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Talk given at the Transpersonal Psychiatrists Conference of the Netherlands on 11-25-00
P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) P. O. Box 7691 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691
© 2000 P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
The near-death experience is defined as an intense awareness, sense, or experience
of "otherworldliness," whether pleasant or unpleasant, that happens
to people who are at the edge of death. It is of such magnitude that most
experiencers
are deeply affected - many to the point of making significant changes in their
lives afterward because of what they went through.
The closer an individual is to physical death, the more apt he or she is to
have one, although "near-death-like" experiences can occur without
the threat of imminent death. We know now because of research done in Europe
and North America that drugs, oxygen deprivation, temporal lobe seizures, psychological
disorders, and other possible mediators are not causal, neither do they describe
or account for the full range of near-death states and the aftereffects which
follow. A signature feature of the phenomenon is that no matter how long an
experiencer is without vital signs - no pulse, no breath, no indicators of brain
activity - not only will little or no brain damage be found afterwards, but,
the average individual will begin to display an unexplainable enhancement of
intellect. It is a fact. . .most experiencers come back smarter than they were
before. How long are these people without vital signs? I and most other researchers
agree - somewhere between 5 to 20 minutes. It is not unusual for an experiencer
to be without vital signs for about an hour. Nor is it unusual for them to revive
in the morgue. . . much to the shock of morgue personnel. None of this is unusual.
There are that many.
Most cases with women arise from crises involving birth, miscarriage, rape,
or hysterectomies. Most cases from men are heart-related or result from acts
of violence. With kids, its either birth trauma or accidents, usually drownings
or suffocation; a large number also emerge from surgery and situations of abuse.
Near-death episodes are powerfully real, whether brief or lengthy, and defy
the label of "hallucinations." None of us can consider ourselves to
be professionals if we ignore or fail to study the impact this phenomenon has
on experiencers, their families, and the general public who hears about them.
Contrary to popular musings on the subject, there are clearly four types of
near-death states. I discovered this in my own research which began in 1978
and currently numbers sessions with over 3,000 adult and 277 child experiencers.
You all should have a copy of the chart on types. Follow along with me as I
go over it. Please notice a subtle, psychological profile that seems to be present
with each, as if predicative of who might have what type:
THE FOUR TYPES OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
* Initial Experience (sometimes referred to as the "non-experience")
Involves elements such as a loving nothingness, the living dark, a friendly
voice, or a brief out-of-body experience; perhaps a visitation of some kind.
Usually experienced by those who seem to need the least amount of evidence for
proof of survival, or who need the least amount of shakeup in their lives at
that point in time. Often, this become a "seed" experience or an introduction
to other ways of perceiving and recognizing reality.
Incident rate: 76% with child experiencers
20% with adult experiencers
* Unpleasant and/or Hell-like Experience (inner cleansing and self-confrontation)
Encounter with a threatening void or stark limbo or hellish purgatory, or scenes
of a startling and unexpected indifference, even "hauntings" from
one's own past. Usually experienced by those who seem to have deeply suppressed
or repressed guilts, fears, and angers, and/or those who expect some kind of
punishment or discomfort after death.
Incident rate: 3% with child experiencers
15% with adult experiencers
* Pleasant and/or Heaven-like Experience (reassurance and self-validation) Heaven-like
scenarios of loving family reunions with those who have died previously, reassuring
religious figures or light beings, validation that life counts, affirmative
and inspiring dialogue. Usually experienced by those who most need to know how
loved they are and how important life is and how every effort has a purpose
in the overall scheme of things.
Incident rate: 19% with child experiencers
47% with adult experiencers
* Transcendent Experience (expansive revelations, alternate realities) Exposure
to otherworldly dimensions and scenes beyond the individual's frame of reference;
sometimes includes revelations of greater truths. Seldom personal in content.
Usually experienced by those who are ready for a "mind stretching"
challenge and/or individuals who are more apt to utilize (to whatever degree)
the truths that are revealed to them.
Incident rate: 2% with child experiencers
18% with adult experiencers
Life reviews are common components of Pleasant and Unpleasant types, but seldom
show up in Transcendent states - not at all with Initial ones. Whether the episode
was brief and consisted of only one to three elements, as with Initial Experiences,
or lengthy and filled with a complex range of elements, the deciding factor
as to its impact is intensity. Please note that even simple experiences with
hardly anything to them, if intense enough, can engender the same cascade of
aftereffects as those which are more involved.
