happens, happens.

[strateguy632]

just ignore that these are near death experiences that revived.

[AngryCarl2]

@strateguy632 Still hard to study what they actually experienced. All the information we have is anecdotal.

[Anonymous]

Just a psychological thing. If you believe in heaven and hell you will see that, if not your brain thinks of something meaningful to help you cope with feeling that you'll die

[strateguy632]

but they are not describing heaven or hell. they describe a tunnel. so not cauaed by belief but SEEN. like many eyewitnesses

[Opinion Owner]

Yea its in the answer i gave. You see what you know, if you are faithful you see that if not you see other things you know, heard, saw. I don't believe in these stuff as something meaningful but rather your brain working to overcome trauma, like many others think as well

[LiamJHayden]

I believe in an Afterlife, but these are most likely the result of oxygen deprivation or some other physical cause.

[jb2622]

I believe it's just the body shuting down makes sence and there is some evidence for it. But I've never died myself so can't say for sure.

[strateguy632]

if it were just dreams we know people have different dreams.

[collie22]

Have you had the near death experience ever? I haven't had that happen. I was with my mom when she began her passing. It lasted several hours.

[strateguy632]

but she didn't TELL what happened when revived. others did report.

[collie22]

@strateguy632 she didn't come back, that was a few years ago

[Tomisworthless]

if you believe in ghosts astrology palm readings maybe just maybe there is a God who owns your soul

[dolemite58]

i think it’s your brain releasing lots of dmt, that’s why people say they see other worldly things and their life flash before their eyes.

[BLP11520]

That is a very deep question, I really am not sure about that.

[Celticwolf78]

It's when something major happens and it almost kills you but in reality it's not your time to die

[WhitneySnow]

I believe they see Heaven

[Iron_Man]

No, I believe them

[jimmy2]

Definitely not God is real