AWARE Update - Peer Review Complete

How is "another realm of reality" shown throughout history? That would strike me as a MAXIMAL NDE concept, not a minimal one...
One can cobble together the idea that when the ancients talked of entering the land of the dead through incubation (see Peter Kingsley) that what was actually happening was similar to the OBE. In Kingsley's book, "The Dark Places of Wisdom" he is basically piecing together a history to show that the ancients used incubation to bring back higher knowledge that then aided in the further development of civilization through more refined laws, etc.
I just e-mailed Bruce Greyson about the AWARE II proposal. I got an automated response that he'll be out of the office until November 10th. I'll let you know if I find out anything interesting.
Dr Greyson got back to me today. He said the proposal is very old (at least a couple of years), and that Parnia wrote it while applying for one of the Templeton Foundation 'Immortality Project' grants. He said Parnia was trying not to sound too anti-materialistic. It worked. It was the only project funded by Templeton dealing directly with survival evidence. So take that for what it's worth.
Good stuff, Troy

With one of the research team carrying a tablet computer displaying a set picture (possibly changing the picture every hour) at each resuscitation, I predict a few hits. They're going to have to find an ethical way of covering the patients eyes though because that will be one of the first objections.
It doesn't matter to me, I'm already as certain as I can be. Nearly forty years of looking at the data. This piece is interesting from someone who could have made a big impact on near death research but he didn't scientifically document his findings. Nevertheless, you'd have to be some cynic to suggest that Fred Schoonmaker's observations were worthless. He died in 2005.

DENVER CARDIOLOGIST DISCLOSES FINDINGS AFTER 18 YEARS OF NEAR-DEATH RESEARCH DENVER, CO--Fred Schoonmaker, Chief of Cardiovascular Services at St. Lukes Hospital, has been quietly studying the psychological and emotional concomitants of near-death episodes since 1961. He has researched in excess of 2,300 cases of persons who have survived acute life-threatening situations during this time and has discovered that better than [5]0% reported peak experiences identical to those described by Raymond Moody, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, and others. John Audette and Raymond Moody traveled to Denver recently to learn more about the research taking place there. Schoonmaker revealed that he had over 1,400 documented cases of near-death experiences. He noted candidly that all of his data were supportive of earlier findings delineated in Life After Death and elsewhere. Nearly all of Schoonmaker's cases were hospital based. Most [or a]ll of the incidents took place at St. Lukes and usually involved patients that were being cared for in the Division of Cardiovascular Services.
Schoonmaker explained that the vast majority of the cases were examined in a concurrent fashion – that is to say that the patients were mostly interviewed shortly after the crisis situation. His mode of approach was very informal: he simply asked the patient to describe his or her feelings about what had just occurred. He was always careful to maintain a congenial and non-judgemental disposition when talking with near-death survivors and became increasingly proficient at establishing a good rapport with them. Of the 40% who initially reported no memory of what took place during the event he found that another 18% were willing to finally discuss their experience but only after repeated invitations and reassurances.
Although Schoonmaker did not adhere to a scientific protocol in the collection of his data, he made it a point to gather as much information about each case as was possible. Additionally, he commented that his cases cover a very wide spectrum of the overall population from a socio-demographic standpoint. He believes that his sample may be considered representative despite the fact that it was selected in a non-random fashion. Moreover, Schoonmaker mentioned that his cases also span a variety of medical conditions and that the near-death episodes studied involved a host of different causes.
One of the truly unique aspects of Schoonmaker's work, in addition to its impressive magnitude, is the matter of the physiological data which has been obtained in many of these instances. As a result of the complex procedures conducted at St. Lukes (heart transplants, etc.) detailed physiological data is routinely recorded. This has provided Schoonmaker with the opportunity to test the plausibllity of many of the various theories which have been advanced in an effort to explain and account for near-death experiences. One example of this would be the cerebral anoxia theory which maintains that near-death experiences are the result of lack of oxygen to the brain. Schoonmaker stated that oxygen level in the blood was measured in his sample and that experiences were reported by persons who had a sufficient supply to sustain average brain functioning.
Schoonmaker has also disclosed that there are at least 55 cases where flat eeg's were observed which denoted lack of electrical activity in the brain and usually indicates that irreversible death has occurred. In temporal terms, these cases lacked brain activity (as measured by the electroencephalogram) in blocks of time ranging from 30 minutes to three hours. Thirty of these cases involved 12 lead eeg's which had been placed by neurologists. In Schoonmaker's professional judgement, these persons were medically dead, yet they regained consciousness sometimes inexplicably and reported having experienced a highly pleasant altered state of consciousness.
Having conscientiously explored the possibility of alternative explanations regarding these experiences, Schoonmaker has come to believe that they suggest some kind of continuance of human conciousness beyond the point of physical death. This position is entirely predicated on the basis of the empirical observations which he has made over the past 18 years.
Schoonmaker has not done much to publicize his work and has deliberately avoided calling attention to it. He offered several reasons for this, but his main reservation concerned the potential sensationalism which might have occurred. He also felt for a very long time that his data was incomplete – that many more quentions were in need of answers. At long last, however, Schoonmaker stated that he is in the process of writing a book along with a Georgia theologian by the name of Loren Young. Dr. Young has assisted Schoonmaker with the research over the past several years. The anticipated publication date has not been determined, but there are hopes that it will be available within the next year.
Schoonmaker became interested in near-death research as a cardiology resident at Duke University after learning of an experience which had been reported by a physician friend in the late 1950's. He has developed a particular interest in persons whose experiences come as a result of nearly freezing to death. Without a doubt, this research is a major contribution to the field, surpassing in quantity and scope the work of all others in this area.

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