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Archetypes of Near-Death Experiences
In
our
dreams,
the symbols and images that appear
represent
archetypes
of our higher consciousness. As in
dreams, near-death experiences are
experiences of our higher consciousness,
and therefore, it shouldn't be
surprising that similar symbols and
images appear in near-death experiences
as well. On Karen Keeley's website,
Insights into Consciousness and
Personality, she provides a good
explanation of how these symbols and
archetypes are universal and what they
mean. She states:
"The fact that
the same symbols and archetypes surface
over and over again in all cultures is
evidence that mankind does indeed
possess a "collective unconscious," and
that (according to those who believe in
a personal God) behind the collective
unconscious is God.
Carl Jung's
"Self" is not just the individual
person, but includes "the preexistent
matrix of consciousness from which the
ego, or individually differentiated
consciousness, arises." In order to be
taken seriously as a scientist and
psychologist Jung obviously couldn't use
the term "God," so he used "Self"
instead. Those accustomed to thinking of
God as totally separate and apart from
themselves may find this blasphemous,
but others find God in (or through)
their own inner self, by discovering or
remembering their True Self, higher
self, core self -- which was created in
the EXACT image and likeness of God in
the beginning, is intimately connected
to God and can never be separated,
therefore to know one's own true Self is
to know God. The implication of Jungian
psychology is of a "deeper" center than
can normally be consciously experienced,
but which is accessible inwardly,
JOINTLY, to all individuals on Earth, to
each according to their specific needs
and desires, if they seek and ask. Jung
taught that without ego consciousness,
the Self (or God, "I Am") cannot realize
itself in the world; and without the
Self, the ego has no depth or source of
meaning and integration. The ego stands
to the Self as "the moved to the mover,"
and through the process of
"individuation", as consciousness of the
Self increases, the ego increasingly
experiences itself as "the object of a
supraordinate subject" and the
individual transcends the ego. It is
helpful to think of a wheel (or a
circle, a mandala) as a symbol of the
Self, as Jung did."
The following
are examples of sacred circular symbols,
or "mandalas,"
appearing in near-death experiences.
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Nancy
Evans Bush,
a devout Christian, had an
unusual near-death experience
resulting from a severe
complication during childbirth.
In her own words, she described
seeing unusual mandalas during
her near-death experience: "I
was rocketing through space like
an astronaut without a capsule
with immense speed and great
distance. A small group of
circles appeared ahead of me. To
the right was just dark space.
The circles were black and white
and made a clicking sound as
they snapped black to white and
white to black. They were not
evil exactly, just mocking and
mechanistic. The message in
their jeering was, "Your life
never existed. The world never
existed. Your family never
existed. You were allowed to
imagine it. You were allowed to
make it up. It was never there.
There was nothing there. There
never was anything there. You're
not real."
Several years after her
near-death experience, Nancy was
looking through a book on
eastern philosophy. What she saw
in the book so upset her she
threw the book across the room.
In the Eastern philosophy book
was the same circular shape she
saw in her near-death
experience. It was the Chinese
symbol "yin-yang" which
represents the oneness of all
so-called opposite principles we
find in the universe.
The Buddhist concept of reality
is that nothing in this physical
world is real. People consist of
a "bundle" of habits, memories,
sensations, desires, and so
forth, which together delude
people into thinking that he or
she consists of a stable,
lasting self. This false self is
what reincarnates body after
body. In Buddhism, life in a
corporeal body is the source of
all suffering. Hence, the goal
is to obtain liberation. This
means abandoning the false sense
of self so that the bundle of
memories and impulses
disintegrates, leaving nothing
to reincarnate and hence nothing
to experience pain. "Nirvana" is
the Buddhist term for
liberation. Nirvana literally
means extinction - an extinction
that allows a person to become
one with all there is – to
become "God" (Buddha). To attain
Nirvana, one must face and
accept the concept that physical
reality is not real; true
reality comes through
self-extinction which results in
becoming one with the Clear
Light.
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Black
Elk
was an American Indian who saw
an interesting mandala during
his near-death experience. He
was shown an elaborate vision
oriented around a classic Native
American mandala: the circular
hoop, the four directions, and
the center of the world on an
axis stretching from sky to
Earth. Numerous neighing,
dancing horses, surrounded by
lightning and thunder, filled
the sky at each direction. Then
he heard a great Voice say:
"Behold the circle of the
nation's hoop, for it is holy,
being endless, and thus all
powers shall be one power in the
people without end." Then Black
Elk, standing on the highest
mountain, surveying the grand
vista of the hoop of the world,
said: "I saw more than I can
tell and I understood more than
I saw; for I was seeing in a
sacred manner the shapes of all
things in the spirit, and the
shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being."
