NEAR-DEATH NEWSLETTER      Vol. 02, No. 11            November 1, 2003
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AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE NEAR-DEATH PHENOMENON
      Q and A with P.M.H. Atwater
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In this new section of the newsletter, Dr. 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. 

QUESTION:   "Why is it that so many near-death experiencers 
are drawn to divination afterwards? I noticed this again and again 
and have puzzled about it. Doesn't seem to matter what form of 
divination - any type.".....Tom

ANSWER: "One of the after-effects of near-death states (and of
transformations of consciousness) is an enhancement of intuitive/psychic skills. And you're not the only one this has puzzled. All of the early researchers in the field had trouble understanding this; so did Richard Maurice Bucke, M.D. in his marvelous book about the after-effects of consciousness transformations called Cosmic Consciousness (Citadel Press, New York City, continuous printings--a classic) . Still today, few professionals are comfortable discussing any of this.

" During my early years of near-death research, I was heavily
criticized, even threatened, for daring to state that: "If you weren't
psychic before your experience, you became psychic after. If you 
were psychic before, you became very psychic afterward." I was 
most open about this because I felt I had to be. If I couched my 
words, "beat around the bush," or ignored the subject, in my mind 
I would be lying. My job, as I saw it, was to report as objectively 
and clearly as possible all my observations and findings in the 
fieldwork that I had conducted. Anything else or less was unacceptable to me. Fortunately enough research eventually surfaced that, what was once considered risque, became almost expected .

" You cannot talk about near-death experiences without talking about
issues polite society would like to avoid. It isn't possible. And, one of
those taboos is psychism: expansive abilities, unlimited landscapes,
otherworldly occurrences, things future oriented, and, dare I say it ...
the paranormal ... and, all of this, absolutely all of this, becomes
perfectly normal! 

" Forget paranormal . Think normal .

" We human beings are electromagnetic by nature and natural
transmitter/receivers of signals, subtle and otherwise. It is no wonder 
we are dubbed psychic when we become increasingly sensitive 
and open to faster, higher frequencies after a near-death or related 
experience. The episode we went through does this to us - it lessens 
or dissolves the barrier that separates us from the existence of multiple 
realities. Fuller access to the electromagnetic spectrum opens up 
and we become privy to what was once invisible or unimaginable.
" The higher the frequency we are exposed to, the more pure its source
of light and sound. Traditionally, this is said to be more positive and
heaven-like . The lower the frequency, the more diffused and dense its
light source and the more distorted its signals. This is said to be more
negative and hell-like . There is nothing mysterious about the world of
psychism unless in our fear and ignorance we claim it to be something 
it is not.

" Based on my own past experiences and on my research, I have found
there are physical and mental components to psychic skill. Physically, I believe the endocrine system is most directly involved along with spinal fluid, brainstem and limbic, temporal lobes, blood pressure, nerve and skin sensitivity. Mentally, the subconscious mind. In its regular duties, the subconscious processes over a billion pieces of information per second, far surpassing what any computer can do. When expanded further during an altered state, the subconscious is capable of accessing greater and greater sources. During transformative experiences, where the brain evidences the possibility of structural change and access to the supersubconscious, limitless expansions can occur.

" Look around you.

" Notice how many psychics develop health problems that are
endocrine-related such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, thyroidism, immune deficiencies, adrenal problems. Notice how many psychics ingest stimulants and/or drugs to increase their abilities. Wine, salt, sugar, spices, vinegar, as well as cigarettes and alcohol, are known to artificially expand the psychic if used in excess. Now, notice how quickly many psychics age or begin to look somehow drained . Notice also how early in life many of them die, or become mentally unstable.

" The more sensitive the psychic the more sensitive and vulnerable the
psychic's body.

" Developing such abilities out of context from a balanced and healthy
life is not wise. Perhaps the reason there are so many warnings against psychism is because the price for misuse and abuse is so high.

