WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE? Part 2 (Read Part 1 First) OOB OR NDE EXPERINECES - REAL OR HALLUCINATED?

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE?  Part 2

Out of Body or Near Death  - REAL OR HALLUCINATED?

When tales of "Near Death Experiences" are discussed, they are sometimes mixed in with or juxtaposed with Out of Body and what happens or seems to have happened at the time of death, and that is another story entirely.

Near Death Experiences;

Every death is unique and it would not be far off the mark to say that no two people have died the same death since the beginning of time, as you know it. There are as many different kinds of death as there are kinds of life and even though we can't pinpoint the time, place or experience of an individual death, we can however talk in generalities and hope to clarify many of the misconceptions concerning the apparent return from physical death, sometimes referred to as Near Death Experience.

I have written an entire book on the death experience, which covers in depth some of the things to expect when you die, but even there, much is left unexplained.  I am sometimes frustrated in trying to explain some things that are at the edge of the ability of the brain to understand.

That does not mean that some cannot understand these difficult concepts, it simply means that if you are not ready, and you have not prepared yourself, you will not understand. A seed will flourish in a field that has been prepared, and a mind that has been prepared, will flourish in wisdom.

Having said that, let me continue by saying that some of the concepts discussed here are very difficult, but I am also aware that there are many who are ready, who are ready to take a giant step beyond the customary children's tales and will understand what I struggle to explain.

I won't go into what happens after death since we are more interested in what actually happens when you reach the point of death and then for some reason, decide to return to life.

There are of course, as many different kinds of near death experiences as there are real death experiences. All of the fantastic stories you hear about near death experiences are true, and at the same time they are false, and yet there is no real contradiction, although it may be quite convincing that there is.

You either die or you don't die, you are either dead or you are not and no matter how deep into the experience of death you go, you aren't dead if you return to life. You can't be just a little bit dead, if you get what I mean. You were near dead. There is a vast difference between being dead and being near dead, as you might assume,

When you are actually dead, you don't return to life, at least not to the life you have just left behind, period. You will eventually return to a new life, but that is another subject entirely and is not really relevant to this discussion.

The near death experience can be a combination of an out of body experience that transitions into a hallucinatory experience within that state that can transition into an actual Near Death Experience.

It has been well documented that in the out of body, the personality consciousness actually rises up from the physical body lying on hospital bed, hovers above it, and can from its out of body vantage point; sometimes see everything that is going on around the hospital bed where his physical body lies in a somewhat comatose state.

At this point the experience can either be considered an out of body, or could return and be considered a near death experience. In both cases, consciousness actually leaves the physical body and rises out of it. The same kind of experience could happen if the personality has just encountered an earth-shattering trauma, but is nowhere near death. In the other case, the personality will for reasons known only to the inner self, decide, "not to die" and return to continue life, sometimes with a renewed vigor, vitality and new purpose for being.

The one similarity in this type of experience is that in both cases, the spirit, or consciousness will return to the physical body. If the experience is remembered, it may be called a Near Death Experience even though the same thing happens in the OOB projection when death is not imminent.

It is not unusual for the out of body personality to be able to travel for short distances within a reasonable range of the hospital bed where his body lies, assuming that he is in a hospital setting, and we will stick with that assumption for this explanation.

He is then, in his astral body, free to float freely inside or outside of the hospital room or building, and accurately describe things that the persons or others present would have no way of knowing. Still the personality is alive, experiencing an out of body experience and his essential perceptions operating with heightened intensity as he surveys the external conditions from vantage points not otherwise available to others in the room.

This is where the out of body and the near death experience part ways.

At this point the dying personality has a choice to return to the body immediately or to continue on, hallucinate a near death drama in line with the belief system that he embraces, depending on what he has been taught about death.

In line with his belief system, he will hallucinate a scenario that coincides with his belief system. It may be a very real appearing illusion for sure, but rest assured it will not be an actual death experience and it will be short lived.

This will be the near death experience that is so often related to loved ones, the personality insisting they have visited heaven or met God, Jesus, Zoroaster, Mohammed or other ecclesial figures that they expect to meet.

In truth, upon death or near death as in life, you will see what you expect to see, you will experience exactly what you expect to experience and all will be based on your habitually adopted belief system. You will get what you concentrate on in your life and in death, albeit for a limited time, thankfully, it will not be a permanent condition, since it will be an intricate and vivid illusion, gaining reality for a limited time for the dying personality. In that sense, it is a private illusion, held by the dying personality only.

As an aside here, this is not so unusual, since you actually do the same thing in hallucinating your physical reality system now, except in your case, since you are embedded in a time/space continuum world, it takes time for your hallucinated objects to gain a physical actuality in the world of atoms, molecules and cells.

In the near death state that you will find yourself, your beliefs, thoughts and expectations gain presence immediately, exactly as the do in the dream state, even though in the dream state they seem to disappear just as quickly. All objects and events are created in the same way in whatever reality system you find yourself. In the physical world they take time to materialize, in the dream world they take no time, since time does not exist or is irrelevant in the dream universe.

