Bruce Greyson, Near-Death Experience Pioneer |494|

Alex

Administrator
Bruce Greyson, Near-Death Experience Pioneer |494|
by Alex Tsakiris | Mar 31 | Near-Death Experience
Share
Tweet

Dr. Bruce Greyson’s patients told him about NDEs, and he listened.
skeptiko-494-bruce-greyson-300x300.jpg
 
I really liked that interview. I suppose most of us are fairly well steeped in the concept of NDE's, so nothing can surprise us too much,
but I'll just pick out two things that impressed me:

1) Right at the start of the interview (and Dr. Greyson's career) he mentions that he encountered a patient with an NDE that went out of body and overheard a conversation from another room. Those cases are so amazing, but Dr. Greyson didn't even know about NDE's when he first encountered this phenomenon - so it was great that he didn't somehow twist the story, or lose it in his notes. I just wish that he had spoken a bit about his psychiatric work with this patient after she had recovered. For example, did her NDE make her feel less likely to attempt suicide again?

2) I had not heard before of the study which showed that NDE experiencers had mental problems at the average rate - so NDE's don't require a particular mental vulnerability.

I do hope that Dr. Greyson can come on the forum for a bit.

David
 
Thank you Alex for this site!! I am from Canada. I have been on your site for many years & only today realized i was not a member. I just signed up today & this is my 1st post.

I had a nde when i was 42. All my life being raised Catholic, i always believed we were judged. All my life, until my nde. To have believed something for so long, & then to do a 180, is something that is near impossible. That to me, as well as the rest of the amazing experience that has changed my life, was the cherry on the cake. I keep reminding myself of this point, as i am so scientifically minded, that I look for ways to prove it away. In essence i am also proving it to myself, that it's real. Hope that makes sense.

As to Dr Greyson's last comment about the mental aspect; many of us have side effects. I have voices "in my head". Many voices. It's like walking into a mall & everyone is talking in groups. Then as you start to become more aware & "listen", someone or some groups notices you & starts talking to you.

I have had many tests & they found some weird brain patterns but nothing can explain what these are. They started around Christmas of that same year back in 2002. Always loving voices, male & female. I thought i had lost my mind as this was not "normal". I even thought perhaps i was schizophrenic. I began researching what a nde was & i devoured all information, trying to basically proving to myself that i was sane & not alone.

I spoke with Dr Fenwick when I went down to the IANDS conference in Denver, many years ago. He told me that my brain was like a radio which after my nde, made it possible to pick up more stations than prior to it. He told me not to be afraid.

I have learned to tune "them" down to a dull roar, as they say. It's been difficult, many times i thought i was crazy. Working as an accountant, where detail work is done, was difficult. I was overwhelmed many times, so i understand about the brain being a filter. If we get everything that is out there, every sound, it would drive us insane. Just having these voices many times led me to thinking about suicide. I think what saved me was also knowing that this was not the end & that there was a reason i was hearing more than the normal person. That we came here to experience life & this for some unfathomable reason, was something i had to deal with, here on earth.

There are other side effects. Not just for me but others who have had these ndes. I am so happy to hear as more & more of the truth comes out that people are opening their minds to belief. Also happy to hear there are people out there willing to help, that have some knowledge & understanding, as well as a non-judgemental open mind.

I have purchased most of the books you refer to in your shows. I did purchase the one from Dr. Greyson, as well as others he has written or co/written. Looking forward to reading it.

Alex, please keep doing these interviews. They are a true help for everyone.
 
Dr. Greyson as well as Dr Jeffery Long, thanks to their extensive research are men I believe we can confide in for answers regarding the mystery of near death experiences. As for Alex's question concerning debunkers of nde experiences I think most of them find it a leap too far to allow any such joyous and hopeful thoughts to enter their stubbornly materialistic brains... although some have gradually become slightly more admissive of the possibility.
Regarding whether social engineering is going on, you betcha! The last thing the Diabolical Powers that Be want is a society that believes there might be life and a destination after death or that the way we managed our lives on Earth could possibly have consequences then and there.
 
Regarding whether social engineering is going on, you betcha! The last thing the Diabolical Powers that Be want is a society that believes there might be life and a destination after death or that the way we managed our lives on Earth could possibly have consequences then and there.
Yes, I agree.

