Orbs and the Near-Death Experience - Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife

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1. Introduction to Orbs and NDEs

Many near-death accounts describe encounters with orbs. An “orb” is defined in the dictionary as: “a sphere, a spherical body, a globe.” NDE orbs are often spherical representations of souls. They have been described in many various ways.

The following is a list of descriptions of the orbs described in near-death accounts profiled on this website:

Red and yellow; beach-ball sized of lavender-purple light; tiny balls of light, glowing with light and color and bouncing like bubbles in a glass of carbonated water; five balls of light with different hues such as shades of rose petals, bluish hue, pinkish, and deeper shades of red and orange; millions of them joining with creatures on planets like bees flitting from flower to flower; a shimmering, luminescent, crystal globe; millions of spheres of light flying about and entering and leaving a great being-ness at the center; a giant sphere of light which Jesus and angels transformed into; a globe of infinite dimensions whose center is full of light, the purest of God’s creations; and a bright, warm, loving orb of understanding.

2. The Soul as an Orb

In the outstanding book by Robert J. Grant about mystical experiences, near-death experiences, and the Edgar Cayce material, Universe of Worlds, he documents the testimony of a woman named Jan Manette who had the following very interesting mystical experience involving orbs while witnessing the September 11th terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Jan Manette was two weeks into her new job as a Pentagon consultant and was late for work on that fateful morning of September 11th. For some strange reason she didn’t hear her alarm clock go off which made her late and in a panic. She was under stress because of her new job and on top of that now she was late which made her even more stressed. Being late for anything is her biggest pet peeve and she always prides herself as being a person who is always punctual. But being late that morning also made her very perplexed because she always hears the alarm go off and usually woke up before it went off.

As she was fighting the Washington DC traffic, she became relieved when she finally saw the Pentagon building. But she immediately became afraid when she saw something hovering over the building that also brought her a feeling of dread over her. She saw what looked like a huge, black, oval mass or cloudlike thing on top of the Pentagon building. She knew that it wasn’t a cloud or smoke because of its shape. It was oval, symmetrical and perfectly still and looking at it made her feel awful because, more than anything, it appeared to be evil. Stranger still, above this black oval mass was a brilliant oval white mass which made the whole thing look a little like the Chinese yin-yang symbol. What Jan saw before the plane crashed into the Pentagon was “the most powerful, unexplainable thing I’ve ever seen.”

Within a minute of seeing this evil black mass over the Pentagon, she saw the plane that was filled with innocent people and being flown by some terrorists heading straight for the Pentagon. She said that it was like seeing something totally incomprehensible. Before the plane crashed, she felt as if everything went into slow motion, literally, as though she was watching a movie in slow motion. The plane was still some distance from the Pentagon when all at once she saw these round sphere-like orbs of light rising up out of the plane. Dozens of them came out of the plane, and then it seemed as if hundreds of them rose out of the roof of the Pentagon. Everything was in slow motion except those round lights. Then they zoomed upward in a sort of spiral motion – all of them together – upward through that awful blackness and then they disappeared into the whiteness.

In a flash of instantaneous knowing, she was divinely reassured that those orbs of light were the souls of those who were about to die in the terrorist crash. She said she knew that their souls were removed from their bodies before the actual crash into the Pentagon.

Jan talked with other witnesses to the terrorist attack and no one seems to have seen what she witnessed. Nevertheless, Jan believes there was a spiritual reason for her having this experience. Had she not slept in that morning she would probably be dead. That day was the beginning of her spiritual life. Although she was glad she wasn’t killed, dealing with the profound survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress of witnessing the plane crash, sent her into bouts of depression. Yet the thing that brought her peace about it was seeing the souls of the victims leave for heaven before the plane crashed. She believes that despite the fact that God is unable to stop the terrible things that people do to each others, God is present at the darkest times of traumatic situations. She now knows that God takes care of the souls involved behind the scenes.

