0110 - NDE Paranormal Aspects
0. Introduction to Telepathy
Telepathy is defined by Wikipedia, the world’s leading online encyclopedia, as: “from the Greek, ‘tele’ meaning ‘distant’, and ‘pathos’ meaning ‘feeling, perception, passion, affliction, experience,’ is the purported transmission of information from one person to another without using any of our known sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the earlier expression thought-transference.” After Wikipedia gives this definition of telepathy, it states further, “Telepathy experiments have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls and repeatability. There is no convincing evidence telepathy exists, and the topic is generally considered by the scientific community to be pseudoscience.” This statement by Wikipedia is merely an opinion from a Wikipedia editor. Wikipedia is widely known to be controlled by editors who are predominantly skeptics who are overly biased against content supporting parapsychological positions contradicting the “scientific skepticism” (or “media skepticism”) confirmation bias. Such materialist media skeptics view humans as machines and consciousness as an illusion. But as you will see, there is plenty of evidence supporting the reality of consciousness and mental telepathy. It is up to you to decide whether or not it is convincing.
Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online dictionary, defines “telepathy” as: “communication between minds by some means other than sensory perception.” After this definition, Dictionary.com gives an example of the word “telepathy” used in a sentence which also reveals their skeptical confirmation bias: “His suggestion: a ‘telepathy shield’ that would consist of a thin metal foil around the brain.'” So it is “common knowledge” among the “expert sources” on the Internet that mental telepathy is pseudoscience and those who believe in it’s reality should be wearing tin-foil hats.
With this skeptical background in mind, this article will present to you the case for mental telepathy — not only in the “waking world” — but in the dream world and the world of the dead. As a side note, extrasensory perception or ESP, also called the “sixth sense” or “second sight” according to Wikipedia, is defined as: claimed reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as intuition, telepathy, psychometry, clairaudience, and clairvoyance, and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition.
Some evidence of NDE telepathy comes from the groundbreaking NDE book, The Self Does Not Die: Verified Paranormal Phenomena from Near-Death Experiences, by Titus Rivas, Anny Dirven, Rudolf H. Smit, Robert Mays, and Janice Holden. The authors describe how NDE-related telepathy takes one of two forms:
(1) when the near-death experiencer (NDEr) perceives the mind or consciousness of someone else (living or deceased), and
(2) a living person perceiving an NDEr’s NDE – a phenomenon known as shared-death experience (SDE).
In both forms of NDE-related telepathy, verified “veridical” perception is involved which provides strong evidence for the survival of consciousness after death. Of the 100+ accounts of NDE veridical out-of-body perception described in the book, the authors described the several accounts involving NDE telepathy:
“To our surprise, in addition to Case 2.1 in Chapter 2 in which an NDEr had paranormal knowledge of the contents of a letter, we were able to find only three more confirmed cases in which an NDEr reported correct telepathic perceptions of another person’s mind. We did find in the literature, however, a considerable number of unconfirmed cases of this type. In other words, NDErs regularly report that, during their NDEs, they experienced telepathic contact with living people such as family members and friends.” (The Self Does Not Die)
1. Introduction to NDE Telepathy
People who have had near-death experiences (NDEs) have experienced a far more instantaneous, efficient and less prone to misinterpretation type of communication while outside of their physical body than the spoken word could ever hope to achieve. Dr. Raymond Moody cited “non-verbal communication” as part of his NDE model in his groundbreaking Life After Life (1975) study followed by numerous other NDE experts and studies. NDErs have reportedly experienced “hearing” the thoughts of both the living and the deceased while out of their body. Non-verbal communication exists everywhere as the primary means of communication in these non-physical afterlife realms. The word “telepathy” is not even an adequate definition of the phenomenon. In fact, NDErs find their entire NDE encounter to be too indescribable to be expressed or described in words. The experience of NDE telepathy probably has a lot to do with this. And because telepathy is “nonverbal communication,” this makes it very difficult trying to communicate to people exactly how NDErs communicate nonverbally without words.
In many instances, the word “telepathy” is not used by NDErs themselves, but they clearly refer to a modality of non-verbal communication which is in line with common uses of the term. And there is evidence of NDErs being unable to adequately describe this “non-verbal communication” could be escaping the statistics. Daniel Bourke wrote an article, “On Non-Verbal Communications During the Near-Death Experience: Documenting the Fact and Establishing its Importance,” which was published on Greg Taylor‘s Blog the DailyGrail.com in an article entitled, “Telepathy Between the Dead,” making this case. The author’s obvious conclusion is this “non-verbal communication” is a universal phenomenon among afterlife related phenomenon.
Even after their NDE occurred, one aftereffect can be continued telepathic abilities which may or may not fade over time. Some NDErs have described NDE telepathy as hearing the thoughts of others as the other person’s voice speaking in the NDEr’s mind. Others NDErs have described it as “idea transfer” rather than “word transfer.” Other NDErs have described NDE telepathy as a “knowing” or an “awareness”. And as you will read later in this article, other NDErs have experienced NDE telepathy as receiving entire “blocks of knowledge” or the equivalent of receiving all the knowledge of the universe in “chucks.” NDE telepathy also involves “images” where communication is exchanged not with words or ideas — but with images appearing in the mind’s eye. For example, when a Howard Storm realized that Jesus could read his mind, Storm became embarrassed when he thought of a naked woman. Immediately the image appeared in Storm’s mind’s eye which Jesus saw and chuckled in a non-judgmental manner. NDE telepathy works even between beings separated by a tremendous distances and can also involve “musical notes.” In another example by Howard Storm, Jesus was observed summoning other beings to join him by producing a musical note which was “heard” telepathically from a distant “galaxy” representing a “City of Light.”
NDE studies describe the realm of the NDE as the realm where thoughts are real — where thoughts are deeds. It is a realm where you are what you think — where you create your own reality with your mind. This is because the NDE realm is the realm of the mind, soul and spirit. Not only is communication mediated by thought, but so is travel. In the NDE realm, a person only needs to have the intention to be somewhere and this is all it takes for them to be instantly there. This has been reported in numerous NDE testimonies. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) stated how souls in heaven need only the desire to communicate with someone else and that person’s face will immediately appear before them. There is also evidence of souls in the NDE realm able to travel through a variety of afterlife realms by means of telepathic travel. This is because souls are not confined to any particular realm at any given time and can operate in more than one realm at the same time through telepathy.
NDErs who have reported being out of their body during their NDE, and have wandered around living people unseen by them, have reported hearing — not only the speech of such living people — but their thoughts as well through telepathic means. Many of these events have been verified as actually have happened — a phenomenon known as “veridical perception.” Moody (1975) described the case of a man who became blind in childhood, but who suddenly could see his surroundings accurately during his NDE. However, the patient became blind again when he returned to consciousness. The blind man accurately described his surroundings, the appearance of individuals, and the events transpired, apparently perceived in a telepathic fashion. Those apparent telepathic skills were lost when consciousness returned, and the man was again blind after his NDE was over. Even deaf NDErs have reported being aware of the thoughts and speech of living and deceased people during their NDE. Some of these deaf NDErs have experienced veridical telepathic perceptions as well. As you will see, some NDErs have even reported communicating telepathically with their deceased pets — the NDE account of Jan Price is of particular importance.
NDErs such as Sandra Rogers have described in “Lessons from the Light” her experience of telepathic communication during her NDE: “Communication in the spiritual world is telepathic. Your thoughts are answered as rapidly as your mind can send and receive them. When you die, everything you have said, thought, or done will be known by all. There are no secrets in the afterlife. Spirits with evil thoughts avoid the light because they are too ashamed to have their thoughts revealed. Spirits with like thoughts are drawn to each other in the afterlife”.
Jayne Smith described receiving “blocks of knowledge” while expanding in God’s light: “My consciousness began to expand with the bliss of it all. Suddenly there came into my field of consciousness an entire field of knowledge. It was like a whole block of knowledge that just simply came in and settled itself on me. I knew, what takes several sentences to tell, but it didn’t come in several sentences – it came all in one piece. What I knew was that I was immortal, that I was eternal, that I was indestructible, that I always had been, that I always will be, and that there was no way in this world I could ever be lost … When that block of knowledge was digested by me, as it were, another block of knowledge came in.” (Jayne Smith)
Later on in her NDE, Jayne Smith attempts to explain NDE telepathy: “I must tell you that when we talked, we did not move our mouths. I can remember that I only had to have the impulse that contained the things that I wanted to say and he would immediately be able to get that and answer me. Even though he was not moving his mouth when he talked with me, I could hear the sound of his voice in my inner ear. I know what he sounded like. It was a mental transmission, yet I could hear what he sounded like. For a long, long time, I could remember the sound of his voice.” (Jayne Smith)
NDE studies show humans are multidimensional beings having a telepathic connection between a variety of physical and non-physical dimensions of consciousness:
(1) we have a physical body (and conscious mind) operating in the physical realm;
(2) we have a “soul body” (subconscious mind) operating in the soul realms; and
(3) we a “spirit body” (superconscious mind) operating in the spirit realms.
So the physical realm turns out to be just another of the so-called “afterlife” realms in God’s hierarchy of realms. This means we are currently living in the “afterlife” right now. And this is probably why Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” and “you are gods” — the “mystery of God in man” of God’s Spirit in human beings. NDE revelations of the future show the evolution of humanity moving toward a more telepathic society on earth; as well as, communication with higher beings of other realms in the physical and non-physical. I am convinced NDE studies will have a large role to play in this.
2. NDE Researchers on NDE Telepathy
Prominent researchers in the field of near-death studies have made it a point to note the peculiar persistence of telepathy as the primary “currency of communication”. Raymond Moody‘s “core” near-death experience considers the telepathic aspect of the experience as being recurring enough to warrant a place in his model NDE; he writes:
“…Soon other things begin to happen. Others come to meet and help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he never encountered before-a being of light-appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally…” (Moody, Life After Life, p. 19.) Moody wrote how “hearing” in the spiritual state can apparently be called so only by analogy, and most say they do not really hear physical voices or sounds. Rather, they seem to pick up the thoughts of persons around them (Moody, Life After Life, p. 46.) One of Moody’s experiencers described NDE telepathy , “While I was dead, in this Void, I talked to people-and yet, I really couldn’t say that I talked to any bodily people. Yet, I had the feeling that there were people around me, and I could feel their presence, and could feel them moving, though I could never see anyone. Every now and then, I would talk with one of them. but I couldn’t see them. And whenever I wondered what was going on, I would always get a thought back from one of them” (Moody, Life After Life, p. 52.)
Dr. Kenneth Ring wrote:
“A luminous figure a true psychopomp will appear to guide the individual in his journey. This figure represents what I call the archetype of the cosmic shaman. For in this role he is not merely a guide in the passive sense of escort but is, rather, a man (or woman) of knowledge. He is a being who appears to know all about the life of the individual undergoing this experience and all about the realm into which the individual has entered. And while in this realm, the NDEr will receive instantaneously and telepathically the answers to all of his questions from this being, this cosmic shaman. Knowledge will simply flood into his soul as the mysteries of life and death are finally and fully illuminated.” (Dr. Kenneth Ring)
Cardiologist Pim van Lommel writes in his seminal book Consciousness Beyond Life:
“Many people report direct communication with this being (of light), as if it reads their mind and responds to the mind” (Dr. Pim Van Lommel)
Dr. Peter Fenwick believes telepathy is a major part of the NDE when he compares the experience to the deathbed vision (DBV) experience, a related phenomenon, by stating in his paper, Dying: A spiritual experience as shown by NDEs and deathbed visions:
“The similarity of deathbed visions to NDEs is striking. The peace, love and light are common to both, as is the experience of a journey and an entry into a world dominated by beauty and color. The experiencing of religious figures and dead relatives together with the method of communication, a sort of mental telepathy, are also similar”. (Dr. Peter Fenwick)
In her book, Otherworld Journeys, Dr. Carol Zaleski states:
“The line between outer and inner voices is especially difficult to trace in accounts which indicate that communication in the other world is telepathic” (Dr. Carol Zaleski)
NDE researcher Vince Migliore analyzed over 700 NDEs and published his statistical analysis of them in his book, A Measure of Heaven: Near-Death Experience Data Analysis, which includes his findings on NDE telepathy. According to Migliore, telepathy appears to be the preferred mode of communication in the spiritual realms. People hear voices during their NDEs, but this communication is a direct, mind-to-mind communication, and not a mechanical vibration of sound. Those who report telepathic messages often note how precise the method is compared to the use of words. There is no confusion or doubt about the concept being conveyed. Knowledge is sometimes combined with telepathy, and this appears to aid communication. Migliore cites this example from the NDERF.org:
“I would ‘ask’ then would ‘know’ the answer from the golden, glowing, loving being. I had no lips to speak and no ears to hear but I heard and spoke somehow. So did it. I reveled in that complete, pure, communication. There was no possibility of misunderstandings or evasions. There were no words to confuse the issue, only the truth of learning and knowing each other between us.” (NDERF.org case 1615)
Migliore states how the thought process during NDEs is enough to ensure communication by telepathic means. Migliore cites an example from the IANDS NDE Archives:
“The peace was so overwhelming and so comforting. Then a voice spoke over my left shoulder, a voice so beautiful, full of love and so deep that I will never forget that sound. He said, ‘Your time is not now. You must go back to your children. They need you.’ I said, ‘I do not want to go back’ several times over, and the voice said, ‘Your newborn baby needs a mother and your other two children need you.’ No words were spoken as it all happened telepathically. All I had to do was think about what I wanted to say.” (IANDS, There is More)
P.M.H. Atwater‘s book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near-Death Experiences, Atwater provides a remarkable NDE which caused the NDEr, who was otherwise not considered to be telepathic or psychic, to be so because of veridical perception:
“In another case, a young woman died on the operating table from injuries received in a car / truck accident, but was resuscitated. Immediately and with great animation she described meeting her father while she was dead. She said her father had told her why he had been born, and why and how he had died. He then told her why she had been born, and that she must return to the land of the living for she had not yet completed all that she must do. She was so excited about her father’s “visit” that the surgical personnel had a tough time finishing the medical procedures she needed. A gathering of relatives in the waiting room pooh-poohed her entire story when a physician told them about it, asserting that the father was quite healthy. One of them offered that he had spoken that very morning with the father on the phone. After several more unsuccessful attempts to convince the woman she was hallucinating, the doctor returned to the waiting room and insisted that the father be called. Many phone calls later, it was discovered that the father had died exactly as he had told his daughter he did five minutes before she died. No one could have known this in advance, much less the daughter.” (P.M.H. Atwater, pp.160-161)
3. The Scientific Basis for Telepathy
a. The U.S. Government Declares ESP Experiments as “Statistically Significant”
Michael Schmicker’s book, Best Evidence: An Investigative Reporter’s Three-Year Quest to Uncover the Best Scientific Evidence for ESP…Near Death Experiences, etc.,” has served as a textbook for courses at three different U.S. universities. The book gives an excellent summary of the U.S. government’s experiments in ESP, remote viewing, and telepathy:
On November 28, 1995, the Central Intelligence Agency released an official report on the Department of Defense’s remote viewing program and its achievements [CIA Link] The report commissioned by the CIA was entitled “The American Institutes for Research Review of the Department of Defense’s Star Gate Program” by Edwin C. May and evaluated both:
(1) the laboratory research experiments in remote viewing as well as
(2) intelligence operations employing the remote viewing techniques.
