The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2017
Mays Mays
14 citations
A critique of Fischer and Mitchell-Yellin's physicalist explanation of near-death experiences (NDEs) identifies two major weaknesses: heavy reliance on ad hoc hypotheses and frequent appeal to promissory materialism. The authors argue that labeling NDEs as hallucinations is problematic because NDE perceptions differ phenomenologically from hallucinations, are often veridical regarding the physical realm, and pathologizing them risks harmful psychological outcomes. They propose a common proximate cause for all NDEs, suggesting the nonphysical mind-entity theory—where the nonmaterial mind separates from the body—has good explanatory power. They contend that scientific inquiry will eventually expand physicalist theory into an extended, transmaterial naturalism.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2014
Bruce Greyson
14 citations
Spiritually transformative experiences are distinct from psychotic experiences in their context, content, how they are remembered, and their lasting effect on the individual. The article examines these differences without presenting new empirical data.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2006
Bruce Greyson, Janice Holden, J. Paul Mounsey
13 citations
During the surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac arrest was induced under closely monitored conditions to test the device. A computer displayed unusual visual targets visible only from above eye level, looking down on the unconscious patient, to test the accuracy of out-of-body perceptions reported in near-death experiences. In a series of 52 induced cardiac arrests, no patient reported having had a near-death experience, and none reported a sense of leaving the physical body or observing from an out-of-body visual perspective. This failure to find a single NDE may have been due to preoperative reassurances.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 1981
Bruce Greyson
12 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) cannot be fully explained by reductionistic hypotheses. A case is made for psychological and psychodynamic interpretations of NDEs, arguing that these approaches should not be prematurely rejected. The paper restates the value of considering psychological frameworks alongside other explanations.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2004
Bruce Greyson, Kenneth Ring
11 citations
The article presents the Life Changes Inventory-Revised, a standardized version of the scale that incorporates knowledge from previous drafts administered to diverse samples and from qualitative research on attitudinal changes reported by near-death experiencers.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2011
David Rousseau
10 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) provide empirical support for mind-body substance dualism, the view that the mind is a substantial object existing apart from the body. A systems-theoretical analysis of the evidence is necessary to avoid mischaracterizing the mind and its holistic interaction with the body. Some psychic abilities are emergent properties of the mind-body system, and ordinary faculties like emotional perceptiveness fit within the same framework as extraordinary ones like telepathy. NDE evidence favors a naturalistic form of substance dualism.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2014
Masayuki Ohkado, Bruce Greyson
8 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) share some features across cultures but also show culture-specific elements. Japanese NDEs differ from Western ones in three main ways: the interpretation of and interaction with a light, the image of heaven, and the absence of a life review. These differences are explained by cultural factors rather than universal physiological or biological mechanisms.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 1996
8 citations
To account for the vivid, often transpersonal phenomenology of perinatal experiences reported in Stanislav Grof's work, the authors argue that the patient's consciousness must be understood as extending beyond the individual self. This implies that such experiences cannot be fully explained by conventional psychological models limited to the personal subject.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2021
Bruce Greyson
7 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) can involve a variety of factors, and while psychedelic molecules may play a role in some cases, they are not relevant to all NDEs. The author responds to criticism of their book, clarifying that psychedelic substances are only one possible factor among many, and that the research on NDEs should not be reduced to a single explanation.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2015
Greyson, Bruce, B. Liester, Mitchell, Kinsey, Lee et al.
5 citations
People who have had near-death experiences (NDEs) report more electromagnetic (EM) aftereffects than those who were close to death without an NDE or who never came close to death. These aftereffects include both actions on the surrounding EM environment and reactions to it. Among NDErs, those with more intense NDEs report more EM aftereffects. The findings suggest the need for controlled experiments to measure the EM fields generated or channeled by NDErs and the kinds of EM fields to which they react.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2022
Bruce Greyson, Pim van Lommel, Peter Fenwick
4 citations
An invited commentary discusses how to interpret brainwave recordings from an elderly patient who suffered a cardiac arrest, and what those recordings might reveal about near-death experiences. The authors argue that certain patterns of electrical activity in the brain after cardiac arrest could correspond to the subjective phenomena reported by people who have had near-death experiences, though they caution that the relationship remains speculative and requires further investigation.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2016
Shushan, Gregory
3 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are a central theme in Native American afterlife beliefs, and they also shaped Native Americans' responses to Christian missionaries. The article argues that NDEs, combined with socio-political factors, can explain Native American religious revitalization movements and beliefs more broadly. This account integrates historical, ethnographic, and psychological perspectives to show how personal experiences of the afterlife influenced indigenous religious change and resistance to colonial missions.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2004
Raymond L. M. Lee
3 citations
The article examines the concept of the clear light as it appears in both dream yoga and near-death experiences, exploring its significance for spiritual liberation. It discusses how this luminous phenomenon is interpreted within these two contexts and what it suggests about the nature of consciousness and spiritual awakening. The author inquires into whether the clear light serves a similar emancipatory function in both experiences, drawing on traditional teachings and comparative analysis to illuminate its role in the process of spiritual development.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 1997
Karl Jansen
3 citations
