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Prospective studies approach all consequential patients with a predetermined diagnosis within days of their coma or cardiac arrest with the question if they could remember anything from the interval they were unconscious. All medical and other data can be collected and documented. Prospective investigation is required to make precise estimates of either the incidence of an outcome or the relative risk of an outcome based on exposure. This increases the scientific value of the research in a major way. |
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Cherry Sutherland |
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Abstract This study has as its central concern the investigation of life after a neardeath experience (NDE). The problem was initially to discover whether changes had come about in the lives of a sample of neardeath experiencers as a result of their NDE. Once this was established, the nature and extent of these changes was then examined. Underlying this investigation there was also an attempt to discover how neardeath experiencers actually 'managed' their lives, and whether, and how, they were able to integrate the experience. Finally, there was an interest in finding a way to conceptualise the complexity of this integration process. Detailed interviews were conducted and recorded with a sample of fifty neardeath experiencers, who were selected by 'availability sampling' and represented a wide range of demographic variables. Using a semistructured or 'focussed' interview schedule eight main areas were covered: demographic information, details of the NDE, attitudes to death, religious/spiritual affiliations, psychic sensitivities, life direction (including attitudes to self and others), lifestyle priorities, and attitudes to social issues. In addition, further data was later gathered for a 'grounded theory' analysis, via 'theoretical sampling' primarily within the transcripts of interview, but also within an extensive correspondence, and the 'field notes' of individual and group meetings. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the results. The results show that a wide range of changes occur following an NDE. Experiencers no longer have any fear of death, they have a firm belief in an afterlife, and they report a noticeable increase in psychic sensitivities. They describe a strong commitment to spiritual growth but a movement away from organised religion. There is a definite shift to a more positive view of self and a more accepting, loving and compassionate attitude to others. They report a marked change in interests and an increase in concern with social issues, which often results in study and career change. The grounded theoretical analysis further discerned a pattern in the way NDErs manage to integrate the experience into their lives, and this was named the 'integration trajectory'. It was concluded that, in view of the fact that five percent of the population have had such an experience, the NDE should be seen not only as a force for profound personal transformation, but also as a force for positive social change. |
Abstract This study examined changes in religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices in the lives of 50 neardeath experiencers. I attempted to clarify whether these changes were to greater religiousness or to a deeper spirituality. I found that before the neardeath experience (NDE), my respondents were no more religious or spiritually inclined than the general Australian population. Following the NDE there was a statistically significant shift towards spirituality on most items investigated Neardeath experience by proxy: A case study Abstract A recent interview with a 34yearold man, currently serving a life sentence for murder, revealed a remarkable case of "neardeath experience by proxy". The phenomenological features of the experience unfolded typically, with some slight variation in content. The immediate drastic changes in attitude and belief following the experience are described. Psychic phenomena following neardeath experiences: An Australian study Abstract This study examines the incidence of reports of psychic phenomena and associated beliefs both before and after the neardeath experience (NDE). The neardeath experiencers interviewed reported no more psychic phenomena before the NDE than the general population. There was a statistically significant increase following the NDE in the incidence of 14 of 15 items examined. |
Allan Kellehear |
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Abstract We provide case examples to illustrate the essential psychological and social experiences that these people undergo during their joint experiences with NDErs and other seriously ill people. From an analysis of the recurrent themes emergent in these joint experiences we identify and discuss the major conceptual steps in the creation of their personal explanations: In the final analysis, the processes that these people undergo in the search for explanations is similar in most respects to those at the center of neardeath and other related illness experiences. An Hawaiian NearDeath_Experience Abstract This paper is a case report of an Hawaiian neardeath experience (NDE) from the early 1900s, which was uncovered in a turnofthecentury monograph of Hawaiian folk tales (Thrum, 1907). The account differs from others in the same volume because it appears to be a reallife account rather than a folk tale. I describe similarities and differences from other Pacific area accounts, with particular attention to the only other Polynesian NDE account in the literature, a Maori NDE reported by Michael King in 1985. Glimpses of utopia near death? a rejoinder Abstract Five scholars have offered comments, suggestions, and criticisms of my paper "NearDeath Experiences and Pursuit of the Ideal Society." In this rejoinder, I reply to those comments and elaborate on aspects of my earlier paper. I discuss issues of methodology, epistemology, validity, logic, and other social considerations with respect to the plausibility of viewing some neardeath imagery as utopian. I conclude with some reflections on the social character and study of the neardeath experience.
