IANDS

2012 Keynote Speakers: Brinkley, Cicoria and Clark!

Dannion Brinkley, Tony Circoria and Nancy Clark will be Keynote Speakers at the 2012 IANDS Conference, Visions: 2012 and Beyond in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, August 31 - September 2!

Dannion Brinkley is an internationally known author and speaker and a three-time near-death experiencer. His deep compassion for those who are suffering comes directly from his own experience of unimaginable pain in his NDEs. During his NDEs, he received prophetic visions, a number of which have been accurate. He is the author of Saved by the Light and the co-founder of The Twilight Brigade, a care community dedicated to being at the bedside of our nation's dying veterans.

An important addition to research on distressing NDEs has just been published by former IANDS President, Nancy Evans Bush. Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences is the first comprehensive exploration of disturbing NDEs and how people interpret them. The book has already received several very positive reviews: "Engagingly written", "A must for any experiencer of a near-death state", "The perfect combination of research, personal narrative, and analysis".

The book is packed with solid information and first-person narratives that, although marked by dismaying and even terrifying features, turn out to have something vital to say about life itself. It's now available as an e-book from several vendors. More information here.

Dr. Janice Holden, editor of IANDS' Journal of Near-Death Studies, was recently interviewed by Alex Tsakiris on Skeptiko.com. She commented on a recent paper in Trends in Cognitive Sciences by Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt, "There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences", which concluded in part, "Research suggests that there is nothing paranormal about these experiences. Instead, near-death experiences are the manifestation of normal brain function gone awry."

Holden responded, "The material that’s out there actually supports a different conclusion. To quote my colleague Bruce Greyson, 'If you ignore everything paranormal about NDEs then it’s easy to conclude that there is nothing paranormal about them.'" ... Listen to the full interview here.

Participate in NDE Research Studies

Near-Death Experience Information and Research is a website for NDErs to participate in ongoing research studies and for researchers to advertise their current research. If you are a near-death experiencer (NDEr), consider participating in one or more of these ongoing research studies.

The website was developed and is maintained by Cheryl Fracasso, Ph.D. This website provides a central place for researchers to advertise any NDE research that is currently underway and provides a database of NDErs who wish to participate in future research that can be shared with NDE researchers.

If you believe you have had an NDE and are interested in participating in future research, you can add your information to a participant list to share with NDE researchers. A variety of research studies is currently underway.

Save the Date! 2012 IANDS Conference

August 31 - September 2 at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Hotel in Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ The 2012 IANDS Conference will be held Friday through Sunday, August 31 - September 2 (Labor Day weekend). On Thursday, August 30, there will be workshops plus a seminar for IANDS Group Leaders.
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IANDS featured in news series on NDEs

A series of articles on near-death experiences was published recently over four days in the Durham Herald-Sun, with an article about IANDS President Diane Corcoran's work with military veterans and one about Board member Robert Mays' research on consciousness. "Retired colonel has dealt with near-death experiences since Vietnam War" describes Corcoran's work over 40 years to help veterans who have experienced an NDE and to teach nurses and other military medical personnel to take soldiers' accounts seriously and to try to understand more about the near-death experience.

"Near-death researcher believes the mind survives death" describes the work of Robert and Suzanne Mays on the nature of consciousness based on evidence from NDEs. For the Mayses, the mind is "an energetic entity" that separates from the body as people are dying. A strong case can be made that the mind survives death.

Dalai Lama Receives Handbook of NDEs

NDE researcher Bruce Greyson was recently invited to speak with the Dalai Lama at a dialogue between Western neuroscientists and Buddhist monks, as part of His Holiness's long-term effort to build a bridge between science and Buddhism. Greyson presented the Dalai Lama with a copy of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences, which summarizes the first thirty years of research on NDEs; it is edited by Janice Holden, Greyson, and Debbie James. The Director of the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, which preserves and publishes modern editions of ancient Tibetan texts, asked for permission to translate the Handbook into Tibetan, so they could use it in the monastic curriculum for their monks.

Veridical OBE Perceptions in a "Standstill" Operation

Neuroscience researcher Dr. Mario Beauregard and colleagues recently reported a 2008 case of veridical (real, verified) perceptions in a patient undergoing a deep hypothermic cardiocirculatory arrest or "standstill" operation similar to Pam Reynolds' operation in 1991.

The 31-year-old patient J.S. underwent emergency surgical correction of an aortic dissection. She did not see or talk to members of the surgical team. It was not possible for her to see the machines behind the head section of the operating table as she was wheeled into the operating room. J.S. was given general anesthesia and her eyes were taped shut. In an out-of-body experience (OBE) during the operation, J.S. reported feelings of peace and joy and seeing a bright light. From a vantage point above, she reported seeing a nurse passing surgical instruments to the cardiothoracic surgeon and seeing anesthesia and echography machines located behind her head. Beauregard and his colleagues verified that her descriptions were accurate, confirmed by the surgeon who operated on her.

In a recent YouTube video interview, Steven Greer, MD, known for his role as founder of The Disclosure Project, describes a profound near-death experience (NDE) at age 17 including an out-of-body experience with cosmic consciousness. Dr. Greer shares a fascinating description of non-verbal communication with two light beings during his experience and the discussion of whether he should return to his body.

Later in life, while hiking on a mountain he has a UFO encounter and meets extraterrestrial biological life forms (ETs). He then enters a state of cosmic consciousness similar to that of his NDE and goes on to teach the ETs what it's like to enter this state of consciousness from a human perspective.

YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmfPpWwQbA

Excellent interview with Eben Alexander on Skeptiko

Dr. Eben Alexander Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com interviews neurosurgeon Eben Alexander about the nature of the mind and brain based on Dr. Alexander's near-death experience.

Dr. Alexander states, "[Before my NDE] it was very clear in [neuroscience] that the brain gives you consciousness and everything else, and when the brain dies there goes consciousness, soul, mind—it’s all gone. And it was clear.

"Now, having been through my coma, I can tell you that’s exactly wrong and that in fact the mind and consciousness are independent of the brain. It’s very hard to explain that, certainly if you’re limiting yourself to that reductive materialist view." (emphasis added)

Listen to the full interview here.

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