Best selling author and scholar Dr. Raymond Moody returned to the show to discuss near-death experiences (NDEs) and events associated with dying. One new development in his research seems to counter the theory that NDEs are the result of a dying brain. He said there are increasing numbers of reports of relatives of dying persons having an "empathetic death experience," where they observe the newly deceased in spirit form, in interactions that are similar to classic NDE accounts.
For instance, he described a case where a doctor's mother went into cardiac arrest and as she was trying to resuscitate her, the doctor left her body and observed the two of them. She then witnessed her mother's spirit receding into an "aperture of light" that spiraled down like a closing camera lens.
Dr. Moody also described the phenomenon of "fey," a state of heightened awareness that comes to terminal patients just before they die, even if they have been nearly unconscious. They "almost light up," and are able to convey last messages to their family, he detailed. Another close to death phenomenon he has been researching, is what he calls the "swan song," where a day or so before their deaths, terminally ill people suddenly begin to recite a poem or sing. During the last hour, callers shared stories of their NDEs with Art and Dr. Moody.