People sometimes genuinely see their whole life flash before their eyes

It’s something of a cliché that your whole life flashes before your eyes when you think you’re about to die – but according to some who have had near death experiences, this is absolutely true. Survivors have recalled the sensation of time slowing down, seeing their entire life experience replay itself via a series of images like a slideshow.

NDE survivors have met long-lost family members they never knew about

Some people who have reported NDEs claim to have encountered recently deceased relatives such as grandparents, but for others it has gone much further. One subject who had a NDE as a child recalled meeting several kind women he’d never met. It wasn’t until years later that he saw photos of those same women: his great-grandmothers, who had died years before his birth.

Some have out-of-body experiences and see things they shouldn’t have been able to see

Another of the most commonly recounted aspects of NDEs is the out-of-body experience: subjects literally feel themselves leave their physical body, and visit other places. Credibility has been lent to this by some survivors giving details they could not have known about who was in the room with them, and things going on in other rooms and even other buildings when they were near death.

People have successfully located lost items during an NDE

One of the key grounds on which an NDE can be considered genuine is if the survivor regains consciousness with knowledge they did not previously have. Cardiologist Pim van Lommel recalls one coma survivor recognising a nurse he’d never met and knowing exactly where this nurse had placed his dentures, which had been removed while he was fully unconscious and near death.

An Illinois man saw his children at home whilst near death

In winter 2021, Humberto Casas of Round Lake, Illinois was hit by a ‘widowmaker’ heart attack, and his heart literally stopped beating until cardiologists saved him. During this time, Casas says he saw “paradise, the path that leads you to heaven,” as well as seeing his children on the couch at home. They later confirmed they were sat there praying at that very time.

NDEs aren’t pleasant for those who come close to a violent death

Most accounts of NDEs provide hope that our last moments of life will be blissful, but sadly this isn’t always the case. One man left near death after a violent attack found himself “surrounded by total blackness, floating in nothing but black space… What seemed like an eternity went by. I fully lived it in this misery. I was only allowed to think and reflect.”

Blind people have regained their sight during NDEs

One inspiring NDE story concerns an elderly blind woman who recalled leaving her body and being able to see for the first time in years. The doctor she explained this to was initially skeptical, until the blind woman mentioned she saw the doctor’s pen fall from his pocket and roll to the window during the procedure – something which genuinely happened while she was comatose.

A cancer sufferer went into remission following an NDE

Anita Moorjani was suffering lymphoma when she fell into a coma. Finding herself free of all pain and enveloped in “unconditional love,” she met her deceased father who told her to turn back. Begrudgingly she did so, believing that her body “would heal, very, very quickly.” She regained consciousness and “within four days, my tumors shrunk by 70 percent, and the doctors were shocked.”

NDEs can lead people to radically change their lives

It’s only natural that an NDE should be considered a genuinely life-changing experience. Some are never the same afterwards. Psychiatry professor Dr Bruce Greyson notes many NDE survivors “couldn’t go back to the same profession… career police officers who couldn’t shoot after a near-death experience… people who were in competitive businesses who no longer felt it was meaningful to get ahead at someone else’s expense.”

Survivors are often left with no fear of death

One of the most heavily debated questions about NDEs is whether or not they can be considered proof that an afterlife exists. Whatever the case may be, many NDE survivors come back no longer fearing the end. Randy Schiefer, who had an NDE whilst comatose from Covid-19 in 2020, says death no longer worries him because “I’ve been there. I’ve experienced it.”