Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience (23 page)

Findings of the Longitudinal Study

At the two-year follow-up, 19 of the 62 patients with an NDE had died and 6 declined to be interviewed, leaving 37 eligible for the second interview (see the table “Number of Patients Interviewed”). Of the 17 patients with a low score, 7 remained unchanged, 4 had the lowest score of 1 with only positive emotions, while in retrospect 6 patients did not have an NDE after all. After the initial interview these 6 people had been classified as a potential NDE with score of 1 because “they had had the feeling they were dying,” but the in-depth interview two years later proved this false. Following the second interview these 6 people were grouped with the patients without an NDE. In order to put together a control group of cardiac arrest survivors without an NDE but matched for age and sex, we approached a total of 75 patients before we found 37 people prepared to participate in a second interview. This group turned out to contain four more patients with an NDE, two with a low score and two with a core experience. Following the second interview, these four patients were grouped with the people
with
an NDE. The first postresuscitation interview must have been too soon for them to be able or willing to talk about their NDE.
⁷

Number of Patients Interviewed During the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Phases of the Study

1st phase (1988–1992)

344 patients With NDE

62 patients (18 percent)

Without NDE

282 patients (82 percent)

2nd phase (1991–1993)

344 patients With NDE

37 (–6+4) = 35 patients
19 died (31 percent)
6 declined

Without NDE

37 (+6–4) = 39 patients
38 died or declined

3rd phase (1997–1998)

344 patients With NDE

23 patients
11 died
1 no interview

Without NDE

15 patients
20 died
4 no interview

At the two-year follow-up we were able to interview a total of 74 patients: 35 patients with an NDE affirmed by the second interview and 39 patients without an NDE. After eight years we approached the same patients for a third interview. Of the people with an NDE, 11 had died, while of the 24 patients who were still alive, 1 person was unable to participate because of memory defects. Ultimately we were able to conduct third interviews with 23 NDErs. Of the people without an NDE we could interview only 15. After eight years 20 patients had died and 4 were unable to participate for reasons including dementia. This means that we were able to compare the patterns of change after two and eight years in 23 patients with an NDE and in 15 patients without an NDE.

Results of the Longitudinal Study

As mentioned, the later interviews were conducted using a standardized inventory featuring 34 life-change questions.
⁸
Among the 74 patients who consented to be interviewed at the two-year follow-up, 13 of the 34 factors listed in the questionnaire were significantly different for those with and without an NDE (see the table “The Significant Differences Between People With and Without an NDE”). The second interviews showed a significant decrease in fear of death among people with an NDE and a significant increase in belief in an afterlife. There were further significant differences between people with and without an NDE with respect to a number of social and religious factors such as showing emotions, accepting others, a more loving attitude to life, and more love and compassion for oneself and others. Other differences pertained to a greater involvement in family, a greater interest in spirituality and the meaning of life, and greater appreciation of ordinary things, coupled with less interest in money, possessions, and social norms (“keeping up appearances”). We compared these thirteen factors, which yielded such significant differences after two years, again after eight years for the same two groups of patients with and without an NDE.

We noticed that after eight years the people without an NDE were also undergoing unmistakable processes of change. Clear differences remained between the two groups although they were now a little less marked. We were also surprised to find that the processes of change that got under way after two years in people with an NDE clearly intensified after eight years. The same was true for the people without an NDE. Summing up, we found that, eight years after their cardiac arrest, all patients had changed in many respects: they had a greater interest in nature, the environment, and social justice; they showed more love and emotions; and they were more supportive and more involved in family life. Nonetheless, those who had experienced an NDE during their cardiac arrest remained significantly different. Specifically, they were less afraid of death and had a stronger belief in a life after death. They showed a greater interest in spirituality and questions of meaning as well as a greater acceptance of and love for oneself and others. Likewise, they had a greater appreciation of ordinary things whereas their interest in possessions and power had decreased. People without an NDE showed a marked decline in interest in spirituality.

By the time the later interviews were conducted, the NDE had become an experience that provided a fresh insight into everything that matters in life: compassion, unconditional love, and acceptance of oneself (including acceptance of one’s negative qualities), others, and nature. Fear of death was usually gone. The interviews also revealed a sharp increase in heightened intuitive feelings after an NDE along with a strong sense of connectedness with others and with nature. Or, as many of them put it, they had acquired “paranormal gifts.” The sudden onset of this heightened intuition can be quite problematic; NDErs suddenly have a very acute sense of other people’s emotions, which can be extremely intimidating. They also experience clairvoyance, premonitions, and visions. This intuitive sensitivity can be quite intense, with people recognizing feelings and sadness in others or sensing when somebody will die—which usually proves to be accurate. As one respondent put it, “It felt as if I’d become another person, but with the same identity.” As mentioned earlier, the process of integrating and accepting an NDE may take many years because of its profound impact on people’s values and outlook on life. Finally, the lifelong transformational effects of an experience that lasts only a few minutes was a striking and unexpected finding.

The Significant Differences Between People with and Without an NDE—Changes at Two and Eight Years

Commentary on the Dutch NDE Study

Thanks to
The Lancet
’s global press release, our Dutch prospective NDE study attracted a great deal of attention in December 2001. The study not only made it onto the front pages of all the major newspapers in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia, but was also front-page news in countries such as Russia, China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Brazil, and Argentina. Our group of researchers never anticipated this huge interest. For a couple of days I had to reschedule appointments at my outpatient clinic in order to satisfy all the requests for interviews with national and international newspapers, radio, and television. We received hundreds of e-mails with positive responses from NDErs who felt supported and recognized by this study. We also received feedback from doctors who had experienced an NDE themselves and who had never been able to discuss it with colleagues. The following is an extract from the commentary published by Dr. Pam Kircher, a family doctor and practicing physician at a hospice in the United States.

Dr. Jeffrey Long, a physician practicing radiation oncology (use of radiation to treat cancer) and active in NDE research, wrote, “On behalf of all people with an NDE I congratulate Van Lommel for his excellent research.”

But feedback from scientific and medical circles was mixed, and at my own hospital I received many positive as well as some more indifferent reactions while some colleagues never even mentioned the publication.