The Intersection of NDEs and Dreams,
by Jody Long and Dr. Jeffrey  Staff Emails

INTRODUCTION

        The Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) website has a forum for experience submission that asks near death experiencers (NDErs) whether the experience was dreamlike in any way.[1]  One would expect to find that most NDErs report dreams or dreamlike experiences resulting from brain chemistry, medication, substances, or emotional status at the time of death.  However, the opposite turned out to be true.  Participants had various mental and emotion make-up prior to and after death.  They had various causes of death.  And they had either, various doses and types of medicine or substances in their body, or nothing at the time of death. All of these factors would tend to discount medical, psychological, or brain chemistry arguments.  Therefore, the connection between dreams and NDEs is not due to any mental, emotional, physical or drug-related brain-chemistry.  By looking at the Greyson NDE scale, NDERF research results, and comparing these to qualities we know about dreams, we can get an empirical glimpse of the reality of consciousness.

 METHODOLOGY

         NDERF has a website that asks questions about elements of NDEs.  NDErs submitted their answers via the form on the website.  The questions consist of a mixture of yes and no questions, check all that apply, and narrative responses.  Many of the yes/no and check boxes provide double checks for internal consistency compared to the narrative description response.  The particular question that was analyzed, 'Was the NDE dream-like in any way.'  A total of 242 submissions were analyzed.  Answers were placed in the categories of unanswered, unsure, no, yes, and mixed answers consisting of both yes and no elements.  No answers that were excluded. 

RESULTS

        NDE answers were placed in the categories of unanswered, unsure, no, yes, and mixed answers consisting of both yes and no elements.  Out of 242 people answering the questionnaire, 177 answered no, 33 answered yes, 21 had mixed answers, 4 were unsure, and 7 did not respond.  There were no answers that were excluded. 

         Moreover, of 4 people answering that they were unsure if the NDE was dreamlike in any way, 2 of those people specifically stating that the NDE was more real than a dream.  Of those 33 who answered 'yes,' 13 distinguished exactly what parts were dreamlike, inferring that the rest of the NDE was not dreamlike.  This means that 73% of all of analyzed NDEs contained no dreamlike elements. 

DISCUSSION

         Since most NDErs answered that their experience was not dreamlike in any way, we need to look at what constitutes dreaming and why an NDE might be different. A near death experience is loosely defined as a collection of memories occurring at or after the time of bodily death.[2]  One of the most commonly reported events during the period of death but prior to being revived, is the out of body component of the NDE.[3]  The out of body component is also the part of an NDE that those NDErs who answered yes, mixed, or uncertain, reported as being the dream-like element of the NDE.  Because of the connections of the OBE state to dreaming, it may be fruitful to isolate this element of consciousness to better understand the connection between this world and the next.

Dreams are known because we all go to sleep and wake up again.  Dreams are those memories that we consciously recall upon waking up after sleep.  The common understanding is that dreams are the workings of the subconscious brain in processing our waking reality.  A more formal definition is a non-conscious electrophysiologic state while the body is alive.[4]  Carl Jung describes dreams as part of the collective unconscious.[5]

 

Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden, first used the term 'lucid dreaming' in 1913, when referring to the type of dream one consciously knows they are dreaming.[6]  Lucid dreaming is considered an altered reality, much like a dream, but one is usually asleep when the body travels.  Lucid dreaming appears to be a type of dream where a person is super-alert and is open to communication from the other side.  Frequently, people on earth are contacted by deceased relatives and loved ones through the lucid dreaming state as can be attested to on the after death communication website, www.adcrf.org. 

The similarities between OBEs and lucid dreaming were explored by Stephen LaBerge.[7]  In both, OBEs and lucid dreams, the person seems to have a waking consciousness, or something close to it.  Out of 572 people, about one-third of the group reported having had at least one OBE.  Just over 80 percent had had lucid dreams.[8]  People who had more dream-related experiences tended to report more OBEs.  For example of the 452 people claiming to have had lucid dreams, 39 percent also reported OBEs, whereas only 15 percent of those who did not claim lucid dreams said they had had OBEs.[9] 

When looking at the difference between OBEs and dreams, OBEs usually occur when the person is awake.[10]  The lucid dream starts more often when the subject is asleep, and the dream world is less distinct and real than the OBE world, allowing less controls and freedom of movement; in addition the person who has an OBE starting from the waking state never actually thinks he is dreaming.[11]  The imagery and activities of an OBE are more coherent and not as surreal as in a dream.[12]  OBEs tend to be like our earthly environment that we see in every day life. 

