This mixed-methods study’s purpose was a systematic comparison of contents and aftereffects of near-death experiences (NDEs) occurring in a variety of circumstances with those occurring in combat. They completed an online survey: a demographic questionnaire, the Near-Death Experience Scale, the Life Changes Inventory-Revised (LCI-R), and four narrative response items. Survey completers were 68 participants: 20 combat near-death experiencers (cNDErs) and 48 non-NDErs (nNDErs). The 29% of participants who met NDE Scale criterion for an NDE was comparable to NDE incidence findings from previous retrospective studies. For statistical analyses, significance was set at p < .05, and effect size (Cohen’s d) was calculated. Mean total NDE Scale scores were significantly lower for cNDErs than variety-of-circumstance NDErs from one of two comparable studies (t = 5.083, p < .0001, d = -1.26), possibly suggesting cNDEs may have “less depth” than other-variety NDEs. Regarding cNDE aftereffects, absence of previous LCI-R data made comparison impossible. Cronbach’s alpha analysis yielded acceptable reliability on the total scale and seven of nine subscales, a finding that matched Schneeberger’s (2010); however, factor analytic results did not support the hypothesized subscale structure of the LCI-R. Although cNDErs did not score significantly higher than nNDErs on the total scale or subscales after Bonferroni correction, results indicated a possible trend toward greater absolute changes (p = 0.02, d = 0.74) and spirituality (p = 0.02, d = 0.67) with the latter finding substantiated by narrative responses. Informal analysis of narrative responses yielded several themes.

The researcher examined the effectiveness of a near-death experience (NDE) learning module on reducing distressing aspects and enhancing a growth aspect of grief among bereaved adults. Participants were 22 females and 2 males; 2 identified as African American, 3 as Asian, 2 as Latina/o, and 17 as White; aged 20 to 71 years with mean age 35.3 years. In this experimental design, the researcher randomly assigned 12 participants to the experimental group and 12 participants to the waitlist no treatment control group. Participants in the experimental group received the NDE learning module intervention, which consisted of 3 sessions over consecutive weeks. Six research questions were explored. A two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance was performed on five dependent variables to determine if the two groups performed differently across time according to the pretest and posttest results of the Despair, Panic Behavior, Personal Growth, Detachment, and Disorganization subscales of the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC). A one-way analysis of covariance was performed on one dependent variable to determine if the groups were statistically different according to the posttest results of the Blame and Anger subscale of the HGRC. Additionally, univariate eta squared was hand calculated to determine practical significance. Findings indicated that bereaved adults who participated in the NDE learning module showed small effect size for interaction on Panic Behavior (&#951;2 = .05) and Personal Growth (&#951;2 = .05), large effect size for interaction on Detachment (&#951;2 = .15), large effect size for treatment type on Blame and Anger (&#951;2 = .15), and negligible effect size for interaction on Despair (&#951;2 < .01) and Disorganization (&#951;2 < .01). Although no statistically significant results were found for any of the dependent variables (p > .05), effect size findings indicated modest to substantial benefits of the NDE learning module intervention for bereaved adults in the form of decreased panic behavior, blame and anger, and detachment, and increased personal growth. Implications for further research beyond this initial investigation are discussed.

