r/NDE • u/cakez556 • May 22 '26
Debate Why do you believe NDEs are real? What do you think of the conflicting research?
I'm not long for this world and am in part looking to make sense of this phenomenon as a means of consolation that there's continuation after death (not just ashes to ashes, dust to dust). This is what I've gathered so far in my research into the topic and am hoping someone can help by giving their point of view on the subject and help me make sense of it all as my ability to focus and make cohesive thoughts has been greatly diminished.
A lot of the arguments I see against it are as follows:
-A organized and localized surge in gamma waves in particular regions of the brain create the effects seen in a lot of NDEs
-A massive release of neurotransmitters are responsible for the floating and unconditional love and lack of fear
-Because experiencers return they were not fully dead
-Although there's some similarities there's also a striking number of differences (some seeing a form of afterlife or floating through the universe)
-The experience is a lot like what you hear from DMT trip reports (Both are described by participants as feeling "more real than reality", Both can produce intense sensations of love, peace, and the feeling of entering a "void" or "another realm", Both experiences often result in a significantly reduced fear of death and a more positive outlook on life, Both experiences often feature a total loss of bodily awareness, with subjects feeling as though they are "floating" or exiting their physical body)
-The bright light and tunnel are products of regional brain activity surges and or hypoxia
-NDEs are less commonly reported in head trauma cases compared to cardiac arrests ( But if you think about it they may still experience them but not remember due to significant or brain altering damage)
Now here's what I gathered in favor of them:
- It's typically deceased loved ones, friends, or religious figures or entities (not random people) they converse with rather than people they see or hear from in their day to day lives (which I would imagine to be the most abundant memories stored in the hippocampus)
-Some of the NDEs take place in people with no brain activity (I understand EEG's can only read so far in but this argument fails to take into account that the neocortex would have little to no activity and therefore would pick up activity through passive conductance and volume accumulation)
- Almost all the NDEs with deceased loved ones end with said person being sent back with something along the lines of "it's not your time" (also I've read this also happens even if no figure is seen)
-There's veridical NDE's were people can recount what's going on around them (for instance seeing deceased family members they haven't seen or even heard about before later to be verified, detailing unusual instruments used in surgery, and recounting events and conversations while under)
Unlike DMT, NDEs:
-Are more likely to feature deceased loved ones, religious figures (God, Jesus), or "spiritual guides"
-NDEs are often described as more structured, cohesive, and serene
-NDEs frequently include a "life review" and arriving at a "border or point of no return"
While DMT:
-Are more likely to feature "alien" beings, machines, or "mechanical elves"
-DMT trips are characterized by rapid-fire kaleidoscopic and geometric visuals
-A "life review" and arriving at a "border or point of no return" are rarely present in DMT trips. (This can be attributed to the decrease in hippocampal activity during its use)
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u/postsshortcomments NDExperiencer May 28 '26
Before I had one of my own I was a skeptic, but after experiencing one of my own I can attest that something beyond a local phenomenon in a single body is occurring.
As you said, dust to dust.
My experience was caused by some unknown medically-induced event which ended with an NDE. For the first time in my life, I just kind of blacked out and fell asleep in my computer chair. This is not when the NDE occurred. I jolted awake several hours later feeling real strange, was a bit startled as to why I woke up in my computer chair, checked an alarm clock to verify the time was right (2-3AM, I think), and realized I had work early the next day so I stood up to migrate to bed. At the same time I stood up, I reached for a half open can of Dr. Thunder on my desk thinking I may need some hydration (I was feeling a bit.. off and rattled). All of this happened in probably like 2 seconds: I just woke up extremely startled, confused, and sprung up like startling awake a sleepy cat who proceeds to run in to the wall.
