Strange Facts

psyche of cannibles

2008-05-10T01:55:00.000-07:00

Cannibalism, or anthropophagy, is the ingestion of human flesh by humans. The idea of people eating parts of other people is something that has occurred wherever and whenever humans have formed societies. In traditional accounts cannibalism has emerged from peoples' history and cosmology, embedded in their myths and folklore. In all of these contexts, anthropophagy connotes moral turpitude.
The concept of cannibalism, its ethical encumbrances, and its cultural expression in history and myth are unquestionably universal. To be human is to think about the possibility of cannibalism. Anthropophagy is hard-wired into the architecture of human imagination. Cannibal giants, ogres, bogies, goblins, and other "frightening figures" populate the oral and literate traditions of most cultures, summoning images of grotesqueness, amorality, lawlessness, physical deformity, and exaggerated size. The Homeric tradition of the Greek Cyclops, the Scandinavian and Germanic folklore giants, or the Basque Tartaro find parallels in Asia, Africa, India, and Melanesia. In a fusion of the historical and the fabled, these pancultural incidences of cannibal indicate a remarkable similarity in the way meanings are assigned to cannibalism across the world.
Constructing History with Cannibals
Many cultural mythologies posit a prehistory that antedates the onset of acceptable mores, an epoch closed off from the beginnings of human settlement and social organization, when cannibalistic dynasties of giants prevailed. This common motif in cultural history indicates that cannibalism often symbolizes "others" that are less than fully human in some way. The imputation of anthropophagy draws a boundary between "us" and "them," the civilized and uncivilized, in a manner that depicts humans as emerging from a chaotic and bestial epoch dominated by a race of human-eating giants. These images of cannibal predecessors constitute a story that people tell themselves through myth to explain their past and present circumstances. So conventional are these patterns of thought across time and culture that we have come to understand cannibalism as the quintessential symbol of alterity, an entrenched metaphor of cultural xenophobia.
Constructing Fiction with Cannibals
These themes of primordial anthropophagy serve other functions as well. Most oral traditions contain such folktales and fables that are passed down through the generations. One thinks here of the Western stories such as "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Hansel and Gretel," and early versions of "Little Red Riding Hood." These are not just dormant figures inhabiting the fairytale world, they convey for caretakers a vision of control and are frequently used—like the Western bogeyman or little green monster—to coerce, frighten, and cajole children into obedience. The threat of cannibalization provides an externalized and uncontrollable projection of parenthood capable of punishing misdeeds. In this sense, cannibal figures share certain characteristics with imaginary companions and fictions such as the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus, which, by contrast, project positive reward rather than negative punishment.
Cannibal representations are part of the universal stock of imaginative creations that foster obedience and conformity. Psychologists thus argue that anthropophagy is an archetype unaffected by cultural relativism and is, perhaps, a reflection of childhood psychodynamic processes. Flesh eating, from this perspective, may reflect child-engendered projections of parenthood and innate destruction fantasies.
Parallels between Western and non-Western fictional mediums illuminate the power cannibalism exerts on the human psyche. The commercial success of films such as Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter, and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, along with the extensive media coverage of cannibalistic criminals such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Gary Heidnik, and Albert Fish, speaks volumes about the public's fascination with cannibalism. Moviegoers' sympathetic cheering for Hannibal Lecter is a way of suspending disbelief, of inverting societal norms in the sanctuary of a movie theater. An alternative reality of moral turpitude is assumed as escapism, as if the audience is saying, "Do your best to scare me because I know it isn't really true." As a metaphor for abandonment, cannibalism scandalizes, titillates, and spellbinds.
In the context of folklore, cannibalism allows a rich re-imagining of the boundaries between the human and nonhuman, civilized and barbarian, male and female, the utopian and real. As such anthropophagy promotes not only social control but also teaches lessons about history, morality, and identity.
Cannibalism emerges in these discourses of imaginative literature and sacred history as an "otherworldly" phenomenon that is unfavorable to human survival and thus likely to command fear and respect—hence the prevalence of cannibalistic motifs in nursery rhymes. These profound pancultural similarities have led some analysts to argue that the term "cannibalism" should be reserved only for the fantasy, both European and native, of the flesh-eating "other" rather than the practice of flesh-eating.
Constructing the Practice of Cannibalism
As soon as one starts to consider questions about which peoples have eaten human flesh, one finds controversy. The main issues are the colonial history of attributions of flesh-eating as a political form of domination; the problem of what is acceptable evidence in the context of scientific knowledge of the day; and the problems of interpreting oral, archaeological, and written evidence.
Although there is no accepted consensus on the various types of cannibalism encountered by researchers, the literature differentiates generally among a few types.
Survival cannibalism. This well-documented variant involves consumption of human flesh in emergency situations such as starvation. Some of the most famous cases are the 1846 Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada and the South American athletes stranded in the Andes in 1972, whose plight later became the subject of the film Alive (1993).
Endocannibalism. Endocannibalism is the consumption of human flesh from a member of one's own social group. The rationale for such behavior is usually that in consuming parts of the body, the person ingests the characteristics of the deceased; or through consumption there is a regeneration of life after death.
Exocannibalism. Exocannibalism is the consumption of flesh outside one's close social group—for example, eating one's enemy. It is usually associated with the perpetration of ultimate violence or again as a means of imbibing valued qualities of the victim. Reports of this practice suggest a high incidence of exocannibalism with headhunting and the display of skulls as war trophies. The majority of the controversies about the practice of cannibalism refer to endocannibalism and/or exocannibalism.
Evidence in the Twenty-First Century
In the popular Western imagination, knowledge and understanding of cannibals were shaped by early explorers, missionaries, colonial officers, travelers, and others. The most commonly cited accounts are those about the South American Tupinamba Indians; the Caribbean Cariba (the word cannibal comes from, and is a corruption of, carrib and Caliban)of St. Vincent, St. Croix, and Martinique; and the South American Aztecs. These accounts were followed by numerous reported incidences of cannibalism in Africa, Polynesia, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. These often dubious attributions of cannibalism were a form of "othering"—denigrating other people and marking

