near-death experiences in india: they have tunnels too, blackmore

8/13/2019 Near-Death Experiences in India: They Have Tunnels Too, Blackmore

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N e a r D e a t h E x p e r i e n c e s i n I n d ia :T h e y H a v e T u n n e l s T o oS u s a n J . B l a c k m o r e , P h . D .University o f the W est o f ng lan d

ABSTRACT An a dvertis ement in an India n newspaper solicited accountsfrom people who had come close to death. Of 19 received, 7 reported noexperiences, 4 reported dreamlike experiences, and 8 reported near-deathexperiences NDEs). These NDEs were comparab le to those report ed by Ray-mond Moody, and incl uded tunnels, dar k spaces, and bri ght lights, contrar y toprevious reports of Indian cases. Many respondents reported positive lifechanges regardle ss of whether or not they had an NDE.

I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o k n o w w h e t h e r n e a r - d e a t h e x p e r ie n c e s (N D E s ) a r ec o n s i s t e n t a c r o s s c u l t u r e s , a l t h o u g h t h e e v i d e n c e a t p r e s e n t i s v e r yl im i t e d . T h e l a r g e s t c r o s s -c u l t u ra l s t u d y w a s c a r r i e d o u t b y K a r l i s O s i sa n d E r l e n d u r H a r a l d s s o n (1 97 7), w h o s e n t o u t q u e s t i o n n a i r e s t o 5 ,0 0 0d o c to r s a n d n u r s e s i n th e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d i n t e r v i e w e d 7 0 4 m e d i c a lp e r s o n n e l i n I nd ia . T h e y i n q u i r e d n o t o n l y a b o u t N D E s b u t a b o u t th em e d i c a l w o r k e r s r e c o l le c t io n s o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e s t o l d t o t h e m b y p e o p lew h o w e r e d y i n g . T h e se a c c o u n t s w e r e s e c o n d h a n d a n d o f te n t o ld m a n yy e a r s a f t e r t h e e v e n t s . N o n e t h e l e s s t h e f i n d in g s s h o w e d t h a t t h e m o s tc o m m o n v i s io n s w e r e o f d e a d p e o p l e o r r e l ig i o u s f i g u r e s , t o a l a r g ee x t e n t d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e p e r so n s r e li g io u s b a c k g r o u n d . O f t e n th ef i g u re s s e e m e d to h a v e c o m e to t a k e t h e p e r s o n a w a y , a n d w h i le t h eA m e r i c a n s w e r e u s u a l l y w i l l in g t o go , t h e I n d i a n s m o r e o f t e n r e f u se d .

Susan J. Blackmore, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at theUniversity of the West of England. Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Black-more at the Department of Psychology, University of the West of England, St. MatthiasCollege, Bristol BS16 2JP, England.

JournM of Near-Dealh Studies, 11 4) Summ er 19939 1993 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 2 0 5


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A l t h o u g h t h e s e w e r e a c c o u n t s f r o m p e o p l e w h o d i d d ie , t h e y w e r es i m i l a r t o t h e f e w ac c o u n ts o f N D E s i n In d ia . S a t w a n t P a s r i c h a a n dI a n S t e v e n s o n ( 19 8 6 ) r e p o r t e d 1 6 c a s e s o f N D E s i n In d i a , a n d a co m -m o n t h e m e w a s t h e s to r y o f m i s t a k e n i d e n ti ty . R e l ig i o u s f i gu r e s c a m et o t a k e t h e p e r s o n a w a y , b u t t h e n d i sc o v e re d t h a t i t w a s t h e w r o n gp e r s o n . T h e i r c a s e s s e e m e d d r a m a t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e t y p e o fN D E f i rs t d e s c r ib e d b y R a y m o n d M o o d y (1 97 5). T h e r e w e r e n o tu n n e l s ,n o b r i g h t l i g h t s, a n d n o o u t -o f -b o d y e x p e r i e n c e s ( O B E s ), in w h i c h t h ee x p e r i e n c e r s s e e t h e i r o w n b o d i e s f r o m a d i s ta n c e . T h i s d i s c r e p a n c ym i g h t b e u s e d t o a r g u e a g a i n s t t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f N D E s , a n d i sp a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t f or p h y s i o l o g ic a l t h e o r ie s .S o m e r e s e a r c h e r s a r g u e t h a t a ll th e f e a t u r e s o f t h e N D E c a n b ea c c o u n t e d fo r in t e r m s o f t h e p r o c e s s es g o i n g o n i n t h e d y i n g b r a i n , o ri n t h e b r a i n s o f t h o s e s u b j e c t e d to s e v e r e s t r e s s o r f e a r o f d e a t h . F o re x a m p l e , J u a n S a a v e d r a - A g u i l a r a n d J u a n G S m e z - Je r ia (1 98 9) h a v ep r e s e n t e d a n e u r o b i o l o g i c a l m o d e l o f t h e N D E i n w h i c h t h e y a c c o u n tf o r al l t h e f e a t u r e s o f t h e N D E i n t e r m s o f t h e e f fe c ts of h y p o x i a ,t e m p o r a l l o be a n d l im b i c s y s t e m d y s f u n c t i o n , a n d a n i m b a l a n c e i nn e u r o t r a n s m i t t e r s . T h e t e m p o r a l l o b e a n d l im b i c s y s t e m a r e c lo s e lyr e l a t e d a n d h a v e o f te n b e e n i m p l i c a t e d i n t h e N D E . F o r e x a m p l e ,d i r e c t e l e c tr i c al s t i m u l a t i o n o f t h e t e m p o r a l l o be c a n g i v e r i s e tom e m o r y f l a s h b a c k s ( P e n fi e ld , 1 95 5), a n d p e o p l e w i t h m a n y s i g n s o fl i m b i c l o b e l a b i l i t y a r e a l s o m o r e p r o n e t o r e l i g i o u s , p s y c h i c , a n dm y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s ( P e r s i n g e r , 1 9 8 3 ) .