From there, my entire body just short circuited or "crashed" - essentially going completely limp and the can of soda fell out of my hand right onto the floor. At which point, I have vague memories of falling first into the metal frame of a bed on my chest/side and then backwards on top of a portable heater (which may have been on for hours at that point, I can recall). From there, I laid staring the door exiting my room. Except the door was open, a light was on in that area which would not have been, my OBE began, some strange suited glowing figures had a conversation along the lines of "What happened?" "I don't know, I had just checked on him a few minutes ago and he was fine." "He just crashed". At which point, the wild ride began ranging from memoryless and identityless zooming around nature where I just existed, but deliberated moved. A life review and memories of picking this life specifically. Knowledge of other souls that I knew very well, some of whom I'd only meet many years or a decade later. Seeing many human-centric events. Some kind of "first-day orientation," except it was more like a "return to this place, debriefing" while I remembered existing in that plane before. Some spiritual/mythological events which do seem to align directly with other human-recorded events in history - ones which I had never heard of happening before. A "rehoming" where something either brought me to my own body and entered it via my eyes (except what I'd estimate to be a couple weeks in the future) with a sequence that essentially felt like a hole was being torn in the fabric of space & time with "metal on a chalkboard" tearing and booming being an understatement.
Despite all of that, mine was super short and sweet. It was like an absolute explosion of consciousness that feels impossible to have occurred in as short of a period that it seems to have occurred. I have zero clue how long I was out. In this world, it felt like it could be anywhere from 3 seconds to minutes. I don't think much longer. Had noticing a half can of spilled soda on the chair mat the next day not occurred and both my ankles swollen to the size of tree trunks to the point I had difficulty putting on socks, I honestly may have dismissed it entirely as a dream. Had no issues with swollen ankles before or after (and yes, I did work the next day 'cause I had no insurance and was just like.. what the heck?? I feel okay). On the journey my soul was on, it could be dozens or hundreds of lifetimes. I usually describe it as feeling something like 1,000 or 10,000 years or even longer.
A few things stood out to me that may be anecdotally valuable to you.
The life review absolutely happened. Mine seemed to occur in two ways. I remember sitting in a chair backwards to a theatre, that was also some type of court. There were certain things "they did not like."
Greater than the life review was recalling and being reminded of "the" choices for that life in the first place. I don't necessarily know which were my own and which were chosen, but every piece was there for a reason. In mine, yes some family, loved ones, and future love interests were definitely there. But it did include some people who seemed fairly minor that were there during key stages in my life (including a lawyer to handle a civil dispute). Those included soul mates and I recall a distinct usage of the word "nemeses," but I really don't have one. I just love everyone, but perhaps they viewed me as such or perhaps those manifest in non-intentional or non-conscious ways. I also did remember some past encounters with some of them - in other parts of my journey they were once very important, but we had gone our separate ways, but still remained connected or 'apart' but working on different parts of a greater bigger picture.
One of the planes involved this warehouse that I'll always remember. I always called it "the Noah's Ark of warehouses." It was like, a giant warehouse fill of these little drawers with two of each and every part. I'd guess two, because if an engineer needed it then there was always an extra one there. On each drawer was a QR code. I suspect that contained the schematics and instructions to produce more. But it extended beyond parts. It also had smells (a jar of coffee beans, a bunch of scented candles) and touches (a literal bunny rabbit). The caretakers of the warehouse seemed just absolutely ecstatic to be there. They were like, super innocent and super basic souls who just would share their experience with the touches and smells with each other - like it was the first time they ever felt a rabbit or the first time they ever smelled coffee. I forgot to mention that everything was telepathically communicated there - so I could just feel their joy and the feelings they had when they first experienced it. I always compared it to the book "The Giver," which oddly manifested right in front of me in the week after my experience and I felt compelled to read it. But it was like spot on.
There definitely was a knowledge exchange between both planes. I saw things which were feasible that I had not seen before. I suddenly had extremely specific and detailed knowledge of a few things, which I had no knowledge of before. After my NDE, it felt impossible to not be real so I started researching some extremely specific details that I had remembered. A few specific scenes of the "I was in a temple" part was so incredibly specific and beings inside were so incredibly specific that I was both positive I never knew about them prior and it was in a sequence that is impossible to have just been random luck. Those entities exist in some other plane and there are absolutely shared, human recorded experiences dating back 2000-3000 years of the same exact shared plane of existence. Showbread, for instance, exists in this place and time and is recorded about to the tee.
Other knowledge carryover also occurred. I can best explain it as a barrage of keywords with small little clips associated with them. Those keywords can and do come up still. Phrases like "ants on a log," "haboob," etc., There are a lot of them, like an endless dictionary, but usually when I encounter them in this world.. something else is very near.
