Very rarely, I read something which strikes me so forcefully that I can’t really talk about it until there has been time to take it all in. Today’s blog post is an example.
The article behind this “something which struck me” is the latest post on Sheila Joshi’s blog Neuroscience and psi.com. It is an extensive essay written by Sheila and Barbara Croner, clinical psychologists from California with an interest in everything (and then some) that is of interest to us here.
Anyone who is a regular participant here will see at once why I recommend their article, aside from Sheila’s being a reader of Dancingpastthedark.com. The essay is purely brilliant. It is dense enough with ideas and information, all of which is relevant to distressing near-death experiences, that the reading will likely take you some time. Yes, it is a scholarly article, but do not let that stand in your way. Please read it! Then come back here with your questions and comments. We’ll talk. You’ll find it worth the effort and the wait. (And besides, her website is gorgeous.)
It begins:
“Since the beginning of time, humanity has described a particular kind of experience that many people have had, but many have not had. It involves terrible suffering. It lasts a very long time. During much of it, there is no help or relief that can be had. Eventually, it draws to an end, culminating in a return to life, often with additional gifts.
“It has been called The Descent Experience, and the oldest known recorded version of a descent myth was written by the Sumerians on clay tablets in the third millennium BCE. In this version, the goddess Inanna (also known as Ishtar) has to visit the Underworld. There, she is destroyed physically and psychologically in the most gruesome way. It’s bad, no one will help; it goes on for awhile. Finally, Enki, the god of wisdom, comes to her rescue in an artful way, deals are made, she is reconstituted, and returns to the world.”
Now go, keep reading…