This site uses affiliate links to Amazon.com Books for which IANDS can earn an affiliate commission if you click on those links and make purchases through them.
1. Introduction to NDE Consciousness Expansion
Near-death experiences (NDEs) have long fascinated researchers and laypeople alike due to their profound implications on our understanding of consciousness, mortality, and the human mind. Many NDE testimonies involve the experiencer describing how their consciousness expanded until it filled the entire universe – even beyond. This phenomenon has been described as literally ‘becoming the universe’ by near-death experiencers.
The following is an overview of how consciousness is described to expand during NDEs:
2. OBE Consciousness Expansion
One of the most commonly reported aspects of NDEs is the sensation of leaving one’s body. Individuals often describe seeing themselves from above, observing the medical scene around them with an unusual level of detail and clarity. This phenomenon is frequently cited as evidence of consciousness existing independently of the physical body, suggesting an expansion or alteration in the state of consciousness where one’s sense of self transcends physical boundaries.
“Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system, in all its splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light speed, I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy, and all of the Universe, is bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds. The good news is that we are not alone in this Universe! As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy. The super clusters of galaxies with all their ancient wisdom flew by. At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But then I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also EXPANDING to take in everything in the Universe!” (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
“The Light allowed me to EXPAND and become one with the universe, and then rammed me back into my frail, earthly body.” (Andrew Petro)
“Awareness EXPANDED beyond the universe and deep into the Void… Vision EXPANDED and finer tuned… Hearing was replaced with EXPANDED awareness.” (Doug F.)
After hovering around New York, Susan Blackmore floated back to her room in Oxford where she became very small and entered her body’s toes. Then she grew very big, as big as a planet at first, and then she filled the solar system and finally she became as large as THE UNIVERSE. Susan Blackmore believes that consciousness and NDEs are only secretions of the brain – much like a hallucination. If she is correct, then NDEs are nothing more than a mass hallucination. The problem with this idea is that unconscious brains do not hallucinate. And even if unconscious brains could hallucinate, they would not be able to retain unconscious memories. (Dr. Susan Blackmore)
“My consciousness had left space-time. It had entered another plane of reality, extending infinitely. This feeling of openness EXPANDED toward the universe, extending even to wholly containing it. In that moment, my consciousness was this bright space.” (Mathilde M.)
“My presence fills the room. And now I feel my presence in every room in the hospital. Even the tiniest space in the hospital is filled with this presence that is me. I sense myself beyond the hospital, above the city, even encompassing earth. I am melting into THE UNIVERSE. I am everywhere at once.” (Josiane Antonette)
“In that instant, total knowledge of reality appeared to me and I saw the multi-dimensionality of the universe. My consciousness EXPANDED so far beyond the physical plane that I was no longer aware of it, nor of my self. I was so much a part of it all, there was no distinction.” (Diane Goble)
“I was home. Time and space fell away as the constructs they are, and I EXPANDED into a sense of connection and simultaneous awareness of the inner intentions of every energetic body there.” (Caini R.)
“I recall how EXPANDED my mind was when all the possibilities extended around me into infinity in all directions.” (Daphne B.)
“I felt myself becoming more and more aware, self-aware. I had feelings of EXPANDING awareness, becoming everything known, experiencing everything yet to be known.” (Curtis K.)
3. Sensory Perception Expansion
During NDEs, individuals often report an increase in sensory perception, with colors appearing more vivid, sounds more distinct, and a heightened awareness of their surroundings. This sensory enhancement seems to occur in a state where the brain, according to traditional science, should be incapable of such function due to oxygen deprivation or cardiac arrest. This has led some to theorize that consciousness might not be solely a product of brain activity but could have an aspect that functions beyond the physical.
“I was more conscious and alert in the sense that my senses were EXPANDED beyond normal physical mind/body sensing. I was aware of more, more of me, more of All… our EXPANDED awareness selves, the whole of who we really are, our consciousness without the physical limitations and the All That Is.” (Natalie Sudman)
“The stars seemed to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a tunnel around me. I began to sense awareness, knowledge. The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge I received. My mind felt like a sponge, growing and EXPANDING in size with each addition. The knowledge came in single words and in whole idea blocks. I just seemed to be able to understand everything as it was being soaked up or absorbed. I could feel my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to belong. It was as if I had known already but forgotten or mislaid it, as if it were waiting here for me to pick it up on my way by.” (Virginia Rivers)
“In that state of consciousness it seemed to me as the knowledge had EXPANDED and there was much clarity of thought.” (Nilda P.)
