The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) announced a new Advisory Board comprised of prominent figures in or associated with the field of near-death studies. Advisory Board members will provide periodic advice, assistance, and guidance on the organization’s policies, procedures, and direction.

The Board is comprised of 23 experts from the U.S., France, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Wales, including eight physicians, near-death experiencers, academics, mental health care providers, and others deeply engaged in the field.

“We are grateful that these leading experts have generously offered valuable time and expertise in support of IANDS’s vision: a world in which near-death experiences and related phenomena are widely recognized as valid and profound experiences that inspire and create lasting positive change,” said IANDS President Jan Holden, EdD.

Link: IANDS Advisory Board

The Conference videos are now available for Conference registrants
The sale of Video-on-Demand access is also available

Enjoy our 2023 Annual Report in magazine format!

NEW BOOK:

What Near-Death Experiences Teach Us about Living in the Here and Now

by Kenneth Ring, PhD and Evelyn Elsaesser

Foreword by Bruce Greyson, MD, bestselling author of After

 “No other researcher has been able to transmit to the rest of us the true meaning and impact of near-death phenomena for the planet.”   
—Bruce Greyson, MD, bestselling author of After

“A major contribution that offers a wealth of case materials together with balanced and insightful commentary.” 
—Raymond A. Moody, PhD, bestselling author of Life After Life 

“This amazing book is the gold standard of how  everyone can benefit from learning about  the life-changing wisdom of NDEs! “ 
-- Jeff Janssen, author of Your Life’s Ripple Effect

While providing many remarkable accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) from men, women, and children of all ages and backgrounds, Lessons from the Light is much more than just an inspiring collection of NDEs. In Lessons from the Light, near-death expert Kenneth Ring extracts the pure gold of the NDE and with a beautiful balance of sound research and human insight reveals the practical wisdom held within these experiences.
 
Unlike many other books on the subject of NDEs, which are about or by persons who have had these life-changing encounters, Lessons from the Light is intended mainly for those who have never had an NDE themselves but who wish to learn from those who have.
 
In clear language, the practical lessons for living and dying are to be found from the study of NDEs. Written by one of the foremost authorities on NDEs, Dr. Kenneth Ring, Lessons from the Light is a book for those who looking to gain knowledge and wisdom to enhance their own lives by incorporating the insights stemming from what many people have come to believe is the ultimate spiritual experience of our time. Readers will discover for themselves what others have had nearly to die to learn, and how their own lives can blossom in ways that are typical for persons who have undergone NDEs directly.
 
Although Lessons from the Light recounts many moving stories of NDEs, it is not just another book filled with inspiring testimonies but has helpful guidance and practical exercises concerning how readers can make use of this knowledge to live with greater self-insight, self-compassion and concern for others, as well as to be better prepared for death, dying, and bereavement. Readers can easily apply what they have learned to their own lives and absorb and internalize these lessons from the Light in such a way as to lead to deep personal and spiritual transformation. 

How to order the book :

https://redwheelweiser.com/book/lessons-from-the-light-9781637480182/

Other Editions of Lessons from The Light

BUY EBOOK HERE:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFX6R64Q/?tag=iandsorg-20

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New Page Books · July 2024

6 x 9 · 360 pages · $18.95

ISBN: 978-1-63748-018-2

EARLY BIRD RATES END JULY 1st!!

Saturday, April 20th, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET ~ Symposium Online Schedule
Symposium registration is now open at https://symposium.iands.org
Non-members $95; IANDS Members $60; Students $30
Video Replays available until April 30, 2025

IANDS Publications is pleased to announce the publication of Robert Christophor (Bob) Coppes' book Impressions of Near-Death Experiences. In this book, Coppes presents many hundreds of quotes from more than 100 experiencers from all over the world. By organizing these excerpts into categories, he gives the reader a more in-depth and nuanced impression of the near-death experience (NDE). NDEs come alive and this effect multiplies as the reader progresses through the book. The message from these stories will touch a truth that is deep within you—an inner core that you can trust.

If you have had a near-death experience (NDE), NDE-like experience or related experience, please consider participating in the on-going research studies below. All of these studies have been reviewed and approved by the IANDS Academic & Research Committee.