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Plato
described the near-death
experience of a soldier named
Er. In his near-death
experience, Er saw a "cosmic
axis" - a rainbow light holding
together the eight spheres
revolving around the Earth, each
guided by its own Fate. One of
these Fates casts before those
who are to be reincarnated a
number of earthly destinies from
which they may choose to be, for
example, a tyrant, an animal, an
artist, etc. Then, just before
returning to Earth as a shooting
star, each soul is required to
drink from the "River of
Forgetfulness" so that all these
cosmic events will fade from
memory. Only Er was not allowed
to drink and forget. Thus,
Plato's cosmology was based on a
near-death experience and this
amazing vision of the universal
light.
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 Mellen-Thomas
Benedict
saw the light in his near-death
experience change into different
figures, like Jesus, Buddha,
Krishna, mandalas, archetypal
images and signs. He was told
that our beliefs shape the kind
of feedback we receive from the
light. For example, if you were
a Buddhist or Catholic or
Fundamentalist, you would
receive a feedback loop of your
own beliefs. The light revealed
itself to Mellen-Thomas as our
"Higher Self matrix," a mandala
of human souls. He saw that what
we call our Higher Self in each
of us is a matrix and all Higher
Selves are connected as one
being. All humans are connected
as one being and we are actually
the same being, just different
aspects of the same being. We
are part of the same soul
fractaling out in many creative
directions, but still the same.
Mellen-Thomas saw this mandala
of human souls and describes it
as the most beautiful thing he
has ever seen. When he went into
it, he experienced an
overwhelming love – the kind of
love that cures, heals, and
regenerates. He was told a grid
exists around the planet where
all the Higher Selves are
connected. Later in his
experience, Mellen-Thomas rode a
stream of consciousness through
the center of a galaxy. The
stream was expanding in amazing
fractal waves of energy. He
realized that, as the stream was
expanding, his own consciousness
was also expanding to take in
everything in the universe. He
learned a tremendous amount of
information including how the
atomic bomb mushroom cloud is
the holiest mandala humanity has
manifested to date, as an
archetype. It, more than any
religion or philosophy on Earth,
brought humanity together all of
a sudden, to a new level of
consciousness. Knowing we can
blow up the planet hundreds of
times over, finally made us
realize that maybe we are all in
this together.
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Lynnclaire
Dennis
had a near-death experience in
1987 while hot-air ballooning in
the Swiss Alps. During her
experience, she came into
contact with what she calls "the
Pattern", a mandala which she
describes as "primarily a matrix
of personal and global healing."
Seeing the Pattern, she knew she
was looking at life itself. It
was light; it was time and
space. It was the energy of all
matter, the heart of all that
mattered. Lynnclaire states
there are many symbols that
appear in this pattern such as
mathematical symbols, religious
symbols like the yin/yang, the
cross, a tear, a circle, a
straight line, the vesica
pisces, a crescent, a pentagram,
a six-pointed star and on and on
and on.
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Dr.
George Rodonaia
saw molecules flying around,
atoms, protons, and neutrons
during his near-death
experience. On the one hand, it
was totally chaotic, yet what
brought him such great joy was
that this chaos also had its own
symmetry. This symmetry was
beautiful and unified and whole,
and it flooded him with
tremendous joy. He saw the
universal form of life and
nature, laid out before him. It
was at this point that any
concern he had for his body just
slipped away, because it was
clear to him that he didn't need
it anymore, that it was actually
a limitation.
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The
world-renowned psychiatrist,
Carl
G. Jung,
had a near-death experience in
which he saw the Earth from a
vantage point of a thousand
miles into space. The sight of
the Earth from this height was
the most glorious thing he had
ever seen. His vivid encounter
with the light, plus the
intensely meaningful insights
led Jung to conclude that his
experience came from something
real and eternal. Jung saw the
Earth as representing the
"mother" archetype. Carl Jung,
who founded
analytical psychology,
centered on the archetypes of
the collective unconscious.
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During
his near-death experience,
Dannion Brinkley
entered a glorious heavenly
temple where he saw thirteen
Beings of Light. He was able to
count the beings as they stood
behind a podium. Each one of
them represented a different
emotional and psychological
characteristic that all humans
have. For example, one of these
beings was intense and
passionate, while another was
artistic and emotional. One was
bold and energetic, yet another
possessive and loyal. In human
terms, it was as though each one
represented a different sign of
the zodiac. In spiritual terms,
these beings went far beyond the
signs of the zodiac. Each being
then proceeded to show Dannion
visions of the future.
