Everyone will die, but is there really nothing after death?
Research estimates that as many as one in twenty people have had a near-death experience. The latest research suggests that this number may be even higher. A survey conducted earlier this year by the US non-profit organization International Association for Near-Death Studies showed that nearly one-quarter of US adults (over 60 million people) have had a near-death experience.
Near-death experiences typically occur during life-threatening events such as sudden cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury, or accidents. While the specifics of each near-death experience vary, individuals who have had them often talk about seeing mysterious lights, feeling like floating in a tunnel, encountering deceased loved ones, Jesus, or Buddha, and even witnessing their entire life in a moment.
Researchers have also had to admit that there is increasing evidence indicating that consciousness continues to exist at some level after physical death, at least for a period of time.
Many people are reluctant to discuss their near-death experiences, but even many celebrities have spoken about their encounters with death. The late American actress Elizabeth Taylor mentioned having an out-of-body experience during the filming of “Cleopatra.”
Similarly, Jamie Foxx reportedly “saw a tunnel” during a medical emergency in 2023, and Jeremy Renner recalled in his memoir an incident in 2023 when he was run over by a snowplow and “saw everything in a moment.”
A typical near-death experience that occurred in 2015 was reported by Katie Winschief from Florida. Suffering from necrotizing pneumonia, Katie fell into a coma and was rushed to the emergency department. At one point, she felt her body floating above the medical staff trying to save her and later rising above the hospital, witnessing a serene light that drew her in. After passing through the light, she found herself in a vast and empty room with a figure resembling Jesus, surrounded by overwhelming joy that made her reluctant to leave.
However, she also saw distressing scenes of her mother crying after an argument and her children in pain. Realizing the aftermath of her death on her family, Katie felt compelled to return, and in an instant, found herself back in her body on a stretcher in the emergency room, with medical personnel working frantically to save her.
Furthermore, it’s essential to note that even though many near-death experiencers feel like they have died and come back to life, neurologist Kevin Nelson points out that a near-death experience is not equivalent to actual death.
Nelson explains that death is irreversible, occurring when a sufficient number of the brain’s 100 billion neurons rupture, leading to death. In contrast, individuals in near-death experiences may seemingly appear dead to observers but are still alive, being able to hear sounds and see things.
In 1998, the couple of scientists Jeffrey and Jody Long founded the non-profit organization Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, which has recorded over 5,000 near-death experience accounts from around the world. To submit one’s near-death experience to the registry, a detailed description is required, along with a questionnaire of 64 questions. The experiences are analyzed and rated based on Greyson’s Near-Death Experience Scale, requiring a score of 7 or higher for credibility.
Participants of near-death experiences and many researchers emphasize that while much remains unknown, near-death experiences provide strong evidence that death does not mean the end of everything. Greyson, after nearly fifty years of studying near-death experiences, believes in an existence after death but acknowledges that the specifics remain unknown.
Nurit Niskala’s near-death experience in 1984 in Tel Aviv, Israel, during childbirth featured leaving her body, feeling weightless, encountering an unfamiliar light, and a circle of spiritual entities that filled her with unparalleled joy and tranquility. Despite the bliss, the thought of her newborn and five-year-old daughter compelled her to return.
The scientific community has put forward models to explain near-death experiences as hallucinations induced by changes in brain activity. However, many experiencers and researchers challenge this explanation, questioning how some see deceased relatives or unknown individuals and why the experiences remain vivid for years.
Sheila Boester, a nurse in Missouri, vividly recounted her experience of leaving her body, hearing music-like sounds, and encountering deceased loved ones during an operation-related mishap in 2000. Despite the unresolved nature of her experience, Sheila emerged unafraid of death and even took up skydiving.
These accounts of near-death experiences challenge the traditional understanding of death and consciousness, leaving both experiencers and researchers pondering the mysteries that lie beyond the threshold of life and death.