" Psychism is easily perverted - but it is just as easily converted into 
helpful, constructive abilities which enliven and enrich life. Psychic
abilities are not by nature positive or negative, destructive or constructive, spiritual or demonic. They simply are. How used and for what purpose determines worth.
" I once heard Reverend Carol Parrish-Harra say: "The psychic is God's 
Fishhook. It is how many of us get introduced to spirituality. The trick is - don't get stuck on the Fishhook. It's just a bait to get you started on the spiritual path." Carol is a fellow near-death survivor (check that section in The Marketplace on my website for Santa Sophia Seminary - Carol was its founder) . I agree with her wholeheartedly.
" From the pen of the late Paul Brunton, noted journalist, editor,
philosopher, and writer, comes the following statement:

" Scientific, psychical and psychological research is changing the Western world's attitude towards matters which were once dismissed as fanciful nonsense. Such research is lifting the ideas of the ancients out of the undeserved contempt in which they have lain while younger notions sprang to lusty manhood ... Our best scientists and foremost thinkers are joining the ranks of those who believe there is a psychic basis to life. What they think today, the masses will think tomorrow. We have begun - and perhaps rightly - as complete skeptics; we shall end as complete believers: such is my positive prediction."

" Psychic ability, if truth be known, is merely an extension of faculties native to our existence, providing us with a healthy extra . Direct that extension toward the spiritual and those same abilities become Gifts of the Spirit , treasured components to spiritual discipleship. By the way, the word psychic literally translates of the soul , the inference being that psychic abilities are really soul abilities, part of our inheritance as Children of God.

" There is nothing wrong with intuitive/psychic skills. They are neither 
supernatural, abnormal, or paranormal. But neither are they a key to any kind of Golden Door . There is no magic in their use, only skill.

" As concerns your specific question, divination itself is a universal
experience as ancient as it is timely. Most board games, card games,
gambling systems, and dice games rely on acts of divination, as do feng shui (geomancy) , dowsing, pendulums, tarot, I Ching, and Ouija, to name but a few. Anything that depends upon elements of chance is a type of divination. Any object can be used as a tool in the divinatory process. A stone that is fairly two-sided will do. Just dub one side yes and the other side no and toss it. The side that lands straight up is your answer, like when you flip a coin.

" Practice makes perfect; the more you do it, the more skilled you will 
become. This practice, by the way, is called sacred play . Our inner
child, that innocent and trusting part of our nature that most of us have
tucked away inside our deepest self, easily surfaces when we make a 
game of learning, when we play. Actually, any type of divination is really no more than a simple, direct, and childlike way of asking for help or seeking assistance from a parent-like source of universal or higher knowledge.

" Why then would near-death experiencers, especially child experiencers, be drawn to divination and divinatory systems more so than any other route to the world of psychism? Simple. It's fast and easy, perfectly natural, and fun! Yes, there are divinatory systems that are complex and highly detailed, requiring a lifetime of study. Yet even these are easier for experiencers. I consider interest in divination to be a typical response to that urge within you to connect, or should I say, reconnect with the Truth of Your Being. You flow into it and, suddenly, you just know.

" In my own case, along with all the other enhancements I had, I found
myself drawn to Goddess Runes and the art of free-form casting. These are not oracle runes (like the Germanic "Futhark") , but are much older, tracing their lineage back to the matriarchal societies of Old Europe (Crimea, Ukraine, Georgia, along the Danube). Never had I heard of them, nor had I seen them before, yet on first glance I knew them as if I had been their creator. Past life? Maybe. 

" What I know for certain is that they're a part of me, in me, as genetic memory. Still, what amazes me is that most people respond in the same fashion once introduced to them. It's as if these ancient Goddess Runes are encoded in our primordial essence as human beings on the earth plane, male or female. People catch on to their use quickly, whether or not they are an experiencer. Using them for me was like therapy after my episodes. That's because my brain/mind 

assembly worked differently than before. My challenge was to find a way to relearn how to use my own brain. "The Way of a Cast" (the art form of casting with Goddess Runes) requires that one become whole brained, not just adept at using the right hemisphere of the brain, but balancing both right and left brain hemispheres together. This was a godsend for me, and I wrote a book about it to pass along the skill and what I had learned from using the runic glyphs. 

" I first wrote The Magical Language of Runes. Then I did more research and wrote, Goddess Runes. Both books have been out-of-print for years. I am happy to announce that the book, Goddess Runes, will be coming back into print in a few more months, thanks to A. Merklinger Publishing in New Mexico. You may want to explore my website, that section on Goddess Runes, as the brief instruction booklet and audio presentation are available now, and so too several services I can provide in that regard. 

" Yup! I'm a typical near-death experiencer. And the divinatory option I chose, or, I should say, the one that chose me, was Goddess Runes. It's interesting how things work after you've experienced the near-death phenomenon or undergone a transformative state, you tend to respond to life in a happier, freer way, that embraces otherworldly realities as typical aspects to everyday living ... and as expressions of the spirit we truly are. PMH

Blessings to all, P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)

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