Pat Collins C.M. Web Page

 

 

 

Therapeutic Implications of Near Death Experiences 

N.A.P.C. Journal (Spring 2002) no. 12, pp. 10-13.

 

My  late father, was a vet in a government laboratory. I can remembering him  saying:  “there were very few effective medical remedies before the 20^th century” By and large he was right. But nowadays, thanks to new drugs and technologies,  dramatic progress has been made.  One result of all the therapeutic breakthroughs is the ability of the medical profession to resuscitate people whose hearts, lungs and brains have stopped functioning.  From a medical point of view, clinical  death is a period of unconsciousness caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain because of inadequate circulation. If it is not reversed within 5 – 10 minutes, irreparable damage is cone to the brain and the patient dies. 

 

NDE Research Findings

At least 18% of those whose lives have been saved, have reported having near death experiences (NDEs). They can be defined as the reported memory of all the impressions during a special state of consciousness, including specific elements such as out-of-body experience, pleasant feelings, and seeing a tunnel, a light, deceased relatives, or a life review.  From a scientific point of view this is very surprising because it was thought that consciousness was completely dependent upon the workings of the brain. If the cortex gave no sign of electrical or chemical activity how could, vivid, coherent and meaningful awareness be possible? Over the years an increasing number of researchers have investigated the phenomenon. A recent  edition of The Lancet published an article by four Dutch researchers  about  NDEs.  It focused  on survivors of cardiac arrest in the Netherlands.  

 

The Dutch study came to a number of very interesting conclusions. For instance, it discovered that although the average age for NDEs was around 60, the likelihood of their occurrence was higher in younger people, especially children. The research could not explain the occurrence of NDEs in terms of psychological, neurological, biological or medical factors. For unknown reasons, those who had an NDE were more likely to  die within 30 days, than those who did not. In this short  article I will not discuss whether the research findings prove that conscious awareness is independent of the brain, or that there is life after death.  Suffice it say, that while the evidence indicates that both are likely, there is no certain scientific proofs that such is the case. We will focus instead, on the spiritual effects and therapeutic implications of NDEs.  

 

In the Dutch study, researchers asked resuscitated people 34 questions about such things as self-image, concern for others,  social issues, religious beliefs, spirituality and their attitude to  death.  The interviews were conducted two and eight years after their recovery.  All patients, including those who did not have a NDE  were  more self-assured, socially aware, and religious than they had been before. However the biggest transformation was evident in those who had a NDE. The Dutch report says that they experienced life-changing insights: “They were more emotionally vulnerable and empathic, and often there was evidence of increased intuitive feelings. Most of this group did not show any fear of death and strongly believed in an afterlife.”  These positive changes were even  more apparent after eight years than they had been after two. The Dutch study also discovered that although resuscitation had a positive, overall effect upon those who didn’t have an NDE, after eight years their interest in spirituality had sharply declined, whereas it had significantly increased in those who did have an NDE.

 

Research also indicates that if a NDE is artificially induced by drugs, such as LSD or mescaline, it may lead to an out-of-body experience together with flashes of light and fragmented and random memories However,  it will have neither the coherence or life transforming effects of an authentic NDE. As the Dutch study says: “transformational processes with life changing life-insight and disappearance of fear of death are rarely reported after induced experiences.” 

 

NDEs and Spirituality

NDEs have  many implications. Firstly, because they occur naturally in populations all around the world, regardless of culture or religion, they are a powerful scientific indicator of the central importance of spirituality in our lives. Other researchers e.g. Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran, an Indian working in the U.S., has indicated how the left temporal lobe of the brain is probably intimately involved in processing spiritual experiences such as NDEs.  In a culture that tends to focus exclusively on psycho-somatic medicine, NDE’s are a salutary reminder of the central importance of the spiritual dimension of human experience, what could be awkwardly referred to as the pneuma-psycho-somatic perspective. 

 

Secondly, in traditional Catholic spirituality we talk of the purgative, illuminative and unitive stages of the spiritual life. It seems to me that while there may be purgative and unitive aspects to these experiences, the main emphasis is on illumination. It is a vivid, experiential appreciation of the reality of the numinous and things of the Spirit. They may, or may not, have been known beforehand at a the level of cognitive consciousness.

 

Thirdly, the spirituality of those who have had NDEs not only tends to have certain characteristics in common, they clearly accord with the teachings of the Bible. 

