The Out-of-the-Body Experience
(OBE) is a widely-reported phenomenon for which there is an extensive
literature, describing not only what is reported to occur but also techniques
by which individuals can learn to voluntarily undertake this experience. In an
OBE the individual’s consciousness, together with the invisible duplicate
(astral) body, is able to leave the physical body whilst retaining full
awareness. The physical body then remains in deep sleep or unconsciousness
whilst the person is able to travel wherever he or she wishes. Strange as this
phenomenon may seem there is ample evidence that it can and does occur,
particularly from the research by governments into "remote viewing",
a technique used by military intelligence to obtain information from important
sites which would otherwise be totally inacessible. A study of OBEs clearly
demonstrates that human consciousness is more than a product of the activity of
the physical brain and that this greater reality (the human soul?) is able to
survive the process of physical death. This subject has been reviewed in some
detail by Zammit (see p. 9, above).
A particular type of OBE, the Near-Death
Experience (NDE), is especially relevant from the point of view of this
bibliography since recent wide-ranging research into this phenomenon provides
strong support for the concept of the survival of death. NDEs have been
reported since early times but the development of improved medical
resuscitation techniques in recent decades has meant that more and more people
can be revived from the state of clinical death and are thus able to report
their experiences during the period in which they had ‘died’. NDEs are
subjective experiences which usually follow on from serious illnesses,
accidents or operations, although they may occur occasionally without such
traumatic introductions. During an NDE the process described above occurs, with
the fully-conscious astral body leaving the physical body behind in an
apparently dead condition. It then undergoes a series of events which are
reported as the first stages of the afterlife. Not all NDEs follow the same
pattern, but a full experience usually consists of a number of stages. Various
researchers have described different numbers of these stages, the following is
an outline of that described by Dr. Melvin Morse:
- The individual, having come to the crisis of his illness, realises that he has died - perhaps by hearing his death pronounced by a doctor.
- He finds himself at peace and free of pain - he is released from the earlier bodily stress and turmoil.
- An out of the body experience develops. He finds himself, perhaps, looking down on the hospital staff still struggling to resuscitate him.
- Moving away from the death scene, he enters a long dark tunnel and rapidly moves towards a light shining at the end of the tunnel.
- At the end of the tunnel, in a beautiful light-filled environment, he is met and welcomed by a group of people among whom there are usually relatives who have predeceased him.
- He is then met by a being of light, a being full of love, compassion and understanding.
- This being, through non-verbal communication, leads him through an evaluation of his life, including a detailed panoramic playback of the events which had affected others.
- He is told by the being that he has to return to life on earth as there is more work to be done there. He may try to resist this but is involuntarily drawn back into his body and returns to normal consciousness.
- In most cases this experience transforms his personality and he becomes, for example, more loving and caring and loses any fear of death.
The modern study of NDEs was
essentially initiated by Dr. Raymond Moody who first published the results of
his pioneering work in 1975, although others, particularly Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross, were also deeply involved in this field. Moody was followed by an
increasing number of researchers who published books and reports during the
1980s and 1990s. Because of the importance of this subject in relation to the
concept of survival, this literature is reviewed at some length.
Moody, Raymond A. (1975). Life After Life. Mockingbird Books, New York. (Also published in Corgi edition, 1976.
ISBN 0-552-10316-0; and as Bantam edition, 1976.
ISBN 0-553-10080-7). A study of over 100 cases of NDEs.
Republished as:
Moody, Raymond A. (1980). Life After Life.
Bantam Books, New York. ISBN 0-553-14609-2.
(Life After Life is a
classic which has been published and republished in many editions). This was
followed by a sequel:
Moody, Raymond (1977). Reflections on Life After Life. Mockingbird, New York (and paperback by Bantam, New York; also Corgi Books, London, ISBN 0-552-10814-6).
Moody, Raymond & Perry, Paul (1988). The Light Beyond. Macmillan, London. ISBN 0-333-45388-0. (Also in paperback by Bantam, New York. ? ISBN).
"The third in Raymond Moody’s
popular books on the NDE and his most considered treatment. Contains a number
of intriguing cases that are hard to explain on the basis of purely physicalist
theories. .... A good place to begin." (David Lorimer).
