Greyson's conclusions in his book After

Greyson ends his After account where he began, with reflections on the mind and the brain. He writes that: “near-death experiences seem to me to involve both the physical brain and the non-physical mind. We can choose to focus on the physical brain and explore chemical and electrical changes associated with near-death experiences. Or we can focus on the nonphysical mind and explore feelings of peace and love, out-of-body perceptions, and encounters with deceased loved ones. Both aspects—the physical and the nonphysical—are there, and we can see either one by changing our focus.” He concludes, however, that “neither of those perspectives by itself provides a complete description of the experience.”

“It seems plausible to me,” Greyson asserts, “that near-death experiences may be triggered by electrical or chemical changes in the brain that permit the mind to experience separating from the body at the moment of death. There is no inherent conflict between a physical and a non-physical understanding of near-death experiences. The physical and the nonphysical are different levels of explanation or description.”

Greyson clearly recognizes: “Although our physical brain and nonphysical mind seem to work as one unit in everyday life, people who have had near-death experiences consistently say that their experience of being awake and aware while their brains are impaired convinces them that their minds can act independently of their brains at times and are not just the product of their physical brains."

He admits: “I don’t know whether some kind of continued consciousness after death is the best explanation for near-death experiences in which experiencers see deceased loved ones no one knew had died. But I don’t have any alternative explanation for the evidence.”

Many “report that the most meaningful change after a near-death experience is an increase in their sense of spirituality. What they mean by the term ‘spirituality’ is the aspect of their personal lives that includes something beyond the usual senses, and a personal search for inspiration, meaning, and purpose, a quest to connect with something greater than themselves. Greyson affirms, “this includes a conviction that loving and care for other is of primary importance.”

Finally, Greyson communicates directly to each reader: “I would hope that your reflections on my words will not end when you put this book down but may continue to live on in your thoughts and feelings about life, death, and beyond.”

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Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 194-211.

Teen-ager saved by Christ in his NDE

Some survivors remain troubled and are trouble as well for their families. “Kenny was a teenager whose heart stopped when he was electrocuted by a freak spark jumping from a high-voltage power line. He had a near-death experience with both heavenly and hellish visions and felt he had been saved by Christ and sent back with a mission. His parents had brought him to see me because he felt estranged from his school friends, who didn’t understand why he had changed.” Greyson included Kenny in a support group he’d organized for near-death survivors to share their recovery problems, and Kenny brought his parents. Greyson notes, “Long after Kenny himself stopped coming to the group, his parents continued to attend.”

Greyson says: “In the three decades since Kenny’s participation in that group, he continued to wrestle with the aftereffects of his near-death experience. Kenny now sums up that struggle in these words: I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs since then—some good, some bad. Over the years, I’ve really discovered the empathic side of me. I know my true gifts lie in the emotional side of humanity, and I have a strong ability to comfort and educate when people are at their worst. I do believe the electrocution has shaped my life. I know my life has purpose and I was spared to do something bigger than me, whether it’s helping as a practitioner or just being available to others.

Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 210-211.

She didn't want to survive her NDE

Greyson affirms: “Most of the aftereffects that experiencers report after near-death experiences are positive effects. But how could such a profound experience that differs so radically from everyday life not lead to problems as well? In fact, not all the aftereffects of near-death experiences are positive. Some experiencers have difficulty reconciling their near-death experiences with their religious beliefs. Some find it hard to resume their old roles and lifestyles, which no longer have the same meaning, or to communicate to others the impact of the near-death experience. Some experiencers report anger at still being alive—or at being alive again.

Cecilia, a sixty-one-year-old teacher, had a near-death experience during surgery for a ruptured and gangrenous appendix. She recalls: I experienced a wonderful feeling of peace and freedom. I saw my students going out and assisting others, and I knew the work I loved would go on without me. I felt ready to go, reached my arms out to two spirits who were in the room watching, waiting—and then they began to back away, leaving me behind! I pleaded, ‘Here I am. Take me with you,’ as they gradually faded away. My recovery proved slow and tedious. My body was healing, but I regretted that I had not died. I went through weeks of depression. I did not know how to climb out of this hole. I looked everywhere I could in a desperate attempt to find answers. I bought myself a notebook to keep a journal of how I was to get through this. My first entry was written to God in anger, I asked, ‘Why am I alive?’

Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 194.

Financier after NDE helps others change

At forty-five Gordon Allen, a ruthless and successful financier, had a near-death experience due to congestive heart failure. Afterwards, Greyson says, Allen “severed all links with his business and left the world of money far behind. He became a licensed counselor and used his new understanding to help others change their lives.” Allen explains that during his near-death experience:

Immediately the thought was communicated to me that all the skills and all the talents that I had been given, which I had been very, very, very blessed with, were for a purpose greater than the purpose that I used them for, the purpose of making money, and that itself wasn’t it, and there was another purpose for it, and that they should now be applied in some ways that would be shown to me. Absolutely, that’s the moment my life changed. And when I came back, my heart was filled, and you would describe this as being on fire. Your heart feels like it’s on fire, and it’s on fire with love, okay? The sensation of love that I experienced as I was going through the out-of-body experience has retained itself. I’m there; it’s in me. It hasn’t gone away, hasn’t changed.

Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 187-189. 

NDE transforms life of Mafia enforcer

Mickey, who collected money for the Mafia, communicated with a divine being and a beloved deceased brother during his near-death experience due to a heart attack. After his extraordinary experience, Greyson says, Mickey: “felt that cooperation and love were the most important things, and that competition and material goods were irrelevant. That change in attitude didn’t sit well with Mickey’s Mafia friends, but they let him leave the family circle. It was his girlfriend who complained when he changed careers and started helping delinquent children and victims of spousal abuse. One day after he was out of the hospital and they were eating lunch, she burst out crying and told him, ‘You’re not the same person anymore!’ When he asked her what she meant, she replied ‘You’re not concerned with things of substance anymore,’ meaning money and jewelry and fast cars. The relationship soon collapsed.”

In Mickey’s words: Before the experience, my attitude was that people have to help themselves. You know, if they don’t help themselves, to hell with them. I had a pretty cynical attitude toward people. I couldn’t imagine myself as any sort of helping professional before the near-death experience. But afterwards, I’d find myself counseling people. I’d find myself listening to people. They said, ‘You really listed to me. You really understand how I feel inside.’

Before, I thought, ‘I have to make my way the best I can Survive.’ Whenever I started to feel sorry for somebody, I’d say to myself, ‘Goddamn it, I’m not my brother’s keeper!’ I was hard-bitten. But after the near-death experience, my whole outlook changed. I can feel when people are in pain. Before, sometimes I had to cause people pain. I couldn’t do that anymore after my heart attack.

Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 187-189. 

Materialists embraced spiritual values after NDE

In research with psychiatrist Surbhi Khanna, Bruce Greyson found that experiencers “described a greater sense of well-being from their new spiritual attitudes and strivings, which helped them cope with challenges. They also reported more daily spiritual experiences, such as feelings of awe, gratitude mercy, compassionate love, and inner peace than people who had come close to death but didn’t have near-death experiences. Our studies and the research of others also found that people who have had near-death experiences report a heightened sense of purpose, increased empathy, awareness of the interconnectedness of all people, and a belief that all religions share certain core values. Near-death experiences often lead to a paradoxical decrease in devotion to any one religious tradition, despite a greater awareness of guidance by and connection to a higher power.”

Greyson says he found “spiritual growth most striking in those who were materialistic before their near-death experiences. For example, “Naomi, a pediatrician who had always considered herself an atheist, described becoming more compassionate and less competitive after her near-death experience at age thirty-four when she bled out due to hemorrhaging stomach ulcer.”

I remember, she writes, the spring after this event occurred with startling clarity. Everything in the environment took on an almost magical quality, as if I was seeing everything for the first time. Trees and flowers blossoming took on new dimensions that I had not ever appreciated before; I almost felt as if I was on a chemically induced high. I will certainly never take being alive again for granted. I also felt that when faced with death again I would be fearless, as this was clearly not a negative experience. I have used this insight to help the families of many of the handicapped and terminally ill children I take care of, with good results. I also developed a strong spiritual sense and now strongly believe in a higher power, where I had previously been essentially an atheist.

No other experience to date has had such a profound impact on my life. I am must less striving in the workplace. I also feel that material goods, although nice, do not define the spirit or essence of the individual. My life is more balanced than ever before. I am much more open to meditation and other ‘alternative’ medical techniques. I am now attempting to use lifestyle modifications and not medication to control my medical problems. I feel I have developed more compassion for my patients and have become a better doctor for this I am still integrating many aspects of this experience, and find it is good to contemplate it from time to time to refocus myself and see the larger picture. I suspect it will always be a source of growth for me.

Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 176-181.

NDE survivors are more spiritual and satisfied

Bruce Greyson writes in After: “Experiencers tend to see themselves as integral parts of a benevolent and purposeful universe, in which personal gain, particularly at someone else’s expense, is no longer relevant. They also report feeling greater understanding, acceptance, and tolerance for others.” Greyson concludes: “The most positive changes in attitude following near-death experiences were a more favorable attitude toward death, toward spirituality, and toward life, and a sense of meaning or purpose. Slightly lower increases, but still significantly improved, were attitudes toward other people and toward oneself. Attitudes toward religion and toward social issues were only slightly improved, and attitudes toward worldly things were more negative than before the near-death experience. All of these changes were virtually identical after the twenty-year lapse. None were significantly changed since the first time the experiencers were asked."

Greyson also compared those who’d had near-death experiences with others who’d nearly died but didn’t have near-death experiences—because nearly dying is such a huge event that it can bring about life changes. He explains: “I used well-accepted, standardized questionnaires that measured various aspects of spirituality, like satisfaction with life, connection to something greater, and a sense of purpose. What I found was that those who had near-death experiences were significantly more satisfied with life, more open to positive new directions in life, had more positive changes in relationships with other people, felt more personal strength, had greater appreciation for life, and felt they had undergone greater spiritual growth as a result of their near-death experiences. In addition, many people reported that since their near-death experiences they’d felt driven to engage in a quest for further spiritual growth.”

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Bruce Greyson, After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, 169-173.