This week I have mostly been thinking about Distressing Near Death Experiences.

Most people say that experiences of Hell or nothingness is rare in NDEs. The results seem to go with this. I have heard that anything from 1%-20% of NDEs are unpleasant. But I think its much higher for these reasons:

1. People don't want to know that the afterlife might be unpleasant.

2. Researchers in religious experience have a tendency to be partisan. Even great thinkers in the field like Alister Hardy seem to have doubted that any experiences of evil are valid. Thus, negative religious experiences may be overlooked.

3. People often don't tell people about their NDE due to a fear that they'll be thought of as crazy. I would say that people may be more scared to say they saw demons and torture than that they saw a being of light and dead relatives.

4. People are less likely to report Hellish experiences, as bad people go to hell and the experiencer might not want people thinking badly of them.

5. People are more likely to repress negative experiences.

For these reasons, I think that there is a high probability that when you die you will have one of the most horrible experiences you can imagine. You will also be utterly alone and miserable. This may be a hallucination, or it may be real. Either way, enjoy it.

Oh, and these experiences happen to people irrespective of culture or religion. I've heard accounts that prayer to one deity or other can help. Probably because it bolsters your belief. On the other hand, committing suicide heightens the likelihood of a negative NDE.