A vivid experience for 50 years: Long excerpt #15b

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "The findings of the NDERF studies are corroborated by an investigation of Cherie Sutherland, PhD, a prominent near-death experience researcher. Dr. Sutherland reviewed studies published over thirty years in the scholarly literature regarding the NDEs of children, including very young children. Dr. Sutherland concluded this about NDEs in very young children:

It has often been supposed that the NDEs of very young children will have a content limited to their vocabulary. However, it is now clear that the age of children at the time of their NDE does not in any way determine its complexity. Even prelinguistic children have later reported quite complex experiences... Age does not seem in any way to affect the content of the NDE.

"Skeptics may say that near-death experiences in children may not be accurately recalled when reported many years later. This concern was addressed by William Serdahely, PhD, in his study comparing five NDEs shared by children with five NDEs that occurred in children and were shared many years later when they were adults. He compared 47 NDE characteristics between the two groups. Dr. Serdahely concluded:

This study...supports the claims of previous researchers that adults’ retrospective reports of childhood NDEs are not embellished or distorted.

"Another study by Bruce Greyson, MD, provided substantial evidence that near- death experiences are neither embellished nor forgotten even after nearly 20 years. This study included 72 NDErs who responded to the sixteen questions in the NDE Scale in the 1980s and answered the same questions again an average of more than 19 years later. Greyson compared the responses from the two NDE Scale administrations. There were no significant differences in the overall NDE Scale scores or the answers to any of the sixteen questions comprising the NDE Scale.

"Near-death experiencers often shared that they remember their NDEs exceptionally vividly:

I remember it more accurately than any other experience in my life because it was absolutely fascinating to see the other side!

This experience has been vividly with me for 50 years. It is as real today as when it happened.

Although this happened many years ago, this is the event that stands out among all others in my memory.

"The best evidence finds that NDEs are generally reliably recalled years to decades later. This is exceptionally pertinent not only for investigating NDEs that occurred in children but also for helping to validate all retrospective NDE research regardless of the age that the NDEs occurred.

"The NDERF studies are by far the most extensive investigations of near-death experiences in very young children. These studies find that the core content of the NDEs in very young children is impressively similar to the core content of NDEs in older children and adults. We are now more confident than ever that the content of NDEs in very young children is not significantly affected by their NDEs occurring at such a young age. The NDEs of very young children strongly support the concept that core NDE content is not significantly modified by prior life experiences, beliefs, or cultural influences. This is further strong evidence that NDEs are real, along with their consistent message of an afterlife."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org

Young children NDEs: Long excerpt #15a

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "An important line of evidence for the reality of near-death experiences and its consistent message of the afterlife comes from investigating the NDEs of very young children. If NDE content is significantly culturally determined or based on prior life experiences, then very young children should have NDE content quite different from older children and adults. However, that is not what investigations by myself and others found. I previously published a study comparing the content of NDEs in very young children with older children and adults. I compared the NDEs of 26 children with NDEs occurring at age five and younger with 585 NDEs that occurred at age six and older. The average age of the five-year-old and younger group at the time of their NDEs was 3.6 years old. Responses to 33 survey questions from the prior version of the NDERF survey regarding the content of the NDEs were compared. This study concluded:

Very young children had every NDE element that older children and adults had. There was no statistically significant difference in the responses to any of the thirty- three survey questions regarding the content of the NDEs between very young children and older children and adults. There were only two questions with a trend toward a statistically different response between the two groups.

"This prior study was replicated with data from the most recent version of the NDERF survey that included 34 survey questions regarding the content of near-death experiences. This investigation compared NDEs occurring in 33 children age five and younger with 798 NDEs that happened at age six and older. The average age of the five-year-old and younger group at the time of their NDEs was 3.8 years old. Three NDEs were excluded as information about their age when their NDEs occurred was not available. The criteria for statistical significance were the same as was used for the study of non-Western NDEs reported in the previous section. The full text of all 33 NDEs occurring in children, age five and younger, is available on the NDERF website.

