The near-death experience is a conscious perceptual experience in which the individual experiences a sense of being detached from the physical world during the process of physiological dying and death.  The individual may experience his/her own physiological dying and/or death and at the same time become aware of his/her existence in an altered state where he/she may experience a sense of peace, body separation, entering darkness, seeing a light, and/or entering into the light (Ring, 1980, p.40).  Near-death experiencers are generally positively effected by their experience.  They are not fearful of death and are more compassionate, with the sense of unconditional love towards others (Peay, 1991).  An individual's religious beliefs and practices do not appear to affect the depth and extent of reported near-death experiences (Moody, 1977, 1988; Ring, 1980).  The confrontation with death, through a near-death experience, seems to give the individual more meaning to his/her life (Kalish, 1981).  The purposes of studying near-death experiences are to provide information regarding this phenomenon in order to reduce an individual's fear of dying, to help near-death survivors understand the near-death experience phenomena, to provide counselors with additional counseling tools to discuss dying and near-death experiences, and to provide information for the further study of philosophical and religious beliefs of life after death.

In this paper, I will discuss what near-death experiences are, how near-death experiences are affected by how the individual almost dies, the classification models of near-death experiences, the effects of the near-death experience on the individual, and the purpose for continued study of near-death experiences.

What Is A Near-Death Experience?

There are many different theories of near-death experiences.  These theories can be grouped, according to Moody (1988), as theological, medical, psychological, and spiritual.

The theological, medical, and psychological theories attempt to explain near-death experiences as physical or mental phenomena that have more to do with brain dysfunction than with a spiritual experience (p.169).  The spiritual theories, which describe the adventures of the spirit, reflect the altered state of consciousness of another existence outside the physical or mental realm.  Reported out-of-body experiences support that near-death experiences are altered states of consciousness and adventures of the spirit.

Raymond Moody (1977), a pioneer researcher in the study of near-death experiences, defines the near-death experience as any conscious perceptual experience which takes place during a near-death encounter.  A near-death encounter is defined as an event in which the individual could very easily die or be killed, or may have already been considered clinically dead, but nonetheless survives, and continue his/her physical life (p.124).  The near-death experience, William James, a philosopher, states, is an experience that is noetic.  It is self-certifying because it is a form of knowledge.  It is so personal as to be beyond words.  It is profoundly life changing (Moody, 1988, p.192).

Some researchers conclude that the near-death is the mind's defense against the fear of dying.  Children's near-death experiences however, refute these conclusions.  Children's near-death experiences are very similar to the experiences reported by adults (Moody, 1988, p.60).  Children under the age of 7 do not fear death, they consider death to be a temporary event after which one eventually returns to life.  Other researchers conclude that the near-death is a result of a chemical reaction within the brain during the dying process (Moody, 1988, p.178).

Two strong bodies of data supporting the spiritual/altered state of the near-death experience are the individual out-of-body experiences (OBE) and the personality changes of the near-death experiencers (Moody, 1988, p.197).  The detailed reports of these events discount the various physical or mental hypothesis of near-death experiences.  During the out-of-body experience the individual leaves his/her physical body and views his/her body or other events from a detached, uninvolved perspective.  According to Ring (1980), the typical near-death experiencer emerges from his/her experience with a heightened sense of appreciation for life, determined to live life to the fullest.  He/she has a sense of being reborn and a renewed sense of individual purpose in living.  The things that the experiencer values, after his/her near-death experience, are love and service to others; material comforts are not as important (pp.157-158).

Classification Models Of Near-Death Experiences:

Kenneth Ring (1980) has devised an accepted model of 5 recognized stages of near-death experiences.  Raymond Moody (1988) has recognized 9 traits associated with the near-death experience.  The 5 stages of near-death experiences, according to Ring (1980) are:

  1. Peace.
  2. Body separation.
  3. Entering darkness.
  4. Seeing the light.
  5. Entering the light. (p.40)

In Ring's (1980) study, 60% of the near-death experiencers reported a sense of peace and tranquility following the awareness of his/her dying process.  Thirty-seven percent of the experiencers reported body separation.  Twenty-three percent reported entering into darkness and 16% reported seeing a bright light.  Of the 104 recorded experiences in Ring's study, 10% indicated the experience of entering in to the light (p.40).