Similar to many tribes in Papua New Guinea, this group of Iwan warriors were once cannibals. While the tyranny of time often hampers these interpretive processes, the very act of attributing cannibalism to a society is now seen as a controversial political statement given modern sensitivities to indigenous peoples and cultures.
CHARLES AND JOSETTE LENARS/CORBISa boundary between the good "us" and the bad "them." The "primitive savage" was thus constructed as beyond the pale of civilization. As Alan Rumsey has noted, "Cannibalism has been most fully explored in its Western manifestations, as an aspect of the legitimating ideology of colonialism, missionization, and other forms of cultural imperialism" (1999, p. 105). Books that charted the travels of early explorers during the 1800s and early 1900s invariably carry titles with the term cannibal.

Feelings of a funeral director

2008-05-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

Most little girls dream of being Darcey Bussell or the next Mariah Carey. But while her friends were singing into makeshift microphones, the 12-year-old Vicki Fraser was dreaming of coffins and caskets.
Now 27, Fraser works for the Highlands-based funeral service John Fraser & Son, founded in 1884 by her great-grandfather. "When I finished secondary school, my father was keen that I go to university, so I did a BA in business studies," she says. "After this I returned to Inverness and have now been working in the family business for five years."
Fraser says that, growing up, she was used to talking about death and bereavement, and it is something she has always been comfortable with. "Because of this, I have never had the same naivety about the concept of dying that many people have. Most people don't think about it until it actually happens."
It may seems strange to say that she enjoys her job, but she does: "There is a huge amount of job satisfaction and people are so appreciative of your help."
There are no legal formal training requirements for becoming a funeral director, but the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) runs a foundation certificate in funeral service, a diploma in funeral directing and a diploma in funeral-service management. The NAFD is also in talks with the Centre for Death and Society (CDAS) at the University of Bath to develop a foundation degree.
Fraser has completed a distance-learning diploma in funeral directing – covering issues such as rituals of different religions, burial at sea, repatriation and exhumation – and is studying for a diploma in embalming. Most of the learning is on the job, however.
And there are obvious downsides. "Dealing with the funerals of children and sudden deaths such as road accidents and suicides – we all find that particularly hard," says Fraser. "But it is important to treat every bereaved family as though they are the only bereaved family, and to remember that everyone is someone's loved one. Empathy, dignity and respect really are required at all times."
Funeral directing is a big commitment, and attention to detail and excellent client service are imperative. The work is 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, says Fraser..
Ray Ward, senior partner of "green" burial company, Woodland and Wildlife Conservation Company, agrees. "Be prepared to get up in the middle of the night," he says. Ward has a 25-acre burial site in Brentwood, Essex. The original idea was to preserve the woodland, and with a background in business training, he decided to go into business with his daughter. Green burials seemed to tick all the right boxes.
Ward did 18 months' research before beginning and now also operates as a freelance funeral director at other people's sites. "Often other funeral directors don't come to us," he laughs, "as we are a large, muddy field and we spend too long on the burials." One of the most notable things about funeral directors is that they are really nice people, says Ward. "They all help each other and they helped us immensely, even though we were competition."
The profession does seem to attract a certain type. "When I look around our office," says Ward, "I realise that the people who work there are from broken homes or difficult marriages. It makes me wonder whether people who work in our profession are more compassionate. It is certainly a vocation rather than a job."
But it can be tough. "The day I nearly gave up was when I walked out to find a man leaning against his car. He had come to arrange a burial for his daughter, who had just been born, but he said, 'It might have to be a double as my wife is not expected to live.' That was hard. But I also get calls from people at 3am saying, 'I just wanted to make sure you would be there if I need you in the morning.'"

Life after death mystery solved

2008-05-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

We all should be reasonably open-minded skeptics and for psychic phenomena indicative of life after death, only accept the theory that there is survival of consciousness after physical death when theories along normal lines and/or ESP (psi) fail to account for all of the evidence.

∙ There is no doubt that in a relatively short period of time, science has made great strides in understanding the physical world. Because of this, many people believe that if presently there is not a scientific explanation for something, it is not a question of if it will be explained by science but a matter of when. Applying this to the various paranormal phenomena, these people believe science will either have a complete explanation in the future or it is just a deception of some sort. Generally speaking, there is strong evidence for some of the psychic phenomena but not to the point where it can be accepted as fact.

