Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations: The Origins of the World's Afterlife Beliefs

by Gregory Shushan, John Tait (foreword)

• 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 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—Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt, Sumer and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia, Vedic India, pre-Buddhist China, and Maya and Aztec Mesoamerica—Shushan expertly explores each civilization’s afterlife beliefs, highlighting their similarities with NDEs and comparing them with each other. He explains how each of these civilizations developed independently of one another, with little or no cultural contact between them, yet there is a series of similarities between afterlife beliefs among these groups too consistent and specific to be mere coincidence. This leads to the profound implication that afterlife beliefs are not entirely invented by they also stem from universal truths derived from NDEs.

Drawing on anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, the author explores how each civilization interpreted NDEs to form their beliefs and presents a rich understanding of how afterlife beliefs develop over time. He also explores the metaphysical implications of his discoveries, including what an actual afterlife would look like based on cross-cultural similarities and differences.

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.

Genres: Death

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

Gregory Shushan, PhD, is the leading authority on near-death experiences and the afterlife across cultures and throughout history. He is the author of The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife; Near-Death Experience in Indigenous Religions; Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations; and The Crossover Experience (with Pim van Lommel and D.J. Kadagian).

Currently Visiting Fellow at University of Winchester, and Research Fellow at the Parapsychology Foundation, Dr. Shushan was previously Honorary Research Fellow at the Religious Experience Research Centre at University of Wales, Perrott-Warrick Researcher at University of Oxford's Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, and Scholar-in Residence at the Centro Incontri Umani (The Cross Cultural Centre), Ascona, Switzerland. He has lectured at universities in the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland and has given numerous talks on his research in nine countries.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comparing the after life expectations 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, Shushan posits that their similiarities are based on the near death experiences of people (most often kings or rulers) from that culture.

Why I started this book: Snagged this on Audible's sale because the title looked so interesting.

Why I finished it: Not what I was expecting. Shushan assumes that the reader has extensively studied and trusts near death experiences, and then starts combing through legends of 5 different civilizations to see how they are similar to modern near death experiences. At times fascinating, and at other times a bridge too far... this was a book that didn't leave me convenience of anything other than the author's desire for a cohesive story.

[Alex DG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry, but does cover a range of ideas