Did Religion Evolve from NDEs?

***ANNOUNCEMENT:

On June 1, 2008, I will present a paper at the 33rd annual
conference of the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, held at
DeSales University, Center Valley, Pennsylvania. My paper is entitled "Is
the Afterlife What We Think It Is: A Challenge from Near-Death Studies."
This paper will be posted on my website in the Article Section after June
1st, should you be interested in reading it. PMH

QUESTION:

"How are you today? My sister has actually asked me what books I'd like as a gift and I included your 'The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences.' I've been interested in NDEs for some time now, reading about them on websites or in books (such as your other one, 'Beyond the Light'). I suppose I've always had an interest in the Hereafter to a certain degree or simply the Unknown. If you are able to spare some time, it'd be great to hear from you. I have some questions that hopefully you haven't been asked before (so I don't waste your time).

I have read different books stating that religions came from a 'reinterpretation' of extraterrestrials visiting us. Therefore, the God of the Bible, gods of other religions, and so on, are actually 'aliens.' My first question is: If near-death experiencers claim to see Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, or what have you, is it simply a creation of their mind or.....? That is, are these beings just 'concepts' to comfort the souls or are they actually themselves real? If these beings are simply (former) flesh-and-blood aliens, are they truly 'ascended masters' as many spiritualists claim, or are they just other spirit taking the form of the common vision of religious icons?

It is a bit strange to give the possibility that these figures were indeed aliens. Perhaps Jesus and Buddha were human, but if we go back to the other pagan Gods (Inanna, Enki, Enlil, etc.) what is the truth? Did the people a few thousand years ago actually believe in 'spirits' the same way we do? Or, were their 'Spirits" physical beings? Since 'angel' simply means 'messenger' in Greek, could those messengers simply have been aliens? It then makes all this integration into 'New Age' beliefs a bit misguided.

When we think of ghosts, God, and so on, I think modern people give way to a modern science 'other dimension.' However, I wonder if those people 'back when' were thinking of such things or simply 'another planet.' The 'heavens' was simply space, was it not?

My last question is whether there is an institute (in Canada, where I live), where you can learn about near-death experiences in detail?".....John Q.

ANSWER:

John, there is convincing evidence to suggest that religion may have evolved from near-death experiences, and that the Golden Age of Greece and the ethics and morals that emerged from that "explosion" of thought and subsequent explorations of thought, may also trace back to near-death experiences and how stories about them were shared with people. Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., has done a great deal of work on this theory and so have a number of other researchers. Linkages Dr. Moody has made are impressive, so much so that the whole subject has garnered a great deal of interest.

The idea that ALL the great avatars/messiahs of history were aliens from other planets/systems is intriguing, yet it does not "square" with historical research or what can be offered through careful study and analysis, or even through intuitive guidance and mystical wisdoms. I have no doubt that advanced beings have "visited" our planet during important moments in our history (and these could have been referred to as "aliens" or "heavenly hosts" or "angels"); waves of them have entered whenever "dark" times were present and people were desperate or "lost." Nothing can really be proved here, still, what makes sense to me, considering evidence and the traditions we can trace, is that aliens could have participated in what jump-started human lifeforms on this planet, and may have visited again during certain timeframes for whatever purpose.

But the rise of great avatars/messiahs I connect more with what is possible when an individual chooses to awaken, transcend in consciousness, merge with his or her soul, and then operate from that higher vibratory frequency. We become the divine being we quite literally are as "Children of the Most High," and then have the potential to become/exhibit in earthly form our true identity - once we transcend the limits of our own thinking. Interventions from heavenly hosts occur in the sense of guides, guardians, messengers, light beings, and in the sense of synchronicity and spiritually transforming events that change us in significant ways, opening the door to even higher advancement and awareness.

Yes, there are children who almost from birth represent a higher form of human or were superior right from the start. Are these aliens? No one can say for certain, yet, if you study generational patterns, DNA/bloodtype groups, and the various traditions of "root races" (our genetic rootstock), as I have, you begin to recognize progressions of evolving intelligence and abilities that could produce what seems to be "alien," when in fact it is evolution itself - Mother Nature making certain we have what we need not only to survive as a species but to thrive and ascend even higher "ladders" of possibility and promise. There is a movement afoot to connect our newest generations with alien "interbreeding" or the like. Read over the research used to establish this, particularly the questionnaires submitted to people. This work, at least what I have seen and know about, is highly biased with leading questions and assumptions - very difficult to take seriously. (You might read my book "Beyond the Indigo Children" for other ideas about this.)

