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The Near-Death Experience as a Shamanic Initiation: A Case Study

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Journal of Near-Death Studies

Abstract

The field of near-death studies shares a number of interesting, often compelling, similarities with the ancient spiritual tradition known as shamanism. Not least among these similarities is the fact that a near-death experience (NDE) is a time-honored form of shamanic initiation. I present a case example illustrating how a deep NDE can propel a person who had no prior knowledge or interest in shamanism into spontaneous, often classic, shamanic experiences, while living an apparently normal life in the midst of modern Western society.

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Green, J.T. The Near-Death Experience as a Shamanic Initiation: A Case Study. Journal of Near-Death Studies 19, 209–225 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007859024038

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007859024038

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