What if near-death experiences didn’t begin in the modern age — but were happening thousands of years ago across the world? In this fascinating episode, Jim Harold is joined by Dr. Gregory Shushan, the leading expert on near-death experiences in ancient civilizations. Drawing on texts from ancient Egypt, India, China, Mesoamerica, and beyond, Dr. Shushan reveals striking similarities between modern NDEs and accounts recorded centuries — even millennia — ago. Together, they explore what these ancient experiences might tell us about the origins of afterlife beliefs, how different cultures interpreted “coming back from the dead,” and why these timeless stories challenge long-held assumptions about death and consciousness. Whether you’re a seasoned explorer of the paranormal or new to the subject, this conversation offers profound insights into one of humanity’s greatest mysteries. You can find Dr. Shushan's latest book, Near Death Experience In Ancient Civilizations, at Amazon: https://amzn.to/436Vd5u AMAZON: Jim is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Amazon Influencer Program. As an Amazon Influencer, Jim earns a commission from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!

The anthropology of the afterlife! Gregory Shushan, PhD, is the leading authority on near-death experiences and afterlife beliefs across cultures and throughout history. He is an award-winning author affiliated with Birmingham Newman University, University of Winchester, Marian University, and the Parapsychology Foundation. In this episode, he shares why studying NDE’s is time well spent, how historical NDEs differed from the religious texts of the time, consciousness as a cosmic circuit, Non-linear reality & reincarnation. Request to join my private Facebook group to give your opinion & participate in giveaways https://www.facebook.com/groups/mfrcuriousinsiders/ This is episode 291 of my podcast, Meredith for Real: the curious introvert. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts. S U B S C R I B E T O M Y C H A N N E L: http://alturl.com/pe9c7 G E T E M A I L S W I T H N E W E P I S O D E S S N E A K P E E K S & C L I F F N O T E S: https://www.meredithforreal.com/ I N S T A G R A M: https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/ F A C E B O O K: https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert W E B S I T E: https://www.meredithforreal.com/ G U E S T & R E S O U R C E S: https://www.gregoryshushan.com/ https://x.com/GregoryShushan https://www.instagram.com/gregoryshushan/ https://www.facebook.com/GLShushan https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-shushan/ https://a.co/d/iGZZ9yf S P E C I A L T H A N K S: Audio & Video Editing: Emily Rodriguez Location: https://uwf.edu/university-advancement/departments/historic-trust/ Video Assistant: Micah Minnocci Set Consulting: Travis Patterson W R I T E M E: 6901A N 9th Ave # 195 Pensacola, FL 32504

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A cross-cultural comparison of ancient beliefs about death and the afterlife • Reveals the powerful influence of near-death experiences (NDEs) on the formation of religious beliefs, mystical literature, and ritual practices • Focuses on the afterlife beliefs of five ancient world regions: Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt, Sumer and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia, Vedic India, pre-Buddhist China, and Maya and Aztec Mesoamerica • Shows how the similarities among afterlife beliefs and their correspondences with NDEs reveal that they both stem from universal truths Taking readers on a thought-provoking journey into our ancestors’ beliefs about death, dying, and the afterlife, Gregory Shushan, Ph.D., reveals the powerful influence of near-death experiences (NDEs) on religious beliefs and ritual practices throughout human history. Focusing on five ancient world regions in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and Mesoamerica, Shushan expertly explores each civilization’s afterlife beliefs. He explains how each of these civilizations developed independently of one another, yet there is a series of similarities among afterlife beliefs too consistent and specific to be mere coincidence. This leads to the profound implication that afterlife beliefs are not entirely invented by cultures: they also stem from universal truths derived from NDEs. Drawing on anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, the author explores how each civilization interpreted NDEs and how afterlife beliefs develop over time. He also explores the metaphysical implications of his discoveries, including what an actual afterlife would look like. Revealing that NDEs have occurred throughout human history, Shushan shows how they continue to influence our understanding of what lies beyond death to this day.

