Well, that "tomorrow" turned into almost a month... but better late than never! ;)
Welcome to the forum, Gregory!
I wonder if you ever came across anything like Christian judgement - i.e. an assessment process that had only two possible outcomes, one of which was unspeakably awful. Put another way, do you think that that particular piece of Christian theology came from NDE experiences, or was perhaps just added as a way to control the people.
This isn't an academic forum, so I guess it is fair to ask broader questions. I wonder what your own expectations are about the end of your life - what you expect it to be like 'out there'. Also what do you see as the purpose of the life/lives we lead - I mean the overall purpose.
We come across a number of NDE's in which people imply that the afterlife takes place in a timeless realm - which has produced much speculation. Did you came across that idea in any other cultures. Timelessness is a very difficult concept because most verbs are hard to understand without a before and an afterwords - e.g. think about what 'discover' means in a timeless context! My rationalisation is that it becomes possible to see (and maybe manipulate) the whole of time on earth simultaneously, but there is a second time axis for spirit activities.
David
David, yes there are examples of non-Christian heaven/hell type NDEs. Two Algonquin examples reported by Thomas Hariot in 1588 come to mind but there are more. From my book:
The first, which was said to have occurred a few years prior to Hariot’s arrival, involved a “wicked man” who had been “dead and buried,” then revived. He claimed that his soul had journeyed westward toward the hellish realm of Popogusso, but was saved by a deity who made him return to his body in order to teach his people how to avoid such negative fates. The second, contemporary with Hariot’s visit, described a man who left his body during his own funeral. He walked along a path lined with houses and abundant fruit trees, and met his deceased father, who sent him back to his body to tell his people about the happiness of the other realm. These accounts indicate Algonquian belief in two separate, morally determined realms at least twenty- five years prior to missionary activity; though the notion coexisted alongside beliefs in a single realm for all.
Still, the degree to which they might have been influenced by Christianity or Hariot's interpretation is unknowable.
I can't think of anything specifically about timelessness.
As for my own expectations, I think I'll have some kind of amazing NDE-like transitional experience, probably deeply influenced by all my research in this area. So probably drawing on cross-cultural imagery, especially since I wasn't raised religious but had early experiences of Catholic, Hindu, and Jewish religions. If you've read Carl Jung's NDE, it's a great example of a really idiosyncratic experience influenced by his interest in different religions and symbols. What might happen after the transition, I have no idea - but if I had to speculate on what it might be like we do survive after death the mind-dependent/shared lucid dream model makes the most sense to me. The idea that our cultural conditioning not only affects the kind of NDE we'll have, but also the kind of afterlife is compelling - and may explain why there are more reincarnation accounts among societies that believe in reincarnation.
The overall purpose of life? I don't believe in any kind of grand cosmic scheme. I sort of agree with Eleanor Roosevelt, "The
purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." But I also think it goes deeper than that on an individual basis - meaning we all need to find our purpose and life a life that feels authentic to who we are.