The OBEr is able to see clearly, but what is seen may not be quite like the physical and it appears to have some properties of a dream world or imaginary world.[13]  Interestingly, OBErs are adamant their experience was not a dream, while dreamers readily admit that the experience was a dream.[14]  Ordinary dreams are characterized by very cloudy consciousness at best, and are only recognized as dreams on waking up.[15]  However, during lucid dreaming, the dreamer will be adamant that the experience was real even though still classified as a dream.[16]  Most lucid dreams involved only the subject, but there are cases on record of meetings in lucid dreams. 

We know that NDEs occur after the body dies, so in this aspect, it does differ from a dream in that the physiological mechanism is different.  But then the question becomes, is experiencing the collective unconscious dependent on a living body and brain?  This of necessity leads one to ask what is consciousness anyways?  Although the study of NDE may not be able to answer that question, we can glimpse a spectrum of events attributable to consciousness by looking at NDEs and comparing them to dreams.

When looking at the particular characteristics of NDEs, the Greyson NDE scale, can be used in the investigation of psychological and clinical effects of a near-death event.[17]   The scale may also be used to test hypotheses regarding causes and mechanisms of NDEs.[18] Some distinguishing factors pertaining strictly to NDEs are distinctions between the hyperalertness, depersonalization, and mystical consciousness as opposed to elements typical in dreaming, and psychiatric patients who tend to exhibit mental clouding.[19]

On the other hand, one does not need to be psychotic or dead to experience dreams.  Moreover there are various types of dream practices that allow for discovery of the various aspects of dreaming.  Essentially, this means to bring the subconscious to the conscious mind and make sense out of what is discovered.  These practices include, dream recall, dream analysis, group dream discussions, Freudian and Jungian methods of subjectively questioning the experiencer about possible symbols and meanings in the dream, dream manipulation, dream problem-solving, and lucid dreaming.[20] 
 

The closest comparison of dreams to the NDE experience is lucid dreaming.  Dr. Wolfe describes lucid dreaming as, 'The skill to become awake and aware in one's dreams.  Initial lucidity usually occurs spontaneously.'[21] It should be noted that several NDE 'yes' responses did talk of the similarity between lucid dreaming and NDEs.  These comparisons were typically attributed to Shamans, or Native American religious practices.[22] Although, the accounts don't typically talk of the skill to consciously control one's NDE, lucid dreams can be controlled with practice.[23]
 

NDE answers were placed in the categories of unanswered, unsure, no, yes, and mixed answers consisting of both yes and no elements.  Out of 242 people answering the questionnaire, 177 answered no, 33 answered yes, 21 had mixed answers, 4 were unsure, and 7 did not respond.  There were no answers that were excluded. 

The primary reason for the question is to check for the Greyson NDE scale with the factors of hyperalertness, depersonalization, and mystical consciousness.  As expected, most experiencers describe their experience as lucid rather than dreamlike.  Admittedly, our definition of NDE, could bias the outcome of the results; yet exceedingly few NDEs are excluded due to 'non-lucidity,' as one can readily see since there are many included as NDEs who called the experience 'dreamlike.'  Inherent in this question is a bias that more people would respond with a 'yes' answer, since it would be expected that at least some component of the experience could be dreamlike.   However, the vast majority (73%) answered emphatically 'no,' and confirmed that the experience was not dreamlike in anyway. 

NDErs seemed to have various ideas of what 'dreamlike' means, with the greatest variety of definitions coming from the 'yes' and 'mixed' categories.  It is interesting to note that the comments from those in the 'no' category were generally 'no' or emphatically 'no,' confirming that the experience was not dreamlike.  Most of the comments were short, but contained some common threads. 

From the 'no' category, most defined 'dreamlike' by contrasting it with reality.  Several went so far as to contrast earth as the dream and the other side as reality.  Many would distinguish the NDE from a dream by comparing clarity of events, ease of exact recall, intense amazement that the event was happening.  When talking about the recall to the physical senses, Nate summed it up well by stating his experience was, 'very vivid, stereophonic, techno-color, [and] cinerama-like.'  Likewise, emotions were similarly intensified. 

