There is no such place as the purgatory. The purgatory experienced during a near death experience is brought about by pain, medicine and the whole rush of emotions during that moment. The person starts regretting his mistakes not because he or she has seen the purgatory but because that person is afraid that he or she may die at that very moment. If you think that you are going to die soon, wouldn't you feel regret for your mistakes or for the things you have not done yet?

Scientists and doctors have medical and scientific explanations for the purgatory experience during near death. But has any of them wondered if that explanation is true as well as the existence of the purgatory? I believe that a spirit visits the purgatory during near death experiences. It is just a matter of how each of us interprets that experience. If the doctor checks on the person's brain and it shows some strange activity, he will say that it is the one causing the purgatory experience. What if it is the purgatory experience that is triggering the strange brain activity instead?

During a near death experience (NDE), a person experiences what feels like a visit to the purgatory. However, the spirit has not actually left his or her body to visit this "place." The purgatory is supposed to be a place of purification--sort of an in-between--when a soul has just left its body and is still awaiting judgment that directs where it should go.

Yes. The spirit visits the purgatory during a near death experience. This is because the person has no final destination yet. Still, that person is able to detach from his or her body to escape the pain the physical body is suffering from. The purgatory visit serves two purposes: for the person to realize mistakes and for that person to escape the horrible state of his body. Purgatory is that place a soul has to pass through before going to the final destination. The soul during an NDE is able to come back.