#036 | Lessons From the Almost Dead
- info6851887
- Jul 17
- 8 min read
Welcome to a deep exploration into one of the most fascinating—and often controversial—areas bridging science, history, and spirituality: near-death experiences (NDEs). Filmmaker Stephen Berkley sits down with Dr. Gregory Shushan, the world's leading authority on Near-Death Experiences across cultures and throughout history. He has some stories to tell, and they are definitely revelatory! If you’re curious about what happens after we die, why near-death experiences both unite and confuse people around the globe, or how these moments reshape entire beliefs and societies, you’re in the right place.
“Near-death experiences are threatening to the study of religions because they seem to happen spontaneously from outside the culture...maybe they're based on this experience that's life-changing, transformative, that literally changes people's beliefs.” -Dr Gregory Shushan
Who Is Dr. Gregory Shushan?
Dr. Gregory Shushan isn’t just an author or a scientist. He’s a renowned scholar of religious studies who has held research posts at Oxford and the University of Winchester, and is recognized as the leading authority on the history and cross-cultural nature of near-death experiences.
His work spans the intersections of anthropology, religious studies, archaeology, and the study of consciousness—a mix that allows him to see connections where others don’t.
Why does his unique approach matter?
Dr. Shushan’s systematic and historical research challenges both materialist and religious dogmas.
He shows that NDEs are neither a purely Western invention nor a figment of “new age” fancy—they’re a human event woven into the fabric of cultures worldwide.
Why Near-Death Experiences Challenge Religion
Most of us assume that religions are built out of cultural traditions, stories, and rituals. But what happens when people start reporting the same profound spiritual experience independent of their religion, their geography, or even their knowledge of the phenomenon?
Dr. Shushan points out:
“The reason near-death experiences are threatening to the study of religions is that they seem to happen spontaneously from outside the culture... Religious beliefs and practices, they're entirely cultural creations. So to grapple with the idea that, well, maybe they're not?”
NDEs often flip the script. Instead of beliefs creating the experience, it may be the intense, life-changing experience that gives birth to new beliefs about life after death.
Are NDEs a Modern Western Invention?
There’s a popular line of thinking—especially among skeptics and some scientists—that NDEs are a product of Western pop culture, perhaps even first identified in Dr. Raymond Moody’s 1975 bestseller Life After Life.
But is this true?
Absolutely not, says Dr. Shushan:
NDEs are documented across ancient Egypt, Sumeria, pre-Buddhist China, early Indian civilizations, the Aztecs, Mayans, and among indigenous groups globally.
Even centuries-old medical texts discuss souls leaving the body in illness and sometimes returning—a near-perfect description of NDEs.
This isn’t just a “new age” invention or wishful thinking. NDEs are a universal phenomenon—though the finer details often reflect the culture and era in which they happen.
Universality and Diversity: The Patterns of NDEs
If NDEs aren’t cultural inventions, are they the same everywhere? Or does culture still play a role?
Dr. Shushan’s body of work answers with a fascinating paradox: NDEs are both universal and deeply individual. The same patterns show up again and again—regardless of time or society—but how people describe them can vary wildly.
For example:
Western NDEs might involve a tunnel, a “being of light,” and a life review.
In Asia, the “being of light” might be seen as Buddha, Krishna, or another regional deity.
Some encounters happen in landscapes, others in cosmic realms, and some involve crossing rivers or moving through trees, instead of tunnels.
So, similarities? Yes. Cultural flavors? Absolutely.
Nine Core Elements of Near-Death Experiences
Through long and meticulous research, Dr. Shushan has identified nine key elements that appear, in some form, across history and cultures:
Leaving the body (often seeing one’s own corpse from above)
Traveling through darkness (often a “tunnel” or void)
Emerging into a realm of light
Meeting deceased relatives or ancestors
Encountering a “being of light”—sometimes with a specific cultural identity
A kind of judgment or evaluation of one’s life
Reaching a border or barrier that cannot be crossed
Feelings of transcendence, unity, or oneness
(In individual accounts) Returning to the body
Not every NDE contains all elements, but many include several.
“That superimposition of these core nine elements around the world—that makes me think they happen to be the core nine elements of the NDE. How else can you explain that they happen to be in all of these civilizations that were basically for the most part unrelated to each other?”
Culture, Perception, and the Shaping of Afterlife Beliefs
Here’s a key insight: NDEs don’t simply mirror what people already believe. In many cases, the experience itself sparks or reshapes belief—for individuals, then for whole cultures.
Consider this process:
Someone has an NDE in a society with little to no belief in an afterlife.
They report what happened—leaving the body, meeting a light, etc.
Others listen, some become convinced, and a new system of afterlife beliefs emerges.
Priests, philosophers, and storytellers refine these as more people report similar events.
But our brains don’t act as blank slates. When someone has an NDE, their memories, culture, and language color how they process, describe, and share the event.
A Christian may see Jesus; a Hindu may see Yama, the Lord of Death.
An atheist might see a “being of light” or unnamed presence.
But What About the Materialist Explanation?
Even the best brain science has trouble explaining every detail. Some researchers point out:
During clinical death, there can be a sudden burst of electromagnetic activity in the brain (in rats and humans).
