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SuperStar Sailors: What to Expect When You're Dying

"Birth and death; we all move between these two unknowns."
~ Bryant H. McGill ~

When our bodies wear out and our souls have to find new places to live, where will we go? Will we simply turn to dust or is there something more pleasant in store for us? Mysteries surrounding our eternal fates are age old secrets that have eluded us since the dawn of man.  With the help of modern technology, we might now be getting closer to learning what kind of life awaits us on the other side. 

Some people put near-death experiencers in the same category with psychics and palm readers. The term "near-death" is misleading. It should be called "a death experience" because it involves the person actually dying. Some of the people who had NDEs were clinically dead for days before being resuscitated. According to a 1992 Gallup poll, 13 million Americans believe they have experienced life after death during their near-death experiences (NDEs).  

A famous and incredible story of life after death comes from Russian neuropathologist named Dr. Yuri "George" Rodonaia. He was hit by a car in 1976, and died before reaching the nearby hospital.  While doctors worked to resuscitate him, there was an infant screaming in the next hospital room. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to save Dr. Rodonaia and he was pronounced DOA and sent to the city morgue where he laid for three days. When they started to perform his autopsy, the incision into his stomach jolted him enough that his eyes flickered and he started shivering. They rushed him back to a hospital where he was stabilized. After regaining consciousness, Dr. Rodanaia described visiting the baby in the next room.  He said when he left his body, he gained an extra-sensory ability that allowed him to detect a broken bone in the baby's arm.  To doctors' amazement, X-rays later showed the crying baby had a greenstick fracture in his left arm exactly as Dr. Rodonaia had described. 

The professional studies on near-death experiences, usually support a common theory that God and the afterlife do exist. Across the globe and through time, the descriptions of the afterlife remain shockingly consistent, regardless of who experiences them. The stories are so commonly similar that researchers have compiled a list of what most people describe after dying: (modified from Wikipedia) 

• Positive feelings, such as a sense of peace, well-being and painlessness. 

• Being aware they are dead and are removed from the physical world. 

• A "tunnel experience", i.e. moving down a dark tunnel with a light at the end

• Telepathic communication with God.

• Communication with other "Beings of Light" that aren't God or "Beings dressed in white". 

• Experiencing a life review. A sense of their "life passing before their eyes". 

• Autpomatic knowledge about life and the universe, including the past and present.

• Having an out-of-body experience.

• A reluctance to return to their body.

In most cases of near-death, people describe the experience as somewhat euphoric. It is so pleasant that after returning to their bodies, a lot of NDErs felt unexpectedly disappointed they were alive. They described coming back to a lifeless body to be like jumping into an icy swimming pool. In one story, a hospitalized woman cried in disappointment upon finding herself alive. When she asked the nurse why they brought her back, the nurse responded, 'You aren't the first person I've heard say that! I can't wait to see that place.'


The cliché about going down the "tunnel" is described by about 26% of people.  It's often the first thing that happens whether a person dies or just temporarily loses consciousness. The tunnel isn't what draws the most intrigue, though. It's the light at the end of the tunnel that is debated more often.  
Scientists will tell you that a light is the final thing you see as your sight dwindles, due to the natural process of dwindling blood flow to the eyes.  People who have experienced death, on the other hand, describe the light as something they were "pulled toward" in a "magnetic" way. It's almost as if "the tunnel" is the pathway that connects the our world and the afterworld. 
An astounding number of people said the light at the end of the tunnel gave them indescribable feelings of "unconditional love" and "peace". Perceptions of intense love from this living light was the most common factor mentioned in all of the cases I saw and read about. 


  Most NDErs agree that "God", is an amazing being that greets us upon our arrival into the next life. The light, usually referred to as God, is believed to be a loving and forgiving spirit. This Godly being is consistently described as a benevolent spirit as far back as ancient times in a book called Republic, written by Plato. 

Since all human languages are left behind when we leave earth, according to NDErs. The communication with God are said to happen telepathically.  Kimberly Clark-Sharp, like many, found the method of communication difficult to describe, but said it was best characterized as a "combination of math and music". 


Any negative near-death experiences were difficult to find, although they do exist. Some say the "hell" they were sent to was simply a dark place that is void of all light and love. Instead of the fire and brimstone we have read about in the Bible, the "dark void" is more of a place that has the right conditions for spiritual reflection rather than punishment.  Most believe only a very small percentage of souls are sent there. 

An unexpected, but frequently mentioned, aspect in NDE stories is the frequent descriptions of traveling into outer space. It is such a bizarre detail that it's surprising to see how many people mention it. Often people remember seeing Earth getting further away as they sailed into the starry universe.  
In one story, a doctor, who died after running out of air while scuba diving off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, described leaving his body and visiting other planets in the universe.  He was among a handful of people who believe they saw lifeforms in other parts of our universe too. Mellen-Thomas Benedict and Kimberly Clark-Sharp are other known NDErs who mentioned long periods of space and time travel during their death experiences.  

After having a NDE, people adopt a new belief that our souls are separate from our physical bodies. The biological plants and animals of the earth only serve as vehicles for the life. When reproduction happens, a new life isn't necessarily created as much as a physical place for a life to live. It's frequently mentioned that life, in general, is also part of a large system we all share.  NDErs often believe life forms are all indirectly connected, as a part of this infinite system.

Mellen-Thomas Benedict is the NDE superstar, if there is such a thing. In 1982, he briefly died after a battle with inoperable brain cancer.  As a last request, he asked a hospice care worker to monitor him after he stopped showing vital signs.  The hospice worker waited an hour after his death before calling the morgue. Mellen-Thomas said during this time, his soul left his body and crossed over to the afterworld. When he encountered God, he had the urge to obtain as much knowledge as he could about the function of the universe. He said he was given a tour of outer space, and given answers to life, past and present.  During his adventure, he learned about a spectrum of new subjects. Hours after he had been pronounced dead, his soul reentered his body and his cancer went into complete remission and has not returned to this day. He is alive and well.

Another interesting aspect to Mellen-Thomas's experience is that visiting the afterlife gave him a knowledge of Science that he didn't know before he died.  He has since worked with The University of Texas in finding a cure for genetic disorders through the use of light in the healing process of the human body. He is still giving speeches and sharing his experience with people today, 16 years later, after his death from cancer.

When all is said and done, the most encouraging part of NDEs is peoples' confidence that the afterlife is an enjoyable reality.  Often people are so affected by their NDEs, they make drastic changes in their lives as far as careers and relationships. They usually put much less importance on material things and focus more on happiness in relationships.

I believe NDEs are the most convincing proof we will ever have of the existence of God and the afterlife. They also provide encouragement that the afterlife is a blissful adventure. Even in the unlikely case that near-death experiences are all just hallucinations or dreams, at least we know the last thoughts we will ever have, before the lights go out, are supremely pleasant. Eternity will be more wonderful than any of us could have ever hoped for.  

Youtube videos of NDErs:


(BBC The Day I Died Part 1)



 (a blind woman sees during NDE)


 (ABC News~ Doctor describes her near-death expereince to a host with his own NDE)

Literature :)


(God and love)


 (near-death experience research foundation)

(a favorite site)


(What "Hell" is described as)

  (Wikipedia descriptions)

 ( fun details of the Mellen Benedict story)

(find stories under "NDE archives" and "current NDEs")