The author responds to commentators on their earlier paper about ketamine and near-death experiences (NDEs). Set and setting influence both drug effects and NDEs. Some NDEs are anxiety-generating, like some ketamine experiences, but frightening NDEs are often ignored by researchers. High-frequency compulsive ketamine use is rare. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) can induce NDEs but this is not typical, whereas NDE-like effects are typical of ketamine. The speed of drug onset does not relate to its capacity to induce NDEs. The existence of endopsychosins is doubtful, but NMDA receptor blocking mechanisms are real. NDEs and dream sleep may involve similar mechanisms. Altered states do not require a normally functioning brain. The author discusses the possible evolutionary advantage of the NDE mechanism.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 1991
Bruce Greyson
3 citations
Sixty-one consecutive suicide attempters were interviewed about near-death experiences. The article reports on the rate and characteristics of such experiences in a population expected to have high rates of both psychopathology and proximity to death.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2022
Robert A. King
2 citations
Observed somatic continuance (OSC) describes experiences in which a person sees their own body continue to act semi-autonomously while they perceive themselves to be in a detached vantage point. This article discusses possible triggers for such experiences, drawing on theories from psychology, biology, and genetics. It considers how paranormal beliefs and space science might relate to these phenomena, though no single explanation is established. The authors suggest that OSC may arise from disruptions in normal bodily awareness or from psychological and biological factors, but they do not present empirical data or a definitive cause.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2011
Michael Nahm
2 citations
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (TBD) was gradually developed within the Dzokchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, not a single ancient text. Comparing its descriptions of death and afterlife with reports from Tibetan délok, near-death experiencers, mediums, and children who remember past lives shows some consistent features but also key inconsistencies. These inconsistencies likely reflect the unique Dzokchen tradition's concepts rather than universal experiences. Scholars should therefore be cautious about uncritically adopting the TBD's contents.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2010
Ken R. Vincent
1 citation
Near-death experiences and other transpersonal experiences—those that go beyond ordinary limits of space and time—suggest the existence of God and ongoing personal consciousness after physical death. A review of these experiences before 1850 and their scientific study from 1850 to the present concludes that a large percentage of the population has had such experiences, the vast majority of experiencers are mentally healthy, and these experiences positively change people's lives. While these experiences cannot prove a personal God or afterlife, they strongly point toward them.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2007
Bruce Greyson
1 citation
A response to Keith Augustine's critique argues that his objections to studies of veridical perception in near-death experiences rely on speculation from popular media rather than on data or peer-reviewed research. However, addressing the methodological issues he raises could improve near-death research and strengthen the evidence for veridical perception.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2006
René Jorgensen
1 citation
An editorial connecting two accounts of disembodied consciousness: the light encountered in near-death experiences and the Clear Light described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It brings together these two forms of human understanding without presenting new empirical data.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2006
Ren Jorgensen
1 citation
This editorial draws parallels between the light encountered in near-death experiences (NDEs) and the Clear Light described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The author recounts their own NDE and compares it with both the Tibetan text and accounts from the near-death literature, suggesting that some NDEs offer a basis for understanding a nondualistic perception of the Clear Light. The author argues that the NDE experiencer may be on the right side of the dividing line in natural liberation, and that the reported light could represent insight into spiritual liberation. The piece closes by comparing messages from NDEs and the Tibetan Book of the Dead, posing questions for future near-death studies.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2003
James Fadiman, Jordan Gruber
1 citation
A review of Rick Strassman's book, which describes his research on the effects of the psychedelic compound DMT on human volunteers. The book explores how DMT may provide a biological basis for near-death and mystical experiences, drawing on his clinical studies where participants reported encounters with otherworldly entities and profound spiritual states. Strassman, a medical professor, argues that DMT, naturally produced in the brain, could be a key to understanding these phenomena, though the review notes the speculative nature of some claims.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 1997
Antonio Bianchi
1 citation
Ketamine and ibogaine, both noncompetitive antagonists of the NMDA receptor, can induce experiences resembling near-death experiences (NDEs), but the character of these experiences differs markedly depending on the context of use—recreational versus operating room for ketamine, and hallucinatory versus initiatic ritual for ibogaine. In initiatic rituals, ibogaine can induce a superficial coma state. These observations raise the question of whether chemically-induced NDE-like experiences stem from the specific substance or from an actual comatose state.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2017
Sushan, Gregory
Historical accounts of near-death experiences are rare in indigenous African societies, according to a survey of ethnographic, explorer, and missionary literature. Correspondingly, mythological narratives of journeys to afterlife realms are scarce, and there is little concern with afterlife speculation. Instead, many African peoples focused on ancestral spirits, spirit possession, sorcery, and precipitous burial practices that limited NDE occurrences. NDEs were sometimes viewed as aberrational, making individuals reluctant to report them. In such cultural contexts, NDEs could not have significantly shaped afterlife beliefs.
The Journal of near-death studies
January 1, 2013
Michael J. Rush
A critique of a 2006 case study of a near-death experience (NDE) with reported out-of-body perceptions and unexplained healing raises concerns about the original authors' methodology and interpretation. The critique identifies methodological weaknesses and possible interpretation biases in the work of Sartori, Badham, and Fenwick, which the critic argues undermine the paper's conclusion that such cases suggest current models of consciousness must expand. The critique also examines relevant parts of Sartori's subsequent 2008 Ph.D. thesis.