The impact of a near-death experience on family relationships

This study explores the influence that a near-death experience (NDE) had on the family relationships of eleven NDErs, based on in-depth interviews. I detail the changes in relationships with extensive quotes providing data on family interactions. Analysis of the adjustments of NDErs within their family relationships reveals that while some families cope well and are positively influenced by an NDE, others may encounter difficulty and cease to function as they previously did. The transformation that NDErs themselves undergo, as well as the attitudes of others toward the NDE and the NDEr, are instrumental in altering NDErs' family relationships.This paper was excerpted and adapted from his seniors honors thesis.     

Knowledge and Attitudes of Hospital Nurses in Italy Related to Near-Death Experiences

I distributed Nina Thornburg's Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire to 750 nurses in three Verona hospitals, and received 476 completed questionnaires. Questionnaire respondents had a modest knowledge of near-death experiences (NDEs). Nevertheless, respondents expressed a positive attitude towards NDEs in general, and towards patients who had had NDEs. Thirty-four percent of the nurses had personally encountered NDErs, and those nurses reported a higher level of knowledge than their colleagues who had not had that opportunity. Furthermore, in relation to the global sample, nurses who had encountered an NDEr showed attitudes that were more positive regarding both the NDE itself and the type of assistance they offered NDErs.     

An Israeli account of a near-death experience: A case study of cultural dissonance

The text of an Israeli near-death experience (NDE) is presented in translation from the Hebrew. This account is contrasted with the traditional Hebrew sources on NDEs or their equivalents, which formed part of the NDEr's native subculture. In the present case, the lack of congruence between the reported NDE and the expected cultural form led to intense confusion described by the NDEr. Further study is needed of folk traditions of NDEs.     

Visual perception during naturalistic near-death out-of-body experiences

This study attempted to ascertain the most appropriate content and placement of visual stimuli in a hospital-based study of the veridicality of out-of-body perception in the near-death experience (NDE), and the likelihood that a subject in such a study would notice, clearly perceive, and accurately recall a visual stimulus. Based on the questionnaire responses of 63 subjects who had near-death out-of-body experiences (ND OBEs), at least some of the respondents described sufficiently complete and accurate visual perception during the experience to warrant the pursuit of veridicality research in hospitals. Recommended stimulus content for such research includes a surface with intense color and lighting, and simple number and/or letter combinations. Stimuli should be as far below ceiling level as possible while maintaining double-blind criteria. Some characteristics of the individual NDE and NDEr may affect veridical perception during the ND OBE.This paper was derived in part from her Ed.D. dissertation submitted to the Northern Illinois University Graduate School.     

Psychic phenomena following near-death experiences: An Australian study

This study examines the incidence of reports of psychic phenomena and associated beliefs both before and after the near-death experience (NDE). The near-death experiencers interviewed reported no more psychic phenomena before the NDE than the general population. There was a statistically significant increase following the NDE in the incidence of 14 of 15 items examined.     

The Near-Death Experience: Knowledge and Attitudes of College Students

There is a considerable literature documenting the effects of a near-death experience (NDE) on persons who actually undergo the experience, in terms of their attitudes and opinions about NDEs. However, investigations of how much nonexperiencers know about NDEs and their attitudes towards them are in short supply. This study examined the relationship in people who have not had an NDE between attitudes toward and knowledge of near-death experiences. Subjects were undergraduate students, with a mean age of 32 years. The Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire was employed to assess attitudes toward and knowledge of NDEs. Results indicated that both knowledge and attitudes were relatively normally distributed, and that level of knowledge significantly predicted attitudes towards NDEs, accounting for 34 percent of the common variance.     

Angels in near-death experiences

The literature on near-death experiences (NDEs) contains no substantive discussion of angels in NDEs, even though there are references to angels in several studies of these experiences. In this article I identify angels in NDEs and describe their functions in the NDE based on published NDE accounts. I conclude that angels are personages with whom the NDEr does not usually recall having previous acquaintance. Angels, serve as guides, messengers, or escorts in the NDE.This research was supported by a sabbatical leave granted by the Sabbatical Leave Commitee of Western New Mexico University.     

The Nature and Meaning of the Near-Death Experience for Patients and Critical Care Nurses

This study was designed to develop a conceptual framework for the near-death experience (NDE), reflecting its nature and meaning for the patient and the critical care nurse. The study used naturalistic inquiry to examine the question: What is the nature and meaning of an NDE and how has it influenced the individual's view of the self, the future, and feelings and beliefs about life and death? The NDE Scale (Greyson, 1983) was used with patients and semi-structured interview guides were used with both nurses and patients to explore the NDE from a comprehensive perspective. An NDE was defined as the report of “unusual” recollections associated with a period of unconsciousness during either serious illness or injury, or resuscitation from a cardiac or respiratory arrest. The sample included 12 patients who experienced an NDE and 19 nurses who cared for patients who experienced NDEs. This study highlighted the emotional aspects of the NDE. Patients described how the NDE transformed their lives and nurses reported how their experiences with patients changed them personally and professionally.     