Sabom, Michael B. (1982). Recollections of Death.
London, Corgi. ISBN 0-552-12053-7.
"One of the best scientific
books on the subject. Sabom is a cardiologist who began with a sceptical view
but came round to take the NDE and its consequences very seriously. A unique
feature of the book is a comparison of six cases of apparently veridical
out-of-body perception with a control group. The results showed that those
claiming to have witnessed their resuscitation gave accurate pictures while
those who simply imagined it made some major errors." (David Lorimer).
A more recent study by Sabom is:
Sabom, Michael B. (1998). Light and Death. One doctor’s fascinating account of near-death experiences.
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. ISBN 0-310-21992-2.
Following on from his first book, Sabom
considers 47 new cases all of whom have a Christian background and his
conclusions tend to be coloured by his own, conservative Christian, theology.
However, the most important aspect of this book is the Pam Reynolds case, one
of the most remarkable NDE accounts on record. The patient here was medically
carefully monitored during a difficult brain operation, when the blood was
drained, the heart was stopped and the body temperature was lowered. During
this period the patient reported many out-of-the-body details of what was
taking place which were confirmed by the medical staff.
Another of the pioneer workers in
this field is Dr. Kenneth Ring, Professor of Psychology at the University of
Connecticut, whose publications have been at the heart of the literature on
NDEs. His books are:
Ring, Kenneth (1980). Life at Death. A scientific exploration of the near-death experience.
William Morrow Co., New York. ISBN 0-698110-32-3.Ring, Kenneth (1984). Heading Toward Omega. In search of the meaning of the near-death experience.
William Morrow Co., New York. ISBN 0-688039-10-3.Ring, Kenneth (1992). The Omega Project. Near-death experience, UFO encounters, and mind at large.
William Morrow Co., New York. ISBN 0-688107-29-X.Ring, Kenneth & Valarino, Evelyn E. (1998). Lessons from the Light. What we can learn from the Near-Death Experience. Insight Books, New York. ISBN 0-306-45983-3.
"A book that sums up Kenneth
Ring’s twenty years of NDE research by outlining the main conclusions to be
drawn about the nature and significance of the NDE. Ring wrote one of the
earliest scientific studies in Life at Death (1980) and followed this up
with a study of the after-effects of NDEs in Heading Towards Omega. Here
he collaborates with Evelyn Valarino, whose own earlier book On the Other
Side of Life (1997) gives a good account of French thinking on the subject.
A remarkable study but one to be read after other introductory books."
(David Lorimer).
Dr. Melvin Morse, a paediatrician,
was the first to undertake extensive research into children’s NDEs. This
subject is the main topic of his first book:
Morse, Melvin L. & Perry, Paul (1990). Closer to the Light: Learning from Children’s Near-Death Experiences.
Villard Books, New York. (First British edition 1991,
Souvenir Press, London. ISBN 0-285-63030-X).
This study of NDEs in children is
of particular value since it largely consists of the testimony of those too
young to have absorbed cultural
attitudes to death. There is also
an appendix which reviews the scientific research on various drugs and other
phenomena which have been used to explain NDEs from a conventional point of
view. Morse uses this material to demonstrate that NDEs cannot be the result of
hallucinations, etc., arising from the impact of various drugs, psychological
phenomena or physiological stress.
In his second book he describes the
results of the largest study of NDEs undertaken up to that time, in which he
spreads his subject group to people of all ages:
Morse, Melvin L. & Perry, Paul (1992). Transformed by the Light. The Powerful Effect of Near-Death Experiences on People’s Lives. Villard Books, New York. ISBN 0-679-40443-0.
Reprinted 1993 by BCA, London. CN2840 -- no ISBN.
"Dr. Melvin Morse has made his
name in writing about children’s NDEs.... Here he builds up a ‘soul-based’
hypothesis of the NDE while at the same time exploring the ‘circuit boards of
mysticism’ in the right temporal lobe. His cases make a good argument for an
encounter with the light as the key transformative element in the NDE, and
which can be related more generally to mystical experiences." (David
Lorimer).
Lorimer, David (1990). Whole In One: The near-death experience and the ethic of Interconnectedness.
Arkana, London. ISBN 0-14-019258-1.
