Near-Death News

Q and A with P.M.H. Atwater

Books on the NDE

IANDS in the Spotlight

Odds and Ends

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Near-Death News

The registration deadline for this retreat was March 27. IANDS is sponsoring a truly unique time for NDErs to share experiences and gifts in a peaceful and beautiful environment. The purpose is to help NDErs integrate their experience, understand the aftereffects, and find their spiritual purpose. In addition, tools will be utilized to help NDErs better understand their needs, as well as establishing a network to share their gifts and wisdom with the world. This retreat was open for all NDErs - those who struggle with the aftereffects - as well as “seasoned” experiencers. The focus will be about the struggles and joys that the integrative process entails - all in a loving and supportive setting. There will also be time and space for meditation, quiet, and communion in truly beautiful surroundings. [Read more]

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Be sure to attend the October 25 - 28, 2006 IANDS Conference to be held at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. The IANDS Conference web page states: "This entire project is, as Dr. Peter Fenwick termed it, a “grand retrospective” of the field of near-death studies in the three decades since 1975 when Raymond Moody published "Life After Life," introducing the term and the phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs) to public -- and most professionals' -- awareness. The 2006 theme of the International Association for Near-Death Studies conference will be a celebration of “30 Years of Near-Death Experience Research: Integrating the Past, Anticipating the Future.” [Read more]

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The three types of experience: (1) Deathbed visions – seen by the person who is dying. The most common are "take away" visions, where the person sees figures who have apparently come to take them away on a journey through physical death. May be a dead relative or religious figure. It is often a joyful experience for them. (2) Experience of light – seen by either the patient, the carers and sometimes by both. The light is often radiant and described as being infused with love; it may envelop the body and spread through the room. Sometimes something interpreted as a soul or essence of the dying person is seen leaving the body. (3) Deathbed coincidences – reported by family or friends of the dying. They suddenly become convinced a loved one is dying or dead, even though they are far away and may not know the person is ill. The dying person may "visit", as though saying goodbye, or the relative may awaken at the moment of death. [Read more]

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He also discusses children who have had NDEs. One young boy, Andrew, flummoxed his mother when he said he wanted to go back to "the sunny place with the lady that floats", who turned out to have been his late grandmother. His mother was astounded when later a much healthier Andrew looked at a picture of his gran as a young woman and said: "That's the lady who floats." This is a book that you will want to give friends who have had similar experiences, or who have lost someone and are hoping to somehow find out where they are and what they would like us back on Earth to know. Parnia includes enough medical data about the brain and our minds to give his account substance and to enable readers to do their own research. [Read more]

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There is now a concerted effort with researchers of near-death states to "set the record straight" as to percentages of occurrence. Most surveys conducted by various magazines and organizations in the past were not scientific or even reliable. The problem is ambiguous questions which slant answers. The result: overestimates, that are based more on wishful thinking than anything close to verifiable facts. The poll used today, giving an estimate of 15 million near-death experiencers in the United States (or 5% of the population), was conducted by U. S. News & World Report in 1997. However, the figure more in keeping with actual case reportings in the United States, Holland, and Germany is 4% (which makes 11 million in the U.S.). What is of keen interest to researchers is that the 4% figure for general populations is showing up in other countries worldwide. Because of this, researchers are down-scaling the percentages they quote. Some references: Random inquiry in Germany (Schmied, et al) conducted in 1999 and the original Gallup Poll done in 1982. For those people who were near death, nearly died, or who did die but later revived or were resuscitated, the estimate of one-third that was previously used to indicate how many would have a near-death experience is also over-inflated. The number is closer to between 12 to 20 percent. The real problem here, though, is with children. There has never been any survey of any kind that addresses child experiencers of near-death states. A given assumption in poll taking is that an individual's near-death experience occurred in adulthood. Preliminary work by Melvin Morse, M.D., a pediatrician in the State of Washington, suggests that with child experiencers the figure is closer to 70% - more than double that of adults. Since Morse's work has yet to be duplicated, especially in other countries, no conclusions can yet be drawn as to what this difference might mean. It can be said that near-death cases are on the rise. What cannot be said with any real degree of confidence is by how much. -- P. M. H.

