There are two main reasons for the near death experience.

1. As the body shuts down, one of the last organs to go is the eyes. With no stream of information coming in, the brain makes up some kind of input thus the bright lights, tunnel of light, etc.

2. Typically, if you're dying you're hurting and in exterme pain. The body's response to pain is to release endrophines. That activates the release of opiate receptors. If it's the "we going die for sure" level of pain, the body releases all of them at once. Now you have warm fuzzy hallucinations of everyone you have ever loved. If you're hearing what they're doing around you, those hallucinations can include floating around the room while the brain tries understand the last rites or why people are beating on your chest . . . .

If the brain doesn't understand what's going on, it'll make stuff up.

Although I live dangerously, I've never been injured seriously enough to get a near death experience. I've looked death in the face and it said "Like, later mon." In the short term is was things like panic over seeing how close an eight foot long bull shark can swim next to me.

Yes, but like everyone who has a "near death experience," mine matched my beliefs with the exception that I was aware of what was happening. I attribute my awareness to the fact that I wasn't actually dead.

I came back from the experience with the feeling that I had been privy to the most esoteric secrets of existence and reality, but couldn't recall what they were. I think that could I recall them they'd be a lot like nonsense that I recorded myself saying while extremely drunk. I thought at the time that I'd just realized something brilliant and insightful. When I played it back it was barely comprehensible and absolutely ridiculous.

I don't know what to think of NDE's - first of all, there is no evidence. No scientific proof. I have talked to people who came close to dying and they described seeing a light, meeting deceased loved ones, then approaching a boundary and being told "Your life's work is not finished. You have to go back." None of these people have a history of delusions or mental disorders. It could just be the brain chemistry of a person under severe stress. Nobody knows. I had a weird experience - don't know what to make of it. In 1977 I visited a friend for a weekend. I feel asleep early and woke up at midnight feeling afraid. I wanted to go to my friend's room but did not dare walk past the living room. I shook with fear for an hour, feeling that the living room contained something bad. At 1:00 a.m. the vibrations became softer and I fell asleep. When I woke up I told my friend. She stated that any person who slept in the bedroom close to the living room felt afraid about midnight. She also told me that people had moved out of that house because they often felt anxious and afraid. I don't know what to make of it. Being atheist I don't believe in anything supernatural. But it was weird.

Can not say for sure what the state of chemicals were in my brain when some events occured. One of them was when I was 7 years old and there were too many details to explain about that one. There was another when I was a teenager I was the kid that did not smoke pot or do another mind altering things. I would have sworn at the time that I was remote viewing through a hawks eyes for several minutes. I have wondered a long time about the conditions that let my brain be in that state.

As a younger man I studied many things and actually did out of body travel. For the most part it is a mental state. Even so, we had company once that was told as we went to bed to turn off the stereo power supply when they retired for the night. The next day at breakfast I told them they did not do this and also told them just where everyone slept. I then went to the stereo and turned off the power supply.

Yup

I came really close, almost bled to death, did not actually understand what was happening and so I did nothing different than what was going on. Spent time in the hospital in Portland, four days, then a week back home before another three days in the hospital. Doctor said I was an accident waiting to happen. I am over what I had and apparently the condition will not return. I get regular blood work to check.

I think that a belief in God and a belief that an essence of person exists after death are separate notions. It is quite possible to believe in one without believing the other. Yet of course these two beliefs are inextricably mixed within many traditions. I would recommend reading Robert Monroe's book, The Ultimate Journey, with an open mind. I had an NDE about one year ago. It did not reflect what I most fervently believed at the time and left me with more questions than answers. But this itself may well be a gift. I have learned, that often in life, that the questions are much more important.