Circle of Honor

Honorees

Spiritual Awakenings International wishes to honor and say thank you to the ground-breaking pioneers in the field of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) and Spiritual Awakenings.

Diane Willis: founder of iSee and Chicago IANDS
Pim Van Lommel, MD: groundbreaking Dutch cardiologist and NDE researcher
Robert Turner, MD, Francis Lu, MD, and David Lukoff PhD: successfully proposed to American Psychiatric Association the creation of non-pathological diagnostic category in DSM-IV for religious or spiritual issues including STEs.
Stuart Sovatsky PhD: pioneer raising awareness about Kundalini Awakenings, directed first Spiritual Emergence service, the Kundalini Clinic
Kimberly Clark Sharp, MSW, LCSW: pioneered NDE support/sharing groups in USA
Kenneth Ring, PhD: co-founder of IANDS, International Association for Near-Death Studies
Alexander Moreira-Almeida, MD, PhD: Founder and Director of the Research Center in Spirituality and Health, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil.
Jyoti Ma: co-founder of the Kundalini Research Network, former director of the Spiritual Emergence Network
Raymond Moody, MD: coined the phrase Near-Death Experience and first defined NDE symptoms
George Lucas: filmmaker, accurately depicted STEs in his groundbreaking Star Wars films
David Lorimer, MA, PGCE, FRSA: Founder and Chair of the Galileo Commission, Global Ambassador of the Scientific and Medical Network
Jeffrey Long, MD: founder of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF)
Yvonne Kason, MD: first Canadian MD specializing in STEs, coined the phrase “Spiritually Transformative Experience” (STE), defined STE types, co-founder of the Kundalini Research Network and Spiritual Awakenings International
Stanislav Grof, MD: co-founder of the Spiritual Emergence Network
Bruce Greyson, MD: co-founder of IANDS, International Association for Near-Death Studies
Norma Edwards, D Div: groundbreaker in raising awareness about Near-Death Experiences – bridging with the black community globally.
Betty Eadie: groundbreaker in raising awareness about Near-Death Experiences with her book Embraced by the Light
Dannion Brinkley: groundbreaker in raising awareness about Near-Death Experiences with his book Saved by the Light
Emma Bragdon, PhD: pioneer in Spiritual Emergence and Spiritual Emergency
John R. Audette, MS: co-founder of IANDS, International Association for Near-Death Studies
PMH Atwater: groundbreaking Near-Death Experience researcher and multiple NDE experiencer
Mark Anthony, JD: Psychic Explorer, groundbreaker in bridging Law practice with Spiritually Transformative Experiences, and coined the term “Afterlife Frequency”

Circle of Honor Honorees no longer living

Richard Maurice Bucke, MD: described STEs in his groundbreaking book, Cosmic Consciousness
Edgar Cayce: groundbreaking American psychic, founder of Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE)
Peter Fenwick, PhD: groundbreaking British end-of-life and NDE researcher
Bonnie Greenwell PhD: co-founder of the Kundalini Research Network
Christina Grof: co-founder of the Spiritual Emergence Network
Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim: coined the phrase “After-Death Communications” in their groundbreaking book Hello from Heaven!
William James, MD: groundbreaking author on STEs in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience
Gopi Krishna: pioneer raising awareness of kundalini awakening in the west in his groundbreaking book Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, MD: pioneering author describing NDEs, ADCs, and other STEs in her groundbreaking book On Death and Dying
Lee Sannella, MD: irst US MD to specialize in Kundalini Awakening
Paramahansa Yogananda: father of yoga in the west, described STEs as normal part of spiritual development in his groundbreaking book Autobiography of a Yogi