July
2003
Near-Death
Newsletter
Vol. 02
No. 07, Ed. 01

The Near-Death Newsletter is a free opt-in monthly newsletter in connection with http://www.near-death.com

To UNSUBSCRIBE from this newsletter, send a blank email to: neardeathnewsletter-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you have NDE information that you would like to contribute for possible inclusion in this newsletter and/or website, please email it to Kevin Williams at: webmaster@near-death.com

==============================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
==============================================

          (1)  News of the NDE          (2)  NDE Forum
          (3)  Info and Events
          (4)  Discussion
          (5)  P.M.H. Atwater's Q&A
          (6)  TV Listings
          (7)  Books
          (8)  Web Links
          (9)  Odds and Ends

==============================================
(1)  NEWS OF THE NDE==============================================

*** Visit the NDE News page

==============================================
(2)  NDE FORUM
==============================================

*** Deborah Fourtner's NDE
"She was holding my newly born baby. She seemed so sad, so lonely, 
so depressed that I was no longer there. I felt as if I was to die before 
even knowing that I had a child."

*** Elaine Durham's NDE
"I was pulled into billions and billions of diamond-like sparkles and I 
was one of them." Then Elaine was shown visions of the future.

*** Jessica Carde's NDE
"The light beings surrounded me and filled me with light. I saw them 
unrolling a scroll before me that looked like an Arabic or Greek text. 
I was shown earthquakes along the Ring of fire in the Pacific."

*** Cassandra Musgrave's NDE
"I saw that there was a 20 year period from 1992 to 2012. Things will 
be greatly accelerated on earth. All these things will be manifest by 
great earth changes: earthquakes, floods, tidal waves, great winds."

*** Benjamin's NDE
"The next thing I knew, I was in this tropical paradise and there were 
these tourists walking around. There I was sitting in this cafe that was 
shaded with palms and bamboo rafters."

*** E.L.'s NDE
She was told that she needed a righteous person to appeal on her 
behalf. When she mentioned her Hassidic Rebbe, the Rebbe appeared 
in spirit, even though he was currently alive on earth.

*** Jeana Bettencourt's NDE
"Then I saw the silhouette of a hand come to me and turned me around. I felt the soft touch on my soul that had pushed me away. At that moment, I felt as if I was falling at the speed of light and into my body."

*** P. A.'s NDE
"I felt as if I was in a huge stadium or amphitheater. It was wonderful 
and here is where I have a truly hard time explaining how marvelous it 
is. I felt absorbed by love and compassion and that all was well."

*** Sarah's NDE
"I flew along further up the tunnel and glanced in other doorways but 
the next one that made a lasting impression on me was a world of 
almost indescribable beauty."

*** George Lennox's NDE
"He must have been at least ten feet high. He had great wings on 
his back. He was black as the coal I had been digging, and in a 
perfectly nude condition. He had a spear in his hand, the handle 
of which must have been fully fifteen feet in length. His eyes shone 
like balls of fire. His teeth, white as pearl, seemed fully an inch long."

*** John Bunyan's NDE
"I saw coming toward me a glorious appearance, like the person of 
a man, but circled round about with beams of inexpressible light 
and glory, which streamed from him all the way he came."

*** Lloyd Glenn's NDE
This near-death account of a three-year old boy can be found all 
over the internet under the title "The Birdies". It is a very beautiful NDE, 
as many children NDEs are. However, no one has been able to verify 
this account, including myself. Because of this, I have suspicions 
that it is a hoax. I will let you decide.

***  Post your NDE at: http://forums.near-death.com
or email it to me at: webmaster@near-death.com for
possible inclusion in this newsletter and website.

==============================================
(3)  WHAT'S NEW
==============================================

(These are new web pages recently added to near-death.com)

(1)  NDE and Hell (added 06/29/03)
The first realm after death is the earthbound region often
referred to as the "earthbound" realm. 

(2)  NDE and Void (added 06/29/03)
The second realm after death is called the "void". This is
the launching point for many NDEs. 

(3)  NDE and Jesus (added 06/29/03)
Experiences with Jesus are summarized along with NDEinsights about him. More will be added soon. 

(4)  Guenter Wagner's NDE (added 06/23/03)
Guenter's amazing encounter with the void, earthbound 
discarnates, Jesus and time travel, is profiled here. 

(5)  Roy Mills Remembers Heaven (added 06/23/03)
Mills has always had real and vivid memories of his life in 
heaven before he was born. It wasn't until age ten that he 
realized most people don't have such memories. 