V a r i o u s n e u r o t r a n s m i t t e r s a n d n e u r o m o d u l a t o r s h a v e b e e n im p l i -c a t e d i n N D E s . F o r e x a m p l e , D a n i e l C a r r ( 1 98 2 ) w a s t h e f i rs t tos u g g e s t t h a t e n d o g e n o u s o p i a te s , o r e n d o r p h i n s , w o u l d b e r e l e a s e dd u r i n g t h e s t r e s s o f a n e a r - d e a t h e v e n t a n d c o u l d a c c o u n t f or t h ep e a c e f u l a n d j o y f u l f e e li n g s. M o r e o v e r , e n d o r p h i n s l o w e r t h e t h r e s h o l df o r s e i z u re a c t i v i t y i n t h e l i m b i c s y s t e m a n d t e m p o r a l l ob e , a n d s o c a nt r i g g e r t h e k i n d o f l im b i c l o b e s y n d r o m e o f t e n c o m p a r e d t o N D E s . O nt h e o t h e r h a n d , M e l v i n M o r s e , D a v i d V e n e c ia , a n d J e r r o l d M i l s te i n(1 9 89 ) h a v e a r g u e d t h a t s e r o t o n i n m e c h a n i s m s a r e m o r e l i k e l y t op r o v i d e a n e x p l a n a t i o n t h a n e n d o r p h i n s .

N o n e o f t h e s e t h e o r i e s d i r e c tl y a d d r e s s e s t h e o r i g in o f t h e t u n n e l . I nh i s e a r l y s t u d y o f 1 02 p e o p le w h o h a d c o m e c lo s e t o d e a t h , K e n n e t hR i n g ( 19 8 0) f o u n d t h a t 2 3 p e r c e n t h a d ' ~ en te re d t h e d a r k n e s s a n d 1 6p e r c e n t s a w t h e l ig h t . T h e s e e x p e r i e n c e s a r e o f t e n e q u a t e d w i t h t h em o r e o b v i o u s t u n n e l s i n w h i c h p e o p l e d e s c ri b e f l y i n g t h r o u g h d a r ks p a c e s, o r e v e n t h r o u g h p i p e s o r t u b e s . T o m T r o s c i a n k o a n d I h a v ea r g u e d t h a t t h e t u n n e l c a n be p r o d uc e d b y a n y m e c h a n i s m t h a t c a u se sd i s i n h i b it i o n a n d c o n s e q u e n t r a n d o m f i r i n g i n t h e c o r t e x ( B l a c k m o r ea n d T r o s c i a n k o , 1 9 8 9 ).


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T h e w a y c e ll s i n th e v i s u a l c o r t e x a r e o r g an i z e d , w i t h m a n y m o r ec e ll s d e v o t e d to t h e c e n t r a l a r e a o f t h e v i s u a l f ie ld , m e a n s t h a t r a n d o mf i r i n g w o u l d p r o d u c e a m u c h b r i g h t e r i m p r e s s i o n i n t h e c e n t e r o f t h ef ie l d o f v i e w , f a d i n g o u t t o w a r d s t h e p e r i p h e r y : i n o t h e r w o r d s , a t u n n e lp a t t e r n . T h i s c o u l d b e o v e r l a i d on , o r m i x e d w i t h , o n g o i n g i m a g e r y t op r o d u c e t h e c o m p l e x t u n n e l e x p e r i e n c e s f o u n d i n N D E s . A n o x i a c o u ldb e o n e o f t h e t r i g g e r s t o p r o d u c e s u c h i n h i b i t i o n . T h e r e m i g h t b ev a r i a t i o n i n t h e i m a g e r y o v e r la i d on t h e t u n n e l , b u t t h e b a s ic t u n n e lf o r m s h o u l d b e e q u a l l y c o m m o n i n a l l c u l t u r e s r e g a r d l e s s o f b e l ie f s orr e l i g i o u s b a c k g r o u n d .

T h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f t h e t u n n e l e x p e r ie n c e h a s b e e n c h a l le n g e d b yw h a t l i t tl e c r o s s -c u l t u ra l e v i d e n c e t h e r e is . P a s r i c h a a n d S t e v e n s o n( 19 8 6) f o u n d n o t u n n e l s a m o n g t h e i r 1 6 I n d i a n c a s es , n o r a m o n gf u r t h e r c a s e s st i l l b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d ( I. S t e v e n s o n , p e r s o n a l c o m m u n i -c a t i o n , 1 9 92 ). I f t h i s l a c k o f t u n n e l s i n a d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e w e r e c o n-f i rm e d , i t w o u l d p r o v i d e e v i d e n c e a g a i n s t t h e p h y s i o lo g i c a l th e o r i e s .

