The 6 Stages of a Near-Death Experience

How do we know that near-death experiences (NDEs) are real and not simply dreams or hallucinations? One way might be to see what these experiences have in common. Best-selling author Dr. Raymond Moody points out that NDEs share patterns too striking. 1. Out of Body—A NDE typically starts with a sense of peace. Survivors describe floating serenely above their bodies and compare the feeling to removing their clothing. In a 2014 study led by Dr. Sam Parnia, author of What Happens When We Die, 40 percent of cardiac arrest survivors reported “awareness”—like watching doctors work on their body—while clinically dead. 2. Through the Tunnel—A 2001 study from the Netherlands’ Hospital Rijnstate found 31 percent of cardiac arrest survivors who had a NDE recalled moving through a tunnel. Anecdotal research shows this can take the form of a cave, kaleidoscope or valley but is usually cylindrical and delivers the person into an ethereal light. According to Dr. Parnia, this light often leaves people feeling “less materialistic, kinder to others…less afraid of death and generally more pious and religious.” 3. Visions of Love—After the light, some NDE-rs arrive at heavenly destinations—misty or golden-hued fields, gardens, pathways and cities of light. Regardless of the geography, survivors report an indescribable feeling of love. A 2017 study from Belgium’s University of Liège showed that 80 percent of survivors experienced transcendental peacefulness during their NDE. 4. Close Encounters—The University of Liège study also found that 64 percent of participants encountered spirits or people in their NDE. Survivors have recalled meeting deceased loved ones—even pets—as well as spiritual beings, angels, Jesus, God or a single holy figure of pure light. This being often communicates in an “unspoken language,” Dr. Moody writes. 5. The Life Review—NDE-rs are sometimes presented with a life review—a rapid recall of essential events. These scenes can be shown from another person’s perspective, offering insight into past hurts or mistakes. Afterward, Dr. Parnia writes, many survivors “began to view life as an opportunity to be a source of goodness to others.” 6. At the Gates—By the end of a NDE, some people are given a choice to continue on through a heavenly gateway or entrance. Others, though, don’t have a choice—they’re directed to return to earth, often to complete their lives and destinies. Most NDE survivors emerge from the experience transformed—with, as Dr. Jeffrey Long, author of God and the Afterlife, writes, “a profound understanding of God’s love.”