Near-Death Survivors Experience ‘Purposeful Life Review Without External Signs of Consciousness’: Study

Some people experiencing cardiac arrest recalled a meaningful experience of death, including a lucid purposeful review of their time on Earth.

An emergency medical technician lowers a patient from an ambulance outside the emergency room at the Community Hospital of Huntington Park in Huntington Park, California, on Dec. 29, 2020. Bing Guan/Reuters

“I do remember a being of light … standing near me. It was looming over me like a great tower of strength, yet radiating only warmth and love … I caught glimpses of my life and felt pride, love, joy, and sadness, all pouring into me.

“Each image was of me, but from the standpoint of a being standing with me or looking on … I was shown the consequences of my life, thousands of people that I'd interacted with and felt what they felt about me, saw their life and how I had impacted them. Next, I saw the consequences of my life and the influence of my actions.”