Near-Death Experiences & DMT
Near-death experiences are one of the most puzzling
phenomena in psychology. A near-death experience is when a person appears to be
clinically ‘dead’ for a short period –when their heart stops beating, their
brain registers no sign of activity, and the other 'vital signs' indicate death
– and yet they report a continuation of consciousness. This may happen
following a cardiac arrest, for example. For a few seconds or minutes, a person
may show no biological signs of life, and yet when they are resuscitated,
report a series of remarkable experiences.
NDEs have never been satisfactorily explained in
neurobiological terms. Various theories have been suggested, such as
hallucinations caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain, undetected brain
activity (during the period when the brain appears not to be functioning), the
release of endorphins, a psychological ‘depersonalisation’ in response to
intense stress, and so on. All of these theories have been found to be
problematic. For example, oxygen deficiency usually results in chaotic
hallucinatory experiences and is associated with confusion and memory loss.
NDEs are completely unlike this. They are serene, structured, and
well-integrated experiences. In theory, in NDEs people could have a very low
level of brain activity which is not picked up by EEG machines. On the other
hand, it seems very unlikely that such a low level of brain activity could
produce such vivid and intense conscious experiences. If there was any
conscious experience, it would surely be dim, vague and confused. In contrast,
in NDEs, people often report becoming more alert than normal, with a very clear
and intense form of awareness.
Another theory that has been proposed is that NDEs are
related to psychedelic chemicals which are naturally produced by the human
brain. This theory was apparently
boosted recently with the release of a paper called ‘DMT Models the Near-Death
Experience’ by a team of UK researchers associated with the Psychedelic
Research Group at Imperial College London. Aiming to study the apparent
similarities between the psychedelic substance and NDEs, the researchers gave
both DMT and a placebo to 13 participants, then asked them to complete a scale
of the characteristics of NDEs.
The results were reported as showing a significant overlap
between the two types of experience. As the researchers concluded,
"Results revealed significant increases in phenomenological features
associated with the NDE, following DMT administration compared to
placebo." This appears to be true, but on closer inspection, the findings
of the paper still fall far short of establishing any strong connection between
DMT and NDEs.
Of the 16 items in the NDE scale used in the study, 9 items
showed a high degree of ‘crossover.' These included an ‘unearthly environment,’
a sense of peace, heightened senses, harmony/unity, altered time perception,
feeling of joy, bright light, and so on. However, all 9 of these
characteristics are generally associated with ‘spiritual’ or ‘mystical’
experiences, rather than just NDEs. It is well known that NDEs have a strong
spiritual or mystical element to them, which is partly why they have such a powerful
life-changing effect. But NDEs are not just spiritual experiences. And
significantly, the 7 items in this study where there was the least crossover
between NDEs and DMT were those which differentiate NDEs from standard
spiritual experiences. For example, three of the most salient specific
characteristics of NDEs are a feeling of reaching a ‘border/point of no
return,’ ‘encountering deceased/religious spirits,’ and a life review. In this
study, these were amongst the least reported in DMT experiences.
In other words, what this study seems to indicate is a
relationship between DMT experiences and spiritual or mystical experiences.
Since we already know that NDEs contain some of the same elements of spiritual
experiences, it is not surprising that there is some relationship between NDEs
and DMT experiences.
In view of this, there is no reason to jump to the conclusion
that NDEs are associated with DMT. Other researchers - such as Rick Strassman -
have suggested that NDEs may be caused by the release of DMT when a person is close to death, or in
the process of dying. However, there is no evidence that large amounts of DMT
are released close to death. It is not even certain that DMT is produced in the
human body (although it has been found in the pineal gland of rats).
The After-Effects of NDEs
But perhaps one of the strongest arguments against any
connection between NDEs and DMT is their after-effects. As described in the book, Spiritual
Science, in the great majority of cases, NDEs are powerfully transformative
experiences. After them, a person's values and attitude to life are completely
transformed. People often become less materialistic and more altruistic, less
self-oriented and more compassionate. They often feel a new sense of purpose,
and their relationships become more authentic and intimate. They report
becoming more sensitive to beauty, and more appreciative of everyday things.
They also typically report a loss of the fear of death.
It’s remarkable that one single experience can have such a
profound, long-lasting transformational effect. This is illustrated by research
showing that people who have near-death experiences following suicide attempts
very rarely attempt suicide again. This is in stark contrast to the normal
pattern – in fact, a previous suicide attempt is usually the strongest
predictor of actual suicide.
This is one of the strongest arguments against the idea that
NDEs are a brain-generated hallucination. Dreams and hallucinations do not
generally have transformational after-effects. They are usually quickly
forgotten, with a clear sense that they were delusional experiences, less
authentic and reliable than ordinary consciousness. (In contrast, with NDEs
there is a clear sense that the experience is more real and authentic than
normal consciousness.)
And this applies to DMT experiences, too. There is no doubt
that psychedelic experiences such as DMT can sometimes be transformative to
some degree. For some, they provide a glimpse a more expansive and intense
reality which makes them realize that their normal view of the world is
limited. They may lead to a new interest in spirituality. However, DMT
experiences are certainly not transformational to anything like the same degree
as NDEs. In a 2012 paper in the Journal
of Near-Death Studies, Dr. Michael Potts examined the similarities between NDEs
and DMT and also concluded that salient features of NDEs are absent (such as
traveling through a tunnel into a transcendent realm or the subsequent
reporting of events witnessed during the experience). But most notably, in
Potts’ view, DMT lacked the powerful transformative after-effects of NDEs. He
concluded that in NDEs permanent change is the rule rather than the exception,
whereas it is the exception rather than the rule with DMT.
One of the team of researchers who carried out the DMT study
I have described here concluded that, “These findings are important as they
remind us that NDEs occur because of significant changes in the way the brain
is working, not because of something beyond the brain.” However, this
conclusion is unwarranted. This study provides little evidence that NDEs occur
due to significant changes in the brain, so the jury is still out. In my view,
the idea that NDEs are due to something 'beyond the brain' is still a very
viable possibility. As suggested in Spiritual Science, there is a powerful
argument in favor of the idea that consciousness is fundamental to the universe
rather than just produced by the human brain. As a result, there are some
circumstances in which consciousness can continue independently of the brain.
See you all tomorrow.
Buh-bye.
I have seen many near death experience while driving tour bus. It is real and scary !
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