Near-Death Experiences Set New Pace for Life Those who cheat death may find themselves flung into the world of near-death experiences (NDEs). Yet they may also return to discover that the world they had lived in before is gone forever. Some near-death survivors are so transfigured that they are strangers to those who once knew them. For what purpose does this so-called "amazing grace" phenomenon change the lives of the unsuspecting? Comparing the experiences of thousands of near-death survivors around the world, P.M.H. Atwater, a three-time experiencer herself, finds nightmares as well as miracles, joy as well as deep despair. Each scenario, unique and valid to the individual beholder, emerges as a powerful composite overview of the "Big Picture" about humankind. These observations led her to propose alternative explanations to the stereotypical models of NDEs that she expects will challenge our assumptions about life, death, and the existence and evolution of the soul. In her book, Beyond the Light: What Isn’t Being Said About Near-Death Experiences (Birch Lane Press), Atwater claims that the NDE itself is secondary to whatever characteristics or potentials the experiencer has during the occurrence. She suggests that the vast majority of these people are predisposed to have near-death or near-death-like experiences because of a drastic need to alter their life styles. More important, the event is a minor issue compared with the aftereffects following recovery. How the individual responds later is what validates the experience as real or meaningful. Atwater identifies four distinctive types of experiences based upon perceptible differences she observes between the life an individual had before the NDE and the life that he or she lives in the present: Some have a mild exposure that could almost be referred to as a "non-experience." The mere out-of-body flotation and return is relatively inconsequential compared to more involved NDEs. The nightmarish encounters usually visit those who seem to have deeply suppressed or repressed guilt. This is interpreted as a confrontation with the shadow, where the psyche intervenes for healing and growth. Those seeking reassurance and self-validation tend to entertain heaven-like notions. They need to know how loved they are and how important life is. Finally, others who are ready for a "mind-stretching" challenge and are more apt to utilize the truths that are revealed to them encounter the transcendent experience. Generally, a person experiences only one of the above types, but all four types can occur during the same experience for the same person at the same time or can exist in varying combinations. The value and meaning toward any of these types depends upon the individual involved and his or her responses to what happened. These responses can start out as inspiring upliftment, lead to disappointment through frustration of trying to apply new wisdom atop old habits, and/or create confusion by reprocessing former guilts and fears. Eventually, most survivors surrender to the realization that their near-death experience was a re-education process to help them understand their place in the scheme of life in accordance with Higher Laws. Each returns with the profound knowledge that all parts of creation interweave and interrelate with all other parts and that each gain or loss anyone makes affects everyone else to some degree. Their discovery that dying does not end life tells them that there is no going back to the way things were. Their new home is an evolving consciousness as it seeks to expand from whatever was original to it, to something more than before. (Digest by Clayton O. Montez, Atlantic University.) |