OP, quite a few scientists believe that is a dissociative response to trauma. People that aren't near death also experience them. It can happen during emotional trauma and sometimes happens to pilots under extreme G forces.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

THis is what I think it is -- chemical brain reaction.

Is this similar to people who get their first high on drugs or are into erotic asphyxiation?

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what you mean by "Do you believe in near death experiences?" Of course people experience what they experience, so it's like asking if you believe in deja vu.

Now, if you're asking if there's some sort of metaphysical explanation for NDEs, no, there's no evidence for that at all.

I am the OP. You can believe what you want. My husband is all about science; I'm all about spirituality. Perhaps there's a fine line? I'm not sure. I can, however, say that I've had prophetic dreams - even stupid ones such as dreaming about a cousin shopping for meat at our local market - one I hadn't seen for years - only to see her at that same store the morning of my dream. I've had death dreams - too many to file away. And some happened years before the actual death, but the dreams had a context, as in place and time.

There are many studies done on this - people sharing similar experiences. So yes, you can use science to prove it's a brain's reaction to trauma that all humans share. But I asked this earlier - How do you account for NDEs where people meet others they had not met during their lifetime? not in pictures, not in everyday conversations, not in paintings, etc. You simply can't.

That's where it's spiritual b/c no scientific study can get to the root of that.

I believe that anything is possible - that we're shells and we're simple beings at that. Sadly, so many humans think they're the center of the universe. They believe in a concrete world of boundaries where time limits us. Time is a construct. And I bet if we were able to use all of our brain power, we'd see "other worlds" right beside ours!

It's fascinating and actually redefines death for me - asin not being an ending, but being a new beginning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

I read that, too. But how do you explain situations where people - during an NDE - meet others who have died years before? I read a few where children have returned after meeting grandparents or uncles or distant relatives who died years before they were born.

If you read Heaven is for Real you'll see where the child meets up with his grandfather who was very young in the afterlife.

That's not a chemical reaction.

I meet people who have died years before--or who I haven't seen in years--all the time when I'm dreaming. How do you explain that?

Not sure what you mean by "Do you believe in near death experiences?" Of course people experience what they experience, so it's like asking if you believe in deja vu.

Now, if you're asking if there's some sort of metaphysical explanation for NDEs, no, there's no evidence for that at all.

I've never discussed mine with anyone. It seemed like a strange thing in the midst of a terribly traumatic experience. It wasn't until I heard someone describing one on TV that I understood what it was.

Anonymous wrote:Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

THis is what I think it is -- chemical brain reaction.

Anonymous wrote:I had one. I wouldn't say I was profoundly affected by the experience, but I certainly was by the event that led to the NDE. If anything, the NDE showed me that the dying experience is far more peaceful than I had ever considered it could be. I'm not afraid of death anymore. I also haven't believed in life after death or a deity since it happened.

Interesting that you don't believe in life after death after having an NDE. This contrasts with accounts from most NDE survivors based on books I've read. Can you elaborate?

I believe in them. When I was a teenager, I liked to take long baths. Occasionally I'd doze off. One night I found myself "on the ceiling", feeling very peaceful, looking down at my body, which was face-down in the bathtub, and I forced myself to wake up. I had rolled over in my sleep with my head/face in the water and my out-of-body experience had probably saved me from drowning. totally freaked me out. weirdly, i'm not scared of death AT ALL, but i'm scared of my daughter dying.

http://marylandiands.wmthost.com/


Here is the link for the group in Howard County, MD.

This thread fascinates me.
Can any of the PPs with NDEs please elaborate on their experience? What was the medical situation, how soon after 'coming to' did you realize what happened? Did you discuss this with someone, do you still? What did /does your doctor (s) say about this experience?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

I read that, too. But how do you explain situations where people - during an NDE - meet others who have died years before? I read a few where children have returned after meeting grandparents or uncles or distant relatives who died years before they were born.

If you read Heaven is for Real you'll see where the child meets up with his grandfather who was very young in the afterlife.

That's not a chemical reaction.

I think the feeling of having known someone forever is common in NDEs, as is the flashing of memories. A child may have seen pictures of heard the person discussed and those are the memories that go into "meeting" the person in the NDE.

I'm not sure if you are one of the PPs who had an NDE. The love and peace feeling is very hard to describe and unlike anything I have felt before or since. I can see how those feelings, coupled with an image of a person would create those kinds of experiences.

Anonymous wrote:Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

I read that, too. But how do you explain situations where people - during an NDE - meet others who have died years before? I read a few where children have returned after meeting grandparents or uncles or distant relatives who died years before they were born.

If you read Heaven is for Real you'll see where the child meets up with his grandfather who was very young in the afterlife.

That's not a chemical reaction.

Many scientists believe the light and peaceful feeling are the result of certain chemicals flooding the brain as it shuts down rather than a spiritual experience. Not that that's a bad thing, just a different perspective.

My experience did involve light and a peaceful feeling, but it went further than that. I was aware of everything that was going on in the operating room. I remember watching the doctors and feeling like their efforts were just so meaningless from a universal perspective. I remember seeing something (not really someone, but something spiritual that I just can't describe with words). I remember the overwhelming feeling that I had known this "person" forever. I've never felt so loved in my life. I remember thinking "Hey, I know you". "I've always known you". I wanted to stay.

The next thing I remember, I was in recovery and a nurse was calling my name over and over again.

Even today, years later, I feel guilty because I was so willing to leave my husband and my children to stay in that place. I'm not sure why I lived. But I am thankful that I did. And my perspective of life and death is very different than it was before the experience. You don't die. You change.

NP here, I have not experienced a NDE, but I did experience a visitation from my mother several months after she died. They call these after death communications.

I have noticed that there is a support group that meets at the Johns Hopkins APL in MD, for those who have experienced a near death experience. You can probably google it.

For those interested in after death communication, a great book is "Hello From Heaven". Raymond Moody, who wrote the original book about NDE, has also written a book about these experiences.