The near-death experience (NDE) is not only a revelation of the most profound and soul-shattering beauty, but, as research shows, it is something that has the power to drastically transform and improve the lives of those who survive this kind of encounter with death. Lessons from the Light: What We Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience is unlike other books on the NDE in that it is written not so much about these life-changing encounters as such but for persons who have never had an NDE themselves yet wish to learn from those who have. Lessons from the Light recounts not only many inspiring NDEs from persons of all ages (including very young children) and classes, but for the first time also discloses Dr. Ring's collection of cases where persons journey beyond the Light as well as the NDEs of blind persons. Such remarkable testimony is then used as a basis to provide helpful guidance and practical exercises in order for readers to live a life of greater self-insight, self-compassion, and concern for others, as well as to be better prepared for death, dying, and bereavement.
Even if you never have a near-death experience (NDE) on the surgeon's table, in a car accident or during a heart attack, you can reap the spiritual benefits claimed by NDErs. Through meditation, study and mental exercises, you can tap into the healing energy of the loving, nonjudgmental Being of Light glimpsed by many at death's door. You can simulate a panoramic life-review of your entire existence, catapulting your values away from competitive materialism and toward love, service, cooperation; and you can integrate the insights commonly reported by NDErs into daily practical living. That's the message of this manual that, notwithstanding its aim of reaching out beyond the lucky privileged NDErs to the masses, mostly preaches to the converted. Veteran NDE researcher Ring (The Omega Project), here writing with Swiss NDE investigator Valarino, includes many previously unpublished NDE cases and distills techniques he has taught at workshops and university courses. In a book that reads like a New Age seminar, Ring presents intriguing evidence to support his belief that NDEs represent an authentic, objective experience, not a self-protective hallucination or a neurological artifact of a dying brain. This material includes reports of out-of-body experiences, children's NDEs, blind people gaining sight during NDE episodes, and NDErs whose brush with death apparently unleashed paranormal or healing abilities. Skeptics will relish punching holes in each of these phenomena, and a more rigorous approach would have been welcome for the already overcrowded NDE shelf.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
