[Guest editorial].Lessons from near-death experiences for humanity.

Abstract

A considerable amount of information on the aftereffects of near-death experiences (NDEs) has been gathered by researchers and used by practitioners to help NDErs, but the lessons from this information have not been presented for use by the rest of humanity. This essay summarizes nine lessons consistently gleaned from NDEs, which may help motivate humanity to live more in accordance with the messages from NDEs. The aftereffects of near-death experiences (NDEs) have been de scribed since the commencement of modern near-death studies in 1975 with the publication of Raymond Moody's Life After Life Although most early near-death researchers focused on the phenomenology of the experience, many of those same investigators also observed the after effects of the experience, and found that NDErs outwardly showed measurable changes in attitude and behavior toward life that were attributable to the NDE. Moody (1975) reported that NDErs felt their experiences broadened and deepened their lives, caused them to become more reflective and Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Business Administration and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Western New Mexico University. This research was supported by a sabbatical leave granted by the Sabbatical Leave Commit tee of Western New Mexico University. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 12(1) Fall 1993 1993 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 5 JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES more concerned with philosophical issues, changed their attitude to ward physical life, changed their concepts of the mind and its impor tance, taught them the importance of cultivating love for others, taught them the importance of seeking knowledge, and changed their attitude toward physical death. Stanislav Grof and Joan Halifax (1977) described a pattern of change in NDErs that included a reduced fear of death, improved well-being, and enhanced meaning in life. Kenneth Ring (1980) found in his systematic study of the NDE that the typical near-death survivor emerged from the experience with a heightened sense of appreciation for life and a determination to live life to the fullest, with a renewed sense of purpose in living, and as a stronger person who valued love and service to others and no longer felt the material comforts in life were important. He also found that NDErs who reported a core experience became more religious, feared death less or lost their fear of death, and believed more definitely in an afterlife. In a subsequent book, Ring (1984) looked at 14 core NDEs that suggested patterns of spiritual awakening. The value changes induced by these NDEs, according to Ring, included enhanced appreciation of life; concern for others; greater self esteem; nonmaterialism; a quest for greater meaning; and changes in religious orientation that were char acterized by greater spirituality, perceived closeness to God, de-em phasis of formal religiosity, universalism, increased belief in life after death, and greater receptivity to Eastern beliefs. Bruce Greyson and Ian Stevenson (1980), in a study of 78 NDErs, found that most reported attitude changes toward God or religion, self, death, and life and its meaning. Greyson later reported that NDEs decreased suicidal ideation (1983a) and led experiencers to judge values related to material and social success as less important (1983b). In an analysis of the accounts of 215 survivors of life-threatening danger, Russell Noyes (1980) identified a pattern of favorable attitude changes resulting from NDEs, including a reduced fear of death, a sense of relative invulnerability, a feeling of special importance or destiny, a belief in having received the special favor of God or fate, and a strengthened belief in continued existence. He also found several more elements associated with a heightened awareness of death that resulted from the NDE, including a sense of the preciousness of life, a feeling of urgency and reevaluation of priorities, a less cautious ap proach to life, and a more passive attitude toward uncontrollable events. Michael Sabom (1982) found that almost all subjects interviewed in his study viewed their NDE as an important event that had done more 6