Near-death experiencers are the best dancers. I could identify which attendees at the annual conference of the International Association for Near-Death Studies have been to the brink, because they moved their bodies with un-self-conscious abandon, ripping up the floor of a tent on the grounds of a suburban Chicago Hilton. You could walk up to any one of them, and they would matter-of-factly tell you about how they almost died. Facing death, whether your own or a loved one’s, is a core part of making meaning of one’s life. To struggle through this universal contemplation without a community can be brutal. The American religious landscape has become fragmented over the past few decades, and even observant people got out of the habit of going to services in person after 2020. So it makes sense that a group like IANDS could fill a much-needed gap for people who are unsatisfied by the strictures of mainstream observance and who aren’t fulfilled by the loose ties of a virtual and vague spirituality. According to Pew’s huge Religious Landscape Study published last year, almost 80 percent of Americans surveyed said they believed “there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it.” “I feel like I found my tribe,” said Maria Small, a Navy veteran who lost her young daughter, Mia, in 2020 and had not been to an IANDS conference before. She was there with her husband, Derek, who is also a veteran. Note: For more inspiring and credible material on this topic, read our Substack investigations: How Consciousness Research Can Help Heal a Divided World and Insights from Near-Death Experiences Remind Us of Who We Are and What Unites Us. Explore more positive stories like this on inspiring near-death experiences and the mysterious nature of reality. - New York Times

What you’ve got there from the sun on your face is a massive boost of serotonin!” says Alison Greenwood, founder of Dose of Nature, the charity successfully prescribing time outside as a treatment for mental health. Dose of Nature has already delivered 1,500 one-to-one courses and is outperforming standard NHS talking therapies, boasting a recovery rate of 64% compared with the health service’s 50%, and a reliable improvement rate of 86% compared with 69%. Unlike most green social prescribing schemes, clients are referred directly by their GPs. “Our nature prescriptions are a genuine alternative to medication and more traditional psychological therapies,” Greenwood says. The key, she says, is the rediscovery of something very old: “The idea that nature is good for our mental health and wellbeing has been around for millennia. We evolved outside, under the sky, [and so] we are animals that are caged most of our time, in schools or cars or offices or homes. As soon as we get outside, we’re free.” There are two key parts to the Dose of Nature prescription: helping people get outside and, once there, to start noticing nature to calm their minds and bodies. As well as the serotonin-boosting sun and the phytoncides that can decrease stress hormones, studies have shown that natural sounds such as water, wind and birdsong improve mood. The fractal patterns of nature have been shown to aid recovery from stress and boost alpha waves in the brain. Note: In New Zealand, green prescriptions have become a formal part of the healthcare system. Over 4,000 green prescriptions have been written by over 10,000 physicians in all 10 provinces of Canada. Read more about social and green prescriptions. Explore more positive stories like this on healing our bodies and mental health. - The Guardian

Ingrid Honkala, a former NASA scientist, claims she is intimately familiar with death after allegedly flatlining a staggering three times. Each time, she had the same revelation. “It felt like entering a deeper layer of reality that exists beyond our physical senses,” Honkala, 55, told Jam Press of her trifecta of near-death experiences. “In that state, consciousness felt vast, intelligent, and interconnected.” When she was just two years old ... Honkala fell into an icy tank of water at home, unbeknownst to the maid who was listening to the radio in another room. Thankfully, the tot’s mother ... was able to resuscitate her. During that brief stint on the other side, however, Honkala said “Something extraordinary happened.” Her fear gave way to a “deep calm.” “The panic disappeared and was replaced by an overwhelming sense of peace and stillness,” recalled Honkala. “It felt as if my awareness separated from my body.” “The experience showed me that what we call the afterlife did not feel like a distant place at all,” she said. “To me, the experience suggested that consciousness may not be produced solely by the brain – it may be something more fundamental.” Honkala would undergo two more near-death experiences: one following a motorcycle accident at 25 and the other at 52, when her blood pressure dropped during surgery. She was able to attain the same serene state each time. She claimed it was this spiritual awakening that inspired her to pursue science. Note: For more inspiring and credible material on this topic, read our Substack investigations: How Consciousness Research Can Help Heal a Divided World and Insights from Near-Death Experiences Remind Us of Who We Are and What Unites Us. Explore more positive stories like this on inspiring near-death experiences and the mysterious nature of reality. - New York Post