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1. Introduction to the Barrier and NDEs
People having near-death experiences (NDEs) frequently reach a “point of no return” which cannot be crossed unless permanent, irreversible bodily death occurs. This point of no return is represented in NDEs by a barrier of some kind such as a fence, a wall, a door, a line, a curtain, or simply a deceased loved one(s) or the Being of Light.
In Dr. Raymond Moody‘s groundbreaking 1975 book, Life After Life, described the prototypic NDE: “At some point he (the NDEr) finds himself approaching some sort of barrier or border, apparently representing the limit between earthly life and the next life.”
A barrier might be reached where it is impossible to return to Earth and a choice may have to be made whether to remain or return to Earth. If the choice is to remain, the new arrival will be able to choose their habitation. It may be at a higher realm that they have earned, or they can operate at the same level or a lower level where loved ones may need help.
One of the common elements of NDEs is reaching a boundary – a cliff, fence, water, some kind of barrier that may not be crossed if one is to return to life.
Dr. Kenneth Ring states: “There exists a point of no return during the NDE and once this barrier is crossed, returning to our body is impossible.”
Dr. Peter Fenwick’s NDE study of 450 experiencers found that 24% of them encountered a barrier of some sort.
NDE researcher Nora Spurgin states: “There is instinctive knowledge that in going into the light there is a point of no return to physical Earth life. Since these accounts come only from people who have returned to physical life, there was a point past which they did not venture.”
Many of the NDE testimonies referenced in this article are drawn from firsthand accounts generously shared on the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF.org) website. I gratefully acknowledge NDERF and its founders, Dr. Jeffrey Long and Jody Long, for their decades of dedication to collecting, preserving, and publishing the world’s most comprehensive archives of NDE testimonies. Their ongoing research and stewardship of these testimonies make it possible for readers, researchers, and NDErs alike to deepen their understanding of the profound insights reported during NDEs.
2. A Barrier, a Fence, a Wall, a Limit, or Force
Beverly Brodsky learned that: “Death means breaking through the barrier of space and time.”
Katie B. encountered a fence she couldn’t cross: “We got to where we were going, it was like a little garden with a white picket fence, but I could not get in there. They told me I had to go back. I begged and pleaded, but they sent me back to my poor pain-filled body in a rush.”
John C. was stopped by souls before a tall fence: “It seems like I was with him (Being of Light) for about three minutes and then I was glided back over to the four gentlemen who were by this very tall white fence. One of them then told me it was not my time yet.”
Gregory W. came to a walled city with gates: “I was moving slowly towards the city not at a fast pace but steadily and was able to get a good look at the walls. I noticed that there were three gates… The being approached me and I realized it was a celestial being… I felt a touch on my shoulder and then a voice. ‘I need to send you back, your work is not done on Earth yet,’ the voice said.”
James W. sat in the Void against an invisible wall: “I found myself sitting in a black, empty space. There were no galaxies nearby, just infinite blackness. I sat with my back against an invisible wall, feeling no fear, only deep peace. As soon as I wondered what this place was, I was pulled back to Earth.
Anitta J. encountered a wall-like see-through border: “Then I saw my [deceased] father, just like he was when he lived and he said to me, ‘Come here, here is good to be.’ I wanted to run to him, but I could not, because there was a border between us. I cannot describe the border [except] it was like a wall, which I could see through.”
Wesley W. came to an invisible barrier that was “something between here and there, I’m not sure what it was and where it was.”
Guenter Wagner encountered an invisible barrier he couldn’t cross: “I felt irresistibly attracted to it by its brightness and I wanted to go right into it. No sooner had I thought this when I hit something that catapulted me far out into blackness. I tried once more, but it all happened again. I quickly learned that there had to be an invisible barrier that I could only approach but not overcome. I had another go and this time I stopped right in front of this barrier… Although they were far, far away, I could reach them in an instant. However, each individual light had its own effective barrier that knocked me off into the blackness again every time I tried to approach it. Getting in contact with these barriers was very unpleasant, because every time I touched them, my whole being was violently shaken.”
Greg N. was blocked by an invisible force when trying to reach God: “The problem was that when I tried to approach God, I was immediately blocked by an unseen force. I can’t even describe the way I was stopped. I didn’t bump into any force, wall, or anything. I would just be firmly, but gently halted right where the beginning of the blue sky started… The same barrier blocked me at every attempt. There was no way I was going to be allowed to pass. I can only assume it wasn’t my time.”
Jeff was pulled from the edge of the Void by an unseen force: “As I began to step into the Void, I was snatched back from the edge by an unseen force and I heard the words, ‘It is not your time; I am not through with you yet.'”
Joschua B. experienced an unknown force holding him back: “Some force moved through my soul and stopped me from proceeding forward. There were no words, but this kind of knowing that came into me. It said I needed to turn around.”
David H. encountered a final barrier beyond which he couldn’t see: “There was the final barrier, where you go when the life as we know it is over. I did not see nor was I told how things would be beyond the final barrier.”
Ted M. reached a perimeter between life and death: “I perceived a perimeter surrounding this compound I was in. As I approached this barrier, I realized it was the delineation between life and death.”
Marc O. came to a limit he didn’t want to cross: “This was not a barrier that I was not permitted to cross. On the contrary! And it wasn’t also a barrier of which I had been sent away against my will. Believe me, my ONLY wish at that moment was TO NOT CROSS THIS LIMIT!!”
