Death, Grief and Belief Conference, July 15 - 17

I'm looking forward to participating in this really interesting and potentially life-changing conference on Death, Grief and Belief, July 15 - 17, addressing the question: "Are fear-based, toxic religious beliefs impacting your ability to cope with loss, trauma and grief in a healthy way?" If you're interested in attending - either in person in Portland, OR, or online (as I'll be doing) you can save $25 off general admission using the code "Shushan."

I'll be relating my work on cross-cultural near-death experiences to religious (and personal) dogmas about the afterlife, stressing how the diversity of NDEs reveals that nobody has a monopoly on spiritual "truths." This is a problem not only in mainstream orthodox religions which judge people for experiences and beliefs that fall outside the orthodoxy; but also in New Age and even NDE "support" communities, in which "experiencers" hold an exalted place in the hierarchy.

I'll present an alternative perspective on how people can process and understand NDEs in a healthy, secular way, whether they're experiencers or not: honoring and validating the personal spiritual meaningfulness that is such a hallmark of these experiences, while releasing the shame that comes from trying (and failing) to conform or measure up to the standards and prototypes constructed by religious bullies.

Hope to see you there!

https://deathgriefandbelief.com/