Near-Death Experiences

Near-death experiences are relatively uncommon. In fact, they’re so infrequent that the International Association of Near Death Studies, Inc. (IANDS) considers a near-death experience (NDE) to be a rare occurrence, happening only 774 times per day in the US. But that doesn't stop people from wondering what they're like.

Near-Death Experiences and Research

NDEs have some similarities among them, but they also have many differences. There are those that are calm and serene and those that are incredibly frightening. Most are overwhelmingly positive. Data and text mining used by researchers revealed words like “well”, “light”, “see”, “comfort” and “body." This compares to far fewer instances of words that connote negative feelings such as “dark”, “dead” and “fear."

What is that and why use it? Well, text mining research is preferred to questionnaire research by researchers at the University of Ontario, Canada. They believe that using Greyson Scaling, the typical questionnaire format about near-death experiences might lead to biased results. So text-mining research is said to be a cleaner and more reliable form of research into these types of events.

For example, asking, “Did you feel separate from your body?” might bring about an answer that the participant hadn’t even considered until it was asked—basically, the question might lead the respondent into the answer. To be most accurate, the research works better when the concepts come from the participants themselves. So they use text-mining to look through and sort out the written experiences of people who have had an NDE to avoid contaminating their responses.

One Type of Near-Death Experience is Most Common

Many of us have heard about “going into the light.” The euphemism stems from the common experiences of those who have had NDEs. Common images that have been described by those experiencing an NDE include seeing a bright white light and one or more beings emanating light. Other commonly shared NDE experiences include:

• a sense of peace, well-being and release from pain.
• positive emotions, joy or euphoria.
• a sense of removal from the ordinary world.
• an out-of-body sensation or experience.
• a tunnel experience or entering a dark room or cave.
• a sense of moving up, or through, a passageway or staircase.
• an intense feeling of unconditional love and acceptance.
• encountering "beings of light" or a being or person who glows.
• being reunited with or seeing deceased loved ones.
• a life review commonly referred to as "seeing one's life flash before one's eyes."
• approaching a decision to return to one's body, often accompanied by a reluctance to return.

Because of the similar shared elements, each person might feel like they have shared experiences while still feeling like their experience is completely unique. But it may not be as simple as it's been presented.

Religious Significance and Near-Death Experiences

Given some of the commonly shared experiences, it makes sense that some people have religious conversions after having an NDE. Others feel strengthened in their faiths. Research through the IANDS revealed that the more religious a person was, the more likely they were to include religious iconography in their near-death experience.

The researchers qualified their findings to say that the experiences in no way prove or disprove the existence of God or any other religious belief to anyone but the person having the NDE.

The Scary Side of Near-Death Experiences

Not all NDEs are happy and peaceful. In fact, some are filled with demons, fire and brimstone iconography related to the Christian Hell, the complete opposite of the Christian Heaven-like experiences described by some others. Some people have reported having negative moments when their lives flash before their eyes, and they were left feeling as though they needed to make a change.

Whether the experience is light or dark, most people come away from NDEs feeling changed, according to research. While some people do become more dedicated to their religion, that change tends to last only three to five years based on follow-up interviews. However, a small fraction of people are changed forever by the life-altering effects of a near-death experience.

If you or someone you know has had one of these experiences, know that it's rare. Which for most people means special, but though it is rare, there are others out there who have gone through this potentially scary experience as well and there are groups and places to turn for help if you're struggling to cope with this rare experience.

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