Near-Death Experiences in a Multi-religious Hospital Population in Sri Lanka

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are a wide range of experiences that occur in association with impending death. There are no published studies on NDEs in general hospital populations, and studies have been mainly conducted on critically ill patients. We assessed the prevalence of NDEs and its associations in a multi-religious population in a general hospital in Sri Lanka. A randomised sample of patients admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital was assessed using the Greyson NDE scale and clinical assessment. Out of total 826 participants, NDEs were described by 3%. Compared to the NDE-negative participants, the NDE-positive group had a significantly higher mean for age and a ratio of men. Women reported deeper NDEs. Patients of theistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) reported significantly more NDEs compared to patients from the non-theistic religious group (Buddhism). NDE-positive patient group had significantly higher reporting of a feeling ‘that they are about to die’, the presence of loss of consciousness and a higher percentage of internal medical patients. This is the first time that NDEs are assessed in a general hospital population and NDEs being reported from Sri Lanka. We also note for the first time that persons with theistic religious beliefs reported more NDEs than those with non-theistic religious beliefs. Medical professionals need to be aware of these phenomena to be able to give an empathic hearing to patients who have NDE.     

The Near-Death Experience: Knowledge and Attitudes of College Students

There is a considerable literature documenting the effects of a near-death experience (NDE) on persons who actually undergo the experience, in terms of their attitudes and opinions about NDEs. However, investigations of how much nonexperiencers know about NDEs and their attitudes towards them are in short supply. This study examined the relationship in people who have not had an NDE between attitudes toward and knowledge of near-death experiences. Subjects were undergraduate students, with a mean age of 32 years. The Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire was employed to assess attitudes toward and knowledge of NDEs. Results indicated that both knowledge and attitudes were relatively normally distributed, and that level of knowledge significantly predicted attitudes towards NDEs, accounting for 34 percent of the common variance.     

Claims of Near-Death Experiences, Gestalt Resistance Processes, and Measures of Optimal Functioning

The present study investigated the relationship between claims of near-death experiences (NDEs) and measures of self-actualization, Gestalt resistance processes, transfluence, mystical experiences, and claims of peak life experiences in a sample of 155 individuals. As hypothesized, I found significant positive correlations between the claims of NDEs and transfluence and mystical experiences. I found no significant correlations between claims of NDEs and the seven Gestalt resistances, suggesting that NDErs are neither more nor less resistant than nonNDErs. I also found no significant relationship between claims of NDEs and self-actualization or claims of peak life experiences.     

Near-Death Experiences in Thailand

Near-death experiences (NDEs) in Thailand do not demonstrate the episodes most noted in those collected in the West, but they do show consistent features. I argue that these features, including harbingers of death, visions of hell, the Lord of the underworld, and the benefits of making donations to Buddhist monks and temples, can be understood within the framework of beliefs and customs unique to Southeast Asia. The simplest explanation is that the phenomenology of NDEs at least in part fulfills the individuals' expectations of what they will experience at death. These expectations are most often derived from the experiencer's culture, subculture, or mix of cultures. Culture-bound expectations are, in turn, most often derived from religion. One case, quoted at length, shows features that suggest that the individual was experiencing stress as a result of living in both Thai and Chinese cultures. Although the phenomenology of Thai NDEs is at variance from those in the West, the typical episodes that appear in each seem to follow a comparable sequencing. This similarity in structure suggests that NDEs in both cultures have a common function.     

Near-Death Experiences and Attempted Suicide

ABSTRACT: Attempted suicide is correlated with an increase subsequent risk of committed suicide. However, preliminary data and psychodynamic hypotheses suggest that serious suicide attempts followed by transcendental near-death experiences (NDEs) may decrease rather than increase subsequent overt suicide risk, despite the NDEs’ apparent “romanticization” of death. Studies of NDEs and of their influence on suicidal ideation are proposed which may yield greater understanding of self-destructive urges and new strategies of suicide prevention.     

Near-Death Experiences, Shamanism, and the Scientific Method

The first 20 years of near-death studies have thoroughly documented the existence of this phenomenon. The field of near-death studies appears to be evolving from a purely academic one to include an applied, clinical component. I discuss the overlap between shamanism and near-death experiences (NDEs) and suggest that the study of shamanism would be helpful in more fully understanding this phenomena and beginning the development of an applied methodology. Although it may be difficult to verify subjective accounts of NDEs and shamanic journeys, from a clinical stand-point it may not be necessary to do so in order to develop a technique that passes the test of scientific scrutiny.     

Near-Death Experiences in patients with locked-in syndrome: Not always a blissful journey

Memories of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) most often are recounted as emotionally positive events. At present, no satisfactory explanatory model exists to fully account for the rich phenomenology of NDEs following a severe acute brain injury. The particular population of patients with locked-in syndrome (LIS) provides a unique opportunity to study NDEs following infratentorial brain lesions. We here retrospectively characterized the content of NDEs in 8 patients with LIS caused by an acute brainstem lesion (i.e., “LIS NDEs”) and 23 NDE experiencers after coma with supratentorial lesions (i.e., “classical NDEs”). Compared to “classical NDEs”, “LIS NDEs” less frequently experienced a feeling of peacefulness or well-being. It could be hypothesized that NDEs containing less positive emotions might have a specific neuroanatomical substrate related to impaired pontine/paralimbic connectivity or alternatively might be related to the emotional distress caused by the presence of conscious awareness in a paralyzed body.     

