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The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation

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Abstract

As the worldwide population ages, and modern medical techniques for resuscitation advance, near-death experiences (NDEs) are more and more frequently reported. NDEs include more than the popular notions of moving through a tunnel or seeing a light at the end. They also include people, once revived, knowing things the knowledge of which can't currently be explained. Co-editor Janice Holden tells us, for example, about a woman who was brought to the hospital clinically dead. After revival, said she said that during her death state, she had "seen" a shoe on a ledge outside a sixth floor window of a second building of the hospital campus. A social worker checked. The shoe was still there, not visible from the street, and on the opposite side of the campus from where the woman had been brought in by ambulance. Great controversy exists in the medical and psychological fields surrounding such NDEs, which have been reported by adult, teen, and child patients after life-threatening crises including heart attack, stroke, blood loss from car accidents, near-drownings, anaphylactic shock, and attempted suicide. Are NDEs caused by physiological changes in the brain or are they biological reactions to oxygen loss or impending death? Are they a product of changing states of consciousness? Or are they caused by something else altogether? In this unique volume, experts from around the world and across the U.S. share the history and current state of NDE research, controversies in the field, and their hopes for the future of investigation into this fascinating phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This fine anthology of scholarly yet readable essays centres on Christian perspectives
and resources for deepening current discussions of dying. The editors write: ‘One
way of summing up this book is that it is intended to offer alternative and
complementary images that will re-fund the imagination of Christian caregivers in
ways that are liberating, transformative and healing’ (p. 273). The ‘alternative’ is to
the images and concepts and assumptions of medicalised dying, which all
contributors agree has dominated the way contemporary persons, lay and
professional, view the end of life. While none of these authors disputes the basic
value of medical care, or the advancements in technology, they do wish to re-vision
the human situation and meanings of dying. They wish to provide resources that
show how long-term Christian practices for ‘living well’ will make a goal of ‘faithful
dying’ possible, for those who die and those who care for and accompany them.
Therefore, this book does not duplicate the genre of pastoral care manuals, or
contribute to the technical debates over particular biomedical ethics issues. Its
authors do, however, reframe some of the concerns that are frequently discussed by
those disciplines. Some of the themes focus on ‘alternatives’. For instance, if dying is
the last stage of ‘living well’, practices that are already established and communities
that support these make for less isolation for the dying from the rest of their lives and
the world beyond the hospital. Yet authors note how inadequate a job churches
seem to make of lament, of support for the dying and of grieving Christianly. Among
the most interesting essays, however, are those which take a particular ‘virtue’ or
ideal and examine what these terms can mean, what Christian understandings of
them highlight, and how these can be ‘practiced’ within the context of end-of-life
care. While some public usages of these ideals have become overly familiar, these
essays try to undo the assumption that we really understand ‘dignity’ or
‘compassion’ or ‘patience’, and all share the same ideas of them.
Is this book just for healthcare specialists and chaplains? No, absolutely not. The
essays are readable, jargon-free, and of interest to those who seek a deeper and
more religiously-grounded vision of how faith can interpret the human situation of
dying today. Refusing to relegate religion to some interior privacy of individuals,
this perspective can help many in and out of religious communities to see
differently. We are already familiar with the many critiques of medical care’s
human shortcomings that seem wedded to its technological breakthroughs. This
collection of essays does not play a blame-game with the health care industry, nor
does it isolate Christians from the total society and environment within which they
act, think and pray. Instead, it makes a major substantive contribution to
rethinking Christianity and dying today.
Lucy Bregman
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
The handbook of near-death experiences: thirty years of investigation,
edited by Janice Miner Holden, Bruce Greyson and Debbie James, Santa Barbara,
CA, Praeger, 2009, 316 pp., £34.95 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-313-358-7
180 Book Reviews
This handbook provides an overview of the studies that have been carried during
the past 30 years on one of the most fascinating and life-transforming experiences
that humans can have: the ‘near-death experience’ (NDE). It collects the original
papers of some of the most influential NDEs researchers delivered at the annual
conference of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) at
the University of Texas in 2006. It beautifully incorporates the fundamental
arguments of over 600 scholarly publications, which have appeared since
Raymond Moody coined the term ‘near-death experience’ in 1975. In his book,
Life after Death, Moody describes the most universal aspects of the NDE such as a
sense of leaving the body, being at peace, sensation of moving from one reality to
another, seeing a tunnel with a Light at the end, and the encounters with luminous
beings and deceased relatives and friends, which are well examined in Chapter 1
by Holden, Greyson and James.