These will be the quite convincing stories that will be related to all that will listen when the personalities consciousness returns to the physical body and unfortunately they will be taken as true tales of After Death Reality when they are nothing of the kind.

This is where it gets to be a sticky wicket.

These dramas are real, but they are not true reality. What I am saying is that the near death experience is real to the person approaching death, even though it is illusion. For those skeptics that will cite the example of the little boy that swears he traveled to heaven and saw God, he was hallucinating what he had been taught to believe what happens at death.

These deathbed hallucinations are as real as your physical system, except that they are not materialized. They are intricate illusions, dramas created from beliefs given some form, craftily prepared by the inner self, to satisfy the beliefs of the dying, whether right or wrong. These hallucinations are short lived and are bound to dissipate and disappear.

When you die, you will see what you expect to see during the process.

In an out of body experience, you do not hallucinate these kinds of fantasies; you actually travel to real places, in your world and others. Out of body travels are not necessarily limited to your world, and it is theoretically possible to travel to other galaxies. These kinds of journeys are usually relegated to the more experienced "out of body" travelers.

Now, I don't like to throw cold water on a commonly held belief, but you really do know that there is no hell, and thank God, there is no heaven either. You wouldn't want to live there, although at this point you probably are not ready to admit it.

There is a God, but there is not a God like you imagine him. God does not look like Charleton Heston, carrying his scale to judge the sinners and his bolt of lightening to smite them and punish the wicked, but many will in fact see this stereotypical vision of God from their deathbed in a near death experience. God is an energy essence personality, an intelligence gestalt of everything that is, everything that was and everything that will be. God is more of a Divine Process than He is a Humanoid-like personality.

Years ago, it was customary to expect to cross the River Styx with the Grim Reaper upon death, and many who died imagined they did just that. Now, it is in vogue to experience a long tunnel with a brilliant white light at the other end and Jesus standing there to greet you. Of course, Jesus is not there in person, but you will create your own tunnel, your own white light and your very own personal version of Jesus in accordance with your belief system.

I should also clear up something that to my knowledge has never been discussed in any detail before, but in regards to the bright light seen by many at the time or just preceding the time of death.

The universe that you know so well arose out of an even greater inner universe. That inner universe is composed of energy and all energy possesses consciousness. This conscious energy pervades all reality systems, fills every bit of space in your universe, as you now understand it with the light of universal energy. This light, of course, is not perceivable in the physical system.

The space between your kitchen table and chairs is filled with this unperceivable conscious energy and the space between stars, planets and galaxies is also filled with this conscious energy. In short, there is no hypothetical point in space that is not occupied by consciousness, and this energy exudes pure white light that all colors are derived from.

This energy emits an unbelievably pure brilliant light, which is not perceivable by your physically tuned senses while you are alive, but when you are approaching the point of death, when the ego loses its grasp on the physical senses, some can see this all-encompassing light. So in some cases these stated observations of brilliant light are well founded.

I can assure you that no Muslim will see Jesus upon death, but may indeed see Mohammed. No Buddhist sees Allah at death, but might see Buddha waiting to greet him.

The little boy, who thinks he visited heaven, did indeed visit heaven, but he viewed a heaven of his own creation, just as many who believe in saints and prophets will see saints or prophets before returning to the physical body or completing the transition.

The near death experience can be very rewarding and countless lives have been altered dramatically from these types of near death experiences. (Meaning they returned to life)

After any number of possible near death scenarios have run their course, the time comes when a choice must be made to return to the physical body or to continue on with the death transition, which is covered in depth in my "Death" book.

I should note that at this point of final choosing, the personality doing the dying can still choose to change his mind, No person dies that is not fully ready to die, and no person is born who does not choose to be born.

The really delicious irony here is that those who most fervently believe in the existence of a Satan and Hell will experience their own hallucinated creations of Satan and Hell. And who are the most fervent believers in Satan and hell, the dogmatic clergy, still carrying the burden of ancient superstitions, delusions and myth.

After death there are helpers available for those who are so transfixed and deluded by their religious dogma, and they will assist them to realize the error of past beliefs. Sometimes that is difficult even after death and some will have to literally be dragged kicking and screaming by their heels from their beloved" lake of fire", "damnation" or even the dreaded "bottomless pit".

(Of course, I am really smiling.)

This may be hard to understand, but some of you will be able to grasp this; some people after death will demand their lake of fire, their fire and brimstone, their torment, anguish, and gnashing of teeth, believing for some strange reason that it is purifying, it is their birthright and part of their heritage of sin and punishment and as sinners, they wouldn't be caught dead without it.

Some long held beliefs are hard to let go of, but as I have said, the good news is that there really is no bad news, unless you believe there is and nobody remains ignorant forever.

I apologize for splitting this subject into two parts, but these matters are not simple to cover in one article. And of course, they cannot be.

If you have questions about any subject, please submit them using the comment form at the bottom of the page and I will answer within the limitations of my understanding.

William