What do we make of near-death experiences?
People who have been clinically dead for minutes return with lucid, structured accounts of what happened to them. These experiences often change the whole direction of their lives, dissolving fear of death and reorienting them toward compassion, meaning, and truth.
Last week, I had the chance to speak with someone whose work has shaped the entire field of near-death research, and who has challenged some of our deepest assumptions about consciousness, life, and death: Dr. Pim van Lommel.
Dr. van Lommel is a Dutch cardiologist who has carried out the first large, systematic study of near-death experiences (NDEs) among cardiac-arrest patients. His research was published in The Lancet and is now cited all around the world. In our conversation, he explains what led him from strict medical materialism to the hypothesis of nonlocal consciousness: the idea that awareness does not arise from the brain, but is only filtered through it.
In our conversation, we explore:
how people report clear, structured consciousness during periods when brain activity is absent
the meaning of “enhanced consciousness”, a term he uses for the expanded clarity, perception, and insight reported in NDEs
the difference (and overlap) between NDEs, psychedelic states, dreams, and deep meditation
why certain transformations after NDEs (loss of fear of death, moral clarity, compassion, and a sense of interconnectedness) appear to be universal
what NDEs might mean for science, for spirituality, and for the way we understand our lives
The conversation got personal as well. I shared a number of experiences from my own life, relating to the deaths of loved ones, and also one powerful vision I had during a psychedelic ceremony. These are experiences I’ve always struggled to make sense of, and Dr. van Lommel’s work has finally given me the courage to give them the attention they deserve.
If you’re interested in the limits of science, the nature of consciousness, and in understanding that mysterious threshold approaching us all, I think you’ll find this conversation meaningful.
With love and gratitude,
Simeon
