What is the function of a distressing near-death experience? The function of a distressing near-death experience is to deliver:
A) A foretaste of punishment after death
B) (related to A) An external judgment on the quality of one’s life
C) A subconscious judgment by oneself on the quality of one’s life
D) Neither a prediction nor judgment but a symbolically coded message about something of importance to one’s life
E) [Other. Your suggestion]
Think about this a bit; please feel free to comment with your ideas. Within a few days I’ll post more about the question. It would be good to have your thoughts in the mix.
Please note: In the interest of not wasting anyone’s time, “A meaningless hallucination” is not included in that list.
Perhaps it is the same as some distressing dreams – a metaphor for deeply troubling issues in our lives.
I lean towards (C) A subconscious judgment by oneself on the quality of one’s life.
Perhaps there’s external interplay involved, but time and again, NDE’s of the pleasant variety report making their own judgements when experiencing their life review. There is no deceit there, so an honest assessment is a given.
My understanding of distressing NDE’s is that most of the ones reported (an important distinction) tend to turn pleasant once the NDEr gives up the fight and ‘lets go’, or cries out and surrenders to a higher power. Howard Storm is one famous example.
There are others that report that the hellishness did not end until they came back to this existence. Parallels can be made to Shamanic journeys here, with a purgatory aspect that we don’t completely understand. So perhaps in these seemingly never-ending cases, their ‘journey’ was interrupted before it could be completed.
For years, my son has wanted a sign on his desk that says, “Let me guess — it’s not that SIMPLE!” My feeling is that there are multiple reasons for negative near-death experiences. Howard Storm’s was a wake-up call. Most people are rescued when they call out to God or (here in the West) Jesus. In Pure Land Buddhism, there are several Bodhisattvas like the Amida Buddha, who will rescue you from Hell if you call out to them. Another type of distressing near-death experience would appear to be for punishment. In his elaborate near-death experience, George DeBeneville ( http://www.christianuniversalist.org/articles/nde-debenneville.html) got a tour of heaven and hell and saw angels taking people out of hell when they had repented. George Richey saw a variety of hellish states, some of which were on the earth plane, but he said that there were Beings of Light hovering over all these souls ready to help them. This is very interesting because Richey, a young Protestant in the 1940’s, is giving us a description that sounds like the Tibetan Book of the Dead! In Buddhism and in Hinduism, the negative states are temporary and for instruction. This is why we Christians pray, “deliver us from the time of trial” (NRSV), more commonly translated in the Lord’s Prayer, “deliver us from evil.” Eternity is a long time, and how it plays out is known only to God. Having studied this for about a quarter century of my life, I am confident that — after a time of trial for some —- ALL will be united with God and their loved ones.
This does not quite fit the question, but I’ve seen several nde accounts where a person was shown various
versions of Hell, and it’s intent. Dr. George Richie’s experience is a good one.
I’ve also seen the same thing right here on earth, in the streets, and teaching in prison. In both cases people stay there until they gain the self realization that allows them to move on.
I’ve met people who’ve done time who were the most truly spiritual people I’ve ever met. I’ve also met a few who never learned.
Eternal damnation is a construct of the archaic forms of organized religions. Again to gain control over the masses. I realize that this does not shed direct light upon the “Hellish Nde”, but I think it’s relavent.
To me, D) makes the most sense. The hardest thing to see in this world is yourself. Clarity in this regard comes from that which befalls you as a consequence of your actions. This has sure happened to me.
I remember a near death experience where a Hell Fire,and Damnation preacher professed to God how in his Ministry how he had faithfully served him / Her / It.
In his NDE he was blasted down to ground zero because of the cruelness of his preaching.
He made a 360 degree turnaround in his approach. I think……. it was Howard Pitman, I could be wrong.
I find in life it’s those who are dead sure they’re right that have the hardest time seeing themselves for who and what they really are. They’re also the ones who cause the most damage.
I’m with Dave on this question. In 1968, I had a second, “anomalous” (spontaneous), terrifying NDE–very different from my initial, early-childhood NDE– which was so symbolically densely encoded that I could not begin the process of unraveling its multiple meanings until 9/11. This is because in one part of the terrifying NDE I was in one of the towers experiencing the event. Fortunately, I wrote and mimeographed an account of that experience so I have a record of a “hellish” experience that actually happened more than three decades later, but that, in biographical terms, had nothing to do with me. I had never even been to NYC at that time, and the twin towers had not been built! But it certainly taught me that we have access to knowledge of future events or probable events via means about which our materialist science knows nothing. I am still gratefully learning from this experience.
Hi, Suzanne, and welcome. As you’ll note, the blog hasn’t even touched yet on the possibility of precognition–or is it pre-symbology? All things in their time!