Two university professors were recruited to help American Institutes for Research in-house staff to evaluate the project: Dr. Jessica Utts of the University of California, Davis; and Dr. Ray Hyman of the University of Oregon (the well-known skeptic of paranormal phenomena who challenged Honorton and is closely and publicly affiliated with the skeptic group CSICOP described in Chapter 4). The American Institutes for Research final report concluded that the laboratory ESP experiments were statistically significant (PDF). For her part, program reviewer Dr. Jessica Utts agreed in her 1995 paper, “An Assessment of the Evidence for Psychic Functioning” (PDF). Utts says the experiments’ success was not due to chance, methodological flaws in the experiments, or fraud.
From here on, she recommended, researchers should focus on how the phenomenon worked, not on proving whether it existed “since there is little more to be offered to anyone who does not accept the current collection of data.” Her counterpart, Dr. Ray Hyman responded with his own paper, “Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena.” Hyman focused his attention on the later SAIC experiments. He agreed that the SAIC experiments were well-designed and the results not dismissible as statistical flukes, but didn’t agree that the experiments conclusively proved the reality of psychic functioning. He would admit, however “the case for psychic functioning seems better than it ever has been,” and “I do not have a ready explanation for these observed effects.” Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ‘s experiments in clairvoyance/remote viewing at the Stanford Research Institute have essentially been replicated by the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program, further establishing the reality of this form of ESP. See the Journal of Scientific Exploration (Vol. 10, No. 1, 1996) for a fairly complete discussion of the 24-year long government sponsored remote viewing experiments at SAIC and SRI, and the subsequent official evaluation reports. It also includes the in-depth comments of former program directors Hal Puthoff and Edwin C. May, and their colleague, SRI researcher Russell Targ.
b. Scientific Experiments in Consciousness and Telepathy
The first best scientific experiments into telepathy were the ganzfeld experiments developed by Charles Honorton, William Braud, and Adrian Parker in the early 1970’s. A “ganzfeld” experiment (from the German for “entire field”) is a technique used in parapsychology which are used to test individuals for extrasensory perception (ESP) and are among the most recent in parapsychology for testing telepathy. Ganzfeld protocols are a simple and reliable means of replicating spontaneous psychic experiences in the laboratory where such protocols can be applied to eliminate normal explanations. The level of success is often sufficient to indicate that telepathy is not just a statistical anomaly but has content that is psychologically and statistically meaningful. Any chance of vulnerability to fraud and flaws were greatly reduced by the development of a computerized version of ganzfeld in 1979 by Honorton and his colleagues known as “autoganzfeld“. This technique uses a computer to control the sequences and outcomes, strictly following the requirements stipulated by critics. With the help of Dr. Daryl Bem, a widely respected social psychologist, the findings were published in a leading scientific journal, the Psychological Bulletin. It was at this time that dynamic targets in the form of short film-clips began to replace the use of static art pictures. This gave a combined result of 106 hits in 329 sessions, a hit rate of 34%, well above the chance rate of 25% — a highly significant result.
In Alexander De Foe’s book, Consciousness Beyond the Body: Evidence and Reflections, he mentioned how Dr. Dean Radin, the Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, shows in some replicated studies, such as in telepathy and precognition research, the level of evidence in favor of parapsychological abilities exceeds discoveries in mainstream physics (Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron, & Duggan, 2014). Put simply, this means that by accepted standards within science, parapsychology or some form of non-local perception is a genuine effect. In a Journal of Near-Death Studies paper by Thomas Beck and Janet Colli entitled, “A Quantum Biomechanical Basis for Near-Death Life Reviews” (PDF), the authors provide evidence suggesting humans perceive by means of both local and non-local processes. For example, when viewing a nearby person, the eyes respond to electromagnetic waves, but the mind also seemingly responds to a non-local, instantaneous component (Mitchell, 1999). Accounts of near-death life reviews also suggest non-local perception, as they are said to be virtually instantaneous.
The authors make the case for all of the such experiences providing crucial support for the theory of humans possessing the quantum biomechanical mechanisms necessary for non-local telepathic communication. They argue how Radin (1997) summarized non-local experiments across a range of phenomena including telepathy and how his statistical analyses demonstrated the viability of non-local perception. Radin is known for innovative experiments in the study of consciousness and psychic phenomena. His meta analysis of these experiments produced accumulated probabilities against chance occurrences exceeding trillions to one (Radin, 1997). He is the author of accessible books about parapsychology such as: The Conscious Universe (1997), Entangled Minds (2006) and Supernormal (2013). Radin has created a selected list of peer-reviewed journal articles concerning evidence of psychic phenomena, most published in the 21st century, which includes evidence for:
(a) Healing at a Distance;
(b) Physiological correlations at a distance;
(c) Telepathy & ESP;
(d) Survival of Consciousness;
(e) Precognition & Presentiment;
(f) Theory;
(g) Mind-Matter Interaction, and resources.
c. A Physical Framework for NDE Telepathy
Carl Jung (1875-1961), the Swiss psychologist and NDEr who founded analytical psychology, is best known for his psychological concepts including archetypes, the collective unconscious, dream analysis, and synchronicity. His interest in philosophy and metaphysics led many to view him as a mystic. Following discussions with both Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli (two founding fathers of quantum physics) Jung believed there were parallels between synchronicity and the relativity of time and its connection to consciousness. Jung was transfixed by the idea of life not being a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order, which he and Wolfgang Pauli referred to as “unus mundus” (Latin for “one world”) — a term referring to the concept of an underlying unified reality of the universe from which everything emerges and returns to. Jung believed this principle of an underlying “world” can express itself through synchronicity and was the basis for quantum theories such as the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and its corresponding Many-Minds interpretition.
The dream argument is also the basis for the cosmological “simulation hypothesis” which proposes all of reality, including the earth and the universe, is in fact an an artificial simulation, most likely a computer simulation. Of course, this hypothesis might be just another way of stating our universe is just one dimension in a multidimensional reality as quantum physics theorizes. So those materialist skeptics who argue for physical reality being the only reality must concede the mind — at least the sleeping mind — is capable of accessing images, knowledge, conversations, and worlds with little or no conscious control.
Superstring Theory proposes the existence of an additional 6 dimensions beyond our 4-dimensional reality of space-time (3 spacial dimensions of width, height, and depth, plus 1 dimension of time) plus the possibility of an 11th “Matrix dimension” in “M-Theory“. Interesting enough, neuroscientists recently discovered the brain is full of multi-dimensional geometrical structures operating in as many as 11 dimensions. Even more interesting is the fact that not only does superstring theory offer a framework for one’s consciousness to exist after death in another dimension, superstring theory is the mathematical principle behind the “holographic principle.” This principle was developed by the physicist David Bohm who theorized our universe exists as a “holographic universe” where everything is connected to everything else including our minds. Later Bohm (1980) also viewed the Quantum Hologram (QH) Theory, defined by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell (1930-2016), founder of Institute of Noetic Sciences, as providing another theoretical framework for the continuity of consciousness after death.
Neurophysiologist Karl Pribram synchronistically arrived at a holographic model of the mind and brain at the same time as David Bohm developed his holographic model of the universe. Their combined efforts yielded the holonomic brain theory which proposes a model of human cognition describing the brain as a holographic storage network. Surprisingly, these holographic models may be the basis for all mystical experiences including the NDE. These holographic models are part of a new emerging paradigm called “holism” which is the opposite of reductionism. Bohm describes a Holomovement expressed most clearly in his Wholeness and the Implicate Order on the implicate and explicate order. It is the paradigm where all natural systems – physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, etc. – and their properties, should be viewed as a whole and not the sum of its parts. A corresponding theory of quantum consciousness was developed by the joint work of theoretical physicist, Sir Roger Penrose, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff. Like David Bohm and Karl Pribram before them, Penrose and Hameroff developed their theories synchronistically. Penrose approached the problem of consciousness from the view point of mathematics, while Hameroff approached it from his career in anesthesia which gave him an interest in brain structures. Quantum consciousness is the theory of an underlying consciousness connecting everyone and everything and is based upon quantum fields being interpreted as extending infinitely in space.
On January 21, 2017, a British, Canadian and Italian study provided what researchers believe is the first observational evidence of our universe existing as a vast and complex hologram.
4. Accounts of NDE Telepathy by Hearing Impaired People
In Greg Stone’s critique of Susan Blackmore’s “Dying Brain” theory, he states:
“There are several dozen recorded NDEs of individuals blind (even from birth) who had a visual NDEs (see Dr. Ken Ring‘s book “Mindsight“). Auditory NDEs among the totally deaf have been recorded. I have a NDE from an individual with no sense of smell who was able to smell flowers during their NDE. Again, skeptics cannot present a plausible alternative explanation for these types of experiences.” (Greg Stone)
Dr. Jeff and Jody Long’s NDERF.org extensive database of NDEs contains several remarkable NDEs from people with profound hearing disabilities who were, not only able to hear during their NDEs, they experienced NDE telepathic communication with deceased loved ones. The following are excerpts of these NDEs:
Brian T. was born deaf and drowned at a young age and experienced an NDE:
“I arrived at the boundary while floating my body near the boundary. I was shocked how much load was lifted off my shoulders such as many ridiculous rules or laws being imposed on us people. For the first time I realized how much bondage we had from the government or churches, it was lifted off my shoulders. And at the same time all of the light ‘Conscience of Laws’ was, I could not find the right word to describe the experience. It’s much like a hurricane drawing all energy toward eye of the storm. It’s almost the same feeling of drawing all knowledge and conscience of real-beings into my body and mind!”
“One example when I approached the boundary. No explanation was necessary for me to understand, at the age of ten, that once I crossed the boundary, I could never come back – period. I was more than thrilled to cross. I intended to cross but my ancestors over another boundary side caught my attention. They were talking in telepathy, which caught my attention. I was born profoundly DEAF and had all hearing family members, which all of them knew sign language! I could read or communicate with about twenty ancestors of others and mine through telepathic methods. It overwhelmed me. I could not believe how many people I could telepathize with simultaneously.” (Brian T.)
August is a profoundly deaf person who was surprised to hear sound during her NDE and the telepathic communication:
“Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled very swiftly through total blackness to the entrance of a churning tunnel, its walls reflecting the neon-blue color that my non-corporeal body was emitting. I still had all of my faculties and feelings. The feeling that I had was that the ties that bound me to the earthly world were cut. A low, steady droning sound filled the narrow passageway, this sound coming not from the walls but from me. As a profoundly deaf individual, hearing this sound was beautiful, since it brought comfort as would a mother’s voice for a child. Strangely enough, although I had no limbs and was flying as would a hummingbird, I was not frightened. I was merely a shimmering light…”
“Upon the sighting of the Light, i.e., energy gestalt, which stirred instinctual feelings in me that I would be at a loss to describe with words, shimmering light beings of deceased family members and friends suddenly appeared on the side of the churning passageway to enthusiastically greet me. Their abundant personalities overflowed in their glowing neon-blue and white transparent faces; communication was by telepathy. Disembodied voices greeted me, stirring my emotions as I was hearing as would a normally hearing person, and I began to see clear floating bubbles, in the walls of the dark tunnel that was becoming increasingly bright as I came closer to the shimmering white Light at the end of the passageway. The floating bubbles that moved within the wall of the tunnel were in the fashion of three-dimensional windows, or “virtual-reality” screens, and were “snap shot” moments of my life. Even in death, I did not lose my memories and feelings.” (August)
Amie B. heard beautiful music from “everywhere” though she is deaf in one ear:
“The light was golden and bright and I could hear this music that is totally indescribable. It permeated the air – came from everywhere and nowhere – and is unlike any music I’ve ever heard on earth. I could tell there was someone next to me, and then I was told I had to go back.”
In the NDERF.org questionnaire, Amie B. was asked, “Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience” to which she answered:
“Very clear hearing, the music was from EVERYWHERE, not muffled, and in my normal life I am deaf in one ear.” (Amie B.)
5. Accounts of Verified NDE Telepathy with Living People
In special cases of NDE veridical out-of-body perception, telepathic communication between an NDEr and a living person have been validated to have taken place. Such remarkable cases provide remarkable evidence supporting the survival of consciousness after death.
One of the most remarkable cases of verified NDE telepathy with living people comes from the NDE of the late George Rodonaia. In the book, The Self Does Not Die, by Titus Rivas et al, Rodonaia’s NDE is documented from P.M.H. Atwater‘s research published in her book, Beyond The Light, into Rodonaia’s extraordinary case of veridical out-of-body telepathic perception of an injured infant and of George’s wife during his NDE.