Moody (1988) identifies 9 traits that have been associated to near-death experiences and are experienced during the stages identified by the Ring study.  In conjunction with the 9 traits listed below, many near-death experiencers report the compression or absence of time and experiencers are not restricted by space but are free to go where they wish.  The recognized traits associated with the near-death experiences are:

  1. A sense of being dead.
  2. A sense of peace and painlessness.
  3. An out-of-body experience.
  4. The sense of passing through a tunnel.
  5. An encounter with people of light.
  6. An encounter with a Being of Light.
  7. A total life review.
  8. Rising rapidly into the heavens.
  9. The reluctance to return.

During the stage of peace, the individual may experience a sense of being dead yet will remain peaceful and will not have any feelings of pain.  The out-of-body experience is associated with the stage of body separation.  The individual may experience a sense of moving through a tunnel, during the stage of entering into the darkness.  As the individual passes through the tunnel, if he/she experiences the tunnel phenomenon, there may be an awareness of a bright light towards the end of the tunnel.  While experiencing the consciousness of the light, individuals recognizable by the experiencer may be seen in the light.  In the final stage of the near-death experience, the individual may experience an encounter with a Being of Light, reported to be God, Jesus, or other deity identities and rising rapidly into what he/she may consider heaven.  During this encounter, the near-death experiencers may become conscious of having a total review of his/her life and may experience a sense of remorse when observing events that may have not been kind to others.  Throughout each of the stages, and particularly in the latter stages of the near-death experience, the individual may sense a reluctance to return to his/her former life (pp.7-17).

According to a study performed by Noyes and Slymen (1978-79), which included approximately 200 people who survived a life-threatening experience and had a near-death experience, a statistical analysis indicates that occurrences during the near-death experience fall into 3 constellations of events: mystical, depersonalization, and hyperalert.  The mystical experience includes a sense of harmony and unity, color or visions, and a feeling of great understanding.  Depersonalization relates to the loss of emotion, detachment from the physical body, and an altered sense of the passage of time.  Thoughts are sharp or vivid and are speeded up within the hyperalert constellation.

Michael Sabom (1973) examined the near-death experiences of 116 people.  He divided his subjects into 3 group types: autoscopic, transcendental, and mixed experiences.  The autoscopic experience relates to the individuals who have experienced the sense of leaving his/her body, an out-of-body experience.  The transcendental group are individuals who have a sense of entering into a "spiritual realm".  In the mixed experiences, the near-death experiencer may experience a mixture of autoscopic and transcendental experiences (Moody, 1988, p.139).

Not all near-death experiencers report all of the traits, stages, or constellations of the near-death experience.  However, the statistical analysis of the data presented in the Ring study (1980), the Evergreen study (Lindley, 1981), the Noyes and Slymen study (1978-79), and the research of Sabom (1977) demonstrates the consistency of these traits, stages, and constellations.  Noyes and Slymen's (1978-79) statistical study of 200 people's near-death experiences indicated that the phenomenological descriptions fell into the 3 constellations of mystical, depersonalization, and hyperalert experiences.  The Ring study (1980) reported that 60% of the near-death experiencers reported a sense of peace, 37% reported out-of-body experiences, 23% indicated that they entered a tunnel of darkness, 16% relate seeing a bright light, and 10% entered into the light.

The Effects Of The Near-Death Experience:

According to the study of 104 near-death experiences of 102 subjects, there is a qualitative differences among the conditions that lead to the near-death experience (Ring, 1980).  The modes of onset of the near-death experience are illness, accident, and suicide.  Individuals that are close to or are considered dead as result of illness or accident tend to have a more in depth and positive near-death experience.  Individuals who attempt to die as a result of suicide appear to have less of an experience and the experiences have been characterized as being unpleasant.