The book offers various accounts of such journeys, including the experiences of
children outlined in Chapter 5 by Sutherland. References to the first attempts at
collecting and the measuring NDEs, including the less known works of Bozzano
and Muldoon are made in Chapter 2 by Zingrone and Alvarado. A rigorous and
informative review of cross-cultural accounts of NDEs has been provided by
Kellehear in Chapter 7. At present there is no proven trait that can accurately
predict who will have an NDE, examined in Chapter 6 by Holden, Long and
MacLurg.
There are a number of theories that try to explain NDEs, such as the
‘reductionist view’ and the ‘survivalist hypothesis’, according to which a
detachable soul leaves the body at the moment of the NDE. These among other
possible explanations are discussed in Chapter 9 by Holden and Chapter 10 by
Greyson, Kelly and Kelly. However, as it emerges from Chapter 3 by Noyes,
Fenwick and Holden, the value of these experiences goes far beyond neuro-
reductionism, the question of scientific proof of an afterlife being much more
connected with the sense of meaning and purpose in life that people experience
after an NDE.
This does not mean that NDEs are always blissful experiences. Arguments on
negative experiences, including their religious implications, are explored in
Chapter 4 by Bush. A detailed comparison between NDEs and the spiritual values
addressed in the sacred texts of world’s major religions is given in Chapter 8 by
Masumian. NDEs have various practical applications in other related fields, such
as grief counselling, terminal illness and dying, which are explored in Chapter 11
by Foster, James and Holden.
Taken together, the works collected in this book facilitate a multidisciplinary
debate among scholars, educators, researchers and the general public on a new
and fertile topic of study. This book is a precious tool of inquiry into the most
hidden aspects of our human nature; definitely not to be left unread on a
bookshelf.
Ornella Corazza
SOAS, University of London, UK
Book Reviews 181
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... The Apparent Separation of Consciousness from the Physical Body Probably the foremost difference from ordinary consciousness is the NDEr's experience of apparent separation from the physical body, during which the center of awareness is outside the physical body. There are numerous reported cases during NDEs of verified, accurate (veridical) perceptions of the physical realm while out of the body, especially while the brain is nonfunctional (Holden, 2009). Over 80 cases of verified veridical perceptions are documented in Rivas et al. (2023, pp. ...
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Near-death experiences (NDEs) cannot be defined merely as a collection of phenomenal features. An accurate definition needs to describe what NDEs essentially are, that is, what lies behind the phenomenal features. The definition would describe what happens in the experience to account for the different features; this can only be fully described in the context of an underlying theoretical framework. In this paper, we propose the mind entity framework, which holds that a human being is a nonmaterial mind united with the physical body. In an NDE, the mind, or seat of consciousness, separates from the body and operates independently of it until the mind returns to and reunites with the body. From this framework, we identified the nine NDE features from the 16 features of the NDE Scale (Greyson, 1983) that specifically imply the separation of the mind from the body. The five most prevalent of these “separation” features accounted for 98.8% of NDEs in a sample of NDE accounts in the IANDS Experience Registry (N=565). The prevalence of these five “essential” NDE features was repeated in three other large NDE datasets published in the last 20 years. Therefore, an NDE can be defined as a profound subjective experience caused by a person’s consciousness separating from their physical body
... Also, Janice Holden studied 107 cases in the NDE literature in which patients recounted details of events that they remembered observing from outside of their bodies during cardiac arrest. Of these 107 cases, 92% of the patient accounts of the observed details were later verified as accurate by hospital staff (Holden, 2009). ...
