| David Bourdon Berkeley |
| Dave Bourdon is a professional writer whose interest in NDE's began with process of writing a screenplay about a politician who has a near-death experience. This path led to IANDS, and a transformative path that resulted in his writing the NDE Paradigm http://www.nde-paradigm.com, a spiritual compass based on the highest wisdom of NDErs. Dave has facilitated the East Bay group for two years, and stresses that Berkeley IANDS meetings welcome not just NDErs, but all those interested in the life-altering effect of this phenomenon. |
IANDS Meeting on the third Monday of each Month at 7:30 pm (You will find the directions below) Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) 1606 Bonita Avenue (at Cedar), Berkeley |
| A $5 donation requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. You are encouraged to bring refreshments for sharing! Thank you! SPIRITUAL BOOK EXCHANGE: For a mere $1, trade in any spiritually-related book for one of ours. These books are not for sale – exchange only. Donations Welcome !!! |
GEORGINA TEYROVSKY: My Near-Death Experience in 1969 The term NDE didn’t exist until the late 1970’s – but Georgina Teyrovsky had her near- death experience in 1969. With no reference point to help her integrate the phenomenon in daily life, she was left to find her own way. The native Czechoslovakian will discuss her fascinating story at this month’s IANDS meeting – a story that includes living in Prague during the rebellion against Russia, and a journey from riches to poverty and back. But nothing in her life compared to her NDE, she says Georgina's NDE came as she and her family were climbing Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in North America. Several intestinal parasites she carried caused her to suffer a burst appendix. She would have a NDE during a five-day coma. "The whole experience was so perplexing, so strong, so shaking... but also so uplifting that I did not find the words nor the courage to describe it for many years." Georgina says, "I remember thinking thoughts, not in one brain, but through millions of brains, all of which seemed to be connected. I felt the same way about "eternal wisdom" - I was part of it and the wisdom was part of me." She experienced a timeless dimension and seemed to experience past lives in several settings. She communicated with a spirit and asked if she could see "hell" - and was shown that symbolically. She returned to a body still near death, and a long recovery against long odds. "Though my sickness was a great ordeal, I feel that it was a blessing in disguise. No words, no person, nothing can take away from me the conviction that there is no death. I have been there and back. Come hear Georgina share her story and the wisdom she was given in her NDE. Following Georgina’s talk, we’ll have a open discussion with questions and comments. We hope you’ll join in! Berkeley IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non- experiencers alike. |
| Berkley International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) presents: Moderated Discussion by NDEr LEWIS GRIGGS: Synchronicities! - Life Strange Blessings Monday, April 16, 2007 7:30 9:30 PM Unity, 2075 Eunice Street, Berkeley Dear Friend of IANDS, Its appropriate that the term synchronicity was created by a near-death experiencer, famed psychologist Carl Jung. While skeptics see coincidences everywhere down to life itself Jung created synchronicity to suggest that mind and matter, as well as past, present and future, exist in a meaningfully connected way. Many NDErs and other spiritual seekers conclude that each and every moment of life has purpose, and that one way this purpose manifests itself in the material world is through synchronicities - life events and thoughts so strangely and wonderfully connected that we know something must be going on though what, were not quite sure! Synchronicities are sometimes hilariously mysterious, defying millions-to-one odds and sometimes they life-altering. What do synchronicities mean, if anything? How can we become more aware of them, and use them to benefit our lives? If you see life as meaningful and live that way consciously, does that create synchronicities? Or do we just become more aware of them? This month at East Bay IANDS, well share stories of our most amazing synchronicities in a discussion moderated by NDEr Lewis Griggs, whose own life was saved years ago by a passing stranger. Lewis has appeared on more than 80 television and radio programs, including NBC's Today Show, the CBS Morning News, CNN and NPR's All Things Considered. Amidst all its difficulty, life is also wondrously strange. How wondrous and how strange? Join us for an uplifting evening, and let see if we can find or create! new synchronicities on this special night! East Bay IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non-experiencers alike. We provide a respectful place to discuss and voice opinions and experiences. A $5 donation requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. You are encouraged to bring refreshments for sharing! Thank you! |