University Professor Lecture: Near-Death Experiences: The Stories They Tell

I argue that we can interpret the stories told by near-death experiences (NDEs) in a naturalistic way. Thus, the profound significance of NDEs need not come from a supernaturalistic conception of them, according to which in an NDE the individual is in touch with a heavenly realm. We can respect the sincerity of NDE reports, but we can capture their meaning in a naturalistic framework.     

Response to Commentaries on "The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience ..."

The commentators on my paper raised several interesting issues. Set and setting do influence drug effects, but they also influence near-death experiences (NDEs). Some NDEs are very anxiety-generating, just like some ketamine experiences, though frightening NDEs have been ignored by most researchers. High frequency, compulsive ketamine use is rare. While dimethyltryptamine (DMT) may induce NDEs, this is far from typical, while NDE-like effects are typical of ketamine. Rapidity of onset is not related to the capacity of a drug to induce NDEs. The reality of endopsychosins is doubtful, but the reality of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) blocking mechanisms is not. NDEs and dream sleep may involve similar mechanisms. Altered states of consciousness do not require a normally functioning brain. Finally, I discuss the possible evolutionary advantage of the NDE mechanism.     

Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences in the Blind: A Study of Apparent Eyeless Vision

This article reports the results of an investigation into near-death and out-of-body experiences in 31 blind respondents. The study sought to address three main questions: (1) whether blind individuals have near-death experiences (NDEs) and, if so, whether they are the same as or different from those of sighted persons; (2) whether blind persons ever claim to see during NDEs and out-of-body experiences (OBEs); and (3) if such claims are made, whether they can ever be corroborated by reference to independent evidence. Our findings revealed that blind persons, including those blind from birth, do report classic NDEs of the kind common to sighted persons; that the great preponderance of blind persons claim to see during NDEs and OBEs; and that occasionally claims of visually-based knowledge that could not have been obtained by normal means can be independently corroborated. We present and evaluate various explanations of these findings before arriving at an interpretation based on the concept of transcendental awareness.     

A Prospective Analysis of Near-Death Experiences in Cardiac Arrest Patients

The objective of this study was to assess prospectively the frequency of near-death experiences (NDEs) in patients suffering a cardiac arrest, to characterize these experiences, and to assess their impact on psychosocial and spiritual attitudes. We prospectively evaluated all patients who suffered a cardiac arrest at Barnes-Jewish Hospital from April 1991 through February 1994, excluding those in the surgical intensive care unit, using a scale designed to specify criteria for NDEs, a recorded interview regarding the experience, an experience rating form, and a follow-up questionnaire regarding psychosocial attitudinal life changes. Of the 174 patients who suffered a cardiac arrest, 55 patients survived, of whom 30 patients were interviewable. Of those 30 patients interviewed, seven (23 percent) had a NDE, and four others (13 percent) reported an NDE during a prior life-threatening illness. The experiences were most frequently characterized by ineffability, peacefulness, painlessness, lack of fear, detachment from the body, and no sense of time or space. Significant differences were noted in the follow-up psychosocial assessment between patients who experienced an NDE and those who did not with regard to personal understanding of life and self, attitudes toward others, and changes in social customs and religious/spiritual beliefs. Of importance, patients reported it was beneficial to receive psychosocial support before hospital discharge after having an NDE. The results suggest that NDEs are fairly common in cardiac arrest survivors. The experiences consisted of a number of core characteristics and changed psychological, social, and spiritual awareness over both the short and long term.     

Knowledge and Attitudes of Hospital Nurses in Italy Related to Near-Death Experiences

I distributed Nina Thornburg's Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire to 750 nurses in three Verona hospitals, and received 476 completed questionnaires. Questionnaire respondents had a modest knowledge of near-death experiences (NDEs). Nevertheless, respondents expressed a positive attitude towards NDEs in general, and towards patients who had had NDEs. Thirty-four percent of the nurses had personally encountered NDErs, and those nurses reported a higher level of knowledge than their colleagues who had not had that opportunity. Furthermore, in relation to the global sample, nurses who had encountered an NDEr showed attitudes that were more positive regarding both the NDE itself and the type of assistance they offered NDErs.     

The Evidential Value of Near-Death Experiences for Belief in Life After Death

In this paper, I explore the issue of what evidential value near-death experiences (NDEs) offer for belief in life after death. I survey the major positions on this issue, ranging from writers who believe that NDEs already offer convincing evidence for life after death, to physicalists who believe that they offer, at best, a very weak case. I argue that the present NDE evidence does suggest the possibility of life after death; however, such evidence is not yet overpowering or convincing. However, I go on to argue that NDEs do offer persuasive evidence for life after death for the individual who has the NDE. I end by suggesting that further research should be done on the most impressive type of NDE evidence for life after death, veridical perceptions during an NDE.     

