On the last Sunday in June we had a service devoted to Life after Life. This week I follow this up with a summary of some work which has been undertaken by one of the members of the Alister Hardy Trust – Dr Penny Sartori whose doctoral thesis was devoted to the study of near-death experience (NDE).
Penny Sartori was working for the NHS in a Swansea Hospital and specialised in looking after those who were so seriously ill that they were undergoing intensive care. She was inspired to undertake this research after one of her long-term intensive care patients begged her to let him die in peace. The event shook her deeply and eventually led her to enrol in a PhD program to research NDEs. This was undertaken under the supervision of Professor Paul Badham (Director of the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre in Lampeter University (now known as University of Wales Trinity Saint David)).
Her work in the intensive care unit (ITU) gave her the ideal opportunity to study those who were possibly likely to need resuscitation following, for example, cardiac arrest. Obviously, one doesn’t know whether or not a patient is likely to require resuscitation and even if they do, and it was successful, one still doesn’t know whether or not they are going to have an NDE.
It was a question, therefore of being prepared by setting up an experiment that could investigate whether or not a patient who claimed to have had an NDE did indeed have such an experience. Many of those who claim to have had an NDE have a sensation of being out of the body, looking down upon that body. Within the ITU there were a number of cupboards and it was felt that if a number of readily identifiable objects were placed on top of these cupboards, then after a successful resuscitation the patient could be asked to list these items, or at least, some of them.
This experiment was conducted over a period of about three years during which a number of patients did indeed claim an NDE and the result was not exactly as expected. First of all it must be said that none of them identified the items on the top of the cupboards which indicated that either they did not have such an experience or that the out of body field of view was limited, with all attention being directed straight down onto the body of the patient. Penny changed her original questionnaire and asked the patients to describe precisely what they did see. Most of those who claimed the NDE were able to describe in some detail exactly what was going on while they were being resuscitated. Now, it could be argued that they were using their imagination to describe what they thought would have been happening as they were brought back to consciousness. The way of eliminating this possibility would be to ask those who did not claim an NDE but who nevertheless needed to be resuscitated, to describe the process of resuscitation. It was very interesting and satisfying to note that none of these patients was accurately able to describe the process of resuscitation. It was possible from this to deduce that the patient who was able to describe the resuscitation process correctly had indeed had a Near-Death Experience. As Penny writes: ‘The findings of the research were consistent with other research into NDEs and approximately 11-18% of people who survive a cardiac arrest are likely to report such an experience. When most patients regain consciousness, they are disoriented or have no recollection of anything whereas those who reported an NDE described a heightened state of awareness and some (as mentioned) accurately described events that occurred while they were unconscious. Even more intriguing is the ways in which NDEs can totally transform the person’s life in a very positive way.’
I think the next and even more interesting stage to examine, is what does the proven existence of the NDE really tell us. First of all, it gives credence to the many accounts of such experiences that we hold in the archive; perhaps the most common description of a such an experience is a sense of moving down a tunnel of light with a feeling of ecstasy. But secondly, we must remember that the person who reports an NDE did not actually die – their brain may have ceased to function for a very short while, but the resuscitation process prevented them from actually dying.
As a Christian, I think we can draw the conclusion that these experiences give some confidence to the hope of some form of eternal existence, which, of course, brings us back to the service of a fortnight ago.
Dr David Greenwood d.greenwood@uwtsd.ac.uk July 2020
Reference: Sartori, Penny. Wisdom of Near Death Experiences – How understanding NDEs can help us live more fully. Watkins. 2014 256 pp paperback
This book investigates the wide range of near-death experiences (NDEs) of patients that Penny Sartori has encountered during her nursing career, as well as the hundreds of cases of people who have reached out to her over the years. Dr Sartori argues that, by pathologising the NDE, we are missing out on vital insights that can empower us to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. Dr Sartori does not offer superficial physiological or psychological explanations for why these experiences take place. Rather, the crucial point of this book is that NDEs undoubtedly occur and have very real, often dramatic, and life changing aftereffects. Further to that, the wisdom gained during the NDE can be life enhancing and have hugely positive effects on those who don’t have an NDE – all we have to do is take notice of and hear what these people have to say. A greater understanding of NDEs can not only enhance the way in which we care for dying patients, but also revolutionise our current worldview. This book encourages readers to take notice of and incorporate the wisdom and powerful messages of NDEs into their own lives.
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