| Journey Through the Light and Back In 1982 Mellen-Thomas died of terminal brain cancer and survived to tell about it. While in hospice care Mellen “died” and was without vital signs for at least an hour and a half before he returned to his body. Mellen-Thomas is one of the most studied NDE cases in the world and has taken part in more research and think tanks than any other near- deather. While on the “other side” Mellen 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 experienced the cosmology of our soul’s connection to Mother Earth (Gaia), our manifest destiny, and was gifted with access to 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. With humor and depth of feeling he shares his experience and insights. He brings back a message of hope and inspiration for humanity, delivered with a joy and clarity that is refreshing. His depth of feeling and passion for life is a gift to be shared. Read more about Mellen at www.mellen-thomas.com Information: Quotes About Mellen from NDE Researchers Deepak Chopra has called Mellen-Thomas the “Encyclopedia of the After Life” in his book “Life After Death”. * “Mellen is able, while in trance, to see into microcosmic structures. Although he maintains awareness in a hyper-alert state, it is clear that he is able to simultaneously span several octaves of consciousness, from which he can acquire scientific information that is extraordinary.” Lee Pulos, Ph.D., Author of “Miracles and Other Realities,” Former President of the Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis and Senior Psychologist to the Olympic Team Canada. “Mellen-Thomas has the big picture. His story is one of the most remarkable I have encountered in extensive research on near-death experiences. It is very rare that those who have died and returned have seen into the future to the extent that Mellen has. His vision of the future is one of hope. He has participated in studies at a major university, where he contributed to understanding the structure of genes and chromosome coding for a genetic disease, while researchers puzzled over how he could have access to this information.” Dr. Kenneth Ring, Author of “Heading Toward Omega; The Omega Project” “The near-death experience of Mellen-Thomas is the only one I have yet come across where an individual willfully changed the episode’s scenario as it was actually happening. What impresses me the most about Mellen- Thomas is that he dedicated many years, not only to understanding the phenomenon’s after effects, but to controlling and training his newly expended psychic faculties. By opting for discipline instead of notoriety, and keeping himself firmly grounded in the practicality of patented invention, he is now emerging as a clear and steady voice… a solution finder… ready to tackle the most vexing problems of the global community.” P.M.H. Atwater, Researcher and Author of “Beyond the Light” www.mellen-thomas.com CONTACT: Mellen-Thomas Benedict, PO Box 1898, Soquel CA 95073 |
| LINDA JACQUIN |
| SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE: PROOF OF AN AFTERLIFE? Forever Family Foundation to present Investigations of Consciousness and the Unseen World January 19-20, 2008 Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center San Francisco, California Oceanside, NY, January 3, 2008 – Forever Family Foundation, a non-profit, non- sectarian organization that supports the premise that life does not end with physical death, will be sharing supportive scientific evidence in a groundbreaking conference January 19-20, 2008 at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California. World renowned scientists, medical doctors, researchers, and mediums will be brought together to raise awareness about the extensive research of consciousness and its implications that we survive our physical deaths. Fact: It has been documented that people have died and returned to talk about it. Fact: It has been documented that people can communicate with the dead. Fact: The CIA has embraced remote viewers who can use only their consciousness to “spy on the enemy.” “The reality is millions of people have experienced these ‘afterlife encounters’ and so-called other phenomena that indicate our minds can act independently of our brains and/or physical bodies,” said Robert Ginsberg, co-founder of Forever Family Foundation. “We can longer dismiss the evidence