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Science often advances only when a preferred theory is overturned by new evidence that cannot be explained within the existing theoretical perspective. This article explores material versus non-material theories of the mind within the context of research and logic. It questions aspects of the materialist model and emphasizes a research-based exploration of non-material views of mind, including a brief overview of Buddhist psychology. Questions are raised as to the accuracy of the materialist model and the author proposes that researchers consider all reasonable theories about the nature of the mind rather than holding a bias towards a primarily materialist view. Link to article: https://jmb-online.com/pdf/05/JMB-45-1-2024-95.pdf
... The scientific interest in studying the personal characteristics of NDErs aims to gain a better understanding of the personal traits that may be associated with the reported features of NDEs [55,56]. Additionally, it seeks to evaluate the characteristics that can distinguish individuals who report having had an NDE from those who do not [15,57]. Studies performed among patients with cardiac arrest have shown that NDEs seem to be reported more frequently before the age of 60 [4,17]. ...
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The notion that death represents a passing to an afterlife, where we are reunited with loved ones and live eternally in a utopian paradise, is common in the anecdotal reports of people who have encountered a “near-death experience” (NDE). These experiences are usually portrayed as being extremely pleasant including features such as a feeling of peacefulness, the vision of a tunnel leading to a brilliant light, the sensation of leaving the body, or the experience of a life review. NDEs are increasingly being reported as a clearly identifiable physiological and psychological reality of clinical and scientific significance. The definition and causes of the phenomenon as well as the identification of NDE experiencers are still matters of debate. The phenomenon has been thoroughly portrayed by the media, but the science of NDEs is rather recent and still lacking rigorous experimental data and reproducible, controlled experiments. It seems that the most appropriate theories to explain the phenomenon tend to integrate both psychological and neurobiological mechanisms. It is remarkable to observe the richness and intensity of the memory despite a critical cerebral context. This challenges our conception of consciousness and offers a unique opportunity to better understand the neural correlates of consciousness. In this chapter, we will attempt to describe NDEs and how to identify them. We will also briefly discuss the NDE experiencers’ characteristics. Finally, we will address the main current explicative models and the science of NDEs.
... In context it is clear that the kind of poetic extravagance we find in some of the contributions to the volume edited byBailey and Yates is very much in the minority. The collection of essays published in Holden,Greyson and James (2009) is far more scholarly and objective, exemplifying best practice in NDE research,and Fischer and Mitchell-Yellin's (2016) philosophically-orientated volume, which never strays beyond the bounds of modesty, is a welcome antidote to the usual fayre. The esotericism we have encountered in the essays by Benedict and Bailey in my view detracts from the more The extravagant talk by Benedict and Eadie in which they claim to have been in existence since the moment of creation, or even prior to the Big Bang, is obviously without foundation, and even the vast majority of NDErs whose experiences have proved hugely encouraging to them would baulk at such outlandish statements. ...
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From tentative beginnings the literature on near-death experiences has mushroomed beyond all computation. In the nature of the case, the bulk of this literature depends very much on anecdotal evidence and presupposes that those who claim to have experienced such phenomena are telling their stories in good faith. Despite a minority of dissenting voices, most of the doctors, psychologists and neuroscientists working in this field of study at least entertain the possibility that the stories related by their patients or subjects, whether spontaneously or formally, may serve as evidence for some kind of afterlife. The debate over whether or not this is a valid approach has been well rehearsed during the past thirty years, and although it would be tempting to add to it here, there is a more fundamental question to consider which, while having been aired in the field of philosophy, seems to have escaped notice among participants of the present debate. The question is whether any form of afterlife would be truly desirable. And would a state of immortality be any more purposive than oblivion? Following some preliminary discussion, this will be the burden of our song.
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Este artigo procura analisar as experiências de quase morte (EQMs) a partir de uma abordagem sociológica transpessoal. Para tanto, partiu-se do impasse existente nas teorias materialistas que sustentam que o cérebro cria a consciência. Como o cérebro está inativo em casos de parada cardíaca, as lembranças e imagens obtidas durante a EQMs não deveriam ocorrer, ao menos teoricamente. Diversos estudos sobre EQMs trazem indícios de uma mente não local, sugerindo que a consciência atua para além do cérebro. Neste sentido, verificou-se que os modelos explicativos propostos pela moderna neurociência não materialista, com as teorias de um campo quântico transcendente, são mais promissores do que as tentativas materialistas de reduzir o fenômeno aos seus aspectos físicos. O mesmo podemos dizer das abordagens da religião comparada e do essencialismo transcendental, que aproximam as EQMs a fenômenos espirituais análogos presentes em outras culturas e civilizações. A sociologia transpessoal, ao assumir uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, procura dialogar com estes estudos, no intuito de compreender os aspectos transcendentais inerentes à relação entre indivíduo e sociedade. Conclui-se que a abordagem sociológica transpessoal é compatível com o novo paradigma da complexidade.