I s h o u l d p o i n t o u t t h a t s o m e a l t e r n a t i v e n o n p h y s i o l o g i c a l t h e o r i e sa l s o p r e d i c t t h a t t u n n e l s s h o u l d b e w i d e s p r e a d . F o r e x a m p l e , R i n g s( 19 8 0) h o l o g r a p h i c t h e o r y m i g h t p r e d i c t t h a t e v e r y o n e s h o u l d s e e t h el ig h t o f t h e h o l o g ra m . T h e o r i es t h a t e q u a t e t h e N D E w i t h r e l i v in gb i r t h m i g h t p r e d i c t t h a t e v e r y o n e s h o u l d r e - e x p e r ie n c e t ra v e l i n g d o w nt h e b i r t h c a n a l. H o w e v e r , i f f e a t u r e s s u c h a s t u n n e l s a n d l i g h t s w e r eot f o u n d in d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s , t h o s e t h e o r i e s m i g h t s t il l s u r v i v e , s i n c e

t h e i r p r e d i c t i o n s a r e n o t v e r y c l e a r. B y c o n t r a s t , t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a lt h e o r i e s m a k e a m u c h c l e a r e r p r e d ic t io n , a n d e v i d e n c e o f a c u l t u r a lb i a s i n tu n n e l s w o u l d b e e v id e n c e a g a i n s t t h e m .

F o r t h e s e r e a s o n s I w a n t e d t o co l le c t a c c o u n t s o f n e a r - d e a t h e n c o u n -t e r s f r o m I n d i a . T h e a i m w a s t o s o li c it a c c o u n t s f ro m p e o p l e w h o h a dc o m e c lo s e t o d e a t h , w i t h o u t s u g g e s t i n g w h a t e x p e r i e n c e s I w a s i n te r -e s t e d i n, a n d t o s e e w h e t h e r a n y p e o p l e s p o n t a n e o u s l y d e s c r i b e d t u n -n e l s o r b r i g h t l i g h t s .

T h i s s t u d y w a s n o t d e s i g n e d t o e x p l o r e o t h e r a s p e c t s o f t h e N D E , b u ti n fa c t m a n y r e s p o n d e n t s d e s c r i b e d i n g r e a t d e t a i l t h e e f f e c ts t h e i re x p e r ie n c e s h a d o n th e m . T h e a f te r e f f e c ts of N D E s h a v e b e e n w e l ld o c u m e n t e d ( G r e y , 1 98 5 ; L o r i m e r , 1 9 90 ; R i n g , 1 98 4). G e n e r a l l y N D E r sr e p o r t t h a t t h e i r f e a r o f d e a t h i s r e d u c e d o r a b o l i s h e d a l t o g e t h e r , a ne f fe c t t h a t w a s r e p o r t e d e v e n b e f o r e M o o d y s w o r k p o p u l a r i z e d t h eN D E ( D o b so n , T a t t e r s f ie l d , A d l e r , a n d M c N i c o l, 1 9 71 ; D r u s s a n dK o r n f e l d , 1 9 6 7 ) . M o r e r e c e n t l y C h a r l e s F l y n n ( 1 9 8 2 ) s u r v e y e d 2 1N D E r s a n d f o u n d t h a t a n i n c re a s e i n co n c e rn f or o t h e r s w a s th e m o s tc o n s i s t e n t e f f e c t .

H o w e v e r , i t is b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y c l e a r t h a t y o u d o n o t n e e d t oh a v e a n N D E t o e x p e r i e n c e t h e s e c h a n g e s. H a v i n g s i m i l a r e x p e r i-


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ences, such as OBEs (Gabbard and Twemlow, 1984) or encounters withunide nti fied flyin g objects (Davis, 1988; Ring, 1992), can have compa-rable effects, as can coming close to death but without an NDE (Ring,1980). Therefore it made sense to compare the aftereffects in thissample with those from previous reports.

e t h o d

On November 2, 1991, I placed an advertisement in the T i m e s o fn d i a headed: '~Have you ever ha d a close brush wi th dea th? I askedthose who had, to write and tell me about the circumstances of their

close brush with deat h, their experiences at th e time, a nd a ny effects ithad on them afterwards. I did not mention near-death experiences ortunnels, nor did I give any fur ther idea of wha t was required.A follow-up questionnaire was sent to all those who replied, askingfor further details. The questionnaire included questions about thecircumstances, any medication or resuscitation received, and emo-tional feelings at the time. I did not wish to use one of the sta nda rdNDE questionnaires (e.g., Greyson, 1983), because these might tooreadily suggest to respondents what they ought to be describing. Itherefore included other questions addressed both to common featur esof NDEs and to other possible features, so as not to imply tha t therewas anything special about the tunnel. Questions included:

Did you see any lights? What color were they?Did you go into the light?Did you see a doorway or gate?Did you see a tunnel?Did you see any regular patterns?Did you have any hallucinations of any kind?

Other questions asked about OBEs, distant travel and vision, thedecision to return, and changes in belief.

R e s u l t s

I received 19 replies. Some were many pages long and includeddetail ed descriptions and even photographs of the people concerned.Nine subsequently retur ned the questionnaire. From the accounts inthe letters and the responses to the questionnaire, I was able to assign


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a score us ing Ring s (1980) Weight ed Core Experience Index (WCEI).There are limit ations to the ac curacy I could achieve with th e informa-tion available and it is possible tha t some respondents would achievehigher scores if I were able to interview them. Scores are thereforemore likely to be underestimates than overestimates. I divided theresponde nts into three groups: (a) those who scored 0 on the WCEI a nddescribed no experience at all; (b) those who scored 0 on the WCEI butdescribed dre aml ike experiences of various kinds; a nd (c) those whoachieved some score on the WCEI a nd therefore ha d a t leas t part of thecore experience.

