(OPINION) A Kentucky radiation oncologist who has spent the last 25 years studying near-death experiences says his research confirms that there is life after death.
Jeffrey Long, the founder of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, told Business Insider that he was studying how to best treat cancer using radiation when he stumbled across an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association describing near-death experiences.
“It stopped me in my tracks,” he explained. “All my medical training told me you were either alive or dead. There was no in-between. But suddenly, I was reading from a cardiologist describing patients who had died and then came back to life, reporting very distinct, almost unbelievable experiences.”
Long said he began to study near-death experiences or NDEs from a scientific standpoint and realized there were a few common themes in the described experiences.
“No two NDEs are the same. But as I studied thousands of them, I saw a consistent pattern of events emerging in a predictable order. About 45% of people who have an NDE report an out-of-body experience,” he shared.
He added, “The person can see and hear what’s happening around them, which usually includes frantic attempts to revive them.”
“After the out-of-body experience, people say they’re transported into another realm. Many pass through a tunnel and experience a bright light.
Then, they’re greeted by deceased loved ones, including pets, who are in the prime of their lives. Most people report an overwhelming sense of love and peace. They feel like this other realm is their real home,” Long continued.
Charlotte Holmes from Missouri described a similar experience to CBN.
Holmes was clinically dead for 11 minutes after suffering a stroke. She shares that she watched the nursing staff revive her before she was escorted to the “Pearly gates”.
“They called a code and they come running in. I was above my body. I could see them doing chest compressions. I could see them, all the nurses around. I could smell the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever smelled. And then I heard music. And when I opened my eyes, I knew where I was. I knew I was in Heaven,” she said.
“There is no fear. It’s like pure joy. When the angels take over, there is no fear. When you are going home, it’s pure joy,” she added.