David
 
Thank you Alex for this site!! I am from Canada. I have been on your site for many years & only today realized i was not a member. I just signed up today & this is my 1st post.

I had a nde when i was 42. All my life being raised Catholic, i always believed we were judged. All my life, until my nde. To have believed something for so long, & then to do a 180, is something that is near impossible. That to me, as well as the rest of the amazing experience that has changed my life, was the cherry on the cake. I keep reminding myself of this point, as i am so scientifically minded, that I look for ways to prove it away. In essence i am also proving it to myself, that it's real. Hope that makes sense.

As to Dr Greyson's last comment about the mental aspect; many of us have side effects. I have voices "in my head". Many voices. It's like walking into a mall & everyone is talking in groups. Then as you start to become more aware & "listen", someone or some groups notices you & starts talking to you.

I have had many tests & they found some weird brain patterns but nothing can explain what these are. They started around Christmas of that same year back in 2002. Always loving voices, male & female. I thought i had lost my mind as this was not "normal". I even thought perhaps i was schizophrenic. I began researching what a nde was & i devoured all information, trying to basically proving to myself that i was sane & not alone.

I spoke with Dr Fenwick when I went down to the IANDS conference in Denver, many years ago. He told me that my brain was like a radio which after my nde, made it possible to pick up more stations than prior to it. He told me not to be afraid.

I have learned to tune "them" down to a dull roar, as they say. It's been difficult, many times i thought i was crazy. Working as an accountant, where detail work is done, was difficult. I was overwhelmed many times, so i understand about the brain being a filter. If we get everything that is out there, every sound, it would drive us insane. Just having these voices many times led me to thinking about suicide. I think what saved me was also knowing that this was not the end & that there was a reason i was hearing more than the normal person. That we came here to experience life & this for some unfathomable reason, was something i had to deal with, here on earth.

There are other side effects. Not just for me but others who have had these ndes. I am so happy to hear as more & more of the truth comes out that people are opening their minds to belief. Also happy to hear there are people out there willing to help, that have some knowledge & understanding, as well as a non-judgemental open mind.

I have purchased most of the books you refer to in your shows. I did purchase the one from Dr. Greyson, as well as others he has written or co/written. Looking forward to reading it.

Alex, please keep doing these interviews. They are a true help for everyone.

thx for sharing your experience. quite amazing and interesting.

I'm wondering what you think about the link between NDEs and our materialistic understanding of Neuroscience.

I spend a lot of time railing against Neuroscience nonsense, but as Greyson points out there are some interesting, unexplainable connections between brain science and the nde spirit realms.

for example, why does all the Medical Technology associated with resuscitation seem to be playing a role in NDEs?
 
Regarding whether social engineering is going on, you betcha!

agreed. It seems pretty obvious. and that makes it even more interesting / curious when Greyson can't go there.

I think this blind spot has big implications regarding the future of this science.
 
I think this blind spot has big implications regarding the future of this science.[/QUOTE]
Maybe, but I don't think the blind spot will prevent it from gaining acceptance by the people. It is the best news since the Gospels!
 
Great interview! Now this is the type of stuff that's lively and gets my attention. One thing Alex let this guy get away with is this! How come only %20 of people have these??? Everybody else that have them not worthy??? Don't remember??? WTF? When we pass or pass and come back we should all have them you would think?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kim
What impresses me about Dr. Greyson is his line of inquiry regarding the so called mind/brain dichotomy. He doesn't go full blown mystic and say that material doesn't exist, this is all an illusion. and so forth. Also, he doesn't ignore the fact that we actually do have something called a brain, and when it is injured or impaired, it effects our living function. However, he takes this a step further and explores it as something correlated with consciousness that perhaps has a mechanism blocking our interpretation of other dimensions because of the need for survival. This is a very fascinating perspective, and opens the door to so many other questions.
 
agreed. It seems pretty obvious. and that makes it even more interesting / curious when Greyson can't go there.

I think this blind spot has big implications regarding the future of this science.

