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Volume 7: Number 3: Article 1
A Review of Near Death Experiences
Michael Schroeter-Kunhardt, Psychiatrisches Landeskrankenhaus Weinsberg,
74189 Weinsberg, Germany
Near death experiences (NDEs) have been reported throughout time in
essentially all cultures. The contents of modern NDEs is independent
of gender, age, and profession. The frequency of occurrence is estimated
to lie between 10 and 50 percent of all near-death situations. This
frequency could be higher still, perhaps even 100 percent, were it not
for the dreamlike and dissociative character of the experience and the
amnesia-prone participation of the temporal lobe causing a clear tendency
to forget the NDE. A number of similar elements are common to NDEs,
such as an out-of-body experience (OBE) in which the physical body and
its surroundings are observed from various external vantage points,
often from above. Numerous cases exist in which the reality of the OBE-observation
can be independently verified, by external conditions, situations, people,
objects, etc. Even previously non-religious ND experiencers subsequently
show a markedly decreased fear of death and a corresponding increase
in belief in life after death. Certain elements of NDE-like experiences
can be induced by, for example, electrical stimulation of the right
temporal lobe or the use of hallucinogenic substances. It is possible
that hallucinogenic transmitters (and endorphins) or the brain itself
play a role in the NDE. Nevertheless, there are NDE-elements, such as
the frequently reported life-review and certainly the acquisition of
external, verifiable information concerning the physical surroundings
during the experience, that cannot be explained by physiological causes.
Wish-fulfillment, death-denial or other defense mechanisms of the brain
are also not adequate explanations. The large body of NDE data now accumulated
point to genuine evidence for a non-physical reality and paranormal
capacities of the human being.
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