The aftereffects of near-death and other transformative states are both physiological and psychological. Because of this, experiencers are urged to investigate and educate themselves about the varied ways to ensure good health in all its many aspects. There are wonderful books, tapes, and teachers available today to address this, including well-researched alternative/complementary options. I would call your attention to my book, Coming Back to Life (recently reissued by Citadel Press), as the Resource Section in the back is up-to-date as of 2001. The Resource Sections in Beyond the Light and Future Memory, although not as current, are more detailed and still of value. My purpose with this particular list is to go one step further to offer ideas and contacts that are unique in an emphasis on transpersonal, soul-based approaches to health.
(Prepared 7-10-02 by P.M.H.Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.) )
Association of Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.)
Based on the psychic readings of the late Edgar Cayce, the Foundation which survives him has an extensive track record in testing out and cross-checking all the material that came through Cayce. Their medical information services, although centered around the Cayce material, are excellent. Contacts follow:A.R.E. Health Services Center, 215 67th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451- 2061
phone (757) 437-7202e-mail massage@edgarcayce.org, website www.edgarcayce.org
Health and Rejuvenation Research Center, 215 67th Street, Virginia Beach, 23451-2061
phone (757) 496-6411, fax (757) 496-1013e-mail hrrc@edgarcayce.org, website www.edgarcayce.org
For the list of cooperating "Health Care Professionals" call 1-800-333-4499. This is their general information number. Ask for the list by name.
The A. R. E. Clinic, 4018 North 40th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85018
phone (602) 955-0551, fax (602) 956-8269,e-mail areclinic@eigi.com, website www.eigi.com/are
The Scottsdale Holistic Medical Group, 7350 East Stetson Drive, Suite 203, Scottsdale, AZ 85251,
phone (480) 990-1528, fax (480) 990-3298,e-mail morrissey_patricia@hotmail.com
Many near-death experiencers and others so transformed are challenged by their episode and its aftermath. In the Resource Section of my books, I recommend contacting the Spiritual Emergency Network for information about therapists and counselors nearest to you that practice Transpersonal Psychology, and are able to deal with the aftereffects of spiritually transforming events. The organization has recently undergone a change of their own, expanded in the service they provide, and have become a vital link in the process of helping people integrate what happened to them in a positive way.
Their new name and contact info is: Center for Psychological & Spiritual Health
1453 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 648-2610Website: www.cpsh.org (Affiliated with The California Institute of Integral Studies) Their list of referrals numbers at present 180 professionals in 37 states. Should you be a practicing professional using transpersonal psychological techniques, you are urged to contact them also - so they can add you to their referral list.
The Gladys T. McGarey Medical Foundation, 7350 East Stetson Drive, Suite Health Issues 204, Scottsdale, AZ 85251,
phone (480) 946-4544, fax (480) 947- 9092,e-mail tmfinc@qwest.net, website www.mcgareyfoundation.com
Highly recommended is a little known, self-published book by the title of Jogging Through Space: An Amazing Story of Recovery from a Life-Threatening Illness Featuring 60 Pathways to Feeling Better. This small but remarkable treasure was written by Mary Morgan McKnight, a near-death experiencer who has been able to overcome almost all of the crippling effects from brain tumor surgery and her subsequent "death." Her experience and what she learned from it can help anyone! Not available as yet in bookstores.JOGGING THROUGH SPACE is now available from Trafford Publishing by calling toll-free 1-888-232-4444 or it can be viewed and ordered online at http://www.trafford.com/robots/02-0482.html
e-mail dmcknight@mgwnet.com
Energy Psychology Self-Help Techniques
Gary Craig, a Stanford-trained engineer turned minister, has developed self-healing exercises he calls "Emotional Freedom Techniques A Universal Healing Aid." He has worked in clinical settings and with clinicians, and claims an 80% effectiveness rate when these techniques are used (tested with conditions of trauma, abuse, stress, anxiety, fears, phobias, depression, grief, addictive cravings, children's issues, headaches, breathing difficulties, and others). I mention his work because his techniques honor the expanded worldview found in holistic healthcare.Contact: Emotional Freedom Techniques, Gary H. Craig, P. O. Box 1393, Gualala, CA 95445
phone (707) 785-2848, website www.emofree.com
Soul-Based Psychology Both Self-Help and Professional Approaches
Once again I'm going to recommend a book, only what's in this one could very well alter or change the field of psychology itself and bring it up to par with the public's demand for more spiritual approaches to mental health care. The book is Psyche's Seeds: The 12 Sacred Principles of Soul-Based Psychology (Putnam, New York City, 2001), and it is written by Jacquelyn Small, LMSW. Her workshops are excellent; her approach, as engaging as it is professional.Contact: Eupsychia Institute for Well-Being, P. O. Box 151960, Austin, TX 78715-1960
phone 1-800-546-2795 [local phone is (512) 327-2795], fax (512) 327-6043e-mail jacquie@austin.rr.com website www.eupsychia.com
Along with what Jacquelyn Small has done, I also want to recommend the work of Caroline Myss, Ph.D., and especially her book, Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing (Harmony Books, New York City, 1996). These two women, and others like them, are revolutionizing the health-care field and how each of us view ourselves, the lives we lead, and the choices we make. There is a spiritual revolution now occurring in society, fueled by a more enlightened public and people like near-death experiencers who refuse to be silent about what they learned while being on "The Other Side" of death.
