Atwater: four types of near-death experiences

P. M. H. Atwater writes: “In my work, I discovered four distinctive patterns to the near-death experience. Here they are. The incident-rate figures I present are based on 3,000 adults and 277 child experiencers.

Initial experience—sometimes called the 'non’ experience.

"Involves one, maybe two or three elements, such as a loving nothingness, the living dark, a friendly voice/visitation, a brief out-of-body experience, or a manifestation of some kind. Usually experienced by those who need the least amount of shake-up in their lives at that point in time. Often, this becomes a ‘seed’ experience or an introduction to other ways of perceiving and recognizing reality. Rarely is any other element present. (76 percent of children, 20 percent of adults.)

 

Unpleasant or hellish experience—sometimes referred to as ‘distressing.’

"Encounter with a threatening void, stark limbo, or hellish purgatory, or scenes of a startling and unexpected indifference (like being shunned), even ‘hauntings’ from one’s own past or having to face ‘unfinished business.’ Usually experienced by those who seem to have deeply suppressed or repressed guilt, fear, and anger, and/or those who expect some king of punishment or discomfort after death. Life reviews common. Some have life previews. (3 percent of children, 15 percent of adults.)

 

Pleasant or heavenly experience—sometimes referred to as ‘radiant.’

"Involves heaven-like scenarios of loving family reunions with those who have died previously, reassuring religious figures or light beings, validation that life counts, affirmative and inspiring dialogue, lovely landscapes. Usually experienced by those who most need to know how loved they are and how important life is, and how every effort has a purpose in the overall scheme of things. Life reviews common. Some have life previews. (19 percent of children, 47 percent of adults.)

 

Transcendent experience—sometimes called the ‘collective universality.’

"Encounter with otherworldly dimensions and scenes beyond the individual's frame of reference; sometimes includes revelations of greater truths. Seldom personal in content. Usually experienced by those who are ready for a ‘mind-stretching’ challenge and/or individuals who are apt to utilize (to whatever degree) the truths that are revealed to them. Life reviews rare. Collective previews common—the world’s future, evolutionary change, etc. (2 percent of children, 18 percent of adults.)

 

Do not affix ‘positive or ‘negative’ labels to any of these experiences or types.

"Positive and negative are judgmental terms that do not necessarily apply to near-death states or to the aftereffects that follow. Case in point: I gave a talk about the phenomenon in a large hall. It was so packed that there were not enough chairs, leaving some standing. When l I finished, I asked if there were any experiencers in the audience who would like to come up to the microphone and share what had happened to them. Two volunteered. 

 

"A slender man, maybe in his late twenties, enthralled everyone with his tale of one of the most beautiful, heavenly experience I had ever heard. There was hardly a dry eye in the place. Then he shocked the audience by saying this was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, that it had fouled up his life and he felt cursed to have had it. 

 

"Immediately, a woman, probably in her thirties, jumped up and described her experience, a terror-filled scenario of being at the mercy of a raging storm, with high winds, thunder, and lightning. She had to fight to save herself from being sucked into a whirlpool as she swam to shore. What she said next was equally a stunner: 'This was the best thing that ever happened to me. I proved to me that we all have a second chance in life, and we can succeed no matter what the obstacles are.' She was so glowing when she said this that she appeared to be engulfed by a special light."

 

P. M. H. Atwater, Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story (Hampton Roads, 2011).

Remembering and sharing NDEs

P. M. H. Atwater writes: “We have been told since ‘the near-death phenomenon’ first hit the scene in 1975 that experiencers become honest, loving, spiritual paragons after their experiences. Well, many do. The rest improve greatly. Still, there’s a shadow side, and we need to admit that.

“The narratives that experiencers give help to establish the veracity of near-death experiences—they hold up over time. The stories are as clear, coherent, and vivid as the day originally told, even if twenty years or more have passed. If anything did fade, seldom is it of any significance. This is almost unheard of in memory trials. 