Nancy R. came to a limit she couldn’t cross: “I was in some kind of pre-Heaven that had a limit which I couldn’t cross yet. I wanted to cross and go on into Heaven, but I wasn’t allowed.”
Deborah K. sensed a barrier she couldn’t cross: “It was at this time I was given a choice, not through words, but telepathically, just KNOWING. I could continue in this bliss and come back Home, across some sort of barrier I could sense was very close by, or I could return to my body, with all its pain and uncertain future. Oh, how I wanted to stay in that bliss!”
Jewel H. encountered another dimension acting as a barrier: “I could hear some far-off school bells, the sound of which was luring me off to the right and into another dimension from which there would be no turning back. I did not hesitate at this barrier; I had no regrets of leaving anything behind from my life. Without warning, I was suddenly and violently sucked down toward my body.”
Carson D. reached the top of a heavenly escalator as a limit: “At the top of the escalator, waiting for me, were both of my deceased grandmas dressed in their Sunday best dresses. I remember their words as if this happened yesterday. ’Well, little man, you have quite the journey ahead, but this is not your time’… I felt when I came up the escalator to meet my grandmas I could not go beyond them even if I tried.”
Brian T. came to a boundary he couldn’t cross: “I arrived at the boundary while floating my body near the boundary… No explanation was necessary for me to understand, at the age of ten, that once I crossed the boundary, I could never come back – period. I was more than thrilled to cross. I intended to cross but my ancestors over another boundary side caught my attention. They were talking in telepathy, which caught my attention. I was born profoundly deaf.”
3. The Silver Cord as a Barrier
The NDE literature reveals an “umbilical-like cord” connecting the spirit body to the physical body which is disconnected at the time of irreversible death. Many NDErs and OBErs have described seeing this umbilical-like cord connecting their spirit body to their physical body which religious traditions refer to as the “silver cord.” Just as a baby’s umbilical cord must be severed for the baby to experience life, the silver cord must be severed for the spirit body to experience permanent spiritual life. It is believed that the NDE does not involve the silver cord becoming severed; otherwise, there would be no NDE and irreversible bodily death would occur.
During the dying process, as the spirit body leaves the physical body and moves farther away from it, the silver cord becomes thinner as it is stretched to its limit. At this point of no return, the silver cord has stretched close to its breaking point; and returning to their physical body occurs very quickly like stretching a rubber band and letting go of one end. The NDEr frequently “snaps” back into their body with a jolt. The intact silver cord and the point of no return shows that permanent, irreversible bodily death never occurs in NDEs; and that a biological component to NDEs does exist. Once the silver cord is severed, the spirit body is released from being attached to the physical body. At this point, it becomes impossible for the spirit body to ever return to the physical body. For this reason, we can define “irreversible death” as that point when the silver cord becomes stretched to its limit and severed. This is the so-called “point of no return.”
Anna W. experienced the silver cord acting as a limit: “My [deceased] mother-in-law pointed to a whitish translucent cord attached at one end to the floating ‘me’, and at the other end to my body on the bed. She instructed me to be careful not to break that cord as I was going to need it to get back into my body… The border was the cord that was attached to my body. I was told not to cross the border (break the cord) because if I did, I would not be able to re-enter my body.”
Sylvan Muldoon described an OBE involving the silver cord: Muldoon roamed around his house for what seemed like fifteen minutes, and then slowly the pull of the silver cord increased and he found himself being pulled back to his body. Everything went in reverse. He tipped back to horizontal, again became cataleptic, felt the same vibrations and then, with a jerk, dropped back into the body. He was awake and alive again.
According to OBE expert, Alfred Ballabene, the silver cord limits the astral body from wandering great distances from the physical body. As the astral body moves farther away from the physical body and reaches a distance of 50 to 70 meters the silver cord pulls the astral form right back into the physical body.
At eight years old, Ken Leth found himself floating outside his body during emergency surgery. He described being tethered to his physical form by a silver cord, which prevented him from ascending like other spirits he saw.
The Silver Cord’s “Rubber Band” Effect
Pat H. was pulled back like a rubber band: “When I recognized my friend calling me back, I was pulled back to my body as though I were attached to a rubber band that had been stretched too far.”
Kevin L. felt the pull of the silver cord like a rubber band which instantly pulled him back to his body: “Then it feels like all my emotions are being pulled like a stretching of a thick rubber band, except it feels like I have a million rubber bands that are stretched all at once and they are getting to the breaking point… Instantly, I find myself back into this universe, back on this planet and back in my basement. There was no sense of movement or traveling. I was just back.”
Dan Z. was pulled back to his body like a rubber band: “While I was ‘up and out’ I felt no pain, no fear, no emotion; these being human feelings I can only conclude that I was something else. Then, as if a rubber band pulled me back to my body, I woke to see the front of my vehicle.”
Jackie M. was pulled back to her body like a rubber band: “I thought of my family. Mostly my mother. I didn’t want to leave her. And the second that I had decided I didn’t want to let go I felt like the rubber band had been released and that I just snapped right back into the bathroom.”
Pat H. was pulled back to her body like a rubber band: “I was pulled away from the circle of light. I was pulled back along the path I had traveled among the clouds. All the while, my speed seemed to increase until the rooftops were in view (it was like being attached to a rubber band) and then suddenly I was waking up with my friend leaning over me.”
Tony F. was pulled backward like a rubber band: “Then, as if my entire linear life experience was connected to a rubber band, and I was having a Wile E. Coyote moment; I had a physical feeling of being pulled backward.”