simply because it cannot be explained by conventional means.” It is unacceptable to classify something as ‘having no explanation’ or putting it away in a box labeled ‘paranormal.’” The two-day conference is designed for the public rather than a scientific audience. The speakers will present bodies of evidence on near-death experiences, reincarnation, the nature of consciousness, quantum physics, ghosts and apparitions, afterlife encounters, mediumship, and other phenomena that suggest an existence beyond our physical lives. “It is time for the scientific community to bring survival of consciousness research out of the labs, files, peer review journals, and private conferences,” said Dianne Arcangel, President of Forever Family Foundation. "By bringing our findings into the public arena, we offer comfort to the bereaved as well as necessary education and hope to the masses.” About Forever Family Foundation Forever Family Foundation is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization that supports the premise that life does not end with physical death, furthers the understanding of Afterlife Science and survival of consciousness, and offers support to the bereaved. . Among the active members of the organization and the executive board are scientists, researchers, medical doctors, philosophers and educators who have devoted substantial parts of their careers to the investigation of the survival hypothesis - an existence beyond this physical world. Interview opportunities ~more~ Confirmed Presenters: Dr. Fred Alan Wolf – Physicist (aka Dr. Quantum), writer, teacher and lecturer, is well known for his many books and appearances in such films as The Secret and What The Bleep. He has a unique perspective on quantum physics and its implications for the survival of the soul. Dr. Dean Radin – Cutting edge scientist, author, and lecturer who is considered to be a world authority on Psi phenomena and consciousness. Senior scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and former president of The Parapsychological Association. Dr. Gary Schwartz – Harvard trained scientist, professor, author and lecturer who has amassed a huge body of evidence on the subject of mediumship and its suggestion of survival. His book The Afterlife Experiments outlined his groundbreaking research. Dr. Bruce Greyson – Medical doctor, writer and lecturer who has conducted decades of research of near death experiences and is a world authority on the subject. He is the Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia Dr. Jim Tucker – Medical doctor, author, and lecturer who researches past life memories and reincarnation. His book, Life Before Life, is a comprehensive examination of such evidence, and he continues his research at the University of Virginia. Dr. Arthur Hastings – An esteemed faculty member at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology who is an author, lecturer and consciousness researcher. His current research includes a modern day psychomanteum chamber that has produced significant data related to encounters. Loyd Auerbach, M.S. – Well known paranormal investigator specializing in ghosts and psychic experiences. He is also an author, lecturer, professor, and Director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations. He has also created a certificate program in parapsychological studies at HCH Institute. Dianne Arcangel, M.S. – Independent researcher of afterlife encounters who has compiled the results of a five year international study on the subject. Her book, Afterlife Encounters- Ordinary People, Extraordinary Experiences, is a comprehensive look at the subject with specific case histories. Robert Brown – Accomplished international medium and author who has been providing evidence of an afterlife for three decades. He demonstrates spirit communication all over the world, and is the author of We Are Eternal. Hollister Rand – An evidential medium and lecturer who has a unique perspective of science, vibration and music as it relates to spirit communication. In addition to demonstrations of mediumship, she teaches techniques of facilitating such contact. Conference details: Title: Investigations of Consciousness and the Unseen World – Proof of an Afterlife? Dates: January 19-20, 2008 Location: Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA Admission: $225-$275 Conference Website: www.foreverfamilyfoundation. org/SanFrancisco.htm In addition to the two-day conference, Forever Family Foundation also announced a psychic entertainment event, Mindreading by the Bay. This special fundraising event will feature Loyd Auerbach, Professor Paranormal, and other performers. Tickets to this separate event are $25-$45 and are not included with conference admission. Contact: Robert Ginsberg Forever Family Foundation 631-425-7707 robert@foreverfamilyfoundation.org Bay Area PR Contact: Sheryl Lane 408-568-2249 sheryl@intuitive-community.com Alternate Bay Area PR Contact: Loyd Auerbach 925-518-4071 esper@california.com |
