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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.)
Let's look again at unpleasant near-death experiences, and this time
let's refrain from calling them "negative." That's a loaded term that
fails utterly to convey the actual range of subject matter.
If you've read any of my books, you know that the first four near-
death episodes I ever encountered (back in the sixties) were distressing to
the people who had them. I've run into many such cases since then and have
spoken openly about what I found, as well as authoring the article "Is
There A Hell?" that was published in Vol. 10, No. 3, Spring 1992 of the
Journal of Near-Death Studies, and a separate chapter on them in "BEYOND
THE LIGHT."
My several decades of research have convinced me that unpleasant and/
or hellish near-death experiences are in a class all their own, and are not
in any way an "inverted" scenario or a "fragment" or the "unremembered" as-
pect of what occurred. In trying to categorize them, I think we have
blinded ourselves to the fact that the so-called "classical" model so popu-
lar today is but a composite of elements put together by the media to sen-
sationalize Raymond Moody's book, "LIFE AFTER LIFE." This "media model"
only addresses components common to the experience. It does not cover what
may or may not be a pattern to the scenario itself (i.e., types of episodes).
As an example of what has resulted, the number one complaint made at
Friends of IANDS meetings across the world, and for years now, has been and
still is, "My experience does not match the classical model." The differ-
ence between what the media perpetuates and what people actually undergo
continues to widen. The research community has fed into this situation by
relying, for the most part, on instrumentation that establishes validity at
the expense of exploring the broad range and rich diversity of near-death
states. Thus, a shallow, superficial image has come to overlay a complex
dynamic that does not lend itself to easy explanations or "sound bites."
When I began my work, not knowing anything about the near-death field
of study, I noticed right off that there were different types of near-death
experiences - distinctive patterns of elements - that were consistent re-
gardless of the experiencer's age, culture, or belief. The four I discov-
ered have so far held up to scrutiny. A chart describing them follows; oc-
currence rates are based on my research of 3,000 adult experiencers and 277
child experiencers:
THE FOUR TYPES OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
* Initial Experience (sometimes referred to as the "non-experience") In
volves elements such as a loving nothingness, the living dark, a
friendly voice, or a brief out-of-body experience. Usually experi-
enced by those who seem to need the least amount of evidence for proof
of survival, or who need the least amount of "shakeup" in their lives
at that point in time. Often, this becomes a "seed" experience or an
introduction to other ways of perceiving and recognizing reality.
Incident rate: 76% with child experiencers
20% with adult experiencers
* Unpleasant and/or Hell-like Experience (inner cleansing and self-confrontation)
Encounter with a threatening void or a stark limbo or hellish
purgatory, or scenes of a startling and unexpected indifference, even
"hauntings" from one's own past. Usually experienced by those who seem to
have deeply suppressed or repressed guilts, fears, and angers and/or those
who expect some kind of punishment or discomfort after death.
Incident rate: 3% with child experiencers
15% with adult experiencers
* Pleasant and/or Heaven-like Experience (reassurance and self-validation)
Heaven-like scenarios of loving family reunions with those who have
died previously, reassuring religious figures or light beings, valida-
tion that life counts, affirmative and inspiring dialogue. Usually
experienced by those who most need to know how loved they are and how
important life is and how every effort has a purpose in the overall
scheme of things.
Incident rate: 19% with child experiencers
47% with adult experiencers
* Transcendent Experience (expansive revelations. alternate realities)
Exposure to otherworldly dimensions and scenes beyond the individual's
frame of reference; sometimes includes revelations of greater truths.
Seldom personal in content. Usually experienced by those who are
ready for a "mind stretching" challenge and/or individuals who are
more apt to utilize (to whatever degree) the truths that are revealed
to them.
Incident rate: 2% with child experiencers
18% with adult experiencers
Note: I have found that all four types can occur during the same experi-
ence for the same person at the same time, can exist in varying com-
binations, or can spread out across a series of episodes for a par
ticular individual. Generally speaking, however, each represents a
distinctive type of experience occurring but once to a given person.
Yet, even though there exists these repetitive patterns, what matters
most is how the experiencer interprets what occurred and how he or she
feels about it. In other words, even the best of science cannot accord for
some interesting "flip-flops." Take what happened during a talk I gave in
Williamsburg, Virginia, some years ago. It was a packed house. At the
close of my speech, I asked if there were any experiencers in the crowd who
might want to come up to the microphone and share their story. Two people
volunteered.
The man was first. He was very nervous as he had never told anyone
about it before. His episode was lengthy and filled with heavenly scenes,
beings of light, and great sweeps of love. There was hardly a dry eye in
the place when he finished, as his story touched every heart. Then, he
proceeded to shock everyone by complaining bitterly about his "hellish"
episode and said it was by far the worst experience of his life. The woman
who came next described a terrible darkness in hers, and told of having to
fight for her life while trying to escape from a violent whirlpool. Thun-
der raged throughout and wind shrieked, and she was frightened out of her
wits. Surprisingly, she went on to share how lucky she felt to have had
such an experience. She considered it an affirmation that we all have a
second chance at life, that forgiveness is real.
