In this episode, I talk with Gregory Shushan, Ph.D., the world’s leading authority on near-death experiences (NDEs) and afterlife beliefs across cultures and history.

We dive into his incredible new book, Near-Death Experience in Ancient Civilizations: The Origins of the World’s Afterlife Beliefs, exploring how NDEs have shaped religious and spiritual traditions from the dawn of civilization.

Shushan takes us on a journey through five ancient world regions—Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and Mesoamerica—revealing striking similarities in their afterlife beliefs despite having developed independently. Could these parallels point to universal truths about what happens after we die?

Drawing from anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, he examines how ancient cultures interpreted near-death experiences and how these interpretations evolved into the foundations of their spiritual traditions.

His book serves as a historical record of ancient NDE accounts from around the world, offering a rare glimpse into the firsthand experiences of those who crossed the threshold of death and returned. Through carefully analyzed texts, inscriptions, and oral traditions, Shushan reconstructs the earliest known reports of near-death experiences and their profound impact on ancient societies.

We also discuss the implications of his research—what it suggests about consciousness, the afterlife, and the nature of reality itself. Shushan shares his thoughts on the connection between DMT and the death experience, exploring whether the psychedelic molecule acts as a gateway to the same realms encountered in NDEs. Additionally, we delve into how near-death experiences may have been the catalyst for the birth of religious and shamanic traditions worldwide, influencing rituals, beliefs, and practices that persist to this day. Drop In!

www.gregoryshushan.com

Gregory Shushan Bio:

Gregory Shushan, Ph.D., 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.

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