Why I Decided to Have A Near-Death Experience
I took a controversial and largely feared hallucinogen to understand more about Near-Death Experiences.
Earlier this year, I began podcasting. The subject of choice for my initial limited series podcast was something I had been interested in for years: cults and thought reform.
I loved working on it, and one of the things I liked the best about it was talking to people about the things people don’t talk about in polite company.
So, I decided my next podcast would be about the biggest taboo: Death and grieving.
I have as messed up a relationship with death as most people, but with a little something extra: I stood and watched my Grandfather, whom I was very close to, die in front of my eyes, while I held his hand.
Something like that is a trauma unlike any other. Adding to that trauma was what came next: a week of planning and executing a funeral, visitations, and interacting with people who, while well meaning, said some profoundly terrible things to me.
No one likes death or talking about it, but no one (except the pros) are good at talking about it, and I think that needs to change.
So, I blocked out the episode topics I wanted to cover by talking to the pros or people with intimate knowledge of these topics.