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Abstract Up to one half of neardeath experiencers report a social and physical realm beyond death. I describe the features of this afterlife society and compare them with previous ideas about the ideal society. I argue that the society so often mentioned by neardeath experiencers is a unique type of utopian society. As stories from utopia, neardeath experiences (NDEs) serve as inspirational narratives that help us reevaluate the social world and our place in it. They also help integrate sometimes contradictory paradigms from religion, politics, and science. In this way, NDE narratives may be seen as the latest chapter in a long search for better social ideas about living harmoniously with each other. Five minutes after death: A study of beliefs and expectations Abstract This paper examines the beliefs and expectations that a sample of 508 people hold about the first five minutes after death. A substantial minority believed that they will experience the main elements of the neardeath experience (NDE). In general these elements were cited more frequently than were Biblical images. Six percent of the sample said that postmortem survival for them will be a negative and disturbing experience. We discuss these results in terms of their methodological implications for other survey work and their theoretical contribution toward our understanding of negative NDEs. Neardeath experiences and the measurement of blood gases Abstract Although cerebral anoxia is not thought to be responsible for triggering neardeath experiences (NDEs), the issue is not so clear in the case of hypercapnia. Detection of normal blood gases in Michael Sabom's (1982) case study seems to be the major reply to suggestions that hypercapnia may have a causal role in NDEs. We argue, however, that routine arterial measures of blood gases are not a reliable indicator of cerebral levels. Community attitudes toward neardeath experiences: An Australian study Abstract In an Australian survey of community attitudes toward neardeath experiences (NDEs), 173 respondents were asked to read a hypothetical description of an NDE and to select from a range of explanations that might approximate their own. Fiftyseven percent of the respondents believed the NDE was evidence of life after death, while less than 2 percent believed the NDE was a sign of mental illness. Women, younger persons, and those who professed a belief in life after death were more likely to react positively to the NDE described. |
Pim van Lommel |
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| Neardeath experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands
Pim van Lommel, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Meyers, Ingrid Elfferich
Lancet 2001; 358: 2039–45 Summary Background Findings Interpretation |
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Penny Sartori |
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Abstract There are reports of veridical outofbody experiences (OBEs) and healing occurring during neardeath experiences (NDEs). We report a case in which there was strong evidence for both healing and a veridical OBE. The patient’s experience was thought to have occurred while he was unconscious in an intensive therapy unit (ITU). The patient’s account of an OBE contained many veridical elements that were corroborated by the medical team attending his medical emergency. He had suffered from a claw hand and hemiplegic gait since birth. After the experience he was able to open his hand and his gait showed a marked improvement. A LongTerm Prospective Study to Investigate the Incidence andPhenomenology of NearDeath Experiences in a Welsh Intensive Therapy Unit At the time of commencement of this study, most NDE research was retrospective (Moody 1975, Ring 1980, Sabom 1982, Morse et al., 1985). A similar study (Parnia et al., 2001) was commenced at the same time as this study and followed a similar protocol, both projects being supervised by Dr Peter Fenwick. Further prospective studies have since been published (Parnia et al., 2001, van Lommel et al., 2001, Schwaninger et al., 2002, Greyson 2003). The aim of this study was to establish if reductionist arguments of anoxia, hypercarbia or drug administration could explain the NDE. It was attempted to verify the out of body component by placing brightly coloured symbols (which could only be viewed from an out of body perspective) on top of the cardiac monitor at each patient's bedside. The pilot study was undertaken during the summer of 1997. The official data collection began in January 1998 and was completed in January 2003. Conclusion One of the most significant findings of this research was that the closer one comes to death, the more likely it is that a NDE will be reported. The total number of patients who survived ITU (not all of whom came close to death) were compared with cardiac arrest survivors (those who had been clinically dead for a period of time). It was discovered that there was a much higher frequency of NDEs among cardiac arrest survivors. In comparing heart rhythms