The extreme skeptics of the paranormal have a tendency to refute the least credible of paranormal examples; they seldom try to take on the best evidence and if they do they do not give very credible alternative explanations. To do the former, is easy, the latter, near impossible. They also unfairly (and unscientifically I might add) tend to group all of the paranormal together and reject it all. Its not all or nothing and the same applies to the various evidence types for life after death. For instance, mediums communicating with the dead could be true but this has no relation with astrology being true or not - the two are independent of one another but this gets lost on some of the extreme skeptics in their overall outlook.

In fact, with the paranormal as it relates to life after death, there clearly are many cases of both deliberate deception (as we would expect due to the nature of the subject) and where there are alternative explanations. But these are not the cases we need to be scrutinizing to determine if they constitute evidence for life after death - although this is unfortunately what some skeptics do to present their conclusions against the paranormal. The cases that have no other plausible conventional explanation are the ones that need to be held to the test.

We also have to be careful with paranormal phenomena in that, even if the particular phenomena or, more commonly the case, elements of it can be induced, it does not necessarily mean or follow that this is the cause of the paranormal phenomena and the explanation for it. A non-paranormal analogy being, for example, certain drugs can induce euphoria in a person but when one normally is experiencing euphoria, it is real and occurs naturally without the effect of any drugs. Therefore, drug intake is not the explanation for euphoria normally experienced even though drugs can induce it.

It should be noted that the various aspects to the best paranormal phenomena cases have thus far been very difficult to account for collectively using natural scientific models.

∙ Some people will believe paranormal activity at face value with even the weakest of evidence. On the other hand, there are skeptics who are very closed-minded and biased and will not even allow for the possibility, no matter how convincing the evidence (and thus, maybe to an extent, possess irrational mindsets). A good example showing the mindset of a certain group of ultra-skeptical individuals who refuse to accept any paranormal explanation is the following quote from an August 27, 2001 article in the online magazine Salon.com interview with Michael Shermer editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine:

"If we asked, what would it take for me to believe in ESP? Would it take a single experiment? How about 10 statistically significant experiments in which the guy picked the right playing card? That still wouldn't quite do it because there's no way to understand how this could possibly happen in the brain. We understand how neurons and brain centers work but we don't know how something would transmit through space out of your skull into somebody else's skull. So those guys need to come up with some mechanism to explain it."

So even if the best explanation is a paranormal one, ultra-skeptics will not accept it because they do not understand the underlying mechanism for it.

∙ Most psychic occurrences are spontaneous and therefore hard to test under laboratory conditions. Ultra-skeptical scientists start with the assumption that something which contravenes the laws of science (as they are currently understood), cannot occur. They are not open to the possibility of non-material mechanisms explaining the data. Their lack of belief is a form of belief in itself.

In science, a new scientific statement is only accepted if it either agrees with established scientific laws or replaces rival statements with superior evidence and theory. Psychic phenomena clearly don't fit the first and haven't succeeded so far in the second. Not to make excuses for it, but due to it's nature, what is needed is a new framework to examine the claims for the various psychic phenomena rather than the existing limiting experimental science we have. Of course, ultra-skeptical scientists would rather not do anything that might accommodate anything to do with the paranormal and would therefore reject any such suggestions.

The logic of scientific inquiry must always allow for the possibility that the existing scientific laws are incomplete or even wrong.

Science is what we always need to use as the basis to start with, and if it fails to explain the phenomena, only then should we go outside of mainstream science and look at the possibility of paranormal explanations.

∙ William James was interested in the possibility of psychic phenomena. He believed it is sufficient to find one indisputable example of psychic occurrence to demonstrate that violations of natural law as we understand it is possible. He summed it up with the well known quotation from his book: "In order to disprove the law that all crows are black, it is enough to find one white crow." Thus, psychic researchers are always trying to find a "white crow".

® Much of the paranormal evidence types for survival of consciousness can be explained by normal means, some of it is not possible to determine, and some is very likely to be evidence for survival. It is as if, on the surface at least, one can interpret however one wants - almost as if it is supposed to be this way.

Near Death Experience

Since I have not written nearly enough to date on this very important evidence type, the reader may also wish to look at the most comprehensive website on this subject which is http://www.near-death.com. Also, an excellent overview of the NDE is given by one of the worlds leading researchers on NDEs, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick (Link: http://www.iands.org/research/important_studies/dr._peter_fenwick:_science_and_spirituality.html).

To start, I will say that medical and psychological explanations for the near death experience (NDE) have been given but they are speculative and fall short of explaining the entire phenomenon.

∙ The temporal lobe in the brain is the area where NDEs are experienced. If one doesn't believe we have a soul, then you are stuck trying to explain why we have an area of our brain which allows us to experience an NDE. Some will say it is there from an evolutionary standpoint to ease a person through the dying process. But this cannot be so because there is no survival advantage to thinking that you are leaving your body at the point of death. Possibly it is an advantage to people witnessing the death since the dying person will not appear to be struggling, although just prior to experiencing the NDE, the person is for visible practical purposes, already dead. Still this is not a trait that could be passed on in any preferential way.

® In fact the NDE is actually against evolutionary survival - it is a state which is highly pleasurable (in most cases) from which one would not necessarily want to escape from. If there were no NDE for the dying person, then they would fight death as much as possible instead of succumbing to it. And in fighting it, would be more likely to survive.

∙ Interestingly, the cause of near death or clinical death (heart attack, head injury, etc.) nor other factors such as drugs in the system or oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels in the blood does not seem to impact the NDE experienced. This makes the case for the NDE being real as experienced stronger.

