Can near death experiences prove that there is life after death?

While psychology has long employed the scientific method to help determine cause and effect relationships, the near-death experience may not be as easy to study. For many, the main question about near-death experiences is whether there is a part of us other than the body. Questions about the spirit world, life after death, and the existence of a “soul” become a proven reality in the minds of some near-death survivors. However, some scholars continue to question, question, and explore whether the near-death survivor experience is valid or simply the result of sedation or expectation. Those who favor verifiable proof might use the scientific method by formulating a hypothesis and then using one or more techniques to test the hypothesis: 1) naturalistic observation, 2) systematic evaluation, and 3) experimentation.1

Clearly, the use of naturalistic observation cannot be used in the study of Near Death Experiences (NDEs). For obvious reasons, there is no way an experimenter can simply observe what goes on inside the head of someone suffering from an NDE. However, it might be feasible for one to observe what is going on in the body of one who is experiencing near death. Even if data on the body is obtained, it is unlikely that an investigator will be called to the scene when an NDE is expected. This is due to many factors, one of which is the fact that it may be impossible to predict who will experience near death.

Information on NDEs has been collected through a form of systematic evaluation called case histories. Case histories, also known as case studies, are collections of detailed information about an individual’s past and present life. From the collection of NDE stories, four core elements have been identified as characteristic of NDEs: 1) the person hears the news of his or her death, 2) he or she walks away from the body, 3) he or she encounters significant others, and 4) a final return to the body.2 Russell Noyes and Roy Kletti have distinguished three stages in the typical near-death experience: 1) resistance or struggle against impending danger 2) life review characterized by remembering past events and 3) transcendence, a stillness of mind with detachment from one’s own individual existence. While case histories tell us what the person believed had happened to them, this information cannot provide proof that such spiritual or “out-of-body” experiences actually happened. Those who insist on hard numbers and hard evidence may find case histories lacking the kind of hard evidence that proves or disproves the validity of the claims of those who say they have seen the “other side.”

Certainly, information about the near-death experience can be collected through surveys, another form of systematic evaluation. Through such surveys, a researcher can gauge people’s attitudes and activities by asking near-death survivors about their experiences. However, the questions used in such surveys must be carefully crafted to control for bias. For example, the question “What did you experience during the time doctors thought you were dead?” it would be a biased question because it contains assumptions. (“What did you experience?” implies that the person must have seen or heard something). If administered correctly, an NDE survey will be a collection of responses from a representative sample of individuals; therefore, a wide variety of responses would be expected. For example, while some might assume that all NDEs would be enjoyable (i.e. a warm, bright light and seeing loved ones), NDE research has found some NDEs to be terrifying and have been termed near-death experiences. “hellish” or “incomplete” deaths.4

Standardized tests, another form of screening, could be used to measure the mental and emotional well-being of survivors of near-death experiences; this information can be useful in determining which experience can be trusted more. For example, if 100 people responded that they saw a bright light and heard the voice of God, and all 100 people are known to suffer from psychosis, we might hesitate to accept their experiences as fact. Projective tests, such as the Rorschach test or the thematic perception test, can help researchers understand the personalities of near-death survivors. This could help them interpret data collected from near-death experiences.

A third approach to testing hypotheses is experimentation. Unfortunately, this option is essentially out of reach for near-death experience researchers. It would certainly be unethical to almost kill someone just to study what’s going on. One could imagine a science fiction depiction of the administration of a potentially lethal injection of a drug while the subject’s brain is connected to medical devices to determine brain activity. Even if such experiments could provide a television screen image of what the subject was seeing in his brain, doubts about validity would remain. Evidence that another world exists would still lack scientific basis, as we would still be limited to report (even if we could see what the near-death survivor saw in his head). For ethical and practical reasons, this approach cannot be used. In determining the meaning of NDEs, some point to the need for study to go beyond the lines of normal scientific method. For reasons already discussed, NDEs cannot be studied in the same direct way as measuring the thickness of a blade of grass.

When it comes to explaining why some near-death people see a bright light, hug their dead loved ones, or gaze at their bodies as they float above them, there’s plenty of room for disagreement. Some attribute the phenomena to the reality of the afterlife, while others attribute it to mind-altering drugs that may have been administered (for medical purposes) before the near-death experience occurred. Still others insist that those who believe in an afterlife experience another world because that is what they expected to see. However, Karlis Osis and Erleundur Haraldsson report that, “‘neither medical, psychological, nor cultural conditioning can explain deathbed visions.'”5 They reach this conclusion based on their observation that some visions in the deathbed did not match what the experimenter believed to be true about the afterlife. For example, some children reported being surprised that the angels they saw did not have wings. According to Osis and Haraldsson, the evidence points to the existence of an afterlife.

As a Christian, I believed (and still believe) in the existence of an afterlife. When I “coded” in 1999, I was not under the influence of any medication or drugs. Being that I believed in Heaven so much, I was surprised that I didn’t “see the light” or anything weird. For me, my spirit did not float above my body; instead, it felt like 1000 hands were holding my spirit in my body. As the nurses yelled “No pulse!” I struggled at first to tell them I was okay. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t speak, open my eyes, or move. At first I was scared, but not for long. I soon realized that I was dying. I began to think about my husband and the child who would soon die in my body as a result of my death. (She was pregnant). I thought, “So this is death,” while peaceful Christian music played in my head like a radio. When I woke up on life support, I was amazed at my recovery.

Unlike the previous experience, I had a “bright light” episode as a teenager. I had just had my wisdom teeth surgically removed while I was in the hospital. I was on a lot of medication when I decided to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. My mother found me passed out on the floor and woke me up from what felt like a near death experience. Although I have no reason to believe that she was close to death, I saw a bright light while she was unconscious. It was warm and not scary. I was, however, under the influence of medication.

Being a Christian, I would like to report that my true near death experience provided evidence or clues about life after death. However, I just lack that story. However, I have no doubt that others have seen more than I have. In my opinion, all experiences must be valued, even if they are imagined, since we lack the ability to prove that there is no afterlife.

Not being able to see “the light” or hear God’s voice during my NDE has in no way diminished or diminished my faith in God. In fact, what I did walk away from “knowing that I know that I know” is that there is a part of me that is not physical. When everything else died down, I was still there. It seems irrational to me that we are only flesh and blood, and if there is “more than meets the eye” in terms of our makeup, then it makes sense that when our bodies give up, there is a place for what remains to remain. . .

Regardless of what evidence may emerge regarding NDEs, however, it will always be a matter of faith: faith to believe that what one reports is true, or faith to explain to the reporting crowds that they know, firsthand, that there is a sequel. life.

1 Richardson, Deborah South. “Psychology.” World Book Reference Center Online. 2007. [Place of access.] November 2007 [http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar449660].

2 DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encounting Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, McGrawHill. Page 517.

3DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Meeting Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, McGrawHill. Page 521.

4 DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, McGrawHill. Page 519.

5DeSpelder and Strickland, “The Last Dance: Finding Death and Dying.” (2005, seventh edition). Boston, McGrawHill. Page 521.

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