Congruence Between Near-Death and Mystical Experience

Two thirds of people who had a near-death experience reported mystical features such as a sense of sacredness, divine union, timelessness, positive mood, noetic quality, and ineffability, whereas none of those who came close to death without such an experience did. Near-death experiencers scored higher on the Mysticism Scale than nonexperiencers, most often endorsing noetic quality, positive affect, and unity, and least often ego loss, timelessness, and ineffability. Depth of near-death experience correlated highly with mysticism scores, but factor analysis yielded two distinct factors representing mystical and near-death elements, indicating commonalities yet differentiation between the two.

Study at a glance

Abstract

AbstractNear-death experiences, altered states during a brush with death, may include mystical features like a sense of sacredness and divine union, timelessness/spacelessness, positive mood, noetic quality, and ineffability. We quantified mystical elements in near-death experience by comparing responses on the Mysticism Scale of 292 near-death experiencers and 34 persons who had come close to death without near-death experiences. Two thirds of near-death experiencers reported mystical experiences during their brush with death, compared to none of the comparison survivors. Near-death experiencers scored higher on the Mysticism Scale than did nonexperiencers; they endorsed noetic quality, positive affect, and unity most often and ego loss, timelessness/spacelessness, and ineffability least often. Depth of near-death experience was correlated highly with scores on the Mysticism Scale, but factor analysis of features during the brush with death yielded two distinct factors representing mystical and near-death elements, suggesting that near-death experiences have commonalities with, but can be differentiated from, mystical experience.