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Former Oracle Residents Jim Hewitt and Lynn Perez-Hewitt recently brought “The Final Transition Conference” to Tucson. The event’s theme was about death and dying, and insights gained from patients who told of their near-death experiences.
Presenters came from all over the United States and abroad. The forum was held at Loews Ventana Hotel near Sabino Canyon. The topic was about consciousness during life, at the end of life, and about research into near-death experiences (NDEs).
What happens to our consciousness after the body has been shed? There is a belief that consciousness becomes part of the universe, or what used to be called ‘the collective unconscious’ in the last century, thus making the essence of our existence immortal.
One of the speakers was Pim van Lommel MD, heart surgeon at a teaching hospital in Arnhem, the Netherlands. After hearing accounts of near-death experiences from some of his patients over several years, he found himself compelled to look further into this phenomenon, and he is now doing full-time research on the mind-brain relation.
Van Lommel reports that out of four studies of 562 survivors of cardiac arrest, between 11% and 18% of the patients told of a near-death experience. Some occurred when the electroencephalogram was absolutely flat which means the incidence happened during a period of clinical death. This leads to the conclusion that consciousness can be experienced separately from the body. He calls it non local consciousness. He states that the brain has a facilitating but not a producing function to experience consciousness.
Von Lommel likened the brain to a radio that has the capacity to receive information and then broadcast it through speech or writing; or to a computer being fed data to be processed and then sent out again. Thus the feeling is that artwork, invention, music and literature are not created under the skull, but picked up non local, from the environment, filtered by the brain and then reproduced through the individual’s medium.
One of his books “Eindeloos Bewustzijn” won Book of the Year 2008 Award in the Netherlands. It has been translated into multiple languages and published in various European countries. The English translation is titled: Consciousness Beyond Life, The Science of the Near-Death Experience (Harper Collins, 2010).
According to van Lommel, recent research on near-death experience seems to indicate the possibility of a continuity of our consciousness after physical death.
On the same vein, the possibility of immortality was presented by Larry Dossey MD, a proponent of the role of spirituality in healthcare. Prior to completing his residency in internal medicine, Dossey served as a battalion surgeon in Vietnam where he was decorated for valor.
Dossey states that the study of traditional Western medicine had not prepared him for patients who were blessed with miracle cures or remissions that clinical medicine could not explain. His current research is focused on scientific legitimacy in studies where the mind is involved.
In his lecture, Dossey spoke about a newly emerging universal consciousness that deals with the welfare of the individual and that of the planet. In his words: “Consciousness transcends death and annihilation, and that portends of a new view of what it means to be human.”
‘The art of dying well’ was presented by Peter Fenwick MD of England. Dr Fenwick is a consultant neuropsychologist at Maudsley and John Radcliffe hospitals and senior lecturer at King’s College in London. In addition, he holds a visiting professorship at the Riken Neurosciences Institute in Japan.
Fenwick’s research found that near-death experiences do not have a substantial religious component, but rather that patients reinterpret their belief system in light of the experience. He and wife Elizabeth report that such experiences are almost always positive in nature.
The old thinking was that oblivion is all we have to look forward to. But the dying and their observers report a different image. “Research into the mental state of the dying suggests that if we are to die well, we need to approach death with a confident and peaceful mind, resolving any conflicts in our relationships, and being prepared for death itself.”
He insists that our scientific model is incomplete and needs modification. It is time to give up our current belief structure and just follow the data.
He and wife Elizabeth are co-authors of ‘The Art of Dying,’ a study of the spiritual needs of near death patients. The Fenwicks argue that modern medical practices have devalued end-of-life experiences, and they call for a more holistic approach to death and dying.
Stephan A Schwartz, Conference Director, is the author of several books, including “The 8 Laws of Change: How to Be an Agent of Personal and Social Transformation,” available in October 2015.
In his closing statements, Schwartz summed up what all of us can do to have a positive impact on our world during our lifetime. His view is that if we are actively engaged in acknowledging our own mortality, we might make better and kinder choices in life.
Denying the inevitable end to our earthly existence makes us more thoughtless and therefore more selfish with a focus on amassing power and wealth at the expense of our humanity and the welfare of the planet.
To give an example, Schwartz called to mind a line on the map representing the border between two countries. Such a line cannot be seen from an airplane flying over the area. “What then makes a French man French, and a German man German, who lives only a few feet away from that so-called border line?” And the answer is that in each country there exists a collective attitude or way of thinking. Maybe the Germans have a high regard for rules, whereas the French exhibit a bon vivant spirit. The same can be said for any other adjoining countries and nationalities. Citizens living only a stone’s throw from the border of each respective country identify with what might be called a collective ideology.
In his opinion, social change is possible in every country if a minimum of 10% of the population were to chart a new course of action and thinking. A mere ten percent has the power to affect change in society.
As an example, he advocated that we might want to embrace goods produced by companies whose ethics are compatible with our own value system, thereby affecting subtle individual changes that can be powerful in the collective.
Reiterating the message of the other speakers at the conference, Schwartz again addressed our way of thinking about death. He states that instead of denying the inevitable end of our lives, we might be more accepting of our own mortality and thus being less selfish or shortsighted. In view of one’s ultimate death, our decisions would be guided by more kindness and generosity.
One of the attendees was Dawn Weiss, Reiki Master Teacher of Oracle. Following is how she summed up her experience at the Final Transition Conference:
“Death has been described as ‘the last taboo in our society.’ We will all face it one day, yet seldom is it discussed.
Conference was everything I’d hoped for and more. There was so much valuable information from each of the highly qualified presenters. The subject matter included ethical issues around death, care of the dying, the great mystery and teaching that death provides, non local consciousness, near-death experiences and past life memories, just to name a few. All of this was presented in a scientific manner with the absence of dogma.
I was so enthralled with the information and how much of it parallels and reinforces my own life experiences, that I am inspired to write my memoirs.”
Skylar Khan lives on a vortex in Oracle. She is a Master Graphoanalyst and has been contributing articles to The Oracle Towne Crier about personality traits revealed through Handwriting Analysis. Her book “Handwriting Rocks” is informative and entertaining. For more information, please visit HandwritingAuthority.com
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