I wish to gain neuroscientific inquiry regarding the relationship between near death experiences and the elements presented in dreaming. I have 7 questions that I would like to ask.
Please explain your answers in detail, elaborating on the neuroscience behind each answer. Also, please bear with me as I describe each question in detail, eventually leading up to the question itself at hand. If you do not have time to listen to and answer all the questions, then that is fine. Just answer those that you can:
1.) Some neuroscientists would think that near death experiences are lucid dreams, REM intrusion, or that they are fully conscious states greater than normal waking consciousness since people who have these experiences report that everything was more real than real.
Near death experiences are not like dreams, but can contain elements of dreaming since some of the neurological processes that are involved in dreaming can be involved in near death experiences.
I am wondering if a specific element in dreams and nightmares can be present during an nde. This element would be the radically altered states of mind that we experience during our dreams and nightmares.
In my worst nightmares, I have experienced radically altered mental states. There is no way to explain these experiences. They are entirely new experiences. They are experiences that are far beyond horrible.
They are not minor changes to the mental state such as feeling dizzy, feeling tired, etc. Neither are they major changes to the mental state such as losing a loved one, having your life destroyed, etc.
Even these types of major changes in the mental state do not compare at all to the radically altered ones in some of your dreams and nightmares. These are radically altered states of mind that cannot be experienced in your normal waking life. These are not normal experiences at all.
So my question here is, can such radically altered states of mind that we experience during our dreams and nightmares be experienced in a fully conscious state during a near death experience providing that near death experiences are fully conscious states and not dream states or REM intrusion?
Are these radically altered states of mind an element only exclusive to dreams and nightmares, or can they be experienced during a fully conscious near death experience providing that, again, near death experiences are fully conscious states?
If such mental states cannot be experienced during a fully conscious nde, then what about mental states that are similar? When I say similar, I do not mean a mental state in your normal waking life that bears a little bit of resemblance. What I mean is a mental state that is similar to those radically altered mental states in dreams and nightmares.
2.) In my nightmares, I experienced horrible indescribable feelings. They were the most horrible experiences. They had a very powerful effect on me while I was having the nightmare.
But for whatever reason, when that feeling lingered on in my waking life, it wasn't as bad. It was a very horrible feeling, but that is all it was and it wasn't as bad as how I've experienced those feelings in my nightmares. Even if that said feeling was just as or even more intense than my nightmare, for whatever reason, it wouldn't be as bad of an experience as my nightmare.
It wouldn't have that powerful effect on me like it did in my nightmare. Perhaps being in this normal wakeful state of reality somehow gives me complete power against those feelings and I wish to know the neuroscience behind this because that would also tell me if I would have such power against any horrible feeling or mental state I might experience during a fully conscious hellish near death experience.
I know it has nothing to do with my mindset while I am awake. Even if I was in the worst mindset right now and I felt completely powerless against any horrible experience, then any horrible feeling from my nightmares carried onto my waking life would still not have that powerful effect on me like it did in my nightmares. Therefore, the mental state itself of me being in a normal wakeful state of reality somehow gives me complete power against such horrible experiences so that they do not effect me like they did in my nightmares.
So my question here is, if I ever have a hellish nde (although they are not as numerous as the blissful and heavenly ndes), then if I were to experience a horrible feeling that I experience in my nightmares or one of those horrible altered states of mind that I experience in my nightmares, then would such horrible experiences not affect me like they did in my nightmares?
Would such experiences be reduced under the power I would have against them in my fully conscious state during the near death experience? Would such experiences be not all that bad since I would have power against them, or would they actually be just as bad, almost as bad, or even worse than how I've experienced them in my nightmares?
I am hoping that such experiences wouldn't be that bad at all regardless of how intense they are. I am hoping that they would be reduced to normal experiences rather than the indescribable hellish experiences that they are in my nightmares.
At least, I am hoping this to be the case. But I am not sure though which is why I ask. I am wondering if I would have complete power in my fully conscious state against both horrible feelings and any horrible altered mental state during the nde. Especially the altered mental states since these are the worst experiences I have had in my nightmares.
3.) This is a bit similar to question #2, but with the added addition of the notion of horrible feelings and mental states exceeding the power I would have in my fully conscious state during an nde.
People who have hellish near death experiences report that the experiences were more intense and worse than even their worst nightmares.
Would there be a degree to which the intensity of the horrible feeling/mental state exceeds that of the power I have in my fully conscious state, thus rendering me to experience something almost as bad, just as bad, or even worse than my nightmares?