"There were no statistically significant differences in responses to any of the 34 survey questions between the two groups. There were only three survey questions with borderline statistically significant different answers between the two groups. Very young children near-death experiencers were borderline statistically more likely to respond to the survey question, 'Did you see deceased or religious spirits?' with a response of 'No.' Very young children NDErs were also borderline statistically more likely to respond 'No' to the question, 'Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)?' Young children NDErs also were borderline statistically significantly more likely to reply 'Uncertain' to the survey question, 'Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?' For the other 31 survey questions, there were no statistical or borderline statistical differences in the responses between the two groups.

"Understandably, very young children might be less likely to encounter deceased or religious spirits, and beings from religions during their near-death experiences due to their young age. They may not have lived long enough to be aware of or understand religious beings."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.

Comparing non-Western NDEs: Long excerpt #14

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "The most recent version of the NDERF survey allows the unique opportunity to directly compare non-Western with Western near-death experiences. Study entry criteria were a single NDE, shared in English on the English version of the NDERF survey, shared in first-person, and an NDE Scale score of 7 or higher. Twenty-five non-Western NDEs met these criteria and were compared to 809 Western NDEs meeting the same criteria. Non-Western NDEs shared in English was felt to be the best source of direct comparison to Western NDEs because many survey questions contain words and phrases that might be difficult to translate into non-English. NDErs in non-Western countries that know English well enough to complete a detailed survey should be in the best position to answer the English version of the NDERF survey reliably. There were 34 survey questions regarding the NDE elements, which is what occurred during the NDEs.

"Direct comparison of non-Western and Western near-death experiences in this manner has never been previously reported. The results of this study found that every element of NDE occurred in both groups. Of the 34 survey questions regarding NDE elements, there was no statistical significance in the responses between the two groups for 30 of the 34 questions (88%). Borderline statistical significance was present in another four of the survey questions (12%). Overall, there was no difference in responses to the survey questions that were statistically significant or even borderline significant for 26 (76%) of the 34 survey questions.

"Several survey questions with statistically different responses between non-Western and Western NDErs might be challenging to answer even for those with English as a first language. For example, two survey questions with statistically different responses between the two groups were, 'How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness?' and 'During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that a mystical universal connection or unity/oneness either does (or does not) exist?'

"Given the complexity of some survey questions, the similarity in responses between the non-Western and Western NDE groups is notable. This study of the content of non-Western and Western NDEs provides further significant evidence of a deep universal and cross-cultural consistency among NDEs worldwide regardless of the cultural background of the NDErs.

"Western near-death experiences as a whole do not seem to be significantly culturally determined. I was part of a team that reviewed thirty years of research about the characteristics of Western near-death experiences. Our findings were published in a scholarly book chapter. In this review, we could not find any core characteristics of Western NDEs that seemed culturally determined.

"The cross-cultural study of near-death experiences is more than just statistics. To deeply understand NDEs there is no substitute for reading NDEs from all around the world, including non-Western countries. Volunteer human translators have translated near-death experiences shared with NDERF into over thirty different languages. This allows people everywhere to readily understand the remarkable similarity of the content of NDEs regardless of where in the world the NDEs occurred."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.

 

NDEs from different cultures: Long excerpt #13

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - Portions of the NDERF website are translated into over 30 languages. Thousands of near-death experiences have been shared with NDERF in English and hundreds more in non-English languages from all around the world. This allowed the most extensive cross-cultural investigation of NDEs ever conducted. These studies found the core content of NDEs to be strikingly similar wherever they occur throughout the world, including in non-Western countries.

"I previously published an investigation of 26 near-death experiences shared in English, but with the NDErs living in countries where English was not the predominant language. These NDErs lived in different cultures specific to their country, yet were sufficiently fluent in English that they could share their NDEs and complete the NDERF questionnaire in English. The study comparison group was 583 NDEs shared in English from countries where the predominant language was English. The answers from the two groups to 33 survey questions from the prior version of the NDERF survey regarding the elements of their NDEs were compared. There was no statistical difference in responses to any of the 33 survey questions between the two groups. The study conclusion was:

The content of near-death experiences appears to be the same around the world. Such experiences, in both English-and non-English-speaking countries, include the same NDE elements. The elements appear to follow the same order of occurrence. In reading the accounts of NDEs from around the world, including those shared in English and those translated into English, I am impressed at how strikingly similar they are."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.

Seeing unknown dead person: Long excerpt #12

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "NDERF has received many near-death experience accounts describing encounters with people who, unbeknownst to the NDErs, had died before their NDEs. This is illustrated in an NDE from Sandy, who was five years old when she nearly died of encephalitis:

Another smaller beautiful light joined us. The light was a girl about ten years old that looked somewhat like me. She recognized me. We hugged, and she said, 'I am your sister. I was named after our grandmother, Willamette, who died one month before I was born. Our parents called me Willie for short. They were waiting to tell you about me later when our parents felt that you were ready." We talked without words. It seemed strange looking back on it, but it was natural at the time. As she kissed me on the head, I felt her warmth and love. She said, "You need to go back now, Sandy.' I was shocked as my next-door neighbor and dear friend, Glen, formed and shouted, 'Sandy, go home, go home now.' He said it with such authority that I quit crying and was back in my body instantly.

Later, a day after I went into the hospital, I was told that our neighbor, Glen, had died from a sudden heart attack. I drew a picture of my 'angel sister' who greeted me and described all she said. My parents were shocked and had a horrified look. They got up and left the room. After a while, they returned. They confirmed that they lost a daughter named Willie. Willie died of accidental poisoning about one year before I was born. They had decided not to tell my brother or me until we better understood what life and death were about.

"This remarkable near-death experience involved encountering a family friend that she was not aware had died and meeting her sister who died before Sandy was born. NDErs that encounter deceased siblings during their NDEs that they never knew existed are substantial evidence for the reality of NDE. These types of NDEs also provide vital evidence that NDEs really are providing awareness of an afterlife."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.

 

Meeting the deceased in NDEs: Long excerpt #11

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "In most experiences of altered consciousness such as dreams or hallucinations, if any beings are encountered, they are generally alive at the time. Virtually everyone has dreams and is aware of this. If near-death experiences were only due to physical brain function, then it would be expected that a predominance of the beings encountered would be alive at the time of their NDEs. But as you will see, that is not what happens in NDEs.

"Near-death experiencers may see living people during the OBE part of their NDEs as they observe ongoing earthly events. However, when NDEs are taking place in an unearthly or “heavenly” realm, virtually all beings encountered are deceased at the time of the NDEs. This was demonstrated in a study published by Emily Williams Kelly, PhD. She investigated 74 NDErs who met the deceased during their NDEs, and compared this group to 200 NDErs who did not meet deceased people. This study found only 4 percent of NDErs described meeting beings who were alive at the time of their NDEs. Kelly found that 95 percent of beings encountered were relatives of the NDErs. Only 5 percent of the beings were friends or acquaintances.

"When deceased loved ones are encountered in near-death experiences, they generally appear completely healthy even if they died of a disfiguring accident or illness. Beloved pets that died are also regularly seen in NDEs. Whether NDErs meet cherished deceased people or pets, the reunions are characteristically very joyful. NDErs may also encounter seemingly familiar beings unknown to them during their NDEs that they later identify through old family picture albums.

"Bruce Greyson, MD, published a compilation of experiences with awareness of deceased people not known to be dead at the time of the experiences. These accounts included near-death experiences and other related experiences. Greyson called them Peak in Darien cases. He concluded:

Such cases cannot easily be explained as hallucinations based on expectation; in fact, the experiencer is usually quite surprised and sometimes puzzled by the vision of someone thought to be alive. In some of these cases, the appearance of the vision suggests strong motivation on the part of the deceased individual to communicate a message. As such, these Peak in Darien cases provide some of the most persuasive evidence for the ontological reality of deceased spirits.