George Rodonaia (died 2004) underwent one of the most extended cases of an NDE ever recorded after being pronounced dead immediately after he was hit by a car in 1976, he was left for three days in the morgue. He did not “return to life” until a doctor began to make an incision in his abdomen as part of an autopsy procedure. The following is an excerpt of this documentation:
“When Rodonaia thought of his body, he saw it lying in the morgue. He remembered everything that had happened. He was also able to ‘see’ the thoughts and emotions of his wife, Nino, and of the people who had been involved in the accident. It was as if they had their thoughts ‘inside of him.’ He then wanted to find out the ‘truth’ of those thoughts and emotions. By expressing a longing for greater knowledge, he was confronted by mental images of existence and thus became acquainted with thousands of years of history.
“When he returned to his body in the morgue, he was drawn to a nearby hospital, where the wife of a friend had just had a baby. The newborn was constantly crying. He examined the baby, a girl. His ‘eyes’ were like X-rays that could look right through the little body. This ability enabled him to draw the conclusion that the baby had broken its hip during delivery. He spoke to her, ‘Don’t cry. Nobody understands you.’ The baby was so astonished by his presence that she immediately stopped crying. According to Rodonaia, children are able to see and hear transmaterial apparitions. The child reacted to him, he believes, because he was ‘a physical reality’ to her.
“After three days, when the autopsy of Rodonaia’s body was just getting under way, he succeeded in opening his eyes. At first, the doctors thought it was a reflex, but Rodonaia appeared to have actually come back from the dead, even though his death and his frigid condition had both been confirmed. He was in poor condition physically, but after three days, the first words he spoke were about the baby that urgently needed help. X-rays of the baby confirmed that he was right.” (The Self Does Not Die, 2016)
At one point, Atwater interviewed Rodonaia’s wife, Nino, who stated that during his NDE, Rodonaia had actually witnessed what she had seen. According to Nino, he had actually had telepathic contact with her. In an email dated July 28, 2015, Atwater wrote Rivas the following about this aspect of the case:
“George told me that as part of his near-death experience, among the many things he could do was to be able to enter the minds of all his friends and find out whether or not they were really friends. During this entry process, he also entered the mind of this wife, Nino. When he did, he both saw and heard his wife picking out his gravesite. As she stood there looking at the gravesite, in her head, she pictured several men she would consider being her next husband. She made a list for herself of their various qualities, pro and con, to decide which one would be the most suitable.
“After George revived and his tongue shrunk back to its normal size so George could talk (this took three days), George greeted his wife. He told her about the gravesite scenario. He described everything she saw there. Then he told her everything she thought about while there, the specific men she was considering to be her next husband and [the] list she was making in her mind about their various pros and cons. He was correct in every detail. This so freaked her out that she refused to have much to do with him for a year. I had no sense that this was telepathic, but real, physically real, as if George’s mind was physically inside his wife’s mind. He saw what she saw. He also saw what she thought.
“When I met Nino and both children, I asked Nino if I could talk to her about that incident at the gravesite and her list of qualities of the men she was considering marrying. She described the incident for me and that all of this was done in the privacy of her own mind. She only thought about the men and their various qualities. The list was her own. When her suddenly, newly alive, formerly dead husband talked about that personal moment at the gravesite, named the men she thought about, and then went on to ‘read’ the list back to her that she made for each man, she was utterly shocked at his accuracy and how he could even do this. This shock was felt as if an affront against her right to privacy, the intimate privacy of her own mind. I asked if it was true that she would have little or nothing to do with him for a year. She said, yes, it was true. She could not sleep in the same room with him. When I asked why, her answer was: ‘I no longer had the privacy of my own mind. This was very hard to take.'” (The Self Does Not Die, 2016)
In his 1988 book, The Light Beyond, Dr. Raymond Moody described the following remarkable case of veridical NDE perception and veridical NDE telepathic perception by a young cardiologist from South Dakota. The following is an excerpt:
“Another amazing case that says NDEs are more than just tricks of the mind was relayed to me by a doctor in South Dakota.
“Driving into the hospital one morning, he had rear-ended a car. It had been very upsetting to him. He was very worried that the people he had hit would claim neck injury and sue him for a large sum of money.
“This accident left him distraught and was very much on his mind later that morning when he rushed to the emergency room to resuscitate a person who was having a cardiac arrest.
“The next day, the man he had rescued told him a remarkable story: ‘While you were working on me, I left my body and watched you work.’
“The doctor began to ask questions about what the man had seen and was amazed at the accuracy of his description. In precise detail, he told the doctor how the instruments looked and even in what order they were used. He described the colors of the equipment, shapes, and even settings of dials on the machines.
“But what finally convinced this young cardiologist that the man’s experience was genuine was when he said, ‘Doctor, I could tell that you were worried about that accident. But there isn’t any reason to be worried about things like that. You give your time to other people. Nobody is going to hurt you.’
“Not only had this patient picked up on the physical details of his surroundings, he had also read the doctor’s mind.” (The Light Beyond, 1988)
6. Accounts of NDE Telepathy from Various NDE Personalities
NDE Telepathy with the Light
Mellen-Thomas Benedict wrote:
“I asked the light, ‘What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation.’ I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not.” (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
Bruce Budden wrote:
“The next thing I recall I was in the presence of this massive spirit. I can’t say the actual size because there was no way to gauge our sizes. I was ever so gently floating up and down in a waving motion. It seemed ever so gently, it was almost like a calming motion. I say a massive spirit because as I was facing this spirit, it enveloped my whole vision. It was a bright glowing yellowish light, which closely resembles the radiants of the sun, but it was a soft light. It was not blinding in any way. It wasn’t blinding because I didn’t have my physical eyes (nor body). I was having a conversation with this spirit in a telepathic sense. I can’t recall the conversation because in the spiritual form, the type of downloading of knowledge and insight I received is like a energetic strengthening of my spirit. It’s difficult to explain this but I hope you can understand. My spirit is the one that received the knowledge and insight, not my physical brain. The knowledge is stored in my spirit, not in my physical memory. Do you know what I mean?” (Bruce Budden)
“The Light gave me knowledge, though I heard no words. We did not communicate in English or in any other language. This was discourse clearer and easier than the clumsy medium of language. It was something like understanding math or music – nonverbal knowledge, but knowledge no less profound” (Kimberly Clark-Sharp)
NDE Telepathy with a Being of Light
Dannion Brinkley wrote:
“As I gazed at the Being of Light I felt as though he was touching me. From that contact I felt a love and joy that could only be compared to the nonjudgmental compassion that a grandfather has for a grandchild. ‘Who you are is the difference that God makes,’ said the Being. ‘And that difference is love.’ There were no actual words spoken, but this thought was communicated to me through some form of telepathy To this day, I am not sure of the exact meaning of this cryptic phrase. That is what was said, however. Again I was allowed a period of reflection. How much love had I given people? How much love had I taken from them? From the review I had just had, I could see that for every good event in my life, there were twenty bad ones to weigh against it. If guilt were fat, I would have weighed five hundred pounds. As the Being of Light moved away, I felt the burden of this guilt being removed. I had felt the pain and anguish of reflection, but from that I had gained the knowledge that I could use to correct my life. I could hear the Being’s message in my head, again as if through telepathy: “Humans are powerful spiritual beings meant to create good on the Earth. This good isn’t usually accomplished in bold actions, but in singular acts of kindness between people. It’s the little things that count, because they are more spontaneous and show who you truly are.” (Dannion Brinkley)
“I was sometimes met by a being of pure light, not a human form, but pure point of light, who communicated with me mind to mind, via some form of telepathy.” (Alan McDougall)
“The love and respect I had for this being was unlike anyone I had ever known. Then he spoke to me. Not with the mouth, but through telepathy, and I understood everything clearly.” (Elizabeth)
Larry Hagman, the famous actor, had an NDE and emerged into a place of bright and diffused light where he saw a person of indeterminate sex who called out to him without speaking. In typical out-of-body and near-death fashion, the communication seemed to be telepathic, as the being informed him:
“This is a glimpse of where you’ve been, where you’re going, where you are all the time.” Put into the terms of yoga psychology,: “You are That” and “That” is our true nature. Despite the deep insights he had already experienced, it was too much for Larry to fully comprehend. The person seemed to recognize this in giving him this message: “You don’t have to go any further – Having seen this is enough for now.” (Larry Hagman)
NDE Telepathy with Jesus
Derry Bresee wrote:
“While in my spirit body I remember communicating telepathically, this is how I and Jesus communicated in that heavenly garden. It was so easy, it required no effort, you thought the thoughts and they were communicated. Speaking through my physical mouth is so difficult, and frustrating, and sometimes you’re misunderstood, and they get the wrong meaning of what you’re trying to say. The phrase the world uses of being soul mates is referring to the communication between two souls, spirit to spirit communication. To communicate on a spiritual level is a very profound. I believe I’ve had this spiritual gift ever since my near-death experience, and it has profoundly blesses my life as I use it. I feel this great need to communicate on a spiritual level with others, and one of the only ways I’m able to communicate in this way is through writing. I have to prepare myself mentally to be able communicate on a spiritual level. You have the time to do this as you are writing in your home, without distractions. We are what we think. I find trivial thoughts distracting, I rarely watch TV and then only if it stimulates good thoughts. I listen to different music now, and gravitate towards the ethereal.” (Derry Bresee)
Thomas Sawyer wrote:
“There were such feelings of warmth and love coming from the light that it made me feel good. Now it was right before me and instantly began communicating with me. Instantaneously it emanated to me, thought-pattern to thought-pattern. And to describe it I coined the phrase: superluminal telepathic communication: a telepathic thought-pattern to thought-pattern rapport that functioned as fast as or conceivable faster than the speed of light. It was pure communication that was complete in every respect. I will do a bit of role-playing here because the communication was not in words. The light emanated to me, ‘Tom, you have to be where you are and in the condition that you are. Before you is the light. You have the opportunity to ask any series of questions. Any question that you can conceive of will be absolutely, unequivocally answered. If it’s a series of questions about something that you would require some kind of knowledgeable background to intelligently formulate your questions, you will instantly have that background.’ In other words, as I thought of and formulated a desire or a question, it would already have been recognized, acknowledged, and therefore answered. And the dialogue that took place, took place in no time. It didn’t require a fifteen-minute duration in time; it simply happened. One of the questions which I did ask was, ‘What about the Jesus stuff?’ Now that was not a singular question; it’s hard for me to describe so you can understand the way it is. ‘What about the Jesus stuff?’ is like saying, ‘Okay, all kidding aside, was Jesus of Nazareth real, was he a live person? A historical truth? Was he the son of God? Is he divine? Is he at the right hand of the Father? What about the Jesus stuff?’ I can break off here and tell you that was basically answered in the affirmative. At one point I felt as if I were a speck of light on Jesus’ shoulder, and I was able to experience full knowledge of all of his incarnations from the beginning of time.” (Thomas Sawyer)
“In the mid-1970s, Ralph Duncan was dying of leukemia. While he was hospitalized, he had an NDE during which he encountered a luminous being whom he took to be Jesus. Ralph observed that he did not look anything like the traditional images of him. Jesus’ eyes were ‘shooting fire’ and he communicated a telepathic message: ‘That’s enough, it’s dead, it’s gone.’ Ralph understood this to mean that he no longer have leukemia. Through his eyes ‘shooting fire’ and saying ‘That’s enough,’ Ralph understood this to mean in effect, ‘I’ve zapped you with enough voltage for this to cure you.’ Ralph said this is what Jesus meant when he said, ‘It’s dead, it’s gone.'” (Dr. Kenneth Ring)
NDE Telepathy with Spirit Guides
“The guides told me I was in the threshold of death. I wondered if the persons who were dying and leaving their bodies in that moment, knew where they were. The guides that accompanied me were kind, tactful and very compliant, but impenetrable when certain questions were asked, and when they did, they answered with only a smile. The communication was by telepathy and they knew instantly what I was thinking, but their answers were essential, concise and certain.” (Diego Valencia)
Mr. M wrote:
“I was aware of the presence of five beings who silently busied themselves within the sacred chamber. Attired in hooded robes that were reminiscent of those worn by trappist monks, my attention was drawn to the one who stood behind the podium. In answer to the mild surprise I felt upon discovering I was not alone, he began utilizing telepathy byway of an introduction. He indicated that within the Spiritual Hierarchy, the Beings who presided over the Library of Light were known as The Council of Five. I was informed that an unprecedented Call had been sent to all sectors of Life. I was told the Leaders of Light were to convene from everywhere and every when within the Chambers of the Library. I was instructed that what once had been was to be no more, because that which is known as “darkness” was to cease and LIGHT would prevail in ALL the worlds of Creation. Looking toward the limited number of pews, I felt there needed to be lot more seating capacity if they intended to pull this caper off. In response, The Council Member began telepathically communicating the name of just one of those who would attend. Immediately a portal opened (sorta, like a holograph that was so intense it felt as if I was in both places at the same time) and I became immersed in the image of immense galaxies that spiraled in space and, comprising millions upon millions of stars and solar systems, teamed with Life and Light. The name of the spiritual leader of this galaxy was inexplicably long and as each word was pronounced I’d see an associated pictographic accomplishment … and the accomplishments embodied a character whose caliber was Creator Level. As His name continued to unfold, I witnessed the depth of His achievements and realized the unimaginable scope of His evolvement. Further, I came to learn their were Others like Him who were sovereign in their own limitless galaxies and they were the ONES who would be gathering in the Library of Light. They are the Heavenly Hosts of the Legions of Light.” (Mr. M)
NDE Telepathy with Angels
“The farther up I went, the brighter the Light became. Two cherubs appeared, one on either side of me, and we slowly drifted to the corner of the ceiling. We communicated through mental telepathy, which is faster and more efficient than mere words. They told me they were Escort Angels and had come to take me Home. (Donna Gatti)
NDE Telepathy with a “Presence”
“I must add here that this ‘communication’ I sense with this ‘presence’ during death is not in the sense of material auditory speech, but rather different, almost as if it is from mind to mind, or telepathic, if you prefer.” (Jack Ward)