NonexperiencersSeven responden ts (37 percent) reported no experiences at the time oftheir close brush with death. These were involved in a car accident, a

plan e crash, a near-miss wit h a train, fea r of havin g cancer, post-operative complications, a near-drowning, and an unexplained col-lapse. They described, someti mes in gr eat detail, the circumstances ofthe events, but gave no hin t of any experiences occurring at the time.Many described the effects that their close brush with death had ontheir life and beliefs, as described below.

Hallucinatory xperiencersFour respondents (21 percent) reported experiences that were quite

unlike the type of NDE described initially by Moody (1975). Theyscored 0 on Ring s WCEI because the y included none of the classiccomponents. These were strange dreamlike or hallucinatory experi-ences: a vision dur ing a thr ee-day coma of being with a moth er h en andher chicks; a sensation, duri ng complications after bypass surgery, ofthe t hum b r epeat edly bending into the palm of the hand; a visionduri ng a near-drowning of wat chi ng a lake from the top of a tree; and agruesome fight, during another drowning, with a 7-foot monster.

In this last case, an 80-year-old man described an experience thathappened 70 years previously. When he was a young boy, he nearlydrowned while his mo ther was wash ing clothes in the river. He wrote:

I felt that I was seated in a chariot speeding very rapidly towards ahuge fellow seven foot high. He tried to run towards me and grab meby the neck but I was prepared to attack him.


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He went on to describe the f ight between himself and death, as hismothe r trie d to pull him out of the water. This experience still affectshim after 70 years, and he also wrote about his recent dreams of deathand fly ing to a golden city. This was not a typical NDE but did have thesensatio n of fast travel; however, travel witho ut seeing or enterin gdarkness obtains no points on the WCEI. I report this experiencebecause I do not wish to select only those t ha t were clear ly Moody-typeNDEs.

Near Death ExperiencersEigh t respondents (42 percent) reported at least some element s of the

classic NDE and obtained some points on Ring's WCEI. These hadnearly died through cardiac arrest (two respondents), electrocution,unexplained unconsciousness, heart surgery, coma and fever, a busaccident, and childbirth.

In their initial letters, only six reported NDE-like experiences. Al-though very varied, these were clearly Moody-type NDEs, and mostincluded elements at leas t comparable to the classic idea of a tunnel .Two further cases with NDE elements emerged from the question-naires, although these had minimal experiences. One who had beeninvolved in a bus accident and described extreme apprehension andfear reported on the question naire ~r halluc inati ons of darkn essalt ern ati ng with bright flashes, receiving 2 points on Ring's WCEI.Another who had nearly died in childbirth reported feeling that shemight die at any momen t and seeing ~r (smudged?) lights,receiving 3 points on the WCEI.

The six clear ly Moody-type NDEs were as follows:NDE #1. A 50-year-old woman described an experience that hap-

pened to her 18 yea rs ago when, because of %ension on her mind, shefell down unconscious for a few minutes. She heard her maidservantand hus band come ru nni ng and calling her as if from a far distance:

At the same time I felt I was going through complete blackness andthere was a t ingling sound of tiny bells in my ears. The feeling was ofcomplete relief and lightness. It was not at all a feeling of deepslumber, when we don't feel anything. As I said I was feeling ecstasy-if that is the right word.

After thi s experience, which ra ted a score of 4 on the WCEI, she feltthat her life was changed. She became more bold and learned to take


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life as it comes. She also stated: ~I am no more afr aid of deat h. Sheadded that she had never read any books or heard that this kind ofthing could happen, and only later learned that she was not the onlyone who had experi enced it. She wondered wheth er it was the tho ugh tof her 4-year-old son th at bro ugh t he r back to life.

Her final comments could have come straight from Moody's (1975)origi nal acco unt of the NDE: ~This is the first time I am writ ing to youopenly, thinking you might believe. I tried to talk before but peoplethi nk it is my imaginati on so I stopped talking. On the ques tionn aireshe said she exper ience d a tu nn el and described it as r dark. Tothe question about regular patterns she wrote: ~'circles in spite ofdarkness. These circles were in the tunnel.NDE #2. A 72-year-old man wrote about his experience during an-

giography associated with a bypass operation:I was in ICU and was just coming to. I suddenly got a feeling thatsomeone was calling me away-almost saying ~now you have to go -that your time ~'here is over. I cannot quite describe i t - i t was such aconfused experience, but definitely I thought 4 or 5 figures werebeckoning me to go away from this world.

He wrote that he kept thinking about this experience, which rated aWCEI score of 4, for some time, b ut it did not cha nge his life in anyway.NDE//3 A 39-year-old man sufferin g from severe palpi tati ons twice

came close to death. He recall ed no exper iences from the time of hisfirst brush with death. Six years later he passed out while playingbadm into n and had to be admit ted to the intensiv e care unit (ICU) of alarge general hospital. He wrote:

Before I was taken to hospital, something happened. I became uncon-scious and during this stage, I seemed to be floating in a dark space. Idistinctly remember having an unusual peace of mind state for somebrief moments. I felt to tally at peace. I became conscious after a fewminutes.In the hospital following this experience, which rated a WCEI score of6, he had to be cardioverted with a direct current electrical shock of100 watt-seconds. Seven years later he was te mpted to play bad mint onagain and aga in had the same experience and was resuscitated. He


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a d d e d t h a t s o m e h o w h e r e g r e t t e d l e a v i n g th i s m i n d s t a t e w h e n h eb e c a m e c o n s c i o u s .

