The 8 phases of a typical near-death experience (NDE), where some believe consciousness leaves the body and travels to other realms
SUMMARY: NDE reports offer evidence for the possibility that consciousness survives death. Here I outline what a typical NDE is like, so that people can come to their own conclusions.
Nobody knows whether consciousness survives death of the body or not. But the closest thing we have to evidence for such survival comes from near-death experience (NDE) reports.
An NDE can occur when an individual has a cardiac arrest, and is then resuscitated several minutes later. During such prolonged cardiac arrests, there is no heartbeat, no breathing, and the individual is rendered unconscious. Around 1 in 10 people who have such prolonged cardiac arrests report having an NDE, where their conscious self appears to leave their body, and seemingly visits other realms.
NDEs may also be triggered by respiratory arrest (near-drowning, suffocation, choking), severe trauma (car accidents, major blood loss), and other circumstances where oxygen supply to the brain temporarily ceases.
Nearly everyone who has an NDE (including former atheists) becomes convinced that their consciousness visited an afterlife or otherworldly realm, rather than the experience just being a dream playing out within their own brain, such is the compelling nature of the NDE.
Given that NDEs are our best evidence for the possibility of consciousness surviving death, it is interesting to examine their features and characteristics.
After viewing many NDE reports, below I summarise the 8 phases that typically occur in NDEs. I also read this study on NDEs, and the informative article "An Overview of the NDE Phenomenon".
Each NDE is unique, but there are recurrent themes and events that are commonly reported, which these 8 phases detail. Not every NDE will include all 8 phases, though, but many do.
(1) The first event during an NDE tends to be an out-of-body experience (OBE), where the apparent disembodied consciousness of the individual having an NDE is able to view their own body from an elevated vantage point, typically floating above their body and looking down. Individuals report this OBE state is accompanied by a deep inner peace and calm; any physical pain or anxiety that they were experiencing when in their body vanishes. During the OBE, many individuals report what they describe as "360° vision" or "spherical vision" or "global perception", which is a type of vision that involves awareness of all aspects of the scene simultaneously, perceiving the scene from multiple different viewpoints all at once.
(2) The next phase in an NDE often involves a continuation of the OBE, where the disembodied consciousness of the individual visits living relatives, friends and loved ones. Individuals who have had an NDE report that their disembodied consciousness is able to move freely on Earth, visiting people they know at will. Interestingly, these visits to loved ones are sometimes reported by the loved ones themselves, as some living people appear to be sensitive enough to detect the presence of the disembodied soul. Where this presence is detected by a living person, these events are called after-death communications (ADCs). These ADCs thus corroborate from a third party what the individuals having an NDE report about being able to visit living people. One genuine ADCs is described here. Note that in some NDEs, phases (1) and (2) are omitted, and the NDE starts with phase (3).
(3) The third phase of many NDEs often involves travelling at incredible speeds through what has been described as vast distances of space, or through a long dark tunnel with a dazzling light at the end, towards which the individual is guided. After this journey is complete, the disembodied consciousness of the individual has left Earth, and arrives in the afterlife or heavenly realm. Though in some NDEs, individuals arrive in the afterlife without any such travel experience. It seems that nobody is excluded from the heavenly afterlife realm, irrespective of how they lived their life on Earth. However, in about 15% of NDEs, the individual may initially arrive not in Heaven, but in a hellish environment filled with terrifying or malevolent entities. These hellish environments may appear as a dark abyss, a barren wasteland, a fiery pit, or other desolate landscapes. The strongest feature of this hellish world is not necessarily the landscape, but the overwhelmingly negative emotions felt, such as terror, despair, abandonment, hopelessness, shame, and a sense of being utterly cut off from love, light and God. But individuals arriving in the hellish realm are often able to escape and get into Heaven by calling out for help or focusing on love. In some cases, the person does not escape the hellish world on their own; instead, a divine being, an angel or a deceased loved one arrives to rescue them. So these visits to a hellish realm tend to be temporary. People who have had these hellish NDEs sometimes interpret them as a wake-up call to change their life and values for the better.
