Abstract: In this editorial, I express my views on how to understand and reconcile contradictory revelations among near-death experiences (NDErs). I address the issue of an NDEr proselytizing one's own unique interpretations in response to life's deepest questions.

Letter from Yvonne Kason to the editor responding to a review of a recently published book, and providing an explanation for its title.

Review of a book titled "The Natural Soul" written by Barbara Harris Whitfield.

Editorial statement introducing the contents of the journal issue and providing other relevant notes.

Editorial statement introducing the contents of the journal issue and providing other relevant notes.

Editorial statement introducing the contents of the journal issue and providing other relevant notes.

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.

Article examining the phenomenological commonalities between Emanuel Swedenborg's experiences and near-death experiences (NDEs). It argues that a distal cause of Swedenborg's experiences was neural changes induced by his lifetime of unusual respiration, in conjunction with a predisposition to temporal lobe seizures. It concludes by proposing a number of empirically testable hypotheses emerging from the arguments, centered around a developmental approach to NDEs.

Letter written to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies regarding the first U. S. publication of Yvonne Kason's book, "Farther Shores: Exploring how Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives."

Abstract: Given the dearth of Muslim near-death experiences (NDEs) in the literature, I decided to take advantage of my contacts in the Muslim community to find more of this material. After advertising unsuccessfully in both traditional media and Internet groups, I recruited a student resident of Pakistan who had considerable contacts and help there to visit the area of a major earthquake in the Kashmir area in the hope that this would be a fertile terrain to find additional NDE accounts. Once again the results were disappointing. I conclude that NDEs are specifically designed for people who need them, and the need in certain communities may not be as great because of the persistence of traditional faith in an afterlife and a Creator.

Abstract: In Peter Novak's recent work (2003), he suggested the hypothesis that the human self is intrinsically bifurcated and separates into distinct components of consciousness at death. He referred to the near-death literature for evidence of this separation. His analysis of this literature implied that the after-death experience is not sequentially determined but is shaped simultaneously by different events corresponding to those components of consciousness. His proposal to reconcile those components addressed the need for self-integration at death. However, proponents of postmodernism question the singularity of self-identity and propose the multiplicity of self-experience. Their challenge to the belief in a wholly integrated self brings into question the therapeutic value of recognizing self-division in death. If the self lacks a foundation, then it is fruitless to seek an illusory level of integration. Rather, self-division in death points to a more astute understanding of the emptiness of the self.

Letter from Robert G. Mays to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies on the following topic "On the Scope of Analysis for the AWARE Study."

Review of the book "The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die" by researcher P. M. H. Atwater, containing assembled knowledge about known near death experiences.

Letter written to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies responding to the article, "Did Emanuel Swedenborg Have Near-Death Experiences? Envisioning a Developmental Account of NDEs" by Jones and Ferneyhough.

Abstract: In this paper, I present four apparent near-death experiences (NDEs) reported in Roman times. Despite their uncertain reliability, they contain features deserving attention. Three reports involve taking the wrong person to the realm of death by mistake ("mistake cases"), and even include the claim that the correct person had died after the NDEr revived ("correction cases"). Though common in Asia, such cases are absent in contemporary Western NDE reports. The fourth report contains an alleged correct future prediction and xenoglossy, the latter being a novum to NDE research. After introducing the four cases, I discuss their peculiar features and some related aspects of near-death states with a focus on their relevance for future NDE research.

Abstract: The literature concerned with experiences of the dying contains numerous accounts reporting the sudden return of mental clarity shortly before death. These experiences can be described as Terminal Lucidity (TL). The most peculiar cases concern patients suffering from mental disability including mental illness or dementia. Despite the potential relevance of TL for developing new forms of therapies and for elaborating an improved understanding of the nature of human consciousness, very little has been published on this subject. In this paper I present a historical overview and selected case reports of TL of mentally ill or otherwise disabled patients, mainly drawing on the literature available in English and in German. Possible explanatory models of TL and their implications are discussed.

Letter written to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies discussing a recent article about the prevalence of near-death experiences in India and suggesting that the low rate of prevalence was due to the methodology used in the study.

Article discussing the near-death experiences of Perpetua and Saturus, martyrs of early Christianity.

Review of a book titled "The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope" written by neurosurgeon Allan J. Hamilton.

Abstract: Preliminary evidence suggests that both near-death experiencers (NDErs) and nonexperiencers who learn about near-death experiences (NDEs) show beneficial aftereffects. In this article I summarize the findings of an exploratory study to examine a small group process utilizing spiritual guidance and expressive arts for integrating NDE aftereffects. Eleven adult participants -- four NDErs and seven non-NDErs -- completed a pretest, initial posttest, and longitudinal posttest consisting of a revised version of the Omega Life Change Questionnaire (Rominger-LCQ) and the Human Spirituality Scale, as well as semistructured individual and group interviews. I also collected the expressive art participants created during sessions, photographed it, and used it to identify pictorial themes. Quantitative results included some significant differences and some nonsignificant trends indicating greater spirituality and life changes among NDErs compared to non-NDErs and, for all participants, from pre- to posttest. Qualitative interview material revealed participants had learned material on a number of topics of including a broader understanding of, and ability to communicate about, the NDE. Qualitative pictorial data revealed themes suggesting that both NDErs and non-NDErs had integrated positive aftereffects. The process described herein may benefit spiritual guides and directors, expressive art therapists, and therapists working with individuals who have had …

Review of a book titled "Parapsychology and the Skeptics: A Scientific Argument for the Existence of ESP" written by author Chris Carter.

Letter from Mahendra Perera to the editor discussing the deeds of Jesus Christ between his death and resurrection as near-death experiences.

Abstract: In the modern literature, the so-called 'vision of Er,' told by Plato, and the 'vision of Thespesius,' recorded by Plutarch, have sometimes been cited as examples of ancient near-death experiences (NDEs). However, in a recent study, classicist Jan Bremmer (2002) impugned this interpretation. In this article, I offer a fresh analysis of these two texts that challenges Bremmer's stance and that vindicates the similarity between the ancient reports and modern NDEs. The vision of Er emerges as the oldest known direct account of an NDE. I add to these cases Plutarch's description of the 'vision of Timarchus' as an example of an ancient NDE provoked by extreme isolation. Comparison of these reports of NDEs from antiquity with modern analogues suggests a few additional characteristic traits of NDEs.