Abstract: This article provides a summary of current literature regarding the nature of spiritual development, types of potentially spiritually transformative experiences (pSTEs), and both short- and long-term aftereffects of pSTEs— biological, psychological, spiritual, and social. The author concludes that in the aftermath of pSTEs, experiencers, their intimates and associates, and their healthcare providers should be prepared to experience integration that can be manageable or be deeply challenging and that can be relatively brief or can last for years.

Letter from Rudolf H. Smit to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the topic "Failed Test of the Possibility that Pam Reynolds Heard Normally During her NDE."

Review of a book titled "Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences: Brain-State Phenomena or Glimpses of Immortality?" written by Michael N. Marsh.

Review of a book titled "Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife" written by Eben Alexander, and a book titled "To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story" written by Mary C. Neal.

Abstract: In this article I review the German literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries that addressed two phenomena: the state of apparent death and the origin of dreams. Because the term near-death experiences (NDEs) did not yet exist, many features of those phenomena as they are currently understood were subsumed under the broad concept of the state of apparent death, whereas early theories of the origin of dreams included spiritual views that have similarities to current views of NDEs.