Or will I always have that complete power in my fully conscious state during the nde, thus making any horrible feeling/mental state during the nde nowhere near as bad as what I experience in my nightmares and rendering such horrible experiences to nothing more than normal experiences that would not have that powerful effect on me at all like they did in my nightmares?
If I were to have that complete power, then all these horrible experiences would be reduced to normal experiences and would not be the indescribable hellish experiences that they are in my nightmares. Even if they are feelings from my worst nightmares, then if I were to have this complete power in my fully conscious state, then they would not be the horrible experiences that they were in my nightmares regardless of how intense they are.
I am hoping that I would have this complete power regardless of how intense and horrible the feeling or altered mental state is. But like I said, I am not sure which is why I ask.
4.) I am aware of the types of altered mental states people describe during their near death experiences such as being out of body, having an expanded sense of awareness, etc. But is it possible that there are entirely new mental states that people have during their ndes? These would be indescribable altered mental states. They would be experiences that cannot be explained.
So are such states of mind experienced during an nde, or are ndes only limited to the types of altered states of mind that I have described? If there are entirely new altered mental states experienced during an nde, then is it possible for me to experience an altered mental state that is just as bad, almost as bad, or even worse than the types of altered mental states I've experienced in my nightmares?
If so, then would I have that complete power against them in my fully conscious state to where they would be reduced to nothing more than normal experiences that aren't that bad at all compared to what I experience in my nightmares?
5.) If you were to experience the horrible feelings and altered mental states from your nighmtares fully conscious (fully aware), then would that make it a worse experience than having less awareness of the experience during a nightmare? Does the level of awareness determine how awful an experience is to you?
6.) Some people who have near death experiences have flashbacks during their experience. Can these flashbacks bring back those altered mental states that I spoke of earlier which are those types of indescribable mental sttes experienced during dreams and nightmares? Can flashbacks during your normal waking life bring back those altered mental states into your waking life as well?
7.) Some say that psychosis is like dreaming while awake since these types of patients hallucina
te and have no awareness of reality and their selves just like in a dream. But do they experience those radically altered mental states that one would experience in his/her dreams and nightmares during their psychotic episodes?
If this is not so since psychosis is different than dreaming, then what about altered mental states similar to those experienced during dreams and nightmares? Furthermore, let's pretend that I had psychosis right now, then would I have that full power over any horrible altered mental state or feeling since I would be fully conscious?
Please explain your answers in detail, elaborating on the neuroscience behind each answer. Also, please bear with me as I describe each question in detail, eventually leading up to the question itself at hand. If you do not have time to listen to and answer all the questions, then that is fine. Just answer those that you can:
1.) Some neuroscientists would think that near death experiences are lucid dreams, REM intrusion, or that they are fully conscious states greater than normal waking consciousness since people who have these experiences report that everything was more real than real.
Near death experiences are not like dreams, but can contain elements of dreaming since some of the neurological processes that are involved in dreaming can be involved in near death experiences.
I am wondering if a specific element in dreams and nightmares can be present during an nde. This element would be the radically altered states of mind that we experience during our dreams and nightmares.
In my worst nightmares, I have experienced radically altered mental states. There is no way to explain these experiences. They are entirely new experiences. They are experiences that are far beyond horrible.
They are not minor changes to the mental state such as feeling dizzy, feeling tired, etc. Neither are they major changes to the mental state such as losing a loved one, having your life destroyed, etc.
Even these types of major changes in the mental state do not compare at all to the radically altered ones in some of your dreams and nightmares. These are radically altered states of mind that cannot be experienced in your normal waking life. These are not normal experiences at all.
So my question here is, can such radically altered states of mind that we experience during our dreams and nightmares be experienced in a fully conscious state during a near death experience providing that near death experiences are fully conscious states and not dream states or REM intrusion?
Are these radically altered states of mind an element only exclusive to dreams and nightmares, or can they be experienced during a fully conscious near death experience providing that, again, near death experiences are fully conscious states?
If such mental states cannot be experienced during a fully conscious nde, then what about mental states that are similar? When I say similar, I do not mean a mental state in your normal waking life that bears a little bit of resemblance. What I mean is a mental state that is similar to those radically altered mental states in dreams and nightmares.
2.) In my nightmares, I experienced horrible indescribable feelings. They were the most horrible experiences. They had a very powerful effect on me while I was having the nightmare.
But for whatever reason, when that feeling lingered on in my waking life, it wasn't as bad. It was a very horrible feeling, but that is all it was and it wasn't as bad as how I've experienced those feelings in my nightmares. Even if that said feeling was just as or even more intense than my nightmare, for whatever reason, it wouldn't be as bad of an experience as my nightmare.
