1998 North American Conference

Author and experiencer Mally has brought to her research the inquiring mind of a Yale-trained journalist and the compassion of the NDEr, giving her an enviable ability to capture people's stories. Since the publication of The Case for Heaven, she has been one of the most requested guests on New England radio and television.

An experience in the Light comes to us to awaken us to Light's Mystery. It gives us a Message and is that which gives our Life its ultimate Meaning. The most fundamental thing in the Universe for Light is LIGHT. It is the mystery behind all mysteries, i.e., how it brings about Life and Growth. It presents us with a message, which awakens us and brings about healing. Its message is one of unity and wholeness, growth and nurture and ultimately that of illumination and a return to the oneness of the Universe.

Sandra Rogers begins this session by reviewing her own death experience focusing on parts of her experience that motivated her interest in finding a common thread in the various religions and belief system in the world. She makes an assertion that one of the common threads the world religions have is a belief in an afterlife based on the NDE. She discusses her belief that the knowledge of the near death experience can be a catalyst toward world peace

The death of a child violates what most adults, parents especially, believe to be the natural order of things. In the normal course of evens, children should outlive their parents, not the reverse. So when a child contracts a serious disease, it is almost inevitable that everything should be done to prolong it's life. Thus the vast arsenal of medical science is brought to bear on preserving the child's life. This often isolates the child from its parents, siblings, friends, and other relatives. People who have had the privilege of working with dying children have discovered that these children can teach us much about the real meaning of life and death if we listen to them. Those parents who are able to love their dying children enough to listen to them, who can give their child permission to die, share in a beautiful but difficult experience. The presenter shares with the audience some of the gifts dying children have given others. Accounts of dying children's pre-death visions, NDEs of children, and NDEs where children are a key component. While this presentation cannot address why every child dies, it explores reasons some children report that they died, the status of children after death, and the continuity of parent/child relationships in life and death.

No matter what you personally think happens in an NDE, its effects on the experiencers are profound. In this session, the basic NDE are discussed, what it is, how it occurs, typical experiencers reactions to be aware of, and how to handle the experiencer with compassion and understanding.

Ring (1991) argued that NDEs act as compensatory gifts helping individuals cope with and understand life's difficulties. He saw NDEs as conferring "amazing grace" on individuals whose lives were spinning out of control toward self destruction. Expanding on Ring's contention that NDEs can be seen as healing gifts, this session presents evidence of seven categorical situations where participating in or knowledge or NDEs and nearing-death awareness experiences serve as healing agents in facing one's own death or the death of significant others. NDEs and nearing-awareness experiences seem to fee persons from paralyzing death anxiety and, consequently, allow them to focus on additional ways to help each other face dying and grieving.

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NDE's have often been described as life changing significant events. Twenty, forty or more years later, it is not unusual to hear a person vividly describe the event, which may have even occurred in their early childhood. What, however, are the factors that lead to a person's perception of the NDE? When people come together and openly recount their NDE, some do so with tears, some with elated emotions. There are those who are visibly shaken by the event. Others reveal little emotion but use words or other non-verbal mannerisms that belie the importance of this occurrence to them. Did the circumstances surrounding the NDE effect the person's perception? Did the response of significant others and/or professional alter the person's ability to disclose? Are there factors within the person him or herself that could effect their perception? What are some common methods of adaptation? Can the NDE promote a lifestyle change? if so, how does it effect people? Research and discussions with nurses, chaplains, oncology and trauma staff propose some insight and raise some additional thought provoking questions.

An overview of the research project which consists of research used from Super's Work Values Inventory (1985) and Ingersoll's Spiritual Wellness Inventory (SWI) (1995) to compare 41 near-death experiencers. The quantitative data was remarkable robust, suggesting that the incidence of an NDE was much more important than any other variable such as years since NDE, type of NDE, gender, age at NDE. This study found that NDErs and non-NDErs who participated are different in terms of their work values and levels of spiritual wellness. Qualitative data from the study further suggest that NDErs feel very isolated and unlike others. As a result, NDErs reported feeling extremely reluctant to discuss their profound, traumatic experiences and its aftermath.

Violent crimes often have catastrophic results, permanently affecting the lives of all who are involved. Those who are blessed to have a near-death experience at the time, often demonstrate the ability to "rise above" the usual human emotions as a result of remarkable spiritual growth.

The experiencer panels are always some of the high points of the conference. Each of the four or so experiencers on the panel tells his or her experience and answers questions from the audience.

After twenty plus years of original fieldwork, interviews, observation, and analysis, of people who experience near-death states, Atwater, has noticed some surprising things about the "lights" experiencers claim to see during their episode.  they actually describe three very different types of light; and these lights, when reports are examined carefully, seem to reveal aspects of Creation's story.  And this is not insignificant.  For instance, the most evidential and compelling cases of genius Atwater discovered with child experiencers of near-death states, was with those who had "dark light" episodes before the age of fifteen months.  "Dark light' has mistakenly been associated in the past with that which is negative, evil, base.  In making such a judgment, we may have either overlooked or even misconstrued the very meaning of subjective light.  This is explored, as Atwater discusses some of her findings in her latest book "Children Of The New Millennium."

The goal of this talk is to both challenge and inform.  The term "light experience" has become synonymous with near-death states over the last several decades, and the "light" experiencers are said to refer to is White Light, Bright Light, the Light of God, the Light of Love.  "Children Of The New Millennium," a major study of children's near-death states and the new Millennial Generation of kids, reveals three distinctive types of light experiencers have, be they adult or youngster.  The three types of subjective light are: Primary Light, Dark Light, and Bright Light.  Each of these types have different colorations, feeling tones, and effects; children especially encounter "The Darkness That Knows."  Electrical sensitivity can be traced to the intensity of "Bright Light" (not length of exposure as some claim), but genius, at least with kids, links back to "Dark Light."  Various points of view are offered for this as Atwater reviews her research in respect to the effect of subjective light in near-death states.

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A description of the prophetic vision or PV. I'll discuss the five elements of the prophetic visions for the future of the earth. Along with a comparison of the events of NDE prophetic visions of the earth's future with events of the earth's future in prophecies from the Bible and the LDS Doctrine and Covenants. Implications of the findings of this study.

The experiencer panels are always some of the high points of the conference. Each of the four or so experiencers on the panel tells his or her experience and answers questions from the audience.