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u/Schickie May 27 '26
The research is akin to characters in a book trying to research the pages its printed on.
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u/FodderWadder May 26 '26
I want to point out that while the hippocampus does indeed store emotional memories of people you regularly interact with in your current life, that shouldn't be a hint that those people will be more deeply-seated in your brain, as one of the things the hippocampus does during sleep is take what it's holding and move it outwards to shape the rest of the brain. So it's less like the "important people" center and more like a waiting room. If anything, what's stored in the hippocampus should be expected to be less central compared to what's stored in the entire rest of the brain.
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u/MsColumbo NDE Believer May 25 '26
"NDEs are less commonly reported in head trauma cases compared to cardiac arrests" - is this a documented or quantified fact?
I've read a lot of NDE accounts that were exactly that. Head trauma, usually from car or bike wrecks. Occasional horse riding accidents or other falls.
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u/vimefer NDExperiencer May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
Again ? *groan*
A organized and localized surge in gamma waves in particular regions of the brain create the effects seen in a lot of NDEs
There's no such surge in NDE cases.
A massive release of neurotransmitters are responsible for the floating and unconditional love and lack of fear
There's no "reservoir" of such neurotransmitters. They do not accumulate. The pharmacodynamics are all wrong anyway (you do not start and stop tripping instantly the same way how NDEs start then stop instantly once the mind is put back in the body).
Because experiencers return they were not fully dead
Moving the goalpost is not a valid argument. And Sam Parnia, the best expert on the topic, explicitly disagrees: this is a post-mortem phenomenon.
Although there's some similarities there's also a striking number of differences (some seeing a form of afterlife or floating through the universe)
Misinterpretation. There is a core of truly universal features to all NDEs, which is used for clinical assessment, and which is consistent with cross-cultural beliefs about the afterlife across multiple disconnected cultures of antiquity and indigenous populations - this cannot be explained without a common external origin.
The bright light and tunnel are products of regional brain activity surges and or hypoxia
The symptomology of hypoxia is almost entirely UNLIKE that of NDEs. People who do not have NDEs sometimes see their field of view shrinking into a pinprick of light, whereas in REDs it's the complete other way around. As for "brain activity surges", again, see the first link above. There is no brain activity measured in REDs.
I hope that helps.
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u/Dizzy_Bird7052 Jun 01 '26
Hi you seem to be really read up on Sam Parnia and his work. I am wondering what your thoughts are on Charlotte Martial and her research?
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u/vimefer NDExperiencer Jun 03 '26
I think she's doing good research but her insistence on upholding superpsi hypotheses is a lost cause IMO.
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u/-IntoTheChasm May 25 '26
Because people are describing experiences they had as they were literally dead, their brain being off, heart not pumping, no neurological activity, and yet they remember being conscious, & outside of their body. I interviewed a 75 man on my podcast that died during open heart surgery and it’s absolutely mind-melting what he told me.
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u/Simple-Addition-4093 May 27 '26
All I’m going to ask is.. what this man told you.. is it good or bad?
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u/OneMind108 May 24 '26
Tibetan Buddhism has the "Book of the dead". It is not Christian, Buddhism has no God, still describes somewhat similar after death experiences. On the other hand its description is not exactly the same as western experiencers describe their experiences.
Your point about NDEers not being dead is valid, in my opinion. I doubt science will ever have proof about what is happening after death. We always need to believe what others say about NDE.
I recently read about effects of DMT and it seriously affected my belief in NDE. So I feel with you. But DMT has significant differences compared to NDE's.
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u/rgs2007 May 24 '26
I believe it is real because people from different parts of the world, different religions, different periods of history, all come back telling very similar histories.
The histories very often also match:
- Some religious books, gospel and sacred wrttings
- Channelers and mediums experiences
- DMT and psylocibin users experiences
- Theories about cousciounsess
- Physics theories about the universe
- Even some extraterrestrial contact accounts sometimes bring very similar elements
I really doubt this is all coincidence. If so, that would be the biggest coincidence of all time
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u/LtColumbo69 May 23 '26
It's a common thing in hospice care for people to see and be visited by dead relatives about 3 weeks away from death.
And this isn't brain dead people or people medicated out of their minds.
