Yes. This is absolutely true.

Hello, I am your friendly, neighborhood (Quora) NDE researcher who has studied a ton of NDEs over the years and recently completed a book on this very subject. I have no desire to shake your religious beliefs, but let me share with you what the facts of research show.

We have compiled a data-base of very similar events that occurred during these experiences, and although these experiences can be a bit different and unique to the individual, depending on the religious beliefs and expectations of that individual, there are also many things that occur in common during an NDE.

This tunnel is one of them.

Most people enter a dark tunnel where they are at first confused. Most do not even know they are dead because they still have all their senses, how could they be dead while also being this conscious?

But shortly after they enter this dark tunnel they will begin to see a distant light. Usually this light is described as very bright, sometimes interspersed with golden sparkles. They feel compelled to go toward this light, or sometimes the light approaches them and suddenly they find themselves within it. They have a strong sense of love while they are in that light.

They also quickly discover that this light is a being (or beings), not just a beautiful glow in the darkness. Sometimes this being is one that they fully suspected it would be via their religious beliefs and expectations. It can be Christ (most common for a deity) or Buddha or Krishna, etc.

But even more common, this light consists of relatives they have known and loved on earth….grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, mom and or dad, a spouse who has passed over first, brothers and sisters, etc. Or sometimes that light is just good friends or even loving animals they have known on earth. They discover that all is well, and that these people are there to help them go further in those dimensions.

At that point, usually one of two things happen. They are welcomed to the other side, they are told that they are loved very much and that they can do nothing wrong in this new dimension but told that your death is not permanent….you still must finish your life and you must go back to your body.

In one famous NDE (Pam Reynolds) she was told that she must go back to her body, but she replied that she did not know how to do this. A loving Uncle said, come with me and I will show you, The Uncle led her back to the operating room from where she had come. There she saw her body which frightened the heck out of her as she could see that it was dead. But her Uncle forced her by saying, now….just like you are jumping into a swimming pool…..jump in. She did and woke up.

But this can depend on the longevity of your death. If you flat-line for just a couple minutes and are revived, you may only see the tunnel and a light. With others who are out longer, for example, they flat-line and then go into a coma, the beings in that light usually lead them to a dimension known by researchers as level three (there are 10 known levels of the other side).

Once there, they spend some time with their friends and/or loved ones, are given a tour of the beautiful buildings and countryside there, or some may just want to go exploring. Exploring is very popular. They will tend to stay here until it is time to go back to their body.

Note that I stated that the tunnel and light are very common. But that experience is certainly not exclusive. In some cases people may just suddenly appear in level three which looks very much like Planet Earth, although this is pretty rare. There seems to be some kind of greeting/orientation center in level three seen in common by many people and always described very similarly.

We suspect a direct trip to a new dimension like level three is the reason we see such bewilderment in some dying people when they see this, new, beautiful world as they pass away from earth. For example, it is not uncommon for a dying patient to suddenly sit up and exclaim, ‘OMG, look at this,’ in the very last stage of death.

NDE subject Arthur Yensen describes a direct cross-over for us: “I felt as if I were coming loose from my body! While I believed that my body was me, I knew instinctively that if I separated from it, I'd be dead! My soul and body started separating again and continued to separate until I felt a short, sharp pain in my heart, which felt as if something had been torn loose. Then slowly and softly I rose out through the top of my head.

Gradually the Earth scene faded away, and up through it loomed a bright, new, beautiful world - beautiful beyond imagination! For half a minute I could see both worlds at once. The Earth fading away, and the other world looming up brighter, and brighter, and still brighter! Finally when the Earth was all gone, I stood in a glory that could only be heaven.

In the background were two beautiful mountains similar to Fujiyama of Japan. The tops were snow-capped, and the slopes were adorned with foliage of indescribable beauty.”

Arthur Yensen's Near-Death Experience

Yes, they all report that level three is simply magnificently beautiful as compared to Planet Earth.

Note that you tend to create your own reality on the other side. Atheists may only see beautiful fields and flowers, but if you expect to meet Christ and an angel choir when you cross over, that is usually what will happen. My grandmother was a Pastor’s wife, and my mom was there when my grandmother died. She stated that her last words were, ‘I hear the most beautiful music, it sounds like angels singing.’

Steve Jobs of Apple was not a practicing believer to my knowledge. And although reports vary between people who are familiar with that scene, Steve’s death went something like this….He suddenly sat up in bed with a bewildered look on his face and said, ‘wow, Wow, WOW,’ or it was ‘OH…..Wow’ by some accounts.

Steve was seeing something….was it earth fading out and a new world fading in?

Yes, everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs cross over. And for you religionists (Church goers, Mosque, Buddhist temple and Synagogue attendees, etc), please note that one of the most common statements from those who have spent much time on the other side is this: how could my church have been so wrong? The universe does not care what you believe or don’t believe. It is what is is…..

But probably the second most common experience is a visit to another area of darkness we call the Void. This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a feeling that you are alone, out in the universe with no stars—simply nothingness and people seem to stay here much longer than in the tunnel. This is a place for you to contemplate and a chance to examine your earth life—a place of introspection.

But here is the deal. Eventually during that introspection, you will begin to think warm, loving thoughts about something or someone. When this happens to you, some people have reported that they began to see light emanating from themselves and it may dawn on you that this is the objective of it all—to turn the evil and darkness inside of you into the purity of golden, white light—to turn the negativity inside of you into positive, loving things. And at that moment you will begin to see other lights, distant and glimmering like stars in the sky at first, but when they get closer….what are they? That is right, deities or people again….. there to help you. And these entities will lead you to level three if you are to stay for awhile.

There, you will enter a long-term period of counseling to determine which community best suits you as a permanent resident. The diversity of the communities on the other side will simply astound you. There are many more in number than what you enjoyed on Planet Earth. They range from hellish communities to heavenly ones with all kinds of stages between those opposite poles, with many of them being very similar to ones on earth.

Most people describe the Void as quite peaceful, but it scares the poop out of others. Just always remember if you go there, as soon as you begin to think positive, loving thoughts, you are out of there—and that is the way to escape the Void. If you are an ax murderer, who literally is so evil that you cannot think of a single, positive, loving thought, your only way out of the void is to go back to your body if you are having an NDE, or to reincarnate into a new body and try this life all over again. Don’t screw it up again! Because the next time you may not go to the Void—You may just go to level three and get assigned a more hellish community.

When you hear a nonbeliever in the after-life describe their NDE in the terms of, ‘there is nothing over there—I saw nothing but blackness’—then they sure did. They went directly to the Void.

The Void and the Near-Death Experience