Knowledge and the near-death experience (3)

9 0

NDEs often include an encounter with a heavenly light. However, very few NDErs, such as Lynnclaire Dennis, have ever brought back a detailed scientific description of the light’s complex geometric structure and movement. In her 1997 book entitled The Pattern, Lynnclaire first described in detail her amazing NDE and description of this light. She describes it as an all-connecting pattern of light – a three-dimensional mandala representative of time and space, and the energy generating matter.

Because she experienced The Pattern as pure love, she has always maintained it to be the reason why love is all that matters. In simple terms, The Pattern is a knot; but not just any knot. The Pattern became of great interest to mathematicians, physicists, astrobiologists, and molecular geneticists who developed from it the “Mereon Matrix” – an algorithm representing the unification of knowledge which relies on whole systems both living and life-like. It is a scientific framework charting the sequential, emergent growth process of systems.

A European astrophysicist by the name of Metod Saniga used NDE research to develop a mathematical model of time which seems to offer solutions to problems vexing scholars since Einstein. In brief, Dr. Saniga takes seriously the testimony of NDErs when they describe experiences in a realm where “time stops” and where some of them “see the past, present, and future all at once.” Dr. Saniga describes this realm as “the Pure Present.” Dr. Saniga used these anomalous experiences to describe a single mathematical model which can account for both the conventional and the extraordinary ways humans experience time.

NDE researcher Dr. Melvin Morse described an NDEr who developed over 100 patents in molecular chemistry based on the information he received from his NDE: “I recently discussed these issues with theoretical physicists at the National Institute of Discovery Science. This is a consciousness think tank of national renown scholars in their individual fields. They explained to me that science states that reality is made of tiny nuclear particles, so tiny that it is unclear if they are actually matter or simply patterns of energy. All of the fundamental particles in this universe have at least two counterparts which have been documented as being real. These particles last for only a fraction of a second in this reality, yet they comprise the elemental building blocks of reality. In theory, there are at least three possible universes comprised of the three basic sets of subatomic particles.”

NDE researcher Dr. Jeffrey Long described how NDEs provide important spiritual knowledge. “Another concern of NDE sceptics is that experiencers do not return with information or ideas with immediate widespread use, such as a cure for cancer or verifiable new scientific understandings. There have been anecdotal reports suggesting the contrary, but in my experience, experiencers generally do not return with such information. Failure to receive a specific hoped-for gift is not a valid criticism of NDEs. The gift experiencers do return with is generally varied and spiritual in nature, often including the concept of love and a lack of fear of death. The gift to experiencers of better understanding love and their purpose on Earth is a very important gift, suggesting these understandings are among the most important aspects we can accomplish. NDE studies provide a tantalizing glimpse of what this other reality is, and provides some clues to humankind’s deepest questions of who we really are and our relationship with a greater reality. It is entirely reasonable to accept the NDE in the way the experiencers themselves almost uniformly perceive the experience: an encounter with another dimension of reality.”

Some NDErs have been able to successfully diagnose and heal people due to the aftereffects attributed to their NDEs. One example of this is documented in Tom Harpur’s documentary, Life After Death. Harpur interviewed a doctor whose name is Dr. Yvonne Kason who was almost killed in a plane crash into a lake which resulted in an NDE. After she recovered, she began to have interesting visions in her consciousness that she couldn’t explain. One of these visions concerned a friend of hers. When Dr. Kason thought of her friend, she would see a vision in her consciousness of a “brain covered with pus.” Dr. Kason knew that this was an excellent symbolic vision referring to the deadly disease meningitis. The problem was that her friend was perfectly healthy at the time, exhibited absolutely no signs of meningitis, and there was no reason to suspect she had it. Dr. Kason begged her friend to get tested for meningitis. After an amount of reluctance, her friend got tested. Surprisingly, the test was positive. As a result of Dr. Kason’s NDE, her friend was able to get treated for meningitis at its early stage before it had time to become deadly. Dr. Kason continues to have such visions. Her story affirms that useful elements are indeed brought back from NDEs.