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During
John Engelbrecht's near-death
experience, he saw in heaven a
new full moon. The moon in the
new world shined so clear and
bright, that it was beyond all
comprehension. John told two
heavenly beings that he would
like to fly higher up under
heaven and take the sun in his
right hand and the moon in his
left hand and count all the
stars. His wish was granted.
According to Carl Jung, the moon
is an archetype representing the
male unconscious femininity. He
also said the moon represents a
principle of the feminine
psyche, in the sense that the
sun is the principle of the male
psyche. This is particularly
obvious in the astrological
interpretation of the sun and
moon, not to mention the age-old
assumptions of mythology.
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Josiane
Antonette
had a vision during her
near-death experience in which
she saw a sun attempt to shine
upon one side of a darkened
Earth, but the inhabitants paid
no attention. The other side of
the Earth remained in darkness.
She watched as the darkness grew
and covered the whole planet. No
one paid attention as the
darkness covered the sunlight. A
voice told her, "This is the
world with the absence of light,
love, and free will. It is the
people's choices that created
the world you have just seen."
With these words, the Earth
became a place of vibrant,
breathtaking beauty. She
perceived how the Earth, the
sun, the moon, the darkness, the
light, the planets, and all
forms of life – plants, rocks,
animals, and people – are
interconnected; they come from
the same source of light.
Everything is united by a
transparent net, or web, and
each thread shines with great
radiance. Everything pulses with
the same luminosity – a
magnificent light of
unparalleled brilliance. The
voice then tells her, "From the
light we have come, and to the
light we all shall return."
Carl Jung theorized that the sun
was an archetype of the human
concept of self. Through Carl
Jung's research we now know that
the individual psyche is not
just a product of personal
experience, but has an
evolutionary history resulting
in a transpersonal dimension
manifested in universal patterns
and images such as are found in
all the world's religions and
mythologies. Jung further
discovered that the psyche has a
structuring or ordering
principle that unifies the
various archetypal contents. The
archetype of wholeness is the
central archetype that Jung
calls the Self. The Self is the
supreme psychic authority and
subordinates all else to it
including the ego. It is the
central source of life and the
fountain of our being. It is
represented through those
symbols that indicate wholeness,
or completeness, such as
mandalas, circles, and most
importantly, the sun, which has
been described as the "Window
opening into eternity," and the
source of the divine within all
living things.
In
metaphysical terms, light is
eternal and omnipresent, and
while it diminishes in inverse
proportion to the square of the
distance, it sooner or later
fills the entire universe. Light
is the vehicle of divinity; it
is the consciousness of God. We
stand at the center of our own
creation because at the center
is the sun or the light of the
ONE. We exist as a preordained
Idea manifest within the Self.
As an image of the One, so is
the One an image of us; the
mind
of humanity is made manifest
through the physical body as the
ONE manifests through the body
of the sun. Life is a solar
idea.
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David
Oakford traveled past all of
the planets in our solar system
during his near-death experience.
Near each planet he could see
the auras around each one of
them. He saw spirits on all of
them as well. He was told that
all planets are places for
spirits to live, learn and thus
evolve. He saw great cities on
each and every one of those
planets. It was explained that
other life in the universe is
not readily seen because the
beings were all of higher
vibration and most spirits in
human form have yet to attain
the higher vibration required to
see them. He was told that each
planet has a theme for learning
and that any of them can be
chosen by a soul when we are
between physical lives. He was
told that souls practice on the
other planets to be ready to
live on Earth. He was told Earth
is the ultimate experience for a
soul. It is ultimate because our
souls evolve faster here than
anywhere else. He was told that
the lessons we need to learn are
difficult to learn without
having a physical form. After he
was told of all these things, he
was able to see our whole solar
system all at once in full
color. The planets were all in a
line and he could see all of
them from Pluto to the sun. He
felt very blessed that he was
given this great gift.
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Rev.
Howard Storm
was
completely stationary yet
hanging in space during his
near-death experience.
Everywhere around him were
countless radiant beings, like
stars in the sky, coming and
going. It was like a
super-magnified view of a galaxy
super packed with stars. And in
the giant radiance of the center
they were packed so densely
together that individuals could
not be identified. Their selves
were in such harmony with the
Creator that they were really
just one.
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Thomas
Sawyer
described his experience with an
image that appears very
frequently in near-death
experiences. In his near-death
experience, he saw the shape of
a tunnel. It was perfectly
level, straight and cloud-like.
