Near-Death Experiences    

Answer

The Role of Near-Death Experiences in Providing Information about the Afterlife

            The phrase “Near-Death Experience” comes from Raymond Moody’s Life after Life which was published in 1975. As suggested by their name, near-death experiences are reported by people after a near-death episode. These episodes may include car accidents, suicide attempts, childbirth or military combat. In addition, there are cases where people have reported a near-death experience during intense mediation or grief. Most of these people’s accounts suggest that they felt certain they were dead as opposed to being near-death.

            Near death-experiencers seldom have the same account of their experience but two things seem to stand out; their experiences are either pleasurable or distressing (Moore & Greyson, 2017). Still, a majority of near-death experiencers report pleasurable NDES filled with peace, love and joy. A much smaller percentage on the other hand associate their NDEs with isolation, terror, anger, guilt or horror. In both circumstances, the experience is often hyper-real.

            Pleasurable NDEs occur in four stages. Disassociation comes first as the individual becomes detached from the physical body and any perspective they were previously familiar with eliciting as sense of freedom and peace (Peyton, 2020). Next comes the naturalistic phase where things look and sound “normal” but are extraordinarily vivid. Third is the supernatural phase where the individual interacts with things that are not part of the “normal” such as their deceased loved ones. They communicate with these supernatural beings through their minds rather than speech. Finally, the individual returns to the body. Some say they choose to return but others insist they were forced to return by some forces. Distressing NDEs on the other hand occur in four types: powerlessness, nothingness, torment and worthlessness. NDEs may not tell much about the afterlife because most accounts are not backed by scientific evidence. However, they do shed light on how individuals perceive the afterlife.