N E 4. A 6 2 - ye a r- o ld m a n r e l a t e d e v e n t s o c c u r r in g w h e n h e w a s 1 3y e a r s o ld . H e h a d a h i g h f e v e r a n d c o u g h a n d w a s i n a c o m a f o r s ix tos e v e n h o u r s . H e w r o t e i t i s s o c l e a r l y i m p r i n t e d o n h is s u b c o n s c i o u sm i n d t h a t , e v e n to t h i s d a y , h e c a n r e m e m b e r i t a s t h o u g h i t h a p p e n e dr e c e n t l y :

I e x p e r ie n c e d a s th o u g h I w a s b e i n g f lo w n a w a y a n d u p b y t w o w i n g e dc r e a t u r e s ( a n g e l s o r f a ir i es ? ) t o w a r d t h e h i g h e r s k i e s. E a c h o f t h e mw a s h o l d i n g o n e o f m y h a n d s a n d p r o c e e d in g s m o o t h l y u p a n d u p I tw a s a n e x t r e m e l y e x h i l a r a t i n g j o u r n e y f o r m y b o d y a n d s o u l a n d I w a sf u l l y en j o y i n g t h e s a m e . T o m y g r i e v o u s d e sp a i r, s u c h s u b l i m e a n dj o y o u s m o m e n t s w e r e b e in g d i s t u r b e d a n d b r o k e n b y i n t e r f e r e n c e o fs o m e e a r t h l y f o r c es t h a t w e r e t r y i n g t o p u l l m e d o w n b y g r a p p l i n g a tm y f ee t . I n u t t e r d i s g u s t I w a s t r y i n g t o k i c k a n d j e r k t h e m d o w n tog e t r id o f t h e i r n u i s a n c e a n d c o n t i n u e m y u p w a r d jo u r n e y .

H e a d d e d t h a t h e w a s r e v i v e d to c o n s c io u s n e s s b y s o m e i n j e c ti o n sg i v e n b y t h e p h y s i c i a n w h o h a d f i n a l l y a r r iv e d .T h i s c a se , w h i c h r a t e d a W C E I s c o re o f 7 , i s e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t i n gw h e n c o m p a r e d t o o n e r e p o r t e d b y I. R . J u d s o n a n d E . W i l t s h a w (1 98 3) .I n t h a t c a se , a 7 2 -y e a r -o l d m a n h a d a n i n i t i a l l y b l i s s f u l N D E t h a t w a st r a n s f o r m e d i n t o h o r r o r o n i n j e c t i o n of n a l o x o n e , a n a r c o t i c a n t a g o n i s t ,t o b r i n g h i m o u t o f h i s c o m a ; i t c o u l d b e t h a t t h e n a l o x o n e d i s r u p t e dt h e p l e a s a n t e x p e r i e n c e i n d u c e d b y th e m a n ' s o w n e n d o r p h i n s ( B la ck -m o r e , 1 99 3) . I t w o u l d b e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g t o k n o w w h a t t h e i n j e c t i o n sw e r e i n t h i s c a s e , b u t s o f a r I h a v e b e e n u n a b l e t o f i n d o u t , a s h e d i d n o tc o m p l e t e t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e .

N E #5. A p o p s ta r , p l a y i n g o n a n o u t d o o r s ta g e o n C h r i s t m a s D a y ,1 9 7 0, w a s a c c i d e n t a l l y e l e c t r o c u t e d a n d e x p l a i n e d :

I f e l t ~ ' m y se lf ' l i g h t a s a f e a t h e r , s h o o t i n g u p w a r d s a t a n i n d e s c r i b a b l es p e e d - w h i c h c a n n e v e r b e m e a s u r e d b y t h e w o r d s ~ sp e ed " o r '~ tim e "a n d t h e r e , b e l o w m e , a b o v e m e , s u r r o u n d i n g m e o n a l l s i d e s w e r el i g h ts o f a l l c o l o u r s - s h i n i n g s p o ts w h i c h w e r e not m o v i n g w i t h m e .A f t e r t h a t e x p e r i e n c e , w h i c h r a t e d a W C E I s c o re o f 8 , h e t o o k u ps e r i o u s s t u d y o f y o g a .

N E #6. A 6 3 - ye a r- o ld m a n d e s c r ib e d a n e x p e r i e n c e t h a t h a p p e n e di n 1 9 7 2 w h e n h e h a d a c a r d i a c a r r e s t w h i l e b e i n g o p e r a t e d o n f o r a


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SUSAN J. BLACKM ORE 213

l i v e r a b sc e ss . H e w a s v e r y i l l, w i t h n o b lo o d p r e s s u r e a n d h i s b r e a t hf a i l i n g w h e n h e f e l t

s o m e k i n d o f e n e r g y t r y i n g t o l e a v e m y b o d y . . . I c o u ld f e el m y h e a dr e v o l v i n g a t a n u n i m a g i n a b l e s p e e d a n d I f e lt t h a t I t r a v e l l e d a fe wm i l l i o n m i l e s a w a y i n a n u n k n o w n s p ac e f r o m th e [ o p er a ti n g ] t h e a t r ew i t h i n a s p l i t o f a s e c on d . I t r a v e l l e d t o a s p a c e o f b r i l l i a n t l i g h t w h e r eI w a s b e i n g l o ve d , t h e l o v e I h a d n e v e r e x p e r i e n c e d b e f o r e . . , n o r a me x p e r i e n c i n g a f t e r t h a t e v e n t .H e a d d e d

