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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
A brief announcement:
I have just completed three lists of interest to near-death experiencers and those like them. They are: Alternative Schools and Universities Offering Excellent Degree/Certificate Programs; Patient-Centered Hospitals; and Suggestions Regarding Various Health Issues. Access my website at www.pmhatwater.com to obtain these lists (check the Menu). IANDS also has them for further use and distribution. If you do not have a computer, send a stamped, self-addressed, letter sized envelope, plus a note as to which one you want, to me at P. O. Box 7691, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691. These lists are 3 to 5 pages long, so keep that in mind when buying stamps. If you want 2 of them, or all 3, send a larger, manila envelope with appropriate postage. No other costs are involved.
The touchy subject of money needs more discussion. In the last installment of this column, I focused on researchers of near-death states; the arrogance of some, the sacrifices of many, and a research proposal submitted by a team of Russian scientists. Now the spotlight turns to the near-death experiencers themselves. Unquestionably, near-death experiencers resume life routines with a different mindset after their episode. Gone for the majority is the drive for money, position, status, fame, possessions replaced generally by a sense of mission and a need to serve others or in some manner make the world a better place. Prayer replaces the paycheck as a chief motivator. This change of attitude and commitment is both confusing and inspiring to families and friends, not to mention employers. Although many find creative ways to "fit back in," the majority switch careers within 7 to 10 years of their experience (during that fabled "seven years" that it takes the average individual to integrate the phenomenon child experiencers can take longer). New careers, new lives, new relationships. . . once an experiencer embraces the full impact of what happened to him/her and what that might mean, worship and worthship take on equal significance. Spirituality blossoms. Only in a minority of cases does this pattern falter.
But, what about that second 7 to 10-year timeframe (maybe 20 years later) when experiencers often find themselves reassessing their experience? Were the choices they made worth the results they achieved? Can they still live what was once new to them, on a daily basis, year after year after year? Five near-death experiencers have something to say in this regard; their comments follow. Linda Redford, creator of the Adawee Teachings (a school curriculum for children that teaches honor and honesty), featured in my book Children of the New Millennium. "This is an issue I've been struggling with for about a year. I became very suicidal again last year, when reality set in. So much sacrifice. So much regret. I have persevered for 20 years and have not been successful. What I once interpreted as a 'mission,' I now interpret as possibly a memory from a life that was a connection to the past I experienced when there were no mental institutions, no jails, women were honored and children were sacred before the white man came to America. I've questioned it ad nauseum the past year. I kept going because I wanted to help make a safe world for children. What I experienced was the greed and selfishness, the arrogance and ignorance of those 'with money' in charge of the 'media.' Whoever controls the media controls the minds of the world.
How sad. I have a great sadness that at 54 I have no money for my older age. I have no money to buy a home. I have no money for my grandchildren. I have spent my money on other peoples' children, to stop violence. The will that began this project is gone. Those with power and money have beat it out of me, just as the whites did to my Indian ancestors. I teach 'history repeats itself' because consciousness repeats itself. As long as our children continue to be educated as their parents were, the results will be the same. Separation, judgments, and violence. Perhaps if I had a husband or wealth or connections with someone who could have interacted with these people on their level. . . I tried. They stole from me, betrayed me, and never looked back. I prayed for 20 years and nothing seemed to work. I now accept the hand dealt to me." Louis Mayer, a partially-disabled survivor of a fatal car accident who lives in Tennessee. "I had a near-death experience and saw the cure for AIDS and a lot of other things. But, first things first. I'm trying to get the cure made for all those infected. It involves an ozone blood wash, and the FDA doesn't acknowledge ozone in medicine in this country, although it has been used safely in Europe for over 40 years. No big drug company cares about a cure. They just want to continue getting billions every year off the infected. The blood wash kills the virus and cleans out all impurities in the blood, and helps the damaged organs repair themselves. I only need 4 things to get the process started all very legal. I feel I could have a working, curing, prototype made in under 6 months. But I'm partially disabled from the bad car accident that I died in; 2 of my good friends also died in the accident. I know I'll see them again, though. I move very slow but my mind is clear as glass.