Near-death experiences, as a result of illness are experienced more by women and represent the most complete experience of the near-death phenomenon.  More near-death experiences as a result of accidents are reported by men.  A trait of the near-death experience that appears to occur more often in an accident induced near-death experience is the panoramic life review.  There are fewer reported cases of near-death experiences initiated by a suicide attempt.  The near-death experience, as a result of a suicide attempt, is typically limited to the first 3 stages of the near-death experience.  The experiences of individuals who have attempted suicide report the initial feelings of peace and a sense of detachment from the body, as do the other modes of near-death, but the experience tends to become truncated, aborted or dampened (Ring, 1980, pp.115-119).  According to reports recorded by Moody (1977), some individuals who have attempted suicide report that there may be a penalty for some acts of suicide.  Part of the penalty would be to witness the suffering of others who would be effected by the death of the suicidal individual and/or the situation that the individual was in before the suicide attempt would be repeated over and over (p.45).  The Evergreen study (Lindley, 1981), performed by a group of researchers in the Pacific northwest of the United States, used similar methodologies as the Ring study, reported hellish near-death experiences.  The reports of negative near-death experiences appear to be rare.  Of all the reported near-death experiences, less than 1% are considered to be a negative, hellish, and frightening experience (Moody, 1988, p.27).  The negative near-death experiences are reported to contained extreme fear, panic or anger, and possible visions of demonic creatures (Moody, 1988, p.25).

Some people face their own death, fully believing that they are going to die, and then either they recover or find that the situation has so changed that death has been postponed (Kalish, 1981, p.66).  The manner in which an individual initiates a near-death experience, either by an illness, accident, or suicide attempt, will affect the  intensity of the experience.

The Effects Of The Near-Death Experience:

Near-death experiencers are generally positively affected by their experience.  They are not fearful of death and are more compassionate, with the sense of unconditional love towards others  (Peay, 1991).  The confrontation with death, through a near-death experience, seems to give the individual more meaning to his/her life (Kalish, 1981).

The usual after-effects of a near-death experience consist of changes in personality and values and an attitudinal change towards religion and death (Ring, 1980).  The near-death experience causes the individual to view his/her body differently after the experience (Kahlish, 1981, Moody, 1977, 1988; Peay, 1991; Ring, 1980).  The near-death experiencer typically regards his/her body as the house of the spirit and there is less of an influence of others and the opinion of others about his/her opinion of his/her appearance (Moody, 1988).  There is a heightened sense of appreciation of life, especially of the world of nature and of other people (Ring, 1980, p.141).  According to the Ring (1980) study, the near-death experiencer achieves a sense of understanding of what is important in life and strives to live in accordance with the his/her understanding of what is important (p.158).  In the final moments of human life, as related by near-death experiencers, the 2 qualities that are prominent in the experience, and are carried from life into the near-death experience, are love and knowledge (Moody, 1977, p.34).

Individuals who have experienced a near-death experience relate an understanding that spirituality concerns the ability to love one another, not specific religious doctrines and denominations (Moody, 1988; Peay,1991; Ring, 1980).  Near-death experiencers interviewed in the Ring (1980) study, report that organized forms of religious observances tend to interfere with the expression of the inner religious feelings that they have following the near-death experience.  They report that they feel closer to God after their near-death experience.

The way in which post-incident religiousness reveals itself among core experiencers is primarily in terms of an inward sense of religion:  They feel closer to God, are more prayerful, are less concerned with organized religion and formal ritual, and express a sense of religious tolerance and religious universalism  It isn't clear that their belief in God per se grows stronger, although it is clear that their religious feeling does.  Following their incident, they are significantly more inclined then nonexperiencers to be convinced there is life after death.  (p.173)

Near-death experiencers no longer fear death.  Most often, the experiencers no longer fear the obliteration of consciousness or self (Moody, 1988, p.38).  The fear of death is removed.  What people come to understand is that while the process of dying may be scary as we contemplate the end of everything, what we enter into at the moment of death is so magnificent, so beautiful, so full of love, that it's a powerful source of hope and comfort (Peay, 1991, p.73).

