Top Ten Take-Aways from Near-Death Experiences

Vince Migliore

As a nurse, I once had a patient who nearly died and reported a near-death experience
(NDE). I was so fascinated by his story that over the next few years I read and
researched over 2000 cases. Here is a list of the Top Ten findings gleaned from reading
these reports.
10. We meet with deceased relatives. There is often a grand reunion with loved ones.
This is generally a relative but sometimes not the one you would expect, such as an
uncle or grandparent. The relative usually looks young and in good health. Those with
physical defects in life are seen as whole and vibrant.
9. We are surrounded by spirit communications. In addition to relatives, NDE
contact includes angels, spirit guides, and religious figures. It seems the spiritual realms
have a distinct reality and that messages are exchanged with our physical reality. These
spiritual entities are communicating with us all the time.
8. Telepathy is natural. Communication is almost always via telepathy. Often the
person experiencing the NDE also resorts to telepathy, as it feels natural. Words are
heard inside the mind, typically without seeing the mouth of the other person moving at
all. Sometimes communication is accompanied by other sensory input (synesthesia)
where sounds, lights, and vibrations appear alongside the mental message.

7. Symbols predominate in the spirit realms. Many NDE reports describe a barrier of
some kind. This may be a fence, a gate, an invisible force field, or a river. The person
seems to know if he crosses this barrier he will not be able to return to the material
world. This barrier reflects the ancient Greek concept of the River Styx.
Archetypical symbols abound in the NDE. Recurrent themes are often seen, many
detailed by Carl Jung, such as powerful horses, floods, jokers, or a phoenix. These
symbols convey complex and meaningful messages to the person perceiving them.
6. We are connected to every living thing. A common scene in the NDE is to find
yourself walking in a garden. Suddenly you hear the flowers singing. The rose flowers
might sing in one key, while the daisy flowers sing in another key, yet they remain in
perfect harmony with the roses. All of them seem to be singing to you, and you feel as if
you are part of them. Their love and their music infuses you and is part of your being. At
the same time, the brook flowing through the garden adds another dimension of sound to
the melody. The trees seem alive. You come to realize you are connected to everything
else around you.
5. Actions have ripple effects. Many people report a life review or at least some
glimpses into the behaviors theyve shown others in the physical world. You may be
shown an encounter where you spoke a kind word to a friend. You then get to feel how
the comments made your friend feel and how he or she passed that favor on to others.
You actually experience the emotions that your actions generated in others.
This process, where you fill in the shoes of the people you have interacted with, applies
to hurtful or damaging behavior as well as acts of kindness. Terrorists be warned: you
get to feel the grief and despair of the friends of anyone youve hurt. This includes the
spouse, children, friends and colleagues of the victim. Such is justice. You reap what you
sow.
4. Oh, there is music! Everything sings! Even the rocks and animals have a melody for
you. The trees lay down their leaves for you to walk on. There is an overwhelming sense
of being loved, being at home, and all of it to the accompaniment of the most wonderful
music. The music is not just sounds, but rather an orchestration of colors, emotions,
movement, taste, and vibration.

3. Consciousness endures outside of the body. Two thirds of all NDEs include an outof-body experience. (See Table 1.) If the person is in the hospital all the machine noises
cease; pains and worries disappear. You can see all around you, 360 degrees in all
directions. You realize you are still you even as you gaze down at the motionless body
you once occupied.
You realize that awareness and perception are possible without the physical body. This
implies there is life after death as well. Most people who experience an NDE report they
no longer fear death. Many dont want to return to the body, but do so when they hear
the grieving of their family members.
2. We have a divine nature. Very often people find their consciousness zooming off
into space and they look back on the Earth, pondering all the mysteries of creation as
they experience life outside the body. Soon, it seems they understand everything, the
lessons learned, the purpose of suffering, and the mechanics of the physical universe.
Emotions are overwhelming, and permeate their being. This sense of being home,
belonging, communicating with light beings and angels underscores the awakening
realization that your true nature is divine. We are in communication with flowers,
animals, other beings and spiritual entities.
1. Duality ends. Almost two thirds of all NDEs include seeing a light. Typically, a
woman sees a figure walking through a garden. As she looks closer, the woman is
herself! Then the scene changes and she finds herself walking in that same garden and
the light is directing her path. The scene changes back and forth between seeing the
woman approaching and the feeling that she herself is approaching the light.
Symbolically, it becomes apparent that not only are we approaching the light, but we
ARE the light. There is no separation between God and his child. Duality ends. We and
the Father are one.

Table 1. Elements that the NDE experience included.*

Experience included:
Out-of-body experience
Light
Strong emotional tone
Knowledge
Presence of unearthly beings
Darkness
Events out of keeping with beliefs
Landscape or city
Presence of deceased persons
Void
Boundary
Life review
Vision of the future
None of the these
Total

Count
533
508
480
413
379
275
224
206
200
192
185
170
152
4
769

Percentage
67.7
64.5
61.0
52.5
48.2
34.9
28.5
26.2
25.4
24.4
23.5
21.6
19.3
0.5
100.0

* Percentages add to more than 100 due to multiple responses.

This is just a summary of the findings from NDE research.

In addition to the common elements in the NDE there is also a more subtle theme woven
into the fabric of such experiences. This is the idea that life on the Earth plane is
something of a dream. Just as the NDE points to the fact that we are united with our
creator, so too is the idea that we have been and always will be in that sacred
relationship. This planet, perhaps even the entire material universe, is often perceived as
just a temporary learning device, a school of sorts, designed to learn spiritual lessons.
This idea is reflected in many world religions today.
- End Contact:
Vince Migliore
BlossomHillBooks@aol.com
Table 1 is taken from A Measure of Heaven by the same author and is available on
Amazon.com.