Guest Speakers

Eben Alexander was a special guest at the 2011 IANDS conference in Durham, NC. His presentation was the most emotional one of the conference. Alexander, a renowned academic neurosurgeon, spent 54 years honing his scientific worldview. He thought he knew how the brain and mind worked. In 2008 he became very ill and was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis, far more serious than viral meningitis. Doctors eventually discovered that the culprit was E. coli, a very rare situation in adults. While he was driven to the brink of death he experienced a transcendental Near-Death Experience (NDE) and spent a week in a deep coma. His doctors expected death, since his brain’s neocortex should have been fatally damaged. The normal glucose levels in a human’s cerebrospinal fluid are between 60 and 80 mg/dl (milligram per one-tenth of a liter), and the meningitis infection is considered severe when the level drops to 20 mg/dl. But the glucose level of Alexander’s cerebrospinal fluid was at 1 mg/dl, making it impossible for his brain to function. He experienced many things during the days he was comatose. He describes these “hyper-real” out-of-body experiences as happening in a different universe. At one point he breaks down during his talk when he looks back to identify someone he saw in his NDE. It was a very moving and emotional discussion by a brilliant man who is obviously at a loss to explain the how and why of it all. But he has spent the last 3 years reconciling his rich spiritual experience with contemporary physics and cosmology. His NDE experience is totally consistent with the leading edges of scientific understanding today. He now understands that consciousness does not originate in the brain. In fact, consciousness does not even need a brain. When we “die” our consciousness does not. He is working on a book to be released this year.

Join us to see this excellent presentation and for lively discussion.

Sign up for Eben Alexander’s newsletter here: www.lifebeyonddeath.net. His web site is under construction.

His linked.in listing: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eben-alexander-iii-md/a/345/202

News articles: http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/apr/16/coma_leads_to_life-changing_experience_for_neurosu-ar-206408/

A great interview: http://www.skeptiko.com/154-neurosurgeon-dr-eben-alexander-near-death-experience/

http://www.ymlp.com/zOVIqx

Video interview: http://subversivethinking.blogspot.com/2011/12/eben-alexander-iii-and-near-death.html

 Roberta Grimes – Thursday December 1st, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Roberta’s lecture was wonderfully spellbinding. She is an energetic and sincere person who wants to let the world know that how we live our lives here determines where we end up in heaven. We discovered that by knowing the overwhelming evidence of the afterlife, we can influence our eternal life  while we are alive here!  She spoke for 1 1/2 hours and took questions and answers after the break. This was Roberta’s second stop and a week long  visit to the Bay Area comprising 5 events. See her schedule at at funofdying.com/news-events/.

Austin attorney Roberta Grimes has been studying afterlife issues and evidence that has been written in the last 200 years. She has been developing a detailed picture of the realities that we enter at death. She uses quantum physics and consciousness research to show how the afterlife fits with the solid reality we know, so for the first time in human history she makes the afterlife real and accessible. Her book, The Fun of Dying:Find Out What Really Happens Next is a complete account how dying feels and what happens at, during, and after the transition.

Her book is a basic but amazing description of the afterlife. The first appendix contains references to almost all of the published  research that helped Roberta to get to the understanding she has now. Most are still available today. The Fun of Dying is the perfect place to start your own research, and the recommended reading is even more amazing. The book is short and an easy read. It is to the point and will prepare you for the questions you will assuredly have for her when she visits on December 1st. Barbara is a fun and very gifted speaker with total enthusiasm for her subject, bringing it to life as no one else can. She will be making other Bay Area appearances. You can soon view them at her web site, www.funofdying.com. She also helps administer, and is a frequent contributor to www.afterlifeforums.com. Her book can be purchased at these web sites or at Amazon.com.

Upcoming Tuesday October 25^th : Dianne Sherman at 7:00 PM

Thirty years ago, Dianne Sherman went into a hospital for a quick and common knee operation.   She would emerge with a near-death experience she had to piece together over years, but one that would radically change her life.

Of her NDE, she says, “It was so gorgeous – I’ve never been so happy.  I had no question about where I was.  Everything was so in sync.  I had never felt so cherished in my whole life.” Dealing with the material world again, though, meant challenges.  “I walked away from my religion; that was probably one of the biggest changes,” she says. Of her NDE, Dianne says, “If you experience unconditional love, you realize that there is no judgment, no right or wrong… you start looking at everything differently, and realize that you are part of the whole. “I’m loved unconditionally – it doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do.” Come join us in welcoming Dianne, and bring your questions. If you have any for me, please call me at (408) 343-1276, or reach the web site, where you can leave a message, at www.sbiands.org/contact.

