NDE — The 51st rung
by
Rasputin Zerkhoff

The author of this item died briefly on the emergency operating table at the age of four and a half after developing purpura - a blood-related illness that on this occasion followed an attack of German Measles. Needless to say he was brought back. It was a moment of which he recalls little except the emergency 18-mile drive to the hospital, where he remained for the following three months. Thirty-three years later the experience was repeated during the first of two six-hour operations to correct badly infected inner ears, one infection so far advanced as to have almost perforated the arachoid membrane surrounding the brain.

 "Life is a warm short moment - and death is a long cold rest
You get your chance to try, in the twinkling of an eye
With eighty years of luck or even less"
Pink Floyd — More

NOSTRADAMUS may well have been one of the most familiar figures in modern history to know a near death experience or NDE, as they are known. On the other hand he may well have been a complete charlatan - an analysis that begs the question what is a charlatan? The NDE also brings to mind its opposite - what is a Near Life Experience?

Knowledge is an illusory item of infinite possibilities. It is said that when we first enter this world as a new-born child we do not see with our eyes the way we will learn to see as the weeks go by. It is said that our initial vision is one of perception of light vibration alone and that gradually a mechanism begins to operate that translates these perceptions into a three dimensional world in which we are then able to operate and function. It is also said that regression to this postnatal state is sometimes possible through the use of some of the so-called 'hallucinatory' drugs such as LSD.

I have taken dozens of mind-altering trips using a wide variety of chemical and natural substances and have dithered on the boundaries of this postnatal state. I have also experienced encounters of previous lives whilst not under the influence of any drug but when meditating in front of an open fire at my home, then in London's Crystal Palace area, back in the mid-70s.

Though many of us will shy away from public acknowledgement and discussion of death and its consequence, each and every one of us is connected to the same thread of puzzlement and wonder. Those who dogmatically profess to know the answers may be nothing more than fools to themselves, just as those who cannot face thinking about the connected issues.

The Upanishads, the Vedas beliefs, the Egyptian and the Tibetan Book of the Dead all represent collected human knowledge that was applied towards preparing the individual for death. They are unlike the Christian Bible in that the original text of the Bible has suffered as a result of oppressive and tyrannical dogma in its many translations through history. It may be that we will never know the true content of the Bible, unless perhaps the original manuscripts are available in some secret location in the world. Whatever, all represent mankind's attempt to understand the unknown and the spiritual in terms of the known.

Spiritual values have been a central thread of human perception and theologising for as long as human history can be traced - to the early Stone Age burials in which items were placed alongside the buried bodies presumably to accompany the dead in their journey into the beyond, to the Egyptian tombs or perhaps just as a simple comfort, right up to the modern day when prayers are said at the funerals of those passing on.

So. Where does all this lead? Life contains the process of learning that we have but a short time to experience it and that throughout there are differing degrees of pain and sorrow and only one true happiness. Given such a fact, the question why, in so many known cases of NDE, does what we refer to as extrasensory perception begin to play so prominent a role might well become a focal point.

more to follow ....

Related Item
January 5, 2005
Book documenting encounters from beyond takes shape
A compilation of stories written about encounters with the dead by friends or loved ones and written by by people from around the world is being prepared by two Irish writers, Don Mullan and Audrey Healy.

Many will be familiar with the name Don Mullan through his work with the movie Bloody Sunday, based on his own book of the atrocities Eyewitness Bloody Sunday (see bloodysunday.htm)

Audrey Healy is an author and freelance journalist who has had work published in Ireland on Sunday, Sunday Independent, Roscommon Champion, Longford News, Westmeath Topic, News Four, Jemma Publications and several other publications, including Dublin weeklies and trade magazines. A native of Rooskey, Co. Roscommon, she is the author of two books, St Thérèse in Ireland and Dubliners: What’s the Story? The latter was launched by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

The two began collecting individual’s accounts of contact from beyond after launching a global appeal for such stories. In one such appeal the author’s wrote:

TS Eliot’s memorial in Westminister Abbey London, has a fascinating inscription: "The communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living. "

It raises an intriguing question: Can the dead communicate with the living? Many people have stories of extraordinary happenings in their lives relating to deceased relatives or friends that are inexplicable. It might be the appearance of a deceased loved one, the discovery of a lost and precious item belonging to a deceased person or a song with particular meaning, heard in a place of special significance. The possibilities are infinite.

Contacted! by Audrey Healy and Don Mullan is a compilation of stories of people who have been contacted by the dead. Healy and Mullan’s approach is similar to that of the authors of the highly successful Chicken Soup for the Soul in that people will be allowed to tell their own stories without editorial filtering. They believe such first-hand accounts are both compelling to those who already believe and challenging to those who are skeptics.

As with Chicken Soup for the Soul, Healy and Mullan’s book will present each story on its own, without commentary, thus allowing readers to make up their own minds. Such an approach gives breathing space to the reader who might wish to sit and ponder or reflect on a particular story at bedtime. It is also ideal for busy people who might wish to dip in and out, perhaps reading a story on a short subway or bus journey.

Healy and Mullan’s description of the book says it “is aimed at both skeptics and believers. It does not set out to prove or to proselytize. The experiences contained in Contacted! will be global in appeal and will clearly establish the phenomenon of the dead communicating with the living as an apparent universal experience. The material gathered to date suggests that, like Chicken Soup for the Soul, Contacted! has the potential to be successful around the world, covering many different stories and experiences.”

The author’s have made contact with an Irish publisher and a tentative publishing date of September 2005 has been pencilled in. They are now looking for a US-based publisher' having retained the international

Watch this space for developing news.

 


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