∙ The longer the clinical death, the more expansive and prolonged the NDE. Again, this gives more strength to the argument it is in fact consciousness separating from the body. If it were just in the brain, then the opposite would be expected.

∙ In the NDE going through a dark tunnel may be explained by the cut-off of blood to the occipital lobes at the back of the brain. Entering a world of darkness makes sense for a dying brain to which sensory input has been stopped. But what explains the brilliant light and emotions filled with such bliss after the darkness? Hardly what you would expect a dying brain to produce.

The dying brain hypothesis breaks down when the brain is clinically dead. Since there is no break in consciousness and it is continuous, then the dying brain hypothesis cannot account for the NDE as occurring just around death and/or resuscitation.

∙ It could be possible that God may have made our brains so that they allow us to experience the NDE so that we can make a smoother transition from this life to the next.

∙One explanation given by scientists is that the NDE is a universal recall of the birth experience - travel down the birth canal (dark tunnel) and ending up in bright light at the moment of delivery. The problems with this theory are patients born of caesarian section are reported to have this NDE and the bright light upon entering the world is hardly a wonderful experience (that's why the baby cries so much). Also, a babies eyes are closed during birth and it is not known what the baby experiences. And why would humans undergo a repeat of the experience when dying?

∙One problem with trying to understand the NDE being real as experienced is that there is some variability among different cultures in one or more of its components. For example, a tunnel is common in the west but not in Japan. Existing religious knowledge or beliefs can also influence any religious figure one may encounter on the other side. Nevertheless, the experience could be real and tailored such that the transition to the other side is easier.

® Not all people who reach clinical death recall a NDE (the reported range is only 10-18%). The possible explanations are: (1) Everyone does have an NDE at this stage but the brain 'filters' the NDE memory out for some people when revived or the NDE is not always 'recorded' onto the brain (ie. 'access' is either given to the memory or its not), and/or (2) There is a lag time before many of us would experience consciousness again after physical death (even after consciousness has left the body), and/or (3) Consciousness does not always separate from the body right away, or (4) Only some of us survive physical death but this would be completely irrational as we would expect all to do so or none. My guess is that the most likely explanations are one or more of (1), (2), and (3).

Expanding on (3) further, people who experience NDEs and OBEs are more likely to leave the body quickly at or near death or even possibly under other circumstances. Thus NDErs stay trapped in the body for lesser time after it has stopped functioning and this is probably determined by a biological predisposition somehow (at least to a certain extent). For the rest, they had not been dead long enough and an insufficient amount of time had elapsed for them to have an NDE.

∙ The explanation of particular chemicals being in the brain at death as being the reason for the positive NDE doesn't explain why some people experience a hellish (or negative) NDE (the range for reported NDE cases is 1-2% as the lower estimate and 10-15% as the upper estimate). If the NDE were 'hard-wired' into our brains, we would expect them all (except for the odd anomaly) to be of the same type.

When elements of the NDE are induced in people in experiments (note: all aspects of the NDE have never been induced collectively to the best of my knowledge), the resulting experiences are not well remembered. The actual NDE is of great clarity and vividly recalled well into the future which is the opposite of what one would expect if it were just a dying or impaired brain.

There is commonly a spiritual transformation in the person who has experienced the NDE which has not been explained in any other way nor repeated in laboratory experiments. This profound transformation simply cannot be replicated in a drug-induced state and this suggests it is likely more than just brain chemistry at work.

∙ For someone experiencing an NDE, the whole universe typically opens up more to them - which is the opposite of what one would expect considering the brain is closing down or has closed down. The NDE in fact seems to be more real than life itself. Our brains may in fact be limiters of our consciousness. Not all NDEs are necessarily consciousness separating from the body. Some might be hallucinations triggered by drug induced states, some could be vivid dreams (although NDE experiencers overwhelmingly deny this to be the case) triggered by a trauma, and some may be non-NDE transcendental experiences.

∙ The explanation that the NDE is caused by carbon dioxide overload or oxygen starvation, even if it were possible, is inadequate because many NDEs occur without either of these conditions present.

∙ When initially crossing over, there seems to be a 'transition zone' where one sees the other side in what may be a predetermined way (including 'hellish' experiences which some souls may have chosen as a temporary state prior to their life on earth) or that they may expect due to the life lived (and also religious beliefs). This temporary transition zone to the spiritual dimension might be there so the soul that has just went through a physical death can better 'adjust' for what lies ahead and not be as confused or experience too much of a shock at once.

® It may even be that the hellish NDE is experienced only because the person is to return to this life and may need this experience for the remaining life to be lived here. It could even be that hellish experiences do not happen if the soul is not to return (actual death takes place and the soul is not to return back to the physical body but to move onto the spiritual realm and not just have a NDE). Or alternatively, if the soul is not to return, are less frequent relative to the positive experience right after leaving the body (ie. compared to NDEs).

∙ NDErs experience the actual negative and positive feelings they inflicted upon or gave others throughout their lives during the life review in a 'full' NDE and as its happens. This is truly amazing and I hardly can see any biological reason or explanation for this; and only a spiritual one is (by far) what would make sense.