(6)  Peter Novak's Division of Consciousness (added 06/23/03)
Novak's research into consciousness led him to develop a 
compelling theory that incorporates both reincarnation and resurrection. 

(7)  Events of the NDE (added 06/29/03)
New events have been added to this listing of conferences, 
seminars, workshops, lectures and other activities around 
the world concerning near-death experiences. 

==============================================
(4)  DISCUSSION
==============================================

*** A Theory that Accounts for the Occurrence of all NDEs 
John Newport discusses his "Free will of the Spirit" theory. It is 
based on the ideas that each of us has a spirit form (soul) with a 
spirit mind that had free will prior to entering our physical body, 
it has free will during its stay in our physical body, and it has 
free will after it departs the body during an NDE , and at some 
point near death.

***  Search NDE Discussions Archive

==============================================
(5)  AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE NEAR-DEATH PHENOMENON
      Q and A with P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D.
==============================================

In this new section of the newsletter, P.M.H. Atwater will answer questions submitted to her from subscribers to this free newsletter. If you have a question that you would like her to answer, just email your question to webmaster@near-death.com for consideration. 

P.M.H. Atwater's next book, entitled "The New Children and
Near-Death Experiences
," will be released on December of 2003.
You can order your copy now through Amazon.

Dr. Ken Ring had this to say about her book: "This book is the richest, 
most probing, and most comprehensive available of NDEs in children."

QUESTION: "In the June 2nd newsletter, you remarked, 'A word of caution is due here: near-death experiences can occur without perceived or actual physical death involved.' Could you say some more about this?".........Yangtzu

ANSWER: "The vast number of near-death experiences occur either when the person is at the edge of death and could die, or when the individual actually does die but is later resuscitated or revives. That's why the phenomenon is so important to medical science It happens under their watch and they can no longer explain it away or ignore what patients have to say. Too many millions of people, all ages, are involved - worldwide. The large prospective clinical study done by Pim van Lommel, M.D. and Associates in Holland, and published by The Lancet medical journal 12-15-01, really brought everything to a head in the sense that he was able to establish that his patients had no brain wave function as well as no vital signs, yet they still had their senses, could "travel around" and see and hear things "impossible" for them to do. And they had aftereffects, and they took a long time to integrate what they went through because it was that intense. The suggestion here is that many things we term "paranormal" may not be paranormal after all (but then, that's another subject, isn't it?).

"What surprises medical science, researchers of any ilk, and even the
individual experiencer, is that near-death episodes can occur under other circumstances, as well. I talk about this a lot in Beyond the Light and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences, and I suggest that you refer to either book for more details and actual case histories. What I can offer you here are a few examples.

"Late one night, a man had stopped his car at the request of his
mother who was riding with him, to pick some flowers along the side of the road. He had pulled over enough that he created no safety hazard for other motorists. After picking the flowers, he was returning to his car when the lights of another car suddenly loomed large and larger, right in front of his face. The incident was such a surprise, and was so threatening, that he experienced a near-death episode which included a life review. Just when he was certain he was about to die, the lights veered away and disappeared. He was so shook up he could not move for awhile. This is a case of "perceived" death. There was nothing wrong with this man. He was in excellent health. Yet, because of how the lights were positioned, how large and threatening they were, he thought he was about to die, when actually this was not true. He experienced the near-death phenomenon, including the pattern of aftereffects, and this remained clear, coherent, and powerful to him throughout the rest of his life. 

"Early on a Sunday morning, a woman walked to the front porch of her
home to retrieve the Sunday newspaper. She bent over, picked up the large bundle, and, as she straightened herself to walk back inside her home, she gazed into the rising sun and had a full-blown near-death experience complete with aftereffects. She was transformed on the spot, never to look or act the same again; her family utterly puzzled as to what had happened to her. The impact on this woman was overwhelming; her story the same as that of any near-death experiencer. Yet, she was in perfect health, and nothing even close to "perceived" death threatened . We call her case a "near-death-like" experience. Nothing can be offered scientifically to account for this.

"Lastly, a young man in Canada was sitting on the sofa of his
apartment when he decided to walk across the room to the window and either open or close it (I don't remember which). He did this. When he turned to walk back to the sofa, he walked into a transcendent near-death experience fully-conscious and alert to what was happening at the time that involved meeting Jesus and learning how to interpret the Bible "correctly." His episode was on the order of Betty Eadie's, only even more amazing and complex. Consumed with the intensity of his experience and the spread of aftereffects which followed, he devoted his life to speaking with theologians and at seminaries and churches, and with ministers or anyone interested in learning more about the Bible. He did not live long. It's as if the intensity of his experience "burned" him up. In good health, he was suddenly overtaken by the type of leukemia that quickly kills - as if the individual is "on fire." This case is also termed a "near-death-like" experience. 

