Please circle one number under each statement to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with that statement.

1.  In uncertain times, I usually expect the best.

4----------------3----------------2----------------1----------------0
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

2.  If something can go wrong for me, it will.

0----------------1----------------2----------------3----------------4
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

3.  I always look on the bright side of things.

4----------------3----------------2----------------1----------------0
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

4.  I’m always optimistic about my future.

4----------------3----------------2----------------1----------------0
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

5.  I hardly ever expect things to go my way.

0----------------1----------------2----------------3----------------4
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

6.  Things never work out the way I want them to.

0----------------1----------------2----------------3----------------4
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

7.  I’m a believer in the idea that “every cloud has a silver lining.”

4----------------3----------------2----------------1----------------0
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

8.  I rarely count on good things happening to me.

0----------------1----------------2----------------3----------------4
strongly agree	        agree	      neutral	      disagree	strongly disagree

1.  I don’t find much satisfaction in private prayer with God. 

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

2.  I don’t know who I am, where I came from, or where I’m going.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

3.  I believe that God loves me and cares about me.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

4.  I feel that life is a positive experience.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

5.  I believe that God is impersonal and not interested in my daily situations.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

6.  I feel unsettled about my future.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

7.  I have a personally meaningful relationship with God.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

8.  I feel very fulfilled and satisfied with life.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

9.  I don’t get much personal strength and support from my God.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

10.  I feel a sense of well-being about the direction my life is headed in.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

11.  I believe that God is concerned about my problems.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

12.  I don’t enjoy much about life.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

13.  I don’t have a personally satisfying relationship with God.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

14.  I feel good about my future.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

15.  My relationship with God helps me not to feel lonely.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

16.  I feel that life is full of conflict and unhappiness.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

17.  I feel most fulfilled when I’m in close communion with God.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

18.  Life doesn’t have much meaning.

                 1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

19.  My relation with God contributes to my sense of well-being.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

20.  I believe there is some real purpose for my life.

                 6----------------5----------------4----------------3----------------2----------------1
strongly	moderately	agree		disagree	moderately	strongly
agree		agree						disagree	disagree

Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience.  Please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have each experience.  Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be.

1.  I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later. 

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never
2.  I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying attention, or thinking of something else.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

3.  I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

4.  I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying attention to what I experience along the way.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

5.  I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

6.  I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for the first time.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

7.  It seems I am “running on automatic” without much awareness of what I’m doing.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

8.  I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

9.  I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch with what I am doing right now to get there.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

10.  I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I’m doing.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

11.  I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing something else at the same time.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

12.  I drive places on “automatic pilot” and then wonder why I went there.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

13.  I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. To gain perspective on my moment.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

14.  I find myself doing things without paying attention.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

15.  I snack without being aware that I’m eating.

        1----------------2----------------3----------------4----------------5----------------6
    almost  	     very            somewhat        somewhat            very    	   almost
    always          frequently       frequently  	infrequently      infrequently        never

This page asks for your definition of what a near-death experience is, and for your criteria for telling when an experience is an NDE.  The definition and the criteria are two different things. The definition is a general, abstract statement about what the NDE is, and the criteria are specific ways to differentiate NDEs from other experiences that might have some things in common with NDEs but are really different kinds of experiences.

To give an example, if I were to ask you for a definition of a wedding, you might say something like this: “A wedding is a ceremony to celebrate a marriage.”  And if I were to ask you for criteria by which you could tell that a ceremony was indeed a wedding rather than some other event (such as a graduation or a funeral), you might say something like this: “To be a wedding, the event must have two people who are to be married and a religious or civil official to perform the ceremony; there are usually witnesses, and it is usually a happy occasion.” 
 
To give another example, if I were to ask you for a definition of a suntan, you might say something like this: “A suntan is a darkening of the skin due to exposure to sunlight.”  And if I were to ask you for criteria by which you could tell that a skin darkening was indeed a suntan rather than some other sunlight-related skin reaction (such as a sunburn or skin cancer), you might say something like this: “To be a suntan, the skin darkening does not cause pain or swelling of the skin, and it usually fades in a few weeks.”  

Now, with that understanding of the difference between an abstract, conceptual definition and concrete, specific criteria, I am going to ask for your definition of an NDE and your criteria for telling when something is a near-death experience.  Please try to keep your definition and criteria as simple as possible.  First, what is your definition of a near-death experience?

A near-death experience is a memory of being dead. 

And what would be your criteria for telling when a certain experience was or was not an NDE?

To be considered a near-death experience one must remember, being dead, existing without a physical body, being presented with a life review, conversing with spirits of the dead, and thus altering their view of life after death upon their return.

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