A comparison of UFO and near-death experiences as vehicles for the evolution of human consciousness

This study compares unidentified flying object experiencers (UFOErs) with near-death experiencers (NDErs) in regard to changes in attitudes toward self, others, and life in general, toward religious or spiritual orientation, and toward psychic abilities and beliefs. Kenneth Ring's questionnaires administered to NDErs (1984) were given in this study to 93 persons whose UFOE included either a light experience, an object experience, or a close encounter. The author concludes that the UFOE, like the NDE, provides impetus toward spiritual growth, but neither as consistently nor as strongly.This paper was derived in part from her M.A. thesis submitted to John F. Kennedy University.     

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.     

Hospice nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward the near-death experience

I surveyed 60 hospice nurses regarding their knowledge and attitudes toward the near-death experience (NDE), using Thornburg's Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire. Most hospice nurses had previous work experience with an NDEr. Approximately half the nurses were knowledgeable about the NDE. All participants had a positive attitude toward near-death phenomena and toward caring for an NDEr. Recommendations include near-death phenomena inservice education for hospice nurses and inclusion of NDE content in nursing education programs.This paper was derived in part from her Master of Science in Nursing thesis submitted to Radford University.     

The omega project: An empirical study of the NDE-prone personality

Seventy-four near-death experiencers (NDErs) and 54 persons interested in near-death experiences (NDEs) participated in a mail questionnaire survey to assess the role of psychological factors in influencing susceptibility to NDEs and to measure aftereffects stemming from such events. NDErs, while not more fantasy-prone than control subjects, reported greater sensitivity to nonordinary realities as children and a higher incidence of child abuse and trauma. NDErs also scored higher on a measure of psychological dissociation. We discuss the implications of these findings for the concept of an NDE-prone personality. In addition to substantial shifts in values and beliefs, NDErs described far more psychophysical changes, including symptoms of kundalini activation, following their NDEs than did controls. We then discuss the implications of these findings with respect to their possible significance for human transformation and the emergence of a more highly evolved human being, the Omega Prototype.At the time of this study, Mr. Rosing was a student at the University of Connecticut     

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.     

Scale development to measure attitudes toward unauthorized migration into a foreign country

This study reports on the development and cross-national utility of a Likert type scale measuring attitudes toward unauthorized migration into a foreign country in two samples from "migrant-sending" nations. In the first phase a pool of 86 attitude statements were administered to a sample of 505 undergraduate students in Bulgaria (22.5% male; M age = 23, SD = 4.8). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in six factors, and a reduction to 34 items. The results yielded an overall alpha of (0.92) and alpha for subscales ranging from 0.70 to 0.89. In the second phase the 34-item scale was administered in a survey of 180 undergraduates from Sofia University in Bulgaria (16.7% male, M age = 23, SD = 4.8), plus 150 undergraduates from Hanoi State University in Vietnam (14.7% male, M age = 19, SD = 1.8). Results yielded a 19-item scale with no gender differences, and satisfactory alpha coefficients for a Vietnamese and Bulgarian sample of 0.87 and 0.89 respectively. This scale, equally applicable in both samples, includes items that reflect salient topics of concept of attitudes towards unauthorized migration. An exploratory principal component analysis of the Bulgarian and Vietnamese version of the 19-item scale yielded three factors accounting for 54% and 47% of the variance respectively. A procrustes analysis indicates high conceptual equivalence in the two samples for factor 1 and 2, and moderate for factor 3. This study lends support to the idea that despite different cultural meanings there is a common meaning space in culturally diverse societies.     

Sexism: A tri-dimensional phenomenon

A review of the existing sex-role scales indicated the need for a relatively short multidimensional scale with established validity and reliability. The scale reported herein, consisting of 20 self-administered items in Likert format with Guttman scoring option, measures attitudes toward sex roles in three broad areas: internal familial division of labor, external (economic) division of labor, and perceived sex differences. One hundred and ninety-seven carefully selected and worded items were pretested by administration to a diverse group of 154 respondents. The results were submitted to factor analytic procedures leading to one dimension comprising two sets of items — those measuring attitudes toward internal division of labor, and those measuring attitudes toward external division of labor — and another dimension comprising items measuring attitudes toward perceived sex differences. These sets of items were treated as three subscales and submitted to Guttman procedures. The coefficients of reproducibility and scalability for each subscale were deemed satisfactory. Furthermore, 17 of the 20 items on the scale were able to distinguish females' responses from those of males. The alpha coefficient of reliability for the 20 items was .94.Social Science Verification SystemsAdapted from a paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Sociological Association, Houston, Texas, April 12–15, 1978. The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of their colleagues, Professor Raymond A. Eve, of the Department of Sociology, and Professor Richard Gorsuch, of the Graduate School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington. The authors take full responsibility for the results and interpretations of the analyses.     

