August 20 - 22, 1999
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Conference highlights:
Note: Presentations are listed in the order that they appeared during the conference.
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The NDE and Ancient Spiritual Truths
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Elizabeth Fenske, Ph.D.
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There are Ancient Spiritual Truths, known to many as Cosmic Principles, which are relevant to the way we live our lives. To know these principles or truths is to have in our possession a key to transformation. These seven truths are recorded in the ARCANE TEACHINGS (Arcanus meaning "a treasure chest"), and the HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY, also known as the KYBALION. These truths are inherent in the NDE and in other Spiritual Transformative Experiences. They are the lessons we are called to implement in our everyday living after an experience in the Light. These truths are conveyed to experiencers on the SOUL/HEART level. This presentation will seek to explore these seven truths and apply them in our daily living. |
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What NDE's Reveal About the Status of the Miscarried and Stillborn
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Harold Widdison, Ph.D
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No description of this presentation is currently available |
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Learning From the Life History Narrative of NDE Survivors
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Laura Suzanne Gordon
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This presentation covers key findings of a two-year, ethnographic field study of the lives of 41 NDE informants. The study explored the meaning for experiencers of their NDEs and aftereffects. The presentation explores highlights of the life history narrative produced by study participants, and explains how these findings problematize the Western scientific, clinical diagnostic model of the NDE. |
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Dreams as Spiritual Guidance: Their Importance to the NDE
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Gloria M Gieseke, B.A., M.A.
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| Dreams are a gift from God to every human being from the moment of birth, but most people hardly recognize the importance of the gift, and so it lies neglected and unused for most of our lives. A glimpse into the crowded treasures of the subconscious through dreams, will encourage us to pay attention to the messages our souls want to deliver, for the enrichment of our own lives. The awakening of the gift of dreaming in the near-death experiencer must not be uncommon, but we don't hear much about it. Its usefulness, however, can not be ignored. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Amazing Graze: The Healing Effects of NDE's on Those Dying and Grieving
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Bruce J. Horacek Ph.D.
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| In 1991, Kenneth Ring 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 of 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-death awareness experiences seem to free persons from paralyzing death anxiety and, consequently, allow them to focus on additional ways to help each other to face dying and grieving. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I Am the Love I Seek
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Robert Caplan
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For more information, see Robert Caplan's web site. |
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Mystical, Out-Of-Body, Near Death and Death Experiences
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Heather Botting, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
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While many significant after-effects of the NDE have received considerable scholarly attention in the three decades since the publication of Raymond's Moody's Life After Life (opens in a new window), one effect which has been assiduously ignored is the resultant conviction on the part of the experiencer that consciousness can survive the death of the physical body. The reason for declining to address this question lies in the fact that it is beyond the scope of the current scientific paradigm which presumes conscious life to be a mere epiphenomenon of biological life, and nothing more. Death is therefore said to be not only unknown, but unknowable. |
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After Death Communication: A New Field of Research Confirms That Life and Love Are Eternal
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Bill Guggenheim
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In 1977, we learned about remarkable experiences that often occur after the death of a loved one. Though they have been reported throughout history, no one had ever given them a name or studied them systematically. We named these experiences "After-Death Communications." We began our research in 1988 by interviewing people who replied "Yes" to our question, "Have you been contacted by a loved one who has died?" An After-Death Communication or "ADC" is a spiritual experience that takes place when a person is contacted directly and spontaneously by a family member or friend who has died. ADCs are always initiated by deceased loved ones, and no psychics, mediums or devices are involved. There is a related web site (opens in a new window). |
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The Human Energy Field
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Harry Oldfield
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| Harry will be talking about his development of the Polycontrast Interference Photography (PIP) system which shows us the energy field surrounding all living bodies. This field has a direct connection with the physical condition of the body and can show not only blockages in the field where disease is present, but also where disease will develop in the future. He will also show examples of this energy field existing without a physical body. The implication is that this is the "conscious energy" field described by Dr. Brian Weiss. It is also possible that this field leaves the physical body during out-of-body and near-death experiences. Harry will touch briefly on the development of the "electro-crystal" healing system which can alter and remove blockages in the human energy field and thereby initiate healing. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Divine Encounters: Light and Ecstasy in Religious and NDE's
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Brian Bain, M.A
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| Until now, efforts to compare the NDE with various religious traditions have focused on the encounter with death, which has resulted in several very interesting comparisons. However, if we extend our study beyond death alone, and focus primarily on the experience of light and ecstasy in the NDE, we find evidence of the similarities between this aspect of the NDE and the experiences of individuals in every major religious tradition in substantial, sometimes even overwhelming, volume. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I'm Not Crazy, I Just Died
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Linda Jacquin, C.A.S.
