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.

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

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.

Growth and development are central constituents of the human experience. Although the American Psychological Association aims to understand change and behavior in ways that embrace all aspects of experience (APA, 2008), sudden, life-altering or quantum transformation has been disregarded throughout the history of psychology until recently (see Miller & C' de Baca, 1994, 2001). Quantum transformation is similar to self-surrender conversion (James, 1902), but different from peak experiences (Maslow, 1964) and near death experiences (Lorimer, 1990) because quantum transformation, by definition, involves lasting change. Quantum transformation contains epistemic qualities, which refer to the content and process of knowing (Miller & C' de Baca, 2001), but little is known about these qualities. The current study employed a qualitative method to better understand the epistemic qualities of quantum transformation. Fourteen participants were extensively interviewed about their experience. Analysis involved hermeneutic methods (Kvale, 1996) and phenomenological description (Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003). Quantum transformation is essentially a process of knowing that unfolded in the form of Disintegration, Insight, and Integration in the present study. First, Disintegration is presented by themes of Overwhelming stress, Relational struggle, Hopelessness, Holding-on, Control, Psychological turmoil, Self-discrepancy, and Guilt. Second, Insight is presented by the Content and Tacit knowing of the experience. Third, Integration is presented by Changes in values, Other-orientation, and A process of development. The results suggest that the disintegration and the suffering that characterizes the pre-transformation milieu inform how quantum transformation relates to lasting change. Therapists that automatically aim to alleviate moral-emotional sorrow or guilt should consider whether the emotional experience can bring about positive transformation. Overall, quantum transformation has potentially major implications for our understanding of personality change and moral development.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att jämföra hur Den Tibetanska Dödsboken beskriver döden och berättelser från personer som haft nära döden-upplevelser. Att undersöka vilka likheter och olikheter det finns mellan Den Tibetanska Dödsbokens olika stadier i döden och de olika momenten i moderna nära-dödenberättelser.

This theses concern with psychological aspects of dying and death. Its purpose is to comprehend ideas of modern people concerning death and dying (eventually to gain some kind of mental representation of death). Theses consist of two parts, theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part concerns at first with death and dying and areas connected to those. Then it covers two quite new areas related to this topic, namely deaht in psychology and various explanations of death including their psychological explanation. The empirical part uses qualitative research (used methods are half-structured interview, free aassociations and marginally also analysis of a drawing) on people's conception of death, their explanation of death and feelings related to the topic, their fears and wishes. The findings are of qualitative character and they were obtained from 28 respondents. The results of empirical part could provide valuable psychological material in the area, that is even nowadays still concidered to be a taboo. They could deepen research in the area that, due to the overall aging of population, would be more and more valuable. Keywords: death, dying, mourning, burial, death in psychology, spirituality, deaht and religion, afterlife, spiritism, near-death experience

OLIVEIRA, Eliane Silva . A construção da experiência espiritual e sua problematização como lugar de superação dos limites do paradigma biomédico: uma contribuição para a reflexão sobre espiritualidade na educação médica. 2008. 300f. Tese (Doutorado em Educação) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Faculdade de Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza-CE, 2008. / Submitted by Maria Josineide Góis (josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-07-06T16:42:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Tes_ESOliveira.pdf: 5055380 bytes, checksum: 6690f585c1751699f8e17f646eeb71b3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-07-10T13:29:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Tes_ESOliveira.pdf: 5055380 bytes, checksum: 6690f585c1751699f8e17f646eeb71b3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-07-10T13:29:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_Tes_ESOliveira.pdf: 5055380 bytes, checksum: 6690f585c1751699f8e17f646eeb71b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / This thesis presents a qualitative research about the development of the spiritual experience and it’s 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 – 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 it’s 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 / Esta tese apresenta uma pesquisa qualitativa, sobre a construção da experiência espiritual e sua problematização como lugar de superação dos limites do paradigma biomédico e se propõe a contribuir para a reflexão sobre espiritualidade na educação médica em três cenários: no contexto em que as mães recorrem a explicações transcendentais quando na enfermaria Mãe-Canguru na Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand; junto aos sujeitos que buscam os rezadores no Programa de Saúde da Família Novo Iracema, em Maranguape; e através das narrativas de sujeitos que vivenciaram experiência de quase-morte (EQM) e experiência de quase-morte símile (desdobramento). A pesquisa tem como metodologia a história oral temática (método de pesquisa antropológico – ciência do indivíduo), utilizando entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com uma abordagem transdisciplinar, numa perspectiva multirreferencial, ou seja, uma leitura plural, utilizando sistemas de referências distintos; obtendo as narrativas dos depoentes acerca das reflexões sobre a construção da experiência espiritual nos percursos educacionais vividos nos processos de adoecimento e cura; com o objetivo de estudar o que essas experiências apontam como perspectiva de superação dos limites do paradigma biomédico. As narrativas foram gravadas, transcritas em seguida foi realizada a análise, cotejando com o referencial teórico desta tese: ciência da educação, ciência médica e o pensamento espírita em seu aspecto religioso, filosófico e científico. As análise no corpo deste estudo, levaram à compreensão: da necessidade de uma nova conceituação do sujeito humano (como ser espiritual); da necessidade de se considerar as produções simbólicas que remetem à dimensão transcendente, considerando os fenômenos da ordem espiritual, como fenômenos que devem ser considerados em medicina; as experiências de quase-morte e os desdobramentos sugerem a existência de uma individualidade extra-corpórea, consciente, com identidade, inteligência, memória, dotado de faculdades transcendentes, capazes de vivenciar experiências como seres espirituais, as quais devem ser levadas em consideração na prática médica, principalmente na relação médico-paciente com sujeitos em coma e no momento do processo de morte e repensar o tempo de reanimação e os critérios utilizados para determinação do sucesso dessas manobras; de que estudos multirreferenciados utilizando o pensamento espírita, na perspectiva religiosa, filosófica e científica deverão ser realizados, desenvolvendo o paradigma médico-espírita, como contribuição relevante para a medicina

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Near-death experiences (NDEs) are altered state of consciousness with mystic and transcendent content most commonly occurring in life-threatening situations. Explanatory hypotheses for near-death experience have ranged from brain dysfunctions and psychological reactions to mind-brain independence. The central issue is whether NDE can be fully explained by the brain activity or alternative mechanisms need to be considered. The present Master s Dissertation examines a literature review of NDE which concludes proposing that the mind-brain independence hypothesis is needed for the investigation of NDE given the experiential and physiological features of the phenomenon and speculative status of the available hypotheses. / Experiências de quase morte (EQMs) são estados alterados de consciência com conteúdo transcendente e místico normalmente ocorrendo em situações de risco de morte. Hipóteses explicativas para experiência de quase morte abrangem de disfunções cerebrais e reações psicológicas à independência mente-cérebro. A questão central é se EQM pode ser explicada completamente pela atividade cerebral ou mecanismos alternativos precisam ser considerados. A presente dissertação examina uma revisão de literatura de experiência de quase morte propondo que a hipótese de independência mente-cérebro é necessária para a investigação da EQM dada as características fisiológicas e experienciais do fenômeno e o estatuto especulativo das hipóteses disponíveis.