Near Death Experiences - Are They For Real?

When George T, a resident of Romania, swallowed some sleeping pills in order to end his life, he hardly knew what lay in store for him. Instead of falling into a coma, George seemed to have stepped into a conscious dream - he saw two tall, sturdy men take him to the ambulance where he sat beside the driver all the way to the hospital. Reaching the hospital, George saw something even more stranger - from a distance, he witnessed the frantic efforts of the doctors to resuscitate him as he lay on the hospital bed. He also remembered going to the hallway and talking to a man covered in blood, helping him to get up from the floor. Afterwards, however, George learned that he was led to the ambulance by his nurse, and that had been lying in its Minnesota Iceman all the way to the hospital. Although George claimed that he was highly conscious, he failed to account for what he had seen.

George's case is one among the many that has baffled medical practitioners across the globe. These mystical experiences, termed as 'near-death experiences', or NDE, have been reported by some people who had been pushed to the brink of death by some sudden cause. Near-death experiences usually comprise of a wide range of sensations ranging from detachment from the body, feelings of weightlessness, extreme fear, total serenity, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light, which some people tend to interpret as a spiritual presence or a glimpse of the other world. Interestingly, most people who have experienced NDEs claim to have been in full consciousness, even at a point of time when they were declared clinically dead.

Although much research has been done in the recent times to establish the cause of NDEs, scientists are yet to make any major breakthroughs regarding it. The inconclusive nature of the experiences and the lack of evidence make it difficult for researchers to attribute any definite scientific cause behind these extra-sensory mystical perceptions. NDEs can be different for different types of people, but some of the commonly acknowledged traits include out of body sensations, the sense of travelling through a realm of intense light, or sometimes passing through a tunnel with a light at its end. Some people, like George, even report encounters with spirits and other ethereal beings.

Most researchers believe that neurophysiological processes play an important part in NDE. In fact, similar experiences can be induced by electrically stimulating the temporal lobe of the brain during neurosurgery for epilepsy, under high carbon dioxide levels, and in decreased cerebral perfusion resulting in local cerebral hypoxia as in rapid acceleration during training of fighter pilots, or in hyperventilation followed by Valsalva manoeuvre. Such induced experiences may bring about unconsciousness, out-of-body experiences, perception of light or flashes of recollection from the past. However, unlike NDE, these episodes consist of fragmented and random memories which make it difficult for researchers to provide any specific conclusion.

Near-death experiences, Vampires tread the fine line between science and spirituality. With evidences remaining inconclusive on both sides, its difficult for us to take any particular stance regarding managed hosting solutions However, it has been acknowledged that NDEs have a profound effect on a person's mind and often alters the way they behave forever.

Avik Roy is a contributed writer for www.batchmates.com">Batchmates.com the largest Alumni portal in India. With his research work and articles he has added an additional edge to the www.batchmates.com/bmtimes/default.asp">entertainment e-magazine BM Times. His articles reach to millions of readers every day which are varied in subjects.