NDE researcher Dr. Kenneth Ring describes an NDEr who was cured of cancer during his NDE: “One quite remarkable instance was shared with me by Howard Mikel, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Wichita State University in Kansas, who investigated this case very thoroughly and can authenticate it. The story, in brief, involved a patient by the name of Ralph Duncan, who in the mid-1970s was dying of leukaemia. He apparently was told he had only a short time to live and was prepared to die. But while hospitalized, he had an NDE, and during it, he encountered a luminous being, whom he took to be Jesus (though Ralph observed that it did not look anything like the traditional images of him), and whose eyes were ‘shooting fire.’ In any event, there was then a telepathic communication from this being in the form of three shot phrases, which were: ‘That’s enough, it’s dead, it’s gone.’ These words, Ralph said, were still ringing in his ears as he returned to his body. Afterward, puzzling about all this, he was mystified about the significance of the phrase ‘That’s enough.’ But, he continues, ‘I do know what he meant when he said, ‘It’s dead.’ To me it meant that the germ was dead. I no longer have leukaemia.’ To my consciousness, however, the entire set phrases coheres meaningfully in the context of this healing. For instance, when the being, his eyes ‘shooting fire,’ says, ‘That’s enough,’ it means in effect, ‘I’ve zapped you with enough voltage for this to cure you.’ And then, ‘it’s dead, it’s gone.’ The last I heard about this case, in 1989, Ralph was still living near Boulder, Colorado.”

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) was a Christian mystic who had regular NDE-like journeys and brought back medical cures and information on future events that ultimately came true. In 1910, the New York Times carried two pages of headlines and pictures in which he was declared the “World’s Most Mysterious Man.” In 1954, the University of Chicago accepted a Ph.D. thesis based on a study of his life and work. Cayce is also considered to be the father of holistic medicine by JAMA, the prestigious medical journal. There is a complete list of the world events which Cayce successfully foretold before they occurred. Cayce was a wonder to the medical community because of his ability to diagnose and specify a treatment for gravely ill people from hundreds of miles away while out of his body. It is also documented that while in his out-of-body state, Cayce successful predicted the 1929 stock-market crash more than six months before it occurred, the Great Depression, outbreak of the First and Second World Wars, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, the independence of India, the creation of the State of Israel fifteen years before the event, the deaths of two American presidents, the existence of an unknown Jewish sect called the Essenes eleven years before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found (which was verified through archaeological excavations after his death.), invention of the laser in 1958, and his own death before his two sons returned home from overseas. For many decades now, the Edgar Cayce Foundation has been around to research the vast amount of information he received.

Although a large body of knowledge exists about the brain, “The brain has not explained the consciousness fully” according to renowned brain surgeon Wilder Penfield. Materialistic science has yet to produce a conclusive model of consciousness. This is mainly due to its inability to quantify first-person, subjective experiences. Materialism views only objective, observable experiments verifiable by third parties to be valid. The current scientific method relies only upon repeatable experiments to verify a hypothesis; but its limit is reached when quantifying consciousness. Mainstream materialistic scientists claim consciousness is produced entirely by the brain. This is analogous to claiming television sounds and images are produced entirely by television sets, despite the fact television sounds and images are produced by TV stations transmitting radio waves.

Forgetting Total Knowledge Upon Return

Conscious Forgetting of Knowledge

NDErs often describe encounters with vast, luminous realms of understanding – states in which knowledge is complete, instantaneous, and intimately woven into the soul. Yet those who return frequently speak of an unexpected limitation: only a fraction of that extraordinary insight can be carried back into earthly life. This perceived “amnesia” is not portrayed as a flaw but as an intentional aspect of the human experience, a veil that allows people to live, learn, and grow within the constraints of physical existence. Many NDErs describe receiving immense revelations – sometimes as downloads, images, or entire fields of information – only to find that those truths recede upon awakening in the body. What remains is often a deep emotional imprint, a sense of having known far more than can be expressed, and a gradual unfolding of insights over time. The following testimonies illustrate this recurring theme: the soul’s temporary immersion in total knowledge, the purposeful forgetting that follows, and the subtle ways fragments of that higher wisdom continue to guide life after the experience.