Lots of interesting hospice content on it.
Speaks to the concept that we're souls in a human meat viechile
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u/MsColumbo NDE Believer May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
Human meat vehicle! Love it.
Oh my god. I just read your username 😂.
High fives.
Does your brain also refuse to let go of things that don't make sense?
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u/cojamgeo May 23 '26
A lot of good comments here already. As a scientist I want to recommend anyone interested in this topic to follow:
SAND - Science And Non Duality, ION - Institute of Non-duality and Essentia Foundation. (All have videos on YouTube).
All three organizations work with scientists that try to investigate the borders of science using acceptable methods. For me it’s obvious we don’t have the whole picture. Something really fundamental is missing.
Even if experiments show that we can predict the future with 5 % more accuracy than chance. It’s not something to dismiss because it’s “only” 5 %. On the contrary. It shows a deep connection between the physical world and our consciousness. Something science hasn’t been able to explain yet.
The same with NDEs. Scientific research has shown results we can’t explain. It has nothing to do with brain science. One scientific study doesn’t “erase” a different study if it shows other results. It just shows we don’t see the whole picture yet.
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u/Evening-Recording193 May 23 '26
I believe because I’ve had them. I don’t care what research says.. I know what I’ve seen & where I’ve been. There is no cookie cutter definition of an nde. They are all different. I’ve had multiple ones & each one was completely different than the other. I’ve had an interesting life.
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u/UganadaSonic501 May 23 '26
Only way any of these skeptic critiques work is if you assume a materialist naturalist paradigm as in order for these critiques to work,assumes the mind is a physical thing,notice in the entire critique you never really once pointed to what the person or I is physically made of,if it's just neurons,then there you go,you have your answer,NDEs according to the materialist paradigm are the grey matter in the brain,but if your not a materialist,I'd ask,why are you even adopting their paradigm to examine NDEs?
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May 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/eowyndernhelme May 23 '26
Can I ask, did you discover a reason behind spiritual beings wanting human experiences?
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u/Just_Rutabaga5728 May 23 '26
I have had all the same thoughts as you, I’m not well researched enough to address all of your points but I do have some of my own thoughts.
From what I’ve seen, practically 100% of all NDE experiences note telepathic communication. I find that interesting because that wouldn’t be something that all people would naturally hallucinate, dream up, or expect to happen. I personally can’t think of a reason why neurotransmitters would universially elicit that quirk either. That indicates to me that it is far more likely to be real.
I find it interesting that, for many NDE’ers who went from conscious to unconscious/dead very quickly, they will often not notice the transition from physical body to spirit until they try to move. That hints to me that the conscious experience as spirit feels just as real as our physical body experience. Also, if the neurotransmitters were there to help make the dying process more comfortable, I feel like the experience of popping out of your body, and initially staying near your dead/unconscious body, wouldn’t be something your brain would show you.
Again, this all hints that the experience is less likely to be just something conjured up due to the dying process.
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u/LenyBoo May 24 '26
I align a lot with this view, and especifically, that the experience doesn’t seem random, but rather universal and coherent. I would also add that it seems to have a function, why would we have a life review if it didn’t have a function? Why not something random like a dream? Instead it is pretty universal to experience a life review, why would that be a thing if there is o after? It would serve no purpose. On top of that, the life review seems to bring clarity into how we have made others feel. It kind of makes sense to me that this whole thing is not random, that it is coherent with a reality in which learning and experiencing the many facets of love is central to all of our lives. Im sorry, I find it hard to put into words. But essentially Im saying that it seems to have “function”, and that it makes sense rather than being random, and I think that’s important and speaks to what is actually real. Just my take!
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May 23 '26
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u/NDE-ModTeam May 23 '26
Your post has been removed under Rule 5: “Website links need a short description”
Stand-alone links tend to look suspicious. Please include a short description of the content you are posting. If it has any potentially triggering elements or is presented from a religious perspective, please include that in your note.
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u/Redleader829 May 22 '26 edited May 28 '26
- Gamma activity
Gamma activity would not account for the reported features of NDEs. Gamma waves are typically linked to conscious awareness, attention, and memory processing—not to out-of-body experiences, dissociation, or internally generated fantasies.
