Summary: Interview with author and past president of the International Association of Near Death Studies examines research into negative near death experiences. Join Skeptiko host Alex Tsakiris for an interview with Nancy Evans Bush, author of, Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences. During the interview Bush discusses how negative near death experiences are researched: Alex Tsakiris: On one hand I understand the need to talk about these negative near death experiences, the need to put it on the table and process it. But I don’t think that’s the only thing that you’re objecting to because I think you’re also objecting to the way researchers approach “near death experience hell.” Nancy Bush: There is so much on every side of this issue -- we are surrounded by people whose knees are jerking. There are automatic responses that people make. The convicted Atheists say, “Oh, it’s just these people are deluding themselves with the supernatural,” and the convinced metaphysicians say, “Oh, if only they’d believe then it would be different.” And the doctrinally religious say, “Well, if they’d just believe my stuff then that would take care of this.” I think the most frustrating aspect of this whole study is simply trying to get people to sit quietly and just listen to the experiences. Let go of their preconceptions for a few minutes, and just sit quietly and think, “Huh. What could this mean?” Alex Tsakiris: There’s a fine line here because I think we all appreciate that we’re embedded in this materialistic culture that constantly tells us that this is impossible, this is ridiculous, you’re crazy. So I think when people break through that, then there’s a certain need to go just as far as they can with this. But to an extent it leaves us with the question of what can we really say? We can say that materialism is clearly a failed proposition but I’m not really sure what else we can say beyond that. How do we venture forth into this great territory of what lies beyond? Nancy Bush: I think for me one of the frustrations is the numbers of people who given a little bit of information will jump in and say, “Oh, I get it. I had one of these experiences. I can tell you what it means.” But I think we are still following breadcrumbs through the woods. Nancy Evans Bush's Website Play It: Download MP3 (39 min.) Read It: Alex Tsakiris: Today we welcome Nancy Evans Bush to Skeptiko. Nancy is the former President of IANDS, the International Association for Near-Death Studies and she’s also the author of Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences. Nancy, welcome and thanks for joining me today on Skeptiko. Nancy Bush: Thanks, Alex. Alex Tsakiris: So Nancy, this is quite an interesting, fascinating book that you’ve written. I know that it’s caused a little bit of a stir inside the near-death experience community and the scientific community. In broader terms I’ve heard about this book. It’s kind of popped up and a number of people brought it to my attention. First of all, you have to congratulate someone on that. You’ve obviously struck a nerve with this book. Tell us a little bit about why you sought to write it and what you were hoping to do with the book. Nancy Bush: When I was in my late 20s I had an experience during the birth of my second baby and it was an experience I could not account for; I could not explain; I could not understand, because essentially it was—this was years before near-death experiences were known about. I had no context for understanding what it was or how to make sense of it. It did not fit with my theological life. It did not fit with anything. And because it was an experience essentially of being annihilated there was no place to put it. So I buried it. Alex Tsakiris: If I can just interject, when you say you were annihilated, there were these little beings you encountered in this deep, dark void as part of your near-death experience.