Social engineering or just the place we find ourselves, what I will agree on is that we are in the midst of a crypto-religion. The foundational faith of this crypto-religion is that phenomenal consciousness just sort of pops into existence from unconscious physical processes. Ask someone for the epistemology of that and the best they can do is correlation implying causation, they have nothing better to back it up. That's not a reasoned belief, it's a faith.

News just in, the sun comes up in the morning because I put sunblock on.
 
Great interview! Now this is the type of stuff that's lively and gets my attention. One thing Alex let this guy get away with is this! How come only %20 of people have these??? Everybody else that have them not worthy??? Don't remember??? WTF? When we pass or pass and come back we should all have them you would think?
This is a subject that has been endlessly discussed here on Skeptiko. I think my take on this is that the brain seems to tidy up certain experiences by deleting things (rather like Alex's moderation :)). This is why we usually forget our dreams very quickly after waking up. My partner occasionally has night terrors, and if I ask her about her dream even a few seconds later, she has forgotten!

My hunch is that that mechanism sometimes gets invoked by the brain and it tidies away a newly experienced NDE!

David
 
Social engineering or just the place we find ourselves, what I will agree on is that we are in the midst of a crypto-religion. The foundational faith of this crypto-religion is that phenomenal consciousness just sort of pops into existence from unconscious physical processes. Ask someone for the epistemology of that and the best they can do is correlation implying causation, they have nothing better to back it up. That's not a reasoned belief, it's a faith.

News just in, the sun comes up in the morning because I put sunblock on.

Let's not put the acceleration before the pressing of the gas pedal. Also, we need to be conscious of many things around us before we can invent something like sunblock. I do not think that consciousness doesn't exist, but there is a lot of proof that it comes from things that are not conscience in the way that you and I are right now. Who knows, perhaps we are more "unconscious" in this realm than we were before becoming a part of it. Habit could very well be the anchor of one's demise, yet, it is those habitations that make most feel that they are sure of all things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kim
This is why we usually forget our dreams very quickly after waking up. My partner occasionally has night terrors, and if I ask her about her dream even a few seconds later, she has forgotten!

My hunch is that that mechanism sometimes gets invoked by the brain and it tidies away a newly experienced NDE!
I went to bed one night after an unusually strenuous day and slept uncommonly soundly and awoke feeling very strange but not at all uneasy. I suspect my tired heart may have taken a rest during the night. The stopped blood flow may have caused my consciousness to enter a place I was not supposed to be. I guess I must have been booted out from there and was not granted to retain even a smidgen of a memory of it. It must have been a very nice place. I imagine They didn't want me spending the rest of my life on Earth crying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kim
I went to bed one night after an unusually strenuous day and slept uncommonly soundly and awoke feeling very strange but not at all uneasy. I suspect my tired heart may have taken a rest during the night. The stopped blood flow may have caused my consciousness to enter a place I was not supposed to be. I guess I must have been booted out from there and was not granted to retain even a smidgen of a memory of it. It must have been a very nice place. I imagine They didn't want me spending the rest of my life on Earth crying.

What if your dreams become more real than waking reality? I experience that phenomenon quite a bit. I have dreams that are so incredibly real, so indelibly vivid, that they make waking life look like repetitious nonsense.
 
I have dreams that are so incredibly real, so indelibly vivid, that they make waking life look like repetitious nonsense.
You are beginning to experience enlightenment, Shane! I can only wish to attain that plateau. However, though dull and boring, fuzzy and mixed up my dreams may be, I'm freed from physical aches and pains. I guess that counts for something...
 
Great interview. Dr. Greyson is a man of superior intellectual character.

I would, however, suggest, that he is getting the paradigm wrong re; the brain and the soul. IMO, nothing is leaving the body during NDEs or even at death. The brain/body is the material reflection of the soul. When the soul focuses its attention on something other than the material, it experiences a different world. When the soul decides to permanently focus of a different world, the memory of the physical body is left behind. It fades away (rots, etc) just as memories fade away in the mental world.

IMO, The brain is the physical structure to relate to the physical world, just as the aura is the structure that is used to relate in the spirit world. So if the brain is damaged by negative energies impinging on it, the ability to relate to the physical world is damaged; just as an aura can be damaged in the spirit realm.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top