∙ There has not been a plausible alternative explanation for the out of body experience (OBE) that often occurs with NDEs. This is probably the single most convincing component of the NDE to suggest the NDE is exactly what people who experience it claim it to be - a round trip to the 'other side'. Though the weakest NDE with OBE cases, which do not have the clarity or the narrative quality about them and are paranoid in nature, are likely just hallucinations and therefore not NDEs.

A sensation that one is leaving or has left ones body has been induced under laboratory conditions without such actually taking place (without undergoing an OBE) - as have certain other elements of the OBE but never collectively to replicate an OBE anywhere even close to the full expansiveness of it. In fact, some OBEs (the weakest cases) are probably just a form of disorientation of spatial self. The latest research from two separate sets of experiments published in the August 24, 2007 magazine/journal Science showed that by using virtual reality technology, researchers were able to trick the subjects sensory system by creating a very convincing illusion so that they were perceiving their bodies from a new perspective which was outside of their actual physical bodies. The experiments only provided subjects with an image of disembodiment which was believable to them. Only a touch sensation (not an OBE) was induced which fooled the subjects. The subjects understood it to be just an illusion whereas people who have an OBE consider it to be a real experience. Something like this type of illusionary experience could account for some or even all of the OBEs some people occasionally report when experiencing sleep paralysis and even in certain medical conditions.

Having an OBE and obtaining information otherwise not attainable (eg. from another room) has not been replicated under laboratory inducement. And there is no reason to believe it can be without it actually taking place as a real OBE. Further rationale for the OBE that occurs with the NDE being real as experienced is that the NDEr often is looking back at their body they have just left behind and not just 'floating up'.

With OBEs, some do occur when the person is not near death. Persons have reported leaving their bodies and going to some other place (sometimes distant) that is out of range of their normal senses and observed and later reported on events (such as a conversation between two people) that they could not have learned about by normal means. In a small number of cases, the person experiencing the OBE may be 'seen' by another person at the place where the experiencer had claimed they had been (these cases are referred to as "reciprocal").

Even better evidence for life after death is the veridical NDE in which the person undergoing it acquires information not known to them prior that could not have been obtained by normal means and is later verified to be correct. The experiencer may see events at some other location (for example, another room in the hospital they are in). Or the person might meet a deceased loved one who communicates information unknown previously to the person undergoing the NDE which is later verified to be correct. A more common example being they report encountering people whom they did not know were dead but who were later confirmed to have been at the time they had the NDE.

There is still a remote possibility that the OBE and/or NDE may be dependent upon a physical body being alive or revivable (though this would probably be highly unlikely and especially for a NDE and OBE occurring together). In other words, we cannot rule out that consciousness, even if detached from the physical body, may still be dependent upon it for its continued existence.

® Experiments to test NDEs with OBEs to determine if consciousness really does leave the physical body have been done on a very limited basis with no results to present. Typical experiments are putting cards or displays with words or numbers or images only viewable from well above eyelevel if one were to leave their body and not known to staff or even the experimenter and sometimes periodically changing in hospital cardiac care units. Future studies are planned and what I expect is the results should be positive but inconclusive and skeptics will find flaws in the studies and alternative explanations. This is what I expect because to me it looks like this is the way its supposed to be (ie. the natural order in the bigger scheme of things is that whether or not we survive physical death is not to have a conclusive answer that all will agree on while here on earth and instead has to be interpreted).

® A) The evidence is showing that the NDE is occurring during 'flat line' (no brain activity which happens within 11 seconds of the heart stopping) since (1) The NDE is continuous and there are no blackouts or cutoffs; (2) Cannot happen only while brain activity dying out or coming back periods only due to continuity issue; and (3) Aside from the continuity problem, the NDE would not make sense to be happening in the dying or recovery periods due to insufficient oxygen in the blood in and to the brain and lack of brain activity for such a vivid experience for a materialistic explanation. If consciousness is solely a product of the brain, then I do not see how the NDE could occur during either of these periods. But if consciousness is separate from or can exist outside of the brain, then the NDE can occur during these periods.

B) If the NDE is occurring only before brain function ceases, there would after this be no consciousness and would hit a blank state and then when resuscitated would regain consciousness. The cases reported would be that a NDE occurred, followed by death and ceasing to exist, and then life again. In other words, if one had ceased to exist, then one would remember the NDE, then no recall, and then would awake to find oneself in their body and would have had a discontinuity of consciousness which is not found in the reported NDEs. Unless this abrupt change shows up as the 'snap back' into the body (and as expected the blank state will not be recalled). But our understanding of the brain shows if consciousness is part of the brain, then consciousness slowly comes back when a person is resuscitated and not all of a sudden. And the 'snap back' cannot be explained like this as it is too abrupt and sudden.

C) If the NDE is occurring after the person is resuscitated, then the NDEr would say it occurred after recovery as they know they have recovered (and the discontinuity of consciousness would still be there also).

With B) and C) (but not A)), would have periods of firstly decreasing and secondly increasing consciousness (as well as a discontinuity in between) which is not what we find to be the case.