 

“There are a few complicating factors when dealing with experiencers that appear to challenge the honesty factor, but really don’t. The majority tend to hold back until they trust you. Perhaps this is because of the fear of being labeled crazy. Whatever the reason, it is fairly common for narrative stories to be delivered in bits and pieces and spread out over a few months or a year or so.

 

“And then there’s ‘downloading.’ Few experiencers can process the revelations that surface during their episode. You hear comments such as: ‘I felt like I would explode if the information didn’t stop coming,’ or ‘I can’t handle this—too much too fast,’ or ‘I just can’t remember it all.’ And, indeed, most of the deeper materials that often flood in during a dying episode, ‘the revelations,’ are lost.

 

“Yet, some experiencers report downloading afterward as if what was lost is now coming back. This can occur in dribs and drabs or be quite extensive and go on for years. What I am describing here is not an embellishment, per se. Rather, it often signals that the experiencer has developed another form of sensitivity to ‘otherworldly realities’ and has become like a ‘channel.’ This ‘extra’ material does not affect the individual’s original narrative—thus no embellishment. But it does expand on what is commonplace afterward.

 

“During my research of the phenomenon, I discovered a pattern to the way death visited most of the experiencers, and it went like this: A little over half the men I contacted died because of heart-related ailments, while another 25 percent were involved in violence or accidents. A whopping 70 percent of the women experienced their episode during childbirth, miscarriage, or a hysterectomy.”

 

P. M. H. Atwater, Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story (Hampton Roads, 2011).

Atwater explains her NDE research

P. M. H. Atwater writes: “As of this writing, my sessions with experiencers of near-death states (at times simple interviews) number nearly four thousand adults and children. This figure does not include the sessions I had with significant others: parents, spouses, children of experiencers, relatives, health-care providers, neighbors, coworkers, friends. I lost count of this segment of my research base long ago, although an estimate in the range of around five hundred people would be reasonable. The bulk of my findings were obtained between the years of 1978 to 2004, after which the search for meaning took precedence (although some fieldwork continued). The majority of these additional cases were from child experiencers who are not adults. These people sought me out after the publication of Children of the New Millennium, and later The New Children and Near-Death Experiences.

 

“Knowing that personal bias could jeopardize anything I did, I put my own experiences on a ‘back shelf’ in my mind and played dumb a lot. What I mean is that I asked as many open-ended and unstructured questions as possible, trying not to reveal either my identity or intent. If I did say who I was, experiencers would counter with, ‘Well, you know how it is.’ I’d stand my ground if this occurred: ‘Maybe yes, maybe no, but tell me anyway. Give me details and don’t leave a thing out.’ Mostly, though, I used simply phrases like ‘oh really’ or ‘tell me more’ or that wonderful all-purpose lead of ‘and . . . ?

 

“I found that voice intonation and inflection, along with easy, nonthreatening body language, netted more information than ‘arranged’ questions. All I had t do was ‘leave the door open,’ and the experiencer would willingly ‘walk through,’ as if utterly relieved. There’s nothing like a nonjudgmental, sincerely interested listener. I did alter my style somewhat with children, though and in this manner; no parents allowed, same eye-level contact at all times (with little one what meant I was on my belly), changed body postures to elicit response, replacing note-taking with a gentle sincerity and steady focus, encouraging feelings as well as memories, opening myself to sense the ‘wave’ of consciousness they ‘ride’ so I could see through their eyes. I had sessions with parents, too, as I wanted to explore what they noticed and any opinions they had. This was important, as children can and sometimes do slant their stories to fit the emotional expectations of their parents."

 

3,000 adult experiencers

 

80 percent White (from Canada, England, Belgium, France, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine)

 

20 percent Black (15 % African American, 5% Kenya, Haiti, Canada)

 

277 child experiencers

 

60 percent White (from Canada, France, England, Ukraine)

 

23 percent Latino (U. S., Mexico, Argentina, Colombia)

 

12 percent Black (U. S., Canada)

 

5 percent Asia (Malaysia, China)

 

P. M. H. Atwater, Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story (Hampton Roads, 2011).

Near-Death Experiences reveal our true home

"I dedicate this book to the powers of darkness and light. Without both, Creation’s story would not exist, nor would we. The swings of Creation’s pendulum between these two great polarities enable growth to occur. I witnessed this truth when I died. Researching that edge—the one between life and death—defined what I had witnessed. The bigness of forever lies in the eyes of near-death experiencers. I've had the privilege of looking through thousands of them, including my own.