I have discovered that a true core experience has little to do with the number
or type of components in the scenario, but, rather, with the intensity of what
was experienced. For instance, children who have their episode in the birth
canal or as infants and, once verbal, describe a single spirit visitation or
perhaps cuddling snugly into the loving nothingness, can exhibit the same aftereffects
as adults who are effusive about angels, heavenly realms, revelations from Jesus,
and long talks with their dead grandmother. This makes no sense if compared
to the original criteria we, as researchers, were once urged to use; yet it
makes perfect sense if studied in light of current challenges from broad-based
findings such as my own. Bruce Greyson, M.D., one of the original researchers
of near-death states and the editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death
Studies, said in a press release earlier last year that the phenomenon is stress-related,
a natural response to intense trauma. But if you study the fuller implications
of his statement, that the concentration of focus and dissociation created by
these states correlate to what can result in traumatic situations, you can't
help but recognize that his findings uphold what is known historically about
the making of a good shaman, wise one, or priest, regardless of culture. And
that is, what enabled these individuals to be singled out from their fellows
with abilities and awarenesses beyond the norm - was an experience of slipping
beyond the pale of death into spirit through some type of traumatic incident
or intensely-felt ritual.
If near-death states are a natural response to intense trauma, and if "gifts"
conferred by spirit are a natural response to intensely-felt accidents or rituals,
then what's really going on here? and why isn't everyone so involved equally
affected? I believe the stress Dr. Greyson referred to, is what mystical traditions
call "high stress." He even indicated as such in his announcement.
High stress describes a state of emotional intensity that is so powerful it
overloads or bypasses an individual's ability to think or cope; yet, instead
of disordering or destroying sanity, brings him or her to a higher, more positive
expression of enhanced behavior that appears as "stress-free." It
reorders the mind instead of disorders. High stress exists as a commonality
in what pushes human consciousness to transform how it functions. But what causes
the peculiarities of high stress? Since the aftereffects of near-death states
and consciousness transformations, no matter how caused, are the same or similar,
and since near-death states can happen to anyone, at any age, I would like to
use them as a model to explore the larger genre of transformations of consciousness.
The personal needs of individual experiencers are an important aspect of both
near-death scenario storylines and the event's timing Here's a synopsis of what
I have noticed about this during the 23 years I have been conducting research:
*** Most episodes happen during major junctures or times of unusual stress in
the person's life, when spiritual guidance or direction would be most helpful.
*** With young children, relatives and caregivers can be affected as well -
to the degree that it's almost as if the child had the experience for them.
Yet, the extent to which the episode transformed the youngster becomes important
and more apparent as he or she matures, and can become a quiet but powerful
directive in the life path chosen by the child once grown.
*** Causes and conditions of death can reflect, at least symbolically, the experiencer's
past or current psychological growth; maturity, or lack of it.
*** The initial spirit greeters at death's threshold always match whatever is
necessary to alert or calm the experiencer, be it adult or child.
*** As the episode deepens, the scenario's message parallels almost exactly
the subconscious needs of the individual at that moment in time.
*** The life review and any session that covers lectures or advice reflects
whatever was omitted, ignored, or not yet learned in life by the experiencer
involved.
*** Afterward, the experiencer's behavior tends to shift toward a desire to
express that which has been undeveloped or partially developed - physically
in the sense of brain function/nerve sensitivity, psychologically in the sense
of personal growth/maturity, spiritually in the sense of a personal relationship
with Deity or God - as if whatever traits are missing in the individual's overall
maturing process are now being "filled in."
I never cease to be amazed at how forthcoming experiencers are when asked to
evaluate what happened to them. Almost to a person they say, "I got what
I needed." This blunt answer suggests that another agenda may be in force
besides that of the personality self: perhaps that of a greater version of the
self - the soul. Whatever the truth of this, and it may never be proved one
way or the other, the need factor is plainly obvious as to timing, storyline,
and outcome of near-death states - not in the sense of predetermination or wish
fulfillment, but, rather, in terms of a subconscious "agenda" of a
higher, more spiritual order. What impresses me the most is how the scenario
people experience always catches their attention in the precise way and manner
that is the most effective for them. Near-death scenarios hardly ever touch
on what most of us might expect considering the gravity of that person's life
choices and deeds.
For instance, murderers hardly ever wind up in dungeons where hellish demons
can prick them to pieces with hot pokers. Such criminals usually experience
those scenes that infuse them with life's true meaning and purpose - after they
have been subjected to "living through" on every level the impact
of what they did to others. They are subjected to trading places rather than
being punished. Those I know who experienced scenarios like this were so utterly
shaken by what they went through that they never returned to a life of crime.
One Mafia hitman, for example, after such an episode, devoted the rest of his
life to serving the impoverished and often by dishing up meals in a church soup
kitchen. His explanation? "I want to make up for what I have done."
