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Common Elements
Are Found in Near-Death Experiences
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The following
is an article written by
P.M.H. Atwater,
L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
which is available on
her website
and is reprinted here by permission.
Following P.M.H. Atwater's article
is my own analysis of the statistics
which I have gathered from my own research
which shows the common elements among
fifty near-death experiences profiled
on this website.
The following is P.M.H. Atwater's
analysis of the common aspects among
NDEs.
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1.
Common Aspects Analysis |
What
I submitted for review is the following, taken
from over twenty years of study and with a research
base in excess of 3,200 NDErs:
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I. |
Context of experience:
either A or B must be met:
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A. |
Symptoms
or signs suggesting serious
medical illness or injury, or
physiological crisis/accident
of some kind; or,
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B. |
NDEr's
expectation or sense of imminent
death.
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II. |
Content of experience:
an intense awareness, sense, or experience
of "otherworldiness" - whether
pleasant or unpleasant, strange or ecstatic.
Episode can be brief and consist of
only one or two elements, or can be
more involved, even lengthy, and consist
of multiple elements. Elements commonly
experienced are:
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A. |
Visualizing
or experiencing being apart
from the physical body, perhaps
with the ability to change locations.
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B. |
Greatly
enhanced cognition (thoughts
very clear, rapid, and hyper-lucid).
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C. |
A darkness
or light that is perceived as
alive and intelligent and powerful.
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D. |
Sensation
of movement and/or a sense of
presence (hyperalert faculties).
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E. |
Sudden
overwhelming floods of emotion
or feelings.
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F. |
Encounter
with an identified deceased
person or animal, or an encounter
with an apparently nonphysical
entity.
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G. |
Life
review (like a movie or in segments,
or a reliving).
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H. |
Information
can be imparted, perhaps dialogue.
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III. |
Typical to the
experience:
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A. |
Near-death
states can occur to anyone at
any age, including newborns
and infants, and remain vivid
and coherent lifelong (unless
societal or family pressure
weakens memory clusters - repression
more common with child NDErs
than with teenagers or adults).
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B. |
Children's
episodes are usually brief and
encompass few elements. The
closer the child is to puberty,
the greater the possibility
of longer, more complicated
scenarios.
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C. |
The
pattern of psychological and
physiological aftereffects seems
more dependent on the intensity
of the experience, than on any
particular imagery or length
of exposure to darkness or light.
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D. |
Attitudes
and feelings significant others
display after the NDEr revives
directly influence how readily
he or she can integrate the
experience. Episode content
is secondary to that initial
climate of interest or disinterest.
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I would also hasten
to add that no matter how long the individual
is without vital signs, especially pulse or
breath, there is little or no brain damage afterward
- rather - brain and faculty enhancement. It
is not unusual for NDErs to revive in the morgue
hours later (Average time without vital signs
in my research base - between five to twenty
minutes.). It is possible to have a NDE and
not be near death. What causes near-death-like
experiences is presently unknown.
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2. Kevin Williams' NDE Analysis of Common
Aspects |
My research into NDE
reports have been limited to those NDEs I read
in published material and those sent to me by
email. Because the experiences sent to me by
email have not been verified, my analysis cannot
be considered to be scientific. Combining all
the published and email experiences, this gave
me a total of fifty experiences to analyze.
For my research into finding how prevalent
certain common aspects there are in these experiences,
I identified twenty-one characteristics found
in many NDE accounts to analyze. I classified
the fifty NDEs into five distinct categories.
They are:
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1. |
NDEs having
a Christian orientation.
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2. |
NDEs of religious
people other than Christians.
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3. |
NDEs having co-called "new age"
aspects to them (i.e., those experiences
using such terms as "Higher Self", "karma", "avatar",
etc.)Higher Self", "karma", "reincarnation",
avatar", etc.).
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4 |
NDEs of people who considered themselves
avowed atheists before their experience.
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5. |
NDEs of people who have not identified
themselves with any particular religion.
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These categories
reflect the religious backgrounds of the NDErs
before their NDE occurred. I categorized (4)
as being separate from (5) because I wanted
to distinguish those who held an atheistic belief
system from those who held no belief system.
