Happenings Newsletter

suspects that number is higher due to these experiences often being kept private.  About 1 in 20 Americans has reported having an NDE, so it is likely that someone we know personally is an experiencer.  Yet, he says it’s difficult to really know if someone we know did have such an experience, and, if they report that they did, whether or not they’re sharing the whole story, trivializing it, or they are processing what it could mean to have had such an experience while being in a state of physical death.

It's not easy for people to talk about such experiences for many reasons, but by developing a system to communicate in a sensitive, but objective, way with several survivors who recently came close to death, Dr. Greyson has had the benefit of hearing, for more than 40 years, about countless experiences from those who had NDEs. Not only has he seen the evidence of how NDEs have changed people after they returned to life in the physical world—how these experiences affect the person going through it—but he also reports personally experiencing effects in his own life just from studying people who have had NDEs. Beyond that, he writes, “Some changes in attitudes, values, and behavior we see in experiencers have shown up in people who just learn about NDEs second-hand.”  And, the power of learning about NDEs, he adds, can provide comfort, hope, and inspiration to people who have not had these experiences, themselves.  That is the additional “After”-effect that this book also discusses—second-hand knowledge.

How do NDEs Change People?
So, what are these effects?  The book touches on them through stories of people who have had accidents, health emergencies, and even self-inflicted events that led to an NDE. He covers the components of the actual experience that have been described by many different people. Common reports include otherworldly features—such as arriving in a mystical place or traveling with a mystical being; changes in thinking, changes in feeling—with reports of a sense of peace, feelings of joy, and a feeling of “oneness” with everything that exists. There are even paranormal features reported, such as watching an operation being performed on oneself from outside of the body.  Many people report feeling freed of a sense of confinement they have while in their body that they do not feel during the NDE.  As they are going through the dying process, there are changes in thinking in which time can be distorted, thoughts come much faster than normal, and seeing their whole life play out, with a sudden clarity of understanding.

Dr. Greyson describes personality and lifestyle changes in the people he has interviewed over the years after they return from their NDE. These can be reports of a stronger concern or compassion for others, an appreciation of life (even in those who attempted suicide) and being better able to cope with problems. They say that after their NDE they believe there is life after death and they are no longer afraid to die. They have a more spiritual perspective and less concern or interest about their personal status or material possessions. There is a sense of meaning or purpose to their existence, and they no longer try to compete with others.

What Effects Do NDEs have on Non-experiencers?
Studies among college students who have not personally experienced an NDE, but learned the features of NDEs have confirmed that second-hand effects occur in the process of hearing or learning about them.  For example, Dr. Greyson tells readers that more than 80% of undergraduates in a sociology class that studied NDEs at Miami University of Ohio showed more compassionate concern for others and greater feelings of self-worth at the end of the semester as well as at a follow-up a year later. Nursing students at Montana State University reported that after completing a course on NDEs, they had less fear of death, felt more spiritual, and experienced a greater sense of purpose. Similar results of positive effects were reported among other university and high school students who learned about NDEs in their studies. Not only does learning about NDEs change personal perspectives, Dr. Greyson writes that this awareness is having an influence on medical and nursing school curricula, inspiring new approaches to patient care.

Hope for Better Outcomes for More People
Dr. Greyson’s hope is that the focus of conversations about NDEs will go beyond whether the experiencer’s brain or mind is producing the visions they report after being revived from an NDE.  He wants discussions to be more about the critical issues about life here and now as well as about what is reported to happen in NDEs.  In this book, he gives many convincing reasons about the evidence that is there for the exploration beyond “is it real, or is it a hallucination?” This book lays out his 40 years of research and what it can mean for us while we are living our day-to-day lives, caring for the physically and mentally ill, and seeking meaning and purpose in our daily activities and encounters.