Na presente Tese, vinculada aos Estudos Foucaultianos, proponho pensarmos sobre a Educação e a Pedagogia tentando nos colocarmos externamente a esses campos. Nela, defendo que as referências que advogam pela natureza espiritual das experiências de quase-morte (EQMs) permitem caracterizar esses fenômenos como intervenções psicagógicas que, ao promoverem a ressignificação da vida, objetivam transformar o modo de ser das pessoas para que elas vivam orientadas pelo amor. A noção de psicagogia é o elemento teórico mais importante da presente pesquisa. Concebo psicagogia como o processo de transmissão de uma verdade por meio do qual um sujeito busca modificar a maneira de ser daquele a quem se dirige. A concepção de poder pastoral, entendido como técnica de direção que se volta para aquele que deve conduzir o povo e cada indivíduo para a salvação, constitui-se como outro componente teórico relevante para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho. A partir das análises que realizei, entendo que o amor sobre o qual as relações psicagógicas se sustentam identifica-se com aquele peculiar à doutrina socrático-platônica. Para a realização da pesquisa, analisei textos (livros, artigos e revistas eletrônicas), de autores brasileiros e estrangeiros, que concebem as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e outras obras que permitem descrever algumas das condições de possibilidade para a emergência do campo da Espiritualidade e Saúde (ES) e dos discursos sobre as EQMs. No primeiro capítulo, ao efetuar um estudo de inspiração genealógica, sugiro que o campo da ES e os discursos sobre as EQMs encontram no “imperativo biológico” próprio do nosso tempo uma importante condição de emergência. Dedico o segundo capítulo para descrever os elementos discursivos que caracterizam as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e para apresentar o campo do saber no qual aqueles elementos estão inseridos. Para finalizar, no terceiro capítulo, exponho os motivos que me conduziram a caracterizar as EQMs como intervenções psicagógicas que assumem a forma de relações pastorais. / In the present thesis, linked to the Foucaultian Studies, I propose to think about Education and Pedagogy trying to put ourselves externally in these fields. In it, I argue that the references that advocate the spiritual nature of near-death experiences (NDEs) allow us to characterize these phenomena as psychagogical interventions that, in promoting the re-signification of life, aim to transform people's way of being so that they live oriented by love. The notion of psychagogy is the most important theoretical element of the present research. I conceive psychagogy as the process of transmitting a truth whereby a subject seeks to change the way of being of he or she is addressed. The conception of pastoral power, understood as a technique of direction that turns to the one that must lead the people and each individual to salvation, is constituted as another relevant theoretical component for the development of this work. From my analyzes, I understand that the love on which the psychagogical relations are sustained is identified with that peculiar to the Socratic-Platonic doctrine. In order to carry out the research, I have analyzed texts (books, articles and electronic journals) by Brazilian and foreign authors that conceive NDEs as spiritual phenomena and other works that allow us to describe some of the conditions of possibility for the emergence of the field of Spirituality and Health (SH) and discourses on NDEs. In the first chapter, in carrying out a study of genealogical inspiration, I suggest that the field of SH and discourses on NDEs find in the "biological imperative" proper of our time an important emergency condition. I dedicate the second chapter to describe the discursive elements that characterize the NDEs as spiritual phenomena and to present the field of knowledge in which those elements are inserted. Finally, in the third chapter, I explain the reasons that led me to characterize NDEs as psychagogical interventions that take the form of pastoral relationships.

Background: Every year 10,000 people in Sweden suffer from a cardiac arrest. The chance to survive increases and also the lifespan. Having suffered a cardiac arrest means a change in everyday life, both emotionally and physically. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe adult people’s experiences after surviving a cardiac arrest. Method: A qualitative literature-based study. An analysis of nine qualitative articles was carried out. Results: Three main themes emerged; near death-experience, a changed body and to get a functioning everyday. The results showed that life after the cardiac arrest meant a major transformation. To suffer a near-death experience affected the people and there was a reprioritisations of everyday life. It was found that bodily changes created an insecurity and it was perceived as difficulty when the energy was not enough. Conclusion: People who survived a cardiac arrest are in need of support from the health care.