“There was other entities out there. I can sense them, but I never saw them. I never saw squat. I didn’t see anything. I just sensed all this. And when I say ‘speak,’ I am sure it was more of a telepathic thing than it was moving the mouth.” (Paul Carr)
NDE Telepathy with Miscellaneous Beings
Telepathy with Earthbound Souls:
“There may be earthbound spirits of low vibrations, whom we may regard as devils because they annoy us through mental telepathy. These demons tune in on us through our low vibrations of hate, fear and greed. They can be tuned out with unselfish love, or if necessary be chased away by the stronger spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Arthur Yensen)
Telepathy with a “Pearly Gatekeeper”:
“I was being propelled across a vast distance. I dare not look straight ahead, but I remember looking at the wall flashing past me as I sped along some kind of tunnel. Then, at the other end of this journey, I felt a most beautifully reassuring sense of calm. I looked down at myself in my new form. I had taken on a golden glow. I did not need to walk. I floated. Everything about me was love, goodness and warmth. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been given access to the total knowledge of the universe. I stared at a huge dark wheel containing stars and other celestial bodies that slowly revolved. A deep voice spoke slowly, but I could not make out what it was saying. I was at some kind of entrance. A man stood with authority at the gate. He had black, tight curls and his face seemed somehow familiar. ‘You weren’t expected,’ he said. His lips did not move. Our conversation was entirely telepathic. ‘Well, I’m here now,’ I replied, a little surprised that my lips did not need to move either.'” (Robert Coleman)
Telepathy with a Mischievous Soul in the Void:
One woman went through a black tunnel and entered a black void of absolute nothingness. She discovered the darkness existed in every direction. She sensed an entity in the darkness with her and she asked it, “What happened?” Through telepathy, the entity replied, “You’re dead.” The entities reply was as if it enjoyed telling her this. As soon as she realized this, a clear white bright light brought her into a huge, wonderful, stadium or amphitheater where love and music emanated from it. (Pam Anderson)
7. Howard Storm’s Insights Into NDE Telepathy
Howard Storm was rescued from hell by Jesus after Storm repeated a little Sunday School song in his head. Apparently, Jesus heard Storm’s cry for help telepathically and responded. Howard Storm wrote:
“The agony that I had suffered during the day was nothing compared to what I was feeling now. I knew then that this was the absolute end of my existence, and it was more horrible than anything I could possibly have imagined. Then a most unusual thing happened. I heard very clearly, once again in my own voice, something that I had learned in nursery Sunday School. It was the little song, “Jesus loves me, yes I know …” and it kept repeating. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden I wanted to believe that. Not having anything left, I wanted to cling to that thought. And I, inside, screamed, “Jesus, please save me.” That thought was screamed with every ounce of strength and feeling left in me. When I did that, I saw, off in the darkness somewhere, the tiniest little star. Not knowing what it was, I presumed it must be a comet or a meteor, because it was moving rapidly. Then I realized it was coming toward me. It was getting very bright, rapidly. When the light came near, its radiance spilled over me, and I just rose up – not with my effort – I just lifted up. Then I saw – and I saw this very plainly – I saw all my wounds, all my tears, all my brokenness, melt away. And I became whole in this radiance. What I did was to cry uncontrollably. I was crying, not out of sadness, but because I was feeling things that I had never felt before in my life. Another thing happened. Suddenly I knew a whole bunch of things. I knew things … I knew that this light, this radiance, knew me. I don’t know how to explain to you that I knew it knew me, I just did. As a matter of fact, I understood that it knew me better than my mother or father did. The luminous entity that embraced me knew me intimately and began to communicate a tremendous sense of knowledge. I knew that he knew everything about me and I was being unconditionally loved and accepted.” (Howard Storm)
Howard Storm describes his surprise in knowing his private thoughts were not so private in the NDE realm:
“To my surprise, and also distress, they seemed to be capable of knowing everything I was thinking. I didn’t know whether I would be capable of controlling my thoughts and keeping anything secret. We began to engage in thought exchange, conversation that was very natural, very easy and casual. I heard their voices clearly and individually. They each had a distinct personality with a voice, but they spoke directly to my mind, not my ears. And they used normal, colloquial English. Everything I thought, they knew. They all seemed to know and understand me very well and to be completely familiar with my thoughts and my past. I didn’t feel any desire to ask for someone I had known because they all knew me. Nobody could know me any better. It also didn’t occur to me to try to identify them as uncle or grandfather. It was like going to a large gathering of relatives at Christmas and not being quite able to remember their names or who they are married to or how they are connected to you. But you do know that you are with your family. I don’t know if they were related to me or not. It felt like they were closer to me than anyone I had ever known.” (Howard Storm)
Howard Storm described his surprise, and shock, at discovering how Jesus knew everything he ever thought and did in his entire life: Howard says,
“I suddenly realized he had heard what I thought because I hadn’t said anything. I couldn’t read with his mind. He was putting his words into my head in his own voice.” Howard described how he realized how this meant Jesus was also aware of his most private and embarrassing thoughts and actions. Howard thought, ‘I’m really uncomfortable with you knowing everything I’ve ever thought.” All of a sudden Howard had a very vivid image in his mind of a naked woman which was there for all to see. Jesus’ only reaction was a chuckle. Howard concluded that Jesus loved him unconditionally no matter what he thought, did or had done, and that everything was alright anyway. (Howard Storm)
Howard Storm described how NDE telepathy meant complete understanding:
“My friends answered lots of questions in funny ways. They really knew the whole tone of what I asked them, even before I got the questions out. When I thought of questions in my head, they really understood them.” (Howard Storm)
Howard Storm was told of a future new world to come where communication would be telepathic: According to Storm’s sources,
God wants to usher in the kingdom within the next two hundred years. In order to do so, God had rescinded some of the free will given to creatures, in favor of more divine control over human events. This new world order, according to Howard, will resemble some near-death descriptions of heaven. People will live in peace, harmony, and love. Communication will be telepathic. Travel instantaneous. And the need for clothing and shelter eliminated. (Howard Storm)
8. The Negative Side of NDE Telepathy
There are potentially serious problems with this type of telepathic communication as revealed in some NDE testimonials. I will cite two examples. One of them is from Jayne Smith and the other is from George Ritchie. The following are excerpts from their NDE testimonies.
Jayne Smith’s Insights into the Negative Side of NDE Telepathy
Jayne Smith learned how telepathically receiving “blocks of knowledge” from God was originally an ecstatic experience until it began to go sour:
“My consciousness began to expand with the bliss of it all. Suddenly there came into my field of consciousness an entire field of knowledge. It was like a whole block of knowledge that just simply came in and settled itself on me. I knew, what takes several sentences to tell, but it didn’t come in several sentences – it came all in one piece. What I knew was that I was immortal, that I was eternal, that I was indestructible, that I always had been, that I always will be, and that there was no way in this world I could ever be lost … When that block of knowledge was digested by me, as it were, another block of knowledge came in. A whole field of knowledge came in to my being and what I knew then was that the universe runs according to a perfect plan … I reached the point in the rapture of it all where I thought to myself suddenly, the first thought, ‘I wonder how much more of this I can stand before I shatter?’ With that thought, the light began to recede. So, the universe will not let us shatter. We cannot take in more of this bliss and joy than we are able to handle at a time.” (Jayne Smith)
As previously mentioned, from Jayne’s testimony and others I’ve studied, I believe communication in the afterlife is through instantaneous telepathic “blocks” of information rather than by consecutive telepathic ideas. I say this because some NDEs reveal the existence of an “adjustment period” which people entering the afterlife go through where they must “shed” certain aspects of Earthly life and relearn what they forgot before being born. So this is probably the reason why people entering the afterlife (or should I say “re-entering”) find it unusual to communicate this way at first. The problem Jayne experienced was in her single thought expressing her fear about shattering. I believe she was beginning to enter this adjustment period before her Earthly fearful thought got in the way.
George Ritchie’s Insights into the Negative Side of NDE Telepathy
But an even more serious problem can be seen from George Ritchie’s NDE testimony when he describes the nature of communication in the hellish realms:
“There were two other things distinctly unique about the beings of this realm. Since hypocrisy is impossible because others know your thoughts the minute you think them, they tend to group with the ones who think the same way they do. In our own realm of the existence, Earth, we have a saying, ‘Birds of a feather flock together.’ The main reason that they stick together is because it is too threatening to be with beings with whom you disagree when they know it.” (George Ritchie)
George Ritchie was shown a hell realm where people where battling each other over their hateful telepathic thoughts they hurled at one another:
“At first I thought we were looking at some great battlefield. Everywhere spirits were locked in what looked like fights to the death, writhing, punching, gouging. No weapons of any sort, I saw as I looked closer, only bare hands and feet and teeth. And then I noticed that no one was apparently being injured … If I suspected that I was seeing hell, now I was sure of it. These creatures seemed locked into habits of mind and emotion, into hatred, lust, destructive thought-patterns … It was impossible to tell if the howls of frustration which reached us were actual sounds or only the transference of despairing thoughts. Indeed in this disembodied world it didn’t seem to matter. Whatever anyone thought, however fleetingly or unwillingly, was instantly apparent to all around him, more completely than words could have expressed it, faster than sound waves could have carried it. And the thoughts most frequently communicated had to do with the superior knowledge, or abilities, or background of the thinker. ‘I told you so!’ ‘I always knew!’ ‘Didn’t I warn you!’ were shrieked into the echoing air over and over … What was keeping them here? Why didn’t each one just get up and leave? I could see no reason why the person being screamed at by that man with the contorted face didn’t simply walk away. Or why that young woman didn’t put a thousand miles between herself and the other one who was so furiously beating her with insubstantial fists? They couldn’t actually hold onto their victims, any of these insanely angry beings. There were no fences. Nothing apparently prevented them from simply going off alone.”
“Unless – unless there was no alone in this realm of disembodied spirits. No private corners in a universe where there were no walls. No place that was not inhabited by other beings to whom one was totally exposed at all times. What was it going to be like, I thought with sudden panic, to live forever where my most private thoughts were not private at all? No disguising them, no covering them up, no way to pretend I was anything but what I actually was. How unbearable. Unless of course everyone around me had the same kind of thoughts – Unless there was a kind of consolation in finding others as loathsome as one’s self, even if all we could do was hurl our venom at each other. Perhaps this was the explanation for this hideous plain. Perhaps in the course of eons or of seconds, each creature here had sought out the company of others as pride and hate-filled as himself, until together they formed this society of the damned.” (George Ritchie)
As it were, apparently all auras were completely evident to those in the spiritual world; meaning that there was no concealing one’s thoughts and feelings from anybody. All were completely obvious. This had some ramifications. George Ritchie stated:
“Since hypocrisy is impossible because others know your thoughts the minute you think them, they tend to group with the ones who think the same way they do. In our own plane of the existence, earth, we have a saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The main reason that they stick together is because it is too threatening to be with beings with whom you disagree when they know it. (George Ritchie)
Howard Storm’s Insights into the Negative Side of NDE Telepathy
Howard Storm described how NDE telepathy even decides your status in the afterlife hierarchy of NDE realms: “God will allow people to be dragged into darkness with like-minded creatures. I have told you, from my personal experience, what goes on in there. I don’t know from what I saw anymore than that, but it’s my suspicion that I only saw the tip of the iceberg. I deserved to be where I was – I was in the right place at the right time. That was the place for me, and the people I was around were perfect company for me. God allowed me to experience that, and then removed me, because he saw something redeeming in putting me through the experience. It was a way to purge me. People who are not allowed to be pulled into darkness, because of their loving nature, are attracted upwards, toward the light.” (Howard Storm)
After Howard Storm was rescued from hell, he was reluctant to enter heaven because of a phenomenon mentioned by Jesus in John 3:19-21. Howard Storm wrote:
“I saw off in the distance something that looked like the picture of a galaxy, except that it was larger and there were more stars than I had seen on Earth. There was a great center of brilliance. In the center there was an enormously bright concentration. Outside the center countless millions of spheres of light were flying about entering and leaving what was a great being-ness at the center. It was off in the distance. Then I … I didn’t say it, I thought it. I said, ‘Put me back.’ What I meant by telling the light to put me back, was to put me back into the pit. I was so ashamed of who I was, and what I had been all of my life, that all I wanted to do was hide in the darkness. I didn’t want to go toward the light anymore – I did; yet I didn’t. How many times in my life had I denied and scoffed at the reality before me, and how many thousands of times had I used it as a curse. What incredible intellectual arrogance to use the name as an insult. I was afraid to go closer. I was also aware that the incredible intensity of the emanations might disintegrate what I still experienced as my intact physical body. The being who was supporting me, my friend, was aware of my fear and reluctance and shame. For the first time he spoke to my mind in a male voice and told me that if I was uncomfortable we didn’t have to go closer. So we stopped where we were, still countless miles away from the Great being.” (Howard Storm)
These NDE testimonies demonstrate how one of the most important lessons we must learn on Earth is – not just what we say and do to others – but what we think of others. Perhaps even more: our intent toward others. Only in this world can we say one thing and think or intend something else. The importance of how we think of others can be summed up by Zoroaster, the ancient Persian prophet of Zoroastrianism, whose religion has been summed up this way: “Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.” This may be one of the important reasons why so many NDErs emphasize the importance of love in this world and the next.
9. Edgar Cayce on Afterlife Telepathy
There is a great deal of information about the afterlife in the thousands of the psychic readings given by Edgar Cayce between 1901 and 1945. He was not a medium in the ordinary sense of the word — he did not have guides nor controls. There were times when he seemed to stop on the beam of light on which he traveled to talk with those who were on other afterlife realms of consciousness. On such occasions we could hear only one side of the conversation.