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) For a short video on How to Get the Most From New Thinking Allowed, go to https://youtu.be/aVbfPFGxv9o For a complete, updated list with links to all of our videos, see https://newthinkingallowed.com/Listings.htm. Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as opportunities to shop and to support our video productions – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine. Check out New Thinking Allowed's AI chatbot. You can create a free account at https://ai.servicespace.org When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews. It's almost like having a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove. To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine, visit https://NTA-Magazine.MagCloud.com If you would like to join our team of volunteers, helping to promote the New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel on social media, editing and translating videos, creating short video trailers based on our interviews, helping to upgrade our website, or contributing in other ways (we may not even have thought of), please send an email to friends@newthinkingallowed.com. To join the NTA Psi Experience Community on Facebook, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/1953031791426543/ To download and listen to audio versions of the New Thinking Allowed videos, please visit our new podcast at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-thinking-allowed-audio-podcast/id1435178031. You can help support our video productions while enjoying a good book. To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: Is There Life After Death? click on https://amzn.to/3LzLA7Y (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.) To order New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: Russell Targ – Ninety Years of ESP, Remote Viewing, and Timeless Awareness, go to https://amzn.to/4aw2iyr To order New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: UFOs and UAP – Are We Really Alone?, go to https://amzn.to/3Y0VOVh Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove's Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf. To order Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations by Gregory Shushan, go to https://amzn.to/4hZf64t To order Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions by Gregory Shushan, go to https://amzn.to/43kJy4S To order The Next World by Gregory Shushan, go to https://amzn.to/3uTx1n5

Gregory Shushan, Ph.D is the author of the new book, "Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations: The Origins of the World’s Afterlife Beliefs." Gregory is the leading authority on near-death experiences and afterlife beliefs across cultures and throughout history. He is an award-winning author affiliated with Birmingham Newman University, University of Winchester, Marian University, and the Parapsychology Foundation. A former researcher at the University of Oxford and University of Wales, he lives in San Francisco.

Near death experiences and afterlife beliefs bridge the gap between our world and the paranormal. Gregory Shushan, Ph.D., is the leading authority on the topic across cultures throughout history, and he’s going to join us live on Phantom History House Calls to answer our questions, and yours, on March 5.

On this episode of Neon Galactic, we interview Dr. Gregory Shushan, author and researcher of near-death experiences throughout history in cultures all around the world. We discuss the phenomenology of NDEs, their role in the creation of religion, how they relate to other contact modalities, and their problematic status in academia. We also cover how the subject has shaped Shushan’s own thinking about the afterlife, and how various texts throughout history seem to outline what appears to be a relatively consistent picture of what happens after people die. Shushan is a historian of religions, an award-winning author, and the leading authority on near-death experiences and the afterlife across cultures and throughout history. Shushan is a Visiting Research Fellow at University of Winchester's Centre for Death, Religion and Culture; Adjunct Professor of Thanatology at Marian University; and Research Fellow of the Parapsychology Foundation. He was formerly Perrott-Warrick Researcher at University of Oxford's Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion; Scholar-in Residence at the Centro Incontri Umani (The Cross Cultural Centre), Ascona, Switzerland; and Honorary Research Fellow at the Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He has lectured at universities in the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland and has given numerous talks on his research in nine countries, and has appeared on the History Channel. He holds degrees in Religious Studies (University of Wales Lampeter), Research Methods for the Humanities, Egyptian Archaeology (University College London), and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology (Birkbeck College, University of London). He is currently (2024) working towards his second PhD with a project on near-death experiences in Classical antiquity. To buy his books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004ORRP8A ----------------------------- Music Credits: Music: Cinematic Logo 04 by TaigaSoundProd Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8221-cinematic-logo-04 Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Technology Calm Logo 01 by TaigaSoundProd Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6660-technology-calm-logo-01 Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license --- Neon Galactic is a production of PBS affiliate KEET-TV in Eureka, CA. Please don’t forget to like and subscribe. Public television can always use your support. On X: @jfrickingfaulk #NDE #soul #heaven #afterlife #science #philosophy #occult #manyworlds #multiverse #consciousness #phenomenon

What did ancient civilizations believe about near-death experiences? Were NDEs recorded in history long before modern studies? In this episode of The Sheol Podcast, Dr. Gregory Shushan, a leading researcher on near-death experiences in ancient cultures, joins us to discuss his groundbreaking work. We explore how different societies—from ancient Egypt to Indigenous traditions—interpreted encounters with the afterlife and what these insights reveal about the nature of consciousness and human spirituality. 📖 Learn more about Dr. Shushan’s books and research 🔔 Subscribe for more deep dives into NDEs, consciousness, and the afterlife! Learn more about Dr. Shushan: https://www.gregoryshushan.com/ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004ORRP8A #NearDeathExperiences #AncientNDEs #TheSheolPodcast