Perhaps Jan survived and witnessed what she did so that this message might be told – although we grieve over the loss of our loved ones who died like this, we can be assured that God provides a safe passage for their souls before the horror. Although what she witnessed didn’t take the horror away, it awakened her to a new understanding that, to the soul, death does not exist. She had seen it with her own eyes.

[Note: In my opinion, the “black oval shape” that Jan saw the orbs fly through is most likely the so-called “Void” through which they travel by means of the tunnel towards the light as seen during many near-death experiences. Seeing souls as orbs of light during an NDE is well documented in the NDE literature.]

3. NDE Testimonies Involving Orbs

There are a number of references to orbs in the near-death experiences that are profiled on this website. Here they are:

a. Dr. Eben Alexander

“Then everything changed and the scene stayed the same but I became aware. Again in looking back on it, that was my awareness of a Divine presence of incredibly indescribable, kind of a superpower of divinity. Then we went out of this universe. I remember just seeing everything receding and initially I felt as if my awareness was in an infinite black void. It was very comforting but I could feel the extent of the infinity and that it was, as you would expect, impossible to put into words. I was there with that Divine presence that was not anything that I could visibly see and describe, and with a brilliant orb of light. [Note: Here Dr. Alexander begins to call his female companion the “Orb,” as she was transformed into an orb of light which guided him to the presence of God]. There was a distinct sensation from me, a memory, that they were not one and the same. I don’t know what that means. In my awareness, when I say I was aware, this goes far, far beyond the consciousness of any one – this is not Eben Alexander’s consciousness aware of being in that space. I was far beyond that point, way beyond any kind of human consciousness, and really just one consciousness. When I got there they said that I would be going back, but I didn’t know what that meant. They said there were many things that they would show me, and they continued to do that. In fact, the whole higher-dimensional multiverse was that this incredibly complex corrugated ball and all these lessons coming into me about it. Part of the lessons involved becoming all of what I was being shown. It was indescribable. (Dr. Eben Alexander)

b. Lou Famoso

“Structures and landscapes sprung from everywhere all in a crystalline state, all inhabited by these lesser light beings – some winged, most not – some fully formed, others not – yet even others appeared only as glowing orbs of light and color, bouncing as would bubbles in a glass of carbonated water … Just then I saw five orbs of light. They seemed to be playing, swirling round and about the being and myself. They had appeared from the outlying landscape and I noticed they were all the same size and shape but of different hues as subtle as shades of rose petals, save one which had a bluish hue. Two of the pinkish ones seemed exactly alike, the other two were yet deeper in shades of red and orange. Before I could ask, IT spoke and said, ‘They, like all here are of you, who are of me, but these will come to you and you will care for them more. They will fly apart but come together at the time of the Gathering…’ I watched as millions of orbs systematically entered the many planets before me. They appeared as bees flitting from flower to flower, pollinating each, one after another. Michael took me closer and I could now see that so many of these planets had life on them. The orbs were joining with the creatures of these planets. Not every creature was the same on every planet but they all had some commonalities, a head, a body, extremities and the light beings would animate them for a time … I was now before the light being of gold again. Those five orbs were still darting about. I wanted to stay and explore this realm with all the other light beings but I was told I could not.” (Lou Famoso)

c. Ned Dougherty

“All attention seemed to be directed to the celestial field around me, and a shimmering, luminescent sphere enveloped me, making me feel as if I had stepped into a crystal globe. Although I was aware that the crystalline sphere was suspended on the celestial field in view of all the spiritual beings in attendance, I found myself in a different celestial realm. Somehow the spiritual beings were still observing me inside this crystal sphere. I realized why the hush of silence had fallen over the crowd: My life review was about to begin in public, it seemed. I was aware that I was about to review every event, thought, emotion, and experience of my life. I became aware that the purpose of the review was for me to evaluate my life in terms of my intended mission as a human, to review my life in a manner that permitted me to focus on the areas that provided the most important experiences in terms of my spiritual growth and development. Although I was alone in the crystalline sphere, I was aware that I was in the presence of God and watched over by the many spiritual beings in the amphitheater who were encouraging me with their love and support. Nothing about my life was a secret to God, nor to the spiritual beings, yet I did not perceive that I was being judged. I realized that all who were part of God’s spiritual creation had fallen from God and had made mistakes in their own journeys. There was no one among the assemblage of spiritual beings who was about to cast the first stone at me.” (Ned Dougherty)

d. An Anonymous NDE

“I died as a result of injuries received in a car wreck. Brief recollections of rising above the scene and seeing my mortal body on the ground below are remembered. Again, brief recollections of travelling at great speed through a tunnel with the light at the end also are remembered. The most poignant, vivid reality I recall is when I reached the light. I was standing on a grassy hill, to my left was a pulsating orb of pure white and golden light in the sky. I looked ahead and saw a wide valley filled with millions of people dancing and singing and filled with joy. I felt a presence behind me and a hand was placed on my right shoulder pressing me forward. I asked where I was and was answered. My voice seemed to come from within me and the answer also from within. When we reached the bottom of the hill I could see figures surrounding the outside of the valley. They were facing away from all the people in the valley and spaced about ten feet apart. The people in the valley were bathed in this great light and in total contrast to them were these figures, like tortured statues. Dark, cold, immobile. I was led up to one of these figures and the hair stood up on my head in terror. Immediately I turned and clung to the person who had led me, for all I was worth. I then woke up in the hospital a day after the accident. This person I believe was Christ and He has allowed me to return to my life to grow spiritually and discover Him in all things.” (A person named “B”)

e. Muslim NDEs

The human being, created in Allah’s image, is composed of a body, the outer shell of which originated in clay, and spiritual breath, which can communicate with Allah and which is located at the center of the body. This is the microcosmic reflection of the Islamic macrocosm, which is viewed as a globe of infinite dimensions whose center is full of light, the purest of God’s creations. Its outer shell is made of clay, which represents darkness. The human soul (nafs) resides within the human being somewhere between these two opposite principles – light and darkness – and is a mixture of the two, unique to each individual, while the spirit that resides at the center (being of godlike nature) is the same for everybody. (Muslim NDEs)

f. Miscellaneous NDEs

During Edgar Cayce’s NDE-like out-of-body journeys, he would feet himself to be like a bubble traveling through water arriving at the place where he always got his information … In another instance, Cayce went up through a very large column, passing by horrible beings without actually coming in contact personally with them, and came out where there was the Hall of Records. (Edgar Cayce)

“We saw that the sparkling lights were tiny, transparent bubbles that drifted in the air and sparkled on the grass. We realized that each tiny sparkle was a soul.” (May Eulitt)

“My first OBE was when I was about 20 years old and was in a cabin on a oil rig 100 miles off the coast of Scotland. I was aware of a spinning orb of red and yellow. I left my body and entered the orb. I watched myself struggling to call out to my mate. He was on the bottom bunk. I returned to my body and told no one of the experience for fear of ridicule.” (Chris Taylor)

“We started going faster and faster, out of the darkness. Embraced by the light, feeling wonderful and crying, I saw off in the distance something that looked like the picture of a galaxy, except that it was larger and there were more stars than I had seen on earth. There was a great center of brilliance. In the center there was an enormously bright concentration. Outside the center countless millions of spheres of light were flying about entering and leaving what was a great being-ness at the center. It was off in the distance.” (Howard Storm)

Jesus, the angels and platform, disintegrated into a giant sphere of light once Berkley Carter Mills no longer needed their shape or form to put him at ease. As the sphere grew it absorbed him, infused him with the ecstasy of unconditional love. (Berkley Carter Mills)

“While I was talking to her, a light appeared. It appeared as a circular shape and then came down as a long oval.” (Sarah Powell)

