Your subconscious is the part of your mind of which you are usually unaware but that plays vital role in your life.

Once you’ve connected to your subconscious through hypnosis, you can have actual conversations with it.

The information gained through interactions with the subconscious often leads to much more effective therapy. Read more here.

Dr. Bruce Greyson, a specialist in psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia—and one of the world's leading experts on near-death experiences—has been studying these phenomena for more than four decades. Dr Greyson was elected a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the highest honour bestowed by this organization.

Newsweek spoke to Dr Greyson about his work and what people's reports of near-death experiences (NDEs) reveal about the nature of life, death and consciousness. Our favourite quote:

“ When you lose your fear of death, you also lose your fear of life. Because you're not afraid of losing everything, you're not afraid of taking chances and living life to the fullest. And it makes life much more meaningful, and much more fulfilling. They realize in the NDE that they're not actually individuals, but they're part of something much greater than themselves. So that the problems that they had, which are still there are no longer seen from the same perspective. And they see these problems, not as something to run away from, but to try to learn from and grow from.”

Research in this area was pioneered by Dr Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who spent much of his career collecting and examining such cases. Typically, between the age of 2 and 4, such children start talking about their previous life, often speaking about the events that led up to their death, and sometimes using the present tense as if their previous life was still continuing. In some cases, Stevenson was able to identify the person the child claimed to be and verify the information by speaking to relatives of the deceased.

Since Stevenson’s death, other researchers have followed his lead. Now around 2500 reports of children’s past-life memories have been studied. Research has shown that normally the children’s reported previous lives ended prematurely and unnaturally, often involving violence, suicide, or an accident. In almost three-quarters of cases, the “previous personality” died relatively young. A quarter died before the age of 15. On average, the previous personalities died four-and-a-half years before the birth of the children with whom they were associated.

Modern researchers meticulously check the accuracy of children’s accounts, analyzing any possibility that they gained information through more mundane ways or were fantasizing, or that their parents may be embellishing their stories. Often, researchers give the children recognition tests—for example, showing them a set of photos and asking them to pick the one which relates to their previous personality. They might be shown pictures of houses and asked to pick the one their previous personality lived in. They might be shown pictures of women and asked to pick which was their previous personality’s wife.

Read the full article here.

University of Virginia - Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS)

An experience of contact with or receiving messages from a departed loved one is termed after-death communication (ADC). ADCs have been reported across the world since time immemorial. They are a ubiquitous human experience.

ADCs occur in all types of people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, education level, income, type of death, duration of the relationship, time passed since the death, or socioeconomic or religious standing though an emotional connection seems to be an important component.

ADCs are common and a natural part of the grieving process. Because people can be hesitant to share their experiences due to perceived social stigma, reports are likely underestimates but different research studies have estimated that 30-90% of adults have had at least one ADC. However, not everyone has one and “the presence or absence of ADCs does not reflect on the nature or quality of the relationship with the deceased”.

ADCs are often, but not always, positive and comforting. They may result in a decreased fear of death and an increased sense of spirituality. In addition to demonstrating a continuing bond with the departed, ADCs may also lessen anger, guilt, and anxiety and facilitate a belief in an afterlife. Negative ADCs may be the result of misunderstanding the experience, representing a conflict with an existing worldview, or adverse responses from others who are unaware of the healthy nature of ADCs.

Experiences termed spontaneous ADCs involve unexpected or uninvited contact. The two most common types of spontaneous ADCs are sensing the presence of the departed and visitation dreams.

It has been suggested that these “dream ADCs” might more appropriately be called “sleep ADCs” because, unlike REM dreams, they “typically feel subjectively real and persist vividly in memory for years”. These dream or sleep ADCs or visitation dreams have common characteristics which are described below.

Dream ADCs

Experiences of after-death communication that occur during sleep can involve:

• details that remain intensely vivid and impactful for years

• an opportunity to say good-bye, address unfinished business, and/or advance the relationship

• the departed speaking or not speaking; the exchange of ideas occurring with or without words

• the departed appearing as if in the prime of their physical life

demands for contact may serve as obstacles to communication.

Read more at Windbridge ADC Dream Fact Sheet.

Click for Children Who Remember Previous Lives – Academic Publications

Near-Death Experiences – Academic Publications

Click the link for more academic publications and books by the University of Virginia Division Division of Perceptual Studies, who states:

“Current mainstream science and philosophy portray mind, personality and consciousness as nothing more than byproducts of brain activity encased within our skulls and vanishing at death. Through its research, DOPS strives to challenge this entrenched mainstream view by rigorously evaluating empirical evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death and that mind and brain are distinct and separable.”