Gregory Shushan, PhD, is author of Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations, Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions, The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife, and, most recently, Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations: The Origin of the World’s Afterlife Beliefs. His website is https://www.gregoryshushan.com/
Here he describes afterlife beliefs in five of the most ancient and independent cultures: Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Mesoamerica. He points out the similarities in their afterlife beliefs and suggests that they have a common basis, quite apart from cultural diffusion. He explains why, in each case, the afterlife beliefs were probably sourced from the accounts of NDEs. The discussion also includes shamanic journeys and other forms of potential after-death communications.
00:00 Introduction
03:47 Alternative hypotheses
08:12 Ancient Egypt
19:01 Egyptian focus on magic
26:48 Ancient India
32:46 Ancient China
39:57 NDEs and UFO abductions
44:02 Mesoamerica
52:05 The spectrum of paranormal experiences
58:05 Conclusion
New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science.
(Recorded on February 20, 2025)
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