Chapter
A Spiritual Renaissance of Psychological Science has arrived: an explosion of rigorously derived, foundationally new models of human experience. The collective vision of psychological science in the second edition of the OUP Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality advances psychological research beyond 20th-century radical materialism and mechanism, to inform the rapidly evolving spiritually oriented global Zeitgeist that surrounds academia. In the first edition of the OUP Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, leading researchers asserted a foundational new paradigm of spirituality and psychology, based upon an ontology that holds consciousness as primary, termed postmaterialism. The most recent decade has spawned scholarly societies such as Academy for the Advancement of Post-Material Science and Open Sciences catalyzing energetic collaboration, inquiry, and discovery, engaging scientists to expand our understanding of the inherent spiritual nature of humanity and revolutionize our understanding of the human psyche. Studies reported in this volume, in design, data analysis, and interpretation, reveal a scientific migration from the conceiving of the “hermetic human,” quite reflective of anthropocentric solipsism (as in 20th-century psychology) to a view of the “open-system human,” ontologically existing as part of a surrounding field of consciousness, information, love and intention. Reported MRI studies in this volume explore consciousness not as resolutely epiphenomenal of the brain nor as secondary to the foundational material brain, but as existing both independently and broadly in and through mind, brain, human biology, and all life. Some of the scholars in this volume show a radical shift for science in acknowledging a central “Source of consciousness,” understood as a Higher Power, G-d, a generative intelligence in the universe. Known by many names to the world religious, wisdom, and cultural traditions, here scientists observe a site line once found exclusively through religion through the lens of science. Postmaterialism now reorients clinical conceptualization, the goals and method of psychotherapy. In the second edition, several clinical scientists take spiritual awareness as core to mental health, whole person development, and human biology. Psychological healing is part and parcel of spiritual growth and expanding human awareness. Absent in this volume is the vestige of monolithic pathologizing of transcendent perception and of suffering per se. Through this new lens, humans suffer when we limit our awareness and shut down perception of our connection with the fullness of existence. Naturally, then, we feel isolated, disempowered, and the existential emptiness of being narrowly self-focused and generally self-serving. Depression and narcissism perhaps even derive from our inherent telos to become more than a closed system, hermetic humans, from our starving to join the broader family of life. An inner struggle, often seen as a sub-type or form of depression called developmental depression, ignites and invites expansion of awareness. Treatment then moves from the narrow directive of mitigating symptoms and regaining functionality, to an opportunity for profound awakening into an alignment with the field of life. In a quest for augmenting spiritual awareness, clinical psychology moves from the postindustrial aim of “fix-it back to baseline,” forward to a spiritual response to suffering, as foundation in renewal and growth. Our contemporary university students (who came of age while pulling information out of the air by cell phone) are eager to discover “open system” models of consciousness, as much to hold personal experience as to gain insight into academic direction. Now more than two decades into the 21st century, human psyche is seen as continuous with broader conscious field in and through nature, such that scientists meet here across so-called subdisciplines of physics, biology, medicine, and history. Science holds a mirror to long-standing spiritual truths held in religion and wisdom traditions. Now is a global inflection point in our historical understanding of human nature within a greater universe. Here society evolves from a scientific new vision.
