Death is a certainty that affects us all, and that every human being has to face. More is known about human death than many people realise. A growing number of people have felt themselves to be on the brink of death, and having 'an out-of-body experience'. Some of these people feel they have actually chosen to come `back to life' after hours on the operating table. The spiritual insight of Rudolf Steiner shows distinct stages in existence after death. Above all there is the central Christian mystery of death, the full significance of which has certainly not yet been grasped by human thinking and which will only reveal itself as that thinking becomes increasingly more spiritual.