I also am able to see bits and pieces of the future. I don't judge anyone. That's God's job. I just try to do good, but I need some help with that cure for AIDS." He has asked that if anyone wants to pursue the AIDS cure, contact him via e-mail at lugotz2@aol.com. George Rodonia, M.D., also a Methodist minister, co-creator of an online university, his case in my book Beyond the Light as well as other publications. "My online university went bankrupt because of 9-11. We were doing very well, starting to make a profit, when suddenly people weren't interested anymore. My church turned me aside because of the bankruptcy. I have no place to live, no house, no pulpit, no money for retirement. I never copyrighted anything. I gave all my work away, inventions in medicine, all of it, given to others. I never got a penny for any of it. I don't want to preach anymore. Publishers, all they want to do is sensationalize my story. I have ideas for healthy products, healthy soft drinks, good books, another university over the Internet. Why has all this happened to me? I keep trying. I will not quit, but I'm getting older and things are getting harder to do." Ned Dougherty, former nightclub owner, now seeking to build a holistic healing center and health spa in northeastern Pennsylvania, author of Fast Lane to Heaven. "Currently, I survive financially week by week with just enough money to get by. My few sources of income are primarily from speaking engagements and book sales. While doing hospice volunteer work, I saw the necessity for homecare patients to have better beds than the 'torture beds' that were being provided by Medicare/Medicaid, so I became involved as a distributor of home health care products and quality homecare hospital beds with comfortable mattresses, heating pads, and built-in massage systems. When I realize that my clients cannot really afford the suggested prices, which happens to be in most cases, I provide these products at or close to my cost. I am not profiting financially from this venture, but I believe that is what I am supposed to do. My payday comes from knowing that I am helping my clients to become more comfortable and secure in their homecare. It would be self-serving and dishonest of me to attempt to say that I don't miss the comfortable lifestyle to which I had become accustomed. At times, I can chose to beat myself up over what I had lost, but I find for the most part that I have learned 'acceptance.' All I have to do is to meditate and go back to my first NDE experience when I was shown that 'all things that were important to me were going to be taken away.' I remember the sense of peace, calmness, and serenity that had come over me at that point, because I realized that all the material things that are important to us in this realm are meaningless and non-existent on the Other Side. Whatever we claim to own or possess in this life is really only borrowed and temporary. Although I'm not being rewarded financially, like I was with my successful nightclub and real estate businesses, I'm being rewarded in more meaningful ways, like when readers tell me my book changed their lives or helped a relative die peacefully or returned them to their faith in God, or helped them cope with a loss. Those times are my payday."
Nadia McCaffrey, hospice care, executive director/founder of "Angelstaff" (a volunteer organization), and "Changing the Face of Death" (has been given land to build a volunteer-run, hospice-type center near Mt. Shasta in California); her near-death experience is in Children of the New Millennium. "I have enough money to survive. Sometimes things are pretty tight, but it's always there when needed. So far, the money hasn't come through to build the center, but I know it will. I have the land. The money will follow. Here is what I have learned in handling money issues: I stay silent, don't panic, wait, the way always comes as well as the guidance that is the most helpful. I keep trust alive and I talk with God. Then, I release the situation completely, knowing, absolutely knowing, that God will take care of my needs. I have been handling my finances this way for many years and it has always worked for me. What I am doing is what I should be doing. I trust God. The rest I let go of." Some near-death experiencers, like Rev. Carol Parrish-Harra of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, have been very successful in solving the money puzzle as they fulfill what they believe is their life's mission. As founder of Light of Christ Community Church, Sparrow Hawk Village, and the accredited, degree-granting Sancta Sophia Seminary, she has achieved international recognition for reviving the ancient "Mystery Schools" (mystical teachings) while staying true to the Christian tradition. She readily affirms that God comes first; "elbow grease" and long hours a close second. And there are other success stories - actually more than you might think. Each one, though, covers times of great inner turmoil when doubt, fear, and anger threatened to overwhelm the experiencer and derail what he/she felt led to accomplish. We are still human after all, have needs, and get discouraged. Near-death states do not "save" us from ourselves nor do they shield us from the world we live in. They give us a boost, expand, inspire, and transform us, yet seldom are shortcuts found as to how we might apply our passion and direct the guidance we receive and the knowledge we suddenly "know." It is frustrating to be in a position like Louis when you believe you were given information that will help people in his case, AIDS patients and you are not taken seriously or obstacles block you from contacting those who could act. Whether or not he has something to offer that is truly usable, the urge to reach out and make a difference keeps right on pushing. That's why Linda Redford is back at it, trying to find a way to interest educators in her material. That's why Georgia Rodonia is determined to create an online university of stature, while searching for investor sources. That's why Nadia McCaffrey and Ned Dougherty are giving more talks than ever as they set up networks of people who want to get involved. And that's why I keep doing what I do. As a result of trial and error, Dougherty has learned a few things he'd like to pass on: "Don't give up your day job especially if you have recently returned from your experience. For most of us, it takes years of physical, mental, and emotional recovery from a profound NDE to integrate the experience into our earthly lives. Those of us who have returned with a sense of mission have to realize that it may take a long, long time for that mission to become reality. In the meantime, we have to earn an income, pay our bills, file income tax returns, do the laundry, mow the lawn, etc., etc. However, watch for the 'quickening' that future point in your life when you know 'it is time!' to begin your mission. The most difficult part of this process of growing into our mission is keeping one foot firmly grounded on terra firma while trying to soar to the Other Side."
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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 EXPERIENCE. 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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