Popularly termed NDEs, near-death experiences have been with us for as long as man has recorded his history for others to read. The moment of death and what occurs when the heart stops beating has been one of the major focuses of man since he had the ability to realize he was mortal.
Many religions have been born with the promise to fearful mortals that there are rewards after their hard lives. Whether or not there is an actual “other side” will not be known until one passes and even then the answer may not be provided if the end is nothing more than darkness and loss of consciousness. But, we do have an interesting advantage with modern medicine, the ability to yank someone from the other side and back again to tell of his experiences. This occurs much more nowadays with our understanding and practice of resuscitation methods.
People’s experiences with near-death have given us some insight into what visual and sensory experiences might occur when we ourselves pass. There are strong commonalities in the stories told by people who passed on and were revived by CPR. These include; traveling through a tunnel, seeing lights, encountering beings (most often deceased relatives), gaining insight and retrospection on one’s life, leaving one’s body and looking down upon it, and being told to return to one’s body and finish his earthly mission.
Dr. Raymond Moody was perhaps the first to popularize the terminology and talk about this phenomenon openly in his first book “Life After Life.” My father purchased the book in the 70s when he was told he had very bad heart disease. I snuck it from his room one time and read it with fascination. Only a year later he had his own NDE and was so content with what he saw on the other side, he was not afraid of dying a few days later.
I was comforted to know that, even if perhaps there is no “other side,” those moments of death provide a wonderful vision that is comforting. The emotions and visualizations are bliss. But, if this is purely a function of a dying brain as some scientists believe, then why not random firings and confusing images? Why a complete storyline from an oxygen-deprived brain? And more importantly, how?
When my father passed, I had plenty of time to consider NDEs. I wondered why in the moment of complete and utter shutdown of all systems in the body, people experienced the same thing. Why see dead relatives? Why not see the live ones you have to live for? Why not see the beach in Hawaii from your honeymoon when you had the happiest day of your life? Why not see a lottery windfall? It was that bit of wonder that kept me intrigued by NDEs as potentially legitimate examples of afterlife.
I, myself, was born pulseless and breathless and was revived at four minutes from birth. Some say that’s why I’m psychic. I wonder if that is what made me feel different than others in my family and everyone else I came across. There was something not entirely of this world about me. I always had a way of looking at things from a universally bigger picture and was not concerned with the details. When others fussed over the hem of their dress or the way their car was parallel parked, I was feeling a part of a bigger picture, a massive machine, a universe in which I was the butterfly flapping its wings and changing the world just by getting up that morning. I’ve always felt I extend past my body and the human experience in a mortal body is awkward and strange. Did I gain this perspective from my newborn NDE?
This site offers a good deal of information on the subject if you’re interested. There are some great examples of what people have experienced. Some of them even describing their own operation from the perspective of the ceiling!
People who underwent this sort of event report huge changes in their goals, their personalities, their lack of fear of death, and their connections to other human beings that are permanent.
If you knew this was your fate upon crossing over, how would you live your life now, if you didn’t fear death but embraced living? What goals would you go for? What would you not put off until tomorrow?
It’s definitely worth contemplating.
omg...i would lose the little bit of mind i have left if i had to live in that kind of heat. i am such a winter person!!!!
ReplyDeleteMe too--I love fog, rain, icy winds, cold, more cold, and everything dripping wet. I hate it here but I'm married to a desert rat. I always tell him that he owes me big time some day and has to move me to Oregon to make up for living in hell so long. I almost never go outside here because it's so ugly and hot and nasty. Even in the winter, it's still sunshine and cactus. I hate it!
ReplyDeleteHey i was born dead and revived too! I never thought that that is why i am a psychic( mostly because my mom is one also) but it is an interesting theory!
ReplyDeletePs. i hate cold! My body can not stand it! And here in Athens because of humidity winters are a b..! Thanks for the advice on my moving!
What a wonderful and interesting post. Your story of your birth is amazing. I do believe those NDE are real and not some sort of brain calming the body down. As you said, what for and how? As far as what I would change? I don't think I would do too much differently. :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder about NDEs and like you said why are they all so similar. There must something to it.
ReplyDeleteI have a tendency to think logically, so I ask the really logical questions to keep things as objective as possible. I suppose that's why I stood back from the phenomenon and asked "why the same themes?" I know when the brain starts firing randomly, you can get all kinds of dysfunctional thoughts. When my son had meningitis, he was hearing voices and feeling someone watching him--that part of his brain was being affected by the infection. It was as real to him as anything else, but it was also functional. You can tie those kinds of dysfunctions (auditory and sense of being watched) to specific parts of the brain. In NDEs, that's just not happening. There is no other sensory and there is a clear storyline. That part intrigues me and I'm a highly skeptical person in general so if it impresses me, it's passed my logic test.
ReplyDeleteThis sort of reminds me of the movie "Flatliners", where the medical students experiment with death and have scary results. I know that was a movie, but it did give me the creeps. I know of one person who did experience this and is living a better life because of it. He didn't care much about others and their feelings before but is a more giving person now. BTW, I thought the title was "Death Becomes Her" at first and thought you wrote about the movie until I read it again, lol. Silly me.
ReplyDeleteDid you catch the finale of Harper's Island? Mike came over and watch it with me and Katie. We had guessed the killer several episodes ago and are so glad we were right. It was such a good show and hope that we see more like it in the future.
Julie;
ReplyDeleteYeah, "Harper's Island" was a serious addiction for me. I've never been that fascinated with a series in my whole life. I hope soooo much they do more like that. I loved the casting and the location so much!!! I couldn't have dreamed up a better one. I had it figured out from the start, I have to admit, but the relationship between Henry and Abby was way too brother/sister and made no sense, so I knew when they said the bad guy had a kid, that Henry was that kid. There was a scene when they all thought she was the bad guy's kid when Henry went after the island bully dude and got kind of crazed and I realized his protective instincts for her were way out of proportion. That was so cool. Don't know if they sold me exactly on how Henry became such a killer, but I was willing to overlook that.
Julie;
ReplyDeleteYeah, "Harper's Island" was a serious addiction for me. I've never been that fascinated with a series in my whole life. I hope soooo much they do more like that. I loved the casting and the location so much!!! I couldn't have dreamed up a better one. I had it figured out from the start, I have to admit, but the relationship between Henry and Abby was way too brother/sister and made no sense, so I knew when they said the bad guy had a kid, that Henry was that kid. There was a scene when they all thought she was the bad guy's kid when Henry went after the island bully dude and got kind of crazed and I realized his protective instincts for her were way out of proportion. That was so cool. Don't know if they sold me exactly on how Henry became such a killer, but I was willing to overlook that.