While he looked depressed and sad, head bowed, she was aglow. Her
eyes twinkled and a big smile spread her face. The aftereffects had been
tough for him: his world an uncomfortable and unhappy place, relationships
almost impossible to keep. For her, each upset heralded but another oppor-
tunity to "test" new muscles and explore new vision. She had married since
and was now the happy mother of three.
The juxtaposition between these two experiencers and how they inter-
preted what happened to them, struck me, for I had seen it many times be-
fore. I came to realize that it isn't so much the imagery in near-death
states that makes the big difference as it is the individual's response and
the feeling sensation he or she is left with.
Undeniable are the cultural overtones present in scenarios and in the
the language experiencers use to describe and interpret their episode, as
well as certain psychological underpinnings that invariably "match up" with
the type of experience the individual had. This does not diminish valid
ity, but serves to underscore the constraints experiencers face in trying
to articulate and understand what happened to them, and why.
Near-death states of any type seem to be "heavenly washing machines"
in how they force individuals to re-evaluate their priorities. To decree
all dark experiences as "bad" and all light experiences as "good" is total
ly out of step with the bulk of research findings. In my book, "CHILDREN
OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM," for instance, I detail a discovery I made that many
kids encounter a dark light or have dark experiences that are loving and
wonder-filled. Once I gave public notice of this, I was inundated by
adults who experienced the same thing but were afraid to admit it. My
stance had apparently given them "permission" to come out of the proverbial
"closet." These people were traumatized by the judgmentalism that has
evolved over the years from throughout our near-death community, and in
particular from various strident and vocal experiencers who have set them
selves up as "authorities" about life and death.
If ever we deserved a comeuppance in the near-death field, and this
goes for researchers, experiencers, and the general public alike, it is
over the issue of unpleasant experiences and dark experiences and the whole
subject of that which constitutes bad or evil or hell. We have brandished
about the word "negative" as if it were a sword to smote whatever seems
"lesser than." And in so doing, we are left with "egg on our face."
The pattern-types of near-death experiences do indeed suggest, and
persuasively, that there is a heaven and a hell. . . but not as endpoints.
As a brief aside, let's take a gander at the human brain. The left
temporal lobe specializes in unpleasant emotions/images (things fear
based, while the expertise of the right temporal lobe is with pleasant
emotions/images (things love-based). All anyone can accomplish when stimu-
lating the temporal lobes (left or right), regardless of method or under
what conditions, is to produce general pattern-arrangements of emotions
and/or images. The reason for this is straight forward enough: the tem-
poral lobes are the place where basic patterns of shape, form, and feeling
are stored. Implicit in this is the notion that the temporal lobes may
function as some sort of "resource center" or "data comparison device" new
comers (children) can tap into as they learn to distinguish and discern
differences. As we age, engaging in creative imagination and invention en-
sures that both lobes not only remain active but can take on more expansive
and expressive projects.
But if mindstates alter significantly, like what happens during near
death states and impactual transformations of consciousness, the temporal
lobes seem to assume the role of mediator between worlds. This "mediator
within" is strongly in evidence when studying such cases. Initial imagery
always matches what will accommodate the experiencer's most urgent need at
that moment, and/or what will most affect significant others.
I've noted this "need" factor again and again in all my books, for I
saw it in every single case I investigated. This observation does not ne-
gate details that couldn't have been known about in advance by the experi-
encer that are later verified as accurate, nor does it lessen the power of
subjective experiences as guides and arbitrators for the ways we would be
wise to live our lives. It just emphasizes that there is more to near
death states and otherworldly journeys than either science or religion can
tell us.
The number one comment the majority of experiencers said to me when
defining what they learned from their episode was: "Always there is life."
If that is true, and I believe it is, then how can there be an afterlife?
How can we categorize life as we do? How can we even consider endpoints?
The implication is that there must be a life continuum, an ongoing stream
or flow of consciousness that we leave and reenter upon birth and death
into and from the earthplane. This further implies levels of reality,
rather than a final destination as is currently espoused in our culture.
Just as brain biology gives us the capacity to experience life from
360 degrees, that which is fear-based along with that which is love-based,
so, too, does the phenomenon of subjective otherworld journeys guarantee
that we miss nothing in our living. Through the mechanism the temporal
lobes afford, we are able to access whatever exists within us, whatever we
might have integrated into our deepest self, and make the adjustments
necessary to facilitate the healing of self and soul.
Almost in chorus near-death experiencers come to accept that they are
spiritual beings having a human existence and that it is up to them to
take the first step in reinventing themselves and the world around them.
Unpleasant experiences are as much a part of this urge as pleasant ones.
Our hells, if we're willing to really examine them, are just as valuable
and instructive as our heavens.
As a researcher, I find both the dark and light of near-death states
equally important. As an experiencer, I am ever humbled by the rich com-
plexity of the human soul.
______________________________________________________________
P.M.H.Atwater's next books, all due out in the Fall of 1999, are "CHIL-
DREN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM" (a trade publication through Three Rivers
Press), "FUTURE MEMORY" (in paperback from Hampton Roads Publishing),
and "THE IDIOT'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE" (a book
for people "on the run" who can't take the time out for in depth reads,
out in trade through MacMillan). To avail yourself of Phase II of her
Brain Shift Model (a summary of her research to date), access her web
site at www.pmhatwater.com or contact her directly at P. O. Box
7691, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691.
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