| Robert Schwartz Author of Courageous Souls Coming to San Francisco Bay Would you like to understand the deeper meaning of your life's greatest challenges? At some point, everyone has asked "Why?" Why do I have cancer? Why is my son autistic? Why did my brother die in a car accident? So often, when something "bad" happens, it may appear to be a punishment of some kind. But what if your most difficult life experiences were actually rich with hidden purpose – purpose that you yourself had planned before you were born? Could it be that you choose your life's circumstances, relationships and events for the purpose of spiritual growth? Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth? tells the true stories of ten individuals who chose to experience some of life's greatest challenges: AIDS, cancer, autism, the death of a child and physical disability. These stories are particularly powerful because the book allows the interviewees to tell their stories in their own words. Working with four gifted mediums and channels, author Robert Schwartz discovers what they chose and why. "In the days before I knew of pre-birth planning, I felt sympathy for others who appeared less fortunate than I," said Robert Schwartz. "Now aware that seemingly 'bad' experiences may have been planned, I feel only deep respect." For more information please consult: http://www.courageoussouls.com |
Gold Star mother/ Near-Death Experiencer Nadia McCaffrey at East Bay IANDS BERKELEY "Death of a Son: A Near-Death Experiencer's Continuing Spiritual Journey" MONDAY, March 17, 7:30-9:30 PM Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) 1606 Bonita Avenue, Berkeley Dear Friend of IANDS, When she had her first near-death experience at age seven as the result of a snake bite, Nadia McCaffrey encountered the Light: "You just can't really describe the peace, the love, the well being," she recalls. Ten years later, in a second NDE, she foresaw a future in which she would "become famous, but lose everything." In her third NDE, in 1999, she inexplicably saw herself arriving at an airport in Iraq, a place she'd never been. In 2004, that vision would tragically come true. Her only son, Patrick, had been killed in a war he opposed. The government lied to her about the circumstances surrounding the death. "I lost everything," she says of her son's death. But Nadia's response to her son's death was different from others: she traveled to Iraq to meet with mothers there who'd lost children to war. Back home, she began creating a series of permanent Spiritual and Palliative Care Retreats for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her message is sympathy, compassion and peace as the means to ending the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. In the US, she has appeared on Good Morning America, TODAYSHOW, Paula Zahn, Aaron Brown, MSNBC, CNBC, DemocracyNow! CNN etc. Her story has been told through documentaries, radio shows, and in Vanity Fair, Newsweek, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, El Jazeera, BBC, La Pravda, and more. Long before then, Nadia's NDE's and work with the dying had been featured in the media. She has been featured on many television and radio talk shows; in "Children of the New Millennium" a book of research on children's Near-Death Experiences by PMH Atwater, along with Atwater's "We Live Forever." Nadia recently appeared in a new release by Automat Pictures: "Cheating Death, Beyond and Back" a scientific research documentary, and is featured in another NDE research documentary to be released in 2008. Following Nadia's talk, we'll have a lively session of your comments and questions. East Bay IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non-experiencers alike. A $5-$10 donation is requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. You are encouraged to bring refreshments for sharing - and thank you! DIRECTIONS TO BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP BFUU is at the corner of Cedar and Bonita – but the meeting place is in the building extension. Follow the wooden fence to a gate, go up the second floor. NOT wheelchair-accessible. Neighborhood parking – but you're advised to come earlier to find a place! By car: From I-80 take the University Ave. exit. Go east (toward the hills) on University. Turn left on Martin Luther King (MLK) (look for Kragen Auto Parts) 2 traffic lights to Cedar. Turn right on Cedar. Bonita is the next street, BFUU is on the corner of Cedar and