Near Death Experiences Are Overwhelmingly Peaceful

I ran across an article whose title struck a nerve with me, that Near Death Experience's (NDE) are overwhelmingly peaceful. This is something I can attest to, they are utterly peaceful. It's a strange feeling to be brought back from death, to have your whole perception of death changed.

Eleven years ago, I came back from my near death experience with the most overwhelming sense of peace, it's a very hard emotion to describe, in fact I have experienced nothing like that inner peace before or since.

I still have a vivid image of driving home from the hospital after the NDE, my arm was out of the window, the feeling of wind on my skin. It was at that moment the enormity of the situation hit me. I had died, been brought back to life and no longer had an ounce of fear of death. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to live as long as possible but I don't fear deaths arrival anymore. When it's my time to die, I will welcome death with open arms.

Steven Laureys, a neuroscientist at the University of Liège Laureys and his team ran a study on Near Death experiences. Out of the190 research subjects, 80% reported a feeling of peacefulness and only two of the subjects had negative experiences.

“I think first of all it’s a unique opportunity to better understand consciousness,” Laureys said of studying the phenomenon.

Steven Laureys, a neuroscientist at the University of Liège in Belgium who works with people in comas and vegetative states, started to investigate after his patients told him of their own near-death experiences.

"I kept hearing these incredible stories in my consultations," he says. "Knowing how abnormal brain activity is during a cardiac arrest or trauma, it was impressive how rich these memories were. It was very intriguing."

The most common feature was an overwhelming feeling of peacefulness. The next most common was an out-of-body experience. And many people felt a change in their perception of how time was passing.
There were only a few examples of negative experiences. "It turns out to be not so bad to have a dying experience," says Laureys.

I have also read of a few horrible NDE's but it sounds like the most common sensation of a NDE is an overwhelming feeling of peace. Most of the Hollywood interpretations of NDE's are just make believe, flashes of ones life and the like are rare outside of the movies.

Laureys's team will now try to find an objective measure of such experiences by scanning the entire brains of people who say they have just had a near-death experience after a cardiac arrest. The team will look for small scars that might reflect the after-effects of the event.

Laureys and his team used the Greyson Method, developed by a psychiatrist to measure the depth of a near-death experience, to establish that all 190 subjects were similarly close to death.

The Greyson Scale is one of the most widely used scales to classify and distinguish NDEs from other mental states, was developed in 1983 by Professor Bruce Greyson.

The Greyson scale gives each of the 16 features a score of 0, 1 or 2. The score depends first on whether the feature has been experienced (1) and secondly on how intense the experience has been (if intense 2).

My NDE completely changed my outlook on everything, that peacefulness that I felt lead the charge. It's nice to know that there are lots of other people out there that have felt that same feeling. I know what happened to me was real but knowing others felt it is somehow reassuring to me.

Have any other ATSers had a Near Death Experience? Was yours peaceful too?

Sources
Near Death Experiences Are Overwhelmingly Peaceful
Research Scales Used to Classify an NDE : The Greyson Scale

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I will discuss this with you more but for now it's bed time for me. I broke my neck at the age of 19 and while the experience was at first frightening, I found overwhelming peace afterward. I was a victim of my society, growing up in philadelphia was extremely hard on me. I was in every sense of the word an asshole. Looking to fight and never have a problem speaking down to others. After my accident, I just want peace in this world. I go out of my way and in many ways put myself in a far less preferred position to make sure fairness is being given to all people. I do not and will not put up with the abuse of people in this world no longer and I'm very glad I broke my neck.

Also, how do you feel about the NDE experience while it was happening? I couldn't help but feel overwhelming joy from the adrenaline. I find clarity of thought when facing trauma and I enjoy it. Can't tell you how many fights i've been in where the person or people I fought were extremely angry because I smile the WHOLE time. with a clenched jaw of course.


Thanks for pointing this article out and although I ranted a bit, I want to thank you for showing me something that gives me more clarity on the subject.

Death shouldn't scare anyone, we all have to die some day so it can't be that bad. Life wouldn't throw us anything we couldn't handle I don't think. It doesn't surprise me at all that the experience is mostly a peaceful one.

Here's the science-bit "endogenous morphine" ... en.wikipedia.org...

Substance abusers undergo similar experiences to so-called-NDE , without going anywhere near death.

So-called NDE is explicable by physiological changes and not evidence of afterlife.

Telling people there is an afterlife is not a harmless thing to do :
if they believe you they may top-themselves to go to the better place ,
and maybe unilaterally decide to take some family members with them.

Once when i was kid i dropd from 3meters high swing type of thingy and straight on my back to the ground, by some weird reflex i swallowed my tongue and couldnt take air inside but all air pushed out, nobody understood what happend they laught at me and then i jump up and with my last breth i run to next adult and sayd cant breeth and past out. Next thing i was running in huge olympic stadion alone but i could here cheering from the crowd, soon as i run to finish line they got my tongue out of my throat even i was biting the helper and i woke up like nothing happend.

a reply to: engvbany

There is nothing 'so called' about Near Death Experiences. People who have them have been able to report on things going on outside of the room their body is in ... report on conversations taking place between family members in other parts of the hospital ... report on seeing things that they couldn't possibly see from laying in the bed dead, and when those things are checked out their descriptions are accurate. There is plenty of proof that Near Death Experiences happen and that they are indeed metaphysical and not just a chemical release in the body.

originally posted by: engvbany
Here's the science-bit "endogenous morphine" ... en.wikipedia.org...