Na presente Tese, vinculada aos Estudos Foucaultianos, proponho pensarmos sobre a Educação e a Pedagogia tentando nos colocarmos externamente a esses campos. Nela, defendo que as referências que advogam pela natureza espiritual das experiências de quase-morte (EQMs) permitem caracterizar esses fenômenos como intervenções psicagógicas que, ao promoverem a ressignificação da vida, objetivam transformar o modo de ser das pessoas para que elas vivam orientadas pelo amor. A noção de psicagogia é o elemento teórico mais importante da presente pesquisa. Concebo psicagogia como o processo de transmissão de uma verdade por meio do qual um sujeito busca modificar a maneira de ser daquele a quem se dirige. A concepção de poder pastoral, entendido como técnica de direção que se volta para aquele que deve conduzir o povo e cada indivíduo para a salvação, constitui-se como outro componente teórico relevante para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho. A partir das análises que realizei, entendo que o amor sobre o qual as relações psicagógicas se sustentam identifica-se com aquele peculiar à doutrina socrático-platônica. Para a realização da pesquisa, analisei textos (livros, artigos e revistas eletrônicas), de autores brasileiros e estrangeiros, que concebem as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e outras obras que permitem descrever algumas das condições de possibilidade para a emergência do campo da Espiritualidade e Saúde (ES) e dos discursos sobre as EQMs. No primeiro capítulo, ao efetuar um estudo de inspiração genealógica, sugiro que o campo da ES e os discursos sobre as EQMs encontram no “imperativo biológico” próprio do nosso tempo uma importante condição de emergência. Dedico o segundo capítulo para descrever os elementos discursivos que caracterizam as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e para apresentar o campo do saber no qual aqueles elementos estão inseridos. Para finalizar, no terceiro capítulo, exponho os motivos que me conduziram a caracterizar as EQMs como intervenções psicagógicas que assumem a forma de relações pastorais. / In the present thesis, linked to the Foucaultian Studies, I propose to think about Education and Pedagogy trying to put ourselves externally in these fields. In it, I argue that the references that advocate the spiritual nature of near-death experiences (NDEs) allow us to characterize these phenomena as psychagogical interventions that, in promoting the re-signification of life, aim to transform people's way of being so that they live oriented by love. The notion of psychagogy is the most important theoretical element of the present research. I conceive psychagogy as the process of transmitting a truth whereby a subject seeks to change the way of being of he or she is addressed. The conception of pastoral power, understood as a technique of direction that turns to the one that must lead the people and each individual to salvation, is constituted as another relevant theoretical component for the development of this work. From my analyzes, I understand that the love on which the psychagogical relations are sustained is identified with that peculiar to the Socratic-Platonic doctrine. In order to carry out the research, I have analyzed texts (books, articles and electronic journals) by Brazilian and foreign authors that conceive NDEs as spiritual phenomena and other works that allow us to describe some of the conditions of possibility for the emergence of the field of Spirituality and Health (SH) and discourses on NDEs. In the first chapter, in carrying out a study of genealogical inspiration, I suggest that the field of SH and discourses on NDEs find in the "biological imperative" proper of our time an important emergency condition. I dedicate the second chapter to describe the discursive elements that characterize the NDEs as spiritual phenomena and to present the field of knowledge in which those elements are inserted. Finally, in the third chapter, I explain the reasons that led me to characterize NDEs as psychagogical interventions that take the form of pastoral relationships.

