Please explain near death experiences.
I've been reading about them, and have found this out: 1) most of them are positive, where they meet an all-loving Being (God), and loved ones who have passed on before. 2) while suicides may have a similar experience, they risk ending up in a place of darkness and isolation. 3) While few people go to hell, it happens. One was a 15 year old boy who had a serious illness; he had planned on becoming a minister.
Have you had a near death experience? What was it like? How is the passage into heaven or hell determined?
A part of me thinks whatever the person believes with regard to an after life is what he or she experiences in near death experiences.
I have never had any grand illusions of what heaven might look like or feel like. Nor had I imagined angels or bright white lights. Back in 2006 I was on a flight going from LA to St. Louis to visit some friends. I felt a sudden pain in my stomach I had never known after drinking a glass of water. I told my then girlfriend I was going to the restroom. I never made it.
Several minutes had gone by as I faintly heard my girlfriend yelling my name. My eyes were open the whole time but I saw nothing and I was slouched somewhat with my mouth open. A warm feeling started from my feet and went up my legs, thighs, pelvic, stomach, chest, neck, face, and suddenly I was completely alert.
A paramedic had been trying to find my pulse throughout the process but there was none. When the plane landed I was removed with oxygen and met by medics.
Here is what I remember seeing; NOTHING! No bright lights, no meeting with Big Momma, no harps, no face to face meetings with Jesus....etc It was just total silence! I felt so refreshed when I came to as if I were asleep for 10 hours even though I was told I was out for about 5 minutes!
I thought to myself if people knew death feels this good I bet a lot of them would look (forward) to it. Later that night I was afraid to go to sleep, not because I had a fear of death but because I realized how quickly life on earth could be over. There were still so many things I wanted to do and places I wanted see. It changed my life.
Thanks for relating your experience. Did you actually die, though? What illness did you have?
After I got off the plane they did a EKG, tested my blood sugar, and checked my blood pressure. When I got back to CA I went through several tests and nothing was detected. Since I was not on a machine that "flat lined" there was no "official" death
In that case, you probably just passed out. Also, not everyone who "dies" has a near death experience. Some people do, and forget also.
I think it was having my eyes (wide open) and not having a pulse or not appearing to breathe is what led most people on the plane to believe it was far more than simply passing out. LOL!
A fascinating account, well written, honestly spoken.
Both of you (Say Yes to Life and dashingscorpio) indicate an open-minded approach to this matter of NDE. That seems to be the primary requirement for understanding esoteric topics. Sustained exploration and patience can take us to the non-verbal perception of such issues. I feel that the more we perceive in that direction, the richer our life becomes.
From the many accounts of NDE, it is clear that what happens on the other side is somewhat related to the way we live on earth, but the links are only vaguely clear as of now. Hopefully, research in that direction will someday reveal clear connections.
Well, I didn't really believe much before my 30-day comatose experience. I did indeed flat-line and was pronounced brain-dead. My experience was indeed most wonderful; however, I did not find a city of gold etc. My recollection was this:
(1) my life flashed back before me (I being the observer) however, I kept going back before my birth, perhaps experiencing a time and space change?
(2) I did not observe a bright tunnel of light; however, i felt like I was in a place of early mourning brightness.
(3) I zoomed into a crowd of millions of people some seemed familar. Their ages varied yet most were old.
(4) I climbed a hill and at the crest I passed between two standing stones (pillar - like). I was alone at this point.
(5) I was in conversation with two "people" I am not sure if they were people or some derivitive of us. They seemed to communicate with me in unison and I do not have any recollection of mouth movement. I felt like I knew them; yet I could not identify them.
(6) They asked me if I was going to stay or go back. I believe they asked this many times.
(7) At the top of the hill it was Eden-like and I believe I underwent some sort of healing here. There is no recollection of time.
(8) When I awakened from my comatose state, I looked at my wife (she was waiting in my room) and looked at her and apparently said, "Is it ok if I go back?"
I and my better-half think perhaps I was not talking to her.