“When the Father (God) spoke, each of his words exploded into a complex of meanings, like fireworks, tiny balls of light that erupted into a billion bits of information, filling me with streams of vivid truth and pure understanding.” (Angie Fenimore)

“I felt at that time that I might be dying. Not much later, my hands and feet were gone altogether and my midsection was getting sparse. The feeling was very peaceful. More peaceful than I had ever known. I seemed to be shrinking to a ball shape centered near my throat. Would I lose consciousness as the ball of active nerves shrank past the boundaries of my cranial cavity. As I pondered the idea, I fell through the surface of the operating table … Still closer and brighter the light came. I strained to detect its surface but could not. It was about the size of a beach ball, with no discernible surface … The one who had been doing my life review was no longer a ball of light but now a hooded and robed figure.” (Hal)

“Then, just like that (clapping her hands), I became a ball of light or energy in the midst of this crowd that was circling a body. I became massively aware, unlike any awareness I had had during physical existence. I was not really aware of myself. I was aware of everyone around me. I was aware of my mother and my neighbors, and my friends and the firemen and what they were thinking and what they were feeling and what they were hoping and what they were praying. This was such a pummeling input of emotion and information that I was all at once overwhelmed and confused, and rather disoriented. I tried to communicate this to them over and over again and I realized that I had no mouth. I had no body. They could not hear what I was saying to them. I would have to leave them in the same hands I had left myself in the process of dying. With that I turned away, just sort of like a ball, just turned away.” (Reinee Pasarow)

“To go a little further with this, most adult experiencers describe God as a powerful, almost blinding sphere of light, that is ecstasy itself. Young children do not use such terms, saying instead that God is like a loving father or grandfather.” (P.M.H. Atwater)

4. The NDE / UFO / Orb Connection

Orbs can also be found in the UFO and UFO/NDE phenomena. The following are some of accounts involving this phenomenon.

The near-death account of Brian Krebs involving orbs and extraterrestrial aliens: “My memories of it were of seeing my body below me. I remember seeing a bright, warm, loving orb above me … I was there with this orb of glowing love and understanding. It didn’t seem foreign to me. It was not frightening. It was totally assuring and there was no feeling of anything but my awe and the love and knowledge and wisdom that this orb projected. In size, it would be not like looking at the sun, but looking at the earth when you are on it. It was immense and total, and its power was love … I then went to twelve beings of greater knowledge. They were in front of me and stood in a row. They were not human. They had no feelings of anything like judgment or authority, but seemed strong in themselves. They seemed taller than me and they wore silver white robes. They had white skin, large heads and large eyes. I do not remember them having mouths. Above them was a spirit. It was like a star as we see one from earth, but in size it appeared the same size as the heads of the beings.” (Brian Krebs)

“In the late 1990’s, several crop circle enthusiasts and cereologists (those who study crop circles) captured on videotape the creation of crop circles as described in the above text. What they had observed and recorded showed two balls of light, each approximately the size of a grapefruit, appearing above a field of crops, usually at night, moving very rapidly in circular patterns, causing the crops to lay over and forming complete designs in the course of 6 – 12 seconds. Then, these balls of light quickly vanished in the sky. This has been recorded repeatedly. Some of the video footage has been lab-tested in the US and UK, verified as authentic and unmolested, and can be viewed on video copies available commercially.” (Phillip Mitchell)

According to the website Crop Circles 2002, UFO orbs are described this way:

“Orbs are electromagnetic energy fields – circular as most things move in circles/cycles – in our 3D EM reality. There is a growing interest in orbs and aliens – in some cases the same entity! … Orbs can be entities – such as spirits or ghosts or other extraterrestrial life forms – reduced to electromagnetic frequencies. There are electromagnetic orbs created by the grid itself. They are seen when authentic crop circles are formed, usually accompanied by tones, as all things in our EM (electromagnetic) reality are created by sound, light, and color – and the grid – EM energies – from crop circles.”