Na presente Tese, vinculada aos Estudos Foucaultianos, proponho pensarmos sobre a Educação e a Pedagogia tentando nos colocarmos externamente a esses campos. Nela, defendo que as referências que advogam pela natureza espiritual das experiências de quase-morte (EQMs) permitem caracterizar esses fenômenos como intervenções psicagógicas que, ao promoverem a ressignificação da vida, objetivam transformar o modo de ser das pessoas para que elas vivam orientadas pelo amor. A noção de psicagogia é o elemento teórico mais importante da presente pesquisa. Concebo psicagogia como o processo de transmissão de uma verdade por meio do qual um sujeito busca modificar a maneira de ser daquele a quem se dirige. A concepção de poder pastoral, entendido como técnica de direção que se volta para aquele que deve conduzir o povo e cada indivíduo para a salvação, constitui-se como outro componente teórico relevante para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho. A partir das análises que realizei, entendo que o amor sobre o qual as relações psicagógicas se sustentam identifica-se com aquele peculiar à doutrina socrático-platônica. Para a realização da pesquisa, analisei textos (livros, artigos e revistas eletrônicas), de autores brasileiros e estrangeiros, que concebem as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e outras obras que permitem descrever algumas das condições de possibilidade para a emergência do campo da Espiritualidade e Saúde (ES) e dos discursos sobre as EQMs. No primeiro capítulo, ao efetuar um estudo de inspiração genealógica, sugiro que o campo da ES e os discursos sobre as EQMs encontram no “imperativo biológico” próprio do nosso tempo uma importante condição de emergência. Dedico o segundo capítulo para descrever os elementos discursivos que caracterizam as EQMs como fenômenos espirituais e para apresentar o campo do saber no qual aqueles elementos estão inseridos. Para finalizar, no terceiro capítulo, exponho os motivos que me conduziram a caracterizar as EQMs como intervenções psicagógicas que assumem a forma de relações pastorais. / In the present thesis, linked to the Foucaultian Studies, I propose to think about Education and Pedagogy trying to put ourselves externally in these fields. In it, I argue that the references that advocate the spiritual nature of near-death experiences (NDEs) allow us to characterize these phenomena as psychagogical interventions that, in promoting the re-signification of life, aim to transform people's way of being so that they live oriented by love. The notion of psychagogy is the most important theoretical element of the present research. I conceive psychagogy as the process of transmitting a truth whereby a subject seeks to change the way of being of he or she is addressed. The conception of pastoral power, understood as a technique of direction that turns to the one that must lead the people and each individual to salvation, is constituted as another relevant theoretical component for the development of this work. From my analyzes, I understand that the love on which the psychagogical relations are sustained is identified with that peculiar to the Socratic-Platonic doctrine. In order to carry out the research, I have analyzed texts (books, articles and electronic journals) by Brazilian and foreign authors that conceive NDEs as spiritual phenomena and other works that allow us to describe some of the conditions of possibility for the emergence of the field of Spirituality and Health (SH) and discourses on NDEs. In the first chapter, in carrying out a study of genealogical inspiration, I suggest that the field of SH and discourses on NDEs find in the "biological imperative" proper of our time an important emergency condition. I dedicate the second chapter to describe the discursive elements that characterize the NDEs as spiritual phenomena and to present the field of knowledge in which those elements are inserted. Finally, in the third chapter, I explain the reasons that led me to characterize NDEs as psychagogical interventions that take the form of pastoral relationships.

The purpose of this quantitative and qualitative study was to determine retrospectively marital satisfaction and stability following the near-death experience (NDE) of one of the marital partners, focusing on the role of Gottman's Sound Marital House (1999) in the couple's relationship before and after the NDE. The researcher used the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (1959), the Weiss-Ceretto Marital Status Inventory (1980), and a modification of Gottman's Shared Meanings Questionnaire (1999). The first group of participants included 26 NDErs. To create as comparable a group as possible, the researcher designed a life-changing event (LCE) group of 26 people who used as their referent the non-NDE-related experience they considered their most life-changing one during their marriage. Sixty-five percent of the marriages in which the NDErs were involved at the time of their NDEs ended in divorce. This number is in contrast to the 19 percent of LCE participants whose marriages ended in divorce. Marital adjustment, marital stability, and meanings in marriage between retrospectively based pre-event and post-event composite scores were statistically significantly different between the NDErs and LCErs. Low effect sizes were identified for each of the instruments except the Weiss-Ceretto Marital Status Inventory, which had a moderate effect size. Strong correlations among the scores were identified. Further analysis of the results indicated strongly that the NDErs were less satisfied in their marriages, their marriages were less stable, and they did not have a strong level of shared meaning in the marriage after the NDE occurred as compared to the LCE participants. This study has serious implications for counselors who may work with NDErs. Findings from this study show that NDErs who were married at the time of their experiences have a strong possibility of experiencing marital problems. Encouraging these couples to seek professional help as soon as possible can provide a forum for them to address the potential numerous changes in their relationship. By having more information about the effects of an NDE on a marriage, counselors will be better prepared to assist those couples who are not well prepared to navigate their way through the aftereffects of the event. Through psychoeducation and the application of counseling approaches, counselors can help their clients address specific issues related to their NDEs.

