Why would someone with a doctorate in economics decide to write a book about near-death experiencers? Amsterdam’s Dr. Robert Coppes is uncertain about the genesis of his interest although he did read Dr Raymond Moody’s book in 1975, Life After Life, the first account of near-death experiences. As a medical doctor, Moody risked his reputation with his research presenting a metaphysical concept of life after death.Coppes’s recent book, Impressions of Near-Death Experiences (Iands), presents generally contemporary stories from over 100 experiencers.
Some have written and spoken widely of their experiences, including Anita Moorjani and Eben Alexander. Others have been reluctant to share, fearing ridicule or disbelief. Coppes related some of his interviews in an Iands presentation that underscored the validity of these stories—the similarity of their events and the changed lives that the experiencers now enjoy. Coppes discovered that they are some of the best tutors for how to live this life.
According to the experiencers, what we see of reality limits our perception of what actually is. They have simultaneously seen the front, back, top, and sides of something. We as humans on earth can only see the front OR the back OR the sides, not all of them at once. They have had different, and ineffable, experiences—from accidents, cardiac arrest, or psychological hardships. Coppes notes that such differences make research problematic. Verbalizing the breadth and depth of their situations becomes almost impossible. Language limits explanations of what NDEers have seen. Coppes compares them to playing Beethoven on a bucket or painting like Rembrandt with two colors of chalk. They all learn so much more than they can recount after returning to their bodies; one compared reentry to an elephant trying to squeeze into a Coca-Cola bottle.
A generality of these experiences is being out-of-body. One person surveyed the scene of her car crash from outside it. She watched the driver who hit her go to her car and turn off the lights so it would look like she was at fault. She won in court, not because the judge believed her but because the defense did not appear. Another woman hovered near the hospital ceiling, surprised that the woman below had a nightgown like hers. She did not realize at first that she was looking down at her own body. She heard her husband talking on the telephone and then found herself in the location of the person to whom he was speaking. A third woman went into her synagogue during a lightning storm, turned around to see what everyone was watching, and saw a woman on the ground outside with a burned umbrella. She realized that that body was hers. The examples continue.
Most of them have life reviews which show no judgment of what they have done. They see their own actions and the reactions of those whom they have either hurt or helped. If they have smiled, they see the pleasure of the recipient. If they have hurt an animal, they feel the animal’s pain. The judgment, therefore, comes from each of the experiencers themselves, not from beings on the Other Side.
The main things the experiencers repeatedly espouse, according to Coppes, are:
- Heaven is for all—no exceptions. People may choose evil in this life, but their souls, not their egos, are pure.
- We cannot imagine how much we are loved, and we ourselves are all love.
- We are One with everything in the universe. Everything is part of the “divine all.”
- Whatever someone does to someone else does the exact same thing to himself/herself.
- NDEs are real, based on veridical observations.
- Everyone on earth, now and for all times, is important.
- The greatest lesson is to love, be loved, and just be, just experience life.
Coppes includes these observations and many more from his interviews in his fascinating book. Other important physical results also affect NDEers. Estimates of how long an experiencer takes to reintegrate with life on earth is around seven years. Some become depressed. Many may not be able to tolerate electrical currents—interference with lights, cell phones, or other items. They often feel others’ emotions. They can become more psychic. They realize that organized religion is not as advertised and become more spiritual. And none are afraid of death. Light and unconditional love surround all of us. We just need to notice it. The feeling resembles air pressure because it is all around, but no one observes it. All who have had NDEs say that they now know that “we are one;” “all is everything, and everything is one;” and “God is in everything and unites us all.”