(4) On arrival in the heavenly afterlife realm, it is observed that characteristics of this realm are very different from earthly reality:
- It is reported that the afterlife feels far more real than life on Earth. The afterlife feels like it is the ultimate deepest truth, whereas by comparison, life on Earth feels like a dream, illusory, or less substantial than the afterlife realm. Also, in the afterlife, colours, sounds and perceptions are often reported as vastly more vivid than earthly equivalents.
- People who have had an NDE report they feel an incredible sense of familiarity with the afterlife environment: they have a feeling that they have returned to a deeply familiar home, a home that they have been in before, but forgot existed during their time on Earth.
- People report that in the heavenly realm, everything is interconnected by love, and the environment is deeply blissful. This love is not just an emotion, but is the very fabric or substance of the afterlife world, a fabric that sustains, connects and interweaves everything in Heaven.
- People report that during their NDE, in the afterlife realm, they felt they had access to all knowledge, and were in a state of knowing everything. The totality of all knowledge was within their grasp. This knowledge is so vast, deep and ineffable, that they find they cannot translate it into words or normal human understanding once they return to Earth.
- Time and space as normally experienced on Earth vanish, replaced by a timeless and interconnected awareness. People report experiencing a feeling of being everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and a profound sense of unity with the universe.
- In the heavenly realm, some people report they hear indescribably beautiful music. This music is of a complexity far beyond human composition. It permeates the entire atmosphere of the afterlife, and elicits feelings of profound peace, joy and love. For many, they do not just hear this music, but also see it as light, feel it as love, and understand it as truth, all simultaneously.
(6) Individuals having an NDE often report that they are greeted and welcomed by deceased friends, relatives and loved ones in the afterlife realm, who usually reassure and help guide and orient the individual to the afterlife world. These figures are typically described as radiant, healthy, and often younger or in their prime, regardless of how they appeared at the time of their death. Meeting them is described as peaceful and comforting. Communication with these figures is through telepathy or direct knowing, not by ordinary spoken language. The setting of these encounters is typically in paradise-like environments, such as lush meadows, beautiful gardens, or fields of flowers.
(7) Individuals having an NDE will sometimes meet with godlike beings (though such meetings do not always occur). These divine beings are often perceived as a white light radiating unconditional love. The light is described as intensely bright, yet not painful to view; rather it feels gentle, inviting and soothing. The individual having an NDE usually reports feeling profound peace, acceptance and understanding during such meetings. There is a complete lack of judgement from the divine being; the being only radiates compassion and a love infinitely greater than any earthly emotion of love. Communication with godlike beings is via telepathy or direct knowing or feeling, rather than by spoken language. Sometimes the godlike being will manifest in a form that reflects the individual's religion: for example, for Christians the godlike being may appear as Christ. A core message often received from the divine being is that the most important thing in life is love. Sometimes the beings that are encountered during an NDE may be interpreted as a metaphysical entity, but not specifically God.
(8) Back on Earth, as the physical body of the individual having an NDE is being resuscitated or is coming back to life, the deceased relatives or godlike beings may inform the individual that they have to return to Earth, and that their soul has to go back to living within a human body. Though in other NDEs, the individual is given a choice regarding whether they want to return to Earth or remain in the afterlife. This choice may be represented as a border (such as a river, fence or gate) that they cannot cross if they wish to return to Earth. Sometimes the individual is not told they must return, nor given a choice, but is just suddenly sucked back to Earth without warning. There is typically a reluctance to return to Earth, as the heavenly realm is seen as superior to earthly life. Having acclimatised to the heavenly realm, the individual may have forgotten what it is like to be a human; but during the return process, they get rapidly reacquainted with personhood. This return is the final stage of the NDE, after which the individual arrives back on Earth in their body. As they re-enter earthly life, the individual will often be profoundly changed by their NDE, typically losing any fear of death, becoming more loving, empathetic and compassionate to others, becoming less materialistic, developing a heightened sense of spirituality, and finding a greater sense of purpose or calling.