On September 27th, Dr. Bernard Haisch was our guest speaker. Dr. Haisch is a professional astronomer and an astrophysicist and has authored more than 100 articles in scientific journals such as Annual Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Nature, Science, Physical Review, Foundations of Physics, Annalen der Physik, Noetic Sciences Review, and the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, to name a few. Besides his academic publications, he has written two popular books presenting evidence that our multiverse was intentionally created, not formed by chance.

Astrophysicist George Ellis has written: “What is clear is that life, as we know it, would not be possible if there were very small changes to either physics or the expanding universe that we see around us. There are many aspects of physics, which, if they were different, would prevent any life at all existingŠ. We are now realizing that the universe is a very extraordinary place, in the sense that it is fine tuned so that life will exist.” There are two interpretations possible: (1) Our Universe is part of a multiverse containing vast numbers of universes which have an enormous range of properties; or (2) the laws of our Universe reflect some great intelligence. As astrophysicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine.” It begins to look more likely that the creation of the Universe in the Big Bang happened for a purpose, rather than by chance. I speculate on what that purpose might be, including the necessary central role of Darwinian evolution.

See his web site at www.thegodtheory.com. Also see his books at Amazon.com: The Purpose-Guided Universe: Believing In Einstein, Darwin, and God and The The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields, and What’s Behind It All.

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August 23rd at 7:00 PM

On August 23, 2011 at 7:00 PM, we welcomed back South Bay IANDS’ innaugural guest speaker, author and retired Lockheed Martin optical engineer Paul Robb. Mr. Robb reflected on a life of spiritual contact with God. His recent book The Kindness of God: How God Cares for Us recounts his spiritual experiences and those of others. Visit his web site at www.kindnessofgod.com.   To download a PDF file about Paul and the subject of his presentation go here. After the presentation, Paul stayed to sign books and to answer questions from the attendees.

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Irene Kendig

“This remarkable book by Irene Kendig offers deep comfort and gentle peace to anyone grieving the death of a loved one.”

-Neale Donald Walsch – New York Times Bestselling Author

July 12, 2011 – Irene Kendig

What if you could ask questions of loved ones who’d died . . . and they answered back? What would you ask? How would the answers change the way you live?

Our July guest speaker was award-winning author Irene Kendig, who answered those questions and more as she shared what she learned from speaking with seven loved ones on the other side.

“It was 2006, and I had just started a Masters Program in Spiritual Psychology,” said Kendig. “A friend called to tell me about an extraordinary woman named Jana, who could talk with people who’d crossed over. My friend said Jana wanted to make this her life’s work and asked if I would be willing to do a session with her. I hesitated. I had a lot on my plate, and even if she did have this extraordinary gift, there wasn’t anyone who’d passed on with whom I felt compelled to speak. Still, I was curious.”

“I scheduled the session thinking I was doing my friend a favor,” Kendig continued. “You can imagine my amazement when, after the hour-long session, I had connected with four loved ones on the other side in a way that was unmistakable and unequivocal. I hung up the phone and danced around my house for hours, delighting in the knowing that we are eternal. Three days later, I called and scheduled a second session. At the end of that session, I asked Jana if she wanted to collaborate on a book. She agreed. We met for an hour a day for the next two years. Last year, Conversations with Jerry and Other People I Thought Were Dead: Seven compelling dialogues that will transform the way you think about dying and living, was published. Each of the seven dialogues begins with the same question: What did you experience when you released your last breath on earth?”

“What I’ve learned has transformed the way I live,” continued Kendig. “Knowing I won’t cease to exist, I am empowered to live courageously, listening to and acting on my heart’s desires. Knowing I am an eternal being living in a beneficent universe, I am open and available to the miracle of each moment, and my moments are filled with peace, trust, and joy. My mission now is to eliminate unnecessary suffering and inspire conscious, joyous living by transforming the way we think about death and dying.”

