Beyond the Film
There was far more to Searching for Heaven than we could fit into one hour. In this extended version, you’ll dive deeper into the mystery of near-death experiences (NDEs) and the groundbreaking research surrounding them.
Discover
- What NDEs Are and the remarkable similarities reported worldwide
- The Oldest Documented NDE dating back to the first century
- How Common They Really Are, with fascinating global statistics
- Personal Testimonies of people who died and came back to tell their stories
- New Frontiers of Research, including revolutionary work in quantum physics and cutting-edge studies of the brain and consciousness
What are Near-Death Experiences?
A Near-Death Experience (NDE) is a profound personal encounter reported by people who were clinically dead or close to death and later revived.
Explore the Science
“There are several things that I’ve learned as a result of my study into near-death experiences; one is that simply they’re much more common than anyone could have expected. There have been surveys done in several countries that suggest that one in every twenty people in the general population has had a near-death experience.”
True NDE Encounters— Journeys Beyond and Back
Karina Martinez
Cause: Heart Failure
“I had this sense of peace yet, like I just, I was just gonna let go. I need to just let go. I’m not gonna fight anymore.”
Dr. Eben Alexander
Cause: Coma
Don Piper
Cause: Car Accident
“My experience in Heaven was the most real experience of my existence, it is the single most real experience of my existence.”
Dean Synan
Cause: Internal Blooding
“All of my blood had drained into my stomach and then I started passing it just by throwing it up, and the next thing I know is I flat-lined”
Oldest Documented NDE Ever Recorded
Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79), Roman naturalist and author of Natural History, recorded one of the earliest near-death experiences. He tells of Corfidius, a nobleman believed dead whose funeral was already prepared when he suddenly revived. Corfidius said that, while seemingly gone, he met his younger brother, who gave funeral instructions and revealed a hidden stash of gold. Moments later, messengers arrived with shocking news—his younger brother had just died—and the hidden treasure was discovered exactly where Corfidius said it would be. Nearly two thousand years later, Pliny’s striking account remains the earliest record of a near-death experience.
The Mind Beyond the Brain
“I came to realize that all that I’d come to believe of a career studying conventional scientific materialism and about the brain creating consciousness-- was completely false.”
Dr. Eben Alexander
Neurosurgeon
New discoveries are challenging the old belief that the brain alone creates consciousness. Near-death experiences—like those studied by Dr. Eben Alexander and Dr. Bruce Greyson—show people reporting vivid awareness even when their brains were inactive. At the same time, breakthroughs in quantum physics, including the 2022 Nobel Prize for quantum entanglement, reveal that particles can stay mysteriously connected across vast distances. These findings hint that consciousness may not be limited to the brain—and that something within us could live on in ways science never imagined.
Statistics
In survivors of cardiac arrest about 9 to 18% report having a near-death experience
Fun Fact
Not everyone who reports a near-death experience was actually clinically dead. Many NDEs happen during accidents, severe illness, or even moments of extreme stress.