Prophetic Revelations in Near-Death Experiences

Prophetic revelations in near-death experiences (NDEs) are a fourth type of flashforwards. Prophetic revelations are similar to another type of flashforward called the prophetic vision, which was identified in 1982 by Kenneth Ring. Like prophetic visions, prophetic revelations are a phenomenon in which NDErs are given a knowledge of the earth's future; they have a global or world focus. Prophetic revelations differ from prophetic visions in that events in the earth's future are told or revealed to the NDEr by a deceased relative or some otherworld person during their NDE, rather than in a visual display, and they are less detailed. Four categories of flashforwards have now been identified. In addition to the prophetic revelation and the prophetic vision are the other flashforwards, the personal flashforward and the otherworld personal future revelation (OPFR). The major features that distinguish these different flashforwards are their focus (global or personal), method of delivery, and detail. All flashforward types occur in a small number of cases and during deep NDEs.     

Amazing Grace: The Healing Effects of Near-Death Experiences on Those Dying And Grieving

Kenneth Ring (1991) argued that near-death experiences (NDEs) act as compensatory gifts helping individuals cope with and understand life's difficulties. He saw NDEs as conferring amazing grace on individuals whose lives were spinning out of control toward self-destruction. Expanding on Ring's contention that NDEs can be seen as healing gifts, this study presents evidence of seven categorical situations where participating in or knowledge of NDEs and nearing-death awareness experiences serve as healing agents in facing one's own death or the death of a significant other. NDEs and nearing death awareness seem to free persons from paralyzing death anxiety and, consequently, allow them to focus on additional ways to help each other face dying and grieving.     

The Phenomenology of Near-Death Consciousness in Past-Life Regression Therapy: A Pilot Study

Although past-life regression therapy has not been shown to be the re-experiencing of a verifiable previous biological existence, therapists have noted similarities between the phenomenology of post-death awareness reported by regressed subjects and the phenomenology of near-death experiences (NDEs). This paper reports the results of a pilot study exploring those similarities as far as the therapeutic modality normally accommodates post-death phenomena. Similarities and differences between NDEs and post-death regression phenomena suggest new avenues of research.     

The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation

As interest grows in near-death experiences (NDEs), it is increasingly important to accurately identify them to facilitate empirical research and reproducibility among assessors. We aimed (1) to reassess the psychometric properties of the NDE scale developed by Greyson (1983) and (2) to validate the Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale that quantifies NDEs in a more complete way. Internal consistency, construct and concurrent validity analyses were performed on the NDE scale. Based on those results and the most recent empirical evidence, we then developed a new 20-item scale. Internal consistency, explanatory and confirmatory factor, concurrent and discriminant validity analyses were conducted. Results revealed (1) a series of weaknesses in the NDE scale, (2) a 5-factor structure covering relevant dimensions and the very good psychometric properties of the NDE-C scale, including very good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.85) and concurrent validity (correlations above 0.76). This new reliable scale should facilitate future research.     

Gender and Trauma in the Near-Death Experience: An Epidemiological and Theoretical Analysis

In this article, I explore the nature of the fear-death experience (FDE) by way of an epidemiological analysis, and discuss the FDE as one of several causal theories of the near-death experience (NDE). I then pursue two hypotheses: (1) if the FDE model is correct, one would expect to find that a number of NDEs are preceded by traumatic experiences; and (2) if the FDE model is correct, one would expect to find that more NDEs are experienced by males than females. Chi-squared analyses on data from more than 500 NDE cases revealed that the first hypothesis cannot be rejected, while the second hypothesis can be rejected. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings.     

Toward A New Eternalist Paradigm for Afterlife Studies: The Case of the Near-Death Experiences Argument

In contemporary Western culture, death has been widely censured because of its conceptual implications; it lies at the boundaries between reductionism and metaphysics. There is not yet an efficacious epistemology able to solve this contraposition and its consequent collision with science and tradition. This article analyzes Near Death Experiences (NDEs) as a prototypical argument in which the two perspectives conflict. Specifically, it analyzes the epistemological antinomies of the ontological representations of death, inhering in passage versus absolute annihilation. Indeed, the NDEs theme permits the examination of the logical contradiction between monistic reductionism and its ontological counterpart to improve the discovery of a new paradigm that integrates the ecological with eternalist views.     

Inner Communications Following the Near-Death Experience

Inner communications following the near-death experience (NDE) have been reported by a number of authors. Although such communications are similar in some ways to the hallucinations heard by individuals with mental illness, they differ in that their effects are predominantly positive, whereas the hallucinations in mental illness exert predominantly negative effects. This article describes three individuals who reported experiencing inner communications subsequent to their NDEs. I suggest that these inner messages may be a form of intuition, and encourage further research into this phenomenon.