... your angel is simply watching.

This is the fourth entry in my series on dying and life after death.

At a certain point in the physiological process of dying, the physical body shuts down sufficiently to cause the spirit or consciousness of the person to separate. In beginning stages, this may result in a “person” floating above their body and looking down on both it and the activities in the room.

It is much like an out-of-body experience (OBE) that is not linked to dying. In an OBE, what is commonly referred to as the etheric double, will separate from the body and find itself able to travel through any physical barrier and go anywhere on the planet that it desires. In a different iteration of the OBE, the double can travel to other dimensions.

There are many, many well-documented cases of NDE related separations from the body occurring … particularly in hospital rooms and surgical suites. It often occurs during cardiac and respiratory arrests or emergency / serious surgical interventions. It is certainly, however, not restricted to these situations. There are many instances where the experience is initiated as a result of a serious auto accident, gunshot wound or other similar traumatic events.

This is initially a bit disorienting simply because of the nature of the experience and the fact that it is the first time that the person has ever seen themselves three-dimensionally. It takes only a moment, however, to “recover” at which time the person generally develops the sense that they are “dead.”

Interestingly enough, the realization that they are dead (or in a physical state that is approaching death) is not accompanied by a sense of panic or distress. Almost without fail, people who have experienced this phenomenon report it as being a very peaceful, freeing, serene sensation … one completely absent of pain or stress of any kind. If you are a religious or spiritually oriented person, you may be reminded of the scripture, “O death, where is thy sting.” (I Corinthians 15:55).

Many times, the person understands intuitively that they are able to pass through walls, windows and closed doors and that they can go wherever they wish with the simple power of thought. There are many accounts of people traveling into hospital waiting rooms, seeing their distraught relatives and being able to describe later exactly what they were wearing, talking about and doing … down to very minute details. Some accounts even describe travels to the person’s home or to homes of friends or relatives.

They are also able to describe with astonishing accuracy what the medical team was wearing, what their conversations were and what instruments and procedures they used. Even people who are born blind are able to describe these things. All of this, of course, would not have been possible unless the person actually was outside of their body, watching the events unfold like a spectator at a football game.

I want to make a particular note here that this effectively debunks the many theories proposed by certain physicians, scientists and psychologists that the NDE experience is simply a psychological defense mechanism initiated by the brain to shield the person from the dread of dying. Their theory depends on the experiences being completely localized within the brain. That, of course, precludes the possibility of the person describing what they are clearly unable to see with their eyes closed … or them being able to depict what is happening in other remote locations such as a different room or different building.

This stage is generally absent of any other type of phenomenon such as the tunnel experience, angelic presences, the life review or contact with a supreme being. There are a few accounts, however, of people having conversations with deceased relatives at this time … although that generally occurs later in the NDE experience.

My personal opinion is that this transition phase - between being inside the body and the tunnel experience - is an expression of God's graciousness. It allows the person to understand that his body is shutting down and that he is dying ... gives him a bit of time to acclimate to that fact and to the new sense of being disengaged from the body ... while still allowing him to be somewhat engaged in the physical realm, i.e., able to see people and hear them talk even though those people are not able to reciprocate.