The near-death experience: true-to-life resurrection of the dead



Ironic, isn't it? Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.
Some people, though, have had the actual experience of being deemed clinically dead or close to dying, and then going to heaven (or hell), and coming back to life to tell about it!

This is what we call a near-death experience, a resurrection, or the Lazarus syndrome.
The spiritual and medical concepts

Resurrection from the dead is a spiritual concept, whereby the dead return to life.

The term “Lazarus syndrome” comes from the biblical character Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.
Medically, it describes people who have been pronounced clinically dead after failed attempts at cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) spontaneously come back to life.

The phenomenon is more popularly called a near-death experience.
Phases of a near-death experience

Heavenly or hellish?
The near-death experience is described as a physical, psychological and spiritual event. Although no two experiences are alike, the near-death experience generally proceeds through the following phases:
Clinical death, or being at the throes of death.
Separation of the person’s soul from the body. The soul may become aware that it is hovering over its physical body.
Entering the darkness and moving through a dark tunnel.
Seeing a light and entering it.
Being in an otherwordly spiritual realm of existence, either in a heavenly or hellish dimension.
Returning to the physical body on earth.
Being revived to life.
A state of profound peace
While clinically dead and in heaven, people commonly experience being in a state of profound peace, intense joy and deep unconditional love.
Some people meet their loved ones who had passed away ahead of them.
Another common experience is being in the presence of “beings of light.” These spiritual beings are usually recognized to be spiritual figures from the person's religious belief system.
Have you attained your life’s purpose?
People who have had a near-death experience commonly undergo a “life review.”
The life review consists of a stream of consciousness about the life that they had just lived. As their life flashes before them, they experience for themselves all the good and bad feelings which they had made the people in their lifetime feel.
Together with the beings of light, they assess whether they have successfully attained the purposes of their recent life.
Never the same again

Life changing.
Those who have returned from a near-death experience describe it as a spiritually powerful, deeply life-changing experience.
They were never the same again.
They stopped fearing death. Their life became more meaningful and purposeful. They became more spiritually-minded and compassionate towards others. Some developed natural psychic and healing abilities.
The flip side of peace
Unfortunately, not all near-death experiences are reported to be positive events.
Some people had hell-like experiences consisting of tormenting images and agonizing feelings of despair, terror and guilt.
These traumatic feelings become unforgettable and haunt the person throughout his "second chance" at life.
The scientific explanation
Medical researchers think that the near-death experience is caused by oxygen deprivation, abnormal electrical surges in the brain, REM brain waves and a release of “feel-good” or “feel-bad” chemicals in the dying brain.
Scientific research on near-death experiences have revealed the following:
Near-death experiences are clearly not hallucinations.
Blind people who underwent a near-death experience had a normal sense of sight during their stay in the spiritual realm.
The majority of non-religious people, agnostics, atheists and even those who attempt suicide reported having “heavenly” experiences rather than “hellish” ones.
Many atheists who survive a near-death experience begin to believe in the existence of a higher power.
Those mentally or emotionally distressed on their deathbed seem to be at greater risk of experiencing hell.
Lessons from the near-death experience


We are spiritual beings.
So what do near-death experiences teach us? They remind us of the following:
that there is an afterlife,
that there is a higher power,
that ultimately, we are spiritual beings,
that the reason for our life on earth is to cultivate and nurture our spirituality, and
that the people who we think will go to hell might surprisingly end up in heaven (or vice versa).

Source: The near-death experience: true-to-life resurrection of the dead
The near-death experience: true-to-life resurrection of the dead