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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
© 1998 P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
Researchers are now seeking to devise a common criteria that could be
used to identify near-death states. Health-care professionals especially
are troubled by the lack of conformity in the field - no real "signpost"
that says "this and this" constitute a near-death experience. Among the
views being bantered about is the suggestion that the phenomenon be refer-
red to as "an encounter with an anomalous brilliant light."
I voted no.
My vote may seem a bit odd considering the pages I have devoted in my
past books to a discussion of "The Light of Enlightenment" and the power of
Light as an emissary of Divine Love, The Source of All Being. As a near-
death experiencer myself, I can give personal testimony to the absolute
Physicality of that Light. I KNOW, from the top-knot on my head to the
tips of my toes, that THE LIGHT ONE ENCOUNTERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF DEATH
IS POWER BEYOND POWER, ECSTASY BEYOND ECSTASY; GOD! Even I John 1:5 of the
Christian Bible says: "This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all."
Why then with this background would I disagree about an element so
basic to near-death states?
Research.
My goal since I began my work in 1978 has always been to see the near-
death experience from 360 degrees, what really outpictures in people's
lives, not what I want to see, nor my own or anyone else's interpretation,
but the facts as I encounter them - cross-checked, analyzed, and re-check-
ed. (This thoroughness comes from being a cop's kid and growing up in a
police station.)
Wrapping up my study of child experiencers of near-death states for
the book "CHILDREN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM" (re-scheduled for Fall, 1999),
necessitated that I also re-analyze my previous work with teenagers and
adults. What I discovered in doing this brought into focus what I had pre-
previously noticed but could not quite articulate: the so-called "classical
model" of near-death states - a composite created and hyped by the media
does not hold up in large samplings, but neither does how we reference and
interpret the image of subjective light.
As concerns subjective light, here's a brief sampling of what I found.
Kids have dark experiences, as well as bright ones.
Kids are sometimes bathed in "dark light," rather than brilliant
light.
The kids who had dark experiences talked about "The Darkness That
Knows" with the same love and affection as they described their Real Home,
their Homey Home, the place where God is, where they were before they had a
body and where they will return once their body falls away: HOME-HOME.
Many of the young (once verbal) spoke of having been cradled in a
womb-like darkness so purple-black that it shimmered, so silent that it
knew all things, so peaceful and wonderful and bliss-filled and perfect
that we adults would have named it "heaven" - yet it was devoid of light.
And, the most compelling, evidential cases of genius I found, those
without genetic markers that could explain the anomaly, came from experi-
encers between the ages of birth and fifteen months who had a near-death
experience that involved THE DARKNESS THAT KNOWS. Overall, of the 277
cases in my study (age range: birth to fifteen years; two-thirds of them
under the age of seven), the children most apt to display high IQs after-
ward were those who either snuggled into the depths of darkness, or who
were enveloped by a "dark light," rather than any degree of brightness.
Of the four types of near-death states I have identified (Initial,
Unpleasant and/or Hell-like, Pleasant and/or Heaven-like, and Transcendent
- explained in "BEYOND THE LIGHT"), seventy-six percent of the child exper-
iencers in my study had the Initial-type episode. As a reminder, the Ini-
tial near-death experience covers about one to three elements - things
like: the loving nothingness, the living dark, a friendly voice, a short
visitation of some kind, or perhaps a quick out-of-body experience. Twenty
percent of the 3,000 plus adult experiencers I have interviewed reported
this type of episode as well. Those who encountered "the living dark,"
child or adult, described it as safe haven, a comfortable place that was
peaceful, loving; a state of goodness and expectancy. The only experi-
encers, regardless of age, who reacted negatively to any darkness they
faced were those who went on to describe the fearful or hellish scenarios
of unpleasant, distressing episodes. Thus, the majority of the ones I have
investigated respond to "darkness" and "dark light" in a positive manner.
When I reconsidered all of the work I have done since 1978 in regard
to near-death studies, I came to this conclusion: there are clearly three
very different types of subjective light near-death experiencers report re-
gardless of how old they were when their episode occurred. How I would
classify these inner manifestations of light and light imagery is addressed
in this chart:
THE THREE TYPES OF SUBJECTIVE LIGHT
__________________________________________________________
|
Type Primary Light |
Color Colorless |
Function A pulsating presence or luminosity usually perceived as frighteningly awesome, a piercing power, raw essence; the origin of all origins. |
| Dark Light | Pure black yet often with velvety tinges of dark purple | A shimmering peaceful depth usually perceived as "The Darkness That Knows," a source of strength and knowing, sanctuary; the womb of creation. |
| Bright Light | The range of yellow-gold white | A brilliant radiance usually perceived as an almost blinding glow that emanates unconditional love, a warm inviting intelligence, union; the activity of Truth. |
__________________________________________________________
Each of these three lights is consistently referred to, irrespective of
experiencer age, as more real than the physical light on earth and more
powerful than any source humankind could harness - including the sun's rays
and "zero-point" energy (the "stuff" of the universe; untapped
electromagnetic energy).