1. Did Your Near-Death Experience Affect Your Work Life?

• Objectives:  Near-death experiences are unusual experiences that sometime occur in people who have been physically or psychologically close to death as a result of, for example, cardiac arrest or an accident. You are invited to voluntarily participate in a study exploring how near-death experiences (NDE) affect people’s work lives, such as their career paths, work goals, and work relationships.
• Researcher: The lead researcher on this study is Dr. Jamie Gruman, a business professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Gruman can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Type of study: Participation involves a single, one-hour interview conducted over Zoom, scheduled at your convenience.
• Study ends: After 30 NDE cases are received.
• Further information and contact information

2. The Relationship between Inner Change and Outer Change

• Objectives:  The purpose of this study is to make a contribution into this gap by exploring the relationship between inner change (i.e., transformative experiences) and outer change toward sustainability (i.e., how we engage with the larger world). Sustainability is being defined as  conditions which support the flourishing of all life-forms, including the earth.
• Researcher: Elizabeth Halliday, Master of Science programme in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology at Alef Trust, UK.
• Type of study: Online survey.
• Study ends: August 30, 2024
• Further information and contact information

3. Terminal Lucidity in Children and Adults

• Objectives:  Terminal Lucidity (TL) is an unexpected surge of mental clarity usually reported in the last minutes, hours, or days before a person’s death. TL remains little understood. Although it is often reported in those of older age who have dementia, anecdotal evidence suggests TL is also very common in children who are terminally ill. More research is needed to better understand TL in children and to provide important details regarding the end-of-life stage of children, what the child's and parents/caregivers' needs might be, and how medical personnel can best respond to meet those needs.
• Researcher: Dr. Natasha Tassell-Matamua, Associate Professor at Massey University, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
• Type of study: You are invited to complete an online questionnaire, which will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. The questionnaire will ask you questions about the TL episode you witnessed, the circumstances of the passing of the adult or child who had the TL episode, as well as the psychological impact of witnessing TL on your spiritual and religious beliefs, attitudes towards life and death, and nondual awareness.
• Further information and contact information

 4. NDErs in the UK: how has your NDE impacted your wellbeing?

• Objectives:  This project seeks NDEr participants in the UK to understand how they make sense of their NDE and how this impacts their wellbeing—more specifically, NDErs who would not consider themselves to be traditionally religious. This could be those who would say they are not formally religious but still believe that there is something ‘out there’ or beyond the physical world.
• Researcher: Dr. Alex Fry, Lecturer and wellbeing researcher at Bournemouth University.
• Type of study: You will be asked to take part in a one-to-one informal interview with Alex that will last between 75-90 minutes. It will feel more like a conversation.
• Further information and contact information

5. Physicians who have had a near-death experience

• Objectives:  We are recruiting physicians who have had a near-death experience (NDE) for an online study. The purpose of the study is to learn about physicians’ attitudes towards NDEs. Because of the impact of NDEs on experiencers’ lives, patients sometimes talk about these experiences with their physicians. This research aims to improve these interactions. We are interested in your participation even if you have not had patients who have reported an NDE.
• Researchers: Marieta Pehlivanova, Ph.D., and Bruce Greyson, M.D., of the Department of Psychiatry and  Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
• Type of study: Participation in the study will take about 15 minutes of your time and will consist of an anonymous online questionnaire. You are eligible to participate if you are a physician in any specialty and have had a near-death experience.
• Further information and contact information

Once again, researchers have published an article about bursts of brain activity in the dying human brain, and people interested in the question of the origin of NDEs have contacted Journal of Near-Death Studies editor, Jan Holden, EdD, asking whether the results described in the article provide a materialist explanation of the source of NDEs.

A challenge for intelligent lay readers is that most of us do not have the expertise to understand technical references to medical procedures and assessment results, such as "EEG gamma bursts," described in such articles. So, Jan reached out to two IANDS members who do have such expertise: cardiologist Pim van Lommel, MD, and emeritus professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences Bruce Greyson, MD.

In the brief (4.5 double-spaced pages) Invited Commentary linked below, these experts explain—in terms most readers should be able to understand—why the findings of this most recent study and others like it "do not and cannot explain" either confirmed aspects of NDEs or the source of NDEs. Their Invited Commentary will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal but, as a service to IANDS members and to the general public, is provided here as a pre-print publication.

With sadness, but also with gratitude for her many years of devoted service and contributions, IANDS announces the passing of Diane Corcoran on Sunday, March 5, 2023. At the time of her transition, Diane was an active member of the Board of Directors, a multiple-time IANDS past-president, creator and leader of the Veterans Sharing Group, and near-death experiencer (NDEr).