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"The Complete Idiots Guide
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"Only limited supplies available of this classic book. Entertaining but jam-packed with information, this is a great introduction to near-death. " |
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Authors Note: "With the help of David Morgan, my goal in writing this book was to create a single source book that contained all information pertinent to the near-death phenomenon-positive/negative, as seen from 360-degrees --new cases, new research, combined in a lively yet respectful style. The 480-page book that resulted has five appendices and is truly comprehensive. Theres nothing else like it ... anywhere.
"Excellent reading for parents, educators, anyone who works with children, anyone who is involved with children at any age and anyone who was a child. Well documented research into the physical aspects of brain development, spiritual development and case studies of children and adults who have experienced near death, the after effects and how those involved with someone who has had a near death experience can assist in recovery and coping with growing up with the knowlege acquired from the near death experience. With the developments in technology, our society will see more and more resusitations of clinical death and those having near death experiences might not be strangers anymore." ...review by T. Orlando, New York
"I am ever so grateful to have recently discovered and read your book 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences.' Yes, yes, yes! Having had a profound NDE-like mystical experience, I could relate directly to everything you have written. I feel you have given an enormous gift to our earthly community with your books and website. Your courage, your open heart and sharpened intellect, and your own experiences must have helped pave a path for many to integrate these profound experiences in a meaningful and balanced way. It means so much for me personally to know that I am not alone in having this experience, and that others are also facing similar challenges 'returning to Earth.'"
....Phillip Laird, Perth, Australia"P.M.H. Atwater, a near-death experiencer and researcher, has long been familiar to readers of the Journal of Near-Death Studies and to others who keep abreast of the literature and other media information on near-death experiences (NDEs). In this book, part of Macmillan's "Complete Idiot's Guide" series, she and co-author David Morgan introduce the field to newcomers.
In accordance with its intended audience, the style is lively and informal. Each chapter begins with several topic phrases or lines, and ends with a five- or six-line summary. The text is laced with eye-catching subheadings, drawings by experiencers, and humorously illustrated sidebars with titles like "Otherworldly Insights" and "A Message from Beyond." There are five useful appendices: "Bright New Words Glossary," "International Association for Near-Death Studies," "Further Reading," "Web Sites," and "Getting in Touch," the last named including contact information on various authorities and organizations given in the text.
The book is in five parts. The first, describing basic experiences near death and persons who undergo them, summarizes the history of near-death studies, describes Raymond Moody's model as unhelpful and gives alternatives, and presents Atwater's four-part typology of NDEs: initial experiences (which, despite the name, include union with the Light), unpleasant or hellish experiences, pleasant or heavenly experiences, and transcendent experiences. There is a chapter on analogous experiences not close to death, one on child experiencers and related birth issues, and one on would-be suicides.
Part Two deals with aftereffects. In addition to describing well-known physiological and psychological phenomena, the authors give considerable space to the differences between the aftereffects of children's experiences and those of adults, an area of focus in Atwater's own research. There is also a chapter on not-close-to-death experiences, and one giving suggestions for healthcare providers.
Parts Three and Four suggest some philosophical and religious implications of NDEs. The authors consider the difficult issue of what the criteria for death actually are. A chapter on research presents summaries of two early studies, and of the work of several major researchers. Atwater and Morgan give debunkers and other skeptics a hearing, and respond to their critiques; they do the same for those who reject the validity of NDEs on religious grounds. The authors show that cultural expectations and individual needs affect both what is experienced and how the tale comes to be told. They devote a chapter to particularly dramatic or evidential cases strongly suggesting that there is life after death. They explore analogies to NDEs in stories of otherworldly journeys, especially in myths, rituals, movies, and birth and prior-incarnation-type memories. A chapter on alternate realities touches on the questions of whether there is indeed life after death, whether reincarnation is a reality, whether there are other dimensions parallel to our familiar world, such as the realm of UFO beings. The authors offer different interpretations of the Light, and of such transformation of consciousness as shamanic flights and kundalini awakenings.
