Researchers note similarities across cultures
The Twin Cities' first near-death experience group was born Saturday.
Armed with handouts, a video presentation and paperback copies of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences," Stephen Anderson, of Forest Lake, and Scott Taylor, of New Ulm, Minn., introduced the modest gathering of five, including one reporter, to the phenomenon of coming back from the brink.
Anderson, an engineer by day, said he's never had a true near-death experience but has heard "more than 100" accounts by those who have. He explained why a range of doctors ? from experts in Western medicine to purveyors of the paranormal ? have studied the phenomenon for several decades. While no two experiences are identical, the fundamental experiences are strikingly similar. So are the results.
"You're no longer the same person," he said. "But it's disorienting, because the rest of the world hasn't changed."
Anderson hopes the gathering, held in the basement of St. Paul's St. Anthony Park Library, will plant the seed for the formation of a chapter of the International Association for Near-Death Studies. For 30 years, the group has advocated research into the phenomenon of people who have been either medically dead or near death but have lived to tell about it.
For decades, researchers have noted similarities across many cultures. People have recalled seeing a bright light, moving through a tunnel, communicating with dead loved ones and feeling outside of their bodies.
In 2001, the British medical journal the Lancet published a study that found 18 percent of people who have returned from the brink say they've had such experiences, although experts disagree about what causes them.
Anderson said he wanted to start the group not just for people who have had near-death experiences, but also for those who want to learn more about them and experience the dynamics of a group that discusses such things.
Having been involved in near-death experience groups for years when he lived in Seattle and Chicago, Anderson said, he's seen such groups grow as they attract interest.
"This is not fluff," he said. "This is very real."
For more information, go to www.iands.org.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 829255.htm
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