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Nelson, now a neurophysiologist at the University of Kentucky, published one of the few studies on the subject in today's issue of the journal Neurology. The study compares the sleep patterns of 55 people who have reported unusual sensations during a during near-death experience to 55 people who haven't ... He and his team of researchers discovered that the near-death study group had a significantly higher rate (60 percent compared with 24 percent) of a sleep disorder known as rapid eye movement, or REM, intrusion. This disorder causes one of the most active dream states of sleep — REM — to intrude into wakefulness, causing a person to sometimes wake up and feel paralyzed, experience leg muscle weakness or wake up to hear sounds other people didn't. This may explain why some people have near-death experiences after undergoing a traumatic event that causes unconsciousness, Nelson said. When a person is under the threat, their fight-or-flight nervous system is evoked. But as they come out of unconsciousness, some mental wires may be crossed. [Read more]

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Over the years I have conducted several experiments such as attempting to move or alter a physical object. I have also observed several physical people and events from the out-of-body state. When I attempted to communicate with awake individuals they didn't seem to notice my presence. On two occasions when I contacted people during their sleep they recalled my interaction as a dream state perception. Based on my experiences and the feedback I have received from my online OBE survey I feel that during an out-of-body experience we are communicating with the subconscious mind of the person we contact. The best way to obtain personal proof is to self-initiate an out-of-body experience for yourself. Only then will you fully appreciate the reality and potential of the experience. This is the reason I present over forty different techniques in my books. [Read more]

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Consensus reality in the "real world" is founded upon corporeal entities beholding three-dimensional space. When out-of-body explorers or UFO abductees claim that they passed through solid walls during their experiences, they are contradicting perhaps the most fundamental perceptions of human observers. Scientism condemns such assertions as either fraudulent or hallucinatory because if they were accepted as legitimate, our entire conception of reality would collapse - an appalling prospect, challenging the credibility of all self-appointed official observers. Nevertheless, when faced with such an abundance of anomalous data any fearless spectator might suggest that our concepts of dimensional location need to be re-evaluated and clarified. [Read more]

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It doesn't take someone like me to point out that there's something remarkably different about the children in today's world. Parents and grandparents, school teachers, counselors and therapists, anyone who knows a child – all of them – say the same thing: our kids know more than we do. And they're right. The kids do. “Two key brain-building genes, which underwent dramatic changes in the past that coincided with huge leaps in human intellectual development, are still undergoing rapid mutations, evolution's way of selecting for new beneficial traits,” so said Bruce Lahn and his University of Chicago colleagues in a study published in the journal Science, dated 9 September 2005. Not everyone has both of these genes, yet reports of mutation are increasing at an unprecedented rate: 70% of the world's population now evidences one of them, 30% both ...  [Read more]

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  Here is a list of some of the best internet radio interviews you will ever hear on the internet:

People have dreamed of heaven, dedicated their lives to the promise of heaven, even martyred themselves - committing heinous acts of terrorism - for the promise of paradise. Is heaven simply a myth dreamed up to give lives meaning, or is it a real place? Anchored by Barbara Walters, this documentary explores the meaning of heaven with religious leaders of the major faiths, scientists, people who say they believe in heaven because they've been there, celebrities who are vocal about their beliefs and even with terrorists. The DVD version contains extended interviews with the Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, Imam Feisal, Abdul Rauf, and Rabbi Neil Gilman. [Read more]

