near-death experience

n. (NDE) The thoughts, feelings, memories, and perceptions of persons during a short period in which they are close to dying and then return to normal functioning. Typically NDEs include a sense of separation or distance from one's body, sometimes with the ability to look at the body from above; a sense of equanimity; the perception of a quickly flashing set of images that encompass the meaning of one's life; and an entering into an unlimited space filled with light. Sometimes there is also a sense of the presence of a spiritual other.