About this episode
Bruce Greyson, M.D., is the Chester F. Carlson Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences and Director Emeritus of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. He was one of the founders of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and for 27 years edited the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Dr. Greyson majored in psychology at Cornell University, received his medical degree from the SUNY Upstate Medical College, and completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Virginia. He practiced and taught psychiatry at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut, where he was Clinical Chief of Psychiatry, before returning to the University of Virginia 25 years ago. Dr. Greyson’s research for the past four decades has focused on the aftereffects and implications of near-death experiences. He is co-editor of The Near-Death Experience: Problems, Prospects, Perspectives, co-author of Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century, and author of After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. Website: brucegreyson.com Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Summary and transcript of this interview. Interview recorded February 26, 2021 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:19 - The Transformational Power of Near-Death Experiences 00:07:33 - Transformative Effects of Near-Death Experiences 00:10:48 - Leaving the Body and Near-Death Experiences 00:14:08 - Mystical Experiences and Cultural Interpretations 00:17:35 - The Possibility of Consciousness Beyond the Brain 00:21:00 - NDEs and the Subtle Body 00:24:20 - The Relativity of Reality 00:27:59 - The Friendly Universe and Near-Death Experiences 00:31:41 - Investigating Near-Death Experiences 00:35:14 - Parachutes and the Non-existence of Evidence 00:38:40 - The Absurdity of Religious Fundamentalism 00:42:13 - Near Death Experiences and Suicide 00:45:51 - Exploring the Hypothesis of Chemicals in the Brain 00:49:34 - The Question of How It Is Happening 00:53:20 - The Mind and the Subtle Body 00:57:05 - Near-death experiences and the existence of angels 01:00:36 - Reliving Past Actions and Gaining Perspective 01:04:11 - Choices after a Near Death Experience 01:07:38 - The Effects of Near-Death Experiences on Behavior and Perspective 01:11:00 - Multiple Lives and Higher Dimensions 01:14:41 - Eddington's Eclipse Experiment and Einstein's Response 01:18:26 - Science and Spirituality Collaborating 01:22:01 - Time Perception in Near-Death Experiences 01:25:30 - Remarkable Recoveries and Unexplained Phenomena 01:28:59 - Neuroplasticity and Brain Functions 01:32:31 - Evidence of Real Near-Death Experiences 01:36:04 - The Perception of God in Near-Death Experiences 01:39:24 - Peer Groups for Near Death Experiencers 01:42:49 - Living Ethically and Productively 01:46:46 - Farewell and Goodbye