OK, so I’m back. IANDS–the International Association for Near-Death Studies–just had its 30th anniversary conference. Thirty years. A miracle! Now my challenge is to settle down after all the excitement and that incredibly high energy level and put the interconnectedness into practice.
From my perspective, several trends stand out:
- Distressing near-death experiences, for so long the despised step-child of the field, are increasingly recognized as genuine, though still baffling, spiritual events that must be investigated, engaged, and allowed into the family. The attitude of most conference-goers has changed dramatically. Now they are ready for substantive information.
- As more than one science-centered presentation emphasized, the idea of the nonlocality of consciousness–that is, that mind is more than a product of the brain and is not located exclusively there–has gained good traction among thoughtful and informed thinkers. Three decades ago, that was barely a mirage, though the idea was far from new; now the concept is almost commonplace. It is still mysterious, and I would guess often understood incorrectly, but accepted as a likely truth. Books like Irreducible Mind (Kelly et al) and Science and the Near-Death Experience (Chris Carter) make the point.
- Responses to NDEs and their aftereffects has shifted, over time, from the early “gosh-golly-wow!” reactions to to a more grounded interest in how to integrate the experience into daily life in both individuals and the community. This shift from naive enthusiasm to a more purposeful approach goes with an intensified understanding that as society in general, and the planet as a whole, are being confronted by massive challenges and disruptions on all sides, there is something about near-death experiences that can help humankind deal with the changes. The question, of course, is how.
So, the heady socializing and idea-sharing in community over for another year, we buckle back down to living out whatever it is we believe we know from these experiences, whether our own or those of others. Back to chopping wood and carrying water.
Responses to NDEs and their aftereffects has shifted, over time, from the early “gosh-golly-wow!” reactions to to a more grounded interest in how to integrate the experience into daily life in both individuals and the community.
That hits another nail on the head for me. When I first discovered the massive volume of literature about NDE’s three years ago (I had been living under a rock prior to then 🙂 ), I was excited, and I can honestly say, transformed. I fell into a world that seemed a little surreal at first, but after sifting through the excitable woo-woo New Age stuff, I saw that there was a lot of solid information out there about every day consciousness and the transcendence of it that started to make sense to me.
Reputable researchers, medical professionals and scientists were bravely pioneering theories, conducting studies, and documenting things that objectively addressed that age old question that I sometimes ask myself, when I have the time to look around at my surroundings: WHAT HAPPENED? In other words, how did we get here, why are we here and where are we going? Of course, no one has come up with any indisputable answers, and I doubt they ever will, but for some of us, it’s the direction of the journey in life that these brave folks have unleashed that matters. Consciousness and love are tangible things.
But I’m used to it now. We all die and go to heaven, maybe different levels, maybe reincarnate. That’s the standard narrative. But what about those ‘bad’ NDE’s that nobody seems to want to talk about? There’s gold in them thar hills! I really think that we can’t even get close to an understanding of the full magnitude of the Near Death Experience until we confront and study the distressing ones. It’s a shame that these experiences have been ignored for so long, but I’m heartened when you say that “The attitude of most conference-goers has changed dramatically. Now they are ready for substantive information.” I just hope this expands beyond IANDS conferences and into the rest of the world.
I’ll try to share some of what was said at the conference. You’ll be even more excited.