Materialists try to explain away near-death experiences as an illusion caused by a dying brain. But they cannot explain the fact that thousands of people, while unconscious and clinically dead, see and hear what is going on around them in a way that current science considers impossible.

Investigation of apparently non-physical veridical perceptions (AVPs) during NDEs has been the subject of much experimental and phenomenological research since 1988. Jan Holden’s study (2006/2009) showed that over 90% of cases of AVPs from NDE literature were completely accurate. The multi-hospital AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study of NDEs during cardiac arrest has a major objective of detecting possible AVPs of hidden visual targets. It is important now to look systematically at AVP cases in detail, to include only cases of AVPs that were independently verified to researchers by another person and to include important recent cases. With the sheer number of AVP cases, the weight of the evidence becomes daunting to those who would dismiss the fact that AVPs occur. By grouping similar cases into phenomenological clusters, such as perceptions during cardiac arrest and perceptions beyond the reach of physical senses, a more thorough examination of possible causes becomes possible. Physical explanations that cover all cases of AVPs then become more difficult, especially for a number of the favorite physical explanations of AVPs or that the perceptions were due to hallucinations, fabrication or confabulation of information derived from other sources. Many types of AVPs would require physical explanations that are highly questionable. However, with the weight of many types of AVPs, a strong case can be made for the idea that NDEs involve the actual separation of consciousness from the physical body and may lead to the correct conception of the mind relative to the physical body and to physical reality.