Since its release a year ago, the book has been honored with four national awards and an international, and recently hit Amazon bestseller status at #11 in the category of death. It is endorsed by NY Times Bestselling authors Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations with God), and Bernie Siegel, M.D. (Faith, Hope and Healing). Rev. Richard Dinges of Virginia Beach IANDS offered this endorsement: “As I read Conversations with Jerry and Other People I Thought Were Dead, I began marking important passages. Then I began underlining passages of exceptional clarity. I soon realized I was marking nearly every page because nearly every page provided new and clear understandings. I have been studying near-death experiences for fifteen years and gaining bits of information about life beyond the physical. Each NDE is like a thread. Then I read Jerry’s descriptions of life beyond and I saw the tapestry.”

To watch a book trailer and read an excerpt, please visit: www.conversationwithjerry.com

June 28, 2011

For the first time, our monthly meeting did not feature a guest speaker. Many attendees had asked for an evening for general questions about the NDE specifically, and the STE (Spiritually Transformative Experience) in general. We watched an outstanding documentary DVD movie entitled Life After Life, starring the father of NDE research, Raymond Moody, after which members, experiencers, and others, asked and answer questions. As time goes by more and more television features, movies and books features are appearing about NDEs and STEs. Our June meeting went so well that we will bring that format to more meetings in the future.

There were 32 attendees, some from as far away as Monterey County.Thanks to all who came, and we hope to see the rest of you soon!

The web site www.aciste.org defines the STE in a way similar to this:

An STE (spiritually transformative experience) can be any of the following anomalous events: OBE (out-of-body experience), NDA (nearing death awareness – a person converses with unseen others within a few days of their death), NDE (near-death experiences), NDLE (near-death-like experiences), ADC (after-death communications or visitations from departed loved ones), EHE (exceptional human experiences), visions, spiritual emergencies, awakenings, kundalini experiences,enlightenment, pre-birth memories, past-life experiences, empathic or shared near-death experiences, peak experiences, etc.  STEs include or may be called numinous, noetic, transcendent, transpersonal, mystical, anomalous, religious, spiritual, paranormal, parapsychological or ecstatic experiences.

Mellen-Thomas Benedict

Mellen-Thomas Benedict

Our May 24, 2011 speaker had one of the most intriguing stories of anyone who has been to the “other side”. Mellen-Thomas died in 1982 from a terminal illness and had no vital signs for 1 ½ hours. He returned to his body, as is the case in NDEs, and was fundamentally transformed. Miraculously, his disease was in complete remission. During his NDE Mellen-Thomas journeyed through several realms of consciousness and beyond the “light at the end of the tunnel”. He was shown, in holographic detail, Earth’s past and a beautiful vision of mankind’s future for the next 400 years. He was shown our role in the Universe, and was gifted with access to what he terms Universal Intelligence.

Since his near-death experience, Mellen-Thomas has maintained his direct access to Universal Intelligence, and returns to the light at will, enabling him to be a bridge between science and spirit. He has been involved in research programs on life after death experiences and has developed new technologies for health and wellness. With humility, insight, and depth of feeling he shared his experience and insights. His message of hope and inspiration for humanity was delivered with a joy and clarity that was refreshing. His depth of feeling and passion for life is a gift to be shared.

Read his story http://www.mellen-thomas.com/stories.htm. For more information about South Bay IANDS, including driving directions, visit http://www.sbiands.org. You can call South Bay IANDS at (408) 343-1276.

Cancellation of Bill Guggenheim’s May 2011 Tour

Some very sad news arrived from Bill last week. His 47 year-old daughter, Jaenet died on April 5th. He has therefore canceled his extensive tour, including presenting the keynote address at the annual Afterlife Awareness Conference in Phoenix starting on April 29th. There will be no South Bay IANDS meeting on April 11th, 2011.

Please include Bill and Jaenet’s mom, Gael in your prayers.

We will  host Bill when he is able to arrange another tour.

Here is the announcement of the canceled engagement:

After-Death Communications

Bill Guggenheim and his former wife, Judy Guggenheim, conducted seven years of research on After-Death Communication (ADC) for their best-selling book, Hello From Heaven! During this time they interviewed 2,000 people and collected more than 3,300 firsthand accounts of ADC experiences.  Bill is on the Board of Advisers of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), and is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC).

He presents workshops at conferences for bereavement support groups, hospices, churches, colleges, and many other types of institutions.  His ADC research and book have been featured on television (including “20/20″) and radio (including “Coast To Coast AM” twice), and in numerous newspapers and magazines throughout the United States and Canada.

