What NDEs Reveal About Consciousness, Life & Death | Conversation with Dr. Penny Sartori
In this episode, Dani Foffa talks to Dr. Penny Sartori, a British medical researcher and one of the pioneers of near-death studies. Penny worked as a nurse in a British hospital for 21 years, caring for many patients who were close to death. She holds a PhD and is the author of The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences, based on her five-year clinical study of NDEs, and in this fascinating conversation, Penny discusses what NDEs may tell us about consciousness, how the medical community views these experiences, cultural and age differences in NDEs, and she reflects on how decades of NDE research have changed the way she looks at life, so this one comes highly recommended! Afterlife Revealed podcast - Episode 67 If you enjoy this episode and want to support our community, leave a like, subscribe, share and hit the bell notification button to be notified of future episodes. ✨Penny’s website - https://www.drpennysartori.com/ ✨Penny’s book “The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences” - https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Near-De... ✨Dani’s Instagram - / dfoffa ✨Dani’s Facebook - / dani.foffa ✨IANDS Instagram - / iands_nde ✨IANDS Facebook - / iands.nde Timecodes: 0:00 - Introduction 1:04 - What sparked your exploration into NDEs 5:59 - What are the implications of NDEs for our understanding of how consciousness works 8:06 - Is the medical community catching up to the idea that consciousness is not produced by the brain 9:12 - Is the medical community equipped to help NDErs integrate their experiences 12:15 - What about distressing NDEs 13:55 - The amazing story of patient 10 18:51 - Differences in NDEs across different cultures 21:10 - Differences between child and adult experiencers 24:30 - Only around 20% of people who are resuscitated come back with a memory of an NDE. Why so few 27:23 - In your study where you placed hidden targets that only patients that would come out of their body could see, why do you feel that nobody saw them 29:59 - How do you feel all of this research has affected the way you look at life these days 33:54 - Are you afraid of death 35:12 - The biggest lesson you have learned from your research 36:24 - Advice for those who have not had an NDE but want to try and learn a little bit more about the afterlife 37:44 - Are we witnessing the beginning of a new era characterised by a shift from a material to a more spiritual society 39:44 - Do you believe in God these days 41:31 - Why do you think God made us 42:31 - What’s the meaning of life for you 43:08 - Final thoughts ✨ Join IANDS: https://iands.org ✨ IANDS online events, groups and more: https://isgo.iands.org ✨ The 2026 IANDS Conference will be held in Bellevue, Washington from Aug 26 - 30 All presentations made and information provided during IANDS Groups and Events are owned and copyrighted by IANDS and may not be reproduced or used without specific, prior written permission. IANDS is neutral. Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in our podcast episodes are those of the individual. What is an NDE? A near-death experience (NDE) is typically a profound, life changing, intensely emotional experience that usually occurs during a clinical crisis and has common characteristics and aftereffects. It is not a dream, hallucination, or mental illness (Greyson, 1983). There are no predictive variables to identify who will have an NDE. They happen to people of all ages, religions, socio-economic groups, cultures, educational backgrounds, and belief systems. They occur under a variety of circumstances such as accidents, near-drownings, illnesses, combat, surgical procedures, and childbirth. Following an NDE, experiencers (NDErs) often display some common aftereffects. Research has established a set of common NDE characteristics and long-term aftereffects. Theories used to explain near-death experiences in purely physical terms have been proven inadequate by NDE researchers and others.