___________________________________________________________
Joe Ann Van Gelder, one of the subjects in my study, had nine near
death experiences as a child, the first occurred when she was fifteen
months old and because of a drowning. She had eight more by the time she
was ten, precipitated by such conditions as malaria, automobile accidents,
burst appendix, electrical shock, surgeries, polio, and additional bouts
with drowning. It was the first one, though, that impacted her the most.
It involved "the living dark." She displayed an exceptionally high intel-
ligence immediately after, which surprised everyone including her parents.
I received a letter from her not long ago where she questioned just
what that special darkness she encountered as an infant might have been.
She offered the idea that perhaps it was some formless mode of pure con
sciousness, as no thoughts or feelings were present within it - just the
existence of awareness, the bliss of knowingness. She asked, "When death
comes near the young, do they in fact merge back into the Oneness we call
by various names God, from which they've so recently come?" Even though
Van Gelder has no explanation for the darkness that once cradled her, she
is convinced that it has something to do with a type of consciousness that
interacts with creation and created matter.
Of intrigue are the observations I was able to make about the effect
the three very different types of subjective light seemed to have on ex-
periencers: Primary Light fostered deep mystical knowings in people and
engendered more radical changes in their sense of reality and life's pur-
pose. Dark Light gently reassured those it touched and left them with a
sense of being nurtured and supported while at the same time linked to
larger evolutionary processes. Those who were met with Bright Light,
though, displayed a broad range of visibly heightened abilities and an un-
usual sensitivity to sound, sunshine, pharmaceuticals, and anything elec-
trically based.
In reference to the "electrical sensitivity" component, I was able to
show with a questionnaire I used in the book "BEYOND THE LIGHT" that the
presence of electrical sensitivity can be traced, not to the experiencer's
length of exposure to the brightness subjective light can produce, but spe-
cifically to the intensity of that experience. In other words, it didn't
seem to matter how much light filled an individual's scenario or what type,
or whether he or she merged with that light. What mattered was how power
fully and deeply it was felt, even if for but a brief period of time.
Curiously, if either adult or child experiencer challenged the angels,
God, or religious-type figures that appeared during his or her scenario,
asking "Is that what you really look like," to a person, the image would
dissolve into light or suddenly burst into a massive sun-like sphere. But,
again, irrespective of image or imagery, initial feelings or sensations,
what mattered most, what made the biggest difference later on, was the in
tensity of what was experienced. And, the spread of aftereffects, all of
them, can be traced to the impact of that intensity.
In addition, the aftereffects suggest that near-death states may cause
a brain shift: a structural, chemical, and functionary change in the
brain. I examined this possibility in the research report, "BRAIN SHIFT/
SPIRIT SHIFT: A THEORETICAL MODEL USING RESEARCH ON NEAR-DEATH STATES TO
EXPLORE THE TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS" (Phase II, which integrates my
findings from child experiencers into the original model, is available from
me personally or over my website At www.pmhatwater.com). Because of
the numerous connections that can be made between the aftereffects and the
intensity of what occurs in near-death episodes, and what that seemed to im-
ply, I have come to regard the impact felt from such an experience AS far
more significant than who or what an individual meets on The Other Side of
Death's Curtain.
My work indicates that we can no longer assume that dark experiences
and the presence of darkness are always a sign of evil or unpleasantness,
and that the imagery found in transformational states is actually secondary
in importance to the intensity of the episode.
True, imagery is important- the landscape of heaven or hell, the be
ings encountered, the indication of rewards or punishment to follow, the
messages and revelations given. Yet the real determiner of significance
for impact and aftereffects is the depth of feelings and emotions involved.
This underscores what I have been saying for twenty-plus years: the
main indicator of whether or not a person on the edge of death has a near
death state is most likely the extent to which the limbic system of the
brain is either accelerated or decelerated. And what controls the limbic
response? A power source we can neither isolate nor measure, because we
don't know how.
It is my belief that the "light" and "light imagery” of near-death
and transformational states are but the reflected image of a power surge as
it registers upon or imprints the consciousness of the one who experiences
it. What is perceived as light, regardless of what type of light, may well
be the outpicturing of the activation of evolutionary mechanisms that are
part of our birthright as human beings. I suspect that we are all "pro-
grammed" for such events and we will have them whenever and as often as
needed.
Near-death states are not "light experiences," they are power Punches
that physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually alter the ones who
experience them. To merely dub them "light experiences" misses the rich
ness of their complexity.
____________________________________________________________________________
Atwater can be reached at P. O. Box 7691, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691.
Do visit her website at www.pmhatwater.com as there are many sections
to it, including the marketplace where other experiencers and those
interested in near-death states advertise and promote their products,
videos, jewelry, music, and services. New additions to the website occur
on an on going basis.
NOTE: for two new projects, Atwater needs drawings from experiencers: 1)
from child experiencers, especially those done shortly after the ex-
perience and during the growing years; and 2) from experiencers of any
age who have drawn, or are willing to, sketches of their episode or
send photographs of sculptural renderings. No monies can be paid
these offerings will help to illustrate an overall look at near-death
states and near-death studies. Drawings/photographs must be received
by December 31st of this year.
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