Bonita. From the North Berkeley BART: Go north on Sacramento to Virginia and turn right onto Virginia. Head east on Virginia, past the Magee traffic diverter, past Edith and Josephine, to Martin Luther King. Walkers turn left, go up to the traffic light at Cedar and cross MLK, and continue to the Fellowship at the end of that short block. Bikers may wish to cross MLK at Virginia and hang a left onto Bonita. BFUU is at the corner of Cedar and Bonita. From the Downtown Berkeley BART: Go north on Shattuck. Cross Center, Addison, and University. (University is a major street with a traffic light.) Continue north on Shattuck. Cross or pass Berkeley, Hearst, Delaware, Francisco, Virginia, Lincoln. Turn left on Cedar, at the Starbucks. Heading west on Cedar, pass Henry and cross Milvia street. BFUU is three blocks west of Shattuck on Cedar, at the corner of Cedar and Bonita. Bus line and additional local public transit information are available from Transitinfo.org To be removed from this mailing list, please contact: David Bourdon (JDBourdon@nde-paradigm.com) East Bay - Berkeley IANDS Facilitator Northern California IANDS: http://www.north-ca-iands.org |
| Luis Minero (International Academy of Consciousness) BERKELEY-IANDS “Spiritual Evolution and Out-of-Body Experiences” Near-death experiencers don’t have a choice – they have out-of-body experiences, and more. But can just anyone have an OBE? Are there spiritual benefits? Our speaker this month, Luis Minero, says “yes” to both questions. Luis is the director of the Intl. Academy of Consciousness (IAC) California office, as well as its Administrative Director. The IAC is a non-profit research and educational organization that studies consciousness (soul, spirit, essence), placing special emphasis on OBE’s. OBE’s, Luis says, yield some of the same insights and spiritual benefits of near-death experiences, including losing the fear of death. Luis speaks from personal experience. He has his first OBE at age 12, has had “perhaps a thousand” OBE’s since then, and has spent more than 20 years studying OBE’s and other paranormal phenomena. Though he has a scientific background, Luis says, “ The best way to understand the out-of-body experience is… experience it! The moment you leave the body and you realize that you’re as lucid, as sharp, as aware as you are right now, you know this is not a dream, not a hallucination.” Toward that end, IAC teaches courses on how to have productive OBE’s. Luis will discuss those techniques, as well as the scientific case for OBE legitimacy. An experiment last year claiming to produce out-of-body sensations in a lab experiment, Luis says, “was interesting, but it really doesn’t prove anything. “Just because we can stimulate the brain to simulate different experiences doesn’t deny the actual experience. There are experiments where you can stimulate part of the brain and the person starts smelling a lemon. But it doesn’t mean the real smell of lemon doesn’t exist.” Luis graduated with honors (chemistry) from Florida International University. He has lectured at the 1st International Congress on Existential Inversion in 1998, in Florianópolis, Brazil; at the 3rd International Congress of Projectiology and Conscientiology in 2002, in New York, USA; and at the 1st World State Forum in 2006, in Iguaçu Falls, Brazil. He speaks fluent Spanish, English, Portuguese and German and has lectured on several continents. Following Luis’ talk, we’ll have a lively session of your comments and questions. East Bay IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non-experiencers alike. A $5-$10 donation is requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. You are encouraged to bring refreshments for sharing - and thank you! |
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| BERKELEY-IANDS International Association for Near-Death Studies Lewis Griggs & Dave Bourdon: “Applying Lessons from the Light to Daily Life” Tuesday, May 20, 7:30- 9:30 PM Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) 1606 Bonita Avenue (at Cedar), Berkeley When difficult, even terrible situations or people come to the forefront of your life, how do you deal with them? Do your spiritual beliefs get put aside – or do you use the force of “God” or “cosmic consciousness“ to alleviate the suffering? And what are those principles, the legendary near-death experience “lessons from the Light”? This month, two people – one a NDEr, one not – discuss applying these lessons to daily life – whether it’s the daily grind or something far more challenging. Lewis Griggs of San Rafael had it made from birth. Born to a wealthy family with a lineage dating back to the Mayflower, he confesses he thought he was “the cat’s meow.” Wealth, health, looks, great