The Coming Home Roundup
New NDE articles, podcasts, documentaries, and more
Welcome to this week’s Coming Home newsletter!
We’re continuing our mission to connect readers with the latest developments in near-death experience research, new personal accounts, and insights from both scientific and experiential perspectives.
In this edition, we highlight:
The passing of pioneering NDE researcher Dr. Peter Fenwick
Groundbreaking research comparing NDEs to life-threatening experiences
New insights into out-of-body experiences and consciousness
Recent personal accounts from The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS)
A thought-provoking podcast on consciousness survival after death
Our latest original content, including films and essays
News & Research
Obtituary: Dr Peter Fenwick, psychiatrist who broke new ground with research into near-death experiences
Dr. Peter Fenwick, a pioneering researcher in near-death experiences and consciousness studies, passed away at age 89 in November 2024. As a neuropsychiatrist at London’s Maudsley Clinic, Fenwick’s interest in NDEs began in 1976 when a patient described leaving his body during cardiac surgery. Over his career, he conducted extensive research into NDEs, including a landmark survey of over 350 cases documented in The Truth in the Light (1995). Beyond his scientific contributions, which include over 300 papers on consciousness, Fenwick helped establish the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) and served as President of the Scientific and Medical Network.
Can Being Close to Death Transform Your Life?
A new study summarized in Psychology Today examines the distinct transformative effects of near-death experiences (NDEs) compared to life-threatening events without NDEs. Led by Dr. Jeff Long and Dr. Marjorie Woollacott, this largest-to-date study compared 834 people who had NDEs with 42 who experienced life-threatening events without NDEs. The research found that NDE experiencers showed dramatically greater positive life changes, including increased belief in an afterlife (25% to 84%), reduced fear of death (77% to 13%), and enhanced compassion for others (25% to 78%).
What out-of-body experiences may tell us about the mind beyond the brain
A new study in the International Review of Psychiatry explores how out-of-body experiences (OBEs) inform our understanding of consciousness and the mind-body relationship. Researchers Marina Weiler and David J. Acunzo examine four interpretations of OBEs: as products of brain activity, as evidence of non-local consciousness, as experiences during compromised brain function, and as potential indicators of consciousness survival.
New Stories from The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS)
IANDS continues to document first-hand accounts of near-death experiences, building a valuable archive of personal testimonies. Here are two recent accounts:
We All Fit into a kind of Collective Loving Consciousness
In a moving personal narrative, a man describes his transformative NDE following a severe respiratory crisis from TWAR, a bacterial lung disease. During the experience, he encountered a luminous figure who guided him through a life review, where he directly experienced both his actions and their impacts on others from multiple perspectives.
Male Teen on Drugs Has NDE and Slow Re-Entry to Earth Reality
A teenager’s NDE following drug use offers unique insights into altered states of consciousness and the transition between physical and non-physical awareness. His detailed account describes moving through phases of vibrating energy and light, encountering a vast luminous landscape, and meeting powerful beings surrounded by brilliant light.
New Podcasts
Principle of Charity: Does Consciousness Survive Death?
A new episode of Principle of Charity brings together neuroscientist Anil Seth and Vedanta scholar Swami Sarvapriyananda to explore fundamental questions about consciousness and survival beyond death. While not directly addressing near-death experiences, the discussion tackles many of the same questions that NDEs raise about consciousness, personal identity, and survival beyond physical death.
Our Recent Essays and Films
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Writer Jules Evans reflects on his near-death experience from a Norwegian skiing accident and its lasting impact on his life.
Student Dies on Class Trip & Discovers There is Life After Death
Our latest documentary features Venia Hill’s near-death experience during a school trip to Italy.
How Other People’s NDEs Changed My Life (For the Better)
A personal essay from one of our co-founders exploring how studying near-death experiences transformed a skeptics worldview.
NDE Submissions: Your Stories
We launch a new series featuring personal accounts from our community members.
The Therapeutic Value of NDEs
Licensed therapist Lauren Maxwell explores how near-death experience research can help people cope with grief, reduce death anxiety, and find greater meaning in life.
The NDE (near death experience) movement seems to be presenting a challenge to the "brain hallucination" explanation of NDEs favored by many in the science community. I like that. Good!
Next request: Challenge the spiritual realm theory too.
It's not that I'm against the spiritual realm explanation of NDEs, or think it is wrong etc. Of course I don't know. I just feel that the spiritual realm theory, like all theories, deserves to be challenged as well. I don't see the NDE community as a cult, but there does seem to be maybe a lack of questioning, an over eagerness to accept a wonderful story that we'd all like to hear.
I'm concerned that if we get too locked in to a limited debate between "brain hallucination" and "spiritual realm" we might miss an explanation for NDEs that has nothing to do with either of those theories.
The only alternate theory I can come up with so far goes like this. The Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion stars, and is about 10 billion years older than Earth. There appears to be lots and LOTS of room and time for other intelligent species to have evolved to a point unimaginably beyond our own abilities. And it is now proven that someone of unknown identity is routinely flying craft of super human powers around our atmosphere.
I dunno. This theory about NDEs doesn't prove anything either. I just think the UFO phenomena should be on our suspect list. And...
The real explanation for NDEs may not involve brain hallucinations, spiritual realms, UFOs, or anything else we can currently imagine. Open minded inquiry seems advised!