‘Virtual NDE’ Synthesizes Common Elements Reported By Near-Death Experiencers, Offering Glimpse of What May Occur During Death Transition
/EINPresswire.com/ — The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) today unveiled “The Virtual NDE” video that uses virtual reality technology to synthesize common elements in near-death experience (NDE) reports, offering the world a highly visual look at what may occur during the transition from life to
bodily death.
Artist and digital technologist Virgil Wong, MFA, and artist and hypnotherapist Daniel Ryan, BFA, MS, collaborated with IANDS leaders in creating the video based on IANDS’s extensive collection of reported NDEs. “The Virtual NDE” may be viewed through virtual reality or 360 headsets, which offer the fullest experience, or by watching on a PC and moving the mouse to change the point of view. When watching on mobile devices, viewers may move the device from side to side or 360 degrees to see fuller effects.
Watching our near-death experience virtual reality video is a transformative experience that we hope will increase NDE awareness, give people hope and comfort, and drive important conversations…”
— Janice Miner Holden, EdD, LPC-S, ACMHPDURHAM, NC, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2025
Near-death experiences have been reported by 4 to 15 percent of the general population and by an estimated 18 percent of cardiac arrest survivors. These reports have occurred over time and across cultures, and among people with and without religious beliefs. The term “near-death experience” was first used in 1975 in the landmark book Life After Life by Raymond Moody, Jr., MD. Since that time, researchers at leading universities in the U.S. and around the world have studied and documented NDEs. For the last 50 years, NDEs have been described widely in the scientific literature and more recently in the popular media by an array of well-known figures who experienced them, including Madonna, Jeremy Renner, Gary Busey, and journalist Sebastian Junger, author of the recent book In My Time of Dying.
More than 15 common characteristics have been reported by near-death experiencers. An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These features include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future and messages regarding life’s purpose.
Board President and NDE Researcher Janice Miner Holden, EdD, LPC-S, ACMHP, professor emerita at the University of North Texas, said the video release is a landmark moment for the field. “Although NDEs were initially viewed with skepticism in the 1970s, researchers at institutions including the University of Virginia Medical School, New York University Langone Medical Center, University of Connecticut, Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Massey University in New Zealand have lent credibility to these experiences and have prompted important questions about the nature of consciousness and the possibility that it continues after bodily death,” Holden said.
According to Holden, people who report NDEs are typically transformed by the experience, losing their fear of death and shifting their personal priorities. “Watching our near-death experience virtual reality video is a transformative experience that we hope will increase NDE awareness, give people hope and comfort, and drive important conversations about science, spirituality, and human consciousness,” Holden said. “We encourage people to watch it in a quiet, reflective setting where they can process the emotion it can generate. We also welcome feedback about the video and its impact on viewers.”
As a Durham, North Carolina-based educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, IANDS focuses its resources into providing the highest quality information available about NDE-related subjects. IANDS’s purpose is to promote responsible, multi-disciplinary exploration of near-death and similar experiences, their effects on people’s lives, and their implications for beliefs about life, death, and human purpose. It is the only membership group of its kind with local groups all over the world.
Janet Riley
International Association for Near-Death Studies
+1 703-801-2238
email us here
A Virtual Near-Death Experience (NDE) – Virtual Reality 360° Video