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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.)

ANOTHER LOOK...

"THE EXPERIENCE/THE EXPERIENCER"

Column #19

P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) P. O. Box 7691 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691

Announcement: If you haven't heard the great news by now, then let me be the one to tell you (if you've already heard, consider this a reminder). Lancet, the prestigious, peer-reviewed medical journal, has accepted for publication the research paper by Pim van Lommel, M.D. (Holland) about his study of near-death experiences. His prospective, clinical study involved 344 survivors of cardiac arrest in 10 Dutch hospitals, with 3 followups providing an 8-year span for focusing on the initial aftereffects. This is a first, and it is a monumental achievement. (The study, by the way, establishes that it takes at least 7 years for an experiencer to integrate his or her experience a discovery I revealed in the column I wrote for "Vital Signs" in the early '80's, and then later detailed in Coming Back to Life.) Congratulations to Dr. van Lommel and all his staff, especially Ingrid Elfferich!

Our topic for this column concerns the conundrum of "heavenly" justice: This is a touchy subject, but it needs to be addressed. One of the biggest complaints coming to us from the religious community is that there is no justice, no punishment for sins, spoken of by experiencers when they describe their near-death scenario. Rather, experiencers emphasize that they were loved unconditionally once they crossed over to The Other Side, irrespective of past deeds, sins, or mistakes. At least, that's what most of them say. Many are those of religious bent, however, who view this omission, not as a sign of God's forgiveness, but as proof positive that near-death experiences are bogus. To them the missing component of judgment or justice is a direct assault on the very underpinnings of morality upheld by centuries of religious belief, and not just by Christians. The fact that unpleasant and/or hellish episodes are finally being reported and studied, and that about a third of them center around fearful punishments and torture that were the result of the individual having sinned in life, does nothing to quell their objections. "What about those who go to heaven?" they rant. "None of them ever talk about having to face a judge."

At first glance it seems like these objections have some merit. After all, one of the first stumbling blocks researchers face if they want to explore the theory of life after death is this conundrum: Why is it that most of the hellish scenarios are experienced by good folks, while the bad, people like murderers, usually have heavenly ones? This suggests that criminality might be on the same par as morality, a condition that for most of us is unthinkable. So, whatever happened to justice?

No one really knows the answer to that, but here are a few things I noticed during my years of researching near-death states that may offer some insights.

With adult experiencers many of them did indeed report having to go to a type of room where a tribunal awaited. Questions were asked of them about their life at this heavenly "hearing" or "trial," as if they were expected to defend themselves or at least give an acceptable answer. Those who sat in judgment were described as all-knowing, yet it was necessary for the experiencer to speak up and do so truthfully. It seemed to be important that the individual acknowledge rather than be told what needed correction in his or her life, although I did find cases where these loving wise ones did most of the talking even to the point of lecturing. Other types of judgment sessions were reported, yet the tribunal arrangement was the most common one I found.

The most powerful form of justice adult experiencers ever described to me, however, was. . . the life review. In fact, I discovered nothing that could equal it as a revealer of truth and as a leveler of attitudes, personality, and status. The impact it had often overwhelmed the individual.

Yes, there were those who claimed that they were allowed to view their past life in a dispassionate manner as if it were more of a curiosity than anything they had to take that seriously. Some said they were spared harshness or pain as long as they remained an observer and did not "enter" the scene or get personally involved. But, if they focused too long or too deeply on a given segment or event, instantly, they were fully engaged in the scene.

For those whose life review was a reliving, and many experienced this, well, there really aren't words to describe the impact but I'll try. Imagine what it would be like to relive your life, either in segments or from your birth, all of it, every mistake, every joy, every thought, every word spoken, every nightmare, every miracle, every fantasy, every dream, every plot or scheme, every feeling, every movement or activity. Then go one step more. Add to your imaginings of reliving your life, what it would be like to also experience the results, the consequences, of you ever being alive, from first breath to your death plus the effect your beingness had on the air, soil, plants, animals, water, people even those you merely passed by and never met.

As overwhelmingly impactual as this would be, add still another step. Imagine the likes of experiencing any suffering you caused another - the exact emotions, feelings, and pain - from his or her perspective!

By imagining all of this, maybe you can now appreciate how a murderer, for instance, might be forever changed by a life review. Trading places, rather than biblical punishment, is far more harsh and far more effective. Even just a "simple" reliving can be profound. I've heard experiencers say that it took years for them to reconcile what happened to them during their life review. A few never did.