"Many other near-death experience accounts describe encounters with deceased brothers and sisters they never knew existed. NDEs with this content generally occur in childhood. Parents may be reluctant to tell their young children about a tragic sibling loss until they are old enough to understand death better. Jessica met her brother for the first time when she nearly died at age eight from encephalitis:

I did not know about my brother before my experience. I met him at the end of the tunnel. We talked for a while. I was thrilled, as I had asked for a brother since the age of three. I was not sure what place we were in, but we were sitting on white garden furniture. We talked for a while. I asked questions such as does God exist? He answered that God does exist.

"James was also eight years old when he contracted an illness that nearly killed him. In his near-death experience he met several deceased siblings he never knew he had:

Another angel arrived. We departed, traveling through what most would describe as a tunnel. We reached the gates of Paradise. After arriving, I saw someone that looked somewhat like me. I asked who that person was and was told it was my brother. I did not know I had a brother that had died. We were joined by two other people who were introduced as another brother and sister. They were a set of twins that had also died.

"Encountering the deceased in near-death experiences, especially if the NDErs never knew they had died, is another very persuasive line of evidence for the reality of NDEs and an afterlife. 

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.

 

NDEs under general anesthesia: Long excerpt #10

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - "The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines general anesthesia as “anesthesia affecting the entire body and accompanied by loss of consciousness.” Cardiac arrest under anesthesia is generally well documented, as the heart function and breathing are carefully monitored during surgery while anesthesia is used. As previously discussed, a cardiac arrest produces unconsciousness and coma within seconds for people not under anesthesia. Remarkably, typical near-death experiences do happen following a cardiac arrest while under anesthesia. As an example, I previously published the NDE of Valerie, who was 17 years old when her heart stopped during surgery while under anesthesia:

Sometime during surgery, I went through a tunnel. Parts of my life passed me by. I had closed my eyes tight; I remember someone saying, open your eyes. I was in a pure white space and could see rooms with spirits walking around. I started to cry, but no tears. I remember looking at my hands, and they were translucent. Then an angel appeared; she had such a radiant glow to her beauty to behold. She comforted me, telling me I was safe. I remember telling her I wasn’t ready to die. She said she knew that. Then she pointed down, and I could see the doctors doing CPR on a little girl. Not really understanding that was me, I watched my whole operation, CPR and all. I told her that was so sad, she looks so young. Then she said they are bringing her back, and I felt like I was pushed and thrown back into that painful body.

"If near-death experiences were solely due to physical brain function, NDEs under general anesthesia should have less consciousness and alertness than other NDEs. But that is not what the NDERF studies found. The NDERF studies found that typical NDEs happen under anesthesia, usually with greater consciousness and alertness as commonly described in all NDEs. Either general anesthesia alone or cardiac arrest alone results in unconsciousness without any possibility of a lucid memory. Thus, typical near-death experiences occurring while under general anesthesia are doubly medically inexplicable. This is powerful evidence that consciousness can function apart from the physical body and separate from biological brain function.

"Bruce Greyson, MD also reported near-death experiences that occurred under general anesthesia:

In our collection of NDEs, 127 out of 578 NDE cases (22%) occurred under general anesthesia, and they included such features as OBEs that involved experiencers’ watching medical personnel working on their bodies, an unusually bright or vivid light, meeting deceased persons, and thoughts, memories, and sensations that were clearer than usual.

"Unlike NDEs, anesthesia awareness experiences are often unpleasant, painful, and frightening experiences. Anesthesia awareness more often involves brief and fragmentary memories with hearing described more than vision.

"Near-death experiences under general anesthesia show that full consciousness can exist separately from the physical body. NDEs arising while under general anesthesia are robust evidence that consciousness survives bodily death."

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org.