Science Says: What Happens After We Die?

Approximately thirty million people worldwide are estimated to have experienced clinical death and returned to life.

Intriguingly, nearly all of them report similar experiences during their time of death. Some even recount events happening near and far from their deceased body. Professor Kenneth Ring, a professor of consciousness at the University of Connecticut and founder of its Near-Death Experience Research Department, attributes this to modern resuscitation techniques that have brought many back from near death.

For the first time, scientists, doctors, and psychiatrists who have studied these cases for many years claim there is life after death. They have found common themes in the stories that suggest death is not the end.

Dr. Raymond A. Moody, a psychiatrist with a philosophy degree from the University of Virginia, recently published a book, 'Life After Life,' sharing testimonies of people who 'saw death.' These include terminally ill patients or accident victims declared dead but lived on as 'medical miracles.'

These individuals recount various elements from their 'death' moments: all of them could see and hear everything happening around their 'dead' body. Many experienced a dark tunnel and a bright, loving light. This 'being' communicated with them through transferred thoughts, and they saw deceased loved ones and clear images from their past.

All described in detail the surgeries they 'died' on or the wrecked cars they 'died' in, noting exact medical facts that doctors cannot fathom how they perceived while clinically dead, without pulse, breath, or brain waves.

One woman shared, 'I knew I was dying, but no one could hear me. I left my body, I'm sure of it, as I saw my lifeless form on the operating table and heard the doctors 'give up' on me. I felt terrible because I didn't want to die. Suddenly, I saw a light. It was dim at first but gradually intensified.

It was an immense light. It's hard to describe. It enveloped everything but didn't blind me. I could still see the operating room. When the light was upon me — or rather, when I was within the light, I didn't understand what was happening, but when it asked if I was ready to die, it felt like talking to a person. But it wasn't a person. It was the light talking... communicating. I knew it understood I wasn't ready to die. It felt like a test. I felt so good. I felt love and security.'

For years, eminent American psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross has been researching this phenomenon with great seriousness. 'I know beyond any doubt that life continues after physical death,' summarizes Ross, concluding more than twenty years of study:

'I am naturally skeptical, so I examined every aspect of this experience thoroughly. I found, for example, that people with amputated limbs recounted that once they left their bodies, they were whole as souls again. Moreover, those blind from birth described in stunning detail what people in the room wore or what jewelry they adorned, and what they did. It's impossible! How could they know that?' Kübler-Ross sees no need or point to convince others of the phenomenon's truth. 'Those open to hearing will hear, and those who close their ears will be surprised,' she assures...

Studies of the 'near-death' phenomenon indicate shared elements among millions of witnesses (30 million!) around the globe. The initial universal description is hovering outside and above the physical body. Witnesses report being conscious of all events around them. Then most describe entering a bright, beautiful environment and 'sliding' through a dark tunnel toward a bright light. Many recount a voice speaking to them. Disabled individuals spoke of liberation from restraints, and almost all noted the disappearance of the human fear of death.

These people could not have experienced hallucinations, given they saw what happened around their clinically dead bodies, even beyond the room some lay in.

Some described conversations between doctors, and others recounted events in the waiting room, beyond the operating room door.

Dr. Moody shares: 'In some cases, people told me how they astonished their doctors or others with reports of events viewed while outside their bodies. For instance, one girl left her body while dying and entered another hospital room where she saw her sister sitting and crying, muttering: "Kathy, please don't die, please don't die"... The elder sister was shocked when Kathy recounted after coming back to life exactly where she was and what she said. This dismisses any notion that these were brain hallucinations. Additionally, Dr. Moody explains that spiritual perception differs from physical body perception. One feels great clarity and the ability to move almost without limit. One can pass through room walls, see and hear what happens in other rooms, and even at more distant locations.

In some instances, people reported having no warmth sensation, whereas, in most cases, there were reports of pleasant 'warmth.' None of my cases reported any smell or taste while outside the physical body. On the other hand, the senses corresponding to physical sight and hearing are undoubtedly impeccable in the spiritual body and seem even more enhanced and perfected than in the physical life.

One man stated that while he was 'dead,' his vision was astoundingly sharp, saying he 'simply couldn't comprehend how he could see so far.' A woman who relived this experience remarked, 'It seemed like this spiritual sense had no limitation. As if I could look everywhere and anywhere.' This phenomenon is vividly described in the following excerpt from an interview with a woman who was out of her body after an accident: 'There was a lot of action, and people scurried around the ambulance, and every time I looked at someone wondering what they were thinking, I knew it like magnification, just like viewing things through a magnifying glass. But it seemed part of me—I’ll call it my spirit, was still where I was, meters from my body. When I wanted to see someone at a distance, it felt like part of me would go and direct to that person. At the same time, it seemed like if something happened somewhere in the world I could be there.'

The 'hearing' in the spiritual state can likely only be labeled as such by analogy, and most say they do not hear actual voices or physical sounds. It seems as though they perceive people’s thoughts around them, and as we’ll see, this direct thoughts transfer can play a significant role in the final stages of the dying experience. As one woman puts it: ‘I saw people around and could understand what they were saying. I didn’t hear their voices as I hear yours. It was more like knowing exactly what they think, but only in my mind—not in their actual words. I’d grasp it a second before they opened their mouths to speak.’ Lastly, based on a particularly special and fascinating report, even severe injury to the physical body doesn’t harm the spiritual body in any way. In this case, a man lost his leg in an accident that caused his clinical death. He knew because he clearly saw his damaged body from afar as doctors worked on him.

Yet, while outside his body: 'I could feel my body, and it was whole. I know this. I felt whole, and I felt complete even though it wasn't so.' Before we move on to the list of researchers and books on the subject, it is important to emphasize that the studies mentioned should not be seen as comprehensive and capable of knowing everything that happens at death, as we cannot know all that occurs with the deceased, and it is Hashem’s will that they don't remember everything.

Furthermore, we must remember that these individuals ultimately didn’t undergo the entire death process since they returned to this world, making it impossible to conclude from their testimony how exactly the death process happens for one who would ultimately die. Additionally, the researchers and studied participants are typically non-Jews, and the essence and level of a Jewish soul differ significantly, and also the obligations of mitzvot (613 for Jews versus 7 for non-Jews) are much greater, hence the greater demands and rewards for Jewish souls in the heavenly court.