"People forget that the vast majority of near-death experiences emerge from situations of violence or trauma. A typical experiencer contends with body damage (sometimes severe) and the immediacy of recognizing that ‘here’ (where they are now) is not the same as ‘there’ (where they once were). No matter how ecstatic or terrifying the experience may be, what comes next is usually confusion, maybe anger, as most of us didn’t want to come back. We wanted to stay where we were.

 

"The phenomenon captures public attention as none other. It is soul-stirring in the way it reminds even the most staid that home, our true home, is not a joke. It exists, and it is real.

 

"Who among us can be certain if all near-death experiencers were fully dead? Many revived or were resuscitated after clinical death; some were close to death; others, in a split second of utter fear, were convinced they were going to die but didn’t (called a ‘fear’ death).

 

"We’ve known for some time that five minutes without oxygen is fatal to brain cells. Yet dying itself takes longer to occur because cell death isn’t an event, it’s a process. An exception is with humans who are exposed to extreme cold or who drown in icy water. It is possible for them to benefit from hypothermia, a survival response that automatically lowers body temperature enough to slow cell death.

 

"There is little argument among researchers that, on average, most near-death experiencers, adults and children, go without vital signs (pulse, breath, brain waves) for between five and twenty minutes. Amazing as this may seem, considering how quickly brain damage can occur after cessation of vital signs, even more amazing is that usually there is little or no brain damage afterward; rather, there is brain enhancement. You heard me right: Individuals return to life smarter than before. Sometimes this enhancement can be quite dramatic, especially with young kids. In my own work, I discovered so many who had revived in a morgue—maybe an hour, maybe six hours after having ‘died’—that I no longer came to regard this as unusual.

 

"I admit a bias here. Being a three-time near-death experiencer myself, it would take a lot to impress me as concerns ‘the dead come back,’ yet impressed I was when I met a man who had revived while being cut open during an autopsy after a full three days of being a corpse in a freezer vault."

 

P. M. H. Atwater, Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story (Hampton Roads, 2011).

A spiritual composed and sung during slavery

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a crown in that kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I got a crown in that Kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I’m gonna lay down this world, gonna shoulder my cross.

Gonna take it home to my Jesus, ain’t a that good news!

 

I got a robe in that kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I got a robe in that Kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I’m gonna lay down this world, gonna shoulder my cross.        

Gonna take it home to my Jesus, ain’t a that good news!

 

I got a Savior in that kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I got a Savior in that Kingdom, ain’t a that good news!

I’m gonna lay down this world, gonna shoulder my cross.               

Gonna take it home to my Jesus, ain’t a that good news.

 

Committed Acappella Chorus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJsj4Xq1tI

 

A life-transforming near-death experience

I woke up the morning of October 31, 1990 from a strange dream that I was pregnant again. It felt like a baby was in the womb and my belly was round with a baby. I noticed that my period had arrived and I was bleeding heavily. I was surprised because I had been breast feeding. I called the doctor's office and they said that it was probably normal but to keep a watch on it. I packed up my newborn baby girl and book bag. Then I took a city bus to the University to attended classes that morning with my baby. I felt fine. It was only on the bus ride back home, at about 10:30 AM, that I felt something roll out of my body and down my pant leg when I stood up to get off the bus. Much to my horror, I realized it was a blood clot the size of a softball. I picked my clot up as people gasped and stared at me. I made the decision that I wasn't going to be able to make the few blocks walking to make it back home. I crossed the street to the Hospital. I only made it as far as the grass out front of the emergency room. I was gushing blood and started to get dizzy and light headed. I tried to get the attention of two emergency room paramedics who were smoking out front. But, I couldn't make a sound louder than a whisper. I tried to fall with my arms outstretched so that I didn't fall on my baby newborn girl. I passed out while falling to the ground with my baby in my arms.