parents - “I had everything I wanted,” he says. His 1977 NDE in a car crash changed his life. Entering another dimension of “pure grace,” he was told “Lewis, you have been called here to have this conversation and to be sent back because you are not doing your work.” He would return to found the award-winning Griggs Productions, a company specializing in diversity education, a field he had no knowledge of, and in which he had no previous interest. But even a NDE doesn’t stop life challenges. A rafting accident in 1997 left him in a coma, unsure of who he was, not knowing his parents, not able to talk or walk. “I learned what it was like to be trapped in my body, and not be able to communicate. I had to regain everything. I finally became very humble,” he says. And a greater challenge for him is more recent: after spending his life trying to help his bipolar daughter, he realized he had to cut her loose, and let her find her own way. Dave Bourdon did not a NDE. Raised with no religious background whatsoever, he reacted to life’s travails by hating God. “The worst part is that I didn’t even believe in the God that I hated, that old man in the sky. I was dragged around by the people and events in my life, feeling powerless and angry about life itself.” That began to change when the wisdom of NDErs came into his life. “I was incredibly blessed to run into the wisest people I’d ever known right from the start. When I finally “got it,” my perception of life changed, and when your perception genuinely changes, your internal life, the real you, genuinely changes.” One result was the creation of the NDE Paradigm – a spiritual compass that points to the misunderstandings, the illusions, behind your suffering. “Life is always going to be difficult – it’s meant to be that way for the same reason a gym has heavy weights for lifting. But failure to see life clearly – to live the lessons from the light as naturally as breathing – leads to endless internal pain. And that just isn’t necessary, and anyone can apply the lessons that will change that path,” he says. Come join us and take part in a spirited - and spiritual - discussion! BERKELEY IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non-experiencers alike. A $5 donation requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. You are encouraged to bring refreshments for sharing! FOR DIRECTIONS TO BERKELEY FELLOWSHIP AND DETAILS SEE OUR PAGE BERKELEY-IANDS |
| Julia White Monday, June 23, 7:30- 9:30 PM |
| BERKELEY International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) presents… Julia White “Death is actually a wonderful thing” Monday, June 23, 7:30- 9:30 PM Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU) 1606 Bonita Avenue (at Cedar), Berkeley Asked about her near-death experience, Julia White states unequivocally, “Spirit is real. Death is not anything to be feared – it’s actually a wonderful thing.” And she adds with a laugh, “It can’t be that bad if you don’t want to come back.” But when Julia had her NDE in 1964, there was no such term as “near-death experience.” There were literally no words to describe what had happened to her. She did not mention what happened until the early 1980’s, when “poems just started pouring out of me.” This month at East Bay IANDS –four decades after the event - she’ll share her story with a group for the first time. She’ll also read and discuss some of her NDE- inspired poetry. Julia’s NDE occurred on a snowy mountain road in North Carolina. She was a passenger in the car, which went into a skid and seemed certain to go over the mountain side. And then, she says, “I left my body. I saw my life like a slide show. Bam, bam, bam bam, bam – then it came together like a picture. I saw what my life had been up to that point.” And then she was told she had to return. She found herself back in the car, which had skidded into a barrier. Of her NDE, she says, “It was very much real. This is beyond knowing – this was experience. You know the expression, “sea of love?” That’s what it was like. It was like being in pure love. I was more alive than I’ve ever been again. “It just changes everything about how you look at the world, or it has for me. It’s my reference point for what’s real. It puts everything else in a whole different perspective.” Today, Julia is a high school special education teacher in the Bay Area. She was involved for a decade with the Berkeley Psychic Institute, “trying to get back to that place that was so wonderful.” After Julia’s talk, we’ll have a spirited discussion – come join us! East Bay IANDS monthly meeting are open to near-death experiencers and non-experiencers alike. A $5-$10 donation is requested to help pay for rent and expenses; no one turned away. |