Part Five returns to aftereffects, including the physiological aspects of transformation of consciousness, NDErs' difficulties in communication, and other aspects of integrating the experience into daily life, as well as abuses of spiritual power. There are suggestions for easing the processes of integration both for experiencers and their associates. The text ends with various comments about the ways in which having an NDE has typically expanded the mental world of experiencers, and with generalizations about the phenomenon's possible effects on the evolution of consciousness.
This book contains a wealth of information about many aspects of near-death studies and some related areas, presented vividly, concretely, and simply, all of which will keep the naive reader turning pages despite the volume's otherwise daunting length. It is very useful for its intended purpose of introducing the field and orienting the newcomer. Researchers and other seasoned readers will also find much that is helpful here, particularly in the abundant case studies, many from Atwater's own files.
At the same time, sophisticated readers are likely to find this book often frustrating to their own purposes of further exploration and deepening of the understanding. There are no footnotes, beloved of scholars and other researchers. Sometimes sources are cited by title or experiencer's name, sometimes no source at all is given. When Atwater gives theories or generalizations based on her own research, she gives insufficient information for the reader to investigate their accuracy or appropriateness.
Many scholars and researchers hold popular books in low esteem, judging them to be hasty and unreliable. Often, of course, this is only too true. Yet there is a place for responsible popularization as a form of public education; popular writers who respect their readers and refuse to tamper with the material to make it more sensational can expand their readers' world, motivating some to a serious consideration of the material's implications for themselves. There is no doubt that Atwater respects both her readers and the truth; I found no instances where cases I knew were inaccurately recounted or embroidered (nor did I expect to find any). There are, however, some signs of carelessness of expression in this book. For example, the authors describe experiencer Haisley Long as having amazed every theologian who heard him expound upon the Bible after his experience (p. 43). Except, perhaps, in a mystical state of cosmic knowledge, Atwater cannot know such a thing to be true of all Long's theological listeners (and in fact I know that it is not true). Also, some chapters dealing with areas auxiliary to near-death studies, such as the one on religion, could have profited by being submitted to scholars in the field for comment.
Nonetheless, this book succeeds in what it sets out to do: it brings together a great deal of valuable material and makes it accessible to the person new to near-death studies. Those who come looking for entertainment will find also the grounds for an education. And I am grateful for information I found here that proved useful in my own work.
Gracia Fay Ellwood, Ph.D., is a free-lance writer in religious studies and related fields. Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Ellwood at 10 Krotona Hill, Ojai, CA 93023; e-mail: Graciafay@bemail.org.
Journal of Near-Death Studies, 20(3), Spring 2002 copyright 2002 Human Sciences Press, Inc. "
"Just a very short note to say, Magnificient, with respect to your book The Complete Idiots Guide to Near-Death Experiences. Unfortunately, the title of the book doesnt support your work as it is the most exhaustive/informative compilation that Ive ever had the pleasure to read on the subject. I thank you for the effort you put into the work." ...Ken Bennett
"Im sure youve heard this before, but I just had to tell you how much I loved The Idiots Guide to Near-Death Experiences. Im not an experiencer myself, but I find the subject fascinating and I was completely blown away by all the accounts. Its always nice to hear a new perspective on things."...Jennifer Crawford, 17 years old
A Review for Amazon.com... “PMH Atwater is a well-respected long time researcher and prolific writer on the subject of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). Her fascination for the subject originated with her own multiple NDEs. Children of the New Millennium is the most complete work, to date, dealing with the NDEs of children. Dr. Atwater feels that transformation of consciousness, regardless of the cause (including near-death experiences) is a structural, chemical, and functional change that occurs in the brain. She states: This sudden change, sometimes akin to a quantum leap, Ûings the experiencer from one mode of existence to another - as if on cue.I call the phenomenon a brain shift/spirit shift. She feels that the brain shift, in particular, is affected to a greater degree in children than in adults, propelling them into abstractions and learning enhancements.
She presents an excellent and thorough discussion of all aspects of the characteristics and many possible aftereffects of the NDE in children. She then compares and contrasts these with the changes commonly seen after adult NDEs. As well, there is an excellent presentation of four phases in the process of integration which she sees the child experiencers undergoing after the event. She has documented an average of 15 years for children, as opposed to an average of 7 years for adults, to integrate the NDE into their lives. Dr. Atwater obviously loves children. She is fascinated with, and respects, what those child NDErs can teach us all. She shares more directly quoted childhood NDEs than can be found in any other source. She also includes many of the sketches that the children drew of their events. Her statement that: The child you get back after a near-death episode is a remodeled, rewired, reconfigured, refined version of the original certainly piqued my interest!