This essay aims to explore the tradition of visionary experience as expressed through the 4th century apocryphal text The Apocalypse of Paul. Emerging motifs from The Apocalypse of Paul is studied alongside those from the 1979 study on near-death experience, To die is gain, by German Lutheran priest Johann Christoph Hampe. A general enquiry it seeks to answer is; are the motifs in The Apocalypse of Paul of contemporary relevance, as testimony of neardeath experience? Further, this thesis aims to study possible correlations of emerging patterns through the theology of death and afterlife developed by the late Karl Rahner, as an attempt to re-cast traditional eschatological teachings of the church to modern sensibilities. Basic narrative characteristics in The Apocalypse of Paul is put in relation to the interpretation of NDE-characteristics in To die is gain. Correlations and/or discrepancies are put in relation to the eschatological thought of Karl Rahner. The study is structured around a disposition of The Apocalypse of Paul divided in seven subgroups. Each subgroup is analysed using Hampes’ tripartite division of the NDE-phenomenon.Further, granted the grouping based on Hampes’ systemisation, each section will provide a basis for study of Rahnerian theology of dying.

Non-ordinary states of consciousness have been presented for a long time and currently, when the spiritual side of the human existence is left out, the states of consciousness turn to its regeneration. This thesis is focused on the resulting changes in human life after passing the non-ordinary state of consciousness and especially regarding the changes in attitude towards death and process of dying. In the theoretical part, I have described the problem of death and the process of dying from the cultural, medical, psychological and theological view. I have presented the basic and extended model of the human psyche, the knowledge of which is essential in understanding the non-ordinary states of consciousness. Next, I have specified the concrete definition of non-ordinary states of consciousness and I have dealt with the extended description of those matters, when the human being is not directly touched or not during the experience with dead or dying. The last theoretical chapter goes into the therapeutic potential of the described non-ordinary states of consciousness. The goal of this thesis is to catch the significant similarities of the body and point its transformative effect on the personality of the human being, especially in the matters of basic existence. In order to achieve this goal, I have chosen the qualitative research strategy with the elements of phenomenological research. This semi-structured interview was defined as a method for collecting the data. The research file represents seven respondents with their own experience of a non-ordinary state of consciousness, especially near-death experiences, holotropic breathwork and psychedelic experiences. The results of this research have shown the significant changes in the lives of people who had this type of experience in question. The changes in their respective lives have also resulted in the reduction of the fear of death or dying of these individuals. The results from these findings have significant implications for the psychotherapy. It is mainly aimed at those therapists who have contact with people suffering from death and who have anxiety about dying.