I h a d a f e el i n g t h a t f o r h o u r s t o g e t h e r I w a s a w a y f r o m t h i s w o r l de n j o y i n g b e i n g w i t h t h e l i g h t. N o w l o o k i n g b a c k , a t t h i s a g e o f 6 3 ,a f t e r h a v i n g r e a d b o o k s , I f e e l I w a s b e y o n d t i m e a n d s p a c e . W h e n Io p e n e d m y e y e s a r o u n d 4 : 0 0 p . m ., m y f i r s t w o r d s w e r e ~ D o cto r, w h yd i d y o u b r i n g m e b a c k ? I w a s v e r y h a p p y w h e r e I w a s .I t w a s s o m e t i m e b e f o re h e w a s a b l e t o s ee a g a i n n o r m a l l y . L a t e r h e

f e l t t h a t h e h a d d e v e l o p e d e x t r a s e n s o r y p e r c e p t i o n a n d s t a r t e d h a v i n gm y s t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s . H e a n d h i s w i f e n o w s i n g d e v o t i o n a l s o n g s,b h a j a n s , w h i c h h e f e e ls h e l p s i n h i s s e a r c h f o r s p i r i t u a l e l e v a t i o n . I nt h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e , h e d e s c r i b e d a ~ v e r y b r i g h t l i g h t , s u p e r w h i t e w i t hg lo w ; h i s e x p e r i e n c e r a t e d a W C E I s c o re o f 1 7.

T o s u m m a r i z e t h e s e e x p e r i e n c e s , o u t o f e i g h t N D E r s , o n e h e a r ds w e e t m u s i c , t h r e e r e p o r t e d a t u n n e l o r d a r k s p ac e , t h r e e h a d t h es e n s a t i o n o f t r a v e l i n g , f o u r s a w o r e x p e r i e n c e d l i g h t , f o u r h a d p o s i t iv ee m o t i o n s o f j o y o r p e a c e , t w o e n c o u n t e r e d o t h e r b e i n g s , a n d t h r e er e p o r t e d s u b s e q u e n t c h a n g e s i n t h e i r l iv e s o r b e l ie f s .

f t e r e f f e c t sI h a v e d e s c r i b e d s o m e o f t h e e f f e c t s t h a t N D E s h a d o n th e p e o p l e w h o

e x p e r i e n c e d t h e m . H o w e v e r , i t w a s c l e a r t h a t t h e p e o p le w h o h a d n oN D E a l so e x p e r i e n c e d c h a n g e s i n t h e i r l iv e s a n d b e li e fs .

A 4 0 y e a r - o ld m a n w a s k n o c k e d d o w n b y a c a r a n d w a s u n c o n s c i o u si n t h e h o s p i t a l f o r 14 d a y s . H e h a d n o N D E a n d r e c a l le d n o e m o t i o n a lf e e l i n g s f r o m t h a t t i m e . H i s o n l y re c o l l e c t io n is t h a t w h e n h e fe l t h ew a s f a c i n g d e a t h h e t h o u g h t a b o u t a l l t h e w r o n g h e h a d d o n e i n h i s l if ea n d a l l t h e d e b t s h e h a d t o c l ea r , a n d h e p l e a d e d w i t h G o d to l e t h i mu n d o a l l t h e w r o n g . H e m a d e a s u r p r i s i n g r e c o v e r y , a l t h o u g h h e s t i llh a s t o u s e a w h e e l c h a i r . H e w r o t e :


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Now, dear Doctor, I must admit to having slipped from the right tracknow and then but I've almost stopped sinning. I often, when tempted,say, '~Oh God, deal with me as though [sic] wilt and please assist meonto the right track.Two respondents who recalled no experience at all had the ir fait h in

God strengthe ned. One ma n who was nea rly hit by a train claimed th athis faith in God became stronger. Another survived a plane crash,escaping before it exploded and leaving his frie nd behind in the plane.He was left with the thought that he had been saved for a purpose.

Finally, a 60-year-old woman went th rough a period of grea t despon-dency when she tho ugh t she might have cancer, and it had a profoundand lasting effect on her. She thought very hard about death and lifeand concluded that it did not matter whether the world or the crea-tures in it were real or imaginary, as long as one could die anddisappear from the world. Likewise, the presence or absence of Godbecame ir relevant. She concluded th at the reason people believe in Godis to pamper th emselve s and avoid the f ear of death, a nd at last sherealized that everyone is really alone; nothing matters.

Though this realization was deeply depressing at the time, it clearlyhad longlasti ng and positive effects. What ever fri ghte ning things shedid not want to think about before the incident, afterwards she foundshe had to, for it might be her last chance. She explained that it'~prodded me to 's tand up' and confirm myself. Now, she wrote: theGod I believe in is to t ry to be 'considerate ' to the feelings of others. Tome ~right' and 'wrong' have only this as the point of reference.

