UUPS Newsletter 2007

General Assembly News

PSI Symposium has been featured annually on the Program at the UU General Assembly. This year we have an exciting presentation on tap. Saturday, June 23^rd at the UU GA in Portland, Oregon from 1 to 2:15 pm a panel moderated by Roberta Watson, convener of the Clearwater, FL PSI Symposium chapter will explore the nature of Near-Death Exper-iences among UU's and others including the latest research findings by a representative of the International Association of Near-Death Studies, and the implications for life, after-life, and UU Spirituality. Jan Holden, profess-sor of counseling and interim chair of the Department of Counseling, Higher Educa-tion, and Early Childhood Education at the University of North Texas in Denton, and Linda Jacquin, Editor of Vital Signs, a quar-terly publication of  IANDS, will be the panelists.

Jan Holden’s primary specialization is the transpersonal perspective in counseling, which addresses the counseling implications of experiences that transcend the usual limits of space and/or time, and their associated developmental potential. In particular, she has researched near-death experiences and recent-ly served three years as President of the Inter-national Association for Near-Death Studies. She leads a monthly support and interest group in Lewisville, a suburb north of Dallas, for people who have had near-death and/or other transpersonal experiences or who have personal or professional interest in such experiences. Jan is a Licen-sed Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, and National Certified Counselor.

Linda Jacquin has answers based on personal experience and years of talking to researchers and Near-Death Experiencers. Her special knowledge and understanding are the result of two near-death experiences. The first occurred at age 4½ when she drowned while playing in a creek at a church picnic. Her spiritual experience between drowning and resuscitation would permanently influence the course of her life.  Many years later, as an adult, she again experienced clinical death and, among other things, encountered her brother who had died ten days before. The profoundly spiritual understandings she gained from these edge-of-death experiences taught her the true importance of positive life attitudes and actions -- especially: to love yourself; to live everyday as if it were your last; to laugh, play nice, respect those you meet; and above all to enjoy this experience called LIFE.  She learned how utterly important it is to Love, Integrate, Forgive, Embrace. Linda Jacquin is a guest lecturer on the near-death experience and a motivational speaker on creating tools with which to live your life to the fullest. She has given talks across the United States, Canada and in Hawaii, and has appeared on US and Cana-dian radio and TV broadcasts. She was featur-ed on the DVD documentary, ‘Cheating Death -- Beyond and Back,’ a trailer to the movie ‘Final Destination II.’

Linda was the consultant on the Capstone Children’s Book, Near-Death Experiences, and she currently is writing her own book. In April 2006 Linda Jacquin fulfilled her longstanding vision to create a retreat where others who have had near-death experiences could gather their NDEs and the life-changing after effects.  Twenty-six people from across the United States met for three deeply mean-ingful days at the Mercy Center in St. Louis, Missouri. One outcome of the retreat is the new website: www.neardeathexperiencers.org 

The kinds of questions which will be explored are: Are you dying to live, or living to die. What happens when we die? What is a "near-death experience" (NDE)? What is nearing-death awareness? What do you say to someone who is dying? Are you afraid of dying? What happens when a loved one commits suicide? How can you live life to the fullest?