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In 1975, Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr. originated the term ''near-death experiences" to describe the clinical death experiences of people he wrote about in his book Life After Life (Bantam Books, 1975). However, similar experiences occur that do not involve near-death circumstances. For example, saints, mystics, and others, who often pray or meditate, experience altered states of consciousness that have been compared to NDEs. But the great majority of these vision-like experiences come from those who have survived a close call with death. |
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Because of medical advances, more people are now able to have a close encounter with death and then live to tell the tale. These people share similar experiences, and their similarity is what makes them remarkable. Here's a list of traits shared in many NDEs: |
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1. As a person feels he is dying, he hears himself pronounced dead by a doctor. |
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2. The person hears a loud noise, usually a loud ringing or buzzing. |
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3. The person also feels herself speeding through a long, dark tunnel. |
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4. Suddenly, the person discovers she is outside her own physical body. However, she remains in her immediate physical environment. |
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5. The person sees his own body from a distance, watching the resuscitation attempt from this strange point of view. Emotional upheaval or detachment also accompanies this. |
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6. Eventually, the person collects himself and adjust to his unusual condition. |
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7. The person discovers she has a new body with unique powers, separate from the physical body she just left. |
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8. Soon, spirits of former loved ones appear. |
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9. A warm and loving spirit appears as a being of light, which asks questions. These are nonverbal and intended to help the person examine his life. Panoramic playbacks of major life events appear. |
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10. Gradually, the person approaches a border that seems to represent a barrier between life and death. For unknown reasons, she must turn back to an earthly life. Her time to die has not arrived. |
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11. The person resists returning, after glimpsing an afterlife of immense joy, love, and peace. But he returns to his physical body. |
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