Time, linearly, maybe not: one NDEer’s puzzle

Time, linearly, maybe not: one NDEer’s puzzle

A reader on r/NDE said they’ve been thinking about NDEs for years and still gets hung up on one thing: time. They said they’ve heard that time “doesn’t exist over there,” but then wondered why so many NDEs seem to feature only deceased loved ones, not living people too. One response said that at least some NDE accounts do include living people, and that the experience can involve going back in time to the day someone met their first wife. The same commenter said one plane felt much like human existence, except for beings of light and other souls in bodies described as innocent, infantile, and gentle. They added that some planes seem to follow linear time, while another felt mostly linear but with something else controlling the speed and flow.

Gobble's Take: If NDEs scramble time, then ordinary “where is everybody?” logic may not be the right map. Source: r/NDE

War, silence, and why some NDE stories stayed buried

Another r/NDE post asked why there seems to be so little NDE reporting from war zones, despite WW1 and WW2 and many bloody wars. In the comments, one person said people have only really been able to talk openly since the 2000s. They added that even in 2010, some NDErs found notes added to their medical reports suggesting they were potentially delusional for telling their doctor about the experience. The commenter argued that if that could happen in medicine, the military would be even less welcoming. They also said a person fighting in WWI probably would not share, and noted that someone has to revive you. The thread also mentioned speculation about Toileken, and said an often-cited early account is Plato’s Republic story about a soldier named Er who nearly died in battle and whose story has many aspects found in modern NDEs.

Gobble's Take: Some experiences may have been there all along, just not safely sayable. Source: r/NDE

What NDEs taught people: love without a bill attached

A r/NDE post asked what everyone should know about life after an NDE. The responses were strikingly consistent: the highest form of love is non-transactional, and random acts of kindness matter on the other side because they ask for nothing back. One reply framed people as spiritual beings and said, “Be nice to others because they’re just you having another life :)” Another said, “Live a worthwhile life, and spend your death wisely.” A separate commenter wrote that there is no fear in the fact that you are loved, while also noting that many religions have reiterated that point and that it is a core feature of many NDEs. One experiencer described being under heightened stress before the NDE, then feeling completely at peace and loved in a way that was beautiful, complete, and whole during the experience.

Gobble's Take: Strip away the scenery, and the message people keep bringing back is simple: love is real. Source: r/NDE

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• The big metaphysical case for NDEs
• The chapter that quietly does the accessibility housekeeping