JNDAE7 10(1)1-74(1991) ISSN 0891-4494 Journal of Near-Death Studie Editor's Foreword " Bruce Greyson, M.D. Guest Editorial: Is Ten Years a Life Review? " Nancy Evans Bush, M.A. Amazing Grace: The Near-Death Experience as a Compensatory Gift " Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. Do "Near-Death Experiences" Occur Only Near-Death? - Revisited " Glen O. Gabbard, M.D. and Stuart W. Twemlow, M.D. The Myth of the Near-Death Journey " Michael Grosso, Ph.D. The Popular Appeal of the Near-Death Experience " Robert Basil, M.A. Letter to the Editor: Premonitions of What Could Have Been " Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. Announcement SPECIAL TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Volume 10, Number 1, Fall 1991 Editor Bruce Greyson, M.D., University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT Associate Editor Steve Straight, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT Consulting Editors James E. Alcock, Ph.D., C. Psych., York University, Toronto, Ont. Boyce Batey, Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, Bloomfield, CT Carl Becker, Ph.D., Tsukuba University, Tsukuba City, Japan Kevin Drab, Cherry Hill, NJ Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., The Menninger Foundation, Topeka, KS Stanislav Grof, M.D., Mill Valley, CA Michael Grosso, Ph.D., Jersey City State College, Jersey City, NJ Barbara Harris, R.T.T., Baltimore, MD Pascal Kaplan, Ph.D., Searchlight Publications, Walnut Creek, CA Raymond A. Moody, Jr., Ph.D., M.D., Villa Rica, GA Russell Noyes, Jr., M.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Karlis Osis, Ph.D., American Society for Psychical Research, New York, NY The Venerable Michael Perry, Archdeacon of Durham, England Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT William Roll, M.Litt., West Georgia College, Carrollton, GA Steven Rosen, Ph.D., City University of New York, Staten Island, NY W. Stephen Sabom, S.T.D., Houston, TX Stuart W. Twemlow, M.D., Topeka, KS Renee Weber, Ph.D., Rutgers College, New Brunswick, NJ John White, M.A.T., Cheshire, CT Mark Woodhouse, Ph.D., Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA ::HUMAN SCIENCES PRESS, INC. :::::: 233 Spring Street, New York, New York 10013-1578 Journal TTia- e t of'NearDeath Studies Volume 10, Number 1, Fall 1991 SPECIAL TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Editor's Foreword 3 Bruce Greyson, M.D. GUEST EDITORIAL 5 Is Ten Years a Life Review? Nancy Evans Bush, M.A. ARTICLES Amazing Grace: The Near-Death Experience as a Compensatory Gift 11 Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. Do "Near-Death Experiences" Occur Only Near-Death? Revisited 41 Glen 0. Gabbard, M.D. and Stuart W. Twemlow, M.D. The Myth of the Near-Death Journey 49 Michael Grosso, Ph.D. The Popular Appeal of the Near-Death Experience 61 Robert Basil, M.A. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Premonitions of What Could Have Been 69 Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. Announcement 73 JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES (formerly ANABIOSIS) is sponsored by the International Association for Near-Death Studies (LANDS). The Journal publishes arti cles on near-death experiences and on the empirical effects and theoretical implications of such events, and on such related phenomena as out-of-body experiences, deathbed visions, the experiences of dying persons, comparable experiences occurring under other circumstances, and the implications of such phenomena for our understanding of human consciousness and its relation to the life and death processes. The Journal is committed to an unbiased exploration of these issues, and specifically welcomes a variety of theoretical perspectives and interpretations that are grounded in empirical observation or research. The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR NEAR-DEATH STUDIES (LANDS) is a world-wide organization of scientists, scholars, near-death experiencers, and the general public, dedicated to the exploration of near-death experiences (NDEs) and their implications. Incorporated as a nonprofit educational and research organization in 1981, LANDS' objectives are to encourage and support research into NDEs and related phe nomena; to disseminate knowledge concerning NDEs and their implications; to further the utilization of near-death research by health care and counseling professionals; to form local chapters of near-death experiencers and interested others; to sponsor sympo sia and conferences on NDEs and related phenomena; and to maintain a library and archives of near-death-related material. Friends of LANDS chapters are affiliated sup port groups in many cities for NDErs and their families and for health care and counseling professionals to network locally. Information about membership in LANDS can be obtained by writing to LANDS, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecti cut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06032. MANUSCRIPTS should be submitted in triplicate to Bruce Greyson, M.D., Depart ment of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06032. See inside back cover for style requirements. SUBSCRIPTION inquiries and subscription orders should be addressed to the pub lisher at Subscription Department, Human Sciences Press, Inc., 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013-1578 or faxed to the Subscription Department at its number (212) 807-1047. Subscription rates: Volume 10, 1991-1992 (4 issues) $110.00 (outside the U.S., $130.00). Price for individ ual subscribers certifying that the journal is for their personal use, $36.00 (outside the U.S., $45.00). ADVERTISING inquiries should be addressed to the Advertising Sales Representa tive, Daniel S. Lipner, Weston Media Associates, P.O. Box 1110, Greens Farms, Connect icut 06436-telephone (203) 261-2500 and fax (203) 261-0101. INDEXED IN Psychological Abstracts, Parapsychology Abstracts International, So cial Work Research and Abstracts, Sage Family Abstracts, Health Instrument File, and International Bibliography of Periodical Literature. PHOTOCOPYING: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use of specific clients is granted by Human Sciences Press for users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service, provided that the flat fee of $6.50 per copy per article (no additional per-page fees) is paid directly to CCC, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970. For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy license from CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. The fee code for users of the Transactional Reporting Service is 0891-4494/91/$6.50. COPYRIGHT 1991 by Human Sciences Press, Inc. Published quarterly in the Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Journal of Near-Death Studies is a trademark of Human Sciences Press, Inc. The business address for the Journal is: Journal of Near-Death Studies, 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013-1578. Postmaster: Send address changes to Journal of Near-Death Studies, Human Sciences Press, Inc., 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013-1578. ISSN 0891-4494 JNDAE7 10(1)1-74(1991) Editor's Foreword This issue of The Journal of Near-Death Studies is a milestone for us, as it was exactly ten years ago that Volume 1, Number 1, was pub lished as the July 1981 issue of Anabiosis: The Journal of Near-Death Studies. In the foreword to that first issue, Editor Kenneth Ring wrote: It is our intention that the Journal become a forum for scholarly discussion and debate concerning a wide range of issues related to near-death experiences (NDEs) and allied phenomena. Not only will we be publishing the latest research and scholarly work in the field of near-death studies, we will also be concerned with an examination of NDEs for the light they shed on matters related to history, mythology, religion, human evolution, and the nature of consciousness." The Jour nal has remained true to that intention, and has published at times controversial contributions in the interest of expanding understanding of these complex but vital phenomena and of stimulating debate, analysis, and further research. Over the years the Journal has evolved to include not only research reports, theoretical conceptualizations, historical and cultural perspec tives, enlightening case studies, and analyses of both individual and societal implications of near-death phenomena, but in addition, book reviews, letters to the editor, and occasionally entire issues dedicated to heated debates on controversial aspects of near-death studies rang ing from therapeutic models for counseling NDErs to neurobiological models to explain NDEs to electromagnetic models of the afterlife. Our contributors have included physicians, nurses, psychologists, neuro scientists, psychopharmacologists, parapsychologists, philosophers, theologians, pastoral counselors, chaplains, social workers, health sci entists and educators, teachers, sociologists, anthropologists, physi cists, biochemists, electrical and environmental engineers, statisti cians, and near-death experiencers from six continents. We chose to use this occasion of the Journal's 10th anniversary to review the past decade's accomplishments and dilemmas in near-death research, and to anticipate the future prospects for the field. We start the issue with a Guest Editorial by pastoral counselor Nancy Evans Journal of Near-Death Studies, 10(1) Fall 1991 1991 Human Sciences Press, Inc. 3 4 JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES Bush, in which she provides a unique perspective on advances in near death studies and in the International Association for Near-Death Studies (LANDS) over the past ten years. Hired as LANDS' first Execu tive Director a decade ago, she has in recent years served on the Board of Directors and is now Vice-President of the organization. Her retro spective documents how our questions and answers have changed as the field and the organization have matured. This issue's lead article is psychologist and consciousness researcher Kenneth Ring's analysis of what he regards as the ultimate spiritual meaning of near-death experiences. Ring presents this "big secret" of the NDE as the conclusion of his distinguished career as near-death studies' most prominent and prolific researcher and educator. We are fortunate to be able to include in this 10th anniversary issue what Ring threatens is his last word on the NDE. Our next article is psychiatrists Glen Gabbard and Stuart Twem low's re-examination of the link between the NDE and the near-death state.