NDE Shamanism and Applied Science: Developing a Clinical Methodology From Within the Field of Near Death Studies
J. Timothy Green, Ph.D.
Since its inception the field of near-death studies has been academic, descriptive and theoretical. Researchers have thoroughly documented the fact that NDEs are reported by approximately one-third of people who have a close brush with death, and they have described the aftereffects of the experience.
However, the field of near-death studies has always had one glaring, seemingly unsolvable problem: from a theoretical standpoint it is impossible to prove that an NDE is what it appears to be, a profound spiritual experience. In this presentation I will discuss the overlap between NDEs and shamanism, the most important being that an NDE is a time honored form of shamanic initiation. I will then suggest that because shamanism is an applied, clinical methodology, it can be used to develop a clinical modality which could be incorporated into the field of near-death studies. Said differently, the field of near-death studies could evolve from a purely descriptive, academic and theoretical discipline, into an applied clinical methodology capable of helping alleviate human suffering by using spiritual methods.
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