Sylvia D. was pulled backward like a rubber band: “I heard that my father told somebody that it wasn’t my time. At that moment, I felt pressure, on my chest like a giant rubber band holding me, not to cross. I was pulled backwards, I was falling, and I was regressed into my body.”
Mark S. snapped back into his body like a rubber band: “I felt that rubber band snap back into my body as if bouncing off the inside of my spine and traveling a lot further back than I did forward.”
Virginia F. snapped back into her body like a rubber band: “Then when I felt this profound love for my family, it was like a rubber-band that snapped me back into my body of pain.”
Linda B. was pulled back to her body like a rubber band: “I was levitated into the air. I felt as if I had a gigantic rubber band circling my waist and with that one forward stretching motion of my foot I had reached the end of the elastic tether. I was picked up off of my feet and so quickly pulled in a backward motion that I was folded in half and my fingers could almost touch my toes. I could feel myself being whisked backwards at great speed.”
Sylvia Browne slammed back into her body like a rubber band: “The sensation of returning to Earth made me feel as if a huge rubber band that had been wrapped around my waist and stretched to its limit was now pulling me back. One second my hand was just inches from Grandma Ada’s, and the next second I was snapped away from her and slammed back into the confining heaviness of my body.”
Lindsey S. was pulled back through the silver cord: “Immediately, I decided to return. I felt a tug at my solar plexus through a spiritual cord connected to my abdomen and my two sons. This cord brought me into a cone shaped spiral. It was as if I was traveling at the speed of light.”
Mache G. was jerked by into her body by the silver cord: “I began drifting towards a beautiful light and I wanted to touch it. Suddenly there was a pop. It felt like I was attached to a cord when someone grabbed it and jerked me down. I descended almost instantly.”
James B. was yanked back into his body by the silver cord: “I felt safe and secure as I progressed toward the light, then, as though I was being yanked back on a bungee cord, I was pulled backwards into total darkness.”
Ann M. experienced the silver cord pulling her back: “A long silver chord attached to me and pulled me with immense speed down… I returned into my body under great pressure.”
Jenny C. was connected to a silver cord and was instantly back in her body: “It was then that I saw the silvery white chord connecting me to the girl and realized it was me down there… I stretched out to touch the sun. It was very bright, but I could look straight into it. The second I touched it, I was back in my body.”
Anna W. experienced the silver cord acting as a border: “My [deceased] mother-in-law pointed to a whitish translucent cord attached at one end to the floating ‘me’, and at the other end to my body on the bed. She instructed me to be careful not to break that cord as I was going to need it to get back into my body… The border was the cord that was attached to my body. I was told not to cross the border (break the cord) because if I did, I would not be able to re-enter my body.”
4. A Curtain or Veil as a Barrier
Larry P. encountered a curtain as a point of no return: “I had a very good, exceptionally loving feeling. It was most tempting to keep going through the tunnel. There was a diaphanous curtain that I would have to part to keep going, and once I passed through that, I knew that I could not go back.”
D.W. encountered a border wall behind a curtain: “I could see the golden light. It was like a candle behind a gauze curtain… The curtain effect was gone. The light was crisp and bright now… In front of me was an opening in a barrier built of golden light. The opening appeared to be a low wall that ran in front of me… It was a border, not a defensive wall, it seemed. Too low for protection it just marked the boundary of whatever place this was.”
Jaime G. saw his deceased grandfather peek through a curtain: “Then I noticed that the room was dome like. That in one section the left side of that domed room was as if [there was] a curtain and I saw my grandfather on my mom’s side peek though… I wanted to say something and that is when my grandmother told me, ‘You have to go. You can’t stay here. It’s not your time.'”
Marcel W. encountered a curtain he couldn’t cross: “I heard another noise, of ringing bowls and that I was near a white curtain. Behind that curtain was warmth, peace, harmony, love, inviting me to come near. I saw silhouettes/shapes of people associating in loving warmth and harmony.”
Lori E. encountered a curtain she couldn’t cross: “I wanted to go behind the veil. I thought of it, and half expected to be sucked into it, but I wasn’t. I was told I couldn’t enter that realm just yet, as I was needed back in my body and that what was behind the curtain is reserved for when my life expired on Earth.”
JC S. encountered a curtain she couldn’t cross: “As I turned to look forward there was a sheer curtain, with people standing there as far as far as the eye could see. Then I heard God say, you have to go back.”
Lynn R. encountered a curtain she couldn’t cross: “I leaned back in a relaxing position, expecting to see my biological Dad, who had passed away a few years earlier, to walk through the curtain, take my hand, and lead me through the curtain. I felt certain he was just on the other side of the curtain.”
Marijan H. encountered a curtain she couldn’t cross: “Here is the boundary across which one passes into another dimension, another reality, another form, another world, another life. I don’t know how to define it exactly. I even moved to that border for a while and looked at it. It was like a light gray silk curtain, reaching infinitely in height and constantly swaying slightly. I have no knowledge of what it looks like beyond that limit.”
Steve T. encountered a curtain he couldn’t cross: “There was a curtain of light around her, a veil of energy behind her. I wasn’t allowed to pass through that veil. I was in a resting area between worlds.”
Cate couldn’t pass beyond a curtain-like mist that parted revealing the light behind it: “I felt like the Void I was in was like a thick mist and it was about to part, just like curtains on a stage, and reveal a bright light, but I was stopped from passing through.”
