Brain shift PMH

Our tiniest near-death experiencers: startling evidence suggestive of a brain shift
by PMH Atwater

Book Review by Karin Schumacher Dyke

Atwater, P.M.D., L.H.D. (2003). Our tiniest near-death experiencers: startling evidence suggestive of a brain shift [Electronic Version]. The Journal of Religion and Psychical Research, 26(2): 86-97.

Sample

277 children who have had near-death experiences. Half of the participants were still children when interviewed, half had crossed-over into their teenage years or even adulthood by the time the interviews took place. The ethnicity of the participants was as follows:

“12% blacks (American and Canadian), 23% Latinos (Hispanics, Argentineans, and Colombians), 5% Asians (Malaysians, and Chinese, and 60% Whites (American, Canadian, French, English, and Ukrainian)

Methodology

Ms. Atwater conducted interviews and observations with the study’s participants. She administered questionnaires to those participants capable of filling them out.

Abstract

Ms. Atwater reviewed the experiences that children have as the result of near-death experiences. She had previously found that children did not experience unpleasant near-death experiences. In this group, she found that although uncommon, some of these children had experienced unpleasant near-death experiences. The children had experienced their near-death experience prior to the age of six in most cases. Gender did not seem to influence the experience of near-death. All of the children seemed to experience intellect enhancement as a result of the near-death experience. It seems that it took the children studies on average seven years to be able to integrate their near-death experience fully into every day life and attitudes. Very few of the children required psychological help in dealing with their near-death experiences.

Important Concepts and Definitions

Near-Death experience – clinical death of a patient accompanied by successful resuscitation. The experiences of the patient of the afterlife experienced between the death and the resuscitation are known commonly as the near-death experience

Operationalizations

Major trends were appraised in the interviews and questionnaires preformed in the study group.

Major Findings

Ms. Atwater identified in her research common changes in children that have near-death experiences. She believes that the major trends in these children involve an unexplainable increase in intellect. She finds that parents that deal with these children post-experience find that they are dealing with a changed child. She suggests several strategies for parents to use that help children deal with their near-death experience in a constructive way. These suggestions include:

1. Have the child write a book about the near-death experience.

2. Have the child use art to express the concepts of the experience that they cannot verbalize.

3. Use puppetry and theater play to help the child relate the near-death experience.

4. The parent should write down the child’s change in behavior and anecdotal evidence that the child expresses about the near-death experience. This should be given to the child at a point later in their development to further aid in their understanding of the near-death experience.

5. Do activities with the child that encourage the child to be “grounded with the earth” (like gardening).

6. Monitor the child’s diet for excesses of sugar and help the child engage in activities that will help them focus and be attentive to one thing at a time.

7. Assist the child in studying, “philosophy, morals and integrity (p. 93)” as these children are perfect candidates for understanding complex concepts in these issues and can excel at these pursuits.

Do not expose children who have had near-death experiences to loud noise and too much sunlight. They will be more sensitive than typical peers to these exposures.

Atwater, P.M.H. (2000). Near-death experiences in children. Journal of Religion and Psychical Research, 25(1): 26-30.

Sample

The reported sample size of the adults was over 3000 Caucasian Americans, European and Arabic participants-80% of the participants, 15% of the participants being black Americans, Haitians, or Canadians – 5%, and 277 children who were classified and divided into racial categories comprised of, “60% white, 23% Latinos, 12% black, and 5% Asian (p. 26).”

Methodology

While a formal methodology section is not part of this journal article and methods for gathering data are excluded, one is led by the article to make some conclusions. The writer of this article must have interviewed the subjects and coded the data as in a qualitative study. The reader is led to this conclusion by the case studies mentioned in this article and the compilation of data comparing and contrasting children’s near death experiences to adult’s near death experiences.

Abstract

Ms. Atwater describes near-death experiences of children and adults of different races and identities. She then compares and contrasts this data. She also mentions some other studies that are good descriptions of the phenomena of near-death experience. She presents a case study of a woman who had a near-death experience at the age of nine days.

Important Concepts and Definitions

Operationalizations

This study is based on interviews with people who had experienced near-death. Their stories were the focus of this report. There is no mention in the article of how the variables were coded or judged. The qualitative nature of the methods used allowed for the interviews to suffice as the data. No operationalizational description was available in this article.

Major Findings

The case study of the woman who had experienced near-death at the age of nine days provides a poignant example of how these experiences effect the family. At first, the girl did not have the linguistic abilities to present the experience to others. When she was able to describe the event, she was not believed by her family members. This led her to “forget” her experience. When she did as an adult remember this experience, she was able to find “closure (p. 29)” about the experience and it actually allowed her to turn her life around in a positive way. In this way, her near-death experience allowed her to become a better person. Before she dealt with the experience, he suffered from, “lingering childhood fears and angers (p. 29),” but at the time of coming to terms with her near-death experience, it allowed these prior feelings to be replaced. She was able to mend the relationship with her family and things between them became better.

Yamoto, J. Isamu (1992). The near-death experience part two: alternative explanations. Christian Research Institute Journal, Summer, 1992: 14-25. Retrieved October 12, 2002 from http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0098a.html

Sample

There is no specified sample in this article. It seeks to compare literature, medical explanation, and Biblical explanation of the near-death experience phenomenon.

Abstract

Exploration of the near-death phenomena is presented as an event that needs further study. Medical explanations are presented along with explanations that believers in near-death phenomena have explained. Specific drugs and their effect are presented as they all have different effects sighted by people who have had near-death experiences. Medical professionals see the drugs as the cause of these effects. Near-death experiencers see the event of near-death as the cause of the experience and not the drugs. Also presented by medical professionals as a source of the near-death experience are various maladies that might mimic the near-death experience reported by experiencers. These are also refuted by those that have studied the near-death phenomena and have accepted them as a glimpse into the afterlife. A section about memories of birth, as reported by Carl Sagan, is also presented as an explanation for near-death experiences and again is refuted by those that believe the near death experience is much more. Finally, the article concludes that the near-death reports can only be accepted as much as they agree with the Bible. Anything experienced that is deviant or refutes what the Bible has to say is deemed as unacceptable. What goes along with Biblical principles is acceptable for people to consider and all near-death experiences must be scrutinized for the acceptableness under the guidelines set by this article.

Important Concepts and Definitions

Biblical principles – the guidelines available in the Bible for living one’s life and pleasing God.

Operationalizations

As this is more of a review of the literature available and how to interpret the near-death phenomena, there is no operationalization of variables available in this article.

Major Findings

In respect to the family and how they deal with near-death experiences, two opposing viewpoints are presented. One says that near-death experience has a positive impact on families. Another says the converse of this. The things sighted in the article as positive outcomes of near-death experiences were, “they become more loving; the become seekers of truth; they value life itself more highly; they lose their fear of death (p. 20).” In regard to the family, we have seen that becoming more loving is not necessarily a positive outcome for the family. In fact, this characteristic often drives the family to question the loyalty and motives of the near-death experiencer. On the negative side, P.M.H Atwater is sighted as providing the negative outcomes of near-death experiencers. They sight her as contributing that people often find it hard to commit to relationships and careers after having a near-death experience. She is quoted as saying, “thus, many people experience family problems, divorce, and the inability to hold a job (p. 20).” This then rounds out the information in respect to families according to this article.