Now I most certainly cannot conclude that my experience was a indeed a visit to heaven; however, it was indeed most wonderful, void of worry, significantly peaceful, I certainly was far from being dead (although I was registering no brain activity). After my comatose experience I was infused with some knowledge that has indeed changed me. (i) God sees everything. I had my greatest confession after recovering from my coma. You cannot hide anything from Him. No need to worry about anyone who gets away with a crime; his/her time will indeed come.
(ii) Although I am Catholic some of the greatest people (in God's eyes) of the 20th century are not Catholics or even Christians. I believe it is of the utmost importance to us to imitate Christ. Muhatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. were important in this "lesson..." (iii) There is no need to worry/fear. (iv) Our journey does not end with death; we truly pass-on...
(v) There is significant help being provided for us here on this 3rd rock from our sun. Those so called coincidences are indeed help from Him. Please reflect on this one.
(vi) Do not understimate the power of our Sacraments.
Another fascinating and beautiful account. When I saw the Question, I was looking for your answer, connorj, as I knew about your comatose experience. You didn't let me down!
Thank you Emanate P. and as always, your spiritual understanding is significant...
Yoleen, (great username!) you have received some remarkable answers from people who shared their NDEs. I have only second-hand experience, but some stories to tell.
My first wife was a person of deep Christian faith. One night in 1992 I was awakened by her convulsions in the bed. She was having a first time epileptic seizure. After unsuccessfully trying to cast out demons, I called 911.
A benign tumor was found on the brain stem in her right temporal lobe. This area has been associated with visionary experiences, and of course people debate whether such visions are subjective or objective.
Anyway, LaVerne went into brain surgery, and I was told she clinically died on the operating table. She recounted later that she experienced movement through a tunnel, and came to white light. A personage in light held up his hand indicating she was not to go further but to turn back. She lived of course to tell the story, and it seemed to have deep personal meaning to her.
Another story comes from the facilitator of a consciousness workshop (The Dream: A Gathering of Equals) who told us that he had been living a very 'busy' life, was goal-oriented and pushing himself to 'get things done.' His inner voice prompted him over days to take time to listen in stillness, but he ignored it and pushed ahead.
Then one morning he jumped into his new pickup truck and drove in a rush from the house on some errand, again ignoring the inner voice to pause and listen. As he was driving, an obstacle suddenly appeared on the road and when he veered, the truck went off the road, over an embankment, and flipped upside down. As he was held by his seat-belt, hanging upside down, blood dripping, he passed out. What he saw was a council of beings in light whose first words to him were, 'We have called this meeting....'
Another story was told by Dannion Brinkley, who died when he was struck by lightening. In the 90s I watched one of his videos. One segment that stands out was when a man in the audience of Dannion's talk stood up and introduced himself, with a string of degree initials after his name. He asked, 'What are your credentials for talking about this subject?' I liked Dannion's response, 'I am Dannion Brinkley, D.O.A.'
Before answering here I did an internet search as I could not recall Dannion's name. There is so much out on the subject of NDE, I am sure if you have continuing interest you will find more than enough to satisfy it. Best wishes to you.
Thanks for telling me this. This is amazing! Since many people have had the experience of the Tunnel, your first wife's experience was not caused by the tumor.
by Baileybear 13 years ago
but not all those that have NDE become christians?
by Joanna Chandler 10 years ago
I have heard and read of few near death experience some scary some glorious I would like to hear from anyone of you here who would like to share your story briefly. Did it change your life?
by Gary Eby 11 years ago
Do you think near death experiences (NDEs)prove that there is life after death?Maybe NDEs and other spiritual transformational experiences can help all of us find better ways to live in this world today.
by LauraGT 11 years ago
Many speak of near death experiences as proof of God or proof of life after death. A new British study demonstrates that near death experiences are the function of brain activity.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23672150What do you think?
by Rob Welsh 11 years ago
Like me, have you had a Near Death Experience and do you remember having an out of body experience?This is not a religious question, but of course one's faith during one's lifetime, may well have a major bearing on one's near death experience and call. If you have had a near death experience,...
by Grace Marguerite Williams 12 years ago
There is much documentative evidence of positive near death experiences. These people have seen heaven and some heaven-like place. They maintained that they have encountered spiritual figures such as Christ, Buddha, and other City of Light. Many of these people did not...
Copyright © 2024 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2024 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |