NDE Talks on DVDs

Large collections of NDE talks, besides that of central IANDS Headquarters - www.iands.org - are now available and exclusively in DVD format, for anyone to purchase at reasonable prices. Two "Friends of IANDS" groups are doing this, filming their monthly speakers, and then offering the DVDs to anyone who might be interested in having them. For more information, contact:

CHICAGO IANDS (in Illinois): speak with Diane Willis at (847) 251-5758; docflute@aol.com, info@chicagoiands.org; www.chicagoiands.org.


VIRGINIA BEACH IANDS (in Virginia): speak with Rev. Richard Dinges or Cheryl Birch at (757) 481-0061 or (757) 575- 2779; RichardADinges@aol.com.

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There is an archive of scientists who have had transcendent experiences that changed their thinking. You might be interested in exploring that website to see who's there and what happened to him or her. Entitled "The Archives of Scientists' Transcendent Experiences," you can access it at http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/tart/taste/.

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PEAR (Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research) laboratory has closed down. For over three decades, this small laboratory at Princeton University managed to embarrass university administrators, outrage Nobel laureates, entice the support of philanthropists, and make headlines around the world with its efforts to prove that thoughts can alter the course of events.


PEAR has been an anomaly from the start, a ghost in the machine room of physical science that was never acknowledged as substantial and yet never entirely banished. Its longevity illustrates the strength and limitations of scientific peer view, the process by which researchers appraise one another's work. Their experiments have indeed indicated that the human mind can alter the behavior of certain machines, is capable of telepathy, and can help to heal disease in oneself and others.

The culture of science, at its purest, is one of freedom in which any idea can be tested regardless of how far-fetched it might seem. Yet today's scientists seldom practice real science. Dr. Robert Jahn, head of PEAR, remains convinced that the study of such things as telekinesis and related phenomena will carry on. "It's time for a new era," he said, "for someone to figure out what the implications of our results are for human culture, for future study, and - if the findings we have made are correct - for what they say about our basic scientific attitude."

PEAR is now switching to independent operations, free of university control. You can contact them at: International Consciousness Research Laboratories - http://www.icrl.org/history.php. PMH ____________________________________________________________________________

COMMENTS:

There is no central listing of books about children who have had near-death experiences, or are written by them. I wish to start one, so here goes:

THE FIRST FICTIONALIZED BOOK ABOUT A CHILD'S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE, WRITTEN BY A CHILD NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCER ONCE GROWN - "The Door to the Secret City" by Kathy Forti. No longer available in bookstores, it can be obtained online through Kathy. Contact her at: 12401 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 306, Los Angeles, CA 90025; kjforti@aol.com. Originally published in 1984 by Stillpoint Press. You can read about Kathy's case in my book, "Future Memory."

THE FIRST BOOK ABOUT A CHILD'S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE AND ITS AFTEREFFECTS, WRITTEN BY THE CHILD EXPERIENCER WHILE STILL A CHILD - "In His Arms" by Denise Mendenhall (with the help of her father, Doug Mendenhall). Self-published and available from the Mendenhall family. Contact: Publishing Hope, P. O. Box 282, Mt. Pleasant, UT 84647; halmendenhall@aol.com. Originally published in 2006, the book is both wondrous and disturbing, showing more clearly than ever before how differently than an adult a child tends to regard both the near-death experience and its aftereffects.

THE FIRST BOOK ABOUT A CHILD'S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE, WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY THE EXPERIENCER ONCE GROWN - "A Journey with the Angel of Light" by Aafke H. Holm-Oosterhof. Done thirty years after-the-fact, it is a vivid account of the actualities involved, accompanied by stunning artwork. Unfortunately, the book is in Dutch. I keep hoping it will be translated and published in the U. S. Contact Aafke at aafke@holm.myweb.nl; or through her website at http://home.hccnet.nl/p.g.holm.

THE FIRST ADDITION TO A BOOK SERIES WHERE A CHILD EXPERIENCER ONCE GROWN IS THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR - "Near-Death Experiences" by Michael Martin, assisted by Linda Jacquin. Available in 2005, the series is entitled "The Unexplained" and is designed by Capstone Press, its publisher, for students from 3rd to 6th grade reading levels. Contact: Capstone Press, 151 Good Council Drive, P. O. Box 669, Mankato, MN 56002. Linda Jacquin, should you wish to contact her, may be reached via jacadv@centurytel.net.

THE FIRST FICTIONALIZED ACCOUNT OF A CHILD'S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE WRITTEN BY A RESEARCHER OF NEAR-DEATH STATES - "Talking with Angel: About Illness, Death and Survival" by Evelyn Elsaesser-Valarino. Coming out in 2005, the book was published by Floris Books of Edinburgh, Scotland, but is readily available in U. S. bookstores or online through www.amazon.com. This book, by the way, is exceptional reading for anyone who has lost a child.

FICTIONALIZED ACCOUNT OF A CHILD'S NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE THAT IS WRITTEN FOR CHILD READERS BY AN AUTHOR FAMILIAR WITH RESEARCH ON NEAR-DEATH STATES - "A Bridge for Grandma" by Carol McCormick. Self-published and with outstanding illustrations, the book is available from: Beavers Pond Press, 7104 Ohms Lane, Suite 216, Edina, MN 55439; www.BeaversPondPress.com.

Many books have been published that are collections of narratives either from or about children's near-death experiences and the children themselves. Some were written by physicians, fellow researchers, and various individuals moved by these cases. Only three are based on large, objective studies of child experiencers, their episodes and aftereffects. These three books are:

"Closer to the Light: Learning from the Near-Death Experiences of Children" by Melvin Morse, M.D., with Paul Perry. New York City; Villard Books, 1990.

"Children of the Light: The Near-Death Experiences of Children" by Cherie Sutherland, Ph.D. Sydney, Australia; Bantam Books, 1995.

"The New Children and Near-Death Experiences" by P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D. Rochester, VT; Inner Traditions/Bear & Co., 1999/2003. (Originally published as "Children of the New Millennium" through Three Rivers Press, NYC.)

I sincerely believe that we have only begun to tap into what can be learned from children who have had a near-death experience. In the past, kids' cases were studied by adults, who viewed them through the lens of adult models and adult points of view to arrive at their findings. This seriously skewed the results. Children cannot be researched as one would an adult. If they are allowed to express themselves openly and freely, with their perspective honored, a picture emerges that is both incredibly amazing and uncomfortably challenging. This is why I feel the book "In His Arms" is so important. You are immediately faced in this book with the renderings of a miracle child, who defied medical science by surviving her ordeal, yet who has had her worldview so reordered that the average person will wonder whether or not she is mentally stable. She is not atypical.

I hope this list of books inspires other child experiencers to write their own book, no matter how old they now are. And.......please send me a copy. Send to: P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., P. O. Box 7691, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691. Thank you!

I also encourage any child experiencer of a near-death state, especially if still young, to send me drawings of what happened. Send me a photograph of you, as well, and a little bit about your experience. Same address as above. Make certain you have your parents' permission to do this.