Science shows that you can meditate yourself into a near-death experience. These meditation-induced near-death experiences (MI-NDE) can help us better understand what the body goes through in the moments just before we die. (1)
Meditation-Induced Near-Death Experiences
There are several Buddhist texts written by those who achieved MI-NDE and who became masters of it in order to help spiritual practitioners gain insight into the processes of death and dying. (1) In 2018, a three-year longitudinal study was done on MI-NDE. The study compared 12 advanced Buddhist meditators’ MI-NDE to two other meditation practices. (1)
The study found that the participants (1):
- Were consciously aware of their near-death experiences
- Retained volitional control over the content and duration of NDEs
- Elicited a wide variety of other-worldly and spiritual experiences
The study also shows that using MI-NDE makes it both ethical and feasible to study the neurological activity changes that occur during near-death experiences in real-time. (1)
What Does a Near Death Experience Feel Like?
Near-death experiences have been reported by people all around the world, however, it can be difficult to quantify because self-reporting is highly unreliable. (1) Typically, however, these events have been described in a similar manner with only minor differences in the vocabulary used to describe them due to cultural and religious differences. (1)
In general, when someone has a near-death experience, they report (1):
- An out-of-body experience
- Seeing or moving through a tunnel
- Speaking with a being of light
- Observing a celestial landscape
- Meeting with deceased persons
- Their life in review
- Loss of sense of time and space
- A conscious return to the body at the end
Often these experiences change the person that they happen to. People report having increased self-understanding and a different outlook on their life afterward. (1)
Read: The Best Things You Can Do to Optimize Brain Function Now
Difference Between a Near Death Experience and an MI-NDE
The main difference between a near-death experience and an MI-NDE is that the meditator has control over both what they experience and how long they experience it. (1)
Study participants reported that during their MI-NDE, they (1):
- Visited other-worldly realms
- Experienced what happens during life and after death
- Experienced a state of existence known as “emptiness”
They experienced five times more “mystical experiences” and four times higher feelings of non-attachment.
Over the three-year study period, the participants experienced increasingly profound MI-NDEs, which shows that this is a practice that can be worked on and perfected over time. (2) Assessment of the participants was done via a variety of means, including a battery of psychometric scales within 24 hours of a completed meditation. (3) As this phenomenon is studied further, scientists will be able to perhaps understand better what happens to the human spirit after we die.
Keep Reading: 21 Day Anti Anxiety Challenge