Secrets of the Near Death Experience

Everyone has wondered at one point or another, what it's like to die? What’s a near-death experience? Could it be a delusion? A neurochemical imbalance? The aftermath of anesthesia on a dying brain?

By Debra Diamond at Paranormalnews.com:

Raymond Moody coined the term “near-death experience” in his groundbreaking book Life After Life, in which he outlined nine elements of the experience, including a life review, an outof-body experience, encounters with deceased loved ones and a decision to return to one’s body. Bruce Greyson, a professor at the University of Virginia, expanded the list to encompass 16 elements, including a sudden insight, experiencing scenes from the future and coming to a point of no return.

According to most NDE literature, common elements include an out-of-body experience, a feeling of peace with the universe and a connection with a brilliant white light.

Regardless of the common elements, a lack of consensus of a single definition of the near-death experience still remains, and many of the terms used to describe this experience are imprecise. Entire lifetimes can be reviewed, deceased beings met and gifts given all within seconds or minutes of earth time. The emotional intensity of an NDE is unlike any other experience a person can encounter on earth. Yet so much about the NDE remains unknown.

Most people think you have to “die” and then “come back” to have an NDE. You don’t need to be declared clinically dead to experience an NDE although many near-death experiences are the result of accidents, heart attacks and similar events that are often, but not always, fatal.

Furthermore, it’s not necessary to experience all of Moody’s nine elements, or even more than a handful to have a near-death experience. According to ACISTE (American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences) and IANDS (the International Association of Near-Death Experiencers), the key is not how many elements you experience, but rather, that you return permanently transformed, unable to return to your former life.

You can read more here at Paranormalnews.com.