Certainly, not everyone had a life review or had to face a tribunal, but the vast majority did have to deal with the aftereffects, and an aftermath that wasn't always pleasant. One way or another, the experiencers I studied were confronted with the unfinished business of their lives, the effect their behavior had on others, and any blocks or obstacles that stood in the way of their spiritual growth. By coming to terms with their experience and learning how to integrate it, they, in effect, also came to terms with what was just and fair in "the game called life." They did not avoid the issue of justice or of sin; rather, they were able to understand such issues on another level that "sin" really meant "mistake," and that "justice" really referred to appropriate behavior applied in a responsible manner for the highest possible good.

With child experiencers it is difficult to recognize the tenets of justice. I say this because little ones, even infants, can undergo rather stern scenarios that feature critical or caring parental-types of greeters and scenarios that can sometimes involve lectures, future predictions, and what seems to be rather puzzling judgments. Trying to grapple with how anything like this could happen to those so pure and innocent foments angry responses from adults and the question, "How could God allow this?" Let me give you three examples of this conundrum.

The first involves a nine-day-old infant in the Bronx, New York, who, while being operated on for a serious staph infection and abscess, lost all vital signs. The little girl drew a picture of the scene when she was older, and tried to tell her family how terrified she was of the "evil" ones in white who caused her so much pain and of the threatening male voice that called himself "Inner Stranger" - who demanded that throughout the rest of her life she must do whatever he bids or she would die. Her family and friends pooh-poohed her and roundly made fun of her "fantasies," even though her drawings and her memories were unbelievably accurate in detail. This treatment undermined her growing years to such a degree that she finally repressed what happened to her. At the age of 28, she had a near-death-like experience that explained the original episode and enabled her find peace.

The second took place in Thailand to a 5-year-old boy and was told to me by Todd Murphy. The youngster had been gored by a large cow and then stepped on in the chest and stomach area by heavy hooves. As he teetered between life and death, he found himself in the palace of Yama, Lord of the Dead, where he had to confront the cow. The cow revealed that he actually was a man who had once been the boy's enemy. When the boy asked how that could be, the cow answered that long ago they had each been elephant cavalrymen during a war. In battle, the boy had decapitated him as they fought with pikes from the backs of elephants. The beheaded man chose rebirth in the form of the cow so that he could avenge his death. He had been trying to rip the boy's head off with his hooves, but missed. The child was initially frightened by the news of his former misdeeds in a previous lifetime yet understanding of the idea that he would have to pay for that crime now.

The last case is a very famous one about a Lakota Sioux by the name of Black Elk. At the age of 9 he had fallen seriously ill, his legs and arms swollen, his face puffed up, when a disembodied voice spoke to him: "It is time. Now they are calling you." With that, two men appeared from out of the clouds holding spears that flashed lightning. "Hurry," he was told. "The Grandfathers want you." There followed one of the most spectacular near-death experiences ever reported that involved flying horses, flaming arrows, forests, mountain peaks, cloud realms, explosions of color, and beings of various types. The Grandfathers and all who served them were stern and insistent as they lectured the boy about his future for he was to save the world (a pretty tall order for a nine-year-old).

Lest we lose ourselves bickering about the various cultures represented here and their different beliefs, focus on the aspect common to all three stories: an innocent child suddenly found him or herself facing stern judgments and lectures. Then consider this as a result of what happened to them, each of these children made significant contributions to the welfare and upliftment of others the girl went on to develop a positive relationship with "Inner Stranger," who guided her throughout a lifetime of helping anyone in need; the boy in Thailand became an unusually gifted and devoted monk with deep understanding; the Native American rose to incredible heights as a healer, a visionary, and a renown spiritual leader. So where's the justice in near-death experiences? It's there, for child, teen, or adult and it's there powerfully. Perhaps the question is not one of crime and punishment, righteousness or indifference, or that which seems to deny the value of religious principles. Perhaps the real question concerns the concept of justice itself and who among us can "cast the first stone." God's justice, at least what is revealed in near-death experiences, centers around "the law of appropriateness" whatever is highest and best for the individual and all else involved. With this law, forgiveness replaces revenge, reassessment negates attack, and love translates into the compassion of understanding.

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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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