This book is written by Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick. Peter, a neuropsychologist, was the President of the British branch of the International Association for Near-Death Studies. Published in 1995, the book’s subtitle is An Investigation of over 300 Near-Death Experiences.
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of books about Near-Death Experiences (NDE) and Out of Body Experiences (OBE). This is a very popular subject as it is human nature to wonder whether there is an afterlife, what comes after this life, is there heaven and hell, and related topics. I guess most of us would like to “see around the corner” to try and answer these questions, futile as it might be.
Out of Body experiences are typically characterized by the subject having the experience of floating above their physical body and observing their body and others, typically medical personnel trying to save them, independently from their physical body. Sometimes this is called “remote viewing,” which seems to be a descriptive term for the experience.
Of course, an OBE implies that consciousness is independent from the brain and even vision can be from outside our physical being. Typically, in these experiences, the subject has this remote viewing experience and then returns to their body. The others caring for the subject usually say the subject has ‘died’ for a short time and then returned, revived or come back.
OBEs are sometimes accompanied by NDE. NDEs are often characterized by the sense of progressing down a long black tunnel with a light at the end. The light at the end grows brighter as the subject approaches the light. Usually, there is also a sense of ‘beings,’ either relatives or not, along the journey.
The light at the end of the tunnel is typically warm and welcoming and subjects typically report no fear and no pain, even if back in their physical bodies they had considerable pain. These reports almost always include a sense of a point of no return, where going beyond that point will cause death and no going back. The typical story is that the decision to go back is not made by the subject but by the beings along the tunnel. The subjects most often do not want to go back, as the destination is so beautiful, peaceful and perfect that going back to Earth is not attractive. However, some subjects do make the decision to go back, because their work is not finished or there are others, especially children, who need them.
Is this stuff for real or a trick of the mind? That’s the big question, isn’t it? The descriptions make one want to believe this is true and that these people are experiencing a preview of what it will be like to die and progress to an afterlife. The other argument is that this is all a deception by our minds and that there is no afterlife.
These experiences have been related from people from many cultural and ethic backgrounds, and from many religious backgrounds. Typically, the experience does not make a person more religious. However, near universally the subjects lose all fear of death after having one of these experiences.
The book is a good read and introduction to the subject. I’d like to believe the general common elements related by the authors based on these 300 plus reports. But, of course, there is no way to ever know until one’s own death.
Discussing this with my grandson, I said, “If there is no afterlife, I won’t be surprised.” I’m here all week.
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