Substance abusers undergo similar experiences to so-called-NDE , without going anywhere near death.

So-called NDE is explicable by physiological changes and not evidence of afterlife.

Telling people there is an afterlife is not a harmless thing to do :
if they believe you they may top-themselves to go to the better place ,
and maybe unilaterally decide to take some family members with them.

Although I can't say I've had a NDE, I can say I had a genuine OBE experience where one minute I'm sitting there the next minute I'm looking down at myself from above. There is certainly more to the story but I share only to say that its true that many NDE have been described similarly to my OBE. However, my deduction is counter to yours, meaning that there was something so awesome and so natural that it can't be described. Yet when you're experiencing it, it just makes perfect sense and there doesn't appear to be any feeling of fear.

Upon returning to my body I felt a sense of relief and also a certain level of sadness. Almost as if a warm snuggie was yanked from your person, I just felt exposed.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I don't know if you've ever read anything on this website:

www.near-death.com...

There are many, many stories of peoples NDE's. And its being updated all the time with new NDE's. What intrigues me the most about NDE's is the fact that even though there are common elements and themes to many of them I have never read two of them that were exactly alike. It seems to me that if it was some chemical brain dying process then it would be a more generic experience but its not.

The Christians (and alot of atheists) always see Jesus. The Buddhists see Buddha. The hindus will see Krishna. Catholics will see Mary alot of times. In fact there are many stories I have read where people are told that they have to go back and many of them have the presence of mind to ask God which religion is the "right" one and God always answers the same way: "Whichever one brings you closest to me."

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

NDEs used to fascinate me so I read quite a lot of the science papers that were available and avoided the books and proponents. A lot of people like to think it's all been explained and yet they have little to no consensus.

In my view, these accounts haven't all been explained and the discussion (such as it is) surrounding them is influenced or polluted by the personal views on all sides. This means it's almost impossible to get into the subject without people filling in the gaps with Heaven and hell for Christians, quantum physics for the pseudos and New Age spiritualism for the karma guys. The skeptics don't fare any better. They seek to reduce quite a varied landscape of accounts, under different circumstances, and in different environments to something simplistic that supports their preferred explanation.

Likewise, most people that report a NDE will experience it and describe it through their own particular filters which makes it double-tough to get down to the details.

The article isn't saying anything I haven't seen before, but it's good to see the subject back in New Scientist. I like the way they refer to the different situations that generated the NDEs in the study. For argument's sake, we'd expect to see more negative NDEs based on the anxiety of the percipient during the episode. In spite of most episodes occurring in very anxious situations, we see this preponderance of positive experiences.

I absolutely love reading stuff about NDE thanks so much for sharing this! I probably sound morbid but i would love to know what its actually like to experience it but know that im coming back if that makes sense!? And ofcourse actually come back after it because it seems like people are alot more content after going through it, like lets be honest alot of peoples ultimate fear is death, after all i have read on NDE and death bed phenomena i believe theres alot more to death than what the majority of people think.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
In spite of most episodes occurring in very anxious situations, we see this preponderance of positive experiences.

I have two opposing thoughts on the reason for that ...

- The majority are positive because the afterlife is positive and we self impose guilt and fear upon ourselves while alive when we don't have to.

or

- Those who have had negative NDEs don't talk about it because they don't want to admit that they aren't 'good enough' to go to heaven ... they don't want to admit they are hell bound. If I had a NDE and I was judged as needing to go to hell, I doubt I'd admit that to people.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

It's been 10 years since mine, and the peacefulness remains today. My perspective has changed from a self employed working maniac to well if it happens today great if not we will get to it tomorrow. Instead of pleasing everyone else I get way more me time now. Everyone thinks I am Mr. cool now when really, it's a matter of knowing what a real crisis is. Losing a cell phone doesn't qualify as a crisis, it doesn't even bother me to leave without mine, oh it ticks off the wife. People just don't understand the cell phone is for my convenience not theirs.

I don't let anyone steal my peace, I have a saying in that some people in life are miserable and they carry a bag of misery marbles with them everywhere. When you see them they try to pass some marbles to you, I just won't take them. My happiness is up to me no one else. The little things become more important, when someone truly cares about you and your existence no money can replace that, no gift, nothing. The simple words "I love you my darling" are something you can't buy, are priceless if said to you, and are a warmth to be felt all over.

They say it can all change in the blink of an eye, I say it's a little longer, but it does all change. I had a heart attack, and so many people I know asked the similar or same thing, What was it like, how did you feel? I said I found out in a moment of time, it wasn't the size of my wallet, the amount in the bank, the size of my house, or a single possession, nothing materialistic I just wanted to see my kid before I went. It's a hard way to figure out what's important in life but worth it. Hopefully you don't have to find out the same way.

