Janice Miner Holden, EdD
Near-Death Experience & Transpersonal Pioneer Researcher
Professor Emerita. Author. IANDS President. JNDS Editor.
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
Dr. Jan Holden's Interview
OLLI at UNT Podcast with Susan Supak- October 24, 2019.
Dr. Holden speaks with Susan at the University of North Texas Osher Lifelong Learning Institute about her background, near-death experiences, and how she came to conduct extensive research into the counseling implications of near-death experiences, after-death communication, and other transpersonal experiences—those that transcend the usual personal limits of space, time, and/or identity. Dr. Holden shares examples of astonishing transpersonal experiences from her research and discusses the profound life changes reported by those who have had these experiences.
Note: Since this interview, Dr. Jan Holden was elected President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies.
In apparently non-physical veridical perception (AVP), NDErs perceive phenomena during their NDEs in material and/or transmaterial domains that they could not have known from sensory or rational processes yet that are later confirmed as accurate. For more information about these verified perceptions, read: The Self Does Not Die: Verified Paranormal Phenomena from Near-Death Experiences.
Near-Death Experiences - Q&A
WHAT IS A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE?
"A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound phenomenon, typically occurring when a person is clinically dead, facing death, or under physical or emotional trauma." - IANDS Brochure, "What Happens When We Die?"
“The experience consists typically of a completely real or hyper-real—more real than their previous experience or reality—perception of the material domain—the material world usually including their physical bodies—and/or transmaterial domains and entities—incredibly beautiful nature-like scenes and architecture-like structures as well as deceased loved ones and spiritual entities that are sometimes but usually not identifiable yet familiar.” (Holden, J. M., Kinsey, L., & Moore, T. R. [2014]. Disclosing near-death experiences to professional healthcare providers and nonprofessionals. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 1[4], 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000039)
HOW COMMON ARE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES?
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are reported by about 17% of those who survive a close brush with death (The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences).
WHO HAS NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES?
Near-death experiences are reported by people representing every demographic, including children, adults, scientists, physicians, priests, ministers, the religious, and atheists throughout the world.
ARE ALL NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES THE SAME?
No two NDEs are the same, but they often share some common features and aftereffects.
ARE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES REAL?
"We now have thousands of documented cases of NDEs that challenge some basic assumptions of mainstream psychology, medicine, and philosophy. For example, many near-death experiencers (NDErs) accurately report events that occurred when they had no detectable brain activity or heartbeat. Often NDErs return with knowledge previously unknown to them. Unlike dreams and hallucinations, NDEs have a consistent internal structure, and cross-culturally they reflect universal elements. Finally, the aftereffects are enduring and life-altering to a much greater extent than for those who experience similar health crises without an NDE. These observations are further supported by studies of resuscitated patients in hospital settings, indicating that NDEs cannot be explained by physiological or pharmacological causes. This phenomenon has the potential to radically affect every aspect of life, from moment-to-moment personal decisions to far reaching public policy." - IANDS Brochure, "What Happens When We Die?"
WHAT ARE NDE AFTEREFFECTS?
First-Hand Near-Death Experience Accounts
Founded in 1981 by Bruce Greyson, MD; Raymond Moody, MD, PhD; Kenneth Ring, PhD; Michael Sabom, MD; John Audette, MS; and others, the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. It promotes NDE research, education, and support, including the Journal of Near-Death Studies, an annual conference, local IANDS support groups, and ISGO (IANDS Sharing Groups Online). To join IANDS or for more information visit IANDS.org.
NDERF (Near-Death Experience Research Foundation) offers a website filled with research studies and over 4,700 near-death experience narratives from people around the world, which are translated from several languages. NDERF.org
Over 100 Independently Verified Near-Death Experiences
The Self Does Not Die: Verified Paranormal Phenomena
This book contains over 100 reliable, often firsthand accounts of perceptions during NDEs that were later verified as accurate by credible independent sources--often physicians on the scene. These near-death experiencers were everyday people from all over the world, many of whom were clinically dead--unable to see or hear with their physical bodies--and yet able, from a perspective outside their physical bodies, to perceive verifiable objects and events in the material world and sometimes verifiable information from a transmaterial domain.
The Self Does Not Die is a trailblazing effort to present the most credible cases of consciousness beyond death ever compiled. In these cases, rather than relying on secondhand sources, whenever possible the authors have gone back to the original sources, the actual people involved in each case. In so doing, they have assembled a unique collection of empirical data that any scholar worthy of the name must take into account.
This Video Features Several People Who Have Had Near-Death Experiences (NDERs)