1) Sesame, I found an interesting read for you...It's just the first article on the page. I don't know who writes it, but it seems to come from an Eastern perspective and not a drug one. That said, the man's description of ego dissolution largely matches my own:
http://www.intentblog.com/archives/2...its_dis_1.html
Complete ego dissolution is rare for me. Personally, I consider it to be that state where every conception of self breaks down-- where I cease to wonder "where am I?" or "who am I?" but I begin to wonder "what am I?" and eventually the "I" leaves the equation entirely. It's like kissing God in my estimation.
2) Sensory shutdown is a sort of relative term, and used more to describe dissociatives against the much more popular pschadelics. As pscyhadelics can be enhanced by sensory input, dissociatives largely ignore it. That said, you can "surface" even from the depths of dissociation and get fragments from the senses. In a future post, I will hope to make this explanation more clear through a personal description. All things considered, LOTS of our states of consciousness do not rely on sensory input, dreams included.
3) "Near death" is framework that some people have chosen to describe these frames of consciousness. That is not to say that people were necessarily close to dying, but they perceived this state of consciousness this way. For instance, as people lose touch with their bodies, they may not be able to tell that they are still breathing. Some people panic, some do not. But many interpret this frame of consciousness as feeling like a symbolic death of sorts. I think this is a useful framework to view the altered state in, but I suppose my own analytical nature coupled with my education of chemicals and their effect has always kept me from feeling "near death." I am an explorer, and I wish to push my consciousness to the very brink, thus I seek the highest doses I can without getting into lethal territory.
That said, I wouldn't call the meditative state "near death" anymore than I would the dissociative. I might say that the term "near death" could be an applicable framework for viewing either state of consciousness in. However, the primary difference is how one arrives at it. Meditation takes years of work. A dissociative can take you there on the first try. Perhaps this is why psychonauts have adapted the term "near death" to describe their sometimes paniced experiences whereas meditating gurus have not.