She also explained th at when you accept tha t at some point you willgo into oblivion or nothingness , thin gs like heaven, hell, and God ceaseto have a ny meaning. Then you accept the values of here a nd nowwith more honesty, attachmen t, and as really meaningful. You beginto enjoy living as a 'passing phase' with death being part of it. Sheadded that she was grateful to me for my request, because she felthappy to tell someone about it and h ad never before told anyone excepther brother.I would like to add here th at the re is an endur ing conflict for peoplewho do not believe in life after death, whe ther near-d eath researchers,experiencers, or anyone else. That is, that the idea of a future lifeseems to give comfort and strength to people who believe in it, and ittherefore seems wrong to try to dissuade th em from th at belief, even ifyou thin k it false. This respondent directly addressed this issue whenshe wrote:

Another very important thing that happens is this: you enjoy thethought of some being ignorant of such things so that they are re lly


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SUSA N J. BLACKMORE 215

able to enjoy l i fe in some sor t of genuine hopes , tha t a r e no more inyo ur case . So you cons ide r i t a s in to des t roy i t by ma k ing them knoww h a t y o u think you know

T h e s e r e p o r t e d c h a n g e s m a k e i t p o s s i b le t o a d d r e s s t h e q u e s t i o n o fw h e t h e r i t i s c o m i n g c l o se t o d e a t h o r h a v i n g a n N D E t h a t i s r e sp o n s i -b l e f o r t h e m . O f t h e s e v e n r e s p o n d e n t s i n t h i s s t u d y w h o h a d n oe x p e r i e n c e s , 4 ( 57 p e r c e n t ) r e p o r t e d l if e c h a n g e s ; o f t h e f o u r w h o h a dd r e a m l i k e e x p e r i e n c e s , o n e (2 5 p e r c e n t ) r e p o r t e d a n i n c r e a s e i n f a it h ;a n d o f t h e e i g h t N D E r s i n th i s s a m p l e , t h r e e ( 38 p e r c e n t ) r e p o r t e d l if ec h a n g e s .

i s c u s s i o nT h i s s t u d y h a s o b v i o u s l i m i t a t io n s . T h e s a m p l e w a s s e lf - se l e ct e d a n d

i s l i k e l y to h a v e c o n s i s t e d o n l y o f w e l l - e d u c a t e d I n d i a n s w h o s p e a kE n g l i s h w e l l. I t i s t h e r e f o r e n o t a t a l l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s i ng e n e r a l .

T h e r e w e r e a l so p r o b l e m s i n a p p l y i n g R i n g ' s W C E I to t h e s e c a s e s .T h e a c c o u n t s w i t h t h e h i g h e s t W C E I s c o r e s d i d n o t s e e m t o b e n e c es -s a r i l y t h e d e e p e s t o r m o s t i m p r e s s i v e o n e s. R i n g h i m s e l f su g g e s t e d ac u t o f f s c o r e o f 6 , b e l o w w h i c h a p e r s o n w o u l d n o t c o u n t a s a c o r ee x p e r i e n c e r . A p p l y i n g t h i s cr i te r i o n , t h e r e s p o n d e n t w h o r e p o r t e d t h ec l e a r e s t t u n n e l , s w e e t m u s i c , a n d e u p h o r i a w o u l d n o t b e c o n s i d e r e d an e a r - d e a t h e x p e r i e n c e r . T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g b e c a u s e G r ey -s o n (1 98 3) , i n c o r r e l a t i n g e a c h i t e m o f h i s N D E q u e s t i o n n a i r e w i t h t h ew h o l e sc o re , f o u n d t h a t t u n n e l e x p e r i e n c e s d i d n o t h e l p d i f f e r e n t i a tet h e d e p t h o f t h e N D E a n d d e l e t e d t h a t i t e m f r o m h i s fi n a l s c al e. T h i ss u g g e s t s t h a t t h e t u n n e l e x p e r ie n c e i s a s e p a r a t e c o m p o n e n t f r o m th er e s t o f t h e N D E .

H o w e v e r , th e s e p r o b l e m s a r e i n c i d e n ta l t o t h e p u r p o s e o f a n s w e r i n gt h e m a i n q u e s t i o n I w i s h e d to a d d r e s s h e re : w h e t h e r p e o p l e i n I n d i aa l s o e x p e r i e n c e t u n n e l s a n d l ig h t s w h e n c o m i n g c lo s e t o d e a t h . T h ea n s w e r w a s c l e a r l y t h a t t h e y d o. T h r e e c a s e s (3 8 p e r c e n t ) i n c l u d e da c c o u n t s e i t h e r o f t u n n e l s s p e c i f i c a ll y o r o f d a r k p l a c e s . T h i s s t u d y i st o o s m a l l a n d h a s t o o m a n y s a m p l i n g p r o b l e m s t o p e r m i t r e l ia b l ec o m p a r i s o n s w i t h p r e v i o u s w o r k , b u t w e c a n m a k e s o m e t e n t a t i v ec o m m e n t s .

F o r e x a m p l e , J u s t i n e O w e n s , E m i l y C o o k , a n d I a n S t e v e n s o n ( 1 9 9 0 )f o u n d t h a t 2 1 o f 4 6 N D E r s ( 4 6 p e r c e n t ) r e p o r t e d b e i n g i n a t u n n e l , a n dG r e y s o n (1 9 83 ) f o u n d 3 2 p e r c e n t o f N D E r s d e s c r i b e d a t u n n e l - l ik ed a r k r e g io n . M y f i g u re o f 3 8 p e r c e n t l ie s r i g h t b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o .