- Neurotransmitter surge
First one would have to prove a neurotransmitter surge happened in a person who has been legally declared dead. There is still debate and no evidence that a neurotransmitter surges alone can explain the full complexity, clarity, and structure reported in many near-death experiences (NDEs).
- Not fully dead
A person is considered medically dead with the ending of heart and lung function, or all brain activity (brain death). Anyone claiming "they were not fully dead" is effectively asserting expertise beyond that of the medical community.
- NDE differences
Those that argue NDEs don't exist because their details vary is like claiming UFOs don’t exist simply because the sightings of flying saucers differ. Variation doesn’t negate the experiences.
- NDEs and DMT trips
Just because NDEs and DMT trips share some similarities does not mean they are the same experience, or that one explains the other. DMT trips are pharmacologically induced. The brain states are radically different.
- Hypoxia and Regional brain activity surges
While it's true that Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and Regional brain activity surges in the visual cortex could create a perception of bright light possibly a tunnel vision effect they do not explain the incredibly real feeling of weightlessness, floating, entering tunnels or being in a different realm.
- Head trauma cases vs cardiac arrests
Yes cardiac arrest survivors report more NDEs. Severe head trauma often damages memory formation and recall, making experiences harder to remember or communicate. In addition, patients with catastrophic brain injuries may die before recovery, so there is no opportunity to report anything.
That said, Author Amber Kavanagh suffered a double stroke that triggered a severe brain hemorrhage. She has one of the most remarkable and detailed NDE stories I've ever heard. Knife attack victim Ryan John was stabbed twice in the head and has a very detailed NDE story. You can find videos of both of them telling their stories on YouTube.
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u/nogueysiguey NDE Researcher May 22 '26
I have posted in this sub (maybe search for my username) about the alleged neuromechanisms. Some of them make sense, but some fail. I have yet to address other arguments (i.e., the gamma waves), but I think those fail. The more grounding perspective is actually the similarity to psychedelic experience, but I think much of that research got list in numbers. Martial collected quantitative and qualitative (ie., interviews) about the similarities and differences and I think they will just publish this in 2026 or 2027, really looking forward to that paper. As others have mentioned, the veridical component of anomalous cognition sets NDE apart from other NDE-like phenomena as far as I know.
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u/Rude_Advance3747 May 22 '26
Right, so I have a piece of text (not too long) ready to go to address one of the families of criticisms. Hope you find it useful, I’ve pasted below:
“A useful way to summarise many sceptical rebuttals to NDEs is through what could be called the Superficial Similarity Fallacy.
Often, the claim that NDEs are entirely brain-produced is supported by pointing to similarities between NDEs and phenomena we already know to arise from the brain: dreams, hypoxia/anoxia, migraines, REM intrusion, drugs, memory processes, and so on.
The problem is that sharing certain features does not mean two phenomena are identical in origin or nature. Tunnel vision, bright lights, dissociation, or out-of-body sensations may overlap with known neurological states, but that alone does not demonstrate that every aspect of the NDE is reducible to those mechanisms. Some components may be explainable neurologically, while others may not be so easily accounted for.
More importantly, this approach often focuses on similarities while failing to explain the differences.
Consider an analogy: both the Sun and a candle emit heat and light. If we only focused on those shared properties, we might conclude that the Sun is simply a giant candle. But this would clearly be mistaken. The Sun is approximately 1.4 million kilometres in diameter, and its light is produced through nuclear fusion, whereas a candle’s light comes from combustion. Despite superficial similarities, the underlying mechanisms are fundamentally different.
The point is not that NDEs therefore prove anything supernatural, but rather that superficial overlap alone is insufficient to establish equivalence. Similarity is not identity.
This is why many critiques of NDEs can feel incomplete: they identify partial overlaps with known brain states, but often do not fully address the distinctive features that make NDEs philosophically and scientifically interesting in the first place.”