Some suggest this “final fireworks” accounts for the classic “life review”—your life flashing before your eyes as brain compartments break down.
But Dr. Shushan’s research points out a challenge to this theory:
The Western “panoramic life review” (feeling your whole life and the emotions of others) is not common worldwide.
In other societies, evaluation in the afterlife tends to be more symbolic; for example, seeing your picture on a wall rather than re-experiencing everything.
“Cross-cultural differences can challenge materialist perspectives. They can also challenge metaphysical perspectives. If somebody needs to believe in an afterlife that's the same for everybody...why would we expect them to all be the same once we die?”
Can Science Explain Near-Death Experiences?
Science makes valiant efforts to map NDEs to brain activity, psychological constructs, or cultural suggestions. But over two decades, Dr. Shushan has found evidence that resists tidy explanations.
Children describe seeing relatives they never knew existed, later verified by others.
People report “out of body” perceptions and conversations that can be fact-checked.
Cultures with little to no concept of afterlife still produce near-identical NDE themes.
Are these cases hallucinations, real glimpses beyond the veil, or is there some as-yet unknown mechanism at play?
“I believe there are real challenges to the materialist hypothesis. And some of that comes from the cross-cultural differences.”
Are We Hardwired for the Afterlife?
Cognitive scientists have tried to answer if humans are, by nature, built to believe in the soul’s survival.
Research with children tells a curious story:
When shown puppet plays where one animal dies, children habitually say, “He went to be with his mommy,” or “He went somewhere else.”
Is this inborn, or early cultural programming?
But Dr. Shushan asks: If we were simply “hardwired,” why don’t we imagine sinking into the earth or merging with the soil—why these specific NDE themes?
The diversity and complexity of NDE stories challenge the idea that they’re simple evolutionary artifacts.
How NDEs Change Lives
One area where there’s little debate: The transformative effect of a near-death experience is profound.
NDE survivors often undergo total changes in outlook, values, and behaviors.
Messages from the “other side” are almost always positive: Be kinder, care for your family, finish your work, or share what you’ve learned.
In the West, the being of light might send you back to care for loved ones or complete an unfinished task.
In other cultures, the explanation may be “we got the wrong person, you must return,” sometimes humorously so.
What’s universal is this sharp pivot: people come back from NDEs less afraid of death and more motivated to live well.
“One of the key elements of near death experiences, again cross culturally, is their transformational effects that they have on people. And those effects are always positive...something that's going to benefit society or benefit the individual.”
Personal Reflections: How This Research Changes the Researcher
Dr. Shushan reflects on how 25+ years studying NDEs have changed him:
He’s helped bridge a huge gap between psychology, medical studies, and humanities like history and anthropology.
Facing skepticism, even hostility, from academics who want to dismiss NDEs as “woo”—he’s persisted, driven by the evidence.
“There still is a lot of stigma of people having these kinds of experiences. And this kind of work is regularly dismissed, I can tell you, as New Age or Wu or BS or whatever.”
Despite this, he believes the fundamental breakthrough is that we can actually codify and study these experiences, scientifically and historically, rather than cherry-picking what fits existing ideas.
Why This Matters: The Paradigm Shift in Religion and Science
If NDEs are real, spontaneous events that shape religion (not the other way around), this challenges a core idea in modern secular study of religion: that everything is purely a product of culture.
Instead, Dr. Shushan’s scholarship suggests:
There’s a universal human experience at the root of afterlife beliefs.
Materialism alone doesn’t explain all the data.
Science and humanities both need to adjust: listening to “out-of-culture” experiences and not just rituals or myths.
This could rewrite not only the story of spiritual experience, but also how we understand the birth and evolution of religious practice worldwide.
“I'm just kind of trying to bring all this stuff together and bring it to the surface not only in the humanities, but also in the sciences and just saying like, hey world, look, you know, this stuff is actually happening and has happened throughout history...”
Q&A Highlights and Takeaways
Can you really “get the afterlife you expect”?
Dr. Shushan offers a cautious yes—with limits. Expectation and culture shape the flavor of the NDE, but the base experience is spontaneous, unpredictable, and happens even to atheists with no belief in the afterlife.
Why does the classic “life review” mostly happen to Westerners?
It seems linked with individualism. In societies where the community comes before the self, a panoramic personal review just isn’t as relevant—so it’s rare.
Are some things absolutely universal?
Light is almost always present—sometimes a realm, sometimes a being. Borders, movement through darkness, and familial encounters are close behind. The “tunnel,” however, turns out to be very Western.
If NDEs are universal, why the skepticism?
Mainly because accepting them as real, spontaneous spiritual experiences undermines centuries of believing religion is just culture. It’s threatening to academic fields built on that foundation.
Final Thoughts
Near-death experiences remain one of the most puzzling, widely reported, and deeply transformative phenomena humans encounter.
Dr. Gregory Shushan’s work stands as a rare bridge:
It brings together science and history, anthropology and personal testimony.
It encourages us to accept the diversity and depth of human experience—without rushing to explain everything away, or force every story into the mold of our own culture.
Whether you’re a skeptic, a spiritual seeker, or just curious, the growing body of NDE research is impossible to ignore. It might just reshape what everyone thinks about life, death, and what—if anything—lies beyond.
Comments