| When George T, a resident of Romania, swallowed | | | | times to establish the cause of NDEs, scientists are |
| some sleeping pills in order to end his life, he hardly | | | | yet to make any major breakthroughs regarding it. |
| knew what lay in store for him. Instead of falling into | | | | The inconclusive nature of the experiences and the |
| a coma, George seemed to have stepped into a | | | | lack of evidence make it difficult for researchers to |
| conscious dream - he saw two tall, sturdy men take | | | | attribute any definite scientific cause behind these |
| him to the ambulance where he sat beside the driver | | | | extra-sensory mystical perceptions. NDEs can be |
| all the way to the hospital. Reaching the hospital, | | | | different for different types of people, but some of |
| George saw something even more stranger - from a | | | | the commonly acknowledged traits include out of |
| distance, he witnessed the frantic efforts of the | | | | body sensations, the sense of travelling through a |
| doctors to resuscitate him as he lay on the hospital | | | | realm of intense light, or sometimes passing through |
| bed. He also remembered going to the hallway and | | | | a tunnel with a light at its end. Some people, like |
| talking to a man covered in blood, helping him to get | | | | George, even report encounters with spirits and |
| up from the floor. Afterwards, however, George | | | | other ethereal beings. |
| learned that he was led to the ambulance by his | | | | Most researchers believe that neurophysiological |
| nurse, and that had been lying in its back all the way | | | | processes play an important part in NDE. In fact, |
| to the hospital. Although George claimed that he was | | | | similar experiences can be induced by electrically |
| highly conscious, he failed to account for what he | | | | stimulating the temporal lobe of the brain during |
| had seen. | | | | neurosurgery for epilepsy, under high carbon dioxide |
| George's case is one among the many that has | | | | levels, and in decreased cerebral perfusion resulting in |
| baffled medical practitioners across the globe. These | | | | local cerebral hypoxia as in rapid acceleration during |
| mystical experiences, termed as 'near-death | | | | training of fighter pilots, or in hyperventilation |
| experiences', or NDE, have been reported by some | | | | followed by Valsalva manoeuvre. Such induced |
| people who had been pushed to the brink of death | | | | experiences may bring about unconsciousness, |
| by some sudden cause. Near-death experiences | | | | out-of-body experiences, perception of light or |
| usually comprise of a wide range of sensations | | | | flashes of recollection from the past. However, unlike |
| ranging from detachment from the body, feelings of | | | | NDE, these episodes consist of fragmented and |
| weightlessness, extreme fear, total serenity, the | | | | random memories which make it difficult for |
| experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence | | | | researchers to provide any specific conclusion. |
| of a light, which some people tend to interpret as a | | | | Near-death experiences, therefore, tread the fine line |
| spiritual presence or a glimpse of the other world. | | | | between science and spirituality. With evidences |
| Interestingly, most people who have experienced | | | | remaining inconclusive on both sides, its difficult for us |
| NDEs claim to have been in full consciousness, even | | | | to take any particular stance regarding NDEs. |
| at a point of time when they were declared clinically | | | | However, it has been acknowledged that NDEs have |
| dead. | | | | a profound effect on a person's mind and often |
| Although much research has been done in the recent | | | | alters the way they behave forever. |