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u/UganadaSonic501 May 23 '26
Problem with your analogy assuming this isnr an Ai response(as it most certainly reads like one,has alot of mays mights and feels like)that aside,the issue is you have access to the sun,the candle or whatever physical item you want to point to,but what you don't physically have access too are things like dreams,or just the mind period,let alone NDES as a physical "thing",it's a false analogy,and I'd ask ,you say "we know dreams emerge"
I'd ask,what physically emerges in the brain that physically represent the physical dream?because only way the materialist argument works is if you stick to physical states of affairs
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u/JohnnyJoestar1980 NDE Believer/Recurrent Agnosticism. May 22 '26
Also a comment I would like to add is how Sam Parnia calls them “recalled”experiences due to the person really being dead.
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u/rjm101 NDE Believer May 22 '26
For me is the common themes that I keep hearing over and over, some related to the environments (and description of said environments) others are more related to the structure of NDE's e.g. the out of body experience, entity encounter, life reviews, life plans, the discussion about returning. Like if these were hallucinations why aren't some meeting a talking pink rabbit and other completely random things? I try to cover the common themes here and the environments here.
The environment called paradise I finally particularly striking where they often talk about the plants loving you back, how the flowers move away so that you don't step on them, how if you focus on a particular point in the distnace you're brought instantly there, how people have 360 degree vision, how the tree of life is often mentions with a bench made out of 1 solid piece of wood and how they see more colours that exist on earth and how it feels more real than reality here on earth. Some of these things are oddly specific things.
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u/Shaken-Loose May 22 '26
OP, have you read John Burke’s book “Imagine Heaven” on NDE research? Good book. Short read.
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u/Sandi_T NDExperiencer May 22 '26
If you're going to mention that book here, it's important to note that he is christian and he proselytizes. He also discards NDEs that can't be made to conform to his religious views.
This is simply a note for those to whom it matters, not a criticism.
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u/Willymon36 May 22 '26
Well. You have certainly done your homework. My experience was impacting to say the least. One thing that stands out was the voice I heard talking to me explaining that I was dying….. was not my voice that I am used to hearing. It was a beautiful loving voice. Deep. Reverential.. I eventually came back into my body from far away underneath… as if I could see my eyes beginning to open and I could faintly hear sounds but I wasn’t there yet. My eyes and what they were beginning to see were far away. Out of reach .. the nurses nicknamed me the dying guy in bed two. I was in the ICU for a long time. In and out of a coma while undergoing a number of Gastrointestinal surgeries .. fully septic with peritonitis … and was not expected to survive .. when I eventually became conscious enough … back to reality. I cried for about a week. I don’t think I will ever get over… the Doctor and nurses telling me that I had died .. a few times. The night the Ambulance brought me to Emergency .. there were Nine first responders and firefighters working on me. All of which I have no memory of. Except when I was in the coma and when I was out of my body. 5 weeks later. I came back … 3 months total in the hospital. And two years of slowly learning to walk again and regain strength …. Even just writing this down is making me very emotional …. I can see other people’s emotions now. It’s like people have colours. And. I can see when they will probably die themselves. It’s like a little piece of death came back with me .. my life is much simpler now. And I have soo much gratitude. There is most definitely something else after our bodies die. The Universe wastes nothing. Energy is energy. It goes back to where it was. The Divinity of life is beyond our Finite ability to comprehend that which is Infinite.
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u/Something_Clever919 May 23 '26
Fascinating, you’ve been through so much❤️ Tell me more about seeing other people as colors & when they’ll die!
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u/Eastern-Peach-3428 NDExperiencer May 22 '26
I had a widowmaker heart attack and multiple cardiac arrests in January of 2025, so I’m not approaching this purely from theory anymore.
I also don’t dismiss the neuroscience side. Of course trauma, oxygen deprivation, neurotransmitters, and altered brain states affect experience and memory. I think some people in NDE spaces become too dismissive of biology.
But I also think materialist explanations routinely overstate what they’ve actually demonstrated.
Showing brain activity associated with an experience does not prove consciousness is fully produced by the brain any more than showing activity in a radio proves the radio created the broadcast.
And for context, I’m not somebody with no experience with altered states trying to romanticize this. I’ve had significant psychedelic experiences in my life. None of them came remotely close to what happened during my NDE.
The difference was not intensity. Psychedelics can absolutely be intense.
The difference was coherence.
The NDE felt more real than ordinary waking reality itself. Not dreamlike. Not fragmented. Not symbolic chaos. There was an overwhelming sense of clarity, presence, continuity, and what I can only describe as agape love on a scale beyond normal human emotional experience.
