Why do NDEs differ so much, despite the common themes?
Some commonalities among near-death experiences are that of overwhelming joy and peace; reunions with deceased loved-ones; a threshold that the NDE’er knows that once crossed, there will be no return; the absence of time; brilliant lights; and a feeling that one’s consciousness is intertwined with everyone else’s.
However, all of the details that can be filled in differ wildly from one NDE to the next.
There is no universal setting. Messages and interactions differ tremendously.
The appearance of spirits or angels differs. Why would angels or spirits look so different from one NDE to the next?
Why does God or Christ look different to different people?
And that light—that blinding light—sometimes it’s a sphere. Sometimes it’s a pillar-like shape.
One man described it as strands or strings. Sometimes it’s an orb. Sometimes the light has no shape or form; it’s just there.
Another differing aspect of the NDE is the “barrier” or threshold that the person instinctively knows that if they cross it—they won’t be able to return to their physical body.
In some NDEs it’s a bridge over some water. In one NDE that I read about on nderf.org, the barrier was a set of glass doors.
In another, the barrier was a ball of light. Sometimes it’s a walkway of sorts. Does the after-life have a lot of different barriers?
“No two near-death experiences are the same,” says Jeffrey Long, MD, author of the New York Times Best Seller, “Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences.” Dr. Long is a radiation oncologist in Houma, Louisiana.
Sometimes the NDE’er will spend time inside buildings or libraries and be “walking” on marble. Sometimes the NDE will involve water.
Or it may be fields of grass and flowers. Sometimes there’s music. Other features that are not common to all include panoramic vision, a life review and colors that the NDE’er cannot describe other than to say that no such colors exist in the physical world.
Interestingly, you’d think that at least some NDEs would include gorging on the most delicious foods the person has ever eaten without getting full—either the best versions of their favorite foods in the physical world, or, new tastes and gustatory experiences they’ve never had before.
After all, eating is one of life’s most intense pleasures. Oddly, eating isn’t much of a part of the NDE phenomenon.
Another NDE might have clouds. Some involve outer space, planets and galaxies. Despite the common threads, NDEs really are so different from one individual to the next.
Dr. Long continues, “My best guess as to why this is happening is that NDEs are an intersection with the infinite and eternal.
“It is quite possible that NDEs may be co-created to help the near-death experiencer learn what they need to learn to help them in their meaning earthly life.”
As a leading NDE researcher and a medical doctor, 