∙ I wanted to outline some thoughts on a study by Dr. K. Nelson published in April 2006 (Nelson, K., et al, Neurology, 66, 1003-1009) which tried to establish a link between NDEs and REM intrusion (rapid eye movement dreams while the person is typically actively dreaming while half awake and just falling asleep or waking up). It received a lot of sensationalistic mainstream media coverage at the time from ‘journalists’ who did not really understand the study. Many of the worlds leading NDE researchers were not happy with the misinformation in the media that resulted (nor with the poor quality and what appears to be a study setup to try to get, or come close as possible, to a predetermined outcome) and pointed out the flaws in it and why REM intrusion is not an explanation for the NDE as follows (much of this is from Dr. Jeffrey Long and Dr. Janice Holden’s lecture at the International Association for Near-Death Studies annual Conference in 2006 and an excellent and very thorough analysis in their article in the Journal of Near-Death Studies, 25(3), Spring 2007; comments from P.M.H. Atwater, Dr. Alan L. Botkin, and Dr. Bruce Greyson, along with some of my own comments):

[Note: If you are not familiar with this study, then my recommendation is to waste little or none of your valuable time on this, at best, mediocre ‘research’ as the only things possibly learned are that REM intrusion could only be an explanation for the weakest NDEs (which really are not NDEs at all) and after experiencing an NDE a person may be more predisposed to REM intrusion]

- The control group was made of 55 people ‘recruited’ from the medical staff and associates (friends and colleagues of Nelson) and these type of people are less likely than the general population to admit to undergoing REM intrusion (for reasons such as career related - not wanting to come across as day dreamers and therefore unprofessional). The NDE group already had demonstrated they want to share such experiences and are of the type to be more aware or interested in their paranormal or altered states, etc. and wanting to be part of a study like this and that is why they responded (64 responded out of 464 invited and 55 were chosen). So even without having an NDE, they would be more likely the type to have, be aware of, and admit to having REM intrusion.

- Not all people who experience NDEs will report them (say half as a first order estimate) and the same (but probably higher proportions would report I would guess) would hold true for REM intrusion. Therefore, it is expected that up to the same proportion of the control group would not either for REM intrusion. This would be ok but here the NDE group was the type to report at or close to 100% and this distorted the results in this study as this was not taken into account.

- The control group only had a REM intrusion experience reporting of 7% which is lower than the general adult populations of 10-15%. Only 13% of the control group reported having experienced sleep paralysis which is much lower than the 40-50% of the general adult population. Therefore, the control group was not a properly selected one and thus is a big flaw in the study and this could by itself fully account for the data.

- The study was only a retrospective (not a prospective) study which was only based on correlations.

- NDEs occur in various circumstances and sometimes in conjunction with REM intrusion but the two are fundamentally different.

- 40% of NDErs do not report to have experienced any aspect of REM intrusion. Therefore, REM intrusion by itself could not explain all NDEs and at best only some.

- NDErs are more likely to notice and remember REM intrusion as a result of becoming sensitized to such experience since their NDE. In other words, the NDE is more likely to give one a predisposition to REM intrusion rather than the other way around. It was already known by NDE researchers prior to this study that there are changes to sleep and dream states for the majority of people who have had a NDE and this in itself could explain the data in this study. To do the research properly, one would have to do before and after NDE investigations for REM intrusion in order to establish baselines. Also, it may be that NDErs in this study are not necessarily experiencing REM intrusion more often but are more sensitized (possibly as a result of having an NDE) to noticing and remembering REM intrusion.

- People who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to have waking dreams (REM intrusion). But dreams are obviously not the explanation for PTSD. It is the experience of the PTSD that predisposes one to this greater REM intrusion. Similarly, the NDE predisposes a person to having REM intrusion and this is likely what is happening. It is also known that PTSD symptoms are increased following an NDE (and thus REM intrusion might be also).

- It appears that the researchers thought they were getting some responses about REM intrusion which were not actually REM intrusion and this is more so with the NDE group and therefore skewed the results in favour of a correlation between NDEs and REM intrusion.

- It is quite possible that anyone who survives a life threatening event, even without an NDE, is likely to report higher unusual fall asleep and waking up experiences. If this is true, then there would be no support for the hypothesis that REM intrusion could account for NDEs.

- The NDE is very different from REM intrusion in that there are unknown aspects to it that may have meaning later and is experienced as being real, coherent, of great clarity, meaningful, and remembered in detail for life. Unlike REM intrusion, the NDE has a consistent fundamental structure that is basically the same across differing age and cultural groups. REM intrusion is based on a known environment, one realizes it is hallucinatory and not reality, and it is unrealistic typically. The NDE has profound life changing effects while REM intrusion never does. The NDE is specific and not at all like the random dreams of REM intrusion which are about anything. The NDE is almost always pleasant while REM intrusion is not and may be frightening. Since some of the ‘hellish’ NDEs reported tend to be disjointed, REM intrusion could be an explanation for a greater proportion of these (than for positive NDEs). But this would mean either they are in fact not NDEs or that they are 'lower level' NDEs and REM intrusion in combination.

- Nelson, et al. talked about the fight-or-flight response due to the nerve pathways in the brain which are also associated with REM intrusion. He then suggested that there could be a possible association between NDEs and REM intrusion. But this could never account for REM intrusion underlying the NDE occurring where there is no chance beforehand to assess danger such as an unanticipated blow to the head resulting in immediate unconsciousness leading to an NDE. Or in cases where the person was not aware they were in an immediate life threatening danger such as surgery or illness from which an NDE resulted. The hypothesized link between NDEs and REM intrusion does not seem plausible.

- NDEs commonly occur eventhough the person undergoing the NDE is under the influence of medication known to suppress REM.