An After-Death Communication (ADC) is a spiritual experience that occurs when someone is contacted directly and spontaneously by a deceased family member or friend.  These are direct contacts because no psychics, mediums, or devices are involved.  They are spontaneous experiences because our deceased loved ones choose when, where, and how to contact us.

Hello From Heaven! founded the field of after-death communication research. Bill will discuss the twelve major types of ADC experiences that people most frequently report.  He will also describe six categories of ADCs that prove they are objective experiences, and that they provide convincing modern day evidence for life after death.  Bill conservatively estimates that at least 60 million Americans have had one or more ADCs.  His presentations offer comfort, hope, and healing for everyone who has ever grieved the death of a loved one.

Please see http://www.after-death.com/ for more information and book ordering methods.

Also get information about Hello From Heaven! here.

Nadia McCaffrey with Chris Wallace and on Larry King Live.

Nadia McCaffrey discusses with Chris Wallace how she invited the press to photograph her son Patrick McCaffrey’s casket being unloaded from the plane at Travis Air Force Base. This was the first time during the war that video of our fallen heroes was shot and shown on TV due to the government prohibition of such material.

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Nadia appears on Larry King Live in 2010.

Nadia’s first NDE occurred at age seven while spending the summer with her grandparents on their estate in central France . She was bitten by a red asp, a deadly snake. Floating above her body, Nadia suddenly became aware of a feminine presence—a being of light who introduced herself to Nadia as: “Je suis ta petite Maman du ciel,” (I am your little mother of the sky). Nadia recalls: “She was so beautiful. She was everything … you just can’t really … describe the peace, the love, the well being …. She opened her arms … and I just wanted to curl up and touch her. She made me understand that I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t come any closer, that she had things to communicate to me, so I stopped. I stayed there floating in mid-air.” Nadia was told that she was going to be all right, and would recover. She was told she had work to do in the world and, although its nature would unfold only over time, she would eventually come to represent hope for people.

For most NDErs, suicide is not an option. But NDE research shows that this is not necessarily the case for child NDErs who don’t have a clear understanding of the boundaries between life and death. Therefore, it is not surprising that Nadia experienced her second NDE during a suicide attempt at the age of seventeen. During this NDE, Nadia entered the light, but then heard this huge man’s voice say: “You can’t stay, you have to go back, you have a lot of work to do. You haven’t even begun yet.” Although accustomed to arguing her way through most situations, Nadia states unequivocally, “You don’t argue with that voice.”

On December 22, 1999, more than thirty years after her second NDE, Nadia had a third NDE—this time of the “empathic” variety. An empathic NDE is said to occur when the experiencer “feels” another person’s death experience as if it were one’s own experience. By now, Nadia had been working with the dying for many years. Her life was filled with purpose. Yet this NDE would change her life and lead her to her present Veterans’ Village project. During this NDE, Nadia was shown that, if she chose, she would build a self-sustainable center. It would be built according to very specific plans involving sacred geometry and natural resources. The center would serve as a haven providing home-like palliative care, assistance for the dying, healing, and education to show people how to reconnect with the earth and thereby regain lost values. The center would be run by volunteers, and services would be free to all who came there. Nadia was shown that the center would be a model for many more to come, and would benefit thousands in many ways. She has no doubt of the support being provided to get the center up and running. The flashing pictures also showed Nadia that the future of our planet depends on our own actions, individually and collectively. She feels the future scenarios were a warning that there is not much time left in which to choose our future.

GOLDSTAR MOTHER * NADIA McCAFFREY * http://www.goldstarmoms.com/index.htm

www.PatrickMcCaffreyFoundation.org * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q7cTlRjGeU, * Nonprofit 501c3. Reach Out to Iraq Veterans dealing with the trauma of War. Workshops. Home/Office: 209-830 9955 Cell: 209-627 7644*

http://patrick-mccaffrey.memory-of.com * Mother of Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey, 34, father of 2 young children, an American Patriot, fallen in an ambush, shot 8  times, near Balad, Iraq, June 22 2004. Patrick is the first combat-death in 58 years history of the California National Guards 579 Engineer Battalion based in Petaluma, CA, Patrick is Casualty number 848  * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiUMhT25oBc&feature=player_embedded * http://www.comcast.net/video/casualty-mom-helps-vets/687307514/ * * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wSYD84y–g * http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-01-20-wartimedeaths_x.htm *  “Let’s be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom.” <> Marcel Proust