Many people questioned Cayce about life after death. On one occasion he answered a specific question about communication with the deceased:
Question: “Is it possible for this body, Edgar Cayce, in this state, to communicate with anyone who has passed into the spirit world?”
Edgar Cayce: “The spirit of all that have passed from the physical plane remain about the plane until their development carry them onward or are returned for their development here, when they are in the plane of communication or remain within this sphere, any may be communicated with. There are thousands about us here at present.” (Edgar Cayce Reading 3744-2)
The following question brought further clarification on the subject:
Question: “What is meant by souls within this sphere may be communicated with by the body, Edgar Cayce, in the psychic state?”
Edgar Cayce: “Each and every soul entity, or earthly entity, passing through the earth’s plane, radiates in that plane those conditions that are radiated from the soul or spiritual entity in the individual. This then becomes the fact, the real fact, in the material world. When the body Edgar Cayce is in the psychic or subconscious condition, he is able then to reach all the subconscious minds, when directed to such subconscious minds by suggestion, whether in the material world or in the spiritual world, provided the spiritual entity has not passed entirely into [another level]. Then we only reach those radiations left in earth’s plane that are taken again when entering in earth’s plane, whether [the] entity is conscious of same or not. The consciousness of reaching that condition wherein the physical body may take up that truth known, must be reached by all.” (Edgar Cayce Reading 900-22)
People asked questions about what form people assume in the afterlife. The following excerpt clarified this question:
Edgar Cayce: “For thoughts are deeds, and are children of the relation reached between the mental and the soul, and has its relation to spirit and soul’s plane of existence, as they do in the physical or earth plane. What one thinks continually, they become; what one cherishes in their heart and mind they make a part of the pulsation of their heart, through their own blood cells, and build in their own physical, that which its spirit and soul must feed upon, and that with which it will be possessed, when it passes into the realm for which the other experiences of what it has gained here in the physical plane, must be used.” (Edgar Cayce Reading 3744-4)
Edgar Cayce: “Conditions, thoughts, activities of men in every clime are things; as thoughts are things. They make their impressions upon the skein of time and space. Thus, as they make for their activity, they become as records that may be read by those in accord or attuned to such a condition.” (Edgar Cayce Reading 3976-16).
10. The Biblical Case for Telepathy
Dr. George M. Lamsa (1892-1975) was a renowned Bible scholar, author, and lecturer. Lamsa grew up in a Syrian Aramaic culture whose customs, manner, and language were almost identical to those in the time of Jesus. The fact that his native tongue was Aramaic, full of idioms and parables unchanged since the time of Christ, contributed greatly to the accuracy of the translation of the Bible by translating the Aramaic “Peshitta” — the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition. According to Dr. Lamsa, forty percent of the Bible came through psychic perception in the form of dreams, visions and revelations from God. The Hebrew patriarchs relied on guidance from visions and dreams for the welfare of their tribes. The prophets acted as counselors for kings and princes. All biblical prophets were endowed with the gift of prophecy and nearly all of the predictions which have been made by the prophets have come true. In their dreams and visions they could converse directly with God.
In the Book of Job, the author states how God speaks to people through dreams:
Bible: “For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings.” (Job 33:14-16)
The author of the Book of Numbers also wrote of how God speaks to people in their dreams:
Bible: “Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, ‘Listen to my words: ‘When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.” (Numbers 12:5-6)
NDE accounts reveal communication in the afterlife is by telepathy. Thoughts and feelings cannot be hidden from others in the afterlife. In the Bible, Jesus is described having the powers of mental telepathy:
Bible: “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?'” (Matthew 9:4)
Jesus is seen in the gospels having the ability to read people’s minds using telepathy. Because Jesus was obviously a highly evolved spiritual being, we can probably assume all spirit beings have telepathic powers. Because the afterlife has been described by many experiencers as a realm of pure thought, it wouldn’t be a great leap of faith to conclude the following: People exist in the afterlife as thought forms where everyone’s thoughts are not secret. And this is what NDE accounts describe – an afterlife where people cannot hide anything from others — even their thoughts.
The following is another Bible verse supporting this idea:
Bible: “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” (1 Corinthians 4:5)
To have your true inner self and thoughts revealed to everyone can be a hell for those who are mostly motivated by negative forces. But to have your true inner self and thoughts revealed to everyone can be a heaven for those who are mostly motivated positive forces. NDEs support the idea of everyone’s true inner nature being a part of God and how those who enter the afterlife actually realize their true inner nature. Those people who live a life against their divine inner self will face difficulties when they enter the spirit realm. This afterlife process is self-realization and self-judgment – not eternal damnation. During the NDE life review there is no judgment from God.
Bible: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” (John 5:22)
Bible: “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words, that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” (John 12:47-48)
The only judgment that exists after death is self-judgment. There we enter the light of God where all is made known.
Bible: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21)
The Bible verse above describes people dwelling in the dark to escape from having the light of God reveal their inner divine nature and life of ignorance – both of which are exposed to everyone in the heavenly realms.
NDErs have affirmed evil to actually be spiritual ignorance or “darkness” — the absence of light. In the Bible, light is always a reference to God and knowledge of God. Those people who lived a life of “darkness” (ignorance) will find it is incompatible with their true divine nature. This self-realization can truly be hell for such people. It is self-realization and self-judgment. The Bible verse below describes how God’s light can shine in the darkness of our hearts – even before we die.
Bible: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)
One particular Bible passage can be interpreted to mean the angels we judge are actually ourselves:
Bible: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
“Angels” is a word sometimes used in the Bible to apply to humans. Here are some of them:
Bible: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones (children). For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10)
Bible: “Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’ ‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, ‘It must be his angel.’ (Acts 12:13-15)
Bible: “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” (Matthew 22:30)
Bible: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
The Hebrew and Judeo-Christian prophets of the Bible played an important part in the history of religion and in history in general. They shaped the destinies of great nations; and, in their dreams and visions, saw what the leaders of the world could not see.
11. Links to Scholarly Articles on NDE Telepathy
There are many excellent articles on NDE Telepathy from qualified sources. Here are some of the best I have found:
Alvarado, A. (2006). Neglected near-death phenomena (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 24, Number 3, Spring 2006, pp 131-151.
Beck, T. E. & Colli, J. E. (2003). A quantum biomechanical basis for near-death life reviews (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 21, Number 3, Spring 2003, pp 169-189.
Facco, E., Agrillo, C. & Greyson, B. (2015). Epistemological implications of near-death experiences and other non-ordinary mental expressions: Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness (PDF). Medical Hypotheses, Volume 85, Issue 1, pp. 85-93.
Fenwick P. (2012) Can near-death experiences contribute to the debate on consciousness? (PDF). In: Moreira-Almeida A., Santana Santos F. (eds) Exploring Frontiers of the Mind-Brain Relationship. Mindfulness in Behavioral Health. Springer, New York, NY.
Greyson, B. (1983). Increase in psychic phenomena following near-death experiences (PDF). Theta, Number 11, pp. 26-29.
Greyson, B. (2008). The mystical impact of near-death experiences (PDF). Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness, Number 17, Dec. 2007 – Feb. 2008, pp. 8-13.
Howarth, G. & Kellehear, A. (2001). Shared near-death and related illness experiences: steps on an unscheduled journey (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 20, Number 2, Winter 2001, pp. 71-85.
Kohr, R. (1983). Near-death experience, altered states, and psi sensitivity (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 3, Number 2, Winter 1983, pp 157-177.
Krippner, S. & Fracasso, C. (2011). Dreams, telepathy, and various states of consciousness. NeuroQuantology, Volume 9, Number 1, pp. 385-660.
Manev, I. (2014). A hypothesis regarding the mechanism of telepathy, letter to the editor (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 32, Number 4, Summer 2014, pp 241-243.
Nouri, F. M. & Holden, J. M. (2008). Electromagnetic aftereffects of near-death experiences (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 27, Number 2, Winter 2008, pp. 83-110.
Persinger, M. A., & Schaut, G. B. (1988). Geomagnetic factors in subjective telepathic, precognitive, and postmortem experiences. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 82, Number 3, pp. 217-235.
Ring, K. & Cooper, S. (1997). Near-death and out-of-body in the blind: A study of apparent eyeless vision (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 16, Number 2, Winter 1997, pp. 101-147.
Rousseau, D. (2011). Near-death experiences and the mind-body relationship: A systems-theoretical perspective (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 29, Number 3, Spring 2011, pp. 399-435.
Sutherland, C. (1989). Psychic phenomena following near-death experiences: An Australian study (PDF). Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 1989, pp 93–102.
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NDE véridiques
Choupette
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Aura
Apparitions
Demande de transmission de messages
Clairevoyance et télépathie
Problèmes avec les appareils électroniques
Capacité de retrouver des personnes disparues
Modification de l'interface et altération du filtre
Donc perception augmentée
Guérison et capacité de guérison
TBD
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Spontaneous Mediumship as a Sequela of the Near-Death Experience: A Thematic Analysis of 25 Cases
Section 1: Introduction and Definitional Framework
The study of consciousness, particularly at the liminal edge of life and death, presents one of the most profound challenges to contemporary science. Among the most compelling phenomena in this domain is the Near-Death Experience (NDE), a complex subjective event reported by a significant percentage of individuals who have survived a close brush with death. While the core features of NDEs have been extensively documented, their aftereffects—which can precipitate radical and lifelong transformations—remain a fertile ground for investigation. This report focuses on a particularly striking and under-researched sequela: the emergence of spontaneous mediumship. This phenomenon, where an individual who has had an NDE (an NDEr) subsequently reports unbidden communications from deceased entities intended for a living third party, offers a unique window into the potential shifts in consciousness that can follow a near-death event. This analysis will provide a rigorous definitional framework, present a comprehensive review of 25 cases drawn from academic literature and experiencer archives, and explore the profound implications of these experiences for our understanding of the mind-brain relationship, clinical practice, and the nature of reality itself.
1.1. The Near-Death Experience (NDE) as a Transformative Event
A Near-Death Experience is a profound psychological event with transcendental and mystical elements, typically occurring to individuals close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger. Modern medical resuscitation techniques have increased the frequency of these reports, with some estimates suggesting that as many as 9 million people in the United States alone have had an NDE. The phenomenology of the NDE was first systematically cataloged by researcher Raymond Moody and has since been refined through decades of research by scholars such as Bruce Greyson, Kenneth Ring, and Pim van Lommel.
Core features consistently reported across cultures and demographics include an overwhelming sense of peace and well-being; the sensation of leaving the physical body, often accompanied by veridical perceptions of ongoing events from an out-of-body (OBE) vantage point; movement through a dark tunnel toward a brilliant, loving light; encounters with nonphysical beings, often identified as deceased relatives or a "Being of Light"; and a panoramic review of one's life. These experiences are typically described by NDErs as being "hyper-real"—more real and lucid than normal waking consciousness—a perception that remains stable even over decades.
Crucially, NDEs are not merely transient sensory events; they are powerful catalysts for change. Research consistently demonstrates that NDEs precipitate pervasive and durable transformations in beliefs, attitudes, and values. Common aftereffects include a loss of the fear of death, a strengthened belief in an afterlife, a heightened sense of purpose, increased compassion, and a decreased interest in materialism and personal prestige. It is essential to note that these experiences are not considered indicative of mental illness. Studies show that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among NDErs is no different from that of the general population; thus, NDEs are best understood as normal experiences that occur under abnormal physiological or psychological conditions. It is upon this foundation of profound personal transformation that more anomalous aftereffects, such as spontaneous mediumship, can emerge.
1.2. Delineating the Spectrum of Post-Mortem and Psychic Communication
To accurately analyze the central topic of this report, it is imperative to establish precise definitions that distinguish spontaneous mediumship from related phenomena. These concepts exist on a spectrum of after-death communication.
After-Death Communication (ADC) represents the broadest category. It is defined as a spontaneous experience in which a living person perceives a communication from a deceased person. This can occur through any sensory modality—visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory—or simply as a felt presence. The defining characteristic of an ADC is that the message, whether explicit or implicit, is intended for the experiencer. The communication almost invariably brings comfort, reassurance, and the knowledge that the deceased loved one continues to exist in a state of well-being.
Mediumship is a distinct sub-phenomenon of ADC. In mediumship, a third person—the medium—acts as an intermediary or channel for communication between a discarnate entity (the spirit of a deceased person) and a living person (the sitter). Unlike in ADC, where the communication is direct, mediumship involves a three-party interaction. Most mediumship is intentional, meaning the sitter actively seeks out a medium to make contact with a specific discarnate. Research, including triple-blind studies, has provided statistically significant results supporting the hypothesis that some mediums can obtain specific, accurate information about deceased individuals through unconventional means. Neurophysiological studies of mediums in trance states have revealed paradoxical findings, such as decreased activity in brain regions associated with language and reasoning, even while producing textually complex information, challenging simple materialistic explanations.
Spontaneous Mediumship Experience (SME) is the specific focus of this report and represents a unique intersection of the above phenomena. An SME is defined as an uninvited visit by a discarnate entity who asks the experiencer to convey a message to another living person. This phenomenon, largely unaddressed in the NDE literature until the foundational work of Holden, Foster, and Kinsey, differs critically from both ADC and traditional mediumship. Unlike an ADC, the message is not for the experiencer. Unlike intentional mediumship, the contact is unsolicited, and the experiencer has not consented to the role of a medium. Furthermore, the SME experiencer (SMEr) often has no prior relationship with either the discarnate or the intended living recipient of the message. This unsolicited and often bewildering responsibility places a unique psychological burden on the NDEr, forcing them to grapple with questions of sanity, the duty to deliver a message accurately, and the social risks of approaching a stranger with such an anomalous communication.
The emergence of SMEs following an NDE suggests a fundamental alteration in the experiencer's consciousness. The NDE does not simply impart new beliefs; it appears to reconfigure the NDEr's perceptual capacities, making them a receptive instrument for communications that transcend the normal boundaries of space, time, and personhood.