- People born blind from birth who have never seen anything (not even blackness) have reported NDEs. Their dreams have no sense of sight and have been shown to have no REM while they dream. Moreover, NDEs experienced by these people often include sight.

- People have reported NDEs while under general anesthesia for which the brain functioning necessary for REM intrusion to occur would not be expected.

- In REM intrusion, the person often feels terrifyingly trapped in ones body whereas with NDEs people do not and it is commonly reported by NDErs that their consciousness was no longer associated with their physical body. NDE researchers do not report of anyone feeling frantically trapped in ones body while undergoing an NDE.

- REM intrusion experiences do fit the profile of hallucinations based upon the visual and auditory data whereas the vast majority of NDEs do not. NDErs rarely report anything (other than a subsequent NDE) reproducing any part of their NDE and this further suggests that NDEs and REM intrusion are different experiences.

- Only about 10-18% of people who clinically die report NDEs but maybe all experience them but not all remember them. This may be due to the fact the NDErs brain allowing them to do so. Thus possibly some peoples brains allow them to experience REM intrusion. The NDE alters the brain and may sometimes reduce the ‘filter’ on consciousness. This may partly explain reported greater psychic abilities after an NDE and/or REM intrusion being more likely to occur. People who remember their NDE are more likely to recall REM intrusion as happening to them.

- It is quite possible that some of the weak or quasi-NDEs are just REM intrusion. However, REM intrusion could not account for most NDEs and certainly not the best ones. REM intrusion could never account for veridical perception.

- These same authors have since done some more work with OBEs that was published this year which didn’t generate much interest. I haven’t read the study but did look at the press release and it looks like the same problems exist as the same control group was used. In it they showed that NDErs are more likely to have an OBE when in sleep paralysis. These findings are along the lines of theirs for REM intrusion and NDEs but the fundamental difference is that the OBE is a common part of the NDE while REM is not. The likely reasons for this are they are more likely to remember their OBE and/or the NDE may have altered their brain such that they are more likely to experience sleep paralysis and resulting OBEs and/or people susceptible to sleep paralysis and NDEs are probably biologically predisposed to leaving their bodies more easily.

- Even though the research has been of dubious quality, we can probably extract from it that there is some correlation between the ability to recall or experience an NDE and the same ability for other transcendental or altered states of consciousness.

∙ For the strongest NDE cases, a skeptic would have a lot to try to explain away which cannot in all likelihood be done without invoking the paranormal. Aspects of the best NDEs which I think an alternative explanation is very hard to see forthcoming include: (1) No measurable brain activity while the NDE occurred and the person was clinically dead, (2) No discontinuity of consciousness of the experiencer (even though they were clinically dead and had no measured brain activity), (3) OBE with a 'birds eye' perspective looking back at ones own body, (4) A life review often with feeling the effects one had on others at specific times in their lives, (5) Coming across beings one knows who have pre-deceased them who are likely in their 'prime' in terms of the earthly existence they had, (6) A reluctance to return (and there seems to be a point of no return which if crossed the soul could not come back into the body) which is also against what evolution would predict. (7) Encountering a 'Being of Light' with whom there is a communication by direct exchange of thoughts, (8) Life changing, and (9) Veridical nature.

All of these would have to be explained by some mechanism or model which could account for all the components of the NDE collectively - I do not see any indications or possibilities of this to date and do not see any on the horizon nor really expect to (though one can never rule it out).

Entities (ghosts, poltergeists, spirits, angels, etc.)

∙ Entities are reported in all cultures and parts of the world and have been throughout the ages independently (for the most part) of the knowledge that they have been observed elsewhere. This makes their existence, that much more probable.

∙ A ghost may be the leftover energy ('extra energy') of consciousness or a physical body that is no longer alive - it is like an echo that dissipates over time. It appears a traumatic death increases the probability a soul would leave a 'stamp' of this 'surplus energy'. These types of apparitions do not exhibit the full characteristics and dimension we would expect from a soul or entity. They are only mere 'shadows' of them. But there is some survival of energy still manifesting itself - therefore it has also survived physical death but appears to have been 'left behind'.

∙ Entities could be just mortal life forms that exist on a different physical plane. Or they could be apparitions (when physical conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind, etc. are just right, the entity 'appears' because the physical factors reproduce a 'recording'). It is possible, as hypothesized by some, that a magnetic field in the rock or stone at the haunting site could act much like videotape does in saving and replaying a previous history there. Though ghosts do seem to be connected to an individual who previously died in the same physical location. Also, sensing smell and touch as well as sight and sound from entities is very strong evidence that these are not just apparitions. And many do appear differently in space and form under varying conditions. Thus, this natural explanation could only account for some (the weaker) cases of what appear to be entities.

® Magnetic fields might only 'record' the ghost that is leftover energy as we do not also see the surroundings of that moment captured in time being left behind as part of the apparition. Thus, magnetic fields would not be the generator of apparitions and only the recording medium for them. It seems then to result in an apparition, would need this leftover energy (say released and left behind from a traumatic death that took place) in order to leave this imprint onto a magnetic field.

If in fact magnetic fields were the generators, then we would expect to see many more apparitions with the electrics in buildings of more recent times producing electromagnetic fields (unless of course there is some inherent difference between the magnetic fields generated from electromagnetism vs. geomagnetism which should be not the case). And in industrial settings where we have large magnetic fields generated from things such as electric motors, transformers, industrial magnets, and various machinery we should see apparitions as a result, which we do not.