Assumptions have to be made about life after death since there have been no subjects to study post-death experiences.  Experiencers of near-death experiences have a more definite and positive opinion regarding the existence of life after death even though these experiences only reflect the experiences associated with near-death experiences, not death experiences (Moody, 1975, 1977, 1988; Peay, 1991; Ring, 1980; Sabom 1977).

The Purposes Of Near-Death Research:

As noted in the introduction of this paper, the purposes of studying near-death experiences is to provide information regarding this phenomena in order to reduce an individual's fear of dying, to help near-death survivors understand the near-death experience phenomena, to provide counselors with additional counseling tools to discuss dying and near-death experiences, and to provide information for the further study of philosophical and religious beliefs of life after death.

Fear of death is a learned attitude.  These fears can be developed by early socialization, separation from a significant other, anger and fear of retribution - therefore wishing for the removal of a parent, etc., and the fear of entering the unknown (Kalish, 1981).  The knowledge developed as a result of the study of near-death experiences can be helpful in reducing an individual's fear of dying and death.  Sabom and Kreutziger have evidence that an individual merely hearing about near-death experiences tends to reduce his/her fear of death (Sabom, 1977; Ring, 1980).

A number of near-death experiencers have some short-term difficulties readjusting to their life after experiencing a near-death experience as a result of their change in attitudes and personality (Moody, 1977, 1988; Peay, 1991; Ring, 1980).  The information and knowledge developed, as a result of a near-death experience, can help near-death experiencers to understand their experience and the changes that may be happening in their lives.

Counselors, ministers, health care professionals, and lay people can benefit from the information and knowledge of near-death experiences.  These care-givers can better understand the dying process and the experiences of near-death in order to provide insight and comfort to the dying individual.  They can share the information, that the research of near-death experiences have shown, that the transition from life into death is a peaceful and fearless process.

Many near-death experiences support many philosophic and religious theories of what is anticipated as life after death (Foos-Graber, 1989; Moody, 1975, 1977, 1988; Ring, 1980, 1982).  The study of near-death experiences can provide additional information to be incorporated with philosophical and theological beliefs in life after death.

Conclusion:

The near-death experience is a personal experience that occurs in some individuals' lives at a time that they may be close to death or assumed to be dead.  Near-death experiences do not appear to be limited to any specific gender, race, social class, or religion (Moody, 1977, 1988; Ring, 1980).  This experience is an altered state of consciousness in which the individual becomes aware of an existence separate from his/her physical and mental life and is conscious of the differences in the separate experiences.

In my opinion, because of the personal nature of the spiritual/psychic phenomena of the altered state of the near-death experience, it can be best studied from a phenomenological, hermeneutic, or heuristic perspective.  Researchers must rely on the personal accounts of the near-death experiencers to study the near-death phenomena.

Although there have been a number of physiological  and psychological explanations for what and how near-death experiences occur, the most creditable evidence of the existence of near-death experiences are the reported out-of body experiences and the change in the personalities of the returned near-death experiencers.  As revealed in the recent movie Flatliners (1989) and the studies of Moody (1975, 1977, 1988), Ring (1980, 1982), Peay (1991), Noyes and Slymen (1978-79), and Sabom and Kreutziger (1977) the individual experiencers of a near-death experience have a sense of a need to make positive changes in his/her life.  These changes can be to seek atonement of things that he/she might have done wrong in his/her life prior to the experience or to make improvements in his/her life and to be more compassionate towards others.  These changes appear to be sincere and lasting.

The study of near-death experiences provide the dying individual, the physical and mental health care-givers tools to reduce the fears of dying and provide the dying individual with hope for life after death.  The sharing of the near-death experiences can provide comfort to the dying human being.
 

References:
FLATLINERS (Film), Columbia Pictures, 1989

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Kalish, R.A.  (1969).  Experiences of persons reprieved from death.  In A.H. Kutscher (Ed.),  Death and bereavement.  Springfield, IL:  Charles C. Thomas.

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