Consciousness outside the body: Mays excerpt #6

The Mays write: Numerous aspects of an NDE show how the mind functions independent of the physical body.

The mind appears to be a cohesive unit during an NDE. NDErs’ reports indicate that all of their normal cognitive faculties are active during the NDE. NDEr perceptions include all normal sense faculties: sight, hearing, and less frequently, touch, smell, and taste. Perceptions of physical objects and events are accurate. NDErs are fully self-aware and retain all of their prior knowledge. Their thoughts are clear and reasoned (e.g., Howard wondered whether maybe he should “go somewhere”. NDErs exhibit the normal range of feelings (e.g., peace, love, joy, wonder, bewilderment, fear, frustration, irritation). Their intentions are immediately fulfilled (e.g., Tony Meo “just wanted to go home” and suddenly he was back in Florida. During their NDE, NDErs nearly always recall existing memories of prior life events; and during their NDE, new vivid memories of their NDE are formed. The NDEr’s self separates and reunites with the physical body as a unit.

The NDEr experiences that their entire being has separated from the physical body and that all aspects of their mind or self are still consciously present to them throughout their NDE—their senses, thoughts, feelings, intentions, and memories. The NDEr’s self-conscious awareness remains intact while out-of-body. NDErs feel themselves to be the same persons throughout the experience. The continuity of self-conscious awareness is demonstrated in cases in which the NDEr shifts from out-of-body to in-body repeatedly, like a yo-yo. Here are two cases:

NDEr Joe McMoneagle reported that during his NDE from convulsions, he was out of his body observing his friend trying to revive him. Finding no pulse, his friend struck him in the chest periodically—not as in CPR, which was not widely practiced at the time, in 1970.

“Not finding [a pulse, my friend] began to violently strike me in the chest, cursing me to breathe with each punch. The interesting thing I experienced through all of this was that every time he struck me in the center of the chest, I would feel a click and find myself looking up through my physical eyes into his. This would immediately be followed by another distinct click, and once more I would be out of my body and looking down at him from above. After 10 minutes of this, I was beginning to feel like a yo-yo. Click—pain, click—no pain, click—pain, click—no pain, click ... and so forth and so on. As he continued striking me in the chest, I began screaming at him with my mind while in the out-of-body state to stop this nonsense, can’t you see I’m dead, leave me alone! Until eventually he did stop and I remained outside of my body.”

Orthopedist Mary Neal drowned in a river during a kayaking trip. Her body was severely injured as the force of the water ripped her out of the kayak. Her kayaking friends retrieved her body—after 30 minutes under water—and started CPR. In her NDE, she rose out of her body and was greeted by deceased relatives and other spiritual companions. As she proceeded on a path to heaven, she could look down on her kayaking friends trying to resuscitate her body on the riverbank.

“My body looked like the shell of a comfortable old friend, and I felt warm compassion and gratitude for its use. ... I heard [my friends] call to me and beg me to take a breath. I loved them and did not want them to be sad, so I asked my heavenly companions to wait while I returned to my body, lay down, and took a breath. Thinking that this would be satisfactory, I then left my body and resumed my journey home.” [Her kayaking friends kept beckoning to her to come back and take a breath.] “Each time ... I felt compelled to return to my body and take another breath before returning on my journey. This became tiresome and I grew quite irritated with their repeated calling. ... Before we could go inside [the hall, my spiritual companions] ... turned to me and explained that it was not my time to enter the hall; I had not completed my journey on earth, had more work to do, and must return to my body. ... [T]hey returned me to the river bank. I sat down in my body and gave these heavenly beings, these people who had come to guide, protect, and cheer for me, one last, longing glance before I lay down and was reunited with my body. I became aware of my body and opened my eyes to see the faces of [my friends] looking down at me.”

Robert G. Mays, BSc and Suzanne B. Mays, AA,  “There is no death: Near-death experience evidence for survival after permanent bodily death.” An essay written for the 2021 Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies addressing the question: “What Is The Best Available Evidence For The Survival Of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death?” Footnotes are omitted from these excerpts but are in the full text available from the Bigelow website at https://bigelowinstitute.org/contest_winners3.php.