Next thing I remember was waking up in the emergency room. I was receiving emergency blood transfusions and told that I had probably retained placenta from birth. They told me that they would need to do an emergency D&C to help scrape my uterus. I then was taken to surgery. I was in surgery three more times that day, yet they couldn't stop the bleeding. I was given an experimental drug that was suppose to 'seize' my uterus and make it 'clamp' down to get the blood loss to stop. It caused me to stop breathing instead. They were able to revive me and thought that they had 'fixed' me. They took me to the maternity ward to recover and be reunited with my newborn daughter who needed to be breastfed. The nurse who helped me to deliver her on October 1st was just getting starting her shift. She brought me a plate of food to try to get me to eat. When I tried to sit up to, the hemorrhaging started again and it was even worse than before. I was pretty weak. They called a crash cart and asked me for my parents phone number. I was shaking, cold, and going into shock. They weren't able to get a reading on my blood pressure and my resting heart rate started to elevate. It was going 130 beats per minute and then it was going over 150 bpm. I was in pain because the blood was leaving my head and arms and legs. They stuck a big needle in my neck and started pumping blood directly into my neck. I knew that was dying and not going to make it. My heart went up to 180 and then over 200. The amount of pain was unbearable. I was scared and didn't want to die but couldn't take pain anymore. Every cell in my body was screaming due to the lack of oxygen. I was given over 56 units of blood. I was scared and so were the doctors and the nurse. I remember a doctor told me that they were going to operate and take my uterus out. He said that I might not survive the operation because I was so weak. I was asked to sign a medical waiver. A catholic priest came into the room to give me last prayers. I could not longer move or talk or blink. The pain was too much. They were trying to shock my heart. I couldn't even use my eyes anymore. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't breath. I learned what it means to lose total control.

At my darkest and lowest and saddest moment, I realized that I wasn't alone. I realized that I had a guardian angel just to the right of me. I knew his name was Michael. He was holding my hand. I realized that there was a second angel who was next to Michael. I rose above my body. I could see the doctors were very scared. I could see that my body was blue in color and in very grave condition. I was drawn into the hallway because I could hear my daughter crying for me. I tried to comfort the doctors and nurses. I wanted to tell them that it was okay. I could hear and see that nurses were fighting about me in the hallway and upset that I been taken up to the maternity ward. I should have been in intensive care unit (ICU) or the emergency room. At some point, a veil lifted. I was drawn into a long, dark tunnel that had a very bright, white light that was shining love. I could hear harps and saw my great uncle Harry Ed and Aunt Vickie. I was in total bliss and happiness. I was home. I didn't want to go back. I had a life review where I saw ever single event from my life. I saw every act of goodness and kindness. I saw every act of spite or ill-will. I also got to see it from the other person's point of view. Although time did not exist, this life review took forever but in reality it was only a blink of a second. I didn't want to go back because I was surrounded by love and the light was God. I realized that we are all brothers and sisters. We all love each other very much but we live in fear on earth and that prevents us from realizing and remembering that were all connected. I felt such incredible love.

I saw courtyards with beautiful vibrant roses that were more colorful than on earth. I saw colors that do not exist. I understood infinity and all the knowledge of the universe. I saw white buildings that were open and in the sky. They reminded me of buildings from Greece and Athens. I saw the future for my children and I, where I came to understand that their father was not to play a role in our lives. I was told this so that I could be strong and still love him, even if he was away. I was liberated. I no longer had to love or try to please this person. I knew I had to go back, but I really wanted to stay. I knew that it would hurt to go back to my body. I truly knew that this was home. The bright light filled everything and was totally god's love - unconditional and filled with such joy and peace!