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| Ever been labeled "confused," "hysterical," or even psychologically unstable, when sharing a near-death experience with a member of the medical community? One experiencer's account and what she did. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Debbie James, Moderator
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| Four people talk about what it is like to have their spouse have an NDE. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NDE Shamanism and Applied Science: Developing a Clinical Methodology From Within the Field of Near Death Studies
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J. Timothy Green, Ph.D.
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| Since its inception the field of near-death studies has been academic, descriptive and theoretical. Researchers have thoroughly documented the fact that NDEs are reported by approximately one-third of people who have a close brush with death, and they have described the aftereffects of the experience.
However, the field of near-death studies has always had one glaring, seemingly unsolvable problem: from a theoretical standpoint it is impossible to prove that an NDE is what it appears to be, a profound spiritual experience. In this presentation I will discuss the overlap between NDEs and shamanism, the most important being that an NDE is a time honored form of shamanic initiation. I will then suggest that because shamanism is an applied, clinical methodology, it can be used to develop a clinical modality which could be incorporated into the field of near-death studies. Said differently, the field of near-death studies could evolve from a purely descriptive, academic and theoretical discipline, into an applied clinical methodology capable of helping alleviate human suffering by using spiritual methods. |
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Less Than Positive Near-Death Experiences
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Barbara Rommer, M.D.
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The "Less Than Positive" (LTP) near-death experience, or frightening near-death experience, is under-reported in large part because the majority of LTP experiencers assume that their account will be met with harsh judgment. I feel that, rather than being a tool for intrinsic or extrinsic condemnation, it should be viewed as an instrument of spiritual growth. I feel that LTP has the potential to bring about as much or even more soul growth than the prototypical "Light" experience.More than 18 percent of my on-going study of over 350 cases are LTPs. Divinely positive messages may result from these frightening experiences. |
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After Death Communication: A New Field of Research Confirms That Life and Love Are Eternal
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Bill Guggenheim
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No description of this presentation is currently available There is a related web site (opens in a new window). |
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Case Study of Thirty Gay-Identified Near-Death experiences
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Liz Dale
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| Thirty Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals participated in a San Francisco Bay Area study during the past two years. This presents some results of this study. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cross-Cultural Near-Death Experiences
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Carol Burke, B.Sc., M.L.A., M.A.
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People from different cultures have described their near-death experiences from a cultural perspective. The main elements of the NDE are similar, but details vary because of cultural shadings. Some of the similarities and differences will be the focus of this presentation. |
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Near-Death and Death-Watch Experiences--Opening onto the Mystic Path
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Yvonne Kason, M.D.
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Dr. Kason will describe the NDE that she experienced in an airplane crash in 1979. She will tell how this led her, as a medical doctor, to research and counsel persons who have had near-death and other types of mystical experiences. She will share several stories of other people who had glimpses of Spirit, the unconditionally loving power behind the universe, not when they were close to death, but when they were close to somebody who died, what she calls "Death-Watch Experiences." Drawing from both eastern and western spiritual traditions and from modern depth psychology, she will describe the long-term psychological healing and spiritual transformation process which often begins after a mystical experience, including an NDE. She will use the Kundalini model to provide a framework to understand this transformation, sometimes called "The Mystic Path," as a lifelong process of deep soul healing, spiritual growth, deepening surrender to the Divine, and ultimately unitive consciousness. |
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Children of the New Millennium
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PMH Atwater, L.H.D.