5. A Bridge as a Barrier
Concepts of the afterlife in the religion of the Magi (Zoroastrianism) are almost identical to those of Christianity. According to Zoroaster’s vision, each human soul is required to face judgment on the “Bridge of Judgment” called the “Chinvat Bridge.” If there is a preponderance of good deeds, the soul is allowed to pass over a wide bridge to heaven; otherwise, the soul falls of the bridge and into a temporary hell.
A 6th century NDE involving a bridge and a case of mistaken identity: In the Christian account of Gregory the Great, a man named Stephen was taken before the heavenly judge and had his case dismissed because of “mistaken identity.” Curiously, his neighbor died during the same hour, also with the name of Stephen. This kind of error is commonly reported in Hindu NDEs (Pasricha and Stevenson, 1986). While he was dead, Stephen found himself on a bridge with heaven on one side and hell below the bridge. He observed that the unjust would slip off the bridge and fall into hell. This kind of “bridge” imagery is also present in Zoroastrianism and Shiite Islam (Moulton, 1980).
Lori P. came to a difficult bridge which led to a heavenly garden: “I could see a small bridge that a person would have to walk very carefully across because it was so thin from one side of this crevice to the other… The bridge that went across the crevice was made of tortoise shells colored with many shades of browns and tans. These shells and colors were filled with light. It not only span across from one end to the other, but was also a wall that went straight down to the bottom of the crevice. It was beautiful.”
A 16th century Buddhist woman, Lingza Chokyi, had an NDE involving a bridge: Lingza heard someone whom she thought was her father calling to her, and she followed him. She arrived in the bardo realm, which appeared to her like a country. From there, she tells us, there was a bridge that led to the hell realms, and to where the Lord of Death was counting the good or evil actions of the dead. In this realm she met various people who recounted their stories, and she saw a great yogin who had come into the hell realms in order to liberate beings.
Tomy T. encountered an invisible barrier on a bridge he couldn’t cross: “I stepped onto the bridge and I hit an invisible barrier and could go no further. I don’t remember saying aloud the words, it was more like I just had the thought, but I told my [deceased] grandfather to help me and not to leave me. He stopped, turned, and looked at me and communicated that I couldn’t come just yet that they weren’t ready for me.”
Edna encountered an invisible barrier on a bridge she couldn’t cross: “I went outside to the most wonderful blue sky and green grass. There was a bridge. I asked to cross it, but I could not – there was some kind of invisible barrier. Someone I felt I knew appeared on the other side of the bridge… and he said, ‘It is not time yet, you still have work to do.'”
Murray P. encountered a bridge he couldn’t cross: “I came to a small log bridge with two small knolls. On my side was a man dressed in a dark suit (contemporary dress) and on the other side of the bridge was a man dressed in a white full length robe. He had long flowing silver hair that extended to the upper part of his back. He held a staff in his left hand and held up his right hand motioning for me to stop. He said, ‘Go no further, you have much to do.'”
Denny B. encountered a bridge he was unable to cross: “I did not go through a tunnel of light, I was immediately there. They helped me across a long white bridge. To my left about halfway across the bridge was a large city made of light. The colors were silver blue, white, and silver. It looked like crystal light. I was getting better as we approached the end of the bridge, and entered into a large white dome at the end of the bridge.”
Kate L. encountered a bridge she couldn’t cross: “I came out into a place so bright with flowers and trees and a stream with a bridge over it… At the other side of the bridge were my Grandma… I went to step onto the bridge and my Grandma told me to go back, that it was not my time.”
Lee Shi’s grandaunt encountered a bridge she couldn’t cross: “She reached to the edge of a bridge and saw houses on the other side of the bridge were very beautiful, much more prettier than the ones of her own and ours. Before she approached towards the bridge for a tour, a guard by the bridge had stopped her. Two men came over to her saying fiercely, ‘It is not your time yet, go back!'”
Maria F. encountered a bridge she couldn’t cross: “I looked to my left and there was a splendid man in a white robe, with shoulder-length hair, beard and mustache. Then he was in front of me. There was a bridge separating us, and he communicated in telepathy. I understood that I could go no further.”
Stephanie R. encountered a bridge she couldn’t cross: “I saw this white bridge with my dead uncle Nick standing there. I went up to him and he spoke to me. He was telling me that this was the ‘family bridge’ where everyone in our family goes after we die. One member of the family is there to greet us. After we cross the bridge, there is no going back.”
Anthony M. encountered a bridge he couldn’t cross: “I saw a little white footbridge made up of stone with a wrought iron and darkly stained oak handrail. I looked up to the left of the bridge. That’s where my [deceased] family was standing.”
Edwin saw a bridge he didn’t cross with other souls crossing over: “There was a small bridge and many people passing through over this bridge. As soon as they passed this bridge they didn’t walk any more, they just floated away. There was crystal water running beyond this bridge and all the people were wearing white.”
Julie H. encountered a bridge to heaven she didn’t cross: “I looked off into the distance behind me. I could see a line of people walking across a bridge. When they were on my side of the bridge, they looked dull. Once on the other side, they were wearing white garments and looked bright. I looked at Jesus and asked if that was the way to heaven. He smiled and said, ‘Yes.'”
Laura C. encountered a bridge leading to a City of Light she didn’t cross: “I saw the bridge and the city again. This time there where orbs that looked so beautiful flying over the city. It felt far away and the bridge felt farther away.” Laura’s deceased grandfather told her to go back.
