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Due to medical advances in the last twenty years, many people who once would have died can now be brought back, resulting in a much greater chance for near-death experiences. Patients report having been on the other side before being brought back to life, and in many cases, the patients are saddened to be back alive. In some rare cases, however, patients are actually glad to be back alive, finding the near-death experience to be terrifying. There are three types of this frightening near-death experience; in the first one, the person feels distress or terror; in the second, the person feels alone and gets the impression that what is real is not; and in the third case, the most rare case, the person looks upon a dirty, ugly place. Near-death experiences differ from culture to culture, but no matter a persons culture, race, age, or gender, near-death experiences share many common traits.
A near-death experience most often goes in this order: intense emotion, the out-of-body experience, the dark tunnel, a being of light at the end of the tunnel, and then he or she is sent back. The one thing that has been shown to be true of all near-death experiences is that the person is greatly changed after the experience. One experiment using fifty-three individuals who had a near-death experience and twenty-seven individuals who were on the brink of death but had no near-death experience showed that it is in fact the near-death experience that causes change and not just being on the brink of death. The most common change being that he or she no longer fears death. I went into a room, and saw this light, says Taffy Williams, It went on forever. I put my hand into it, and felt such peace.
It was indescribable. I didnt want to leave it. Williams was then thrown back into her body, and the first sentence she uttered was: Its ok to die (Levine 139). Another very common change is that the person will have a greater concern for others. I was always looking over my back, screwing the next guy. I had acquaintances but few real friends.
When I came out [of the NDE] all the stress was gone. I had an innate sense of where important things are. Its hard for me to hold on to animosity now... I was very vengeful and spiteful, but now I look at things from the positive side (Levine 139). A person who has had a near-death experience may become a hospital volunteer. Another common change a person goes through after a near-death experience is to focus much less on material things such as looks and clothing.
There are many theories as to what is really going on during a near-death experience. Some possible theories are that they are drug-induced, they occur as a result of lack of oxygen, or they are a product of the release of endorphins by the brain into the body. Out of all the theories, there has not been a single theory to explain all aspects of the near-death experience. Another possible explanation is that the temporal lobes of the brain play a role in the near-death experience. Stimulation of the temporal lobes has been shown to create feelings of leaving the body and hallucinations of people.
The right hemisphere of the brain may also attribute to the near-death experience. The right hemisphere of the brain deals with space and boundaries, and a near-death experience seems to have no spatial boundaries. Time disorientation is also an aspect of near-death experiences, and the right hemisphere deals with time. A more proper assumption may be that the lack of the right hemisphere may cause some of the aspects of the near-death experience. Another explanation may be that near-death experiences are just mystical experiences normal human experiences, timeless and independent of death. But if these explanations are true, why would near-death experiences not occur with everyone, and why are there so many similarities among near-death experiences?
Whether or not near-death experiences are real, or whether they vary from culture to culture, there is one thing that is always true: after experiencing a near-death experience, a persons life is greatly changed. Is there life after death? This is a question that man has been asking himself since the beginning of time. Everyone knows that he or she is going to die at some point, and the early man of this earth knew it too. As long as man has been looking up at the stars, he has been pondering if there really is something out there greater than man.
Some supreme being perhaps. Does the near-death experience explain this? No one can say for sure. Science does not accept personal experience as scientific evidence, and until a new science is created, personal recollections cannot be accepted as scientific evidence for life after death (Fenwick 33). Near-death experiences have been recorded for as long as man has had some written language. There are many stories throughout history of near-death experiences.
There is one seventh-century story known as the Vision of Barontus. Barontus is thought to be dead after seemingly being poisoned. He writhes on the floor gesturing at his neck. However, the next morning he came back to life and told of his experience. He said first, two demons came and grappled him by the throat and dragged him toward Hell. Later the archangel Raphael came and saved him.
Raphael was able to heal Barontus throat (Zaleski 45). In fact, during the time period of the black plague, people were revived very frequently, even in their coffins. So frequently that coffins were soon being built with life support ready and bells on the inside for the victim to ring in order to alert onlookers that he or she was alive. A new law of embalming was even established in an effort to prevent so many revivals (Becker 82). Although no two near-death experiences are the same, near-death experiences have common features and a common pattern. The first step in this pattern is intense emotion; usually peace and comfort.
People who have near-death experiences say the feeling is indescribable like nothing they have ever felt before. I was losing consciousness and I was completely aware of it. But I wasnt afraid, I thought, So this is what its like to die. This isnt so bad! Then I felt a great, loving warmth... (Powell 43).
But suddenly, I felt something enveloping me, something palpable like a blanket yet suffused with feelings of love and joy. Im in Gods presence, I said to myself. This is so wonderful... so wonderful, I could stay here forever (Have 174).
The next stage in the pattern is the out-of-body experience, also known as the O. B. E. At this stage, the victim sees their body. He or she feels as if she is hovering above their body and looking down.
They can see everything going on, but they cannot do anything. In some cases, the person is able to recall everything they saw during their out-body-experience, and it matches up with what was actually happening at the time of his or her death. All at once I just popped out of my body and floated up to the ceiling. I could see dust on top of the light fixtures, and I thought, Boy, somebody's going to catch it for this!
I could see doctors working on someone on the table, when all of a sudden I realized it was meI mean, my body. I thought it was kind of silly they were working so hard. My family was waiting down the hall, and I wished my kids could stop crying; I wanted to let them know I was fine, but they couldnt hear me. Then it seemed I had to get back, that it was my job to take care of them, see them grow up okay (IANDS). The third step is traveling through a dark space or tunnel.
Sometimes, there may be a being of light or just a light at the end of the tunnel. This space seems to be a void, an area with no boundaries. Sometimes, the person may see things in this tunnel such as angels or spirits. In one persons recollection of their near-death experience they say, I remember drifting in and out, then taking a sail through the darkness... (Hayes 54). The next stage involves the being of light. This is most often the most moving part of the experience.
The being, most often a being of light, may be perceived as a person, a God-like figure. Some people may even say that it was God himself, or it was Jesus himself. This being converses with the person and guides them through the experience, possibly taking him or her through a garden or to meet loved ones. It is sometimes from this being that the person will hear, it is not your time, you must return. I was going, but I felt totally at peace.
There was a golden kind of light, brighter than the sun, but it didnt hurt my eyes. I never wanted anything as much as to go into that light, but something or somebody it felt like my dad, who died when I was a kid communicated to me, It isnt your time. You must go back to finish what you have to do in your life. The next thing I knew, I was slammed back into...
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Research essay sample on Life After Death Back To Life
