Today we’d like to introduce you to Martin Tanner.
Hi Martin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
After graduating from law school, I wanted to develop my communication skills, so I found a weekend position as a radio talk show host at KSL Radio. Near-death Experiences (NDEs) were new in the public eye at that time.
It was May of 1989. To figure out if they were genuine glimpses of the afterlife, or just dreams or hallucinations, I interviewed NDE pioneering researcher Raymond Moody, MD, Ph.D., for three hours on the radio. I thought Dr. Moody was great, but I was still a skeptic.
Then I interviewed a little nine-year-old girl who had drowned in a swimming pool and was dead on the bottom for 20 minutes. I interviewed her entire family and her treating physician. They all had the same story. The little girl couldn’t have remembered a fake story or a dream with such detail. Her descriptions of medical procedures, while physically dead (her heart had stopped, and she wasn’t breathing) her spirit was out of her body, were corroborated by her doctor.
Her description of heaven was detailed and didn’t change when I interviewed her again, almost two years later. Her parents confirmed she had accurately described details of what was happening at home while she was in a coma in the hospital for three days. I was convinced. I have tried to catalog and search out NDEs that are verifiable, and unable for skeptics to explain away.
I’ve heard blind people explain how they could see during their NDE. One was blind from birth and at first confused by her sight. I co-founded the Utah chapter of the International Association for Near-death Studies in 1990. Since then, we’ve had free monthly meetings, open to the public, where people who have experienced NDEs share what happened to them.
IANDS 2022 Conference – August 31st– September 4th
Timeless Oneness: The Luminous Message of Near-Death & Other Spiritually Transformative Experiences
This conference is for anyone who is curious about what happens after death, has had a near-death experience, lost a loved one, and ones who have communicated with those on the other side.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) and related experiences often activate profound enduring changes in attitudes, mindset, and new or intensified spiritual growth. A near-death experience is a profound psychological event, which transcends ordinary experience. It may occur to a person close to death or in a situation of physical or emotional crisis.
Reports of these near-death experiences are universal for all cultures and may describe a sense of lifting out of one’s body, separation from pain, seeing departed loved ones and other spiritual beings, feeling a sense of oneness and complete joy, being surrounded by an indescribable bright light, feeling a sense of peace and love, and seeing and sensing extraordinary colors and music.
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The annual conference of the International Association for Near-Death Studies will be held August 31-September 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is for:
Anyone who has had a near-death experience or related experiences, such as after-death communication, past life memory, or mystical experience;
Anyone who works with such experiences in healthcare or education settings or conducts academic research on such experiences; and
Anyone who is neither an experience nor a professional working with such experiences but who simply has an interest in learning about them–their contents, after effects, and implications for dying and living.
Attendance is either in person or virtual. One attendee said, “Of the many conferences I’ve attended, this one is unique for the exceptional comradery among attendees. Attending has left an indelible memory in both my head and my heart.” For conference details, including detailed schedule and hotel information: https://conference.iands.org/
There is a 4-day in-person Conference, and for our online audience: 2 Livestreams with simultaneous programming!
There are various ticket options for days and events.
This conference includes:
2 FILM Premieres with Discussion
Spanish NDE Videos and Discussion
Personal Accounts of Inspirational NDEs
Up-to-date Reports by Expert Researchers
A Live Participatory Experiencer’s SHARING Lounge
Morning Meditation and Music
Military/Veterans NDE Discussion Group
Healer’s Room (Optional Healing Sessions in-person)
Plus 8 WORKSHOPS (in-person only, not recorded) – requires a separate registration
Full Day Pre-Conference: Reiki Level I Certification (6 hrs) – requires a separate registration
Free in-person Thursday Lunch with Presentation by the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (BICS)
Plus Video REPLAY Access for 180 Days!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Covid has been especially difficult. We were prohibited by Salt Lake County from the meeting, as a “non-essential” service or group.
We have been meeting monthly again for about a year, but many people attend by Zoom instead of in person. We hope to grow our in-person meetings again to our prior levels, about 200 a month.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Our Utah IANDS chapter focuses directly on NDEs.
Other IANDS groups branch out into other areas, such as energy healing, mediums, clairvoyance, etc., but Utah IANDS only focuses on NDEs. That is written into our bylaws and mission statement. This has been a winning approach for us.
All are welcome and can find us at IANDSUtah.org. International IANDS is having a Conference in Salt Lake City over Labor Day weekend. This is a rare opportunity. There will be dozens of speakers over four days. For more information go to IANDS.org.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
When we first started Utah IANDS, I would have told you everything involves a bit of luck, some good, some bad. But I’ve now heard first-hand well over 600 NDEs from people who say there is no luck, there are no accidents, and nothing is a fluke.
I cannot explain that, but I have come to believe it. I believe there is a greater plan for each of us that we recognize, and our individual lives are tailor-made for us. We learn and progress from the good and bad we encounter.
Pricing:
- Full Conference ticket In person: Thursday through Sunday $349 / $389 member/nonmember before August 16
- Single Day tickets In person by day Thur, Fri, Sat, or Sunday $99 / $129 member/nonmember before August 16
- Live Stream + Conf. Recordings Online: $149 / $179 member/nonmember
- Full Conference ticket In person: Thursday through Sunday $399 / $439 member/nonmember after August 16
- Single Day tickets In person by day Thur, Fri, Sat, or Sunday $109 / $149 member/nonmember after August 16
Contact Info:
- Website: conference.iands.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iands_nde/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IANDS.NDE
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IANDSvideos
- Other: https://iandsutah.org/
