Near-Death Experiences: George Lucas and Ozzy Osbourne

Recently noted by Stephen Wagner in About Paranormal: "George Lucas is the creator of the blockbuster movie, Star Wars. Lucas is not conscious of having a near-death experience, yet he behaves as if he'd had one. As a youngster, Lucas was considered a punk-a non-achiever, romantic, unathletic, unassertive, and not studious. According to his father, he was good at only two things: cruising and hanging out. Wanting to race cars seemed to be his only ambition. Then, three days before he was to graduate from high school, without warning or advance-behavior cues, Lucas was involved in a spectacular car crash. For three days he hung between life and death and was hospitalized for two weeks more. About the crash, Lucas stated, "You can't have that kind of experience and not feel that there must be a reason why you're here. I realized I should be spending my time trying to figure out what that reason is and trying to fulfill it." Rock star Ozzy Osbourne "died twice" after a bike accident which left him in a coma for eight days. The accident happened when he hit a pothole which was covered in leaves. It catapulted him over the handlebars and he tumbled down a hill with the bike landing on top of him, crushing his chest. His bodyguard rushed to hisaid and gave him mouth to mouth when he twice stopped breathing. "If it wasn't for Sam I probably wouldn't be here. He had to bring me back to life twice." Ozzy said. He described his confusion he had felt on gradually coming round from his coma. "I didn't know where I was or how long I'd been there. I would drift in and out of consciousness. Other times there would be a white light shining through the darkness, but no f---king angels, no one blowing trumpets and no man in a white beard." Ozzy, who has battled addictions to drink and drugs, said the crash finally made him "grow up.". Ozzy stated, "You are bopping along through life and have your ups and downs, but it is amazing how two or three seconds can totally change your life."

"Grissom's" NDE

I thought this was interesting...CSI has never been the same since he left! William Petersen, the star of the TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, had a near-death experience which he described in an interview for Playboy magazine (March 2004, page 139). "Years ago, doing a play in Chicago, I cut my finger in half onstage. We obviously had to stop because, well, I didn't have a finger. By the time they got me to the ER I had lost a lot of blood and passed out. I could hear the doctors working on me, saying that they had lost my vital signs. I was on the "All That Jazz" escalator with a long tunnel and a lot of white light. Then I specifically remember a dominant male voice saying, "It's not your time. Get off the escalator. You've got shit to do." I came to, and got sewed up. Something in me changed, a sort of knowledge that somewhere on the other side, its good. For weeks, the more I talked about it, the more freaked out people got. Some of them were like, "Okay, whatever: You took too many drugs.

Over 1300 Near Death Experiences Researched

Founder of the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, Dr. Jeffrey Long shared the most compelling evidence to date for the reality of near-death experiences (NDEs), and their consistent message that there is an afterlife.

" Having studied over 1300 NDE cases, he noted that the reports are remarkably consistent worldwide, even those from non-Western countries. NDEs typically may include out-of-body travel, seeing a tunnel and mystical light, encounters with deceased relatives, and a life review.

Here are some of the highlights of the consistent patterns/evidence he's found:

* The level of consciousness and alertness during NDEs is usually even greater than that experienced in everyday life even though NDEs generally occur when a person is unconscious or clinically dead.
* What NDErs see and hear of earthly events in the out-of-body state is almost always realistic, such as what is going on around them at the hospital.
* Heightened senses are often reported, such as seeing with 360 degree vision. Several people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual near-death experiences.
* Life reviews in NDEs include real events that previously took place in the lives of those having the experience, even if the events were forgotten, in a kind of "perfect playback."
* During a NDE, the people encountered are virtually always deceased. Were the NDE only a product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly include far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.
* The near-death experiences of children, including very young children are essentially identical to those of older children and adults, arguing against the idea of cultural pre-conditioning.
* NDErs often report seeing heavenly or unearthly realms, with colors and sights that defy description...}
Dr. Jeffrey Long (pictured) has co-authored a new book, Evidence of the Afterlife, which shares firsthand accounts of those who have died and lived to tell about it.
His site
http://www.nderf.org/

What Do You Think About Near Death Experiences?

Those of us who have worked with people who experienced an NDE (Near Death Experience) or read the classic reports and discussions of Raymond Moody, who brought them to the public view in his book and Kubler-Ross, who so greatly influenced both the medical professionals and public with her books about death and dying, generally became believers.
I previously described a man awakening from a coma who was well aware of what was happening around him.Literature abounds on the subject of surgical patient's experiences and those of trauma victims.
Research continues and National Organizations of believers have been formed.
The majority of the hundreds of thousands who have had such an experience claim it has profoundly changed their life usually with increasing their spiritual beliefs and decreasing the fear of death.
Recently there was a TV program on Biography channel relating some experiences and featuring some skeptics and believers from scientific researchers.Several researchers are able to simulate such experiences wholly or in part in their labs.The skeptics believe it is an electro magnetic occurrence from a brain deprived of oxygen.The believers find that interesting but remain convinced that is but a part of the whole story.
What do you believe?Have you or someone you are close to had a NDE?Do you need more information about what a NDE is like to decide?
there is a short poll here if you would like to fill it out.You may leave comments if you would like more information also