The Journal of Near-Death Studies is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal devoted to the field of near-death studies. It is published on a quarterly basis by the International Association for Near-Death Studies. The Journal began publication in 1982 under the name Anabiosis which was changed to its current title in 1986 with the start of Volume 6.
near death experiences books authors
Quarterly journal publishing papers related to near-death experiences, including research reports; theoretical or conceptual statements; expressions of a scientific, philosophic, religious, or historical perspective on the study of near-death experiences; cross-cultural studies; individual case histories; and personal accounts of experiences or related phenomena.
These books about near-death experiences (NDEs) can really help someone who is looking into the questions of what happens when we die. They give descriptions of the near-death experiences of a great many different people, which helps a lot to make them seem like they must be real, since they happen to so many people.
If you are new to this kind of stuff, at first it can seem like some of these experiences are too far out to be real. If you keep on reading about them, though, your mind is likely to start to concede that it would be extremely difficult for so many accounts like these to just be some kind of hoax, or even a figment of people's imagination. (The question of the authenticity of the experiences is also addressed in the books).
Many people consider that the phenomenon of near-death experiences constitute proof that there is life after death. Some other people are skeptical of this. I'll discuss this issue separately on other pages on this website in the future.
Because of this, in many ways the study of near-death experiences is a genuinely new field of study. And one that was not available to religious and/or spiritual people in the past who (as some people believe) received visions and inspirations from divine sources such as God or the angels. I believe that there is a great amount that we can learn from these people's near-death experiences.
The authors of the original four near-death experience (NDE) books, that I first selected for this page, are all from scientific and/or medical backgrounds (three of them being medical doctors and the fourth a professor emeritus of psychology), and consider this question on the basis of what they have actually seen and heard and experienced with actual patients.
Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon - Survival of Bodily Death, Dr. Raymond A. Moody, Jr. This was the first major book published about near-death experiences. The original version came out in 1975, and by 2001 when the 25th anniversary edition was published it had already sold over 13 million copies. There are reasons for this large number of sales, and I recommend this as the first book about NDEs to get.
He compares what his patients have told him about with a few other (greatly varied) sources of information, mostly from ancient times. In particular, he says about the Tibetan Book of the Dead that "the correspondence between the early stages of death to which it relates and those which have been recounted to me by those who have come near to death is nothing short of fantastic". He also discusses where life after death is mentioned in the Bible (it is actually not described in detail that much at all, especially in the Old Testament), and says that the brief accounts given do compare well with what his patients have told him.
This is advertised as "The largest NDE study ever conducted reveals proof of life after death", and also as "The first near-death experience research to be based on a large-scale database of testimonies". Dr Long presents and interprets evidence from his database of (at least) 1600 NDE accounts.
Kenneth Ring is one of the leading figures in the study of NDEs. He has written several books. This one is specifically about what ordinary people (who have not had an NDE) can learn from the near-death experiences of others.
This is, among other things, an interpretation of the ancient classic "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" meant for Westerners who do not have the Buddhist cultural and religious background that is (so some people say) necessary to make sense of it. It gives far more detailed descriptions of exactly what happens (according to the book) when we die than anything else that I have seen. It's a long book, not one to read from front to back unless you are very keen. There is a chapter on near-death experiences. The four "bardos" are described in detail, which I think is really interesting.
'I was devouring everything on the near-death experience I could get my hands on, and eager to share what I was discovering with colleagues. It was unbelievable to me how dismissive they were of the evidence. "Drug-induced hallucinations," "last gasp of a dying brain," and "people see what they want to see" were some of the commonly used phrases. One conversation in particular caused me to see more clearly the fundamental irrationality of academics with respect to the evidence against materialism.
Very nonchalantly, without batting an eye, the response was: "Even if I were to have a near-death experience myself, I would conclude that I was hallucinating, rather than believe that my mind can exist independently of my brain."
"Are near-death experiences (NDEs) just elaborate hallucinations produced by a dying brain? Or the exuberant fantasies of attention-seeking narcissists? As the accounts in this book abundantly demonstrate: Neither!
This book contains over 100 reliable, often firsthand accounts of perceptions during NDEs that were later verified as accurate by independent sources. These near-death experiencers were everyday people from all over the world-many of whom were clinically dead, unable to see or hear, and yet able to perceive new vistas of a world beyond the senses and even beyond death.
The Self Does Not Die is a trailblazing effort to present the most confirmed cases of consciousness beyond death ever compiled. In these cases, the authors have gone back to the original sources, the people involved in each case, whenever possible, rather than relying on secondhand sources. In so doing, they have assembled a unique collection of empirical data that any scholar worthy of the name must take into account.
Every day, all over the world, an increasing number of people are reporting near-death experiences (and related phenomena). This book is a collection of the best stories and quotes I have come across in 40-plus years of studying NDEs. It shines a bright light on the universal truths that are championed by NDEs and reveals, in life-changing technicolor, how to apply these truths to our everyday lives.
Countless mental health professionals and patients alike point to books as an important part of the healing process for PTSD. A book dedicated to this condition can help you better understand your own experience, relate to the experiences of others, and develop strategies to cope.
For avid readers of Sing Lit, the name 'Desmond Kon' is a renowned name in Singapore's literary scene. After all, poet, former journalist, interdisciplinary artist and founder of Squircle Line Press has penned an epistolary novel, a quasi-memoir, two lyric essay monographs, four hybrid works, and nine poetry collections. His latest novel, The Good Day I Died, speaks about his near-death experience (NDE) that happened while he was in Massachusetts, just as he'd completed his theology masters in world religions at Harvard the year before. We chat with him about the quasi-memoir, what happened during his NDE, and how it has changed the way he lives his life.
Years of journaling brought him quickly through the first draft. But after a particularly discouraging round of editing and a bit of tough love from his editor son, Andrews was so close to quitting that it, quite literally, took a near-death experience to get him back to work.
The world's leading expert on near-death experiences reveals his journey toward rethinking the nature of death, life, and the continuity of consciousness. Cases of remarkable experiences on the threshold of death have been reported since ancient times, and are described today by 10% of people whose hearts stop. The medical world has generally ignored these "near-death experiences," dismissing them as "tricks of the brain" or wishful thinking. But after his patients started describing events that he could not just sweep under the rug, Dr. Bruce Greyson began to investigate. As a physician without a religious belief system, he approached near-death experiences from a scientific perspective. In After, he shares the transformative lessons he has learned over four decades of research. Our culture has tended to view dying as the end of our consciousness, the end of our existence--a dreaded prospect that for many people evokes fear and anxiety. But Dr. Greyson shows how scientific revelations about the dying process can support an alternative theory. Dying could be the threshold between one form of consciousness and another, not an ending but a transition. This new perspective on the nature of death can transform the fear of dying that pervades our culture into a healthy view of it as one more milestone in the course of our lives. After challenges us to open our minds to these experiences and to what they can teach us, and in so doing, expand our understanding of consciousness and of what it means to be human.
Meanwhile, scientists and other critics continue to hammer away at near-death evidence, offering down-to-earth medical explanations for the mystifying visions. And even some prominent near-death believers are reluctantly beginning to agree that these trips are just vivid tricks of the mind.
But believers are not easily dissuaded. They reel off story after story of mysterious psychic phenomena and electrical disturbances said to accompany the near-death experience. Could a mere hallucination cause that? they ask. 2ff7e9595c
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