The tendency to "get what we need" can sometimes be rather bizarre,
as in the case of young children being greeted by the familiar on the other
side of death - classmates and teachers quite alive. Once they relax into their
scenario and feel more comfortable, the living disappear and imagery more typical
of near-death states emerge.
A particular case I discussed in CHILDREN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM involves a four-year-old
who drowned in a backyard swimming pool. After being resuscitated, he blurted
out that he was met "over there" by his little brother who told the
story about Mommy having him pulled out of her tummy when she was 13. This shocker
upset everyone, since the four-year-old was an only child (there was no "little
brother"), and because Mommy's tearful admission afterward set the record
straight about her secret abortion.
There are many reasons to study this case. One question to ask is: would the
four-year-old have responded so favorably to his close brush with death had
he not been met by someone appearing younger than he, rather than older? Another
question concerns the parents. Did their son have his experience for them?
Both
parents were driven, materialistic achievers who were forced to re-evaluate
their lives and their marriage because of what happened. Let's reconsider
the
four near-death experience types already mentioned.
The subtle psychological profile I discovered to be present with each type seems
somehow to be "predictive" in the sense of who has what. This profile
is consistent with the vast majority of people I had sessions with - regardless
of their race, educational level, status, religious beliefs, or location. Although
much more research needs to be done to establish how universal this pattern
is, so far it has withstood the scrutiny of researchers and experiencers alike.
Looking again at the four types, you could shorten their general description
to read like this:
Initial Experience. Awakening to a greater reality.
Unpleasant Experience. Untangling false perceptions.
Pleasant Experience. Recognizing true values and priorities.
Transcendent Experience. Embracing universal oneness.
When you shorten the subtle psychological profile in this manner, it becomes
illustrative of development stages in the growth of human consciousness, both
personally and en masse, as consciousness expands to embrace the responsibility
we all share as members of the same universal family. During the talks that
I give, when I mention this subtle patterning, invariably someone in the audience
will ask: "Does this mean we always meet our own beliefs after we die?
Do we really determine our hells and our heavens by our attitudes? Is it us
doing all of this to ourselves?
On one hand the answer to these questions appears to be yes. And there is ample
evidence to back up this assumption. Yet, on the other hand, I must say "not
necessarily," and here's why: the notion that we alone decide our heavens
and our hells based on our own personal beliefs begins to fall apart when we
examine shared and group experiences. These events offer a major challenge to
any "pat" conclusion we might make about storylines or how to regard
the mystical traditions of other cultures.
Consider 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 these are encountered 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. 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.
Shared and group near-death experiences imply that no mater how sure we are
that near-death states mean this or that, and are the result of whatever, no
single idea, theory, or pat answer can explain them. Even clues from the powerful
patterning that researchers like myself have identified fail to explain all
aspects of of the phenomenon.
Examine the pattern of their occurrence is physiological as well as psychological.
Not only do near-death states tend to enliven and enrich people's lives, and
nudge them closer to a more respectful and spiritual nature, there are obvious
physical changes that also occur. Here are some of the physiological ones
along
with the percentage of occurrence I found: Between 80 to 90 percent look and
act younger, are more playful afterward. They evidence brighter skin, eyes
that
sparkle, have substantial changes in energy levels, become more sensitive to
light and especially sunlight, become more sensitive to sound and to noise
levels,
regard things as new even when they're not, boredom levels decrease or disappear,
handle stress more easily, heal more quickly, exhibit changes in brain functioning
and intelligence levels, become creative intuitives.
73% of those in my research base experience electrical sensitivity, whereby
their own energy field affects the electromagnetic fields around them - such
as with watches, computers, television sets, tape recorders, security systems,
microphones, light bulbs, and so forth. This indicates that their energy can
and often does interfere with or enhance the performance of technological equipment.
Well over half report metabolic changes that affect digestion and their ability
to assimilate substances, like pharmaceuticals (like alcohol). Drug tolerance
decreases, as it takes less of anything for a full effect. Allergies increase,
especially to chemical additives, strong smells, and pollutants. Blood pressure
lowers and pulse rate can also decrease. Synesthesia, or multiple sensing, frequently
occurs. Body clocks tend to reverse. Sensations heighten. Cognitive abilities
sometimes switch. When you study the full pattern of both psychological and
physiological aftereffects, I think you will recognize what I have, and that
is: near-death states appear to cause a structural, chemical, and functional
change in the brain. It is as if experiencers are rewired and reconfigured -
some, of course, more than others. And this is especially evident with children.
