• Introduction
  • According to a James Mauro's article "Bright Lights, Big Mystery," a Gallup poll revealed that about eight million Americans have had a Near-Death Experience.
  • A Near-Death Experience provides a glimpse as to what we will all experience upon our deaths, whether you believe in the afterlife or not.
  • A Near-Death Experience has five common stages, religious implications, and supporting scientific evidence.
• Information
  • Melvin Morse and Paul Perry in the book Transformed by the Light identified several characteristics of a Near-Death Experience, which can be divided into five main stages.
  • The first stage begins when a person's heart stops beating. At this moment, you feel a perfect peace.
  • You feel disconnected from your body.
  • You no longer feel any pain.
  • In the second stage, you have an Out-of-Body Experience.
  • You seem to be observing the surroundings from a distance.
  • You may feel that you are floating around.
  • In the third stage, you move into a tunnel.
  • While moving through the tunnel you may experience memories of your life.
  • Often, people report seeing dead family members at the end of the tunnel.
  • According to Morse, Conner, and Taylor, children reported that they saw dead pets.
  • In the fourth stage, you see a light at the end of the tunnel.
  • You feel as if this light is pure and divine.
  • You may see a religious figure standing in this light.
  • In the fifth and final stage, you enter the light.
  • A Near-Death Experience is considered proof of an afterlife by many who have has such an experience.
  • A person who has had a Near-Death Experience often has a spiritual world view after the experience occurred.
  • People who have had Near-Death Experiences often feel that the experience was real.
  • Linda Rodrigues' article "Ex-atheist Describes Near-Death Experience," even atheists, such as Howard Storm, have changed their entire outlook on life after having the experience. In the case of Howard Storm, he entered the ministry and became a priest.
  • Some people may also point out detailed accounts of the Out-of-Body Experience.
  • A woman explained the details of the a surgical tool which had been used while she was considered dead.
  • Another woman saw a man crying because he was just told he would lose his leg in the next room.
  • Aspects of Near-Death Experiences can be explained as scientifically.
  • The Near-Death Experience can be explained as neurobiological responses.
  • Pressure on the optic nerve causes tunnel vision.
  • Chemical changes in the brain may numb pain and cause a feeling of disconnection with the body.
  • Because of the similarities of all Near-Death Experiences, scientist have concluded that this may be the way the brain shuts down.
  • Many of the effects of a Near-Death Experience may be experienced while under the influence of a drug.
    • Dr. Karl Jansen explains in his article "Using Ketamine to Induce the Near-Death Experience," that while injecting the drug into soldiers during the Vietnam War, many experienced the same effects as a Near-Death Experience.
    • Dr. Rick Strassman states that Dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic chemical that natural occurs in our body, creates the same effects as a Near-Death Experience as well.
• Conclusion
  • Please recognize the importance of the scientific and religious implications of a Near-Death Experience and that they are crucial to understanding what happens to us when we die. II. I hope you now understand that there are clearly defined stages of a Near-Death Experience, spiritual implications, and scientific evidence of their existence.

Reference Page

Mauro, James (1992) Bright lights, big mystery. Psychology Today, July/August 1992, 54-57, 80-82.

Morse, M., Conner, D. & Tyler, D. (1985). Near-Death Experiences in a Pediatric Population. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 139, 595-63.

Morse, Melvin & Perry, Paul (1992) Transformed by the Light. New York: Villard Books.

Jansen, K. L. R. (1996) Using Ketamine to Induce the Near-Death Experience: Mechanism of Action and Therapeutic Potential. Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness, 4, 55-81.

van Lommel, Pim, van Wees, Ruud, Meyers, Vincent, & Elfferich, Ingrid. (2001) Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A prospective Study in the Netherlands. Lancet, 358 (9298), 2039-45.