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Also, in his original study of people who had come close to death, Ring(1980) found that 23 percent ~'entered the darkness, compared to 3 outof 19 (16 percent) in the present study. As for lights, 4 out of 8 amongmy respondents (50 percent) saw them, compared to 43 percent inGreyson's (1983) study; other studies do not give comparable data.The aftereffects of coming close to death in this sample are also verysimilar to those described in previous reports. They include reducedfear of death, increased belief in God, greater concern for others, andliving more in the moment. These effects seemed to occur whe ther ornot the person had an NDE. The process of coming close to death andbeing forced to contemplate its meaning was enough to change theserespondents' lives.The findings of this study clearly differ from Pasricha and Steven-son's (1986), which seemed to show that Indian NDEs were differentfrom the classic type in important respects, including the absence oftunnel experiences. The Indian NDEs reported here include most ofthe key features of the classic Moody-type NDE and, although thissample is very small, the proportions experiencing tunnels, darkplaces, and lights are remar kably similar to those in previous studies.In other words, these features seem independent of the person's cul-ture. This conclusion fits with what would be expected if these featuresare a product of bra in physiology and are not dependent on culture.

e f e r e n c e s

Blackmore, S. J. 1993). Dying to live: Science and the near-death experience. London,England: Grafton.Blackmore, S. J., and Troscianko, T. 1989). The physiology of the tunnel. Journal ofNear-Death Studies, 8, 15-28.Carr, D. B. 1982). Pathophysiology of stress-induced limbic lobe dysfunction: A hypoth-esis relevant for NDEs. Anabiosis: The Journal of Near-Death Studies, 2, 75-89.Davis, L. 1988). A comparison of UFO and near-death experiences as vehicles for theevolution of human consciousness. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 6, 240-257.Dobson, M., Tattersfield, A. E., Adler, M. W., and McNicol, M. W. 1971). Attitude andlong-term adjustment of patients surviving cardiac arrest. British Medical Journal,3 5768), 207-212.Druss, R. G., and Kornfeld, D. S. 1967). The survivors of cardiac arrest: A psychiatricstudy. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 201, 291-296.

Flynn, C. P. 1982). Meanings and implications of NDEr transformations: Some prelimi-nary findings and implications. Anabiosis: The Journal of Near-Death Studies, 2, 3-13.Gabbard, G. O., and Twemlow, S. W. 1984). With the eyes of the mind. An empiricalanalysis of out-of-body states. New York, NY: Praeger.Grey, M. 1985).Return from death: An exploration o f the near-death experience. London,England: Arkana.


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S U S A N J . B L A C K M O R E 2 17

Gre y s o n , B . (19 83 ). T h e N e a r -D e a th E x p e r i e n c e S c a le : C o n s t ru c t io n , r e l i a b i l i t y , a n dv a l i d i t y . J o u r n a l o f N e r v o u s a n d M e n ta l D is ea se , 171 , 369-375 .J u d s o n , I . R . , a n d Wi l t s h a w, E . (1 9 8 3 ) . A n e a r -d e a th e x p e r i e n c e . Lancet, 2 , 561-562 .Lo r im er , D. (1990) . W hole in one. Th e near-death experience an d the e thic o f in terconnec-redness. L o n d o n , E n g l a n d : A r k a n a .Mo ody , R . A. , J r . (1975). Life after l i fe . C o v in g to n , GA: Mo c k in g b i rd .M o rs e , M. L ., Ve n e c ia , D . , J r . , a n d M i l s t e in , J . (1 9 8 9 ) . N e a r - d e a th e x p e r i e n c e s : An e u r o p h y s i o l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t o r y m o d e l. J o u r n a l o f N e a r-De a th S tu d ie s , 8 , 45-53 .Os i s , K . , a n d H a ra ld s s o n , E . (1 9 77 ). De a th b e d o b s e rv a t io n s b y p h y s ic i a n s a n d n u r s e s : Ac ro s s -c u l tu ra l s u rv e y . J o u r n a l o f t h e A m e r ic a n S o c ie t y fo r P s y c h ic a l R e s e a rc h , 7 1 , 2 3 7 -259.Ow e n s , J . E . , C o ok , E . W. , a n d S te v e n s o n , I . (19 90 ). F e a tu re s o f n e a r -d e a th e x p e r i e n c ei n r e l a t i o n t o w h e t h e r o r n o t p a t i e n t s w e r e n e a r d e a t h . Lancet, 336 , 1175-1177 .

P a s r i c h a , S , a n d S t e v e n s o n , I. (1 98 6) . N e a r - d e a t h e x p e r i e n c e s i n I n d i a : A p r e l i m i n a r yr e p o r t . J o u r n a l o f N e r v o u s a n d M e n ta l D is ea se , 174 , 165-170 .P e n f i e l d , W . (1 95 5). T h e r o l e o f t h e t e m p o r a l c o r t e x i n c e r t a i n p s y c h i c p h e n o m e n a .J o u r n a l o f M e n t a l S c i en c e, 101 , 451-465 .P e r s i n g e r , M . A . ( 1 98 3) . R e l ig i o u s a n d m y s t i c a l e x p er i e n c e s a s a r t i f a c t s o f t e m p o r a l l o b efu n c t io n : A g e n e ra l h y p o th e s i s . P e r c e p tu a l a n d Mo to r S k i l l s , 57 , 1255-1262 .Rin g, K . (1980). Life at death. A scien ti f ic investigatio n o f the near-death experience. N e wY o r k , N Y : C o w a r d , M c C a n n a n d G e o g h e g a n .Ring , K. (1984) . He a d in g to w a r d o meg a In s e a rc h o f th e me a n in g o f th e n e a r -d e a thexperience. N e w Y o r k , N Y : M o r r ow .Ring, K. (1992). The O meg a Project: Nea r-death experiences , UF O encounters , an d M in dat Large. N e w Y o r k , N Y : M o r r o w .S a a v e d ra -A g u i l a r , J . , a n d G6 m e z -J e r i a , J . (19 89 ). A n e u ro b io lo g ic a l mo d e l fo r n e a r -d e a the x p e r i e n c e s . J o u r n a l o f N e a r -De a th S tu d ie s, 7 , 205-222 .

near-death experiences in india: they have tunnels too, blackmore

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