∙ Some ghost sightings can be explained away as being hallucinations. However, many cannot. For example, where there has been more than one person seeing the ghost at the same time or when someone else reports a similar or exactly the same sighting at a later time (especially when they have no prior knowledge of the previous sighting so there is no expectation that one will experience such and therefore they are not simply hallucinating what someone else has already seen). The same applies to paranormal activity in general. It seems that more than one explanation would have to account for the observations. What is most likely is that in the vast majority of cases, hauntings can be explained by normal (natural) means, some cases are probably this 'extra energy' left over or behind, and very few cases are probably the spirits of the deceased that may be trapped and have not moved on permanently to the spirit dimension or have but occasionally return for some unknown reason(s) .

∙ There could be a 5th or another dimension (beyond the 3 dimensions of space and 1 of time; note that string theory predicts 10 or 11 dimensions depending on the version) or other dimensions that could contain the spirit world. Entities may be able to travel back and forth from the other side (or this other dimension). They may not be trapped here as is often assumed about ghosts and only 'visit' us in order to convey a message(s) - the major theme possibly being that there is a continuation of the spirit after physical death.

It is conceivable that entities could be partially in our dimension and partially in some other dimension simultaneously.

∙ If we could somehow physically measure the presence of entities, that would be evidence for their existence in this world. Though one could argue that since they are not part of this world this would not be possible. They may have an energy field unknown to physics as we currently understand it and which is similar to or the same as would be for a soul. Because we haven't yet discovered it or understand it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. This energy form could be analogous to say electromagnetic radiation.

∙ Though it is a very remote possibility, time travel, has not yet been dismissed as being theoretically impossible by physicists. Thus, it has been suggested that ghosts could be time travellers from the future (and probably not from earth) who have travelled back in time. Of course this is very far fetched and the fact ghosts 'haunt' places often for centuries and mischief by poltergeists would not make sense either.

Though if it is theoretically possible for us to travel backwards or forwards in time, I think would require us to have consciousness which can separate from the physical body.

∙ Poltergeist activity may be the result of psychokinesis. This is the influencing of matter by the mind(s) of people in the environment (this is done unconsciously). The paranormal activity results from the minds of the people moving objects, etc. without knowing they are. Though very unlikely, it is still an alternate explanation to that of an entity known as a poltergeist being responsible.

∙ There are many cases of people reporting to have seen a life like apparition of a relative or friend right before, when, or just after they die in cases where the living person does not receive news of the death (or even have any prior knowledge the person is in poor health or danger) until sometime after the sighting. This is known as a crisis apparition. This appears to be more common when the two persons (the one seeing the apparition and the just deceased) are physically far apart (eg. on different continents) - as if it is more imperative to let the loved one know that they have passed on otherwise they may not find out until too much time has elapsed.

∙ People have reported contact with angels who have come to guide them.

∙ It seems exorcisms have 'removed' ghosts, poltergeists, and evil spirits. Although we cannot be certain as to the nature of the entity removed nor are all so called exorcisms in fact possessions by entities (the overwhelming majority of cases would be psychological in origin and not in fact possession but some may in fact be possession by an external entity). These entities could in fact even be aliens or some type of inter-dimensional beings. If some of these possessions are actually due to evil spirits, then this is evidence for a spirit world and therefore indirect evidence for life after death.

∙ The following table summarizes some of the senses that are affected and changes in the environment in the presence of entities. What we need to ask is (1) Have more than one of these been observed simultaneously? and (2) Has the sensing or activity been repeated with variations (eg. in type of sound, location, etc.)? If the answers are yes, then this would probably be sufficient evidence for the existence of entities which are not merely apparitions.

SENSE/ACTIVITY	POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION	COMMENTS

Sight	Apparition	Not likely the only explanation since not all are static; appear under different conditions. Most often (almost always when can be validated historically) like that of a deceased person connected to the location
Smell	None?	Typically of a short duration unlike normal smells which linger
Sound	Apparition	Not likely explanation since not always the same in type, intensity, duration, or location
Poltergeist Activity	Some life form or type of energy (but not that of a deceased person or animal) not known to us	Alternative explanation cannot be ruled out. Psychokinesis also a possibility
Touch	See Poltergeist Activity	Alternative explanation cannot be ruled out
Temperature Drop	" " "	Alternative explanation cannot be ruled out
Orb Activity	" " "	Alternative explanation cannot be ruled out

Exorcism is usually effective against all of the above and psychic mediums seem to validate the existence of the spirit of a deceased person connected to that location. This person is typically confirmed through the historical record. The alternate explanations would be that the medium is providing this additional information (including the spirits name commonly) by either (1) engaging in fraud by obtaining this information beforehand, (2) 'picking up' thoughts or memories or tapping into a 'pool of consciousness' for the universe if such a thing exists, or (3) external manipulation by alien beings or demons. The explanation that ghosts are the spirits of deceased persons might be the only plausible one. Especially considering the fact that more than one (or even all) of the above senses affected have been known to occur simultaneously.

Most likely, some ghost sightings are apparitions or hallucinations or even fraud; some may be the result of some type of natural phenomena; and some may indeed be the spirits of people who once lived there and occasionally return/still reside there.