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The film centers on a suicidal college student and his doctor who enter a twisted world of supernatural horror in Stay. Henry Lethem (Ryan Gosling) plans to kill himself in three days, unless psychologist Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) can stop him. Henry's been hearing disturbing voices and experiencing horrifying visions, but where does imagination end and reality begin? Sam suddenly finds he's losing his own grip on reality, as he, too, is thrust into a hellish place between life and death. With the help of his girlfriend (Naomi Watts), Sam races to unlock the terrifying secret behind Henry's waking nightmare before it's too late. [Read more]

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   The following are this month's listing of celebrity near-death experiences in the news:

  I recommend www.TV.com or tv.yahoo.com as your online TV guide to search for NDE and NDE-related cable programs scheduled for your area. For online video searches, I recommend the awesome mega-search engine www.blinkx.com.

The science and study of consciousness offers important pieces to the puzzle of global sustainability. This day-long conference brings together pioneers at the frontiers of conscious change -- scientists, spiritual leaders, environmentalists, and social change activists -- to expand the dialogue about how we create global sustainability. After a vision-expanding morning and a heartfelt, inspiring lunch, we'll move into specific action projects in the afternoon, finishing the day with a bold, integrative vision and celebration. The Global Consciousness Conference will chart the path to a spiritually fulfilling, ecologically balanced, and socially healthy worldview. It will also serve as the official book launch for Entangled Minds, the new book by Dean Radin, IONS Senior Scientist. Book signing with Dean will take place during the afternoon reception. Presenters include Duane Elgin (Awakening Earth); Mark Plotkin (Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice); Andrew Beath (Consciousness in Action); as well as IONS leaders James O'Dea (President); Marilyn Mandala Schlitz (VP); Dean Radin (Sr. Scientist); and Belvie Rooks (Board Member). Afternoon forums will feature various community activists, with an opportunity to engage with their projects. [Read more]

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It is one of the great mysteries. But science has been able to discover some things. This conference brings together leading scientists and physicians in this area of research to present their findings, under the auspices of The Rhine Research Center, in Durham, North Carolina. Presenters include: Bruce Greyson, Jim Tucker, Gary Schwartz, Larry Dossey, Stephan Schwartz, Dianne Arcangel, Loyd Auerbach, Ginette Nachman, and Mary Occhino. Learning Objectives: By the end of the conference, participants will: (1) Have a good understanding of research findings related to near-death experiences, children's memories of previous lives, afterlife encounters, mediumship communication, and apparitions. (2) Have a context in which to understand these experiences. (3) Understand what the research is telling us about the nature of consciousness. (4) Understand the implications of nonlocal awareness. (5) Clinicians will be better equipped to support patients who report these experiences.  [Read more]

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The International Remote Viewing Association (IRVA) was organized March 18, 1999, by selected scientists and practitioners meeting in Alamogordo, New Mexico in conjunction with the first professional conference on Remote Viewing in Ruiduso, New Mexico. The concluded objective was to create an organization that would provide a mechanism for evaluating the discipline called "remote viewing", encourage scientifically sound research, propose ethical standards and provide overview educational information to the public. Presenters include: Russel Targ, Ingo Swann, Dean Radin, William Tiller, Jessica Utts, Stephan Schwartz, Jeffrey Mishlove, George McMullen, Elias Merhige, Noreen Renier, Lyn Buchanan, and Paul H. Smith. [Read more]

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"I've always thought that I have something going on," said Rogers, 61, of Cantonment, who has taken the workshop. "Things would hit me and they would come true. Off and on this would happen." But Rogers, like many people, was too busy with career and family to pay much attention. Then in December 2003, she had a near-death experience and lay in the hospital for 48 days -- 21 of those days in intensive care on a respirator, given a 20 percent chance to live ..." "The majority of scientists meet the subject with prejudice despite hundreds of studies documenting extrasensory perception beyond a reasonable doubt," said Charles Tart, an instructor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, Calif. "We have no idea what the mechanism is that makes this happen," Tart said. "If we ever do understand, it will bring a new understanding to the universe." [Read more]

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