Within the last 50 years modern techniques of resuscitation have improved survival rates of people who have been brought back to life after having been pronounced clinically dead. With increases in rates of cardiac resuscitation, the number of reported near-death experiences (NDE's) has increased, drawing a growing number of researchers into the field of near-death studies.
Because these subjective experiences have been objectively non-verifiable, science has dismissed these experiences as personal hallucinations or science fiction. People were reluctant to share their experiences because it was something 'you didn't talk about'.
GROWING INTEREST IN RESEARCHING NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
Contemporary interest in the study of NDE's was spurred by writings of psychiatrists, Elizabeth Kubler Ross and George Ritchie and by Dr. Raymond Moody who published his book Life After Life. This book, released in 1975, brought public attention to the topic of NDE's. In 1992, the Gallup Poll reported that 13 Million Americans had stated they had an NDE.
The Louisiana based Near Death Experience Research Foundation has the largest collection of NDE's. Their website contains records of over 3700 NDE experiences in over 23 languages. The North Carolina based International Association of Near Death Studies (IANDS), established in 1981, encourages scientific research and education on the ramifications of near-death experiences. IANDS publishes the peer- reviewed Journal of Near Death Studies and the quarterly newsletter Vital Signs. Other scientific and academic journals have published research on NDE's, including: Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, British Journal of Psychology, American Journal of Disease of Children, Resuscitation, The Lancet, Death Studies and the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
REPORTED EXPERIENCES FOLLOWING RESUSCITATION
Researchers have identified patterns in these experiences that transcend differences based on age and cultural backgrounds. While not every NDE includes all of these, frequently reported experiences include:
* awareness of being dead,
* looking down on one's own body from above
* moving through a dark tunnel
* movement toward a brilliant light
* an overwhelming sense of peace, well-being and love
* reuniting with deceased loved ones
* meeting with 'spiritual guides'
* receiving a life review
* approaching a border with a decision or request to return to one's body.
While most NDE's include pleasurable experiences, some distressing experiences have been reported, dominated by feelings of fear, terror, horror, anger, loneliness, isolation, and/or guilt.
CHANGES IN OUTLOOK ON LIFE
NDE's are associated with changes in personality and outlook on life. Psychologist Kenneth Ring identified changes in values and beliefs. There included a greater appreciation for life, higher self-esteem, greater compassion for others, increased sense of purpose, spiritual awareness, and a desire to learn. Those who had experienced a distressing NDE often change their life patterns and turn their lives in a positive direction.
Many who experience an NDE see it as verification of life after death, saying that they felt more alive in this experience than in the earthly life.
RESEARCH INTO NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES CONTINUES TO INCREASE
A growing number of researchers in the field of near-death studies contend that consciousness may continue to exist after death. Other researchers are more skeptical, claiming that changes occurring in the brain cause these experiences.
Dr. Pim van Lommel researches NDE's that are reported by cardiology patients in the Netherlands. He found that of 344 consecutive cardiac patients who were successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest, 62 patients reported a NDE. It is unclear why so few cardiac patients report NDE after CPR. But he concludes that if it were a purely physiological explanation, most patients who were clinically dead should report one.
As reports of near-death experience occur more frequently with the increase in survival rates resulting from resuscitation, questions are raised as to the cause and meaning of these experiences. The field on near-death studies is drawing a growing number of researchers, including fields of psychology, psychiatry, and medicine, who are interested in the study of near-death experience as phenomena.
REFERENCES:
* Blackmore, Susan. 1993. Dying To Live: Near-Death Experiences. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.
* MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. Jan. 15, 2011. "Near death experiences being studied as more than sci-fi." San Antonio Express-News.:4B.
* IANDS - International Association for Near-death Studies. 9/1/2014. "Distressing Near-Death Experiences." http://iands.org/distressing-near-death-experiences.html.
* Moody, Raymond A. Jr., M.D. 1975. Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon-Survival of Bodily Death. Marietta, GA: Mockingbird Press.
* Pim van Lommel, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Meyers, and Ingrid Elfferich. December 15, 2001. " Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands." The Lancet. Vol 358:2039-2045.
* Pim van Lommel, M.D. 2010. Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience. New York, NY: Harper One.
* Sartori, Dr. Penny. 2014. The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs can Help us Live More Fully. Oxford, UK: Watkins Publishing.
* Wikipedia. 9/1/2014. Near-death experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-death_experience.
*Williams, Kevin. 9/1/2014. Dr. Melvin Morse. http://www.near-death.com/experiences/experts06.html.
Monday, September 29, 2014
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