"A book that takes a broader
view of the NDE, setting it within a context of the history of religion,
philosophy and more particularly ethics. Looks in detail at the life review and
its ethical implications, arguing that the Golden Rule can be understood
metaphysically as a natural consequence of an underlying unity of consciousness
- from which an ethic of interconnectedness can be derived. A demanding read
for those who would like to examine the spiritual and ethical implications of
the NDE in more depth." (David Lorimer).
Eadie, Betty J. (1995). Embraced by the Light. What happens when you die. Thorsons, London. ISBN 1-85538-439-6.
(First published 1992 by Gold Leaf Press, Placerville, CA).
This is a remarkable book in that
it has been described by Raymond Moody as "The most profound and complete
near-death experience ever". Betty Eadie died after an operation in
hospital and, over the next few hours, she had a most extensive and detailed
NDE. During this time she experienced not only the classic stages of an NDE but
also was exposed to a wide range of knowledge and understanding about ‘life,
the universe and everything’. As Melvin Morse states in the Foreword,
"This book is really a textbook of the near-death experience, written as a
simple and wonderful story that we can all understand."
Brinkley, Dannion & Perry, Paul (1994). Saved by the Light. Piatkus, London. ISBN 0-7499-1404-1.
(First published 1994 by Villard Books, New York).
"The first of two books by
Dannion Brinkley that give a graphic description of his shattering NDE
resulting from a lightning strike. Brinkley’s life review turned him round in a
major way and makes dramatic reading. Very readable and gives a good sense of
the personal implications of an NDE." (David Lorimer).
Atwater, P.M.H. (1995). Beyond the Light. Near-death experiences - the full story. Thorsons, London. ISBN 1-85538-
510-4. (First published 1994 in the USA by Birch Lane Press).
Probably unique in the literature
of this subject in that the author underwent three NDEs in the space of three
months in 1977. These experiences led her to devote much of her time and energy
thereafter to studying all aspects of the phenomenon and thus her book is a
balance of both experience and research. Melvin Morse’s Foreword states that
the book "... provides a comprehensive overview of near-death research,
skilfully combining science, religion, metaphysics, and her own research,
synthesizing the entire field."
Fenwick, Peter & Fenwick, Elizabeth (1995). The Truth in the Light. An investigation of over 300 near-death experiences. Headline, London. ISBN 0-7472-1186-8.
"The biggest UK study, using
cases collected by the International Association of Near-Death Studies (UK).
Provides an excellent and accessible overview of the field concluding that NDEs
cannot be explained purely as brain events but point beyond. Introduces the
idea of the ‘paradox of unconsciousness’ where the subject looks unconscious or
dead from the outside but continues to experience a stream of
self-consciousness." (David Lorimer).
Bailey, Lee W. & Yates, Jenny (1996). The Near-Death Experience. A Reader. Routledge, London. ISBN 0-415-91431-0.
For many enquirers seeking a
wide-ranging introduction to the subject of NDEs this is a very good starting
point. The book is made up of 24 contributions from many of the leading figures
in the field of NDE research and experience, and each contribution is prefaced
by a short introduction from the editors. Almost all the contributions are
fascinating and very readable - only one or two may be difficult for the
non-scientist. Overall it is an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of
near-death studies and makes an excellent introduction to the subject.
Most NDEs are very positive, loving
and transcendent experiences, but a relatively small proportion are negative,
distressing, even horrific in their impact. The following book describes in
detail one such negative experience which was, at least during the first part,
almost unbelievably horrific:
Storm, Howard (2000). My Descent Into Death. And the message of love which brought me back. Clairview, London.
ISBN 1-902636-16-3.
Howard Storm was an American
academic who suffered a ruptured duodenal ulcer whilst on a trip to Paris.
After hours of exruciating pain he ‘died’ and found himself in an
out-of-the-body experience in which he was drawn into "fearsome realms of
darkness and death, where he experienced the terrible consequences of a life of
selfishness and materialism". Escaping from this situation, he was
transported into regions of light where he experienced a more typical, positive
NDE, during which he conversed with spiritual beings and gained a great deal of
information about the meaning of life and death. His life was completely
transformed by his experience and he was eventually ordained as a pastor in an
American church.