nÃo hà / Esta tese apresenta uma pesquisa qualitativa, sobre a construÃÃo da experiÃncia espiritual e sua problematizaÃÃo como lugar de superaÃÃo dos limites do paradigma biomÃdico e se propÃe a contribuir para a reflexÃo sobre espiritualidade na educaÃÃo mÃdica em trÃs cenÃrios: no contexto em que as mÃes recorrem a explicaÃÃes transcendentais quando na enfermaria MÃe-Canguru na Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand; junto aos sujeitos que buscam os rezadores no Programa de SaÃde da FamÃlia Novo Iracema, em Maranguape; e atravÃs das narrativas de sujeitos que vivenciaram experiÃncia de quase-morte (EQM) e experiÃncia de quase-morte sÃmile (desdobramento). A pesquisa tem como metodologia a histÃria oral temÃtica (mÃtodo de pesquisa antropolÃgico â ciÃncia do indivÃduo), utilizando entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com uma abordagem transdisciplinar, numa perspectiva multirreferencial, ou seja, uma leitura plural, utilizando sistemas de referÃncias distintos; obtendo as narrativas dos depoentes acerca das reflexÃes sobre a construÃÃo da experiÃncia espiritual nos percursos educacionais vividos nos processos de adoecimento e cura; com o objetivo de estudar o que essas experiÃncias apontam como perspectiva de superaÃÃo dos limites do paradigma biomÃdico. As narrativas foram gravadas, transcritas em seguida foi realizada a anÃlise, cotejando com o referencial teÃrico desta tese: ciÃncia da educaÃÃo, ciÃncia mÃdica e o pensamento espÃrita em seu aspecto religioso, filosÃfico e cientÃfico. As anÃlise no corpo deste estudo, levaram à compreensÃo: da necessidade de uma nova conceituaÃÃo do sujeito humano (como ser espiritual); da necessidade de se considerar as produÃÃes simbÃlicas que remetem à dimensÃo transcendente, considerando os fenÃmenos da ordem espiritual, como fenÃmenos que devem ser considerados em medicina; as experiÃncias de quase-morte e os desdobramentos sugerem a existÃncia de uma individualidade extra-corpÃrea, consciente, com identidade, inteligÃncia, memÃria, dotado de faculdades transcendentes, capazes de vivenciar experiÃncias como seres espirituais, as quais devem ser levadas em consideraÃÃo na prÃtica mÃdica, principalmente na relaÃÃo mÃdico-paciente com sujeitos em coma e no momento do processo de morte e repensar o tempo de reanimaÃÃo e os critÃrios utilizados para determinaÃÃo do sucesso dessas manobras; de que estudos multirreferenciados utilizando o pensamento espÃrita, na perspectiva religiosa, filosÃfica e cientÃfica deverÃo ser realizados, desenvolvendo o paradigma mÃdico-espÃrita, como contribuiÃÃo relevante para a medicina / This thesis presents a qualitative research about the development of the spiritual experience and itâs problematization on how overcoming the limits of the biomedical paradigm, and proposes to contribute on the reflection about spirituality in medical education in three situations: the context in which the mothers of opt to use transcendental explanations for their experiences in the Nursery Mother Kangaroo in the hospital Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand; along subjects who search for an specific group of people, prayers, in the Family Health Program Novo Iracema, in Maranguape; and through the narratives of subjects who have gone through near-death experiences and near-death simile (out-of-body experience). The research uses as thematic methodology the oral history (an anthropologic method of research â individual science), using semi-structured interviews, with transdiciplinary approach , in a multireferential perspective, which were meant as an attempt at a plural reading, using distinct reference systems; obtaining the narratives of the subjects of the subjects about their reflections over the development of the spiritual experience throughout the processes of ailment and cure; proposing to study what these experiences point as a perspective of overcoming limits of the biomedical paradigm. The narratives were recorded, transcripted and analyzed, according to the theoretical references of this thesis: science of education, medical science and the spiritist theory in itâs religious aspect, philosophical and scientific. The analysis presented in the course of this study lead to the understanding: of the need for a new concept for the human being (as an spiritual being); of the need to consider the symbolic productions that alludes to a transcendental dimension, considering the spiritual phenomena which must be taken under consideration in medicine. The near-death experiences, and the out-of-body experiences suggest the existence of an out-of-body individuality, conscious, with identity, intelligence, memory, with transcendental abilities, capable of having experiences with other spiritual beings, which must be considered in the medical practice, especially in the relationship doctor-patient with subjects in coma and close to death and rethink the reanimation period and he criteria used to establish the success of these maneuvers; that of multireferential study utilizing the sipiritist theory, in the religious perspective, philosophical and scientific should be made, developing the medical-spiritist paradigm as a relative contribution for medicine