The age criteria for having had a near-death experience in my work with child
experiencers was from birth to 15 years. 48% of them, when old enough to take
the standard IQ test, registered scores between 150 and 160 without genetic
markers to account for it. Some educators claim that the score for genius begins
at 134 to 136. Others state that it is 140. These kids were well above that,
and they excelled in non-verbal intelligence, which is creative problem solving,
along with spatial reasoning - with no difference between genders as to the
ability. 93% of them had enhancements in math, with the larger majority exhibiting
the same enhancement with music. The regions for math and music are located
next to each other in the brain. My research implies that math and music are
being accelerated in near-death states - as if they were the same unit.
And there are learning reversals - a typical child experiencer comes back abstracting.
The younger they are the more noticeable this is. An example I use is that of
a first grade boy who, about half-way through the school year, drowned but was
fortunately resuscitated. When he was able to return to class, his agemates
were still reading simple sentences like "See Spot run." Not him.
All of a sudden, he was fascinated by Greek mythology and wanted to know why
the book ROBINSON CRUSOE was ever written. He was unable to readjust to the
first grade after that, and had to be put in a special class for gifted learners.
My study of child experiencers shows large clusters, age-wise, specifically
between birth and fifteen months and between 3 to 5 years. If you take these
two timespans, as a subgroup, the score jumps to 81 percent genius- level intelligence,
indicating to me that the younger the child the more susceptible he or she is
to the sudden charge of intensity from the near-death phenomenon. And, the very
youngest, if engulfed in a dark light rather than a bright one during their
experience, had scores of 182 and higher on standard IQ tests. (Normally, brain
circuitry formation skyrockets during infancy; three to five-year-olds typically
undergo temporal lobe development as they experience the birth of imagination
and creative thought. Near-death states seem to accelerate whatever is normal.)
A correlation can be made here with the work of Linda Silverman, Ph.D., one
of the leading authorities in the United States on giftedness. 80% of the most
profoundly gifted children in her research, those youngsters whose IQ begins
at 180, were born premature and underwent extreme birth trauma. Every one of
them exhibits the typical aftereffects of the average near-death experiencer,
and with the same shift in consciousness toward social justice, human rights,
and spirituality. Take my findings and examine history. Look for people of significant
import who nearly died in infancy or childhood and then went on to display the
pattern of near-death aftereffects. Either I was possessed of library-luck or
there really is an important discovery to be made here, for in one week I located
the following people who fit the criteria: Abraham Lincoln, Mozart, Queen Elizabeth
I, Winston Churchill, Einstein, and Edward de Vere - the 17th Earl of Oxford
- who I now believe is the real Shakespeare. Edward de Vere's case is so dramatic
that I devoted a section to it in the appendices to my book, FUTURE MEMORY.
Because of what I have seen in my research, I no longer consider near-death
states to be any sort of anomaly. Rather, I consider them to be part of the
larger genre of transformations of consciousness, no matter how caused. I include
in this genre those episodes of a more turbulent nature, such as religious
conversions,
near-death episodes, kundalini breakthroughs, shamanistic rituals, sudden spiritual
transformations, even certain types of head trauma or having been hit by lightning.
I also include those more tranquil in how they're experienced: from slow, steady
application of religious or spiritual disciplines, mindfulness techniques,
meditation,
vision quests, or because in a prayerful state of mind an individual simply
desires to become a better person. Because the aftereffects of all of these
states, if the occurrence was intense enough, are the same or similar, I now
refer to the entire process of transforming consciousness as a brain shift/spirit
shift. This is a logical statement to make in light of the cutting-edge research
currently being conducted via brain scans to determine the effect something
exotic or unique has on brain structure. To quote Marcus Raichle, a researcher
at Washington University, during news coverage of his work: "You can
essentially rearrange the brain in fifteen minutes." If something unusual
or exotic can do that, what of the highly-charged climate of the near-death
phenomenon?
Near-death cases are on the increase. As of 1997, U. S. News & World Report
estimates over fifteen million in the United States alone. Judging from the
extent to which experiencers change - irrespective of personal beliefs and preferences
- and the long-term effects of those changes, and we have every reason to believe
this is historical, it is evident to me that evolution is involved. And it is
also evident to me that transformations of consciousness, especially near-death
states, may indeed be the "engine" that drives evolution. The way
consciousness is evolving today bears the mark of forces far greater than anything
we can isolate or define through research. Experiencers return from transformative
states convinced of a mission they are to do, a job they must perform for The
Greater Plan of Humankind. They speak of love and oneness, cooperation and service,
making a difference in society. And they talk about God. What are we to make
of all of this? What are we to conclude?
That there is more to life than we think there is. And that people like myself,
for I am a near-death experiencer as well as a researcher, can be so transformed
by the intensity of an otherworldly experience. . . that they are never the
same again.
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