Facts about Near-Death Experiences
from IANDS.org
Definitions Near-death experiences are profound psychological events with transcendental and mystical elements typically occurring to individuals close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger. NDEs belong to a larger family of experiences that transcend the usual limits of space and/or time and have the potential to transform a person’s life and beliefs. They are often called spiritually transformative, conversion, mystical, or transpersonal experiences. |
One-fourth of the 800 people who have submitted their experiences to the IANDS online survey reported they were not close to death or dead at the time. Instead, they were in emotionally intense situations, meditating, sleeping or in ordinary states of consciousness when this phenomenon occurred. IANDS refers to these as “near-death-like experiences” or NDLEs. Seventy-five percent had a subjective sense of being close to death, were in a life-threatening situation or felt they were clinically dead.
Features in the NDE
More than 15 common features in the NDE have been reported by near-death experiencers. An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose.
• No two experiences are identical and no single feature is found in every NDE.
• The most commonly reported type of NDE involves intense feelings of peace, joy and love, often an
encounter with an unconditionally loving light.
• Harrowing experiences are sometimes reported involving similar common elements but with opposite
emotional states—extreme fear, isolation, non-being, confusion, occasional torment or guilt. Two
substantial studies have reported the percentage of these NDEs as 17% and 18%, , although smaller
studies have found as many as 30% ; two online NDE sites report incidences of 8.6% and 15%.
A Little History
• The earliest known description of a near-death experience was recounted by Plato in his “Myth of Er,”
found at the end of Book X of The Republic, which was written c. 420 B.C. Accounts can be found in the
folklore and writings of European, Middle Eastern, African, East Indian, East Asian, Pacific and Native
American cultures.
• The term “near-death experience” was coined by Dr. Raymond Moody in his book Life After Life in 1975.
• The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) was formed in 1981 by a group of
researchers subsequent to the outpouring of requests for more information about NDEs.
Prevalence of NDEs
• Surveys taken in the US, Australia and Germany suggest that 4 to 15 % of the population have had
NDEs.
• Every day in the U.S., 774 NDEs occur, according to the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation
(NDERF).
• Of more than 800 near-death experiencers (NDErs) reporting to IANDS, 25% believed they were
clinically dead at the time of their NDE.
• A large study conducted in the Netherlands showed that 18% of people who suffered a cardiac arrest
and were clinically dead had later reported an NDE. Cross-Cultural Comparisons Non-Western near-
death research has been conducted in China, India, Thailand, Tibet, and in several native cultures in
Australia, Chile, Guam, the continental U.S., New Zealand, and Hawaii. Similarities to Western NDEs are
the belief that this is the afterlife, a profound sense of peace, being in an otherworldly realm, meeting
deceased relatives, meeting spiritual or religious figures (usually in keeping with one’s cultural
background) and to a lesser extent experiencing some type of life review. The tunnel sensation was
rarely reported in non-Western cultures.
Features in the NDE
More than 15 common features in the NDE have been reported by near-death experiencers. An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose.
• No two experiences are identical and no single feature is found in every NDE.
• The most commonly reported type of NDE involves intense feelings of peace, joy and love, often an
encounter with an unconditionally loving light.
• Harrowing experiences are sometimes reported involving similar common elements but with opposite
emotional states—extreme fear, isolation, non-being, confusion, occasional torment or guilt. Two
substantial studies have reported the percentage of these NDEs as 17% and 18%, , although smaller
studies have found as many as 30% ; two online NDE sites report incidences of 8.6% and 15%.
A Little History
• The earliest known description of a near-death experience was recounted by Plato in his “Myth of Er,”
found at the end of Book X of The Republic, which was written c. 420 B.C. Accounts can be found in the
folklore and writings of European, Middle Eastern, African, East Indian, East Asian, Pacific and Native
American cultures.
• The term “near-death experience” was coined by Dr. Raymond Moody in his book Life After Life in 1975.
• The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) was formed in 1981 by a group of
researchers subsequent to the outpouring of requests for more information about NDEs.
Prevalence of NDEs
• Surveys taken in the US, Australia and Germany suggest that 4 to 15 % of the population have had
NDEs.
• Every day in the U.S., 774 NDEs occur, according to the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation
(NDERF).
• Of more than 800 near-death experiencers (NDErs) reporting to IANDS, 25% believed they were
clinically dead at the time of their NDE.
• A large study conducted in the Netherlands showed that 18% of people who suffered a cardiac arrest
and were clinically dead had later reported an NDE. Cross-Cultural Comparisons Non-Western near-
death research has been conducted in China, India, Thailand, Tibet, and in several native cultures in
Australia, Chile, Guam, the continental U.S., New Zealand, and Hawaii. Similarities to Western NDEs are
the belief that this is the afterlife, a profound sense of peace, being in an otherworldly realm, meeting
deceased relatives, meeting spiritual or religious figures (usually in keeping with one’s cultural
background) and to a lesser extent experiencing some type of life review. The tunnel sensation was
rarely reported in non-Western cultures.
Veridical Near-Death Experiences.
Veridical near-death experiences are NDEs in which people reportedly out-of-body have observed events or gathered information that was verified by others upon the experiencer’s return to a conscious state. These are a few famous cases of anecdotal veridical evidence:
The Case of Pam Reynolds
In order to remove a life threatening aneurysm deep in her brain, Pam Reynolds underwent a rare surgical procedure called “Operation Standstill” in which the blood is drained from the body like oil from a car, stopping all brain, heart and organ activity. The body temperature is lowered to 60 degrees. While fully anesthesized, with sound-emitting earplugs, Pam’s ordeal began. Dr. Spetzler, the surgeon, was sawing into her skull when Pam suddenly heard the saw and began to observe the surgical procedure from a vantage point over his shoulder. She also heard what the nurses said to the doctors. Upon returning to consciousness, she was able to accurately describe the unique surgical instrument used and report the statements made by the nurses.
Maria’s Shoe Kimberly Clark Sharp (1995) was a social worker in Harborview Hospital in Seattle when Maria was brought in unconscious from cardiac arrest. Sharp visited her the following day in a hospital room, at which point Maria described leaving her body and floating above the hospital. Desperate to prove that she had in fact left her body and was not crazy, she described seeing a worn dark blue tennis shoe on the ledge outside a window on the far side of the hospital. Not believing her but wanting to help, Sharp checked the ledge by pressing her face against the sealed windows and found a shoe that perfectly matched the details Maria had related
Maria’s Shoe Kimberly Clark Sharp (1995) was a social worker in Harborview Hospital in Seattle when Maria was brought in unconscious from cardiac arrest. Sharp visited her the following day in a hospital room, at which point Maria described leaving her body and floating above the hospital. Desperate to prove that she had in fact left her body and was not crazy, she described seeing a worn dark blue tennis shoe on the ledge outside a window on the far side of the hospital. Not believing her but wanting to help, Sharp checked the ledge by pressing her face against the sealed windows and found a shoe that perfectly matched the details Maria had related