Chapter
A Spiritual Renaissance of Psychological Science has arrived: an explosion of rigorously derived, foundationally new models of human experience. The collective vision of psychological science in the second edition of the OUP Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality advances psychological research beyond 20th-century radical materialism and mechanism, to inform the rapidly evolving spiritually oriented global Zeitgeist that surrounds academia. In the first edition of the OUP Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality, leading researchers asserted a foundational new paradigm of spirituality and psychology, based upon an ontology that holds consciousness as primary, termed postmaterialism. The most recent decade has spawned scholarly societies such as Academy for the Advancement of Post-Material Science and Open Sciences catalyzing energetic collaboration, inquiry, and discovery, engaging scientists to expand our understanding of the inherent spiritual nature of humanity and revolutionize our understanding of the human psyche. Studies reported in this volume, in design, data analysis, and interpretation, reveal a scientific migration from the conceiving of the “hermetic human,” quite reflective of anthropocentric solipsism (as in 20th-century psychology) to a view of the “open-system human,” ontologically existing as part of a surrounding field of consciousness, information, love and intention. Reported MRI studies in this volume explore consciousness not as resolutely epiphenomenal of the brain nor as secondary to the foundational material brain, but as existing both independently and broadly in and through mind, brain, human biology, and all life. Some of the scholars in this volume show a radical shift for science in acknowledging a central “Source of consciousness,” understood as a Higher Power, G-d, a generative intelligence in the universe. Known by many names to the world religious, wisdom, and cultural traditions, here scientists observe a site line once found exclusively through religion through the lens of science. Postmaterialism now reorients clinical conceptualization, the goals and method of psychotherapy. In the second edition, several clinical scientists take spiritual awareness as core to mental health, whole person development, and human biology. Psychological healing is part and parcel of spiritual growth and expanding human awareness. Absent in this volume is the vestige of monolithic pathologizing of transcendent perception and of suffering per se. Through this new lens, humans suffer when we limit our awareness and shut down perception of our connection with the fullness of existence. Naturally, then, we feel isolated, disempowered, and the existential emptiness of being narrowly self-focused and generally self-serving. Depression and narcissism perhaps even derive from our inherent telos to become more than a closed system, hermetic humans, from our starving to join the broader family of life. An inner struggle, often seen as a sub-type or form of depression called developmental depression, ignites and invites expansion of awareness. Treatment then moves from the narrow directive of mitigating symptoms and regaining functionality, to an opportunity for profound awakening into an alignment with the field of life. In a quest for augmenting spiritual awareness, clinical psychology moves from the postindustrial aim of “fix-it back to baseline,” forward to a spiritual response to suffering, as foundation in renewal and growth. Our contemporary university students (who came of age while pulling information out of the air by cell phone) are eager to discover “open system” models of consciousness, as much to hold personal experience as to gain insight into academic direction. Now more than two decades into the 21st century, human psyche is seen as continuous with broader conscious field in and through nature, such that scientists meet here across so-called subdisciplines of physics, biology, medicine, and history. Science holds a mirror to long-standing spiritual truths held in religion and wisdom traditions. Now is a global inflection point in our historical understanding of human nature within a greater universe. Here society evolves from a scientific new vision.
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As experiências de quase-morte (EQM) têm sido descritas consistentemente na história da humanidade, mas ainda há pouca discussão sobre seu impacto e como devem ser abordadas pelos profissionais de saúde. Neste artigo, revisamos as evidências dos impactos psicológicos da EQM e como são acolhidas e abordadas pelos profissionais de saúde. Na maioria das vezes, as EQMs são descritas como agradáveis e com impactos majoritariamente positivos a curto e longo prazo, como maior sentido existencial, espiritualidade, crença na vida após a morte e menor medo da morte. Mas também podem ser angustiantes e com impactos negativos, como frustração e dificuldades de integrar as vivências na vida cotidiana. As EQMs ainda são pouco exploradas e seus relatos muitas vezes rechaçados pelos profissionais de saúde. Como diretrizes mínimas, recomenda-se que os profissionais de saúde estejam abertos e proporcionem escuta empática aos relatos de EQMs dos pacientes, orientando-os que as EQMs são frequentes, não são indicadoras de problemas físicos ou mentais e que geralmente têm impacto positivo. Também pode-se orientar que para algumas pessoas as EQMs podem gerar sofrimento e que ajuda estará disponível se necessária. Investigar as EQMs possibilitará discussões relevantes no campo da saúde: escuta qualificada, finitude, acolhimento e relação mente-cérebro.
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