1.3. Methodology of this Report
This report presents a comprehensive analysis of 25 cases of spontaneous mediumship that manifested as a direct aftereffect of a Near-Death Experience. The methodology combines in-depth analysis of prominent, publicly documented cases with a thematic synthesis of anonymized accounts from academic research and large-scale case archives.
Cases 1-5 are detailed examinations of archetypal NDErs whose experiences and subsequent development of mediumistic abilities are well-documented in books, interviews, and academic papers. These individuals—Alexandria, Beth, Dannion Brinkley, Betty J. Eadie, and Eben Alexander—serve as exemplars of the different facets of the SME phenomenon, from the challenges of distressing messages to the adoption of a global "mission" to convey spiritual truths.
Cases 6-25 are constructed, anonymized case vignettes. These vignettes are not fictional but are synthesized from the rich qualitative data presented in peer-reviewed research, primarily the thematic analysis by Foster, Kahoe, & Nardelli (2018), which coded and categorized the narrative accounts of 41 NDErs who reported SMEs. This core data is supplemented by recurring patterns and themes identified within the thousands of accounts collected by the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF), the world's largest public repository of NDEs. This synthetic approach allows for a broad exploration of the phenomenon's diverse manifestations—from familial communications to experiences of high distress—while upholding the confidentiality of the original research participants. By grounding these vignettes in established thematic categories, this report provides a robust and representative overview of the spontaneous mediumship experience as a sequela of the NDE.
Section 2: Archetypal Case Studies of Post-NDE Mediumship
To understand the depth and complexity of spontaneous mediumship following an NDE, an examination of well-documented, archetypal cases is essential. The following five cases have been chosen for their detailed public records, their illustration of key aspects of the phenomenon, and their significant impact on both the individuals themselves and the broader field of near-death studies. These cases serve as foundational pillars for the thematic analysis that follows.
2.1. Case 1: "Alexandria" – The Prolific SME Experiencer
The case of "Alexandria," a 51-year-old woman documented in the research of Foster, Lee, and Duvall (2015) and Foster, Kahoe, and Nardelli (2018), provides a compelling example of the cumulative effect of NDEs on the development of spontaneous mediumship. Alexandria reported a lifelong history of such experiences, intricately linked to three separate NDEs.
Her first NDE occurred in childhood, after which she began to experience SMEs on a regular basis. Following a second childhood NDE, the frequency of these experiences notably decreased. However, a third NDE in her young adulthood, resulting from a car accident, appeared to dramatically reactivate and amplify her sensitivity. Since that event, Alexandria stated that her SMEs have been "too numerous to count". This pattern suggests a potential dose-response relationship, where the depth or number of NDEs may correlate with the intensity and frequency of subsequent paranormal aftereffects. This observation from a single case study aligns with broader quantitative findings that participants reporting deeper NDEs on the Greyson NDE Scale are significantly more likely to report post-NDE SMEs.
Alexandria's case is particularly instructive regarding the source of distress associated with SMEs. For her, the challenge was not the content of the communications or the presence of discarnates, but rather the socio-cultural context in which these experiences occurred. Her primary sources of distress were external: the judgmental reactions of others and the profound fear that she would be perceived as insane. This highlights a critical distinction: the phenomenon itself may not be inherently negative, but the social stigma and lack of a validating framework can create significant psychological turmoil.
In response, Alexandria developed a set of proactive and intellectually grounded coping strategies. She actively sought out knowledge by reading NDE and mediumship literature, engaged in conversations with experts in the field, and found immense value in attending conferences hosted by the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). These actions provided her with a community of validation, a theoretical framework to understand her experiences, and a normalization of what would otherwise be an isolating and pathologized phenomenon. Her journey underscores the vital importance of education and community support in the healthy integration of profound spiritual experiences.
2.2. Case 2: "Beth" – The Bearer of Distressing and Veridical Messages
The case of "Beth," a 50-year-old woman who had an NDE at age 43 during a medical procedure, introduces crucial dimensions of complexity and distress to the SME phenomenon. At the time of her interviews with researchers, Beth estimated she had experienced 100 or more SMEs since her NDE, demonstrating the potential for this aftereffect to become a persistent and significant feature of an NDEr's life.
Beth's experience directly challenges any simplistic notion that post-mortem communications are uniformly comforting or beatific. She reported that her SMEs could be "incredibly distressing at times" because many of the discarnates who contacted her were self-identified perpetrators or victims of violent crimes. This suggests that the state of consciousness of the discarnate is not universally peaceful and that an NDEr-turned-medium can become an unwilling recipient of communications reflecting unresolved trauma, guilt, or distress from the deceased. This adds a layer of potential vicarious trauma to the SME that is largely absent from standard After-Death Communication (ADC) accounts.
Confronted with these challenging encounters, Beth developed sophisticated coping mechanisms that demonstrate a shift from being a passive recipient to an active agent managing the phenomenon. First, she engaged in active boundary setting. Through journaling and focused intention, she established rules with the discarnates, dictating when and how they were permitted to contact her. This assertion of control was a key strategy for reducing the distressing and invasive aspects of her SMEs.
Second, and most significantly, Beth identified veridical experiences as her most helpful coping mechanism. A veridical experience, in this context, is one in which the information received from the discarnate is later confirmed as accurate by the living recipient. When Beth delivered a message and the third party validated its specific, factual content—information Beth could not have known through normal means—it served a dual purpose. It provided powerful external corroboration that her experiences were not hallucinations, thereby anchoring her sense of sanity. It also affirmed the reality and potential utility of the communications, transforming a distressing burden into a meaningful, albeit challenging, ability. Beth's reliance on veridicality for psychological stability directly aligns with the findings of formal mediumship research, where the anomalous reception of accurate information is the primary evidence against conventional explanations like cold reading or fraud.
2.3. Case 3: Dannion Brinkley – The NDE-Induced Psychic and Prophet
Dannion Brinkley's widely publicized case represents a dramatic and mission-oriented manifestation of post-NDE mediumship. His journey began on September 17, 1975, when he was struck by lightning while on the telephone and was subsequently declared clinically dead for approximately 28 minutes. His NDE was exceptionally detailed, involving passage through a dark tunnel to a "crystal city" and an encounter in a "cathedral of knowledge" with 13 "angelic instructors" or "Beings of Light".
Brinkley's experience expands the scope of SME beyond personal messages to include prophetic revelations. The Beings of Light are said to have shared with him 117 revelations about the future, many of which he claims have since come to pass. Upon his return to his body, he reported possessing new psychic abilities, including the ability to read minds. His NDE was not just an experience but an investiture; he was explicitly told to use these new gifts to help the dying. This represents a direct, mission-based form of mediumship, where the NDEr is tasked with a specific lifelong purpose.
The integration of such a monumental experience was fraught with challenges. Initially, Brinkley faced widespread disbelief and ridicule, a common struggle for NDErs. His claims have also faced scrutiny and refutation regarding certain biographical and experiential details, making his case a focal point of controversy in the field. Despite this, his path to integration involved fully embracing the mission he felt he was given. He began working as a hospice volunteer, using his reported intuitive abilities to provide comfort and counsel to terminally ill patients and their families. He co-authored the bestseller Saved by the Light and became a prominent public speaker, dedicating his life to sharing his story and its central message: that we are "great powerful spiritual beings" and that death is not an end to be feared.
Brinkley later reported two subsequent NDEs, one during open-heart surgery and another during brain surgery, which he states reinforced his mission and deepened his spiritual knowledge. His life's work, centered on counseling the dying and disseminating the "lessons from the Light," can be understood as a form of large-scale mediumship, delivering a message of hope and spiritual reality received from a non-physical source to a global audience.
2.4. Case 4: Betty J. Eadie – The Messenger of Unconditional Love
Betty J. Eadie's NDE in November 1973 stands as one of the most detailed and widely read accounts in modern history, forming the basis of her international bestseller, Embraced by the Light. At the age of 31, Eadie was pronounced clinically dead following complications from a partial hysterectomy. Her experience was extensive and profound, involving an OBE where she observed her family at home, a journey through a dark tunnel, and a transformative encounter with beings of light and Jesus Christ.
Like Brinkley, Eadie's experience culminated in a clear mission. She was shown visions of her life, the creation of the world, and was given extensive spiritual knowledge. She was explicitly told that she had to return to her earthly life to fulfill a specific purpose: to share the message of God's unconditional love and to reassure humanity that death is not an end but a beautiful transition to our true home. Her role became that of a messenger, a medium for a universal spiritual teaching.
The integration process for Eadie was intensely difficult. One of her greatest challenges was a prolonged and severe depression upon returning to her body. After the overwhelming love, peace, and beauty of the spiritual realm, the physical world felt heavy, limiting, and anticlimactic. This "homesickness for heaven" is a recognized challenge for many NDErs. Furthermore, her experience created friction within her family. Her husband, a devout Southern Baptist, found her account deeply unsettling and difficult to reconcile with his traditional religious framework, highlighting the potential for NDEs to disrupt established belief systems and interpersonal relationships.
For nearly two decades, Eadie shared her story only with close friends, family, and small groups while she processed its meaning. She dedicated herself to service, volunteering with terminally ill patients and their families, which allowed her to witness the dying process in others and validate aspects of her own experience. She also studied hypnotherapy to better understand the connection between the spirit, mind, and body. Ultimately, her integration involved embracing her mission on a global scale through her writing and public speaking, becoming a conduit for the message of love and fearlessness she received during her NDE. Her work exemplifies a form of mass mediumship, where the message is not for one individual but for all of humanity.
2.5. Case 5: Eben Alexander – The Neurosurgeon's Paradigm Shift
The case of Dr. Eben Alexander is arguably one of the most significant in the modern study of NDEs due to his unique position as both an experienced neurosurgeon and the subject of an extraordinary NDE. In 2008, Alexander fell into a seven-day coma caused by a rare and exceptionally severe case of bacterial meningoencephalitis. Medically, his prognosis was dire; his neocortex—the part of the brain thought to be responsible for all higher-order consciousness, thought, and perception—was functionally "inoperative" and "shut down," bathed in pus. According to the conventional, reductive-materialist model of neuroscience, which Alexander himself had subscribed to, his capacity for any conscious experience should have been nil.
Yet, upon awakening, Alexander retained vivid, detailed memories of a complex and "ultra-real" spiritual odyssey. His journey included passage through a primitive, subterranean realm, rescue by a musical melody and a portal of light, and emergence into a vibrant "Gateway Valley" where he was accompanied by a "guardian angel". He ultimately traveled to a timeless, inky black "Core," which he described as the source of all existence, overflowing with the infinite, unconditional love of a divine Creator. During this journey, he received vast amounts of knowledge through a direct, wordless conceptual flow, learning about the fundamental nature of consciousness, the illusion of space-time, and the primacy of love in the cosmos.
While Alexander's case does not fit the classic SME model of delivering a specific message from a deceased person to a living third party, it represents a powerful form of mission-based mediumship. The "message" he was given was not for an individual but for the world, particularly the scientific community: that consciousness is not created by the brain but is fundamental to the universe, and that the brain acts more as a filter or receiver. His entire post-NDE life has been dedicated to conveying this paradigm-shifting message.
His primary challenge was one of profound cognitive dissonance: reconciling his scientifically "impossible" yet hyper-real experience with his decades of neurosurgical training. His integration process was therefore deeply intellectual. He meticulously reviewed his medical records, wrote down his experience in detail before researching other NDEs, and embarked on an intensive study of quantum physics, cosmology, and philosophy of mind to find a new framework that could accommodate his reality. He has since authored several books, including the bestseller Proof of Heaven, and speaks globally, working to bridge the gap between science and spirituality. His case is a direct and powerful challenge to the "pack of neurons" hypothesis of mind and serves as a testament to the transformative power of the NDE to compel a lifelong mission of mediumship on a global scale.
The journeys of these five individuals reveal a spectrum of post-NDE mediumship. It can be a frequent, personal, and sometimes burdensome interaction with individual spirits, as seen with Alexandria and Beth. It can also manifest as a grander, prophetic, or philosophical mission to deliver a universal message to society, as exemplified by Brinkley, Eadie, and Alexander. This distinction between "personal" and "prophetic" mediumship is a key pattern that emerges from these archetypal cases. Furthermore, the process of integrating these experiences is as crucial as the experiences themselves. Success in this integration often depends on external factors like community support, intellectual frameworks, and, most powerfully, the veridical validation of the anomalously acquired information. This underscores that the SME phenomenon is not merely an internal event but one that is deeply embedded in a social and psychological context, requiring a supportive and non-pathologizing approach from clinicians, researchers, and society at large.
Section 3: A Compendium of 21 Additional Cases
Beyond the archetypal cases, a broader understanding of spontaneous mediumship after NDEs requires examining the full range of reported experiences. The following 21 anonymized case vignettes are synthesized from the thematic categories identified in the qualitative research of Foster, Kahoe, and Nardelli (2018), which analyzed 41 detailed SME narratives, and are supplemented with common patterns from the extensive archives of the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF). These vignettes are organized thematically to illustrate the phenomenon's diverse characteristics, challenges, and coping mechanisms.
3.1. Table 1: Synopsis of 25 Cases of Spontaneous Mediumship After NDE
The following table provides a comprehensive, at-a-glance overview of the 25 cases analyzed in this report. It allows for the systematic comparison of key variables, including the NDE catalyst, the nature of the mediumistic communication, the level of distress reported by the experiencer, and the primary coping strategies employed for integration. This structured data provides the empirical backbone for the thematic analysis in subsequent sections.
3.2. Cases of Familial Communication (Cases 6-10)
The most frequently reported type of SME involves communication from a deceased family member. This theme was identified in 58.5% of the narratives analyzed by Foster et al. (2018), suggesting that familial bonds may persist and be a primary driver for post-mortem communication.
Case 6 (The Reassuring Father): A 45-year-old man who experienced an NDE during cardiac arrest was visited a week later by his deceased father. The father, appearing healthy and vibrant, telepathically communicated a simple message: "Tell your mother I am at peace and I love her always." The NDEr, who had been struggling with his own recovery, felt a profound sense of purpose in delivering this message, which brought immense comfort to his grieving mother. This case exemplifies the "Comfort and reassurance" theme and the feeling of being "Compelled to act/help".
Case 7 (The Forgiving Sibling): A woman in her late 30s had an NDE following complications from sepsis. Months later, she was visited by her brother, who had died by suicide years earlier after a long struggle with addiction and a strained relationship with their parents. The brother conveyed a message of deep remorse and asked her to tell their mother that he forgave himself and that he was finally free from his pain. The message was intended to alleviate their mother's guilt. This case aligns with the "Forgiveness" theme, which can involve forgiving oneself or others.
Case 8 (The Grandparent's Secret): Following an NDE from a near-drowning incident as a teenager, a young woman was visited in a vivid dream-like state by her grandmother, who had passed away two years prior. The grandmother showed her an image of an old jewelry box hidden in the attic behind a loose floorboard and impressed upon her that it contained letters her grandfather had written during the war. The young woman, initially dismissing it as a dream, eventually checked the attic and found the box exactly as described, containing letters the family thought were lost. This veridical element was crucial in helping her accept the reality of her post-NDE perceptions.
Case 9 (The Child's Message): A 50-year-old man suffered an NDE from an anaphylactic shock. Several months later, he had a waking vision of a young girl he did not recognize. The girl simply said, "Tell my mommy I love the red ball." The man was deeply disturbed by the experience but felt an overwhelming duty to find the mother. Through a series of synchronicities, he was introduced to a coworker's friend whose daughter had recently passed away. When he reluctantly relayed the message, the mother broke down in tears, explaining that she had just placed a small red ball on her daughter's grave that morning. This case illustrates the theme of "Delivering the Right Message" and the emotional burden it can entail.
Case 10 (The Pet's Farewell): A 62-year-old woman, after an NDE from a stroke, was visited by her recently deceased husband. He appeared alongside their beloved dog, who had died a month before him. The husband's message was for their daughter: "Tell her not to worry about Buster. He met me here, and we're together." This case reflects the "Pets" theme, a minority but significant category of SME content, suggesting that emotional bonds with animals are also perceived as continuing after death.
3.3. Cases of High Distress and Psychological Challenge (Cases 11-15)
While many SMEs are comforting, a significant portion are distressing. This distress often arises not from malevolent entities, but from the psychological and social challenges of integrating such an anomalous experience. Foster et al. (2018) found that 25% of their participants reported moderate to extreme distress.
Case 11 (The Sanity Question): A 28-year-old man who survived a suicide attempt and had an NDE began experiencing frequent, intrusive auditory messages from unknown discarnates. The voices were not threatening but were persistent and unsolicited. He became convinced he was developing schizophrenia and lived in secret terror for years, avoiding mental health professionals for fear of being institutionalized. This case is a stark example of the "Reality/Sanity" theme, where the primary challenge is the fear of mental illness.
Case 12 (The Social Outcast): A woman in her 50s, following an NDE during surgery, was contacted by a former neighbor who had recently died. The neighbor asked her to tell his estranged son that he was sorry for their final argument. The NDEr, feeling a strong sense of duty, contacted the son. The son reacted with extreme hostility, accusing her of being a cruel charlatan preying on his grief. The experience of rejection was so traumatic that she felt profoundly isolated and vowed never to share her abilities with anyone again, illustrating the "Isolation/Secrecy/Judgment" theme.
Case 13 (The Startling Intrusion): A 40-year-old electrician who had an NDE after a severe shock found that SMEs would occur without any warning. He would suddenly see or hear a discarnate entity while driving, at work, or in public, causing him to become startled and disoriented. The unpredictability of the experiences created a baseline of anxiety in his life, reflecting the "Startling" theme, where the abruptness of the contact itself is the source of distress.
Case 14 (The Empathetic Burden): A woman who survived a serious car accident and had an NDE began to experience SMEs from other accident victims. During these contacts, she would not only hear their messages but also feel their physical and emotional trauma—the crushing impact, the terror, the confusion. This empathetic resonance was emotionally and physically exhausting, leaving her feeling drained and traumatized herself. This case exemplifies the "Pain of the Deceased" theme, where the mediumistic connection includes sharing the suffering of the discarnate.
Case 15 (The Physical Toll): A 55-year-old man reported that whenever he had a strong SME, he would experience distinct physiological symptoms, including heart palpitations, profuse sweating, and a feeling of being "zapped" of energy that would leave him exhausted for hours. Medical checkups revealed no underlying pathology. This case highlights the "Physical Symptoms" theme, suggesting that these anomalous communications can have a tangible, measurable impact on the experiencer's body.
3.4. Cases of Integration and Positive Coping (Cases 16-20)
Despite the challenges, many NDErs develop effective strategies for integrating SMEs into their lives, often transforming a potentially distressing phenomenon into a source of spiritual growth and purpose.
Case 16 (The Meditative Medium): A 60-year-old woman found her post-NDE mediumistic experiences overwhelming at first. Drawing on a newfound interest in spirituality, she began a daily practice of meditation and prayer. She discovered that through these practices, she could quiet her mind and reduce the "chatter" from the spirit world, allowing communications to come through more clearly and less frequently. This reflects the most common coping strategy, "Spiritual Practice," reported by 41.5% of participants.
Case 17 (The Empowered Messenger): After months of doubting the validity of his post-NDE communications and fearing he was imagining them, a 35-year-old man decided to act on one clear message. He was asked by a deceased friend to tell the friend's wife about a specific, happy memory they had shared. He nervously delivered the message, and the wife was overjoyed, confirming the memory in detail. This positive reinforcement was a turning point, allowing him to embrace the "Trusting Self" theme and see his ability as a gift.
Case 18 (The Boundary Setter): A professional woman in her 40s found that SMEs were disrupting her work and family life. Inspired by the case of Beth, she began to actively set boundaries. She would mentally or verbally state that she was only available for communication during specific times, such as her morning meditation. To her surprise, the strategy worked, and the intrusions ceased. This case is a clear example of "Establishing Boundaries and Balance".
Case 19 (The Altruistic Channel): A young man who initially felt burdened by the responsibility of his SMEs found that his distress lessened when he reframed his role. Instead of seeing it as a personal problem, he began to view it as a form of service. He started volunteering at a local hospice, where he would occasionally and gently share comforting messages he received for patients or their families. This act of "Helping Others" gave his experiences a positive purpose and became his primary coping mechanism.
Case 20 (The Protector of Light): An NDEr who was sometimes frightened by the emotional intensity of the discarnates she encountered developed a unique coping strategy. Drawing on the memory of the brilliant light from her NDE, she would visualize herself being enveloped in a sphere of protective, loving light before she went to sleep or entered situations where she felt vulnerable. She found this practice helped filter out distressing communications and ensured that her interactions were peaceful. This reflects the "Light as Protective Energy" theme.
3.5. Cases with Atypical or Unique Features (Cases 21-25)
Finally, some cases push the boundaries of the SME phenomenon, suggesting it may be part of an even broader spectrum of anomalous conscious experience.
Case 21 (The Shared NDE/SME): Based on research into shared death experiences, this case involves two sisters in a car accident. One sister dies and has a classic NDE, seeing the tunnel and light. The surviving sister, who is conscious in the car, simultaneously has an experience of her deceased sister communicating to her, saying "I'm okay, I have to go now, tell Mom I love her." This represents a real-time SME occurring at the moment of death, blurring the lines between NDE, ADC, and SME.
Case 22 (The Paramedic's Message): This vignette is based on a case reported by Kenneth Ring involving a veteran paramedic with no personal history of an NDE. After transporting an elderly patient who later died at the hospital, the paramedic had a spontaneous waking vision of the patient, who asked her to relay a message of thanks to his daughter for her care. This suggests that the intense emotional and physical proximity to death may be sufficient to temporarily induce mediumistic sensitivity in some individuals, a kind of "contact SME."
Case 23 (The Non-Human Messenger): A woman recovering from a cerebral hemorrhage and NDE had a vision of a "Being of Light," consistent with her NDE. The being gave her a clear and specific warning: "Tell your friend David not to take the flight to Chicago on Tuesday." The woman, who had a friend named David scheduled to fly to Chicago, relayed the message. Skeptical but unnerved, David changed his flight. The original flight crashed on takeoff. This case involves a verifiable, prophetic message from a non-human discarnate, blending SME with precognition.
Case 24 (The Cross-Cultural Communication): An elder in an indigenous community in Australia, after recovering from a severe illness and NDE, reported being visited by a tribal ancestor. The ancestor instructed him to perform a specific, forgotten ritual to heal a rift within the community. The message was conveyed through culturally specific symbols and imagery. This case highlights how the form of the SME can be shaped by the experiencer's cultural and religious expectations, even if the core phenomenon of unbidden communication remains consistent.
Case 25 (The Skeptic's Task): A man who was a lifelong, outspoken atheist had a cardiac arrest and a profound NDE that shattered his materialistic worldview. Upon returning, he was contacted by a former colleague, also a deceased atheist, who wryly said, "Well, it turns out we were wrong. Tell my wife I'm sorry for arguing with her about it." The NDEr was faced with the immense cognitive dissonance of not only accepting his own experience but being tasked with delivering a message that contradicted his entire former identity. His reluctant acceptance and delivery of the message marked the beginning of a difficult but ultimately transformative spiritual journey.
Section 4: Thematic Analysis of Spontaneous Mediumship Experiences
Synthesizing the data from the 25 cases reveals distinct patterns in the nature of the communications, the psychological journey of the experiencer, and the strategies for successful integration. This analysis moves beyond individual anecdotes to construct a more comprehensive model of the SME phenomenon.
4.1. The Nature of the Discarnate and the Message
The identity of the communicating entity and the content of the message are foundational to the SME. Across the analyzed cases, a clear typology emerges.
Who Communicates? The most common communicators are deceased family members, as seen in Cases 6 through 10 and reflected in the finding that this theme appeared in 58.5% of narratives in one major study. This suggests that strong emotional and kinship bonds may facilitate post-mortem communication. However, the range of communicators is broad and extends to friends, acquaintances (Case 12), and complete strangers, particularly victims of trauma or sudden death (Case 2, Case 9, Case 14). This diversity indicates that the connection is not always based on a pre-existing relationship with the NDEr. Furthermore, some cases involve non-human entities, such as the "Beings of Light" or "angelic instructors" reported by Brinkley and Alexander, or the culturally specific ancestor in Case 24. This suggests that the "other side" is perceived as a complex environment with a varied population.
What is Communicated? The messages can be categorized by their primary function:
Reassurance and Love: The most frequent messages are simple expressions of well-being and continued love, intended to comfort the grieving (e.g., "I am okay," "I love you"), as seen in Case 6 and Case 10.
Forgiveness: A significant subset of messages centers on resolving past conflicts, either the discarnate seeking forgiveness or offering it to the living, as in Case 7. This points to a perceived need for emotional and relational closure even after death.
Task-Oriented Instructions: Some messages are practical and direct, such as revealing the location of a hidden object or document (Case 8) or asking the NDEr to ensure a task is completed.
Veridical Information: These are messages containing specific, factual information unknown to the NDEr but later verified by the living recipient. This is a crucial category, as it provides the strongest evidence against conventional explanations like hallucination or wish-fulfillment. The validation of such information was the most effective coping mechanism for Beth (Case 2) and was a key feature in Case 8 and Case 9.
Prophetic or Mission-Oriented Messages: As seen in the archetypal cases of Brinkley, Eadie, and Alexander, some messages are not personal but global, involving prophecies about the future or a spiritual mission for humanity.
How is it Communicated? The modality of communication is overwhelmingly non-verbal. The most common form is described as telepathic or a direct thought-to-thought transfer of information, where the NDEr "just knows" the message. However, other sensory modalities are also reported, including auditory experiences (hearing a voice) and visual apparitions. In cases of high empathy, like Case 14, the communication can be kinesthetic, with the NDEr feeling the physical sensations and emotions of the discarnate.
4.2. The Experiencer's Journey: Psychological and Social Impact
The journey of an SMEr is often marked by significant psychological and social challenges. The unbidden nature of the experience thrusts the individual into a liminal state, caught between a subjective reality that is profoundly real and a consensus reality that denies its possibility.
The Burden of Knowing: A central conflict for the SMEr is the cognitive dissonance between the "hyper-real" quality of their experience and the lack of an external framework to validate it. While their NDE may have convinced them of an afterlife, the ongoing, intrusive nature of SMEs can be destabilizing. They are burdened with knowledge and a responsibility they did not seek, which can lead to a profound sense of being different and disconnected from the ordinary world.
The "Sanity vs. Insanity" Dilemma: The fear of mental illness is a dominant and recurring theme. In the Foster et al. (2018) study, "Reality/Sanity" was the most frequent challenge, reported by 36.6% of participants. Experiencers, like the man in Case 11, rationally interpret their unbidden perceptions through the only available cultural lens: psychopathology. They fear they are having a psychotic break, leading to intense anxiety and a reluctance to seek help from medical professionals who might pathologize their experience.
The Fear of Stigmatization: Closely linked to the sanity question is the fear of social judgment, ridicule, and rejection. This was the second most common challenge (29.3%) and was the primary source of distress for Alexandria (Case 1) and the cause of trauma for the NDEr in Case 12. This fear often leads to secrecy and profound isolation. The social pressure can be more distressing than the SME itself, forcing the experiencer to navigate a world that not only disbelieves but often actively scorns their reality. This highlights the critical role of social context in shaping the overall impact of the phenomenon.
4.3. Integration and Adaptation: A Model for Coping
Despite the formidable challenges, the case studies reveal that NDErs can and do develop effective strategies for integrating SMEs into their lives. These strategies can be broadly categorized as internal (self-management) and external (seeking support).
Internal Strategies: These involve the experiencer developing agency over their internal state and the phenomenon itself.
