Near-death and transient-death experiences™

NEAR-DEATH AND TRANSIENT-DEATH EXPERIENCES™

The near-death experience (NDE) is a profound and transformative psychological experience reported by some people who have come close to physical death e.g. during cardiac arrest, or who have been in significant danger physically, psychologically or both e.g. car accident, malaria, septicaemia. Cardiologist and NDE researcher, Pim van Lommel, suggests that estimates put the number of NDEs, worldwide, at 25 million over the course of the last fifty years. Experiencers describe the NDE as a mystical, spiritual or transcendental experience, with virtually all suggesting that this is an experience without words to describe it. It is ineffable. It is also unforgettable, and experiencers report retaining vivid, consistent memories of their NDE throughout their lifetime.

The NDE is associated with certain features such as the cessation of pain, heightened emotion, a sense of bliss, changes in thought processes, seeing a light or a being of light, sensing a different reality, contact with deceased individuals, reaching a boundary or point of no return, and an out-of-body experience. The NDE may also involve a ‘life review’. This is a personal evaluation of ones life as a whole, as well as of ones thoughts, actions and intentions throughout, with many NDErs suggesting that this evaluation brings significant insight and meaning to their life going forward. Significantly, transcending all of these features is the experiencer’s continued sense of self throughout the experience.

I thought, so this is how I die. Then, in an instant, I saw my lifeless body beneath me … But I knew I was still alive… And I was still me (TELERF, 2015)

A number of NDEs occur when the experiencer is at the point of clinical death. Elaine refers to an NDE of this nature as a transient-death experience (TDE). Those who have a TDE are not ‘near-death’ at the time of their experience they are, temporarily, clinically dead. During transient-death measurable brain activity ceases, breathing stops and death may be pronounced. Yet, transient-death experiencers (TDErs) describe their conscious experience as continuing and/or expanding beyond the physical body, in spite of the severity of their physiological condition and visible loss of consciousness. They report the continued ability to see and hear, witness events, experience emotion and think very clearly, with some reporting both hearing and seeing the pronouncement of their own death. On occasion such reports have been verified. Experiences that involve a period of transient-death, coupled with such verification, challenge the current assumptions regarding the relationship between brain function and consciousness. To read more about a transient-death experience click here.

Elaine presents a workshop on NDEs and TDEs, Western Cape, South Africa

Elaine highlights that currently proposed psychobiological theories are unable to fully explain the total complexity of these experiences. The fact that these experiences can occur when a person is unconscious, or has reached the point of clinical death, is also medically inexplicable. These experiences lie on the boundary between life and death, and their understanding requires an expansion of our view of consciousness.

For most, the NDE or TDE is life changing and there are significant after-effects. Such after-effects may include losing the fear of death and an unwavering conviction that there is life after death. Integrating an experience of such magnitude into one’s life is a process that requires time, support and understanding. For many experiencers this may take years. Discovering more about this process, as well as about the experiences themselves, contributes greatly to our understanding and ability to support experiencers. If you are willing to assist in this through sharing your own transformative experience of this nature with TELERF please click here.

In her talks and webinars, Elaine builds on the extensive research that has taken place in this field over the last fifty years including the work of, in alphabetical order, neuropsychiatrist Dr Peter Fenwick, psychiatrist Dr Bruce Greyson, oncologist Dr Jeffrey Long, medical doctor Dr Raymond Moody (who first coined the term ‘near-death experience’), intensive care expert Dr Sam Parnia, psychologist Dr Kenneth Ring, cardiologist Dr Michael Sabom, Dr Penny Sartori of Swansea University in Wales, as well as cardiologist Dr Pim van Lommel. Elaine focuses on cases from TELERF’s database, sharing each case in great detail and highlighting, amongst other things, patterns across NDEs and TDEs, examples of experiential verification, potential after-effects and the reported repercussions of these experiences. She also focuses on the relevant features that are suggestive of the survival of the personality, or aspects of it, beyond death. In the words of one attendee,

I have attended many talks and workshops but none as profound as Elaine’s. I was captivated from start to finish…the knowledge she shared has definitely changed me (Gill W.)