Meditation-induced near death experiences

[Ninshub]

Apologies if someone has posted this already.

New study suggests existence of meditation-induced near-death experiences

March 27, 2018, University of Derby
 
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-m...death.html

New research by the University of Derby into near-death experiences (NDEs) has shown that they can be induced through meditation, with wider implications for our understanding of the phenomena and our ability to examine what happens to an individual during an NDE.

In the first study of its kind, Dr. William Van Gordon, from the University's Centre for Psychological Research, followed 10 advanced Buddhist meditators from eight different countries over a three-year period. He compared meditation-induced NDEs to other regular meditation practices and assessed their defining features to ensure they met the criteria of a conventional NDE.

Participants reported that during the meditation-induced NDE, they visited non-worldly realms, experienced what happens during and after death, and experienced a state of existence known as 'emptiness'. Compared to regular forms of meditation, the meditation-induced NDE led to a five-fold increase in mystical experiences and a four-fold increase in feelings of non-attachment. Findings also demonstrated that the profundity of the meditation-induced NDE increased across the three-year study period, suggesting that the experience can be learned and perfected over time.