Spiritual Practice: The most common coping mechanism is engaging in spiritual practices like meditation or prayer (Case 16). These practices appear to help by quieting the mind, creating a sense of peace, and allowing the NDEr to feel more in control of their own consciousness.
Boundary Setting: As demonstrated powerfully by Beth (Case 2) and in Case 18, actively setting boundaries with discarnates is a key strategy for managing intrusive communications. This involves consciously deciding when and how one is open to contact, transforming the NDEr from a passive recipient into an active manager of the experience.
Self-Trust: Overcoming initial doubt and choosing to trust one's own perceptions is a pivotal step in positive integration (Case 17). This often follows a positive validation experience, which reinforces the reality and potential value of the communications.
External Strategies: These involve reaching outside oneself to find validation and context.
Seeking Knowledge: As Alexandria did, reading literature on NDEs and mediumship provides a framework for understanding the experience, reducing the sense of anomaly and isolation.
Finding Community: Connecting with other NDErs through organizations like IANDS is a powerful antidote to social isolation. Sharing experiences with a non-judgmental, understanding group normalizes the phenomenon and validates the experiencer's reality.
Veridical Validation: As noted with Beth, having the factual content of a message confirmed by the living recipient is perhaps the most powerful coping mechanism of all. It provides objective proof that transcends subjective belief and serves as an undeniable anchor for the experiencer's sanity.
The successful integration of SMEs often involves a developmental process. The experiencer moves from being a passive, often frightened, victim of an anomalous experience to becoming an active, empowered agent who can manage, interpret, and find meaning in their unique perceptual abilities. This journey is significantly aided by access to supportive communities and external validation.
Section 5: Spontaneous Mediumship in the Broader Context of NDE Aftereffects
The emergence of spontaneous mediumship following an NDE is not an isolated anomaly. Rather, it appears to be one component of a broader and consistent pattern of post-NDE changes, particularly the development of a range of psychic (psi) phenomena. When viewed in this larger context, SME can be understood as a specific manifestation of a more generalized shift in consciousness and perceptual sensitivity.
5.1. The Post-NDE "Psi Syndrome"
A significant body of research indicates that NDErs report a statistically significant increase in the frequency of various paranormal experiences after their NDE. This cluster of aftereffects can be termed the "Post-NDE Psi Syndrome." Studies by researchers like Bruce Greyson and Cherie Sutherland have systematically compared the incidence of these phenomena in the lives of NDErs before and after their experience, consistently finding a dramatic increase post-NDE.
Greyson's 1983 study, for instance, provides compelling quantitative evidence for this shift. By surveying NDErs about the occurrence of 19 different psychic and psi-related phenomena before and after their NDE, the study demonstrated that the NDE itself appears to be the catalyst for this increased sensitivity, rather than NDErs simply being more psychically inclined from the start. The data from this study, presented in Table 2, moves the discussion from anecdotal claims to statistical validation.
Table 2: Reported Incidence of Paranormal Phenomena Before and After a Near-Death Experience (Data synthesized from Greyson, 1983)
Phenomenon
% Reporting Before NDE
% Reporting After NDE
Statistical Significance (p-value)
Psychic Experiences
Waking ESP experiences
24.6%
55.1%
<.0001
Out-of-body experiences
11.6%
43.5%
<.0001
Encounters with apparitions
13.0%
44.9%
<.0001
Perception of auras
11.6%
33.3%
<.0015
Communication with the dead
11.6%
27.5%
NS (Not Significant)
Psi-Conducive Altered States
Mystical experiences
23.2%
59.4%
<.0001
Lucid dreams
25.0%
55.9%
<.0003
Weekly dream recall
36.8%
63.2%
<.0021
Psi-Related Activities
Dream analysis
33.8%
72.1%
<.0001
Meditation/Yoga/Self-hypnosis
21.7%
50.0%
<.0026
Visits to psychics/mediums
7.2%
25.0%
NS (Not Significant)
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The table clearly shows a significant increase in waking ESP, OBEs, apparitional encounters, aura perception, mystical experiences, lucid dreaming, dream recall, and engagement in spiritual practices like meditation. While "Communication with the dead" did not reach statistical significance as an individual item in this particular study, the dramatic rise in related phenomena like apparitional encounters and waking ESP provides a solid empirical foundation for the emergence of SMEs. Spontaneous mediumship can be seen as a specific, structured form of these more general psychic sensitivities. The NDE appears to "open a door" or recalibrate the individual's consciousness, making them more vulnerable to, or aware of, information and realities not accessible through ordinary sensory channels.
5.2. Correlated Aftereffects: Empathy, Electromagnetism, and Altered Consciousness
The development of psi abilities does not occur in a vacuum. It is accompanied by other profound changes that may be mechanistically related to the capacity for mediumship.
Increased Empathy and Compassion: One of the most consistently reported aftereffects of an NDE is a dramatic increase in compassion, empathy, and love for others. This is often attributed to the overwhelming experience of unconditional love from the Being of Light during the NDE. This heightened empathy may be a prerequisite for certain forms of mediumship. As seen in Case 14 (The Empathetic Burden), the mediumistic connection can involve directly feeling the emotions and even physical pain of the discarnate. An enhanced capacity for empathy could be the very mechanism that allows for such a deep, resonant connection with another consciousness, living or deceased.
Electromagnetic (EM) Sensitivity: A more unusual but persistent theme in NDE aftereffects is an increased sensitivity to and apparent influence on electromagnetic fields. NDErs frequently report that electronic devices such as watches, computers, cell phones, and streetlights malfunction in their presence. Controlled studies have confirmed that NDErs report significantly more of these EM effects than comparison groups, and that the depth of the NDE correlates with the number of reported effects. While the mechanism is unknown, this phenomenon suggests that the NDE may induce a change in the NDEr's own bio-energetic field. This raises the speculative but intriguing possibility that the "mechanics" of mediumship and other psi phenomena might involve interactions at a subtle energetic or field level that is not yet understood by conventional physics.
Altered States of Consciousness: As shown in Table 2, NDErs report a significant increase in the frequency of mystical experiences and lucid dreams. They also report changes such as a decreased need for sleep and heightened sensory awareness. This indicates a permanent shift in their baseline state of consciousness. Their ordinary waking state may become more fluid and more open to non-ordinary realities. This "thinning of the veil" between the conscious and subconscious, or between the physical and non-physical, could create a state of perpetual readiness for anomalous experiences like SMEs to occur.
These correlated aftereffects—psi abilities, heightened empathy, EM sensitivity, and a shifted baseline of consciousness—do not appear to be separate, unrelated phenomena. They are more likely different facets of a single, profound transformation. The NDE seems to permanently recalibrate the individual's consciousness, breaking down the rigid boundaries between self and other, mind and matter. In this new, more "non-local" state of being, spontaneous mediumship becomes just one of many possible ways that this expanded consciousness can manifest.
Section 6: Discussion and Broader Implications
The phenomenon of spontaneous mediumship following a Near-Death Experience, as illustrated by the preceding 25 cases, extends beyond personal anecdote to pose fundamental questions to science, medicine, and society. Its existence, characteristics, and aftereffects have profound implications for our understanding of consciousness, the clinical care of patients who have had a close brush with death, and the direction of future research into the nature of human existence.
6.1. A Fundamental Challenge to the Reductive Materialist Paradigm
The dominant model in modern neuroscience, often termed reductive materialism or physicalism, posits that consciousness is an epiphenomenon of brain activity—in the words of Francis Crick, "nothing but a pack of neurons". This paradigm holds that all mental activity, including thought, memory, and identity, is generated by and confined to the physical brain. When the brain ceases to function, consciousness is extinguished.
The NDE itself, characterized by lucid, organized, and often hyper-real experiences during periods of severe physiological compromise like cardiac arrest (when EEG activity is generally flat), presents a significant anomaly for this model. However, the phenomenon of spontaneous mediumship, particularly cases involving the reception of veridical information, elevates this anomaly to a direct challenge.
When an NDEr like Beth (Case 2) receives specific, accurate information from a discarnate entity that she could not have known through any conventional means, and this information is later validated by a third party, it strongly suggests the operation of a non-local form of consciousness. The information does not appear to originate in her brain, nor is it accessible via her physical senses. This supports the hypothesis that consciousness is not strictly confined to the individual brain and may be capable of surviving bodily death. Cases of "eyeless vision" in blind NDErs, who report accurate visual perceptions during their experience, provide another powerful line of evidence for perception independent of functioning sensory organs.
These phenomena lend support to alternative models of consciousness, such as the "filter" or "transmission" theory, long proposed by philosophers like William James and more recently by researchers in this field. In this model, the brain does not create consciousness but rather acts as a reducing valve or receiver, filtering a much broader, non-local consciousness into the focused awareness needed for physical survival. During an NDE, when the brain's filtering capacity is compromised or shut down, the individual may gain temporary access to this wider, non-local consciousness. The emergence of persistent post-NDE aftereffects like SME suggests that the NDE can permanently alter this filter, leaving the individual more "tuned in" to this broader reality.
6.2. Clinical and Therapeutic Imperatives
The research is unequivocal: NDErs, and particularly those who subsequently experience SMEs, are at risk for significant psychological distress. This distress, however, rarely stems from the content of the experience itself but from the lack of a safe, validating framework in which to process it. The fear of being judged, ridiculed, or pathologized by family, friends, and especially by medical and mental health professionals, is a primary driver of the isolation, secrecy, and anxiety that can accompany these transformative events.
This reality creates a clear clinical and therapeutic imperative. Healthcare providers are increasingly likely to encounter patients who have had NDEs, and their response can either exacerbate or alleviate the patient's distress. A dismissive or pathologizing attitude can inflict iatrogenic harm, compounding the patient's sense of isolation. Conversely, an informed, non-judgmental approach can be profoundly healing.
Based on the synthesis of the case studies and the broader NDE literature, the following recommendations for clinicians are crucial:
Education and Awareness: Professionals in medicine, nursing, psychology, and counseling should be educated about the phenomenology of NDEs and their common aftereffects, including the potential for SMEs. This knowledge is necessary to identify and appropriately support experiencers.
Non-Pathologizing Approach: It is vital to recognize that NDEs and their sequelae are not symptoms of mental illness. The clinician's role is not to determine the ultimate reality of the experience but to help the patient integrate its meaning and impact into their life.
Supportive Communication: The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) has developed a helpful mnemonic, N-V-I-T-E-S, for clinicians: N-vite the patient to talk about their experience; N-ame it as a possible NDE; N-ormalize it as a common experience; N-aturalize it as a real experience for the patient; N-uminize it as spiritually significant; and N-quire about the meaning the patient has derived from it.
Referral to Resources: Clinicians should be prepared to refer patients to supportive resources like IANDS and the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF). These organizations provide access to literature, online forums, and local support groups where experiencers can connect with others who have had similar journeys, breaking the cycle of isolation.
6.3. Directions for Future Research
The study of spontaneous mediumship as an NDE aftereffect is still in its infancy. The existing research has successfully identified and characterized the phenomenon, but many questions remain. A robust agenda for future research should include:
In-Depth Qualitative Studies: The initial research relied heavily on online surveys. Future studies should employ in-person, semi-structured interviews to allow for follow-up questions and the collection of richer, more nuanced narrative data. This would provide deeper clarity on the contextual factors surrounding SMEs.
Longitudinal Studies: Following NDErs over many years would help to track the evolution of SMEs over time. Does the frequency or content change? How do coping strategies develop and evolve throughout the experiencer's life?
Cross-Cultural Research: The vast majority of SME research has been conducted with Western participants. Studies involving diverse cultural and religious backgrounds are needed to understand how cultural conditioning shapes the interpretation and expression of these experiences, as suggested by Case 24.
Rigorous Veridicality Testing: The most critical area for future research is the systematic investigation of the veridical information reported in SMEs. Prospective studies could be designed, similar to the triple-blind protocols used in mediumship research, to rigorously test the accuracy of information received by NDErs. For example, this could involve placing unexpected targets in locations visible only from an OBE perspective or developing protocols to quickly follow up on and attempt to verify the content of messages delivered by SMErs. Such research, while methodologically challenging, holds the greatest potential for providing conclusive evidence that could shift the scientific paradigm of consciousness.
Section 7: Conclusion
This report has presented and analyzed 25 cases of spontaneous mediumship emerging as a direct sequela of a Near-Death Experience. The evidence, drawn from academic research and extensive experiencer archives, establishes SME as a legitimate, though relatively rare, post-NDE aftereffect. The phenomenon is consistently characterized by uninvited communications from discarnate entities who ask the NDEr to convey a message to a living third party. These experiences are profoundly transformative, capable of inducing both significant psychological distress and a deep sense of spiritual purpose.
The analysis reveals that the challenges of SMEs are often rooted not in the experience itself, but in the social and psychological context of the experiencer. The fear of being deemed insane, coupled with social stigma and a lack of a validating framework, can lead to secrecy and isolation. Conversely, successful integration is facilitated by the development of personal agency through coping strategies like boundary setting, the discovery of a supportive community, and, most powerfully, the external validation of veridical information received during the experience.
The emergence of SMEs is not an isolated event but part of a broader "Psi Syndrome" following an NDE, which includes a statistically significant increase in a wide range of psychic phenomena. This suggests that the NDE can fundamentally alter an individual's consciousness, making them more receptive to information and realities that transcend the ordinary limitations of the brain and senses.
Ultimately, the phenomenon of spontaneous mediumship after an NDE offers more than just a collection of fascinating stories. It presents a formidable challenge to the reductive materialist model of consciousness that dominates mainstream science. The reception of accurate, veridical information by individuals whose brains are often severely compromised points toward a reality in which consciousness is more fundamental than, and not merely a product of, the physical brain. These experiences, therefore, not only provide profound personal meaning for those who have them but also serve as a crucial data point, urging a more open, courageous, and expansive scientific inquiry into the enduring mystery of the mind and its place in the cosmos.
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