It wouldn't have that powerful effect on me like it did in my nightmare. Perhaps being in this normal wakeful state of reality somehow gives me complete power against those feelings and I wish to know the neuroscience behind this because that would also tell me if I would have such power against any horrible feeling or mental state I might experience during a fully conscious hellish near death experience.
I know it has nothing to do with my mindset while I am awake. Even if I was in the worst mindset right now and I felt completely powerless against any horrible experience, then any horrible feeling from my nightmares carried onto my waking life would still not have that powerful effect on me like it did in my nightmares. Therefore, the mental state itself of me being in a normal wakeful state of reality somehow gives me complete power against such horrible experiences so that they do not effect me like they did in my nightmares.
So my question here is, if I ever have a hellish nde (although they are not as numerous as the blissful and heavenly ndes), then if I were to experience a horrible feeling that I experience in my nightmares or one of those horrible altered states of mind that I experience in my nightmares, then would such horrible experiences not affect me like they did in my nightmares?
Would such experiences be reduced under the power I would have against them in my fully conscious state during the near death experience? Would such experiences be not all that bad since I would have power against them, or would they actually be just as bad, almost as bad, or even worse than how I've experienced them in my nightmares?
I am hoping that such experiences wouldn't be that bad at all regardless of how intense they are. I am hoping that they would be reduced to normal experiences rather than the indescribable hellish experiences that they are in my nightmares.
At least, I am hoping this to be the case. But I am not sure though which is why I ask. I am wondering if I would have complete power in my fully conscious state against both horrible feelings and any horrible altered mental state during the nde. Especially the altered mental states since these are the worst experiences I have had in my nightmares.
3.) This is a bit similar to question #2, but with the added addition of the notion of horrible feelings and mental states exceeding the power I would have in my fully conscious state during an nde.
People who have hellish near death experiences report that the experiences were more intense and worse than even their worst nightmares.
Would there be a degree to which the intensity of the horrible feeling/mental state exceeds that of the power I have in my fully conscious state, thus rendering me to experience something almost as bad, just as bad, or even worse than my nightmares?
Or will I always have that complete power in my fully conscious state during the nde, thus making any horrible feeling/mental state during the nde nowhere near as bad as what I experience in my nightmares and rendering such horrible experiences to nothing more than normal experiences that would not have that powerful effect on me at all like they did in my nightmares?
If I were to have that complete power, then all these horrible experiences would be reduced to normal experiences and would not be the indescribable hellish experiences that they are in my nightmares. Even if they are feelings from my worst nightmares, then if I were to have this complete power in my fully conscious state, then they would not be the horrible experiences that they were in my nightmares regardless of how intense they are.
I am hoping that I would have this complete power regardless of how intense and horrible the feeling or altered mental state is. But like I said, I am not sure which is why I ask.
4.) I am aware of the types of altered mental states people describe during their near death experiences such as being out of body, having an expanded sense of awareness, etc. But is it possible that there are entirely new mental states that people have during their ndes? These would be indescribable altered mental states. They would be experiences that cannot be explained.
So are such states of mind experienced during an nde, or are ndes only limited to the types of altered states of mind that I have described? If there are entirely new altered mental states experienced during an nde, then is it possible for me to experience an altered mental state that is just as bad, almost as bad, or even worse than the types of altered mental states I've experienced in my nightmares?
If so, then would I have that complete power against them in my fully conscious state to where they would be reduced to nothing more than normal experiences that aren't that bad at all compared to what I experience in my nightmares?
5.) If you were to experience the horrible feelings and altered mental states from your nighmtares fully conscious (fully aware), then would that make it a worse experience than having less awareness of the experience during a nightmare? Does the level of awareness determine how awful an experience is to you?
6.) Some people who have near death experiences have flashbacks during their experience. Can these flashbacks bring back those altered mental states that I spoke of earlier which are those types of indescribable mental sttes experienced during dreams and nightmares? Can flashbacks during your normal waking life bring back those altered mental states into your waking life as well?
7.) Some say that psychosis is like dreaming while awake since these types of patients hallucina
te and have no awareness of reality and their selves just like in a dream. But do they experience those radically altered mental states that one would experience in his/her dreams and nightmares during their psychotic episodes?
If this is not so since psychosis is different than dreaming, then what about altered mental states similar to those experienced during dreams and nightmares? Furthermore, let's pretend that I had psychosis right now, then would I have that full power over any horrible altered mental state or feeling since I would be fully conscious?