Martha Anne St. Claire learned that humans have spiritual amnesia of their pre-birth knowledge: “[Humans] have spiritual amnesia, having forgotten the knowledge we possessed before birth; there is a higher consciousness for each of us and it is important that we connect with God through prayer and meditation to be awakened in our souls.”

Sandra Rogers experienced unlimited knowledge which she couldn’t take with her upon return: “While I was in its (the Light’s) presence I had unlimited knowledge about anything I wanted to know……. I was also told that I could only take back the knowledge I needed to sustain myself, although I would be given insights to help others and me along the way as I continued my life journey.” When Rogers asked Jesus why she could not take all the knowledge back with her, she was told that it would result in her appearing and being considered “abnormal” to the rest of society.

Laurelynn Martin learned we are made to forget our higher knowledge to have human experiences: “We have chosen to forget most of our knowledge in order to come to Earth and have human experiences.”

Scott S. couldn’t recall all the information he downloaded: “To my dismay, I remembered the love, but could not remember or recall all of the extremely amazing information that had downloaded into me.”

Katherine D. downloaded images and information but couldn’t remember it upon return: “As I was being pulled backwards, I saw him (a Being of Light) ‘throw’ a stack of colour at me like a Frisbee. I felt like images and information were being downloaded into my consciousness……. I know I died. Now, I just want to know what the man in the tunnel downloaded to me.”

Brad downloaded knowledge which he couldn’t remember upon return: “I had a few ‘downloads’ during this tunnel experience, some of which I struggle to remember to this day. This pains me a great deal as I can remember the circumstance but I can’t remember the precise information I was gathering.”

Anne W. downloaded messages leading to the realization that we lose our awareness of Truth at birth: “As the messages were downloading within me, I would ‘get it’ and deeper wisdom would continue to unfold. I then realized our separation is at birth when we are born into the human condition and develop a human consciousness, where we lose our ‘awareness’ of the Truth, our oneness and unconditional love self that we really are.”

Jim B. downloaded information for unpacking upon return: “It was as if some of it was too big to immediately convey and was like a file I had to download, and then unpack when I got back. It is still unfolding.”

Sara A. downloaded knowledge like a computer to process later: “The whole experience reminded me of transferring a huge program from a website into a temporary internet file and then actually opening it onto your computer and allowing it to download fully at its own pace. This felt like it needed to occur in order for my body and consciousness to be able to handle and process the huge energetic shift and all the information that I had absorbed.”

Subconscious Remembering of Knowledge

NDErs often return to life with profound knowledge that does not fully surface in ordinary waking awareness. Instead, many NDErs describe returning to life with an inner reservoir of wisdom that lies just beneath consciousness – revealing itself only when the moment is right. Rather than retaining explicit memories of everything they encountered, NDErs frequently report that their insights are stored at a subconscious level. The following NDE testimonies illustrate how NDE knowledge often returns not as conscious recall, but as a subtle, intuitive awakening within the subconscious itself.

Kristen D. described her knowledge gained as subconscious memories: “They said that I would remember different pieces of knowledge as they became important, and that the knowledge would in all likelihood be subconscious.”

After his NDE, Timothy V. learned about truth through his subconscious: “I can say that when I hear people talk on the subject of life and the subject of why we’re here, my soul resonates when I hear the truth. I just know it is the truth. It’s more of a subconscious aspect.”

Carolyn B. learned that our subconscious knows what’s in our heart: “I came to realize that we often don’t even know what is in our own heart. I relate this also to the subconscious.”

Izzy‘s NDE modified his subconscious to remember his NDE knowledge: “During general anaesthesia, there was no recollection whatsoever. At a subconscious level, everything modified. I woke up after resuscitation with a totally different view on my brother’s death that occurred in 2004, and other loved ones who had passed away.”