“[I was] more alert, more EXPANDED than ever. It was actually like I knew everything about everything. Total, complete knowledge. Total, complete, consciousness.” (Lisa M.)
“My sense of self was EXPANDED to an extent that would (here) be unbelievable. Part of that EXPANSION of self was as I have said to do with my sense that my ego had fallen away… I was part of this total meta-mind and my sense of self EXPANDED accordingly.” (Peter N.)
“I became aware that there is no death and that we do not end at our fingertips. We are much more EXPANDED than our physical body and our senses make us feel.” (Helen S.)
“[My NDE vision] was definitely different, EXPANDED and not normal according to conventional human wisdom… Everything was more EXPANDED, clearer… I didn’t have ‘hearing’ or ‘vision’ as I know it here. There was a sense of all knowing without limitations.” (Cara)
“At the final moment it was as if my consciousness was EXPANDED and speeded up… [My thoughts moved] incredibly fast.” (Carlos C.)
“When I jumped into the light I felt the happiest and EXPANDED… My vision EXPANDED, as if I zoomed out and could see a lot more things, all happening at once.” (Romy)
“All my senses – hearing, seeing, tasting, thinking, and other abilities I didn’t know I had, were at such high fidelity it was of being a totally different creature… All my senses were EXPANDED far beyond what I, and everyone else, is dealing with in human bodies on this planet.” (Greg S.)
“I felt as though my mind and awareness has EXPANDED greatly, allowing me to perceive and more importantly to understand all things with much greater depth, serenity and wisdom.” (Kathy M.)
“I looked down my body and knew that there were many people in the room… They too were the color of this deep blue, their scrubs, their bodies as well. In fact the room, though it felt very small, I knew EXPANDED to infinity in all directions with this deep, deep blue.” (Dea M.)
“My conscious awareness EXPANDED into a greater realm and with greater perception. It was not limited to the usual senses or the brain. I knew I had left my body behind and had become my true self.” (Brian T.)
“I saw a flash of light from behind me and ‘whoosh’ we were back in space. I felt like I was ever EXPANDING and knew where everything was, how far the planets were from me. There seemed to be no boundary that I could sense or feel.” (Sarah W.)
4. Expansive Feeling of Profound Peace and Love
Many describe an overwhelming sense of peace, love, and well-being, often accompanied by feelings of unity with the universe or a divine presence. This emotional and spiritual expansion is not just subjective but can lead to lasting changes in personality, where individuals report becoming more compassionate, less materialistic, and less fearful of death thereafter. Some researchers argue that this could indicate a consciousness that expands into a state of transcendent awareness, potentially connected to broader existential or spiritual dimensions.
“Then I simply remember I became more blissful, more rapturous, more ecstatic. I was just filling and filling with this light and love that was in the light… I reached the point in the rapture of it all where I thought to myself suddenly, the first thought. ‘I wonder how much more of this I can stand before I shatter?’ With that thought, the light began to recede. So, the universe will not let us shatter. We cannot take in more of this bliss and joy than we are able to handle at a time.” (Jayne Smith)
“I felt as if I was an awareness, a being without a name or identity, and I was EXPANDING to the size of the cosmos… As my presence continued to EXPAND in a state of bliss, it felt as if I was nearing a point where I would explode into a billion atoms and forever be with God.” (Angela B.)
“I was then suddenly sucked into a luminous tunnel. I saw an immense light. I moved toward the light, feeling intense happiness and a fullness and peace I had never known. I felt my soul EXPAND… It felt like it encompassed the whole universe. It was wonderful as I bathed in universal love.” (Estelle D.)
“I was flying here and there through the black universe. I also could change my own size, sometimes I made myself small, sometimes I EXPANDED myself close to infinity. That was a great feeling and I tried more and more things. I enjoyed the vastness and infinity. I felt indescribably well, safe and endlessly free.” (Beatrice W.)
“My consciousness began to EXPAND until it encompassed the entire universe. I was filled with the most amazing, unconditional love, and I knew this love was God… It was pure bliss. I was all at once, everywhere and a part of everything in existence. I was filled with all the knowledge that existed and knew everything there was to know.” (Val C.)
“An explosion of Ecstasy and Love started from my belly and EXPANDED into the light itself. Soon, I became the Light and became Innocence, Love, Ecstasy Peace, Power and Beauty and Wisdom of the Light.” (David)
“There was only love; nothing but love. It was warm love, overwhelming love, precious love, EXPANDING, embracing, accepting, nourishing, and arms-wide-open big hug love! My self EXPANDED. I knew I was in the presence of God. I breathed His love into my perfect soul.” (Bobbie K.)
