No / Despite advances in technology and medicine, death itself remains an immutable certainty. Indeed, the acceptance and understanding of our mortality are among the enduring metaphysical challenges that have confronted human beings from the beginning of time. How have we sought to cope with the inevitability of our mortality? How do various cultural and social representations of mortality shape and influence the way in which we understand and approach death? To what extent do personal beliefs and convictions about the meaning of life or the notion of an afterlife affect how we perceive and experience the process of death and dying? Steve Paulson, executive producer and host of To the Best of Our Knowledge, moderated a discussion on death, dying, and what lies beyond that included psychologist Lani Leary, professor of philosophy and religion Jeffrey J. Kripal, and sociologist Allan Kellehear. The following is an edited transcript of the discussion that occurred February 5, 7:00-8:30 pm, at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-08T11:27:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Beatriz Ferrara Carunchio.pdf: 1789587 bytes, checksum: 02b52956206c5ee3ff100f009b1ee306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-08T11:27:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Beatriz Ferrara Carunchio.pdf: 1789587 bytes, checksum: 02b52956206c5ee3ff100f009b1ee306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Fundação São Paulo - FUNDASP / Near-Death Experience (NDE) is a mystical experience that happens during or near of clinical death. During NDE, one experiences phenomena as out of body experience, meetings with supernatural agents, travels through a transcendent reality or even seeing what is happening around the body. The aim of this study is to verify if there is any correlation between mystical experience and NDE. We suggest that there is correlation, and maybe this is the responsible for initiate changes in perception and meaning one sees in life. About the method, we used two scales: Hood‟s Mysticism Scale (M Scale) and Greyson‟s NDE Scale. We had 350 valid answers (N=350). 14% had experienced NDE, 13% had already been in risk of death, but hadn‟t experienced NDE, and 73% had never been in risk of death. The statistical analysis was made with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Factor 3 had statistical significance (p=0,01) for both the groups that had been in risk of death. According to correlational analysis, the higher scores in Greyson‟s NDE Scale, the bigger scores in Factor 3 of Hood‟s M Scale. We concluded that there is correlation between NDE and introvertive mysticism / Experiência de Quase Morte (EQM) é uma experiência mística que ocorre durante ou próximo da morte clínica. Durante a EQM, a pessoa vivencia fenômenos como experiência fora do corpo, encontro com seres sobrenaturais, visita a uma realidade transcendente ou, ainda, observação da cena em que o corpo está. O objetivo desta tese é verificar se há correlação entre experiência mística e EQM. A hipótese é que há correlação, o que desencadearia mudanças na percepção e atribuição de sentido para a vida. O método foi aplicação das escalas: Escala M de Misticismo de Hood e a Escala de EQM de Greyson. Obtivemos 350 respostas válidas (N=350), sendo que 14% teve EQM, 13% correu risco de morte, sem EQM, e 73% nunca correu risco de morte iminente. Na análise estatística com o SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) constatou-se significância estatística no Fator 3 – misticismo de introversão da Escala M entre os grupos que teve EQM e que correu risco de morte, mas não teve EQM (p=0,01). De acordo com a análise de correlações, quanto maior o resultado na Escala de EQM de Greyson, maior também a pontuação no Fator 3. Concluímos que há correlação entre EQM e experiência mística de introversão

In this study I investigate the narratives of near-death experiences in the Nazarite Church as one way in which this community grapples with the question of death and the after-life. However, I am particularly interested in the manner in which Nazarite members deploy these experiences to define individual and collective identities. I argue that in the Nazarite Church the significance of near-death experiences is neither rooted in the future nor in the past, but it is something of the here and now. As Biesele states, " Old stories are powerful not because they come from the past, but because they are told in the present" (1999: 167). Nazarite members are not only regarded by many as backward, uneducated, and unemployed rural people, they are also accused of worshipping another human being like themselves, Shembe. For the Nazarites then near-death narratives are important because they serve as proof that Shembe is not just an ordinary human being, he is the one sent from above. Many near-death experiencers testify that they have met Shembe on their spiritual journeys. While this does give the Nazarites a sense of what may happen to them when they die, it is more important as a tool for confirming or defending their faith against the people who criticise and look down upon them and their church. However, Nazarite members, especially those who have had near-death experiences, also use these experiences to imagine individual identities. Since the church has grown rapidly in the past decades, there has been a growing need to define the self in relation to the group. Newcomers (there are many of them) are regarded as ignorant of the ways of the church and are sometimes called by pejorative names like Qhawe, (Braveman) and Khethankosi (Converts). The near-death experience provides those 'newcomers' who have experienced it with a means to assert their agency in that they have been to the other world and have witnessed what many only hear about. Even for those who were already members of the church when they had the experience, this make them important. They have seen 'home'. Their stories are recorded and disseminated in the church, thus becoming part of the church's cultural capital. Sometimes ministers and preachers invite those who have had near-death experiences to come and share their stories in the Temples they oversee. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-21T18:06:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 jorgececiliodaherjunior.pdf: 3997005 bytes, checksum: 5cd16f8d9e7c45ac7f4ee338f307c068 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-22T15:35:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 jorgececiliodaherjunior.pdf: 3997005 bytes, checksum: 5cd16f8d9e7c45ac7f4ee338f307c068 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-22T15:35:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jorgececiliodaherjunior.pdf: 3997005 bytes, checksum: 5cd16f8d9e7c45ac7f4ee338f307c068 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-20 / Introdução: A hipótese da autonomia da consciência em relação ao cérebro é um tema controverso sobre o qual há uma longa história de investigações científicas. Entretanto, ainda não se realizou uma análise sistematizada das publicações sobre esse tema, que possibilite conhecer o estado da arte nesse campo e determinar lacunas e limitações metodológicas. Objetivos: Fazer um levantamento bibliométrico das publicações que investigaram experiências habitualmente associadas à possibilidade da existência da consciência independente do cérebro nas principais bases de dados científicos. Métodos: Avaliaram-se todos os artigos contidos no Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Science Direct e Scopus até 31/12/2015, através de operadores booleanos, envolvendo os seguintes campos: Experiências de quase morte(NDE), Experiências fora do corpo(OBE), Experiências de final de vida(ELE), Possessão(POS), Memórias sugestivas de vidas passadas(PLM), Mediunidade(MED), transcomunicação, detecção de “espíritos” e relação mente-cérebro. Foram excluídos artigos científicos fora do tema ou de outras áreas, publicações não científicas, referências de livros e capítulos de livros. Resultados: Dos 9065 artigos encontrados, 1954 artigos foram incluídos (598 NDE, 223 OBE, 56 ELE, 224 POS, 244 PLM, 565 MED, 44 outros). Ao longo das décadas, notou-se um aumento na quantidade de artigos em todos os campos avaliados, com exceção dos estudos em Mediunidade, no qual houve um declínio no final do sec XX e uma retomada no sec XXI. Em relação aos tipos de artigos, com exceção de Past-life memories e End-of-life experiences (predominando estudos originais), os demais campos possuíram predomínio de artigos de revisão. Os artigos foram publicados em periódicos com fator de impacto médio comparável com outras áreas da ciência, como por exemplo psicologia positiva e reabilitação cardiovascular. Conclusão: De forma geral as pesquisas sobre sobrevivência da consciência têm aumentado nas últimas décadas, em revistas com fator de impacto semelhante ao de outras áreas, porém com predomínio de revisões. A identificação dessas lacunas pode auxiliar na elaboração de novas pesquisas na área. / Introduction: The hypothesis of autonomy of the consciousness in relation to the brain is a controversial subject with a long history of scientific investigations. To date, however, no systematic analysis of the publications on this topic, establishing the state of art in this field and identifying methodological gaps and limitations, has been conducted. Objectives: To conduct a bibliometric search of publications investigating experiences commonly associated with the possibility of the existence of a consciousness independent of the brain held on the main scientific databases. Methods: A search of all articles held on the Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Science Direct and Scopus databases up to 31/12/2015 was performed with boolean operators involving the following fields: Near-death experiences (NDE), Out-of-body experiences (OBE), End-of-life experiences (ELE), Possession (POS), Memories suggestive of past lives (PLM), Mediumship (MED), transcommunication, detection of “spirits” and mind-brain relationship. Scientific articles unrelated to the topic or on other areas, unscientific publications, book references and book chapters were all excluded. Results: Of the 9065 articles retrieved, 1954 were included (598 NDE, 223 OBE, 56 ELE, 224 POS, 244 PLM, 565 MED, 44 others). Over the decades, there was an evident increase in the number of articles on all the fields, with the exception of studies on Mediumship which showed a decline during the late twentieth century and subsequent rise in the early twenty-first century. Regarding the types of articles found, with the exception of Past-life memories and End-of-life experiences (mostly original studies), publications were predominantly review articles. The articles were published in journals with an average impact factor similar to other areas of science, such as positive psychology and cardiovascular rehabilitation. Conclusion: Overall, publications of studies on survival of the consciousness have tended to increase over recent decades in journals with similar impact factors to other areas, although these studies were predominantly review articles. Identifying gaps can help guide future studies in the area.

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