"Research cannot explain why near-death experiences can happen under vastly different circumstances, even when death is not near. Researchers like myself know that it can, but we have no reason or explanation to offer as to why."

QUESTION: "I have gone through many articles on NDE, and I have noticed a great percentage of people who experienced NDEs are physically sick people. I personally feel that when a person is sick, met with an accident, or any other reason, he/she may think once at least that he/she may not survive, and the thought lead him/her to have NDE. Mostly, we see in NDE what we have heard, thought, or seen. My question is: should we believe in what we experience?".........Kapoor

ANSWER: "With adult experiencers in my research base I noticed an interesting pattern to how most of them died. A little over half the men exited because of heart-related ailments, while another 25% were involved in some form of violence or violent accidents of various types. A whooping 70% of the women experienced their episode during childbirth, miscarriage, or hysterectomy. With the children, drownings were the number one killer, followed by suffocation, parental or sibling abuse, surgery (more from minor surgeries like tonsillectomies, than major surgery). 

"I have long maintained that emergency wards are the place to "hang
out" in search of near-death episodes, rather than in surgical rooms or at sick beds. Or, travel with EMTs on their life-saving calls to those who
have been injured or whose life is suddenly at risk. It is the venue of
"accident" or "suddenness" that seems to set the stage for most near-death experiences.

"And, as Pim van Lommel, M.D. made it so clear in his ground-breaking study, those who did not have time to think, who had no thought of death or that they might die, these were by far the most likely individuals to experience the near-death phenomenon. He found that the longer a patient lingered, the less likely he or she was to have such an episode. 

"So, dear Kapoor, I question the articles you have been reading.
Perhaps they are not deep or broad enough. I would hardly say that the
largest percentage of near-death cases come from sick people or from those who think they are about to die. However, about the idea that we only experience on the other side of death what we expect to experience - that idea is hotly debated. 

"Almost all experiencers, at one point or another, claim, "they got
what they needed," during and after their experience. What is termed "the need factor" is undeniable. It's almost as if these types of experiences, no matter how caused or what we call them, are triggered by some mechanism we have not been able to identify and/or some power source or "plane of being" that exists beyond that of the personality. Such a notion broaches on the existence of a soul or higher self. But note: the connection here is to "need"..........not desire.

"Yet, some experiencers do indeed seem to visit the heaven or hell
they have portrayed in their own mind and are certain exists as they have believed it does. And the treatment they received fulfilled their
expectations. In the Idiot's book, there is a section devoted to the great
Swedish genius and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). During his mystical journeys and in his writings, he went to great lengths to explain what he had discovered about heaven and hell, that each was a construct the individual created by projecting their own values and fears upon the "lens" of their "inner viewscreeen" (the subconscious). And many contemporary researchers and scholars agree with him. His discoveries, though, "fall apart" in consideration of the following:

* Shared near-death states. "There are cases in which several
experiencers seem to share in each other's episode; that is they have the same or similar elements, scenario type, or basic storyline. Usually you encounter most of these when two or three people are involved in the same accident at the same time or are in the same general section of the hospital at the same time. Sometimes these states are experienced singly (one individual is not aware of the other during the episode but learns later on that both apparently had the same scenario). Sometimes the people involved are aware of each other, and are able to confirm the extent of that awareness after they are able to compare their separate stories."

* Group near-death states. "These are rare, but they do occur. With
this kind, a whole group of people simultaneously seems to experience the same or similar episode (as per above). What makes these so spectacular and challenging is that all or most of the experiencers see each other actually leave their bodies as their scenario begins, then dialogue with each other and share messages and observations while still experiencing the near-death state. Their separate reports afterward either match or nearly so. Reports like these emerge most often from events of a harrowing nature that involve a lot of people. (Please refer to The Complete Idiot's Guide for actual case studies of this - like "Hot Shots from Hell.")"

