Understanding the Dying Process: Insights from a Nurse and Near Death Experiencer
By Bonnie Jennings RN NDE
As someone who has personally experienced a near death event, I consider myself an expert—at least in my own journey. My NDE occurred in 2019, and since then, I’ve found myself reluctant to read about others’ experiences. Before that time, I was drawn to many such stories, especially after my daughter’s car accident in 2002. Though she didn’t flatline during her two-month coma, she later described what’s commonly referred to as an out-of-body experience (OBE). Her account opened the door for me to explore many more.
However, I’ve often found that most of these narratives are deeply religious, often following a similar pattern: tunnels, angels, bright lights, and judgment. I’ve long wished there were more accurate, balanced accounts that reflect non-religious experiences—ones that don’t default to a hellish or heaven-bound framework.
Clinical Understanding of Death
To truly understand near death experiences, we must first understand the physiological processes of dying and death itself. As a registered nurse with hospice experience, I was trained to observe and officially pronounce death. That training gave me practical insights into the stages of death beyond the theoretical.
In medicine, death is not an on/off switch—it often unfolds in stages (Beech, 2006). Unless death is caused by something instant and severe—such as decapitation or catastrophic trauma—dying occurs in layers. The process involves the progressive shutdown of systems: cardiac, respiratory, and finally, neurological (Powner & Boccalandro, 2008).
Traumatic or rapid deaths may leave individuals unaware that they’ve passed. In such cases, anecdotal reports—especially from spiritual or shamanic traditions—suggest these individuals may linger in confusion, requiring guidance to fully transition (Moody, 1975; Ring, 1980).
The Light: Memory, Reincarnation, and Misinterpretation
One important note I feel compelled to share: Never tell someone to “go into the light.”
Many NDE experiencers report bright light encounters (Greyson, 1983), which are often interpreted religiously. However, in my experience, what is described as “the light” is actually a part of the memory-cleansing process. During my own NDE, I saw that light as a mechanism for preparing the soul for reincarnation—not divine judgment.
My experience aligns more with esoteric teachings, including Theosophy and Gnostic texts, which speak of reincarnation and memory wiping as part of soul evolution (Leadbeater, 1912; Steiner, 1924). Contemporary researchers like Dr. Michael Newton have also explored this in case studies involving hypnotherapy and the afterlife (Newton, 1994).
Basics of CPR and Clinical Death
Let’s revisit the CPR framework, which forms the foundation of modern resuscitation training (AHA, 2020):
C = Cardiac – The heart’s normal function and rhythm are crucial for life. Heart rates vary depending on age, activity, and health status. Athletic individuals may have resting heart rates in the 50s, while others range in the 60s to 80s. P = Pulse – A steady pulse indicates the heart is circulating oxygen-rich blood to tissues. Brain cells begin dying within 4–6 minutes without oxygen (Safar & Bircher, 2005), making timely intervention critical. R = Respirations – When breathing stops, oxygen stops circulating. Tissues become starved, resulting in damage to organs and brain tissue. Hypoxia can cause irreversible neurological damage if not corrected quickly.
This is why CPR must begin immediately. Basic Life Support (BLS) training teaches the 3–6 minute rule for survival with optimal outcomes—something all nurses, EMTs, and physicians are tested on during board exams and certifications.
My Recovery and Cognitive Rehabilitation
Following my NDE, it took three years to recover my cognitive and verbal abilities. Speech and occupational therapy were essential, especially since I initially struggled with basic tasks and communication. This phenomenon is consistent with anoxic brain injury recovery, which varies widely depending on the length of oxygen deprivation and individual resilience (Jain & Iverson, 2020).
Interpreting Near Death Experiences
If you’re reading or researching NDEs—especially as a nursing student—it’s important to root your understanding in the biological realities of the dying process. With a grounded framework, you can better assess which elements of a story are plausible, and which may be influenced by belief systems, hope, or even unconscious embellishment.
The mind is a powerful creative force—especially in states of heightened awareness, like those triggered by clinical death. It’s no surprise that people report elaborate experiences; the line between perception, consciousness, and metaphysical insight becomes very thin.
Insights from My NDE
There are many layers to death. One profound insight I was shown is that oxygen is intimately tied to memory. Without oxygen, memory dissolves. This is why, as I experienced it, the “light” functions as an erasure of memory—not a holy event.
Memory = Earth + Oxygen.
That equation remains etched in my understanding.
Another insight: Traveling at the speed of light is not the fastest form of movement in the universe.
What I experienced was far beyond light—it was instantaneous, occurring through the speed of thought. This has also been echoed in metaphysical literature, including the Law of One material (Ra, 1981) and quantum consciousness theory (Penrose & Hameroff, 1996).
Furthermore…
One cannot simply say, “I had a near-death experience,” without considering what defines death from a clinical standpoint. As someone who has experienced this firsthand, I know how powerful and transformative such events can be—but the difference between an out-of-body experience (OBE) and a near-death experience (NDE) is medically significant.
A true NDE involves the shutdown of the body’s vital systems. Clinically, this includes cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, and loss of oxygen circulation throughout the body. Once the heart stops, oxygen is no longer delivered to the brain, and irreversible brain damage begins in 3 to 6 minutes [1]. Without intervention—such as CPR or defibrillation—the tissues begin to die (necrosis), and the entire system starts to fail.
In some documented cases, the body begins to enter rigor mortis—the postmortem stiffening of muscles—within an hour, although it typically begins 2–6 hours after death [2][3]. These are biological facts, not spiritual theories, and they matter when we try to differentiate between a sensed experience and a physiological death event.
So yes, many people report OBEs—states of consciousness where they felt detached from the body—but unless the medical record shows cessation of heart and lung function, and often a successful resuscitation, we cannot accurately call it a near-death experience. That distinction isn’t meant to invalidate anyone’s experience. Rather, it helps ground these extraordinary events in the reality of human biology and death science.
As someone who has crossed that threshold, my understanding of these distinctions became clearer after I returned. The mystery remains, but the language we use to describe it matters.
References & Suggested Reading
American Heart Association (AHA). (2020). Basic Life Support Provider Manual. Beech, J. S. (2006). Death and Dying: Changes in Clinical Practice. Oxford University Press. Greyson, B. (1983). The Near-Death Experience Scale: Construction, reliability, and validity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 171(6), 369–375. Jain, S., & Iverson, L. M. (2020). Anoxic Brain Injury. StatPearls Publishing. Leadbeater, C.W. (1912). The Life After Death. Theosophical Publishing House. Moody, R. A. (1975). Life After Life. Mockingbird Books. Newton, M. (1994). Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives. Llewellyn Publications. Penrose, R., & Hameroff, S. (1996). Conscious events as orchestrated space-time selections. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 3(1), 36–53. Powner, D. J., & Boccalandro, C. (2008). Diagnosis of brain death. Current Opinion in Critical Care, 14(2), 127–132. Ra (Channeled by Carla Rueckert). (1981). The Law of One. L/L Research. Ring, K. (1980). Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the Near-Death Experience. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. Safar, P., & Bircher, N. G. (2005). Cardiopulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation. Elsevier Saunders. Steiner, R. (1924). Theosophy: An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos.
[1] American Heart Association. “Cardiac Arrest vs Heart Attack.” AHA. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cardiac-arrest
[2] Guyton, A.C., & Hall, J.E. Textbook of Medical Physiology, 13th ed. Elsevier, 2016.
[3] DiMaio, Vincent J.M. Forensic Pathology. CRC Press, 2001.
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