This book also addresses a multiplicity of other subjects such as pre-birth memories, reincarnation, future memory, a review of the authors classification of four types of NDEs, and even alien abduction to name but a few. There is something fascinating for every reader of every background. Whether or not you are open to the concept of alien existence and/or abduction, and whether or not you accept the authors theory of brain shift/spirit shift, the fact remains that the absolute merit of this book is the wealth of information it contains, especially about childhood NDEs, their after-effects and their impact on us all. Most of us have come to agree that we most certainly are all interconnected to each other and to that Energy Source which created us. Therefore, what happens to one of us (including the child NDEr) will ultimately impact us all. Whether or not the authors theories resonate with your own, I believe that you will find them as intriguing as I have. This is a fascinating mind-stretching work!” ...Barbara R. Rommer, M.D.
"The Ultimate NDE Guide
Whether youve had a near death experience or just want to gain a better understanding of what NDEs are all about, youll be fascinated by "The Complete Idiots Guide to Near Death Experiences". Author PMH Atwater is fully qualified to examine this phenomenon, since she experienced three near-death episodes in 1977 and has been seriously studying the phenomenon since 1978.I love the way this book is organized into sections that help clarify the NDE. Different types of near death experiences are described in detail, along with the differences between adult and child experiences. Common after-effects such as enhanced psychic abilities, transformations of consciousness, and altered views of reality are also described in detail.
This book is fun to read, because almost every page contains an interesting tidbit of information pertaining to near-death experiences. I am intrigued that the vast majority (80 to 90 percent) of near death experiencers report looking and acting younger, feeling substantially more energetic, becoming increasingly sensitive to sound and light, feeling much less boredom, regarding things as new even when theyre not, and healing wounds much more quickly.
This is a great reference book because its easy to understand, contains numerous near death experience stories, and summarizes current research in the field clearly and succinctly." ...Cynthia Sue Larson
THE COMPLETE IDIOTS GUIDE TO NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES, by P.M.H.Atwater, is an excellent book. Written by one of the leading experts in the field, someone who has written articles on the subject for "Venture Inward," her IDIOTS GUIDE is considered by reviewers to be perhaps the best and certainly most exhaustive text on the subject of near-death experiences (NDE). Its certainly not what youd expect from a book for idiots.
Atwaters book, readable for sure, and with the usual cartoons and graphics that are a trademark of the IDIOTS GUIDE series, contains the type of information youd expect: a history of NDE, research on NDE, interpretations of NDE, and the after-effects of NDE. But her book goes beyond the expected. She has presented a survey of what the religions of the world have to say about NDE and the afterlife. She also gives helpful advice on how to deal with your own NDE or that of a loved one or friend.
She also includes material that you would not expect in a guidebook for idiots or dummies. She confronts the stereotypes about NDEs, such as the presumption that they are all alike; for example, not everyone experiences going through a tunnel. She talks about the controversies surrounding the research on NDE and presents arguments on both sides of the fence regarding various interpretations of the meaning of NDE. She reveals the less discussed aspect of NDE, namely that they are not always positive and some people are worse off for having had them. She even discusses the intellectually challenging ideas from philosophy of science about objective versus subjective reality.
Many of the ideas she presents challenge us to be comfortable with ambiguity, to explore details and complexities, and to withhold judgment. These are not the attributes of a book aimed at idiots and dummies. About the only thing Atwater does not present in the book, something that real idiots and dummies would probably want to know, is how to go about having a near-death experience. Youd expect a book on NDE for dummies would discuss bungee-jumping, self-asphyxiation, and flat-lining, but she intelligently stays away from these topics" ...Review by Henry Reed, Ph.D., "Venture Inward" Magazine, A.R.E. (Association of Research and Enlightenment), Virginia Beach, VA.