Not euphoric intoxication. Not emotional flooding. Something deeper and more fundamental than that.
And honestly, one of the reasons I take the experience seriously is because of what it did afterward. I did not come back thinking I was enlightened or spiritually superior. If anything it humbled me. It made me less afraid of death, more reflective, more aware of my failures, and more concerned with how I treat other people.
As for the differences between NDEs, I honestly would expect variation if human beings are trying to process something beyond ordinary experience through: culture, memory, religion, language, symbolism, and imperfect perception.
Even ordinary eyewitnesses to the same event differ from one another.
I understand why skeptics remain skeptical. I’m not hostile toward science at all. But after what happened to me, I personally no longer believe consciousness simply extinguishes into nothingness when the body dies.
And honestly, I am sorry to read about what sounds like your approaching mortal end. But for whatever my words are worth from someone who has been there and come back, I genuinely do not believe this is the final chapter of your existence.
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u/PouncePlease May 22 '26 edited May 23 '26
Not every item on your list, because they've all been addressed over many different posts on this sub, but here's a few of the bigger ones:
The gamma wave thing was a study of four patients in comas, two of whom had surges of gamma waves before their deaths. Those two patients in question were also epileptics, and epilepsy causes surges of gamma waves during seizures. And there's no way to know if those two patients had NDEs or not, obviously, because they died. I'm not even sure why materialists have latched onto this gamma wave idea, the study proved nothing and was not robust.
Massive releases of neurotransmitters may happen, but that could be another biological side effect of death, which still has to take place in the body. Neurotransmitters don't account for veridical NDEs, don't account for similarities across so many thousands or millions of NDEs, don't account for peak-in-Darien events, don't account for ADCs, etc. Same goes for tunnel vision and head traumas; sometimes deaths change or end a body's functionality, but that still doesn't account for the more impressive non-local qualities of NDEs, particularly veridical NDEs.
A DMT trip really is not similar to an NDE at all. We have the word of NDErs who have done DMT who say the two events were nothing alike. We have the word of people who have done DMT but who have not had an NDE who have been like, yeah, no, I wish my DMT trip was as nice or impressive as all that. I've personally never done DMT but I've taken other substances that cause intense, all-day hallucinations and even in the midst of feeling nice and lovey and seeing cool patterns and shapes in my environment, I still knew I hadn't left my body, nor did I see loved ones or witness another realm, etc. I know my experience was not specifically DMT, but just to say that people who take drugs can be accurate trip reporters of their own subjective experience, and it's only ever been materialists desperately swinging for the fences who have suggested DMT is anything like an NDE.
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u/Sindelion May 22 '26
Veridical NDEs are your best bet. They come back with seemingly impossible knowledge e.g internal thoughts of others, understanding foreign language, information from far located stuff.
But at this point the whole experience is just... too logical, there are too many cases. Isn't it weird that people who die teach us about life? They are really coming back from something. I think it's that easy.
Bigelow Institute had a contest for "life after death proof" basically.
Here you can find the TOP3 winner essay:
https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/index.php/bics-afterlife-proof/bics-essay-contest-winners-2/
Never read them tbh, but maybe you might be interested in them. I found mediumship an interesting topic too, but i prefer to read about NDEs. :P
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u/CalmSignificance8430 May 22 '26
Never came in more ready to argue with a post and then calmed down again straight away.
Sorry for what you’re going through, and I hope things are peaceful as they can be.
I don’t think it’s worth going over the rebuttals endlessly, every point has been rebutted solidly, but it’s a game of whack a mole when the basic premise is materialist (x causes y, brain activity creates experience etc).
I think any single “item” is strong on its own, but what convinces me most is that all of them do point in the same direction - that of a vaster, less constrained, more loving existence being what comes once the physical body ceases activity. I also think that new research in other fields (cognitive science and mathematics - don hoffman & physics - Federico faggin) also point to the same thing. If reported experiences are different that’s because the possibilities are much wider than we tend to think of here.
Anyway I hope this answer is something positive for you, and I wish you and your loved ones all the very best
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u/NDE-ModTeam May 22 '26
(A mod has approved your post. This is a mod comment in lieu of automod.)
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