Albert Von St. Gallen Heim published a collection of near death experiences by mountain climbers who had fallen in the Alps, soldiers wounded in war, workers who had fallen from scaffolds and individuals who had nearly died in accidents or from near drowning. In each of these cases, all reported experiencing "life after death." The oldest known recorded NDE was by Plato towards the end of his book "Republic". Plato told the story of Er, a soldier slain in battle, and then revived ten days later on his funeral pyre. To the amazement of all, Er tells of having left his body and journeyed towards "a straight light like a pillar. It resembled a rainbow but was brighter and purer."

Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross published a landmark book called "On Death and Dying" that broke the established taboo about speaking of death. Listening to the stories of dying patients, she heard accounts of mystical experiences that suggested there was life after death.

After entering medical school in 1972, Raymond Moody Jr. had acquired 150 stories of people who had been pronounced dead, been revived then spoke of an afterlife. Influenced by Moody's books, Kenneth Ring was so moved by the implications of NDEs; he launched the first scientific study of this phenomenon. Five years later, Ring claimed to be able to verify Moody's work in "Life At Death." If true serious inquiry was out to establish the fact that NDE's isn't a dream, hallucination or the product of a person's imagination. It would prove to be a real even that happens to real people, regardless of their age, education or beliefs.

Phyllis Atwater says the situations that people experience and places they go vary enormously. She says some have entered a blue bubble and float around the accident scene they were involved in after they "die". Atwater mentions that others hop on a light ray and tour the Universe and view Earth from afar. Atwater states that occasionally children report they must visit animal heaven before they can go the heaven where people are. Atwater claims most often NDE experiencers enter bright realms that burst with light. Sometimes cities are encountered, other times a person finds themselves in a mountain meadow where they met Jesus and relatives that already passed over. Atwater said some people said they have become like a hen tending chicks in a nest while others claim to have been a vague shape floating on an empty plain or even as a point zooming through a sky full of colored lights. Only a small number claim to have had a terrifying hellish experience.

Atwater feels that during the NDE a presence is felt or a being appears whose "job" seems to be an assistant who helps the person see themselves and their life differently. According to Atwater this can be accomplished though dialogue, past life review or is suddenly "known". Susan Blackmore is convinced that the experiences comes form the persons own mind and rarely do they visit actual places on Earth and be able to provide evidence they were actually there.

Reactions of people to those who come back and tell their tale has changed in recent years. Some of the accounts were ignored or simply tolerated; only a few were believed and supported. As a result, people who had a NDE often refused to talk about them for fear of being thought mad. Although there is more interest and acceptance in NDE's today, some responses are still superficial. Any perceived sensationalism actually hurts the study of NDE's as the subject matter is being degraded not enhanced.

Atwater says a signature feature of a genuine NDE is brain enhancement; the majority comes back smarter than they were prior to the experience. She said they often shift to clustered thinking as opposed to linear with a marked ability to abstract, create and invent. Atwater found almost to a person they exhibit a hunger for knowledge and go on learning binges. Plus she finds most people that have experienced a near death experience eventually achieve an extraordinary state of physical health, possibly as a result of turning to alternative or complimentary healthcare and developing a more positive attitude. Many who claim to have a NDE often become more spiritual afterwards, becoming less interested in money and materialism. Many claim to start "knowing" God as opposed to "believing" in God. Atwater says whether one was an atheist or a member of a religion, they see spirit infusing all things and that a sense of sacredness takes on vitality that is awe inspiring.

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