Book review of "A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes" written by physicist Stephen W. Hawking, with a discussion about how the content relates to near-death experience topics.

Review of the book "Full Circle: The Near-Death Experience and Beyond" written by Barbara Harris and Lionel Bascom.

Review of the book "Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives" by Jungian analyst Roger J. Woolger.

Review of the book "Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives" by Jungian analyst Roger J. Woolger.

Abstract: This study examined changes in religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices in the lives of 50 near-death experiencers. I attempted to clarify whether these changes were to greater religiousness or to a deeper spirituality. I found that before the near-death experience (NDE), my respondents were no more religious or spiritually inclined than the general Australian population. Following the NDE there was a statistically significant shift towards spirituality on most items investigated.

Abstract: In a survey of Chinese attitudes toward near-death experiences (NDEs), 197 respondents were read a hypothetical description of an NDE and asked to choose from a range of explanations and social reactions that might approximate their own. Fifty-eight percent of respondents believed that NDEs were probably hallucinations or dreams. Less than nine percent believed the NDE was evidence of life after death. Rural and younger persons were more likely to react positively to NDErs. The results are discussed with reference to an earlier Australian study by Kellehear and Heaven (1989).

Article discussing the following issue: If mental state can influence the external world, or if alternate dimensions of reality are accessible only in certain mental states, then important aspects of the universe are unknowable with current scientific tools. Near-death studies suggest that both those conditions may occur. Thus the exploration of NDE-like phenomena requires a radically new scientific paradigm.

Abstract: This paper examines the beliefs and expectations that a sample of 508 people hold about the first five minutes after death. A substantial minority believed that they will experience the main elements of the near-death experience (NDE). In general these elements were cited more frequently than were Biblical images. Six percent of the sample said that postmortem survival for them will be a negative and disturbing experience. We discuss these results in terms of their methodological implications for other survey work and their theoretical contribution toward our understanding of negative NDEs.

Article purporting that an encounter with the Light during a state of altered consciousness is a direct experience of God. The question of scientific proof is discussed.

Article discussing the near-death experience (NDE) as an experience of wholeness, an adventure in consciousness, and a metaphoric encounter with light. It links theoretical physics with the occult, the Primordial Tradition, and various religious belief systems. Where science sees mystery, religion sees metaphoric truth; the NDE as spiritual quest and physical encounter beckons to both disciplines for explanation.

Editorial contrasting the private, personal near-death experience with the public concept of the experience, and finding important messages for humanity that are common to both.

Article purporting that near-death studies can be viewed within a theoretical framework of "paradigms" and "paradigm shifts" as explicated by Thomas Kuhn. Assuming the validity of Kuhn's model, it hypothesizes that the paradigm of today's "normal science" is shifting to a new paradigm to accommodate data from near-death studies.

Abstract: The authors present an introductory overview of the history of near-death phenomena, followed by a synopsis of near-death research representative of three historical eras: 1880s-1930s; 1930s-1960; and 1960 to the present.

Quarterly journal publishing papers related to near-death experiences, including research reports; theoretical or conceptual statements; expressions of a scientific, philosophic, religious, or historical perspective on the study of near-death experiences; cross-cultural studies; individual case histories; and personal accounts of experiences or related phenomena.

Quarterly journal publishing papers related to near-death experiences, including research reports; theoretical or conceptual statements; expressions of a scientific, philosophic, religious, or historical perspective on the study of near-death experiences; cross-cultural studies; individual case histories; and personal accounts of experiences or related phenomena. Table of contents for each issue of volume 8 are included on page 267.

Quarterly journal publishing papers related to near-death experiences, including research reports; theoretical or conceptual statements; expressions of a scientific, philosophic, religious, or historical perspective on the study of near-death experiences; cross-cultural studies; individual case histories; and personal accounts of experiences or related phenomena.

Quarterly journal publishing papers related to near-death experiences, including research reports; theoretical or conceptual statements; expressions of a scientific, philosophic, religious, or historical perspective on the study of near-death experiences; cross-cultural studies; individual case histories; and personal accounts of experiences or related phenomena.

Letter from Leslee Morabito to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the topic "Love and God in the Near-Death Experience."

Letter from Susan C. Litton to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the topic "More on Prophetic Visions and the Inner Self Helper."

Letter from Dan Punzak to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the topic "Prophetic visions and the 'Inner Self Helper'."

Letter from Roger B. Cook to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the topic "Roger Cook Responds."

Letter from V. Krishnan to the editor discussing a theory of death and reincarnation that implies a process amenable to empirical investigation.

Letter from D. Scott Rogo to editor discussing the process of an experimentally induced near-death experience.

Letter from John White to editor discussing the meaning of near-death experiences and the concept of Homo noeticus.