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| This is a major study of child experiencers of near-death states and today's youngest children. PMH Atwater opens up the field of near-death studies to entertain a new agenda--that near-death states, as part of the larger genre of transformations of consciousness, provide the best model for determining how to recognize and understand the growth, development, and transmutation of evolving consciousness. The young, more so than adults, exhibit clear signs that the near-death experience is far more than the simple composite of scenario elements the media used to sensationalize Raymond Moody's first book, creating as they did what is now known as the NDE. That near-death is actually a complex and dynamic phenomenon which defies ready explanation is shown by what happens to kids when they receive the brunt of the "energy charge" at ages critical to brain development.
Related materials are available on-line (opens in a new window). |
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The NDE--What Caregivers Need to Know
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Diane Corcoran, Ph.D.
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| No matter what you personally think happens in an NDE, its effects on the experiencers are profound. In this session, the basic NDE will be discussed: what it is, how it occurs, typical experiencers' reactions to be aware of, and how to handle the experiencer with compassion and understanding. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Understanding NDE's and their After Effects: Learning from the Kundalini and Chakra Model
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Yvonne Kason, M.D.
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| Dr. Kason will explore the historical and current research evidence that suggests that the awakening of latent spiritual energy may be the basis of NDEs. This spiritual energy is known in various sacred traditions as Holy Spirit, Vital Winds, Chi, Mana, and in the yogic tradition, as Kundalini. Examples of ancient knowledge of the relationship between activation of spiritual energy and NDEs will be shown from esoteric practices of ancient Egypt, the Buddhist Tibetan Book of the Dead, and from ancient secret Yogic practices. Drawing from the yogic model of kundalini and the chakras, Dr. Kason will show how this model can account for the spectrum of types of NDEs experienced by persons today, from the more common out-of body NDE, to the intensely transformative white light NDE. She will describe how the yogic model can help experiencers understand and cope with the physical symptoms, the psychological upheavals, and the long term spiritual transformation which can all be after-effects of NDEs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Message of the NDE: Healing
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Alayna (pseud.)
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Through my presentation, I try to show how my NDE opened my subconscious to remember my childhood abuse, which in turn gave me the insight to understand my life and its pain. My NDE then helped me in my healing process; and finally, it provided me the insight to forgive. Overcoming the fear of memories was extremely difficult, but the discovery of being a multiple personality was horrifying. I was blessed with inner strength that I received through my NDE. This experience helped me heal my alternetive personalities, which helped me merge. |
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After Death Communication: A New Field of Research Confirms That Life and Love Are Eternal
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Bill Guggenheim
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No description of this presentation is currently available There is a related web site (opens in a new window). |
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Research Panel
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Panel Members
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A researcher panel consists of several people who are doing research into NDEs talking about their current projects, results, difficulties, etc., with audience participation. |
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The Integration of the NDE
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Chris Carson
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Howard Storm, M.Div.
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Howard's life best represents the life-changing potential of the NDE. Once a cynical and self-serving professor, he is now serving his community and parishioners as pastor of an Ohio church. He has shared his story with many audiences, including those of national and regional television programs. Howard understands the NDE to be an individual's radical transformation along the spiritual journey to God, and each of us is at a different stage of the journey. He will speak about the spiritual journey from his own experience, his study of NDEs, and theology. |
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Stories from the Pacific Northwest: NDEs from God's Country
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Kim Clark Sharp, M.S.W.
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Love, Death and Liberation in Cameron's Titanic
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Gracia Fay Ellwood, Ph.D.
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| The basic scenario and symbols of Cameron's film offer a powerful fictional representation of the experience of ego-death, transcendent love, and transformation that many undergo in NDEs and similar spiritual experiences. These aspects of the film cast light on the message of the NDE, and vice versa. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Experiencer Panel A
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Panel Members
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| 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Experiencer Panel B
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Panel Members
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| 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