Someone may ask: "Why
categorize NDE accounts according to religious
background?" The answer is to see how a
person's belief system may influence their
interpretation of their NDE, if at all. I believe
it also helps in quantifying correlations between
a person's prior belief system and the nature
of the person's NDE account. |
a. Analysis of 21 Common Aspects |
Below are the twenty-one
common aspects I examined and the percentage
of the total NDErs in each of the five categories
that experienced each common aspect. All aspects
have been ranked according their frequency of
occurrence. The following is a summary of the
percentages for each of the twenty-one common
aspects.
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Overwhelming
love
- The highest percentage of experiences
that reported overwhelming love was
in those categorized as Christians (75%)
and atheists (75%). The lowest percentage
of experiences reporting overwhelming
love are those in the new age (60%)
category. Overwhelming love was experienced
in (69%) of all NDEs. This common aspect
is the most frequently occurring common
aspect of the twenty-one aspects; and
therefore, the highest percentage. The
range for this aspect in all categories
is in the 60 to 70 percentile. In contrast,
the lowest occurring aspect is the (0%)
of experiences involving the "Devil"
or "Satan." Visit the
NDEs and Spirituality for more information.
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Mental
telepathy
- The highest percentage of experiences
where mental telepathy occurred were
those in the new age (80%) category.
The lowest percentage of experiences
were those in the non-Christian (50%)
category. Perhaps this lower percentage
can be attributed to the fact that mental
telepathy is considered more of a new
age concept than a traditional religious
concept. Mental telepathy was the number
two frequently occurring aspect. Visit
the
NDEs and Telepathy for more information.
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Life review
- The highest percentage of experiences
during which a life review occurred
were reported by those in the atheist
(100%) category. The lowest percentage
were those in the new age (40%) and
non-religious (40%) categories. Is there
a correlation between atheism and experiencing
a life review? Perhaps this statistic
suggests that atheists need a life review
more than any other type of NDEr. In
general, atheists reject the concept
of an afterlife altogether. A life review
would certainly show them just how wrong
they were. Who knows? This may be an
example of how a person often "gets
what they need" during a NDE. Visit
the
NDEs and Life Review for more information.
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God
- The category with the highest percentage
of NDErs who reported seeing a divine
being were those in the new age (80%)
category. The category with the lowest
percentage is the non-religious (27%)
category. The lower percentage suggests
that fewer non-religious NDErs see a
divine being. This may be an example
of non-religious NDErs "getting
what they expect." A divine being
was seen by (75%) of those in the atheist
category. This high percentage may reflect
the possibility that these atheists,
in general, are "getting what they
need." The same percentage of Christian
and non-Christian NDErs (63%) saw a
divine being. This suggests that a NDEr
doesn't have to be a Christian to
see God. Visit the
NDEs and God for more information.
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Tremendous
ecstasy
- The highest category experiencing
tremendous ecstasy were those in the
new age (100%) group. The lowest percentage
occurred in the non-Christian (38%)
category. Non-religious NDErs (60%)
involved tremendous ecstasy. Christian
and atheist categories were in the same
(50%) percentile. Visit the
NDEs and Intense Emotions for more
information.
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Unlimited
knowledge
- The category with the highest percentage
reporting unlimited knowledge were those
in the atheist (63%) category. The category
with the lowest were those in the non-religious
(33%) category. The fact that more atheists
received unlimited knowledge is very
interesting. In general, many atheists
emphasize knowledge, skepticism and
science over faith. The common aspect
of experiencing unlimited knowledge
may be higher in atheists because they
may be "getting what the desire."
Visit the
NDEs and Unlimited Knowledge for
more information.
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Afterlife
levels
- The category with the highest percentage
of NDErs traveling through various afterlife
levels or realms were those in the new
age (80%) category. The category with
the lowest percentage are those in the
atheist (25%) category. This statistic
is interesting because NDErs in the
new age category are generally more
open to the concept of various afterlife
realms, dimensions or levels, and out-of-body
travel. Atheists who may be expecting
absolutely nothing after death, may
be "getting what they expect",
in reference to a NDE that is somehow
limited in scope. Visit the NDEs and
Afterlife Reams for more information.
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Told not
ready
- The category with the highest percentage
that reported being told they were not
ready or some variation of this were
those in the non-religious (67%) category.
The lowest percentage were reported
by those in the atheist (13%) category.
