QUESTION 5: Were there any changes in your religious or spiritual beliefs since your NDE?

Dr. David San Filippo has pointed out how Dr. Kenneth Ring, in his book Heading Toward Omega: In Search of the Meaning of the Near-Death Experience (1985), documented how many NDEs act as a catalyst toward a spiritual awakening for the NDEr:

"What is noteworthy ... is the particular form this spiritual development takes in many NDErs - i.e., the real significance of the NDE here may not be simply that it promotes spiritual growth as much as the kind of spiritual growth it promotes" (p. 144). This awakening appears to move the experiencer toward what Ring (1985) calls a "universalistically spiritual orientation" (p. 145). He defines universalistically spiritual orientation as consisting of:

1.	A tendency to characterize oneself as spiritual rather than religious, per se.
2.	A feeling of being inwardly close to God.
3.	A de-emphasis of the formal aspects of religious life and worship.
4.	A conviction that there is life after death, regardless of religious belief.
5.	An openness to the doctrine of reincarnation (and a general sympathy towards eastern religions).
6.	A belief in the essential underlying unity of all religions.
7.	A desire for a universal religion embracing all humanity (p. 146).