near-death experience

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A sensation of detachment from one's body, the presence of a tunnel of light, the apparent viewing of one's own body from on high, and similar manifestations, experienced by people whose heart and brain have temporarily ceased to function

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the experience of being close to death but surviving