Art Therapy Mandala Assessment and Research Institute (MARI).
This system is a Jungian-centered personality assessment, based on archetypes and colors. It was developed out of the clinical work of Joan Kellogg, ATR, who was associated in the seventies with Stanislav Grof, M.D. at a psychiatric research institute in Maryland. It focuses on utilizing mandala drawings and card tests for personal growth, as well as a tool in the clinical environment. Trained MARI practitioners can now be found nationwide. (I had known Kellogg for several decades and applauded her perseverance in developing one of the most effective means that exists for assessing an individual's state of consciousness and how that might be improved.) The work of Joan Kellogg, outlined in her 1978 self-published Book, "Mandala: Path of Beauty," and her organization called MARI, is now under the purview of Michele Takei, Ph.D. and Frank Takei, Ph.D. Her extensive material about mandalas, making and interpreting them, plus her life's work in art therapy now exists as "MARI Creative Resources, Inc.", owned and operated by Michele and Frank.To obtain information contact:
MARI® Creative Resources, Inc.
2532 Albemarle Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 821-4222http://maricreativeresources.com/aboutus.htm
Collot Painting Therapy.
Originally developed in 1993 by Liane Collot d' Herbois of Dornach, Switzerland, this therapeutic method is actually an expansion of the color theories from Rudolf Steiner's "Spiritual Science." Collot's book, Light, Darkness, and Color in Painting Therapy, was published in 2001 by Floris Books, Edinburgh, Scotland. Martha Loving took her training in Collot Art Therapy in The Netherlands, and is the first such therapist to specialize in using this technique with children (as well as with adults). I note this because child experiencers of near-death states often benefit more from programs like art therapy than from other types of counseling. Ms. Loving is both a therapist and an educator.Thinking with the Heart
Martha Loving Orgain
Artist - Educator - Astrologer
Light, Color, and Darkness
in Painting Therapy
802.229.0175 / Cell: 434.865.5330e-mail lovingcolor@aol.com. She often teaches at schools in the New England states.
Brain Gym
"Brain Gym" is the name of a program of specialized yet simple exercises that benefit, in many cases dramatically improve, challenges with concentration, memory, reading skills, writing organization, athletic skills, well being, and others. Targets 26 physical activities for best results with learning differences; effective with children, adults, seniors, and, I might add, experiencers of consciousness transformations. Built on 80 years of research, the Educational Kinesiology Foundation has trained countless practitioners.To contact a Brain Gym Instructor in your area, contact: Edu-K, 1575 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 204B, Ventura, CA 93001;
phone 1-800-356-2109 [local in California (805) 658-7942];e-mail edukfd@earthlink.net; website www.braingym.org
Grief Therapy Using Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
A clinician can help to facilitate an actual After-Death Communication Health Issues, with an individual who has lost a loved one. It has been known for some time that the shifting of the eyes is associated with increased brain functioning. F. Shapiro's "Accelerated Information Processing" model, developed from extensive clinical observations, advances the idea that through a controlled session in rapid-eye movement exercises, the one who is grieving can somehow "slip" through the curtain between life and death and reach the one who has died. Allan L. Botkin, Psy.D., trained in Shapiro's technique, reports a 98% success rate in sessions he has held. Says Botkin of these induced states, "Usually some form of communication also occurs. As a result of the experience, the pain of disconnection vanishes, and is replaced by a loving reconnection. The experience dramatically erases any doubts about a belief in an afterlife.Grief work from this perspective, therefore, is not a matter of saying good-bye, but hello." Botkin compares these after-death experiences with near-death states, arguing that the two tap into the same spiritual reality and are equally life-changing.Contact Botkin not only for his schedule, but for how to learn about others who use EMDR in their practice:
Allan L. Botkin, Psy.D., 1144 Harms Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048;
phone (847) 680-0279;e-mail DrAl53@aol.com.