Another defining characteristic of dreams seems to be the flow of events and the subconscious realization that we can change those events.  Here, it is noted that the sequence of events does not get interrupted, like in a dream on earth and the alarm clock goes off.  Geraldine noted, 'I never get that emotional and in dreams usually seem to have own will and know can change them.'  Tsalagi commented that the experience was 'not floaty and didn't jump between topics as in dreams.'   However, some NDErs have reported that they changed the course of events by praying to a higher power and were instantly taken from a hellish existence to a heavenly one. 

On the other hand, the NDErs who answered as 'yes,' 'mixed' or 'unsure' were generally not as emphatic about their answers as those who answered 'no.'   The 'yes,' 'mixed,' and 'unsure' answers seemed to focus more on the out of body component of the experience by likening the floating sensation or that of moving without effort to what they experience in dreams.  Many who answered as 'mixed' would distinguish that after the out of body component of the NDE, the rest of the experience was not dreamlike.  Several likened the experience to a dream, but specifically noted it was without pain.  Others found similarities to dreams due to the lack of control over their environment.

Moreover, of 4 people answering that they were unsure if the NDE was dreamlike in any way, 2 of those people specifically stating that the NDE was more real than a dream.  Of those 33 who answered 'yes,' 13 distinguished exactly what parts were dreamlike, inferring that the rest of the NDE was not dreamlike.  This means that 79% of all of the NDEs contained elements that were not dreamlike and that occurred after death.

The ineffability of the experience provides a clue for why many who answered 'yes,' could not seem to fit their experience into a category of earth experiences.  Many experiencers in the 'yes' and 'mixed' categories, expressed doubts regarding the reality of the experience and concluded it was dreamlike.  One experiencer called the NDE a dream to avoid ridicule from his wife and friends.  Interestingly, there were accounts from two children who grew up calling their experience a dream because they did not have the framework to call it anything else.   In their adulthood, and after discovering NDEs, they now define their experience as not dreamlike.  

Commentary on the study published in The Lancet, noted the same phenomena in van Lommel's study.[24]  Critics noted that four out of 37 patients who had not initially reported having an NDE, later claimed to have experienced an NDE.[25]  Much of this is attributable to definition of what constitutes an NDE, or lack of words to express the experience, or simply not being ready to share the experience yet.

From the evidence, it would seem that the majority of NDErs (73%), do not view their experience as dreamlike in any way.  Most emphatically stress the reality of the other side.  Most of the experiences are described as highly lucid, clearly remembered and recalled years later.  There also appears to be a heightened awareness of the physical senses and emotions, much more so than dreaming.  In fact, this heightened awareness and clarity of events seems to play a key role in NDErs concluding that earth is not as 'real' as the other side.  Lastly, such a high percentage of NDErs having such a lucid, clear, and ease of recalling the exact experience, after physical death would tend to rule out brain chemistry, emotions, psychology, or false memories as playing an important role in having an NDE. 

            However, based on the foregoing discussion, one cannot rule out the connection of consciousness between lucid dreaming and the OBE component of the NDE.  There appears to be an intersection point of consciousness that NDEs shares with dreaming that is not medically explicable.  Further study would be necessary to determine how this consciousness link relates to the world of the living and the dead.

            This is still a work in progress as we formally categorize the NDE data submitted via the website.  Additionally, our understanding of the data will be further enhanced by academic reading and subsequent analysis of others' research efforts.  We have digitized the Ken Ring archives and can compare and contrast his data with our data.  We can also get an idea as to the characteristics of consciousness because of the after death communication website www.adcrf.org  where communication frequently occurs during lucid dreaming.  The spiritual spectrum website www.oberf.org provides a more complete picture of consciousness in that it includes everything that is not an ADC or NDE. 

            Future analysis will include looking at the foregoing in conjunction with other questions on the form.  The relevant questions are:  Did anything in your life since the NDE reproduce any part of the NDE experience?; Was the incident difficult to express?; What was the level of consciousness?; and Was there consciousness apart from the body?