The Scientific Study of Near Death Experiences should be taken more Seriously

I have been interested in the study of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) going on 43 years now.

Like a stock market ticker-tape, I like to keep an eye on the recent percentages of positive to negative experiences in NDEs (Near Death Experiences). Unfortunately, these numbers are not published with as much ferocity as those of the stock market.

I believe that these numbers give me an idea of to what percentage of the population is being forgiven and accepted into Paradise and what percent is going towards what we call Hell, the darkness, or the void.

I believe those two percentages correlates strongly. Live a good life, you have a positive dying experience and are welcome into what most of us call Heaven. (Although the word “Heaven” in the Bible actually means outer-space, but that’s another story.)

Live a selfish life of using and abusing people, then you have a negative dying experience and your soul is weighed down with the burden of its sins. Your consciousness falls into what most of us call “Hell.” The word Hell could mean many things. The experience can also. Originally, the word meant “cover or conceal” and comes to us from a dead Germanic language.

Exploring the shared undertones, the similarities of NDEs across different religious beliefs and cultures could be one of the most unifying undertakings possible. Considering the nature of the experience, it is often very religious to those experiencing one. The research to date shows that NDEs usually follow the religious expectations of the person going through the experience.

That could be done by spiritual entities beyond ourselves to ease understanding and communication, or it could lend credence to the argument that these experiences are happening in the physical brain and are therefore psychological.

The current positive to negative experiences percentage in NDEs is holding at 90% to 10%. That has made sense to me for most generations, however, I am of the opinion that the people living now are worse than those in the past. This can only mean one thing: God is being too lenient and slacking off on the seriousness of his duties.

I can understand not blaming someone for the situation of their birth, but still, people today have the ability to more easily see how much suffering they are causing as well as the ability to put the pieces of the puzzle together to understand what it means to live a good life. That’s why I think the percentage of negative NDEs should be increasing.

But, as I feared, without me there to look over his shoulder enforcing regulations, rules, and procedures, God has slipped into being overly merciful, again. We got to keep an eye on that One. The “Heavens” become just that much less clean and holy the more riff-raff his Eternal Mercy lets slide on by.

We cannot have a stable acceptance rate into Paradise while simultaneously experiencing a dramatic rise in narcissistic tendencies. A “narcissism epidemic” some are saying. Of course, the majority of those dying off now are members of “the Silent generation.” A generation aptly named since their numbers and voices are about on the same level as Generation X. Who? Exactly.

I expect we will begin to see an uptick in negative NDEs as the stubborn, selfish, and greedy baby booming generation starts to die off in larger numbers. Watch for it. Think of it as a guidepost. A sign based in reality instead of theological speculation.

Only about 15–20% of people who experience clinical death and come back report having an NDE. Still, I believe it would be scientifically viable and potentially useful to begin to track positive versus negative NDEs, comparing them from generation to generation. Perhaps it will give us a glimpse into the mind of God.

On an interesting semi-side note, according to a study done by the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, when asked, “How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal, everyday consciousness and alertness?” Of 1,122 NDErs surveyed, 835 (74.4%) indicated they had “More consciousness and alertness than normal”; 229 (20.4%) experienced “Normal consciousness and alertness”; and only 58 (5.2%) had “Less consciousness and alertness than normal.”

I hypothesize that this the experience of being more alert is because your being no longer is having its energy drawn in all directions. It is no longer required use its energy to maintain bodily functions.

There’s two proposals for humanity to begin exploring deeper mysteries further. Considering how no one escapes death, I’d say this is an area that should and could have a lot more of our interest than it does.