"Yes, you can trace some of the imagery and elements of a near-death
experience to the inner life and expectations of the individual, but not all
of it. Invariably the experiencer will be exposed to things he or she has
no thought or background for. They encounter data and details impossible for them to know. And, afterwards? I don't know of any experiencer who had any expectations about the aftereffects, that there would even be any, or how to handle them - or how his or her life would be changed afterward. Remember, languaging is always a problem - there are no words to describe what most people encounter, at least none they are aware of. In choosing words to say, experiencers will offer use terms they have been exposed to, rather than trying to find or draw what they really saw and experienced. 

"Do we always find what we expect with near-death experiences?
Although it may seem so, at least at first, I would say - no, not really.
We experience more, far more than we might ever suspect. Should we believe what we experience? That's up to you. The truth is, you are the only one who can validate your experience. No one else can do it for you."

P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D.

Website:  http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/
Marketplace (a public service):  http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/goddessrunes.html
Research: 
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/experts05.html

==============================================
(6)  TV LISTINGS
==============================================

(Check your local TV listings for the correct time near you)

*** July 8 - "Dragonfly" - Drama
A doctor encounters young cancer patients who have had near-death
experiences and claim to have messages from his deceased wife.

*** July 4,7,8,9,10,12,13,15,17 - "Flatliners" - Drama
Medical students experiment with the afterlife by inducing near-
death experiences that have strange aftereffects.

***  Television series featuring the paranormal (including NDEs)

***  Search cable TV listings for NDE programs aired from XXXX 15
through XXXXXX 30. 

==============================================
(7)  BOOKS
==============================================

*** The New Children and Near-Death Experiences
by P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D. (Available: December 2003)
This book is a remake of the original; same basic style, but new
cases and new research never before published, especially as
concerns our tiniest near-death experiencers (newborns and
toddlers). 

*** The Lost Secret of Death: Our Divided Souls and the
Afterlife
- by Peter Novak, Colin Wilson. (Available: July 2003)
Peter Novak, author of "Division of Consciousness", discusses
his very interesting theories concerning the soul and it's
connection with the afterlife.

*** Visits from the Afterlife: The Truth About Hauntings, Spirits, 
and Reunions With Lost Loved Ones
- by Sylvia Brown
(Available: October 2003) Sylvia describes true encounters with 
earthbound souls seeking peace and closure. She explains the 
reasons behind many of the world's most bizarre and mysterious 
hauntings. And she shares her own personal, face-to-face 
experiences with these inexplicable phenomena. 

*** We Are Eternal: What the Spirits Tell Me About Life After Death
by Robert Brown (Available: March 2004)
Robert Brown is a psychic investigator and medium to the stars who 
shares his experiences with the spirit world and his belief system 
concerning the afterlife which his spirit guide taught him.

***  Search for NDE books at Amazon.com

==============================================
(8)  WEB LINKS
==============================================

Note: The website profile for this month is the IANDS website.
Don't let the humble look of this website fool you. It is filled with
valuable info on NDEs and related subjects.

*** International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS)
Visit the foremost NDE website for reliable information about NDEs, 
along with excellent resources and support.

*** The Lancet Study on Dutch cardiac patients
Read about and download info concerning the 2001 landmark
NDE study led by Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel, MD.
This study casts serious doubts on the leading "brain-only"
theories.

*** IANDS site map
A single web page displays all the important links of the
IANDS website. Good for finding the page you want.

*** IANDS Revelation Registry
This page is a bulletin board where you can post your NDErevelation and read others.

*** IANDS Message Boards
A large number of bulletin boards are here on various topics
concerning NDEs.

*** Register your NDE with IANDS
Post your NDE account here in the IANDS archives. You can
remain anonymous if you wish. Researchers approved by IANDS
may review your NDE for research studies and other scientific
endeavors.

*** IANDS Bibliography on CD-ROM
If you want to research a topic related to NDEs, you can locate
every article on that topic ever published in the Journal for
Near-Death Studies on a CD provided by IANDS.

***  Search for all the NDE websites on the internet

***  If you know of any new NDE website or web article you would
like to see profiled, email me the address of the website at:
webmaster@near-death.com  Thank you!

==============================================
(9)  ODDS AND ENDS
==============================================

To UNSUBSCRIBE from this newsletter, send a blank email to:
neardeathnewsletter-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter, send a blank email to:
neardeathnewsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please feel free to share this newsletter with others.

Search for past issues of the newsletter

Visit the International Association for Near-Death Studies website (IANDS)

That's it for now. Stay tuned for the next monthly issue!

Send comments to: Kevin Williams   

Last modified: October 21, 2004   Hit Counter   visitors

| Newsletter index | Next |

Tell A Friend!

==============================================
Copyright © 2007 Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife
==============================================