It could probably be assumed that every
NDEr returning from death is not ready
to die. Otherwise, they would not have
returned. What is interesting is that
those in the non-religious category
had the highest occurrence of being
told they were not ready. This may be
suggesting that those in the non-religious
category "need" to be told
they are not ready. Perhaps non-religious
people, in general, need something that
religious people AND atheists are already "getting
what they expect." Visit the
NDEs and Told Not Ready for more
information.
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Seeing
the future
- The category with the highest percentage
who were shown the future were those
in the new age (60%) category. The category
with the lowest percentage were those
in the non-Christian (25%) category.
This statistic is interesting because
it could generally be deduced that those
in the new age category tend to be more
open to divination, psychic prediction,
fortune telling, and occult prophecies,
compared to those in the other categories.
Generally, Christians believe such things
to be "of the devil." The
suggestion that those in the new age
category are more apt to see into the
future during a NDE, may be another
example of "getting what you expect."
Visit the
NDEs and the Future for more information.
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Tunnel
- The category with the highest percentage
who reported traveling through a tunnel
were those in the new age (80%) category.
The lowest percentage were those in
the non-religious (33%) category. All
other categories were in the 30 to 40
percentile range. This particular aspect
appears to be greatly skewed in favor
of the new age category. The reason
for this is anyone's guess. Perhaps
there is just no correlation. Visit
the
NDEs and Tunnel for more information.
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Jesus
- The category with the highest percentage
of NDErs who report seeing Jesus were
those in the Christian (81%) category.
The lowest percentage were those in
the non-religious (0%) category. The
atheist category was (50%). The non-Christian
category was (13%). The idea that more
people in the Christian category see
Jesus, may be an example of "getting
what you expect." The most interesting
statistic is that none of the non-religious
NDErs saw Jesus. The reason may be because
they are "getting what they expect."
The reason for a relatively large percentage
of atheists seeing Jesus could be that
they are "getting what they need."
One the other hand, it may be a reflection
of the fact that Christianity is the
dominant religion in the West where
the vast majority of these experiences
come from in my NDE analysis. Visit
the
NDEs and Jesus for more information.
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Forgotten
knowledge
- The category with the highest percentage
receiving forgotten knowledge were those
in the non-religious (47%) category.
The lowest were those in the atheist
(0%) category. The atheist percentage
may be an example of "not getting
what one does not expect." The
non-religious category could be "getting
what they need." Visit the
NDEs and Pre-Birth for more information.
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Fear
- The category with the highest percentage
experiencing fear were those in the
atheist (50%) category. The lowest percentage
were in the non-Christian (0%) and new
age (0%) categories. The Christian category
(44%) experienced fear. The non-religious
(20%) experienced fear. Atheists are
generally surprised, if not terrified,
in "getting what they don't
expect." The relatively high percentage
in the Christian category experiencing
fear may be attributed to the "God
of wrath" factor. Those in the
non-Christian and new age category had
no fear which may be because they are "getting
what they expect." Visit the
NDEs and the Void for more information.
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Homecoming
- The category with the highest percentage
receiving a homecoming were those in
the Christian (31%) category. The lowest
were those in the atheist (0%) category.
Atheists may be "getting what they
expect." Visit the
NDEs and Homecoming for more information.
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Told of
past lives
- The category with the highest percentage
reporting past lives were those in the
non-Christian (38%) category. The lowest
percentage were in the atheist (13%)
category. NDErs in the non-Christian
category may be more open to the concept
of past lives. This statistic may suggest
that non-Christians are "getting
what they expect" concerning this
aspect. The low percentage of atheist
NDErs reporting past lives may also
be "getting what they expect"
(i.e., no knowledge of past lives).
Those in the Christian (19%) category
received knowledge of past lives. This
is interesting because Christianity
is a religion that generally does not
believe in reincarnation. What is even
more interesting is that the Christian,
non-religious and new age percentages
were roughly the same. This puts the
high non-Christian percentage in an
even better perspective. Visit the
NDEs and Reincarnation for more
information.
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Hell
- The category with the highest percentage
seeing hell were those in the Christian
(38%) category. The lowest percentage
were those in the non-religious (0%)
category. The high percentage of Christians
going to hell is likely because of their
firm belief in it and they are "getting
what they expect" in this category.