“I remember feeling like I was EXPANDING… I remember a wave of understanding and the sensation of the most exquisite joy imaginable. I remember that I understood everything. I remember rejoicing in that knowledge and feeling joy, happiness, and warmth.” (David B.)
5. Consciousness Expansion During Life Review
A significant aspect of some NDEs involves a life review, where individuals rapidly re-experience or see their life events, often with a deep understanding of the impact of their actions on others. This process is described as if consciousness is expanded to a point where one can view and evaluate life from an omniscient perspective, suggesting consciousness might have capabilities beyond linear time perception.
“And in your life review YOU’LL BE THE UNIVERSE and experience yourself in what you call your lifetime and how it affects the universe.” (Thomas Sawyer)
“I saw that I, myself, had designed the life I would lead before voluntarily coming into this world… and it was my mind with an EXPANDED consciousness that judged itself and sifted its actions through the filter of perfect, conscious love.” (Hafur)
Read more about NDE life reviews here: https://near-death.com/life-review/
6. Consciousness Expansion From Encounters with Deceased Relatives or Beings of Light
Encounters with deceased loved ones, religious figures, or beings of light are common, where the experience is described as exceptionally real and comforting. This aspect often leads to a reevaluation of one’s beliefs about life after death, suggesting that consciousness might interact with or exist in realms beyond our physical understanding.
“I was involved in this tremendous pouring forth of gratitude and joy and as that was going inside me, this white light began to infiltrate my consciousness. It came into me. It seemed I went out into it. I EXPANDED into it as it came into my field of consciousness.” (Jayne Smith)
“I felt caught up in all of this to the very depths of my being. I felt myself EXPANDING and EXPANDING until I thought, ‘I’m going to burst!’ The moment I thought, ‘I’m going to burst!’, I suddenly found myself alone, back where this being had met me, and he had gone.” (Margaret Tweddell)
“First, my level of alertness did not change after it EXPANDED dramatically once I was thoroughly infused with the Light. Second, my level of consciousness continued to evolve through higher and more EXPANSIVE levels until I was about to fully merge into Source/God.” (Nanci Danison)
“My consciousness EXPANDED to the point where I could feel everything happening on both sides of the tunnel. I not only felt this body rapidly expiring, but I also felt and experienced everything going on just beyond the wall of light.” (Nicholas G.)
“My lower, ordinary consciousness EXPANDED and merged wholly into this Being. For a few moments, I forgot my own narrow personality and I became one with it. The Being had a quality of enormous but particular individuality.” (Mark W.)
“I feel that my awareness was omnipresent during the goldenness, EXPANDING vastly as I neared The Great Presence of Light. I was aware of all that is, was, and ever shall be.” (Yazmine S.)
“While I was EXPANDING or shrinking, I could not see the light because I was looking around. It wasn’t until I EXPANDED fully, that I could see the light in the center of me once I was looking within.” (Joshua L.)
7. Transformational After-Effects From Consciousness Expansion
Post-NDE, individuals often report a transformation in their worldview, with a profound shift towards spiritual or existential questions. This transformation is linked to an expansion of consciousness where one’s sense of identity, purpose, and connection to humanity or the cosmos is fundamentally altered.
“I received knowledge. I flew in outer space, until I reached Jupiter. I was EXPANDED and I was huge. My guides told me how planets were formed. Everything was discussed with me. I was sent back to my body. I came back crying, I had to take on a difficult life.” (Rita R.)
“[My] sense of EXPANDED consciousness was immediate. Full EXPANSION and understanding followed within an eternal instant… Upon my return, my consciousness was no longer EXPANDED boundlessly. It was as though a small desktop computer (me) had downloaded the entire contents of a super computer.” (Roger F.)
“More consciousness and alertness than normal. What remained, and was rediscovered later in life, and become almost permanent, was a deep knowing and feeling of EXPANDED awareness. It was deep wisdom, love, peace, and something much more open and free than any conceptually created identity.” (Colleen J.)
“[My] experience was definitely real immediately afterwards, I was very cloistered and withdrawn in my mind, however, as my awareness of many things had EXPANDED, I processed many things at a rapid rate.” (Larry M.)
8. Researchers on NDE Consciousness Expansion
From a scientific standpoint, explanations for NDEs range from physiological responses to oxygen deprivation, to the brain’s attempt to make sense of dying by creating vivid hallucinations or dreams. However, the consistency across cultures and the transformative impact on individuals’ lives suggest to some researchers that there might be more at play than mere biological processes. Neurologists and consciousness researchers have begun to look at these experiences as windows into understanding how consciousness might exist or operate beyond our current scientific models.
Dr. Stanislav Grof’s research: “I had my training as a psychiatrist, a physician and then as a Freudian analyst. When I became interested in non-ordinary states and started serving powerful mystical experiences, also having some myself, my first idea was that it (consciousness) has to be hard-wired in the brain. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how something like that is possible. Today, I came to the conclusion that [consciousness] is not coming from the brain. In that sense, it supports what Aldous Huxley believed after he had some powerful psychedelic experiences and was trying to link them to the brain. He came to the conclusion that maybe the brain acts as a kind of reducing valve that actually protects us from too much cosmic input.
“So, I don’t see, for example, that experiences of archetypal realms, heavens, paradises, experiences of archetypal beings, such as deities, demons from different cultures, that people typically have in these states that they can be somehow explained as something that comes from the brain. I don’t think you can locate the source of consciousness. I am quite sure it is not in the brain not inside of the skull. It actually, according to my experience, would lie beyond time and space, so it is not localizable. You actually come to the source of consciousness when you dissolve any categories that imply separation, individuality, time, space and so on. You just experience it as a presence. People who have these experiences can either perceive that source or they can actually become the source, completely dissolved and experience that source. But such categories as time and space, localization coordinates, are not relevant for that experience. You actually have a sense that the concepts of time and space come from that place. They are generated by that place; but, the cosmic source itself, the cosmic consciousness cannot be located certainly not in the material world.” (Dr. Stanislav Grof, from the NDE video, Life After Death, YouTube video, Episode 8, Wellspring Media)
Dr. Peter Fenwick’s NDE research: The late Peter Fenwick was a neuropsychiatrist and the leading authority in Britain on NDEs who described how NDEs are unique to any other state of consciousness. In the documentary, “Into the Unknown: Strange But True,” Dr. Fenwick explained:
“In the NDE, you are unconscious. One of the things we know about brain function in unconsciousness, is that you cannot create images and if you do, you cannot remember them … The brain isn’t functioning. It’s not there. It’s destroyed. It’s abnormal. But, yet, it can produce these very clear experiences [NDEs] … an unconscious state is when the brain ceases to function. For example, if you faint, you fall to the floor, you don’t know what’s happening and the brain isn’t working. The memory systems are particularly sensitive to unconsciousness. So, you won’t remember anything. But, yet, after one of these experiences [NDEs], you come out with clear, lucid memories … This is a real puzzle for science. I have not yet seen any good scientific explanation which can explain that fact.” (Dr. Peter Fenwick)
Dr. Timothy Leary’s Psychedelic research: “You must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a limitless range of awareness for which we now have no words; that AWARENESS can EXPAND beyond the range of your ego, your self, your familiar identity, beyond everything you have learned, beyond your notions of space and time, beyond the differences which usually separate people from each other and from the world around them.” (Dr. Timothy Leary)
“Another large [NDE] category is that participants use descriptive words such as empathy, feelings, emotions, intuition, EXPANDED awareness, and love. The EXPANDED awareness of being able to feel other peoples’ feelings helps the person to be able to say the right thing for healing to occur.” (Jody Long)
“How much more exhilarating to be ‘out of’ in a world where the only limit is the imagination than to be in the physical world in a powerless body… freed of the constraints imposed by physical life, EXPANDED by awareness that limits can be transcended, who knows what we could be, or become?” (Journi A. Smed)
“Stage by stage we expand into the planetary spheres, like light that has been contained within a darkened glass, when finally uncovered and released goes out into the boundless universe. The moral disposition we carry over with us allows or prevents us from moving on in a conscious manner. Seeing how we expand toward the stars and planets after death, it’s no wonder we look at the night sky in awe with feelings of reverence and maybe even memories.” (Rudolf Steiner)
9. Conclusion
Near-death experiences offer a unique lens through which to explore the potential for consciousness expansion. They challenge conventional views on the mind-body relationship, suggesting that consciousness might have dimensions or capabilities not yet fully understood by science. While the debate continues between those who see NDEs as purely biological phenomena and those who view them as evidence of something more profound, these experiences undeniably expand our philosophical and scientific inquiry into what it means to be conscious.