Botkin's article on "The Induction of After-Death Communications." can be accessed through the webite of IANDS-Chicago, www.chicagoiands.org
Group Work for Near-Death Experiencers and Others
Designed by near-death experiencer Robert Stefani, as part of earning his master's degree in counseling at California State University, Fresno, California, the "Eclectic Group Intervention" covers a tensession program. According to Stefani, "Group participants need not be limited exclusively to near-death experiencers. Family members and close friends of experiencers may need support, too, as well as people who are losing (or have lost) a loved one, who have questions about death, or who are themselves dying." Briefly, the goals of the intervention program are: recognize that intrapersonal changes are taking place, help to integrate those changes, alleviate fear and rejection, reconcile the new spiritual transformation, overcome difficulty in maintaining former life, address dissolution of relationships or careers, accept the limitations of others, and utilize the gifts and insights gained.For more information, contact: Robert Stefani, 2808 Forist Lane, Merced, CA 95348; or contact the University directly.
Inner Life Mentoring
Developed by psychotherapist G. Scott Sparrow, Ed.D., LPC, "Inner Life Mentoring" is the name he has given to a unique counseling style that recognizes the relationship between therapist and client as being one of mentor (teacher) and initiate (student). According to Sparrow: "Both mentor and client seek to create the conditions in the relationship for the descent or intervention of the spirit. Dream work, breath work, and brief meditations during the session may be used to enchance this potential. Because the mentoring process encourages personal empowerment and ongoing spiritual practice, appointments are infrequent." A program exists for training professionals in how to incorporate this technique in their practice.Contact: Dr. G. Scott Sparrow, 1212 Barn Brook Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23454;
phone (757) 496-2501Vision Quests/Rituals/Role-Playing Games
Two books that address the power of rituals to heal, empower, and excite, are: Rituals for Our Times Celebrating Healing, and Changing Our Lives and Relationships, Evan Imber-Black and Janine Roberts (HarperCollins, New York City, 1992); and Ritual Power, Healing and Community, Malidoma Patrice Some, Ph.D. (Penguin Books, New York City, 1997).Michael H. Brown, Ed.S., well-known for the vision quests he leads into nature to help people touch the depths of wisdom within the self, also specializes in role playing/ritual games that are fun to play and amazingly powerful in the way players are empowered. The "Bone Game" is one of them. Based on a Native American ritual, this weekend retreat teaches participants how to relax deeply, clarify values, listen with respect to others, communicate authentically, make decisions on the basis of consensus, and enjoy the magical sense of community consciousness. He offers professional instruction in how to do what he does, as well as incorporate music and art therapy. He is very good with children/teenagers.
Contact: Michael H. Brown, Ed.S., 4889 A Finlay Street, Richmond, VA 23231; phone (804) 222-0483.
Intuitive/Neuro-Linguistic Counseling Sessions
Dana Patterson, a certified, master-level trainer in NLP (neuron-linguistic programming), has combined her professional skills with an unusually deep form of intuitive counseling, to offer near- death experiencers and those like them a special service geared to their needs.
TRANSFORMATIONS, An Intuitive Science in Self-Discovery, is designed to enable the client through the intuitiveness of a psychic reading, to go past whatever is encountered, and plum the deeper reaches of the subconscious. Patterson emphasizes that a psychic reading, in and of itself, is not enough. Using intuition as a starting-off point, she seeks for core issues, any blockages in the subconscious, and whatever will facilitate inner-life processing.
Contact: Dana Patterson, 5227 N. Tigua Drive, Tucson, AZ 85704; (520) 624- 8862;
e-mail at dpat22@comcast.net; website www.intuitivesciences.com.
Prayer and meditation top my list for the best and most reliable means to center oneself within the Source of Being. Styles and types depend on personal preference. Melodic music/natural sounds uplift and soothe the soul. Highly recommended, as well, are:
Gardening Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul, Elizabeth Murray, (Pomegranate, Rohnert Park, CA, 1997); and The Healing Garden: Flowers and Plants to Nurture the Body, Senses, and Spirit, Sue Minter (C. E. Tuttle, Boston, MA, 1996).
Labyrinths Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth, Melissa Gayle West (Broadway Books, New York City, 2000); and Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress (Riverhead Books, New York City, 1995).
Storytelling The Healing Art of Storytelling, Richard Stone (Hyperion, New York City, 1996); and Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life through Writing and Storytelling, Anne Valley-Fox and Sam Keen (Jeremy P. Tarcher, Los Angeles, CA, 1989.
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