The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences by Dr Penny Sartori

Paperback:  What is an NDE?

Many readers may be quite familiar with the term 'near-death experience'.  Some may have never heard of it before, whereas there may be many readers who recognize this type of experience as actually having happened to them at some point in the past and have never understood it or told anyone what they experienced.

NDEs are not a new phenomenon;  they have been reported throughout history.  They feature in the Bible (2 Corinthians 12:  1-9), Plato's Republic, in Roman times and are commonly described in medieval literature.  Similar experiences have been recorded within different world cultures such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, along with experiences of Tibetan delogs.  Works of art by Hieronymus Bosch (c1450-1516) and William Blake (1757-1827) depict images that parallel an NDE.

In the early 1970s, NDEs were reported and investigated by Dr Johan Hampe and Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.  However, it wasn't until Dr Raymond Moody classified and named them as 'near-death experiences' in 1975 that they became popularized when his book Life After Life became an international best-seller.  Moody defined the NDE as an experience undergone while unconscious, occurring close to death, in which the person reports a set of components.

There have been many popular materialist theories put forward to explain the NDE, such as the NMDA receptor within the brain, neurobiological processes, temporal lobe epilepsy, psychosis, schizophrenia, defence mechanism, depersonalization, multiple personality disorder and reminiscence of birth.  These explanations are a logical way to explain what causes NDEs but on deeper investigation, they do not sufficiently explain many aspects of the experiences.

The NDE is a highly complex multi-factor phenomenon, which makes it incredibly difficult to find an adequate explanation for such experiences.

Challenging our preconceptions about the effects that near-death experiences (NDEs) have on the living, Dr Penny Sartori draws on her extensive doctoral research and her years of experience as an intensive care nurse to open our eyes to the lessons that we can learn from NDEs.

"I would like everyone to read this book with an open mind and to discard any pre-conceived ideas about how to explain or explain away the NDE.  This book is trying to convey a thorough and wider understanding of the NDE and all of the complexities that go with it, such as psychological, spiritual, sociological and physical after effects," wrote Dr Sartori.

"Further to that, this book considers the implications that a wider understanding of this phenomenon can have for our society and the way we live our lives.  At the end of the book is a discussion highlighting the sociological research which shows that engaging with and embracing the NDE as a valid experience can give great meaning to our lives and promote love, respect and compassion for others, ourselves and our planet."

Currently, in the UK, the Horizon Research Foundation performs a similar function as the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) in the USA.  It seeks a greater understanding of consciousness.  There are many other reports of NDEs from different cultures posted on the internet;  a particularly informative resource is the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) website set up and maintained by Dr Jeffery Long and Jodie Long.

Looking beyond the science of NDEs, Dr Sartori, in The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences (2014), shows us through case studies, anecdotal evidence and documented research that those who have experienced an NDE have much insight to give us on the way in which we live and can empower us to have more fulfilled and meaningful lives.

About the author:  Dr Penny Sartori PhD, RGN is an expert in NDEs and undertook the UK's first long-term prospective study.  She is the author of The Near-Death Experiences of Hospitalized Intensive Care Patients:  A Five Year Clinical Study (2008) and lectures both nationally and internationally.  She currently teaches two courses she has written, entitled 'Death and Dying as Spiritual Transformation' and 'Science, Spirituality and Health' at Swansea University.