Important new research on distressing NDEs

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.

JNDS Editor responds to skeptical NDE paper

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.

Save the Date! 2012 IANDS Conference

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.