Non-religious people would be least
likely to believe in hell and the statistic
above may be reflecting this. They may
be "getting what they expect"
as well. Categories in the atheists
(25%), new age (20%), and non-Christian
(13%) experienced hell. The non-religious
category may be "getting what they
expect" because they probably did
not expect seeing a hell. Perhaps one
particular conclusion can be drawn from
this. Assuming that atheism is a "religion,"
which I believe it is for some, it may
be best to hold no fixed or rigid religious
beliefs, as non-religious people generally
do. Also, atheists NDErs sometimes erroneous
believe, during their NDE, that they
are unworthy of heaven. This was the
case with
Rev. Howard
Storm
during his NDE. This may be an example
of a NDEr "getting what they expect."
Visit the
NDEs and Earthbound Realm for more
information.
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City of
light
- The category with the highest percentage
who reported seeing a "city of
light" were those in the Christian
(25%) and the atheist (25%) categories.
The lowest percentage were in the non-Christian
(0%) category. The "city of light"
is often described as being similar
to the "New Jerusalem," a
heavenly city described in the
Book of Revelation
in the Bible. According to Revelation,
this city comes down from heaven to
the Earth sometime in the future. Non-Christians
may not be aware of this Christian revelation
and would therefore not experience it.
This may be another example of people "getting
what they expect."
Visit the
NDEs and City of Light for more
information.
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Temple
of knowledge
- The category with the highest percentage
reporting an experience with a Temple
or Library of knowledge are those in
the atheist (25%) category. No one in
the non-Christian (0%) category experienced
a Temple or Library. Because atheists,
in general, tend to emphasize knowledge
over faith, it should not be surprising
that atheists are "getting what
they expect." Visit the
NDEs and Temple of Knowledge for
more information.
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Spirits
amongst the living
- The category with the highest percentage
who witnessed "ghosts" or "earthbound
discarnates"
or so-called "demons" on Earth
trying to influence the living, are
the Christian (25%) category. The lowest
percentages were in the non-Christian
(0%), new age (0%), and atheist (0%)
categories. More Christian NDErs (25%)
saw spirits among the living on Earth.
One possible explanation for this might
be the strong belief amongst Christians
in demons. This may be an example of "getting
what you expect." Those in the
atheists, non-religious and new age
categories may be less likely to believe
in so-called "demons."
Visit the
NDEs and the Earthbound Realm for
more information.
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Suicide
- The category with the highest percentage
reporting a NDE resulting from a
suicide
attempt is the Christian (13%) category.
The lowest percentage are those in the
non-Christian (0%), new age (0%), and
the atheist (0%) categories. One possible
explanation for this statistic is that
those in the atheist, new age, and non-Christian
may be more apt to have a stronger "earthly"
connection than Christians who generally
emphasize a "heavenly" connection.
This may be an example of "getting
what you need." Those in the non-religious
(7%) category reported the lowest percentage
of suicide attempts. Those in the non-religious
category, who may identify more with
life rather than death, may be less
likely to kill themselves.
Visit the
NDEs and Suicide for more information.
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Devil
- The only universal common aspect among
all categories in my research is that
no one (0%) reported seeing a "Devil"
or "Devil-like" being. I believe
this statistic suggests the concept
of the Devil is merely a religious myth.
If a Devil really did exist, it would
be logical that NDErs would report seeing
the Devil - especially in the hell realms.
But, no NDEr in my research has reported
seeing a Devil. Some Christians claim
the "Being of Light" to be
the Devil. However, because the "Being
of Light" exudes overwhelming love,
light and concern, it is very unlikely
that a Devil could do this. Visit the
NDEs and Satan for more information.
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It should
be pointed out that these statistics are not
exactly scientific due to the fact that each
occurrence of each aspect within each category
was not gathered by personally interviewing
the NDErs. This means it is possible for a characteristic
to occur in a NDE, but is not expressed in the
account.
The
percentages displayed below are the combined
percentages for all the categories. They show
how common each aspect as a percentage of fifty
NDEs profiled on this website.
