Not a major post this week, but a few side notes on happenings you may want to know about:
Two conferences, both on their East Coast site rotations:
IANDS
Aug 29 -Sept 1 Sheraton Crystal City Arlington , VA
The annual IANDS conference has been a sort of Mecca for near-death experiencers for 25+ years. This year’s lineup of speakers is top-notch. I am not presenting this year (unrelated to the top-notch issue!), but will be offering some discussion opportunities.
http://www.iands.org/news/news/front-page-news/928-2013-conference-featured-speakers.html
ACISTE
Oct 3-5 Hilton Crystal City Arlington, VA
2nd annual conference on Therapeutic Issues of Spiritually Transformative Experiences. Bruce Greyson, MD, will be keynoter (reason enough to consider attending). I will be presenting on “Therapeutic Challenges of Distressing Near-Death Experiences.” Specifically directed to mental health professionals and ‘spiritual guidance counselors,’ this conference is sponsored by the American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE).
For experiencers with an interest in participating in a research study:
[Please note: The following notice is for your information only; it is not a recommendation. If you are in an emotionally or psychologically fragile state, consult with your therapist, physician, or spiritual director before undertaking any experiential probing.]
Joseph Dillard, LCSW, PhD, author of Fire From Heaven: Deep Listening to Near-Death Experiences and creator of Integral Deep Listening, is conducting a study on the effects of integral deep listening on people who have had stressful or frightening NDEs.
Even if your NDE occurred years ago, Dr. Dillard believes that it is possible to maximize the positives hidden in unpleasant aspects of NDEs while minimizing the residue of stress that such experiences can create.
Participation in his study is simple. While an hour Skype or Google Chat interview is preferable, Dr. Dillard can also send questionnaires by email. The hope is that your participation will help validate a new approach to helping to reduce the stress of those who have distressing NDEs.
You may contact Dr. Dillard at:
What will you be doing at the IANDS conference? I couldn’t find your name on the schedule of events. I registered, but I have some misgivings about it now. It seems like a lot of people selling books and not so much on science. I wanted to see people like Bruce Greyson, Sam Parnia, Pim van Lommel, Raymond Moody and Kenneth Ring. I’m sure Eben Alexander is a nice guy, but he isn’t an NDE researcher.
Sandy, how nice that you looked for me on the events schedule! I’ll be at the IANDS conference, and somewhere on the schedule. Some years the conferences are heavy on research; in those years, experiencers complain that their interests have been ignored. Other years, like now, the conference tips toward the experiential side, and those of us who want to hear research will grouse about content. The human condition! Look for Parnia next year, when his book is out and the research project completed. (And keep in mind, of the people you mention, everyone else is getting on in years and, except for Bruce, has had no fresh research in a long time. This includes me, still trying to figure out the old data!)
I haven’t seen the abstracts for this year, but reports are that there were so many high quality proposals, the schedule is jammed with presentations, many from new voices. That’s why I’m not on the schedule, though if any speaker backs out, I’m likely to be the replacement. In any case, I’ll be hosting two bag lunch discussions and expect to be doing an open Q&A session one evening. And you can always corral me and get a little group together for one of those great lobby huddles!
Otherwise, maybe you can think of this year’s list of speakers less as ‘people selling books’ and more as NDErs who have more-than-usually interesting things to say about their experiences and interpretations, and who will attract new attendees to the conference. I think it’ll be a win/win. Thanks for your confidence!
I guess I picked the wrong year to go. This may be my only chance to ever attend an IANDS conference, so I don’t have the luxury of looking forward to seeing Parnia next year. I’ll try to make the best of it, but honestly, I cry when I think about what I gave up to go to this year’s IANDS conference.
I understand that IANDS has to make money to support itself, and most people don’t want to see research presentations. That’s the reality of being a non-profit organization. It’s just too bad there isn’t a research conference on NDEs separate from IANDS.
Give me until early next week to get some information I’ve just asked for. No despair yet, please!
Also, I don’t believe that most people don’t want to see research presentations, although it’s true there is a subset of mostly experiencers who are deeply suspicious of data-based or analytical reporting. Still, I’m pretty sure the biggest IANDS conference attendance ever was in Houston in 2006, and that was almost entirely heavy-duty research–literature review, data findings, academic stuff. So it depends whom you’re talking to, or listening to, whether research is popular.
Quite honestly, research follows funding, and with almost no financial support for NDE or STE studies in any field, there is little big-time research going on. The only big study I know of is Parnia’s, which may or may not produce new data, though it’s big enough that it will create a splash no matter what the findings are. The Templeton foundation grant is on immortality, allocated to smaller studies that will be perhaps interesting–still, from the announcement of topics, probably not ground-breaking. Neuroscientific research on consciousness–well, maybe some studies, but the findings are in such specialized technical language and from such a materialistic perspective, most of us couldn’t follow them, and might want to take issue with the findings even if we could understand them.
So–hang in a few more days and I’ll get back to you.
Sandy, hopefully I can help you see this year’s IANDS conference as a glass better than half full. In response to your comment late last week, I asked the IANDs office for information about this year’s speakers. The emphasis will be as advertised: NDEs and their relationship to loss, grief, and coming to terms with life. As I read the list of speakers and their topics, at least five presentations will be specifically research-based; in addition, there will be a research panel and daily academic poster sessions. From what I can tell by reading the abstracts, several other presentations will be conceptually based though not resulting explicitly from study data; in other words, you can safely expect to find substance along with a generous helping of feeling-based content.
If the world reaches the point where there is enough NDE research to support research-only annual conferences, you can be sure IANDS will sponsor them. Until then, it’s a mix. C’mon down, and be sure to look me up!