Bernardita B. heard telepathic knowledge as the voice of her subconscious: “The voice I heard is not spoken. It was a voice of your subconscious. As if it was a telepathic communication.”

Renee M. learned her NDE allowed her subconsciousness to control her: “[I experienced] a big awareness ‘wake up’ to the point of transforming me totally! Allowing my subconscious to take control of my decisions.”

Knowledge About Pre-Existence

Numerous NDErs discover – or re-discover – that they possessed detailed knowledge about an existence before birth. This knowledge is often experienced as a remembering. NDEs often reveal a profound sense that our lives are part of a much larger spiritual reality. Many NDErs report memories of pre-existence – a state of awareness before birth where the soul chose lessons, relationships, and challenges for growth. During the NDE, some encounter a Council of Elders, wise and loving Beings of Light who help them understand their life’s purpose with a clarity that is difficult to retain on Earth. Others describe being shown their life’s mission, as a pathway of learning, service, and love they agreed to undertake. In these encounters, people frequently receive forgotten knowledge – insights about their soul’s origin, the interconnectedness of all life, or universal knowledge – though much of it fades upon returning to the physical world. Together, these elements suggest that NDEs offer brief access to a deeper, timeless “Intelligence” guiding the soul’s journey.

Knowledge About Earth Life

NDEs often come with amazing knowledge that touch nearly every dimension of earthly existence. Many NDErs report that Earth is a “school” for the soul, that life itself is God, and that human beings are spiritually interconnected. NDErs describe lovemaking as a sacred exchange of energy, religion as a partial reflection of greater universal knowledge, and prayer as actual connection between God and humanity.

Science and spirituality appear unified from the vantage point of the Light, while war and evil are understood as consequences of ignorance and separation rather than God’s will. NDEs frequently show suicide as a tragic interruption of one’s learning rather than a path to escape suffering. Death itself is revealed as a transition into a more expansive reality, often preceded by out-of-body experiences, seeing a silver cord connection to the body, and veridical perceptions validated later.

Some NDErs are shown possible futures, suggesting that human evolution is guided but not predetermined. Together, these insights form a coherent vision in which consciousness is primary, love is the fundamental law, and every life has meaning beyond what we can presently see.

Knowledge From the Life Review

NDEs often present knowledge as a remembering – a sudden, panoramic awareness of truth and interconnectedness. During the life review, NDErs describe an instant reliving their actions through the eyes and feelings of others, discovering that the ultimate measure of a life is the love one gives or withholds. This spiritual encounter unfolds in a realm of timelessness where past, present, and future seem to exist simultaneously, allowing consciousness to expand beyond the limits of the brain. Many report being lovingly told, “You’re not ready to die,” or “It’s not your time,” revealing that their Earthly mission is unfinished and that the wisdom gained – about compassion and spiritual growth – must be carried back to help others and increase their own soul’s development.

Knowledge About Afterlife Beings

NDEs often reveal a spectrum of afterlife beings and spiritual realities that expand our understanding of the soul and spirit. Many NDErs describe the soul as an orb or radiant sphere of consciousness guided by a Higher Self holding our higher knowledge and purpose. Encounters with luminous figures, such as Beings of Light, Jesus Christ, angels, compassionate spiritual guides, and even God, emphasize unconditional love, guidance, and the unity of all life. NDEs overwhelmingly report a universe governed by love, learning, and free will. These testimonies collectively suggest that the afterlife is populated by benevolent intelligences devoted to our growth and awakening.

Knowledge About Afterlife Realms

NDEs often reveal knowledge about afterlife realms. Many NDErs report first passing through a dark Void, a realm of stillness and pure awareness, before entering the tunnel filled with light and overwhelming love. Some NDErs recount brief journeys through hellish realms that reflect inner turmoil, followed by ascent into heaven, a realm of beauty, harmony, and unconditional love. Others describe Cities of Light, vast luminous realms inhabited by advanced souls, along with awe-inspiring heavenly structures such as the Temple of Knowledge, where timeless wisdom is imparted directly into the soul. Many also encounter a barrier or boundary – often a gate, river, mist, or line of light – representing the point beyond which returning to earthly life is no longer possible. Together, these realms illustrate a multidimensional afterlife designed for spiritual growth and the continued evolution of consciousness.