Randy Gehling met his deceased grandfather on a bridge leading to a City of Light: “Just a little ways off I could see a bridge with someone standing on it. Beyond the bridge, I saw a golden city with towers like European castles. The whole city seemed to be shining with light that shot up into the sky like a giant searchlight.”
Debbie encountered a bridge she didn’t cross: “When I came out of my body, I was on a bridge. In the distance and over the water was a really beautiful harbor and city infused with a golden light. The feeling of leaning on the side of the bridge looking at the play of light on the water was an indescribable joy.”
Monique encountered a bridge she didn’t cross: “Coming out of the ‘light’, a paradisiacal landscape opened up before me. At first, its little wooden bridge, where a river was flowing underneath, and opposite at the left, in a mountain landscape… Deceased members of my family awaited me at the other side of the ‘bridge.'”
Cherie J. encountered a bridge she didn’t cross: “There is a kind of light bridge to cross. At the other end of the bridge, there is more of the same blue – it’s a blue path, and on it, there are people dressed in white robes, like monks… One of the people parts from the group, looks at me, and waves me away with his hand, telling me to go back to where I came from.”
Gary G. encountered a bridge he didn’t cross with Jesus on the other side: “In front of me was a medium-sized stream with a white bridge over it. Jesus was standing on the other side of the bridge.” Gary G. decided not to cross over to Jesus.
Wendy G. encountered a bridge she didn’t cross: “I saw my [deceased] grandmother, running with children, towards me. She took me by the hand and we were at the beginning of a bridge over a small creek. We talked for what seemed like hours about my life since she had died… I said that I wanted to stay and she said ‘It is not your time.'”
C.D. encountered a bridge he didn’t cross: “I was in a wonderful light. I saw a bridge. Across the bridge were people I knew who had died… a voice said I had to go back.”
Amanda encountered a bridge she didn’t cross: “I was elsewhere, in a place where there was a great bridge of light, very big, on the right hand side. On the left there was one made of fire. Obviously, I was going towards the bridge of light. Suddenly, I remember saying to the Lord: ‘Lord, let me go back.'”
Oscar C. encountered a bridge he didn’t cross: “Then I was walking on a bridge that was ancient looking with rock and cobblestones… At the end of the bridge were an old wooden door and a tall male figure standing by it… He then put his hand on my shoulder and I woke up in a Life-flight helicopter.”
6. A Door as a Barrier
Sylvia Browne states that “evil” people go through the “left door” into the Void: “Upon death, most people go through a heavenly process before entering into heaven. Evil people, instead of experiencing the tunnel and bright light upon death, are sent through what Sylvia calls the ‘left door’ and enter into an abyss of empty, joyless, nothingness for a brief period of time… Most people, who go through the heavenly process, go through a tunnel and towards the light of God.”
Freida D. attempted suicide and encountered a door: “Then to my right (or south) was a rainbow door. An almost perfectly square rainbow door… then there I was dancing around the front of the door almost mocking it. I would put one foot inside the door and one foot out as part of my dance. I would stick my whole head in there and see the two paths that existed on the other side of that door. The one to the left is the one that my knowing knew to be the one I was to take.”
Don Brubaker encountered a door leading to hell: “Before me, suddenly, stood a huge black door. The air began to glow and shimmer with oppressive heat. I watched as the door opened upon a vast, flaming oven. I felt myself drawn like a magnet into the center of the flames – although I was terrified to go in. There were hundreds of others already there, roasting to death, but not dead. Once I was inside, the door slammed shut behind me.” Don Brubaker and the other souls in hell were laughing because the flames did not hurt them.
Dr. William Serdahely describes a door leading to the world of light: Dr. Serdahely’s 1995 paper “Variations from the prototypic near-death experience: The ‘individually tailored’ hypothesis” describes NDErs encountering a barrier: “And the man who was transported by a cart or gurney through the tunnel found two ‘concrete doors’ closing on the world of light before he could enter it and join his father, godfather, and coworkers.”
Rachel B. encountered a door he couldn’t enter: “I could see a brilliant light as if it were coming from behind a door an indefinite distance away. I wanted to go through the door but could not because of what the doctors were doing… unless they let that entity die, I could not live to go through the door to the light.”
Leanne V. tried to enter a doorway to the light but couldn’t: “There was a lighted ‘doorway’ above me, and the light from outside that door flooded the vast room I was in. I was struggling to make it to the doorway, but somehow I then knew I couldn’t make it yet. I realized I had to stay and help the people who were crying out below.”
Deborah S. encountered a tall door she couldn’t enter: “On the other side stood a male being in a white gown and a black and white long haired dog. I do not know how I got across the water but I went to them and they led me to a very, very tall golden knobbed door. As I went to put my hand on the door a being said something to me and in my mind. I started to think of my three small children. The next thing I felt was a swish and I was in total darkness.”
Dane L. encountered a door to heaven, but couldn’t enter: “I saw a long, bright, clean corridor. I ‘walked,’ not sure how I moved, down the corridor toward a white door at the end. I noticed that the door was very beautiful, not ornate, but clean and had a very beautiful gold knob. I looked at the knob for what seemed several minutes. I knew I could not open the door, but I wanted to. I knew that heaven was on the other side, but I couldn’t go.”
Sally E. encountered a door she couldn’t enter: “I was in a long hallway. It reminded me of a hotel hallway, because I was aware of doors all along both sides. At the end of the hallway was one door that had such a bright light behind it, the rays were seeping out on all sides of the door.”
