Encounters with deceased and divine beings

Bruce Greyson affirms in After: “More than two-thirds of the experiencers I’ve studied say that in their near-death experience they encountered at least one other person. Two-thirds of those say they met a deceased person—an experience that offers at least the potential for some verifiable information. But almost 90 percent of them say they encountered some kind of divine or godlike beings.” He was surprised to find, however, that among those experiencing a divine being only “one-third identified the being as an entity consistent with their religious beliefs, while double that number—two-thirds –said they could not identify the god-like being.” 

This evidence seems to weigh against the suggestion that near-death experiences simply reflect a person’s cultural and/or religious background.

Greyson argues: “The important point seems to be not how experiencers identify or label the divine beings, but how they feel in the presence of the divine. Regardless of the label or the surprise, they consistently describe feeling peaceful, calm, tranquil, ‘at home,’ grateful, and, most of all, loved.”

Bruce Greyson,  After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond.