What is a Near Death Experience?

A Near Death Experience (NDE) is the memory of the sensations a person experiences when he/she dies for a brief period of time. The most common trait of an NDE is a long, dark tunnel with a bright white light at the end. Many people have reported meeting their long lost relatives and experiencing a life review.

What Causes Near Death Experiences?

According to Dr. Pim van Lommel, the clinical cause of an NDE is anoxia to the brain. The psychological cause is a fear of death. van Lommel conducted a study of 344 cardiac arrest survivors and found that 18% of these patients had experienced an NDE.

Are Near Death Experiences Real?

Scientists have been trying to find an answer to this question for a long time. Skeptics believe that near death experiences are produced by the neuronal events in the brain. van Lommel argues that the brain is clinically dead when these NDEs occur.

What strikes me is the similarity of the NDE cases, especially the tunnel. We pass through a tunnel to be born. It appears that (in most cases) we pass through a tunnel when we die.

To read more about van Lommel’s findings, visit A Reply to Shermer Medical Evidence for NDEs.

To learn more about Near Death Experiences, visit the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, where you’ll find many stories of people who have had an NDE as well as book reviews and articles.