Both experience a profound shift in perspective that catalyzes lasting changes in their lives. How do such disparate experiences result in such common aftereffects? We may find an answer to this question by examining near-death experiences and the overview effect.

Psychiatrist Raymond Moody first coined the term “near-death experience” (NDE) in his 1975 book Life After Life. Moody described common elements shared by individuals who experienced a close brush with death. These include:

1. Ineffability — an inability to describe the experience in words

2. Hearing the news — hearing someone pronounce them dead

3. Feelings of peace and quiet — extremely pleasant feelings and sensations

4. The noise — auditory sensations such as a buzzing or music

5. The tunnel — a sensation of being pulled through a dark space, such as a tunnel or void

6. Out-of-body experience — the experience of being outside of one’s own body

7. Meeting others — contacting deceased loved ones or spiritual beings

8. A being of light — an encounter with a being of light which communicates with them and may tell them they have to return to their physical body

9. Life review — seeing one’s entire life displayed before them

10. A border or limit — a border such as a body of water or a fence across a field may be approached

11. Coming back — many do not want to return to their physical body, but they feel drawn back by some unknown........

© Psychology Today