"This is the ultimate compendium on what the research shows thus far on the near-death phenomena. Dr. Atwaters experience, knowledge, wisdom, and love for her fellow spiritual/human beings is transmissible!" ...Barbara R. Rommer, M.D. author of Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near-Death Experience
"This book by PMH Atwater is to me the definitive work on near-death experiences, and stands somewhere between being a Bible for the field and an encyclopedia of it. It is a tremendous achievement - and its warm, compulsively readable, engaging, provocative and fun as well. Were I a hat wearer, I would doff mine to the ground to Atwater in admiration of her monumental contribution to our understanding of near-death experiences." ...Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., author of LESSONS FROM THE LIGHT
"In the 1950s when I began researching and writing about the world of the unexplained, those remarkable cases in which people appeared for a time to die and then return to life with inspirational accounts of visitations to the other side were called pseudo-death experiences. For the serious psychical researcher, the most important aspect of these false deaths was that they appeared to demonstrate conclusively that we had a spirit or soul that could exist apart from the physical body, and that when we died we might reasonably expect to enter a spiritual realm and continue to exist. If you are at all curious - and perhaps a bit confused - about the many claims made for the phenomenon commonly known today as the near-death experience (NDE), you could find no better guide to a complete understanding of the mystery than P.M.H.Atwater. Dr. Atwater is among the most knowledgeable researchers in the field of near-death studies, and she has the added advantage of being an experiencer, having survived three NDEs. After suffering a miscarriage that led to severe complications, she died three times from January to March 1977. On each occasion her NDE was different, although one did seem to lead into another as if they were progressive facets of one larger experience.
"After she had recovered, she was left with the deep conviction that her mission in life was to investigate the near-death experience and to evaluate the enigma for as large an audience as possible. In addition to drawing upon her own vivid memories of a visit to a spiritual realm, she was aided in her research by the skills in investigative techniques that she had acquired from her policeman father. Combining these mental and spiritual attributes, Dr. Atwater has now investigated the accounts of 3000 adult and 277 child experiencers and written such landmark books in the field as COMING BACK TO LIFE: THE AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE and BEYOND THE LIGHT: WHAT ISNT BEING SAID ABOUT THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE.
"In this present work, P.M.H.Atwater has assembled the most complete look at the mystery of the near-death experience ever to be published. In twenty-six compelling chapters she examines the entire gamut of reactions to the near-death experience - the positive and the negative, the joys and the fears, the illuminations and the confusions, the epiphanies and the exaggerations. Never before published research and new stories provide the reader with insightful analyses of NDEs, as well as presenting actual drawings of otherworldly spiritual encounters by experiencers of all ages. Unafraid of the skeptics, Dr. Atwater answers the various debunkers of the phenomenon, deals with those orthodox believers who have religious objections to certain experiencer claims, and examines carefully the eternal question of what we might expect when we make our final transition to the other side. The research of other experts in the field are included to make this book the most complete reference and resource book ever compiled on the subject of near-death experience. I highly recommend this magnificent magnum opus by P.M.H.Atwater, one of the worlds most highly regarded researchers in the field of near-death studies." .......Brad Steiger, author of ONE WITH THE LIGHT, and dozens of other books spanning a lifetime of interest in and investigations of gifted people and unusual phenomena.
"If youve ever had any questions about the near-death experience, but, quite literally, werent up to dying to find out the answers, this book is a mandatory must for you to read. The authors will stretch your belief systems horizontally, vertically, and inside out. I guarantee that there is no other book available that even vaguely compares to this one in terms of its comprehensive, detailed, and authoritative approach. Every point of view, from the enthusiastic, life-affirming accounts of NDE experiencers to the scathing criticisms of skeptics is covered. No other writer comes close to possessing the impressive credentials that P.M.H.Atwater has earned in this challenging field - both through her own personal experiences as a three-time near-death survivor, and, also through her intensive and extensive interviews with thousands of other NDE experiencers. This books clarity of writing style and amazing collection of mind- bending accounts of extraordinary experiences makes for riveting reading." ......Robert L. Van de Castle, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at the Health Center of University of Virginia, clinical psychologist, and author of the popular book OUR DREAMING MIND (Ballantine Books, 1994).
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