Near Death Experience

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A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound psychological event that may occur to a person close to death. There are many reported effects experienced during an NDE including transcendental, hallucinogenic and mystical elements which makes them considered a Pivotal Mental State and thought to be comparable to the psychedelic experience brought on by ketamine use. The after effects of NDEs have been widely documented[1] and have been shown to be powerfully life-altering.

Near Death Experience vs Psychedelics
Figure 1. Near Death Experience vs Psychedelics

Near Death Experience Reporting

As with our referencing policy as of yet there have been no meta analyses of NDE reports. However, analysing published medical documentation there seems to be a some commonality reported during near-death experiences.

  • a sense of being outside one’s physical body (Out of Body Experience),
  • a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel
  • a sense of oneness and interconnectedness
  • experiencing a great light or darkness;
  • perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes;
  • encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures;
  • knowledge of the nature of the universe
  • a life review
  • a border of no return;
  • a sense of having knowledge of the future;
  • messages regarding life’s purpose.

Near Death Experiences and Psychedelics

There is a growing amount of evidence that suggests that dissociatives such as ketamine[2][3] or classical psychedelics[4] such as DMT[5] or 5MeO-DMT[6] can induce a state similar to NDEs however, historically, a defunct class of drugs called the pseudohallucinogens[7] is also thought to bridge this gap by actually causing a near death experience! These compounds consist of a diverse range of chemicals the effects of which broadly are considered poisonous, these include:

  • Nutmeg / mace
  • Wisteria sinenis

References

  1. International Association for Near-Death Studies - https://iands.org/
  2. Anomalous Psychedelic Experiences: At the Neurochemical Juncture of the Humanistic and Parapsychological, Volume 62, Issue 2. Accessed on 15th September 2022 via: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022167820917767
  3. The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience: A Central Role for the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor. Jansen, K.L.R. Journal of Near-Death Studies 16, 5–26 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025055109480. Accessed on 19 Jul 2023 via https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1025055109480
  4. Within-subject comparison of near-death and psychedelic experiences: acute and enduring effects. Charlotte Martial, Robin Carhart-Harris , Christopher Timmermann. Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. Published August 2024
  5. DMT Models the Near-Death Experience. Christopher Timmermann1,2*, Leor Roseman1,2, Luke Williams1, David Erritzoe1, Charlotte Martial3, Héléna Cassol3, Steven Laureys3, David Nutt1 and Robin Carhart-Harris. Front. Psychol., 15 August 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01424
  6. This is your brain on death: a comparative analysis of a near-death experience and subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT experience. Pascal Michael, David Luke and Oliver Robinson Front. Psychol., 29 June 2023 Sec. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083361. Accessed on 19 Jul 2023 via https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083361/full
  7. Hallucinogenic Plants. Schultes, Richard Evans (1976). illus. Elmer W. Smith. New York: Golden Press. ISBN 0-307-24362-1.

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