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NDE
and Afterlife Statistics
(50 NDEs) |
|
Overwhelming love |
69% |
Mental telepathy |
65% |
Life review |
62% |
God |
56% |
Tremendous ecstasy |
56% |
Unlimited knowledge |
46% |
Afterlife levels |
46% |
Told not ready |
46% |
Shown the future |
44% |
Tunnel |
42% |
Jesus |
37% |
Forgotten knowledge |
31% |
Fear |
27% |
Homecoming |
21% |
Told of past lives |
21% |
Hell |
19% |
City of light |
17% |
Temple of Knowledge |
13% |
Spirits among the living |
10% |
Suicide |
6% |
Devil |
0% |
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These statistics show
that many of these aspects are very common to
NDE reports. Concerning these common elements
found in NDE reports,
Dr. Jeffrey Long states:
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"NDEs
are quite varied, but the consistency
of the NDE elements (OBE experience,
tunnel, light, meeting other beings,
etc.) is striking. There is no plausible
biological explanation of NDEs. There
is no other human experience so dramatic,
shared by so many people, and so relatively
consistent in its elements. The preceding
suggests faith in the validity of NDE
accounts is the most reasonable conclusion
from the evidence." - Dr. Jeffrey
Long
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Beyond the Indigo Children
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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P. M. H. Atwater connects the arrival
of the Indigo Children with the fulfillment
of the Fifth World of the Mayan Calendar
and other great prophecies, providing
detailed information about the world
changes that will take place before
and after December 21, 2012, and the
worldwide ascension of energy now occurring,
which will take humanity to the next
level of development.
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We Live Forever: The Real Truth About
Death
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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P.M.H. Atwater gives details and deep
insights into what really happens when
you die and what it truly means. She
also explores such mysteries as heaven
and hell, the soul's existence after
death, and the power of prayer.
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The New Children and Near-Death
Experiences
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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An in-depth study of children who
have experienced an NDE and the
pattern of aftereffects which follow.
Atwater notes that the child who
returns from an NDE is not the same
child as before, but is a "remodeled,
rewired, reconfigured, refined version
of the original." Atwater shows
that understanding the NDEs of children
can help us prepare for a quantum
leap in the evolution of humanity.
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death
Experiences
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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This 480-page single source book contains
all information pertinent to the NDE
phenomenon, both positive and negative,
as seen from 360 degrees, including
new cases and new research, combined
in a lively yet respectful style, with
five appendices. This book is the "encyclopedia"
of the NDE and is the most comprehensive
book in the field of NDE studies.
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Beyond the Light: The Mysteries and
Revelations of Near-Death Experiences
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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An in-depth investigation of the dynamics
of NDE states based on over 3,000 interviews
with NDE survivors over a 16-year period.
These survivors include adults and children
from a variety of racial and cultural
backgrounds. Atwater describes the 4
types of NDEs and the basic profile
of the survivors of each type. Included
are descriptions of NDE-like episodes
and other anomalies, the full range
of NDE after-effects, "the light"
of enlightenment, revelations which
NDE survivors bring back, plus a host
of material on topics like electrical
sensitivity, black angels, and brain
shift.
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Coming Back to Life: The After-Effects
of the Near-Death Experience
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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Based on extensive interviews with over
200 NDE survivors and thousands of their
friends and relatives. Atwater, herself
a survivor of 3 NDEs, examines the major
after-effects which survivors experience,
including: a shifted view of physical
reality and disorientation in the world
of time and space; expanded intuitive
and psychic abilities; spiritual transformation;
difficulty with communication and relationships
and an inability to personalize emotions
and feelings, especially those of love.
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Future Memory
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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"Future
memory" allows people who have
an NDE to "live" life in advance
and remember the experience in detail
when something triggers that
memory. Atwater
has experienced the future memory process
firsthand following her own three NDEs.
She shows how these "rehearsals"
for future events differ from other
modes of futuristic awareness such as
clairvoyance, precognition, and deja
vu. Atwater describes how the unifying
and permanent effect of the NDE is a "brain
shift" which may be at the very
core of existence itself and indicative
of higher evolutionary
development.
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Children of the New Millennium
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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This groundbreaking book is the first
serious look at the NDEs of children.
Atwater believes these millennial children
- who possess heightened sensory and
empathic abilities acquired at birth
or as a result of the NDE - herald the
presence of a new race of people on
Earth. Atwater explores how these special
children will dramatically impact the
human condition by helping humankind
rediscover the spiritual truths needed
to survive in our radically changing
world.
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Free Ebook
by P.M.H. Atwater
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A Book of Columns
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by P.M.H. Atwater
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This ebook
contains all of P.M.H. Atwater's
columns from the IANDS newsletter "Vital
Signs"
from June of 1981 until
2004. Proceeds go to support
IANDS and its mission.
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