The popular appeal of the near-death experience

In this article I argue that as scientific research provides an ever-more-complete physiological explanation of the near-death experience (NDE), popular interest in NDEs will wane, because the transcendental interpretation, which holds that the NDE provides proof of an immaterial soul, an afterlife, and assorted paranormal phenomena, has always been the magnet that has attracted widespread attention to the subject. Since the transcendental interpretation resonates with our culture's deepest wishes, dreams, and fears, the television and newspapers have tended to focus on that model almost exclusively. This unbalanced presentation of near-death research has reinforced the traditional image of science as a cold, heartless enterprise. I speculate that, in terms of its popular appeal, future near-death research may well have more impact on the field of psychotherapy than that of religion or the paranormal.He has taught at Stanford University and at Villa Maria College.     

Adjustment and the near-death experience: A conceptual and therapeutic model

Most mental health practitioners, and counseling psychologists in particular, possess skills for helping near-death experiencers. What is needed is a conceptual framework that is both familiar to practitioners and highly relevant to that client group. Cross-cultural counseling in general, and the consideration of world views more specifically, are suggested. Using that framework, the world view assimilated during the near-death experience (NDE) is viewed as being in contrast to that of the old self, significant others, and the majority culture. The difficulties reported by NDErs are considered analogous to those associated with culture shock. The world views of the practitioner, NDEr, and relevant others should be taken into account in the formulation of psychoeducational and therapeutic interventions.     

The Near-Death Experience as a Shamanic Initiation: A Case Study

The field of near-death studies shares a number of interesting, often compelling, similarities with the ancient spiritual tradition known as shamanism. Not least among these similarities is the fact that a near-death experience (NDE) is a time-honored form of shamanic initiation. I present a case example illustrating how a deep NDE can propel a person who had no prior knowledge or interest in shamanism into spontaneous, often classic, shamanic experiences, while living an apparently normal life in the midst of modern Western society.     

The near-death experience of a nonverbal person with congenital quadriplegia

This article describes the near-death experience (NDE) a 39-year-old man born with severe spastic quadriplegia had when he was two and one-half years old. Nonverbal because of cerebral palsy, the man was able to communicate about his experience after he heard a therapist talking to another person about NDEs. The man experienced a fairly typical NDE and has had seven subsequent out-of-body experiences, the latter hypothesized as temporary relief from his physical pain resulting from muscular spasticity.     

Near-death encounters with and without near-death experiences: Comparative NDE scale profiles

In a retrospective study contrasting the near-death encounters of 183 persons who reported near-death experiences and 63 persons who reported no near-death experience, the two groups did not differ in age, gender, or time elapsed since the near-death encounter. Near-death experiencers reported all 16 items of the NDE Scale significantly more often than did nonexperiencers.     

Religious Wars or Healthy Competition in the NDE Movement?

In the early years of near-death research many organized religions rejected the near-death experience (NDE) as a legitimate expression of religious faith. More recently numerous religious apologists have laid claim to NDEs as verifying particular theological beliefs. I see this as a healthy competition between religions, and a competition that results from the very success of the near-death research effort. Religious apologists, however, must be reasonably objective in any juxtapositions of religious philosophy with NDE findings. I point out some problems in this regard with Michael Sabom's recent work. I also argue that Kenneth Ring's recent statements that we might not now be headed toward Omega as he once thought may be premature.     

Changes in religious beliefs,attitudes, and practices following near-death experiences: An Australian study

This study examined changes in religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices in the lives of 50 near-death experiencers. I attempted to clarify whether these changes were to greater religiousness or to a deeper spirituality. I found that before the near-death experience (NDE), my respondents were no more religious or spiritually inclined than the general Australian population. Following the NDE there was a statistically significant shift towards spirituality on most items investigated.     

The myth of the near-death journey

I examine in this article the meaning and developmental potential of the near-death experience (NDE) as a stimulus to inner exploration. The NDE as a prototype of the transcendent contact encounter offers a model for an evolutionary theory of religion. My own experiences and contemporary portrayals of NDEs suggest that the experience is a vehicle for the mythic renewal of our idea of death as a journey rather than as a termination, and may be a stimulus for spiritual revolution.     

Afterward: Making Meaning After a Frightening Near-Death Experience

The routes by which individuals attribute meaning to a near-death experience (NDE) appear to be similar, whether the experience was radiant or terrifying. This article explores three such avenues in relation to frightening experiences. I argue that resisting a terrifying NDE is likely to intensify fearfulness in an individual, and also that a similar effect occurs within society when this type of experience is resisted and misunderstood. The article concludes with an approach to synthesis and suggested techniques that may be useful in integrating the experience.     

The Near-Death Experience: An Integration of Cultural, Spiritual, and Physical Perspectives

The near-death experience (NDE) has been studied extensively from two conflicting perspectives: that the NDE is a glimpse into an after-death state and that it is the result of a dying brain. Of late a third perspective has emerged, that of NDEs being culturally determined. I propose an integrated model in which all three perspectives are viewed with equal weight.     

The Amplification and Integration of Near-Death and Other Exceptional Human Experiences by the Larger Cultural Context: An Autobiographical Case

Although I became a parapsychologist in part to help me understand the near-death experience (NDE) I had in 1952 as an undergraduate, it was not until 1990 that I began to integrate my NDE into my life. Doing so alerted me to the role the larger cultural context plays in regard to NDEs and other exceptional human experiences (EHEs). I propose not only that we need to draw on cultural resources to amplify the meaning of our exceptional human experiences, but that EHEs themselves carry the seeds of cultural change.