Curtis P. encountered a door he couldn’t enter: “As it got closer, I saw that it was a door… When it came to me, I knocked on the door. As it opened this unbelievably bright and pure white light came pouring out into the darkness from inside. I wanted to go inside so bad I could taste it. I wanted to go in there more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. I remember this feeling of finally going home for the first time in my life, but then as I began to cross the threshold and enter I heard this very loud, though not shouting, deep voice say ‘No.'”
Jean K. encountered a door he couldn’t open: “I walked a step or two before I saw a door at the end of the tunnel. It was a heavy, ornate, blue door. I had no sooner determined that I wanted to go up to the door, when suddenly, there I was. I tried to open it, but I couldn’t. Then information just flowed into me. I was told that once the door was opened, I would be confronted with a choice.”
Peter M. encountered a doorway he didn’t enter: “At the end of the tunnel, there was a doorway without a door. Outside this door, a very bright light was shining the tunnel.”
Kevin C. encountered a doorway with his mother which he couldn’t enter: “She was calling for me to come through the doorway and I couldn’t stop myself. It was my mom. As I was about to pass through I felt a hand on my chest and heard the words, ‘Not yet.'”
Gary J. encountered a door he chose not to enter: “Still at the door… I was given a choice. I could stay, or I could step through the door. It was my choice. If I stepped through the door, I was not staying where I was. And that decision was okay.”
Don A. encountered a door he chose not to enter: “There was a brilliant light beyond the door. I was standing with my left arm extended upwards to push the door open. I could feel the warmth of the light and was drawn to it. I thought to myself, ‘If I go through the door, I will not want to come back.'”
Glenda G. encountered a door she chose not to enter: “But there were three steps that led up to a platform of sorts, and there was a door across from the steps. I instinctively knew that every person and every animal I have ever loved in my life was alive and well beyond that door.”
Joseph C. attempted suicide and encountered a door he chose not to enter: “The next thing I knew I was in a very bright, unearthly, white place with literally no dimensions – only a door up ahead. A man had an unbreakable grip on my arm, and we were walking towards this door. He said ‘once you go through the door, you can never come back.’ All I knew was I had to not go through the door and to do everything I could not do.”
Anne N. encountered a door she chose not to enter: “I noticed, in particular, that this room had a door, which I felt was special in some way. Then I became aware that I was no longer alone. God was there!… I knew He was asking me if I was too tired to go through that door. Through that door would be my death.”
Jesse N. encountered a door with a being of love on the other side: “There was a door in front of me and I could hear joyous laughter coming from inside the door coming from too many people! I had this uncontrollable desire to step inside the door and meet all those souls!… This man comes from the door. I don’t think I can find the right words to describe him here. His eyes was like an endless sea of love.”
Shannon C. encountered a door with heaven and Jesus on the other side: “A door opened, the kind of door that elevators have. I saw a glimpse of heaven. This was the Garden of Eden, the way God intended it to be… there was a figure who came from one of the mountains. He glowed like white golden light.”
Laura V. encountered a door where she met Jesus: “I saw a golden door in the wall of the room where there had been no door before. I went out this golden door, and immediately saw Christ.”
Cathleen C. was shown doors leading to reincarnation: “I asked Him, ‘Please tell me. When we, your children, come into existence, do we live just one time or do we live over and over?’ He said, ‘It’s like this.’ He took me to the entrance of a hall. We stood and looked down this long hall and there were millions and millions of doorways leading off this hall. He made me aware that there were many choices available to me and that that choice was the very answer to the question I had asked. The choice was up to ME. He made me understand that I could choose to stay where I was, that I could choose to walk down that hall and pick a door. He made me aware that picking a door would be my exit out of heaven and I would be born again out of the womb of some woman somewhere on Earth.”
7. A Border on the Other Side
In Dr. Kenneth Ring‘s 1980 book, “Life At Death,” he implies that “all we can really say from near-death research is that something seems to continue to exist at the moment of nearly dying; what lies beyond the border the NDEr is not allowed to cross, we simply do not know for certain.”
In Dr. Kenneth Ring‘s 1985 book, “Heading Toward Omega,” he states: “In many NDE reports, a border or limit is occasionally perceived; a point of no return is reached. At this border the person then chooses (or is instructed) to return to life, sometimes by the presence of light. Of course in the Tibetan [Buddhist] bardo teachings there is no parallel to this, because they describe what happens to a person who actually dies. It has been said the NDE can be viewed as an evolutionary device to bring about a transformation in humanity as a whole, over a period of years, in millions of persons.”
In Dr. Kenneth Ring‘s 2008 book, “Mindsight: Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences in the Blind,” he states that out of 21 blind NDErs, 6 of them encountered a border or limit during their NDE.
Martha Anne St. Claire reached a border during her NDE. She insisted that she wanted to go back. Then she was drawn toward a border that would lead her even more deeply into heaven, but knew if she passed through it, she couldn’t return to Earth. She saw many other things, including in the distance, an entrance to a cave glowing with light that led into another dimension where people were studying and learning lots of information.
Susanne G. encountered a border she couldn’t cross: “My transition had been denied. I was just on the threshold of leaving and then something yanked me back or pushing me away. I can’t say exactly what. That wasn’t my decision. There’s only one thing that I know for sure, a part of my soul had been lost at the border.”
Leni D. encountered a border she chose not to cross: “I came to a border that I could have passed but would have been done with Earth. I was in control and it was so beautiful how much it was up to me. Whatever I chose to do would have been the right answer according to the universe in that moment.”
