CHARACTERISTICS OF NDEs
( Near Death Experience.)

In his most recent book, The Light Beyond, Moody identifies nine characteristics of a typical near-death experience. These are:

  Many people who begin to experience an NDE after a cardiac arrest are confused and frightened at first because they don't know what is happening to them. Often they find themselves floating above their bodies and wonder why, all of a sudden, they can see their bodies from a distance.

   Gradually they begin to understand what is happening and try to get the attention of those who are tending them or attempting resuscitation, but to no avail. A woman resuscitated by Moody himself later told him how she hat tried to stop him because she was enjoying the experience; but when she tried to grab Moody's arm, her hand had passed right through it.

When attempts to communicate with others fail, the NDEer often begins to experience an increased sense of self-identity; he begins to feel his uniqueness. Factors such as family ties take a backseat to the person discovering his inner self.

One woman described this as "a cutting of ribbons". Just as a balloon is freed when its strings are cut, many NDEers have a sense of freedom from earthly limitations and can experience their true self in its totality; fear frequently turns to utter joy at the point.

Peace and Painlessness Before the "ribbons" are cut, the sick or injured person often experiences severe pain, but this is soon replaced with intense pleasure and total peace.

Out-of-Body Experience

Next, the person feels himself rising up and begins to get a view of his body below. Separated from his physical body, he now sees himself in a spiritual body. Most NDEers are at a loss to describe this new body; some say it is an energy field, others a cloud of colors.

One NDEer told Moody he closely examined his hands and found them to be composed of tiny structures of light.

The Tunnel Experience

Shortly after the out-of-body experience, the person begins to realize that he may be dying. A tunnel of portal appears to him and he feels propelled toward this tunnel and into the darkness. At the end of the tunnel there is a bright light.

People of Light

Beings of light, who are glowing with awesome luminescence, come to meet the person at the end of the tunnel, and fill him with love. Some NDEers have described the light emanating from these beings as the eyes but warm and vibrant. These people of light are often decreased relatives or friends of the NDEer, and they begin to communicate with him telepathically. There is immediate and complete understanding.

Shortly thereafter, the NDEer feels the presence of a spectacular being of light. Depending on the subject's religious or ethical convictions, he may identify this holy being as God, Christ, Buddha or another holy figure. This being, who radiates total love and understanding, appears to atheists and agnostics as well as the religious.

The Life-Review

As the NDEer is basking in the warmth and love of this glorious being of light, there passes before him a three-dimensional, panoramic review of every single event in his lifetime. Curiously, time as we know it is not a factor in this review.

The person's whole life is suddenly laid bare before him, and he gets a chance to comprehend the effects of all of his actions upon various people in his earthly life.

By penetrating other people's consciousness, the NDEer can now personally feel the joy, happiness and pleasure, or conversely, the despair, pain, or distress that his actions brought upon others.

Throughout this review, the being of light stays with the subject and helps him learn from his mistakes. The review helps the NDEer understand that the two most important provisions he needs for the next life are love and knowledge; in almost every case, individuals who have had NDEs become much more loving and detached, and they develop an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

Rising Rapidly through the Heavens

While most people who have NDEs experience passing through the tunnel, some describe a "floating experience" in which the rapidly rise into heaven. The renowned psychotherapist Carl Jung had such an experience during a heart attack in 1944.

Others have recounted similar episodes where they see themselves rising above the earth or zooming upward and seeing the planets around them.

Reluctance to Return

Many near-death experiences are so breathtaking that the people who have them often do not want to come back to their normal lives. Some become angry and even rebuke their doctors for bringing them back. Others feel that the being of light gives them a choice.

Those who do want to come back to life often have selfless motives such as concern for the families they are leaving behind. Others may have different reasons. Moody relates the extraordinary case of a woman who had two NDEs about 30 years apart:

One woman in Los Angeles has faced this question [of wanting to go back] from the Being of Light twice in her life.

Once in the late fifties when she was in a coma following an automobile accident, the Being told her it was time to die and go to heaven. She argued with him, complaining that she was too young to die.

But the Being wouldn't budge until she said, "But I'm young, I haven't danced enough yet." At hat point, the Being gave out a hearty laugh and allowed her to live.

About thirty years later, she had a cardiac arrest while undergoing minor surgery. Again she passed through the tunnel and found herself with the Being, and again he told her it was her time to die.

This time she argued that she had children to raise and couldn't leave them at this point in their lives. "Okay", said the Being. "But this is the last time. The next time you have to stay".

Please Save as or print the page for future reference 

   Site Address:< www.dayofgod.net > Email: info@dayofgod.net 

[ Introduction to Baha'i faith ]        [ The Most Holy Book ]         [ Photos ]   [ Universal House of Justice ]  [ Tablet of Ahmad ]

This article reflects authors own personal understanding and does not necessarily represent the official position of the Baha'i Faith .

We are interested to hear your comments. ben Haqnazar