      1.    They don’t think that money, material things, roles, status, or success are  very important.  This point echoes a number of  New Testament verses. Jesus said:   “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” Mt 6:24. 

 

      2.   They feel that, self-forgetful, empathic love in relationships is the key value. They desire  to do to others what they would have them  do to  them . They are convinced that, when life is over, all of us will be judged on love,  and love alone. In Matthew’s gospel, there is a graphic picture of the last judgement. People’s lives are not evaluated on the basis of belief in doctrines, church attendance, or the observance of rituals. “As often as you did it,” i.e. charitable deeds, “says the Lord to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters you did it to me” Mt 25:40.

 

      3      They live in the present moment. They are not inclined to worry very much about what is going to happen in the future, or about meeting deadlines. Jesus advocated this kind of attitude: “Do not be anxious” he said, “about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day” Mt 6:34.

 

          4      Regardless of age, they have a renewed interest in learning as a means of worthwhile self-development.  The wisdom literature of the Old Testament is punctuated with passages about the pursuit of wisdom. For example, in Sir 6: 34-37 we read: “Attend the gathering of elders; if there is a wise man there, attach yourself to him.  Listen willingly to any discourse coming from God, do not let wise proverbs escape you.  If you see a man of understanding, visit him early, let your feet wear out his doorstep.”

 

       5        While they value the religion to which they may belong, they feel that it is not denominational religion that counts, but rather, commitment to the core spiritual truths  and values that are embodied in religion, such as being in harmony with God and one’s fellow human beings. On one occasion the apostles were angry because a man who didn’t belong to their group was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. The Lord responded: “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us I for us.”

 

Some Implications for Therapists

I’m convinced that NDEs have important implications for counsellors and therapists.

Firstly, they warn us, if warning is needed, to avoid the reductionist model of   care that informs a good deal of western medical, psychiatric and therapeutic practice, in so far as it fails to acknowledge the primacy of the spiritual in human welfare. A number of writers have warned the therapists   who try to integrate psychology and spirituality that they can end up by psychologising spirituality rather than spiritualising psychology. As Gerald May has observed,  “whenever religion and psychology come together, psychology is felt to be the more “workable” of the two. It offers hard answers and objectifiable techniques. The contributions of religion are either forgotten entirely or considered too esoteric or touchy to be handled.”

 

Secondly,  those who are engaged in helping professions already mentioned, need to foster their own spiritual lives.  Unfortunately some of them appear to be more informed about therapeutic theory, dynamics and techniques than they are about the ins and outs of spirituality. As the proverb warns: “You cannot give what you haven’t got.” 

 

Thirdly, in recent years I have noticed that some Christian therapists resort to dubious New Age theories and practices, such as Reiki, chakras,  and channelling. From a scientific point of view their value is unproven, from a professional point of view they indefensible, and from a Christian perspective they are highly suspect. I don’t believe that one can synthesize such beliefs,  which are often alien to Christian faith, with secular therapeutic methods. It is important that Christian therapists, who take spirituality seriously, should have a gift of discernment of spirits (cf. 1 Cor 12:10; 1 Jn 4:1; 1 Tess 5:21), one that can recognize, if and when, evil spirits may be exploiting emotional vulnerabilities to oppress a person.  If they suspect that such is the case, they could refer the client to someone who has proven expertise in the area of deliverance ministry.

 

Fourthly, not only will people in the caring professions meet people who have had NDEs, they will also meet a sizeable proportion of people who have had significant religious experiences in their lives. I believe that the transforming awarenesses that are part of NDEs are proleptically present in all numinous experiences in so far as they are intimations of the saving and healing presence of the Beyond who is in the midst of our everyday lives. Therapists need to honour those experiences, and to help their clients to explore their meaning while assisting them to see how to integrate their implications into their everyday lives (cf 2 Cor 3:18).  Viktor Frankl  pointed out, that carers need to engage in logotherapy i.e. the discovery and appreciation of perceived spiritual meanings in people’s lives. In a chapter enititled, “Psychotherapists or the Clergy,” Carl Jung  made the, much quoted, observation that: “Among all my patients in the second half of life – that is to say, over 35 – there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. It is safe to say that everyone of them fell ill because s/he had lost what the living religions of every age have given to their followers, and none of them has been really healed who did not regain that outlook.”