It was very vast, as opposed to
small and confining, and was
anywhere from a thousand feet to
a thousand miles wide. It was
cylindrical. If you took a
tornado and stretched it out
straight, it would be similar to
that. It extended to infinity.
Simultaneously, with the
awareness of this tunnel, he had
a feeling of forward motion.
While moving through this tunnel
he felt an acceleration. There
was not any wind vibration, nor
any noise. It was like floating
within a vacuum. He went faster
and faster through the tunnel
until he attained the speed of
light, or faster. Off in the
distance there appeared an
extremely bright light. It was
brighter than anything he'd ever
seen in his life.
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Edgar
Cayce
described the tunnel as a
"column" that winds around on a
wheel such as the Rotarians use.
Cayce said he ascended this
column during his out-of-body
experiences and there would be
beings on either side of him
calling out to him for help, or
trying to get his attention.
Cayce knew that any deviation
from this column, and the beam
of light ahead of it, would mean
he could not be able to return
to his body.
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Kimberly
Clark Sharp
experienced an enormous
explosion beneath her during her
near-death experience. It was an
explosion of light that rolled
out to the farthest limits of
her vision. She was in the
center of the light. It reached
the ends of the universe, which
she could see, and doubled back
on itself in endless layers. She
was watching eternity unfold.
The light was brighter than
hundreds of suns, but didn't
hurt her eyes. She had never
seen anything as luminous or as
golden as this light, and she
immediately understood it was
entirely composed of love, all
directed at her. This wonderful,
vibrant love was very personal,
as you might describe secular
love, but also sacred. Though
she had never seen God, she
recognized this light as the
light of God.
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The
Edgar
Cayce readings
revealed that God built the
cosmos using the tools of music,
arithmetic, geometry; harmony,
system, and balance. The
building blocks were all of the
same material, the life essence.
It was a power sent out from God
which, by changing the length of
its wave and the rate of its
vibration, became a pattern of
differing forms, substances, and
movement. This created the law
of diversity that supplied
endless designs for the pattern.
God played on this law of
diversity as a person plays on a
piano, producing melodies and
arranging them in a symphony.
According to Cayce, the planets
of our solar system are physical
representations of afterlife
realms. There are nine planets
to our solar system. Therefore,
our solar system is a physical
representation of nine of the
many afterlife realms that
exist. The Earth is the third
planet from the sun and
represents the third afterlife
realm. According to Cayce,
circular geometric images
represent our Higher Self and
the circle itself is a mandala
representing the divine.
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According
to the Hindu yogi
Adi Da Samraj, each of the
levels of this Great Mandala of
the Cosmos represent a quality
of energy, or light. In each of
the rings or portions of this
Mandala, which moves out from
the central Whiteness, are
infinite numbers of possible
worlds and various kinds of
embodiment. The level which we
exist in now is on the outskirts
of the Great Mandala of the
Cosmos. There are grosser
conditions of awareness, grosser
possibilities, than the present
one, which may be called
"hells", or degraded states, or
states of embodiment less than
human. They may appear as forms
of worlds other than the present
one, as well as states in the
realm of this gross world that
are not necessarily apparent to
vision.
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Books
about Mandalas and
Archetypes |

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The Archetypes and The
Collective Unconscious
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by Carl Jung, Gerhard Adler,
R.F.C. Hull
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Essays which state the
fundamentals of Jung's
psychological system: "On the
Psychology of the Unconscious"
and "The Relations Between the
Ego and the Unconscious," with
their original versions in an
appendix.
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Man and His Symbols
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by Carl Jung
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Illustrated throughout with
revealing images, this is the first
and only work in which the
world-famous Swiss psychologist
explains to the layperson his
enormously influential theory of
symbolism as revealed in dreams.
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Memories, Dreams, Reflections
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by Carl Jung
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In the spring of 1957, when he was
eighty-one years old, C. G. Jung
undertook the telling of his life
story. At regular intervals he had
conversations with his colleague and
friend Aniela Jaffé, and
collaborated with her in the
preparation of the text based on
these talks. On occasion, he was
moved to write entire chapters of
the book in his own hand, and he
continued to work on the final
stages of the manuscript until
shortly before his death on June 6,
1961.
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Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of
Belief
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by Jordan B. Peterson
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Why have people from different
cultures and eras formulated myths
and stories with similar structures?
What does this similarity tell us
about the mind, morality, and
structure of the world itself?
Jordan Peterson offers a provocative
new hypothesis that explores the
connection between what modern
neuropsychology tells us about the
brain and what rituals, myths, and
religious stories have long
narrated.
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