Great idea for a thread.

a reply to: FlyersFan

Hiya FF, you could very well be right about that. Even those who are devoid of religious beliefs (or agnostics like myself) might not talk about a negative NDE due to their presumably, profoundly disturbing nature. However, in the studies I've read, there really does appear an overwhelmingly positive number of NDEs considered positive, peaceful or otherwise reassuring.

Personally, I wouldn't even go so far as to use the words 'heaven,' 'afterlife' or 'reincarnation' when considering what NDEs are. It's like we don't know enough about what they are before we get to thinking what's out there. You know when people see a UFO and they think *aliens?* I tend to feel that we jump to *afterlife* when we think of NDEs.

I've not experienced an NDE but I find it curious that those that have are here on ATS with the rest of the 'un-enlightened'.

For such a life changing event, they don't seem any more 'at peace' than the rest of us.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: Kandinsky
In spite of most episodes occurring in very anxious situations, we see this preponderance of positive experiences.

I have two opposing thoughts on the reason for that ...

- The majority are positive because the afterlife is positive and we self impose guilt and fear upon ourselves while alive when we don't have to.

or

- Those who have had negative NDEs don't talk about it because they don't want to admit that they aren't 'good enough' to go to heaven ... they don't want to admit they are hell bound. If I had a NDE and I was judged as needing to go to hell, I doubt I'd admit that to people.

I don't think that only bad people can end in Hell.
Here is the Hell(void) NDE , of Nancy Evans Bush.
But I do believe that is it wrong to say - as OP says - that majority of NDE are positive.
It could be reverse, or it could be 50/50, we just do not know because - as you said - who would want to report about the Hell NDE that they had?

originally posted by: FlyersFan
a reply to: engvbany

... report on seeing things that they couldn't possibly see from laying in the bed dead, and when those things are checked out their descriptions are accurate. There is plenty of proof that Near Death Experiences happen and that they are indeed metaphysical and not just a chemical release in the body.

Junkies on Ketamine and other drugs have OOBEs but are nowhere near death.

People have tried to test if something rises from the body when someone has a OOBE , but no joy ...

[quote="wikipedia.org/Sam_Parnia#Near-death_research"]... In 2001, Parnia and colleagues investigated out of body claims by placing figures on suspended boards facing the ceiling, not visible from the floor. Parnia wrote "anybody who claimed to have left their body and be near the ceiling during resuscitation attempts would be expected to identify those targets. If, however, such perceptions are psychological, then one would obviously not expect the targets to be identified." The results were not published in their paper. Keith Augustine who has examined Parnia's study has written that all paranormal target identification experiments have produced negative results. en.wikipedia.org...-death_research

People have tried to test if something rises from the body when someone has a OOBE , but no joy ...

[quote="wikipedia.org/Sam_Parnia#AWARE"]As part of the AWARE study Parnia and colleagues have investigated out of body claims by using hidden targets placed on shelves that could only be seen from above. Parnia has written "if no one sees the pictures, it shows these experiences are illusions or false memories". Parnia issued a statement indicating that the first phase of the project has been completed and the results are undergoing peer review for publication in a medical journal. No subjects saw the images mounted out of sight according to Parnia's early report of the results of the study at an American Heart Association meeting in November 2013.
en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: Psynic

The feeling of peace that I'm referring to is an inner peace around the Near Death Experience. It's not about everything, just the NDE. Having a NDE doesn't make someone enlightened and not having one doesn't mean someone is not enlightened. Personally, I don't believe there is any correlation between NDE and enlightenment.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Maybe those who are going to Hell just don't get a chance to choose to "come back"?????

I'm pretty sure the NDE of someone who was a truly vile/evil person wouldn't be all puppy dogs and rainbows........... they just get dragged down screaming with no option to return.

It would be interesting to hear the NDE of some pretty Bad people to see if they have the peaceful experience as well.

a reply to: pavil
Have you seen Donald Whitaker's NDE?

His NDE was just the opposite of peaceful...

There are people that talk about a light, or floating above, a feeling of warmth or love. I didn’t feel any of that. I felt none of that. I felt untold terror, untold terror.

It is very easy to be an atheist when you’re successful, but it’s very difficult to be an atheist when you’re lying on your death bed. I knew that if I went all the way, if I slipped all the way, I would never get back. In my being of beings I knew that. So I fought all night long. They told me later on that I not only pull the mattress cover off the mattress, I put the mattress upon me.

But again when I would leave my body, I would be going down into deep dark terror. My skin began to get cold. Not the kind of cold you feel when you walk out in the air, no, this was bone chilling cold. And I could feel the coldness began to come up my legs.

Again I would begin to leave my body and would be in the darkness, in that void. I remember one time entering back my body, I felt my body thud, my physical body thud. Believe me, believe me, that was the most horrifying terrifying experience that I had ever encountered. www.divinerevelations.info...