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.

Abstract: In a retrospective study contrasting the near-death encounters of 183 persons who reported near-death experiences and 63 persons who reported no near-death experience, the two groups did not differ in age, gender, or time elapsed since the near-death encounter. Near-death experiencers reported all 16 items of the NDE Scale significantly more often than did nonexperiencers.

Article comparing excerpts from Chuang Tzu's writings and the descriptions of near-death experiencers (NDErs). Similarities between the beliefs of NDErs and those of Taoist patriarch Chuang Tzu suggest that NDErs have experienced a kind of awakening that leads them to reject conventional attitudes toward life and death.

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).