I recently completed Dr. Peter Levine’s Eye of the Needle Part 2 training in San Diego, which focuses on the integration of near-death experiences (NDEs). This training was both deeply moving and eye-opening, offering profound insights into what happens when the body, psyche, and spirit are brought to the threshold between life and death.
What Are Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences?
NDEs can arise from a broad range of circumstances, including:
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Cardiac arrest and heart attacks
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Serious accidents or injuries
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Surgeries and use of anesthetics
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Suffocation or near-drowning
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Life-threatening illness or poisoning
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High fevers
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Birth conditions involving lack of oxygen (anoxia/hypoxia)
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Coma or concussion
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Episodes of extreme emotional distress
Many peak experiences, moments of heightened awareness and transcendence, can also resemble NDEs, even when physical danger isn’t immediately present.
Closely related are Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs), in which people perceive themselves as leaving or floating outside their physical body. These may occur during medical crises (such as surgery or cardiac arrest) or spontaneously, often leaving people uncertain how to make sense of what happened.
At their core, NDEs and OBEs are profound psycho-physiological events, not merely hallucinations or mental illness. They occur when a person is close to death or in a crisis so intense that the nervous system moves beyond its ordinary bounds of functioning.
The phrase eye of the needle refers to this liminal, transitional state between life and death. Biologically, it is similar to thanatosis, a state of shock or immobility in which the body “plays dead” as a survival response. In this place, voluntary activity ceases, and the nervous system hovers between collapse and transcendence.
Dr. Levine describes it as a space where the boundaries between existence and non-existence blur—an experience that is both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Common Features of NDEs and OBEs
While every near-death or out-of-body experience is unique, research and personal accounts show that people often report:
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A sense of peace, tranquility, or bliss
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A life review or reliving of key memories
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Feelings of omniscience or hyper-awareness
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Separation from the body (floating above oneself, watching from outside)
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Emotional detachment or loss of fear
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A sense of unity with the cosmos
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Transcendence of the physical realm
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Entering a void or state of “nothingness”
For many, these experiences feel deeply real and transformative, yet paradoxically destabilizing when they return to everyday life.
Trauma and Polarities: Heaven and Hell Realms
NDEs and OBEs often involve a passage through extreme states:
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Freeze, pain, and terror (the “hell realm”)
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Dissociation or absence of sensation, followed by bliss, peace, or oneness (the “heaven realm”)
Without integration, people may find themselves stuck in one polarity or oscillating between both. This can leave them confused, disoriented, or disconnected from life.
A 2019 study published by Eureka Alert/AAAS revealed that one in ten people worldwide report having had a near-death experience, with 95% of out-of-body experiences occurring in medical settings. This shows just how common yet under-discussed these phenomena really are.
Unintegrated NDEs and OBEs can profoundly affect day-to-day living—impacting physical health, mood, relationships, and spiritual well-being. The nervous system, once overwhelmed, may stay dysregulated, leaving a person vulnerable to anxiety, depression, or physical symptoms.
Through Somatic Experiencing® (SE) and Dr. Levine’s Eye of the Needle framework, the body is supported to:
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Release bound survival energy held in freeze states
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Gradually reconnect with sensations and emotions in safe ways
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Reconcile the polarities of terror and bliss into a coherent whole
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Return to regulation of the autonomic nervous system
This allows people to not only survive an NDE or OBE but to integrate it as a source of wisdom, resilience, and transformation.
Returning Through the Needle
When we are able to “pass through the eye of the needle” and reinhabit our bodies, life becomes more grounded, vibrant, and meaningful. The gift of an NDE or OBE lies not just in touching transcendent states, but in bringing that perspective back into embodied living—into our relationships, choices, and presence with the world.
This is my wish for us all: that no matter how close we come to the threshold, we find our way home again—fully alive, deeply human, and open to life’s unfolding mystery.