Near-Death Experience as a Proxy for Black Hole Event Horizon Phenomenology: A Testable Prediction from the Intersection of General Relativity and Consciousness Research
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) June 21, 2026 Gabriel Cohen
Time presents a paradox: physical laws are time-symmetric, but conscious experience is directional, and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of quantum gravity lacks time entirely. Near-death experiences (NDEs) may offer an empirical window into this regime. The phenomenological sequence reported in NDEs—from temporal distortion through dissolution of spatial boundaries to absence of sequential time—structurally corresponds to the sequence predicted by general relativity for an observer approaching a black hole event horizon, as described by the Schwarzschild metric. Two falsifiable predictions are derived: time distortion in NDEs should correlate with NDE depth following gravitational time dilation near the Schwarzschild radius, and the neurophysiological signature should show an initial surge of high-frequency gamma coherence followed by collapse to minimal activity. Both predictions are testable with existing data.