Diego W. encountered a “channel” on the floor representing a border: “I could see that between its center and myself was a slice or a differential channel on the floor. It let me know that I could jump over it, but then I could never return. Then I suggested that without living any more experiences, I could return.”
Sharlene S. decided to return to care for her sick husband: “I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life. I was so concerned for my husband because he was very sick and I had been the one taking care of him. I was worried for him and for my family.”
Andrew M.’s deceased grandmother acted as a border he couldn’t cross: “I know I didn’t want to return to my body, but my grandmother told me that I needed to saying, ‘I had more to do’ and I ‘wasn’t meant to stay yet.’ I returned reluctantly to my body.”
Marten M. encountered spirit guides who told him it wasn’t his time to die: “I don’t remember what was said only that I was told that it wasn’t my time yet and that I had to go back because my work wasn’t done.”
Micki P. encountered God acting as a border he couldn’t cross: “God spoke mentally to me and told me to go back; your time has not yet come.”
Riley H. was helped by God in deciding to return to life: “When I stood in the presence of God, I knew I was at a turning point. I didn’t want to return, but when He said I ‘missed the boat,’ I knew I didn’t want to go where He wasn’t.”
Mori C. encountered a border between the physical and the celestial: “I saw a whirlwind of white light. Then, I am between a border separating the world here from the celestial or astral. I entered in a light that illuminated this experience. It was brilliant and beautiful all along a white passageway. I saw Jesus, very beautiful and serene. He told me that it is too early for me to be here.”
Terry E. encountered Jesus acting as a border she chose not to cross: “He (Jesus) asked me if I would like to return. I felt that he already knew the answer, but was asking out of politeness. I told him that I wanted to stay here and raise my daughter. He said, ‘As you wish,’ and at that instant, I was back in my body.”
Lisa M. encountered the Being of Light and was told she had to return: “I remember is suddenly finding myself back in the presence of the Being of Light I’d met first, and told I had to go back.”
Teri R. encountered a Being of Light who helped her choose to return: “I also came to an understanding that heaven isn’t a place you are admitted to but it is a frequency that you attain. Being in the presence of White Light was ‘heaven…’ What must change in order to experience the higher frequencies of love, peace, joy, bliss and the tranquility I was a part of in that experience, is a person’s own consciousness. They must truly become what they want to have and be. So I begged for the opportunity to go back and do just that.”
Jeff F. encountered Beings of Light who said he needed to return: “I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life. I was not given a choice. I had to return to my physical life.”
8. A Point of No Return
NDE researcher Todd Murphy postulates that beyond the “point of no return” is the process of reincarnation: “Each person experiences the same state of consciousness prior to the cessation of subjective experience. This implies that the “point of no return” reported by many NDErs, beyond which they felt resuscitation would have been impossible, is a manifestation of a state of consciousness that will eventually appear in each death process unless it is interrupted, often eliciting an NDE report… The specific phenomenology of any particular instance of a ‘point of no return’ – its vocabulary – will be confabulated individually according to these and other factors; but the underlying state of consciousness will be the same… I propose that NDEs are the subjective experience of having one’s randomly appearing state of consciousness at the time of death brought, in stages, to the nonrandom life review and ‘point of no return…’ The guaranteed result is the ‘point of no return’ and eventual rebirth.”
Todd Murphy compares Western NDEs with Thai NDEs: “Whereas Western NDErs may reach a ‘point of no return’ and choose to return to life, Thai NDErs are typically told they were taken because of a clerical mistake and told to return to the body.”
Lael encountered a point of no return: “I ‘fell’ upward through that light, but when I reached a threshold, a point of no return, I was stopped. I kept looking into the light. Within it were all the love, beauty, acceptance, and bliss imaginable. How can one describe perfection? I knew God was behind that light and I wanted more than anything to join the beings that I knew were with Him. However, a voice said, ‘Go back. It isn’t time.’”
Blanca A. encountered a point of no return: “My [deceased] uncle had come with things he wanted me to go back and tell my family. Nothing physically restrained me but it was a feeling that I could not go beyond that point even though I really wanted to.”
Stanley S. encountered a point of no return: “I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life. I felt a point of no return. I was scared that I had wasted my life, so I needed to go back.”
Louis S. encountered a point of no return: “The light gave me a sensation of a limit, a point of no return.”
Cynthia N. encountered a point of no return: “I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life. I remember saying in my head that I should call out for someone, but I honestly didn’t care. It was so peaceful and calm that I was happy to be in either place. I remember thinking that for some reason that I didn’t want to go yet.”
Ricardo AH encountered a point of no return: “The path from the light in the cloud (point of no return) to the interior of the frozen lake was a sudden change of scene. The scene, in which I leave the frozen water, resulted in my decision to leave it to be able to breathe.”
Kathy W. encountered a point of no return: “My consciousness continued to expand and I realized if I let it continue I would be beyond a point of no return (from death). I don’t know how to explain it but I could hear that point approaching and knew I had to stop.”
Ted M. encountered a point of no return: “If I had crossed that point of no return earlier while in the wilderness and not while on the operating table, I may not be alive today discussing my experience.”
Nicholas G. encountered a point of no return: “I knew it as the Void. This was a point of no return; I knew definitively that if I passed through the veil that this body would expire immediately. There was no going back after this.”
Marc O. encountered a point of no return: “I guessed a certain line that was not to be crossed, a point of no return.”
Chad C. encountered a point of no return: “I felt like the cliff was a ‘point of no return’ and the people were trying to push me back. I didn’t make a choice to return. Something pushed or pulled me backward.”