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.     

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 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.     

Rationale and considerations for proposed near-death research in the hospital setting

Further research into the question of veridical perception during the naturalistic near-death out-of-body experience (nND OBE), that phase of the near-death experience in which the experiencer seems to be perceiving a normal earthly realm, would be of value to NDErs, their caregivers, and humanity in general. I propose a research procedure that targets visual perception during nND OBEs that occur in the hospital setting. I discuss unresolved issues in the design and implementation of such a procedure, and identify areas for further research.     

Ego,moral, and faith development in near-death experiencers: Three case studies

Near-death experiencers (NDErs) commonly report shifts in basic values and attitudes, toward intensified compassion and a sense of unconditional love, sprituality, and a sense of mission, and away from materialism and competitiveness. Some researchers have suggested that these attitudinal shifts represent a new stage in human evolution, which will produce major social change. However, knowledge of these reputed NDE aftereffects has been based on NDErs' subjective reports, unverified by objective measures. This study examined relationships between three NDErs' levels of moral, ego, and faith development, as measured by standardized instruments, and extensive qualitative data describing their NDEs and personal attributes. The results suggest that currently available instruments, designed to measure the lower self, may not reflect the awakening to a transpersonal plane of functioning that follows an NDE.Dr. Newsome is in the private practice of psychotherapy and counseling. This paper was derived in part from her Ph.D. thesis submitted to Walden University.     

Social positions in the city of light

This article describes the social positions of inhabitants in the otherworldly City of Light as reported by a limited number of Mormon near-death experiences (NDErs). These social positions included men and women and various relatives and friends, in addition to authorities or administrators, genealogists, guardians, guides, homemakers, missionaries, teachers, and students. These reports of social positions in the City of Light are similar to those described by other researchers, and are comparable to those found in our own world.The authors thanks Jay G.Burrup for providing a section of theDiary of George Henry Carver. This research was supported in part by a sabbatical leave granted to Dr. Lundahl by the Sabbatical Leave Committee of Western New Mexico University.     

Recreating Near-Death Experiences: A Cognitive Approach

I describe a guided meditation that, when used by near-death experiencers (NDErs), recreates fragments of their NDEs. The meditation is based on Michael Persinger's neurological theory regarding the God Experience, and its success supports that theory. The present study included too few subjects to support quantitative analysis, and must be regarded as a pilot study.     

Claims of Near-Death Experiences, Gestalt Resistance Processes, and Measures of Optimal Functioning

The present study investigated the relationship between claims of near-death experiences (NDEs) and measures of self-actualization, Gestalt resistance processes, transfluence, mystical experiences, and claims of peak life experiences in a sample of 155 individuals. As hypothesized, I found significant positive correlations between the claims of NDEs and transfluence and mystical experiences. I found no significant correlations between claims of NDEs and the seven Gestalt resistances, suggesting that NDErs are neither more nor less resistant than nonNDErs. I also found no significant relationship between claims of NDEs and self-actualization or claims of peak life experiences.     

Shared Near-Death and Related Illness Experiences: Steps on an Unscheduled Journey

This paper discusses the key social features in shared journeys into near-death experiences (NDEs) and related illness experiences of other people. Of special interest in this paper is the way that those persons who are not ill or near death account for their sharing of these experiences. These are often people who are caregivers or intimates of NDErs or dying people but who claim to share part of the NDE or dying experience. We provide case examples to illustrate the essential psychological and social experiences that these people undergo during their joint experiences with NDErs and other seriously ill people. From an analysis of the recurrent themes emergent in these joint experiences we identify and discuss the major conceptual steps in the creation of their personal explanations: (1) Exit the Familiar, (2) Extraordinary Experiences, (3) Extraordinary Experiences End, (4) What Happened to Me? (5) The World Responds, and (6) The Return of the Native. In the final analysis, the processes that these people undergo in the search for explanations is similar in most respects to those at the center of near-death and other related illness experiences.