Groundbreaking study on near-death experiences

Clinical psychologist and author Liz Dale is asking anyone who has had a near-death experience (NDE) to participate in an online survey regarding the experience and its consequences – especially those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Survey results will inform a groundbreaking study and a new book to be published by Balboa Press, a division of Hay House. The survey is live now at http://lizdale.com/survey.html.

Dale's official site (http://lizdale.com/) has become an important resource for those with academic or personal interests in the NDE phenomenon. It includes access to over 1,300 books about NDEs. Dale anticipates that her new survey will make important contributions to the literature, as well as pave the way for future investigations.

Survey respondents can remain anonymous if they wish. Likewise, Dale asks that anyone who submits stories only use their first names and avoid sharing confidential personal information. Examples of questions from the survey include:

• "Were there any changes in your personality since your NDE?"
• "Were there any changes in your religious or spiritual beliefs since your NDE?"
• "Were there any distressing aftereffects from your NDE?"

The forthcoming book on NDE aftereffects will not be Dale's first; in 2000, she published "Crossing Over and Coming Home: Twenty-One Authors Discuss the Gay NDE as Spiritual Transformation." The following excerpt from the book captures the essence of this research and the intensely personal and profound nature of the stories people have shared with her: "And then I felt the presence of Jesus Christ all around me. And I asked him, 'Do I really have to go back?' Then Christ said that he would send me guardian angels to aid me in my healing, and to guide and protect me. I awakened to find two men kneeling over me, with expressions of apprehension and concern on both their faces. For some reason I felt that they might be gay men. I felt very strongly that both men symbolized what would prove to be a succession of 'angels' that Christ had promised to send me."