Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife

 

 

One of the leading authorities on Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), Gregory Shushan has traced NDEs though many Polytheistic cultures, ancient and modern. In his research, he finds that the visions occurring during NDEs and beliefs about the Afterlife co-created each other. In documenting NDEs as spiritual revelations for the community, Shushan thinks that the two go hand in hand, since both are experienced in religious terms.

 

In several examples, Shushan found that NDEs feature divine revelations. Muh of Tsin (in China) (658-620 BCE) visited the Emperor of Heaven. Meanwhile, in “Plato’s Myth of Er” (380 BCE), the soldier Er was given a tour of the otherworld, which included the revelation of the fates of noted Greek figures by otherworld judges. Later the Belgian Christian saint, Christina the Astonishing (1150-1224 CE) described how she was taken by “angels of God – the ministers of light” to “a dark and terrible spot which was filled with the souls of men.” From these examples and others, Shushan theorizes that NDEs can be the basis for afterlife beliefs. According to him, the two co-create the other since NDEs are rooted in pre-existing cultural factors.

 

In the poem, “Bilgames and the Netherworld” (the Twelfth Tablet of “The Epic of Gilgamesh”), concepts of the netherworld of Mesopotamia are developed. Bilgames (Note 1) meets Utu the Sun God, so that he can to ascend into the heavens. While there, he meets the other Gods, who decree his fate. Enki decides that Bilgames must live in the netherworld as a judge of the dead. After returning to his body, Bilgames arranges his tomb and dies.

 

Although the “Myth of Er” appears in Plato’s “The Republic” at the end of Book Ten, several modern researchers treat it as a NDE of an actual person. Whatever it is, the myth does describe a version of the Greek Afterlife. At the end of the myth, Er returns to his body and wakes on his funeral pyre. Whether this myth is Plato’s ideas of the Afterlife or is reported to be Er’s, it contributes to Western ideas of what the Afterlife is like.

 

Plato tells of people drinking from the River of Forgetfulness, after they have journeyed to the Plains of Oblivion. He ends his myth as “And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and has not perished, and will save us if we are obedient to the words spoken; and we shall pass safely over the River of Forgetfulness and our soul will not be defiled.” (Note 2)

 

Meanwhile, Plutarch describes the experience of Thespesius of Soli (81 CE) as an NDE, in “On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance.” (Note 3) He travels to a place where the stars radiated light. Amazed, Thespesius could see everything around him. After meeting his deceased relatives, he went on a tour of various places of reward and punishment. Afterwards, Thespesius returned an altered man, honest and devout.

 

In “Near-Death Experiences in Ancient Civilizations,” Shushan concludes, “In NDEs and the texts of all our civilizations, life after death entails multiple experiences and intermediate states with progression to an ultimate transcendence. As seen, attempts to explore such diverse experiences and beliefs in linear ‘either/or’ terms are unsuccessful. Instead, they’re best seen in terms of the recurring theme of the metaphysical reconciliation of opposites.”

 

In “Myths of the Afterlife,” Annamaria Hemingway examines contemporary otherworldly journeys and says that people’s lives and beliefs have been transformed in their glimpsing of other realms. They bring back stories of how to face death with the knowledge of the land of the Dead. Most importantly, NDEs do lead to new beliefs or change existing ones. Hemingway concludes, “Contemporary Near-Death Experiences may well manifest as living myths that continue to reflect the sacred principles of many ancient world religions and mythologies concerning life after death.” (Emphasis Hemmingway)

 

Therefore modern NDEs can lead Polytheists to know more about the Afterlife. My NDE had me meeting Anubis and Hekate in the Land of the Dead. That confirmed to me that They were liminal Gods who cared about the dying and the newly Dead. Perhaps Polytheists can share their NDEs for further understandings of the Afterlife.

 

Core Features of NDEs

Shushan lists nine core features of NDEs. (Not all cultures have all nine in their narratives but all contain a majority.) (Note 4)

 

Out of Body experiences and ascent

The ascent could be a stairway, bird or a boat that allows for the body to rise. Meanwhile, the person’s NDE experiences are rooted in the body.

Corpse encounters

A person often ends up becoming a corpse and then revived.

Traveling through darkness

A person in a NDE ascends and descends through a dark tunnel into darkness before seeing a light.

Deceased relatives and ancestors

A person will meet their relatives.

Beings of light

A person meets angels, rays of light, or actual deities.

Evaluation of one’s earthy life

Usually a deity will give the person a life review.

Barriers and obstacles

When crossing into the Afterlife, a person will encounter rivers, face demonic beings or experience trials.

Divinization and transcendence

Many are transformed and some become Gods.

Other realms and the return to the true state of being.

The person’s soul goes wandering often finding the realm of creation or a point of origin.

Notes:

Note 1. Bilgames (Bilgamesh, Gilgamesh) is believed to have ruled Uruk (Southeast Mesopotamia) around 2750 BCE.

 

Note 2. Translation: Benjamin Jowett, “The Dialogues of Plato in Five Volumes.” 1892.

 

Note 3. Latin scholars believe that Plutarch’s “On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance (De Sera Numinis Vindicta): Myth of Thespesuis” is a philosophical essay, and not about an actual person.

 

Note 4. Gregory Shushan, “Near-Death Experiences in Ancient Civilizations.” Inner Traditions. 2025.

 

Further Reading:

Joshua Cutchin, “Ecology of Souls.” Volumes One and Two. Horse and Barrel Press. 2022.

Gregory Shushan, “The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife.” White Crow Books. 2022.