I do believe in the afterlife, and I am aware that other people don't and that's fine. Even before my research has shown me that the near-death experience is not some kind of anomaly, I've always believed that when I die, it's not yet the end of me - that there's something waiting for me on the other side. One of the major factors that contributed to my belief on the afterlife is my religion. Growing up in a Catholic household and having studied in a Catholic school all the way to high school, I learned about God, and other stuff such as the concept of the afterlife, heaven and hell, purgatory, etc. I gained a deeper understanding with the concept of the afterlife as time went by and as I listened to other religious organizations' point of view.
As I was surfing online, I've found a comprehensive survey of NDE studies titled “The Near Death Experience” by Glenn Roberts and John Owen. They observed that the specifics of NDEs often correspond to a person’s particular religious beliefs:
In other words, a person’s previously held religious beliefs pattern the nature of the NDE, which supports the view of many authors that, while the central features the NDE are universally present due to pan-human biological and neural systems, the mental images and interpretation is determined by the cultural beliefs and expectations of the individual.
Hence, as a Christian, I might see Jesus or an angel; whereas, a Muslim who has a near death experience might see Muhammad; a Buddhist may see Siddhartha; a Hindu may see Krishna or Vishnu; a Lakota might see Wakan Tanka, and so on. What this pattern suggests is that NDEs are a matter of consciousness and not metaphysics.
- In NDEs, the American Indians' dominant imagery is of moccasins, snakes, eagles, bows, and arrows.
- Asian Indians have NDEs in which they are characteristically sent back to live because of a seeming bureaucratic mistake having been made in the after-life, and many encounter Yamraj, the Hindu king of the dead, and the Yamdoots, his messengers.
- In one large and systematic cross-cultural study of Americans and Asian Indians who had NDEs, 140 people reported seeing religious figures; “where these figures were specifically identified, they were always named according to a person’s religious beliefs; no Hindu reported seeing Jesus, and no Christian reported seeing a Hindu deity.”
In other words, a person’s previously held religious beliefs pattern the nature of the NDE, which supports the view of many authors that, while the central features the NDE are universally present due to pan-human biological and neural systems, the mental images and interpretation is determined by the cultural beliefs and expectations of the individual.
Hence, as a Christian, I might see Jesus or an angel; whereas, a Muslim who has a near death experience might see Muhammad; a Buddhist may see Siddhartha; a Hindu may see Krishna or Vishnu; a Lakota might see Wakan Tanka, and so on. What this pattern suggests is that NDEs are a matter of consciousness and not metaphysics.
Checked!
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