Knowledge About Afterlife Phenomena

NDEs often reveal forms of afterlife knowledge cantered on profound emotional states far beyond ordinary human perception. NDErs describe intense emotions – overwhelming love, peace, joy, and belonging – that feel more real and expansive than anything on Earth. Many report telepathic communication, where thoughts, feelings, and intentions are shared instantly and transparently without the limitations of spoken language. NDErs frequently hear heavenly music unlike any Earthly sound – harmonic, multidimensional, and alive – conveying wisdom, comfort, and a sense of macrocosmic order. Perhaps most powerfully, many NDErs describe a profound homecoming, a recognition of returning to a place of origin where they feel fully known, unconditionally loved, and truly themselves, as though awakening from a long journey back to their real spiritual home.

Knowledge About Afterlife Concepts

NDErs repeatedly explain that the brain cannot hold the vast amount of knowledge encountered in the afterlife. This limitation is often interpreted as (a) the physical body is not designed for full cosmic consciousness; (b) forgetting is part of the human experience; (c) Earth is a school where partial knowledge promotes growth; and (d) complete knowledge is restored after death. Our current “veil” of forgetting is therefore intentional yet purposeful.

NDEs often learn of higher afterlife concepts where the interconnectedness of karma, reincarnation, and even cosmic patterns akin to astrology becomes vividly understood. Many NDErs report being shown how their actions create consequences that shape future lifetimes, revealing karma not as punishment but as a compassionate learning system that guides the soul’s evolution. Some NDErs describe seeing their past and future incarnations as part of a larger cosmic design, where the soul chooses circumstances for growth in alignment with spiritual patterns that resemble astrological themes or soul contracts. These revelations frequently lead to profound aftereffects: heightened intuition, increased compassion, sensitivity to electronic energy, a sense of life purpose, and a deeper awareness of the unseen forces guiding human experience. For many NDErs, the transformative knowledge gained in this state permanently reshapes their understanding of life and the soul’s eternal journey.

Dr. Kenneth Ring’s study revealed NDErs receiving personal knowledge of reincarnation: “Seventy percent of the group of NDErs demonstrated belief in reincarnation. Claims have been documented by other researchers of direct knowledge of reincarnation which became available during the NDE itself. An example of this type of out-of-body research of knowledge can be seen in a letter written to Dr. Ring by John Robinson: ‘It is a matter of personal knowledge from what the being with whom I spoke during my NDE told me about my older son, that he had had fourteen incarnations in female physical bodies previous to the life he has just had’.”

For centuries, Christian doctrines have shaped how millions understand God, creation, human nature, sin, salvation, resurrection, and the afterlife. Yet in recent decades, NDEs have emerged as a remarkable spiritual source with hundreds of thousands of testimonies offering firsthand accounts of God, Jesus, angels, heavenly realms, and the deeper spiritual laws governing human life.

These modern experiences shed a new light on ancient teachings, revealing a spiritual depth often obscured by strictly literal interpretations. For example, NDE testimonies consistently describe God as love, light, and life – precisely the same attributes the Bible assigns to God. Many NDErs return with insights that correspond with the mystical traditions of Christianity while challenging literalist interpretations that developed centuries later. Concepts such as the Trinity, heaven and hell, resurrection, angels, judgment, salvation, and even the nature of Jesus himself take on expanded, spiritually coherent meanings when viewed through the combined lens of biblical symbolism and NDE testimony. Rather than contradicting Christianity, NDEs often illuminate its deeper spiritual reality.

