Exploring Implications of Near-Death Experiences
Saturday, April 23, 2022 | 9:00am - 3:00pm
What can Near-Death Experiences tell us about the nature of consciousness?
Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs, are transformative experiences that occur during a period of clinical death, coma, or traumatic event, in which people may observe their lifeless bodies from above, encounter deceased relatives, experience indescribable beauty and unconditional love, and face the choice of whether or not to come back. NDEs have been reported across cultures and throughout history, with striking consistencies in the features of the experience and in the aftereffects they have on the personalities and perspectives of the experiencers. A Gallup poll reported that 1 out of 20 people in the US has had an NDE. Those who have had an NDE usually consider them to be the most "real" and spiritually significant experiences of their lives, yet rarely share them because of dismissal and ridicule from their providers and families. NDEs are controversial because they challenge both religious and scientific-materialist dogmas, and raise questions about the nature of self, consciousness, reality, life and death. They are not rare flukes, nor are they hallucinations of the gullible. Innumerable NDEs have been well-documented, including those experienced by physicians and Nobel prize winning scientists. First medically named “Near-Death Experiences” by psychiatrist Raymond Moody in 1975, NDEs have since been studied by scholars and scientists within prestigious academic institutions and medical centers in the US and Europe, yet no clear medical explanation has been identified, and they remain mysterious.
This symposium will describe the properties of NDEs and the important questions they might help to answer. Elizabeth Krohn, the co-author of Changed in a Flash, will describe her unusually detailed NDE that occurred when she was struck by lightning, and the baffling effects it had on her life. A panel representing perspectives from Tibetan Buddhism, Christianity, indigenous African spirituality, and continental philosophy will respond to and attempt to make sense of Elizabeth's presentation from the viewpoint of their traditions. Robert Hesse, PhD, a Roman Catholic deacon and author of the forth-coming book Faith and Science - A Journey into God's Mystical Love, will discuss his own scientific research as well as other work being done in this area. There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions of the presenters and panelists and to add comments of their own.
Location:
Emmaus Spirituality Center
12211 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77024
$45 | Lunch is provided
Register Below
Speakers and Panelists
ELIZABETH GREENFIELD KROHN was a wife and mother of two young boys when she was struck by lightning in the parking lot of her Houston synagogue in 1988. Her most fundamental understandings of what the world is and how it works were completely transformed. Following their meeting at a program at ISH, Elizabeth and Dr. Jeffrey Kripal coauthored a book, Changed in a Flash. She has since become a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows discussing her extraordinary experience. Elizabeth and her husband live in Houston where they spend most of their free time with their nine grandchildren and their puppy Charlie.
Robert J. Hesse, Ph.D. is a permanent Catholic deacon in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He is Cofounder, President and CEO of Contemplative Network, dedicated to teaching interdenominational Christian contemplative prayer, scientific research and interfaith dialogue. He was inspired by Trappist Monk, Fr. Thomas Merton, while on retreat at Gethsemani Trappist monastery. Later Hesse was appointed by Trappist Fr. Thomas Keating, Commissioned Presenter of Contemplative Outreach Ltd. (COL) and Keating’s emissary to the first COL dialogue with the Mind & Life Institute, in response to an invitation by The Dalai Lama to Keating. Hesse has given numerous international and interfaith presentations, retreats and courses on contemplative prayer and Faith and Science, having degrees in both. He teaches a graduate course on faith and science and is available for live or Zoom interviews, presentations and interfaith and science seminars.
Dr. Anne Carolyn Klein (Lama Rigzin Drolma) is Professor and a former Chair of the Department of Religion at Rice University, where she helped developed a contemplative studies concentration for graduate students. She is a Lama in the Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and is the co-founder of the Dawn Mountain Center for Tibetan Buddhism in Houston. She has authored seven books, including Knowledge and Liberation on Buddhist distinctions between intellectual knowing and direct experience
Dr. Elias Kifon Bongmba is the Harry & Hazel Chavanne Chair in Christian Theology at Rice University. He combines his teaching of African religions and his research in theology and philosophy of religion working with African philosophical ideas and Continental philosophy. He is author of four books, three edited books, and has authored 60 peer reviewed essays and book chapters.
Cyrus Wirls has served as ISH’s Director of Programs since 2015. In this role, Cyrus interfaces with clinicians, faith leaders, scholars, practitioners, and spiritual seekers to design educational and experiential programs around the many intersections of spirituality and health.
Joshua Duffy started his career in ministry in 2006 as the Director of Student Ministries at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas. In 2011, he and his wife Mallory moved to St. Louis where he attended Concordia Seminary to become a pastor. During their time in St. Louis, they were trained in the Malagasy (Madagascar) Lutheran Church Rite of Exorcism. This particular training and subsequent experiences from 2012 to the present, have proven to be useful, necessary and needed in his ministry current context. Upon graduating from Concordia Seminary in 2015, they accepted a Call to Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas as the Senior Pastor.