Near – Death Experiences

It may be difficult for you to believe in an after life but the piece below references some evidence to that effect. Do you think you have to be able to see spirits in order to believe they exist? How much impact does the spirit world have on us?

Is it fact or fiction?

The excerpt below is from an article titled ‘Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims’ in the 10/26 Wall St Journal


‘In addition to floating above their bodies, people often describe moving down a dark tunnel toward a bright light, feeling intense peace and joy, reviewing life events and seeing long-deceased relatives—only to be told that it's not time yet and land abruptly back in an ailing body.

The once-taboo topic is getting a lot of talk these days. In the new movie "Hereafter," directed by Clint Eastwood, a French journalist is haunted by what she experienced while nearly drowning in a tsunami. A spate of new books details other cases and variations on the theme.

Yet the fundamental debate rages on: Are these glimpses of an afterlife, are they hallucinations or are they the random firings of an oxygen-starved brain?

"There are always skeptics, but there are millions of 'experiencers' who know what happened to them, and they don't care what anybody else says," says Diane Corcoran, president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, a nonprofit group in Durham, N.C. The organization publishes the Journal of Near-Death Studies and maintains support groups in 47 states’.

Some investigators say the most remarkable thing about near-death reports is that the core elements are the same, among people of all cultures, races, religions and age groups, including children as young as 3 years old.

In his new book, "Evidence of the Afterlife," Jeffrey Long, a radiation oncologist in Louisiana, analyzes 613 cases reported on the website of his Near Death Research Foundation and concludes there is only one plausible explanation: "that people have survived death and traveled to another dimension."

Dead or Alive?

An analysis of 613 near-death experiences gathered by the Near Death Research Foundation found:
About 75% included an out-of-body experience
76% reported intense positive emotions
34% described passing through a tunnel
65% described encountering a bright light
22% had a life review
57% encountered deceased relatives or other beings

Note: Patients could report more than one sensation.