Conclusion

Altogether, the NDE testimonies and research surveyed in this article suggest that knowledge, as revealed in NDEs, is far more than information stored in the brain. It appears instead as a living, luminous reality woven into the very fabric of consciousness itself. In the light, NDErs report knowing with a completeness that our ordinary consciousness can scarcely imagine: answers arrive before questions are formed, life’s events are seen in all their interconnections, and the great patterns of karma, reincarnation, and spiritual law are grasped in an instant. Again and again, NDErs insist that real knowledge is inseparable from love, and that what matters most in the end is not what we know in theory, but how we embody that knowing in compassion, forgiveness, and service to others.

If Earth is indeed a “school” for the soul, as so many NDErs affirm, then forgetting is part of the curriculum. The veil that obscures our pre-birth memory and our moments of total understanding is not a cosmic accident but a spiritual strategy. We are meant to struggle, to question, to grow from partial knowledge into deeper wisdom. NDEs portray this limitation as a gift: without it, free will, courage, empathy, and authentic moral choice would be impossible. In the afterlife realms, knowledge can be downloaded, remembered, and shared in an instant; but here on Earth, it should be sought, tested, and lived. The contrast between these two modes of knowing suggests that the purpose of life is not to become omniscient on Earth, but to deepen our capacity to love and to align ourselves with the higher knowledge we dimly sense and occasionally glimpse.

At the same time, the many NDE reports of telepathic downloads, Akashic Records macrocosmic “libraries,” life reviews of total knowledge, veridical perceptions, and even scientific or healing insights challenge purely materialist accounts of the consciousness. If blind people can see during NDEs, if the dying can accurately perceive events in distant rooms, if complex mathematical or medical knowledge can emerge from NDEs, then consciousness may not be confined to the skull. The NDE literature points toward a nonlocal consciousness that can tap into a vast informational field – a “matrix” or “grid” that remembers every thought, word, and deed. From this perspective, the brain is less a producer of consciousness and more a receiver or filter, limiting a much greater awareness to the narrow bandwidth of human life.

NDEs also illuminate the moral dimension of knowledge. In the life review, knowledge is the direct, felt understanding of how our choices affected others. We come to know ourselves as others experienced us, to see each word and deed in the light of love. In that realm, self-deception falls away, and what remains is a simple, piercing insight: every moment is an opportunity to learn and to love more. This is knowledge that judges no one from outside, yet reveals everything from within. It explains why many NDErs return with a transformed sense of responsibility, a desire to heal relationships, to live more honestly, and to use their time on Earth more wisely.

Ultimately, the knowledge revealed in NDEs is as humbling as it is exalted. It hints that we are eternal beings of light who existed before birth and will continue long after death; that our lives are embedded in a larger spiritual reality of spiritual guides, councils, and realms designed for spiritual growth; and that love is the underlying law of the universe. At the same time, it reminds us that we do not – and cannot – carry all this understanding consciously while in the body. What we are given instead is enough light for the next step: the revelation that we are known and loved, the conviction that our choices matter, and the sense that there is a deeper knowledge inviting us to awaken.

In this way, NDEs function as higher teachings for this world. NDEs invite us to treat every experience, every relationship, and every challenge as part of our soul’s education. They urge us to seek knowledge that expands our capacity to love, to be wary of beliefs that divide or diminish, and to honour the inner guidance that reveals a greater reality. NDEs show that what we learn – especially concerning love – is never lost. Our possessions, titles, and arguments we once clung to will fall away. What will remain – what will travel with us through the tunnel and into the Light – is the knowledge we have integrated into our being, and the love through which that knowledge has been expressed.

Note: The extraordinary revelation of Godly Attributes can help us, if we practice in a proper and constant manner, to “download” in our being the subtle, sublime, endless, eternal, free energy of Godly Attributes such as those of: Godly Consciousness, Godly Omnipotence, Godly Omnipresence, Godly Omniscience, Godly Instantaneity, Godly Synthesis, Godly Love, Godly Life, Godly “Home”, and hundreds more.

yogaesoteric
March 1, 2026