among cardiac arrest survivors, it was also discovered that the rhythm most prevalent in the NDE group was asystole a rhythm associated with the highest fatality. None of the OBErs in this study viewed the hidden symbols placed on the monitors. However, this study has shown that one patient reported a very accurate OBE during a period of unconsciousness. The other OBErs also reported accurate descriptions but these were not verifiable and could have been viewed from their position in the bed. When contrasted with the control group, who had undergone resuscitation but did not report an OBE, many discrepancies were discovered. Having been asked to reenact their resuscitation, the control group's reports were very inaccurate and demonstrated misconceptions and errors between the actual procedures performed, as well as equipment used. Many of these patients either had no idea as to how they had been resuscitated or made guesses, based on what they had previously seen on television. |
It is likely that the NDE is an underreported phenomenon. Only two NDEs were spontaneously reported to members of staff. These were deep NDEs, as they incorporated many of the NDE elements, and the experiences had sufficient impact to motivate the individuals to relate the experience to others. The remaining thirteen NDEs would not have been disclosed had the patients not been interviewed. Underreporting is further supported by three patients who reported a NDE, yet died very soon after. It is possible that patients, who briefly recover from a life threatening illness, may have experienced a NDE during the acute phase of their illness but do not regain their health sufficiently in order to report it. This study has shown that very few NDEs were elicited from the total sample, the majority of whom were given painkilling and sedative drugs. If drugs were the cause of the NDE then a larger percentage of NDEs would be expected. There were also cases in which some experiences similar to NDEs became very confusional once painkilling drugs had been administered. Similarly, a patient was unable to recall an experience he had previously related to his visitors following a further period of sedation in response to a deterioration of his condition. All patients (except one patient who was suffering from sleep deprivation) who reported hallucinations had been given a combination of large amounts of sedative and painkilling drugs. Comparison of the NDEs and hallucinations reported has highlighted the differences between the two types of experiences. Whereas the NDEs followed a pattern, the hallucinations were very random, bizarre and related to actual occurrences and the actions of members of staff. On followup, those who had reported hallucinations could rationalise that they had been hallucinating, whereas NDErs remained adamant that their experience was real. Further unexplained aspects of the NDE, such as meeting deceased relatives who were not known to be dead at the time of the experience and gaining information in ways other than through the senses, could not be explained by physiological or psychological factors. Having examined all aspects of the NDE, the phenomenon remains unexplained when considered from the current scientific perspective of consciousness being a byproduct of neurological processes. This small study has suggested that NDEs occurred during unconsciousness in two of the patients and has contributed to the growing body of research in this area. The fact that clear, lucid experiences were reported during a time when the brain was devoid of activity (Aminoff et al., 1988, Clute and Levy 1990, de Vries et al., 1998), does not sit easily with current scientific belief. Cases in which blood was extracted at the time of the NDE/OBE did not support the anoxia or hypercarbia theories. The drugs administered to the patients appeared to inhibit rather than cause the NDE. It must be noted that the sample is too small to be statistically significant; however, the combination of all data from recent and retrospective research provides a large amount of evidence, which can no longer be ignored or explained away. Current reductionist arguments are not supported when this phenomenon is examined in the clinical area. It is therefore essential that further research is conducted in order to establish a wider explanation of the NDE. Note
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Sam Parnia |
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In this article, Parnia reviews published research examining brain physiology and function during cardiac arrest as well as its potential relationship with near death experiences during this time. Finally, the contribution that near death experiences during cardiac arrest may make to the wider understanding of human consciousness is explored. |
This paper concerns a prospective study of cardiac arrest survivors to understand the qualitative features as well as incidence, and possible aetiology of near death experiences (NDEs) in this group of patients. |
Literature |
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