Paul G. encountered a point of no return: “I reached the ‘revolving door’ that was the point of no return. This I knew, having full knowledge. I came to an abrupt halt and was returned back to little Earth.”
9. A Line That Cannot Be Crossed
Dr. Willam Serdahely’s 1995 paper “Variations from the prototypic near-death experience: The ‘individually tailored’ hypothesis” describes NDErs encountering a barrier: “One of the three [NDErs] was instructed apparently by a deceased grandmother not to cross a line in front of her… Other respondents encountered barriers besides the above described barrier represented by a line.”
Kerry Kirk encountered a line she couldn’t cross: “I looked over to the right and in the distance I could see a beautiful valley with lots of people. There was someone looking out over all of it. I felt that it was Jesus. I then looked down and saw a line. My foot was stepping over the line to go to be with the others. Then I was told, ‘If you cross that line you can’t go back, it would mean you would have to die.'”
Jennifer V. encountered a line she didn’t cross: “I was shown my body below, in the plane in which I knew there is a line between here and there.”
Mary R. encountered a line she couldn’t cross: “There was a line that you could not see, yet I instinctively knew that if I crossed it I would not be able to come back.”
Otto J. encountered a line he couldn’t cross: “I just wanted to move forward and that’s where I went. As the mist cleared I looked down. There was a line or boundary that I knew I wasn’t to cross.”
10. Spirits of Loved Ones as a Barrier
Dr. Willam Serdahely’s 1995 paper “Variations from the prototypic NDE: The ‘individually tailored’ hypothesis” describes NDErs encountering a barrier: “The woman who was attacked found the distal end of the tunnel blocked by a male figure she identified as her deceased father, whose presence created a barrier to moving into the world of light… Finally, it is possible that the unpleasant affective tone of the three NDErs, who were minors at the time of their frightening NDEs (ages 5 or 6, 8, and 12 respectively), served as a barrier to further passage down the tunnel. The frightening, unpleasant quality apparently prevented them from going on and, in effect, sent them back to their bodies.”
A 21-year old Iranian Muslim NDEr encountered lights (spirits) that serve as a barrier: “Then I became a pure, white, transparent spirit, ascending towards heaven. All around me were other intense white lights. The lights seemed to serve as a barrier between me and God.”
Linda was not allowed to get closer to her deceased father: “Inside the light was my deceased dad… I was told telepathically that I had to go back and complete my mission… I was not allowed to get close to my Dad, and even though I was very happy there.”
Bolette L. met deceased loved ones who told him to go back: “I reached a beautiful spot where some souls came towards me. I recognized some of them, those I had known in my current life, those who had passed… They all said that I had to go back, and it wasn’t my time yet.”
Hera A. was pulled back by the prayers of loved ones: “Suddenly, I felt a pulling on my shoulders as if something was pulling me back, and it was revealed to me that the pulling was the prayers of my mother and my children. I immediately, said, ‘I gotta go,’ and I shot out of that tunnel so fast.”
Francesco D. encountered a barrier created by thinking of living loved ones: “I realized that I was dying and that I was already dead. It was at this point that I felt a terrible regret that I would be leaving my two daughters forever. It was only then, with this thought, that I encountered a barrier, a final limit. It was at this point that I was thrown backwards.”
Frances W. was stopped by God: “God spoke to me, but I could not see him. I was stopped. If I went any further, I could not go back to Earth. I had a choice to return or stay but I wanted to stay. God wanted me to go back and told me my purpose was not finished on this Earth.”
Light beings gave Don T. the option of reincarnation: “I then was told that I could stay with them if I liked and have a ‘rest’ but that I wasn’t finished. They said if I stayed, I would have to go back eventually. I understood this as going back in another body and starting all over.”
11. Conclusion
Across NDE testimonies, a barrier is encountered providing a consistent function: a point-of-no-return representing the end of the NDEr’s mission and time of permanent death. This barrier can be experienced as a fence, wall, bridge, curtain, door, line, invisible force, the silver cord’s “snap back,” or even the loving presence of spirit guides, deceased family members, Jesus or God. This barrier marks the limit beyond which earthly life cannot continue. At this threshold, NDErs are often instructed – or inwardly moved – to return because their learning, love, or mission on Earth is unfinished.
The spiritual guidance at this barrier (by deceased loved ones, guides, the Being of Light, Jesus/God) highlights an important truth: we are never without guidance concerning our destination in the spirit world. The boundary is guarded by beings who know our life and our time of death. The phenomenon of the silver cord corresponds with this as a spiritual connection that must remain intact if the NDEr’s mission and earthly life is to continue.
The barrier encountered may be culturally based, but its function remains the same: there is a limit we may approach but not cross until our mission is complete. This limit becomes a revelation of love, responsibility, and truth for the NDEr. What lies beyond this limit is rarely disclosed to those NDErs who return.
Some NDE testimonies suggest that the boundary interfaces with the life review and, for some, the next stage of growth, including the possibility of reincarnation. Yet NDEs come short of providing what lies beyond the boundary. Perhaps this withholding of what lies beyond is itself educational: the veil upholds the NDEr’s free will, focuses attention on the importance of life, and protects the NDEr’s destiny.
The barrier preserves the integrity of an unfinished life while reflecting back what matters most. Having encountered the barrier, NDErs return to life with a clarified mission: to love more, to serve others more, and to live more truthfully. And when the time for crossing the barrier comes, it will not be by accident, but in accordance to the NDEr’s destiny.
