The question of what happens to us after death may be one that we never truly know the answer to.
It's easy to be fearful of what happens when our bodies finally give in, but the experiences of those who have come close to dying all seem to suggest that it might not be the end.
After claims of the rapture proved to be false last month, with scientists still at a loss to explain if humans have souls, we may have to wait until our own deaths to find out the real answer.
The closest we can seemingly come to learning more is through near-death experiences, with some folks having differing opinions about what is waiting for us, as one former drug user turned monk spoke about seeing hell, while another woman shared some memories of her heavenly holiday after a collapse.
Deborah Prum has been unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your standpoint) to go through two near-death experiences in her life, and she's shared exactly what happened and why it means she no longer fears death.
She had her first near-death experience when she went into labour with her son four weeks before she was due.
Deborah recalled: "All of a sudden, the essence of my being was in the corner of a room, looking down at everything."
Her out-of-body experience didn't last long and her son turned out well despite doctor's warnings after the premature birth.
A second near-death experience occurred when she and her husband were involved in a car crash 10 years later.
She said: "The next thing I know, I’m in this yellow space. It’s like I’ve been dropped in a vat of yellow pudding, not in a bad way. I’m completely surrounded by this yellow glow.
"But I did not feel an attachment to myself, and I felt this most profound peace and almost like a quiet joy – not like a happiness bouncy joy but I felt a peace and I felt more at home in that space than I’ve ever felt.
"It felt timeless. I couldn’t tell you that I was there a minute, or a century. And at a certain stage, I began hearing something which was like my husband’s frantic voice.
"He later told me that I was out for something like three or four minutes, and I felt so guilty about this but I did not want to come back. I mean, I didn’t know where I was but I didn’t want to come back."
After returning to the land of the living, Deborah suggests that she was helped by a young man who helped her out of the car, although her husband insists that there was no such man.
Following these experiences, Deborah has become more spiritual and no longer fears her life coming to an end.
She added: "One of my biggest fears in life is that I’ll die alone or I’ll be abandoned or whatever, but this experience took the edge off this fear.
"These days, I’m less religious but more spiritual…My NDEs brought the finiteness of life into sharp focus. I rarely procrastinate because I am never completely convinced that I will be given the gift of another tomorrow."
Deborah's experiences of joy and peace are certainly matched by other people's near-death experiences, but it's probably something we should still try and avoid, as they're called 'near-death' for a good reason.