I woke up in the ICU. After resuming my life, I found that nothing in life was as hard as coming back. I found that school was easy and all of life's challenges are a breeze. I am not afraid of death! I can read people's minds and see into the future. I have dreams that come true and I get to visit Michael the angel or my loved ones or pets that have crossed over. I sometimes heal people or start engines or charge batteries or open doors with my mind. I've been the person to arrive to car accidents or suicides or drug overdoes on dozens of occasions. I have performed CPR and brought people back to earth or helped them to pass over. I was not surprised when the father of my child died a few years later. I had already been given that knowledge. Michael told me telepathically. We did not have to use words. I know when I'm going to die or may come close to it once again. I learned that everything we do matters. Even the person you smile to on your way to the bakery or work. Even the creatures big and small that you bend over to pet. Nothing goes unnoticed. It all matters. My purpose is to stand up for the meek, to be compassionate, but most of all is to love. 

Melinda G's near-death experience, NDERF.org

A medium communicates with the Other Side

Laura Lynne Jackson, a medium certified by the Windbridge Research Institute, writes in her recent book entitled Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe: "When I read for people, I move myself to a quiet place and consciously shift my energy into a state of total receptivity. I call it opening myself to the Other Side. In a way, I empty myself out. I stop being Laura Lynne, so that I can be a better messenger for our Teams of Light. Everything that comes through me originates on the Other Side; I am simply the vessel.

"Getting myself into this state was not easy. Growing up, I didn't understand the nudges I'd get from the Other Side; in fact, I was scared of them. I didn't want to know anything about people, alive or dead, that I shouldn't have had any way of knowing. It took me a long time to understand and accept my gift, and even more time to learn how to use it. Eventually, I got to the point where I could control the flow of information from the Other Side, so that I wasn't swarmed by it twenty-four hours a day.

"As I trusted more and developed more, I began to learn the secret language of the universe. I came to understand that this language is available to us all. And I've come to understand that it is part of my journey to awaken others to this possibility. What follows are a few guidelines to help you co-create your own special language with your wonderful Teams of Light on the Other Side. 

"I recommend that you begin this process by giving yourself ten minutes of quiet time. I'm talking about real quiet. Meditative quiet. Start by finding a quiet place to sit. If you can set aside these precious quiet minutes every day and stick to it, you will begin to learn how to shift your energy and enter into a different state of consciousness by virtue of your intention. 

"In your quiet place, close your eyes. Take long, deep breaths, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Pay attention to your breath. Inhale, exhale. Gently push away stray thoughts. Do this for a minute, then another minute. Do it until you lose your sense of time. Stay in this peaceful, quiet place. Don't do anything other than savoring the stillness. 

"Step two is asking for a sign that you want. It's really that simple. You can ask for a sign out loud or just in your head. You can make it a longer conversation between you and a loved one, or you can simply say, 'Send me a green monkey.' You don't want to ask for something that is truly absurd and next to impossible. You do want to ask for something that is unique and even challenging.

"Then allow for some time to see your sign. Quite often, people will receive the signs they ask for within three days, but they may come in just one day, or a week later. Don't expect to see it instantly. The Other Side is truly amazing, but even our Teams of Light can't make something materialize before our eyes (or at least I don't think they can.)

"You could ask your grandmother to send you a pink heart with the word LOVE on it. And your grandpa to send a blue hippo. You could ask your spirit guides to send you the number 555. It's all up to you to create the language you will share with them. And the more signs you create and establish, the more fluid the language will become.

"Not long ago, my mother asked my father, who'd recently crossed, to send her a sign. She asked for a purple elephant. She told me that within one day of asking she got her sign in the form of a huge, purple blow-up elephant lawn decoration on a neighbor's front lawn! 

"A week later, my sister Christine came in from New Jersey. We had a difficult task to complete. We were going to the cemetery and then we were going to order a headstone. My mother drove us to the cemetery. Afterward, we went to get lunch in a nearby town. Later, we had to go back to the cemetery and retraced our route. I looked out the window and saw a huge sign about a new restaurant that I hadn't noticed before: The Purple Elephant. There was an actual purple elephant with its trunk turned up to the sky in front of the restaurant. My father had truly outdone himself."

Laura Lynne Jackson, Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe (The Dial Press, 2020).