The topic of life after death has always concerned theologians, philosophers, and truth seekers. Scholars from different countries, led by T. Ryan Byerly, have published a collection of scientific articles Death, Immortality and Eternal Life, offering theological and philosophical approaches to the problem of existence “on the other side” of the life-death divide.
One of the publications, by Beth Seacord, Professor of Philosophy at the College of Southern Nevada (USA), is devoted to out-of-body and near-death experiences, i.e. what we call the phase state (a term that also encompasses lucid dreams). According to the author, registered cases of OBE-NDE account for 6-12% of all patients who survived after clinical death. Young people are more likely to report these experience, and among children this indicator reaches as high as 85%. Many people describe seeing a tunnel or a light, feeling peace, joy, or cosmic unity, and encountering with mystical entities. About 2-3% of the stories contain descriptions of leaving the body with the patient seeing what is happening around them directly.
Out-of-body and near-death experiences often occur during cardiac arrest, when the flow of oxygen is disrupted and the brain shuts down. However, in the first 30 seconds following cardiac arrest, levels of neurophysiological activity actually increase. Furthermore, even after the brain stops functioning, we cannot deny the possibility of residual brain activity at a deeper level, which cannot be recorded by today’s medical devices. There are hundreds of testimonies of OBE in the moments of clinical death: usually people describe hovering over their own body, watching the events unfolding around them. About 150 cases have been confirmed by doctors who claim that the patient could not have known the details of their operation, yet described them accurately immediately after waking up.
The researchers’ problem is that they do not know when or where such a case will occur in order to study it. In addition, doctors and nurses (whose participation is necessary) are focused on saving the person’s life, rather than on recording scientific evidence of out-of-body experiences.
