Preparing for the Miraculous

idge across the afterlife 149protected and which they use to cross over directly into theLight. They are able to report this kind of experience because,after having been clinically dead, they came back tolife. Although the first reports date from the Second WorldWar, “near-death experiences” started drawing the interestof the general public because of the 1975 book Life After Lifeby Raymond Moody, a medical doctor. According to a laterGallup poll no less than 8 million Americans claim to havehad a near-death experience. Students of the phenomenonclaim that the number of near-death experiencers may bemuch higher, as many persons who have gone through theexperience are reluctant to talk about it for fear of ridicule.The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines “near-deathexperience” as follows: “Mystical or transcendent experiencereported by people who have been on the threshold ofdeath. The near-death experience varies with each individual,but characteristics frequently include hearing oneselfdeclared dead, feelings of peacefulness, the sense of leavingone's body, the sense of moving through a dark tunneltoward a bright light, a life review, the crossing of a border,and meetings with other spiritual beings, often deceasedfriends and relatives. Near-death experiences are reportedby about one-third of those who come close to death. Culturaland physiological explanations have been offered, butthe causes remain uncertain. Typical aftereffects includegreater spirituality and decreased fear of death.”As this definition indicates, “the near-death experiencevaries with each individual.”Yet Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, “after listening to thousandsand thousands of people,” found that there are foursuccessive main phases. 33 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: The Wheel of Life, pp. 195 ff.