As far as near-death groups in Canada, yes, there are a goodly number of them. Please contact the International Association For Near-Death Studies (IANDS) for listings of groups near you. Their info: 2741 Campus Walk Avenue, Bldg. 500, Durham, NC 27705; (919) 383-7940; services@iands.org. If this address seems new, it is. They have recently moved from their former headquarters in Connecticut. Blessings, PMH

Death Awareness or Near-Death Experience?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

*** On either May 24 or 25 (2008) I will present a paper titled “Near-Death States: The Pattern of Aftereffects” at the conference on Ecstatic States, held at the Hannover Medical College, Hannover, Germany. I am told about 350 psychiatrists and professionals from various fields will be in attendance. You will be able to read my paper shortly, as a copy will be posted in the Article Section of my website at www.pmhatwater.com.

*** Don’t forget that the International Association For Near-Death Studies (IANDS) has moved. Their new contact information is: 2741 Campus Walk Avenue, Bldg. 500, Durham, NC 27705; (919) 383-7940; services@iands.org. Their website is the same: www.iands.org.

QUESTION:

“Is this a near-death experience? Please tell me what you think.

In 1996, I lost my mother to an ovarian cancer. Three days before she died, I woke up in the morning with tears running down my cheeks. I had cried during a dream. In my dream, I saw my mother in a beautiful meadow, with a evergreen forest behind her. The whole place was flooded with a wonderful golden light. My mother, although she looked terrible due to illness, looked in the dream very young and very healthy. She was all smile and happy to be where she was. I was so happy and amazed to see her in good health and suddenly back to life that I cried.

She was waving me good bye. I had the message, or the feeling, that she was telling me not to worry, that she was leaving, that she would be fine. I asked her where she was going, and she kept saying not to worry. Then I woke up. As I was in bed in my room wiping the tears off my face, the door of my room suddenly opened. My mom, who could barely walk by herself and whose brain had been tampered by the cancer, walked in, leaned on me and embraced me, as strong as she could. Then she walked back to her room and lay in bed. Following this wonderful event, I decided not to say anything to my father, believing that my mother was about to die, anytime during that day.


In the afternoon, though, I had coffee with my father in the kitchen. My mother was in bed. As we were having coffee, my father suddenly tells me that he woke up that morning... crying. That he had seen my mother in a wonderful place: a meadow, huge trees in the background, waving him good bye. Exactly the same dream I had had that very same morning. I was stunned. I told him that I, too, had seen her in my dream.

My mother passed away three days later. We buried her the next day. The following day, a woman came to visit us. She used to come to help for cleaning and cooking when my mother was alive. Actually, she was the only one who came to help (close relatives, that my father and mother had helped out so many times, were nowhere to be seen when my mother's health started to decline, although they were staying two minutes away... on foot. But this is another matter).

Anyway, my mother was very grateful that this woman would spend time to help. This woman came home and told us that three days before my mother died, she had a dream. At our bewilderment, it was the exact same dream that my father and I had.

I don't know about coincidences. My father and I had endured for the last eight months considerable stress due to my mom's illness. And I can understand that, perhaps, this dream could have been just a burn out effect. But this "third party", I can't explain. I believe it was great. I just knew, somehow, that my mom would be OK where she would go. I also know, that close relatives who didn't help, who turned away their head, who didn't basically care about her, didn't get any "message".

Now, I would love to know if my mother had a near-death-experience three days before she passed away, and if she did, have my father, this woman and myself, been part of it?”…..Murat

ANSWER:

This is not a near-death experience. This is death awareness.

I am convinced that all of us, whether we admit it or not, know when we are going to die. I have written at length about this and the research I did concerning death awareness back in the sixties and seventies, even as a child during all those years I spent in the police station waiting on my father to get off duty so we could go home (dad was a police officer).

People show this awareness in a myriad of different ways, but, usually, they follow a certain behavior pattern that can start a year before, three months before, or three days before. Why the majority follow those particular intervals, I do not know. Not only are people aware, but, to the best of their ability, they let their significant others know, too. The dreamstate is the most common “vehicle” of this type of communication.

With your mother it was three days before. She was alert and determined to say her last goodbyes, convey the love that was inside of her, pass along what was in her heart. We could say that she instigated the dreams all three of you had. We could say that her soul spread the message. We could say that the soul of each of you simply “knew” and conveyed that knowledge to you in the most loving way possible. Which one is correct? Perhaps all three suggestions. We have no way to be certain. We just know that in the spiritual worlds, all things are possible and that love always reaches out and touches the hearts of those who are loved.

All three of you have been blessed in ways that will change how you view the spiritual worlds, life and death, and the power of love. I refer you to my book “We Live Forever: The Real Truth About Death” for a more indepth discussion of this very thing – death awareness and the power of the soul.

Many blessings, PMH