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"ANOTHER LOOK..." is an ongoing column I write for Vital Signs Newsletter, a quarterly publication of the International Association For Near-Death Studies. Each segment will appear here from now on, as well as in the Newsletter. This new feature gives me a format with which to explore varied issues about near-death states. Should you wish to make a comment or want to suggest future topics, please feel free to contact me. I may be able to use your suggestions directly. Thank you. P.M.H. Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) P. O. Box 7691 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691
© 2001 P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
Most of you missed the announcement. But in my neck of the woods it made newspaper headlines dated February 29, 2000: "UVa research indicates near-death experiences may be a natural physical response to trauma." In other words, stress related.
The University of Virginia researcher so named was our own Bruce Greyson, M.D., editor of Journal of Near-Death Studies. In explaining his findings, Greyson is quoted as saying , "The study shows that near-death experiences are normal re-sponses to intense trauma, not a sign of psychiatric illness." This is significant, as there are still some people who have the notion that near-death states are a sure sign of craziness. Near-death experiences do include features of dissociation (to separate or withdraw from relationships in the world around you) that are similar to various types of mental illness. But, as he is quick to point out, the kind of dissociation involved is the kind we can all relate to, like daydreaming or becoming absorbed in a book or movie. "It's basically narrowing your focus so much that you block out things that are going on around you," Greyson said.
More specifically, what he found is that people who had near-death experiences tended to have more dissociative experiences the normal kind, not the pathological kind than those who came close to dying but did not have near-death experiences. "I don't think it takes away from the mystical interpretation. I think it just takes away from the pathological interpretation." The importance of this finding begins to loom large once you study the deeper implications of Greyson's announcement. The concentration of focus and dissociation created by near-death states in response to traumatic situations sounds eerily the same as the time-honored "formula" used to create a good shaman, wise one, priest, or spiritual leader, regardless of culture. That "formula" goes something like this: the way to produce a shamanic-type individual with abilities and awarenesses beyond the norm is to subject him or her to a type of traumatic incident or intensely-felt ritual that pushes the person past the fear threshold at death's door and into the realms of spirit. What "pushes," according to mystical traditions, is "high stress." (Some societies use drugs to short-cut this process, but the true "hero's journey" is solely stress-based.) High stress, then, exists as a commonality in the process of transforming human consciousness. To illustrate how important the stress link is, here is a synopsis of what I have noticed during the 23 years I have been conducting near-death research: most episodes happen to people during major life junctures or at times of unusual stress when spiritual guidance would have the most impact.
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 more evident 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 the edge of death always match whatever is necessary to alert or calm the experiencer, be that person an adult or child. As the episode deepens, the scenario's message parallels almost exactly the subconscious needs of the individual at that point in time. The life review and any session that covers lectures or advice dovetails 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; and spiritually, in the sense of a personal relationship with Deity or God. It's as if whatever traits are missing in the individual's overall maturing process are 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 it's the agenda of a greater version of self the soul. Whatever the truth of this, and it may never be proved one way or the other, the need factor is plainly evident 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 exactly the way and manner that is the most effective for them. Near-death scenarios hardly ever touch on what you or I might expect considering the gravity of that person's life choices and deeds. For instance, murders 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 what they did to others. They are subjected to trading places rather than "imprisonment." 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 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."
This 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. The greeters job, then, whether for an adult or a child, seems to be to alert or relax the experiencer so that what comes next will have personal meaning and leave a deep and lasting impression. Interestingly, the patterning of the near-death phenomenon what precedes it, what is experienced, how that affects the individual, and the aftereffects which follow is so similar to mystical traditions of the "hero's journey" and the makings of a "wise one," that it is as if a single phenomenon is at work: the transformation of consciousness. To the degree affected, the experiencer is never quite the same again. High stress plays a key role in this - by ensuring the stage is set for whatever comes next.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
There has been occasion lately in our Journal of Near-Death Studies, especially with the "religious wars" debate between Michael Sabom, M.D. and Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., to question the research methodology and findings of long-term researchers in the field of near-death studies. I, too, have now been called to task. In the Summer 2001 issue, two reviews of my book Children of the New Millennium were carried. The first was by Thomas A. Angerpointner, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist in children's surgery in Munich, Germany; and the other was from Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Northern Arizona University. The former was supportive; the second highly critical, raising questions that need answers.
I welcome what is currently happening in the field of near-death studies. None of the researchers in our field, me included, have been as unbiased with his or her work as claimed or believed. And I have been outspoken about this for years, and have written about research at the crossroads in both Chapter 1 and 23 in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences, as well as the Fall 1995 issue of our Journal. Although there is no question in my mind that the majority in our research community have done their best and have contributed mightily to an ever-growing body of research findings, and often at great personal cost, the stack of books and papers also grows ever larger of shabby work, poorly-planned projects, findings of little value, and thinly-veiled attempts to deify the ridiculous. As the call to revise and reconsider previous work heightens, it is only fair and proper that I take my turn as the subject of rigorous criticism. By the time this column appears in "Vital Signs," my response to Widdison's complaints will be published as a "Letter to the Editor" in Journal of Near-Death Studies. But what you read will be the edited version of my reply. I have received permission to carry the whole episode, the book reviews of Angerpointner and Wid-dison plus the unedited defense of my work, on my website at www.pmhatwater.com. I am doing this so anyone who wants to can read all three points of view and decide for his or herself what to make of it. Along with my response, I also broached issues we all must face in this new era of media/publishing conglomerates where truth is forced to take a back seat to the demands of sensationalism and entertainment.
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P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) is the author of many books concerning near-death states,
the latest being FUTURE MEMORY, CHILDREN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM, and THE COMPLETE
IDIOT'S GUIDE TO THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERI-ENCE. Check out her website at www.pmhatwater.com
for more information about her other books, the Subtext, and her "Brain
Shift/ Spirit Shift" model for exploring transformations of consciousness.
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