Near Death Experiences Books

If I were to teach a basic college-level course in religion, philosophy, or metaphysics -- call it Spirituality 101 -- this book would be required reading. In fact, it would be the first week's assignment. Having read all or parts of nearly a thousand books dealing with spiritual matters, I cannot recall another that so simply and effectively blends the fundamentals of religion and science.

After providing us with the history and development of Buddhism, including an explanation of how the Soka Gakkai school of Buddhism evolved from the more traditional religion, the author moves to science, beginning with Copernicus and continuing on with Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Darwin, and Einstein. He discusses quantum physics and holograms, pointing out how all of these scientific discoveries are consistent with the Buddhist view of the cosmos.

This book has definitely clarified my understanding of Buddhism. In fact, while I prefer to wear no labels, I think I have been a Buddhist for some time, perhaps an unorthodox Christian Buddhist, but a Buddhist nonetheless.

Life & Death: A Buddhist Perspective by James Hilgendorf is a sensitive and profound look into the eternal questions of God, creation, life, and death from a Buddhist perspective. The wisdom of enlightenment and the unifying truths of Buddhism add a unique dimension to the eternal issues in Life & Death, which gathers numerous quotes from figures such as Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, and Leo Tolstoy to better present its perspective. Of special and particular interest is the transcript of a panel discussion which took place in Los Angeles (July, 2000) and revealed unique, practical insights for contemporary students of Buddhist philosophy. Life & Death is a welcome and highly commended addition to Buddhist Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.

"must-read"! I am serious when I say that reading James Hilgendorf's Life and Death: A Buddhist Perspective was a life-changing experience. It includes actual testimony from someone who had a near-death experience. It has changed the way I will live the rest of my life. I don't know what I would have done without it.
Whether you are a Buddhist or not, this book provides a clear and compassionate understanding of the relationship between life and death, which is often incomprehensible and frightening. Do you have aging parents or relatives? Are you getting older yourself? Treat yourself to a greater understanding of life and death, and relieve your anxieties by delving into Hilgendorf's easy to read explanations.
Basing his analysis on years of research by renowned scientists like Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, as well as Buddhist practitioners and other scholars, Hilgendorf explains why we need not fear death, if we prepare adequately now. How we improve our lives and the lives of others in the present--physically, spiritually, and emotionally--is the cause for having a peaceful death and the best preparation for experiencing even more productive lifetimes to come.

I read this book for my Anthropology of Death course. It is the best book that I have read for any of my classes. It looks at all aspects of death, it integrates different opions from doctors, psychologists, and other people who have had near death experiences. It discusses the stages of dying and the NDE. It was a great book. It gets you thinking about what could be beyond.

I stumbled onto this book after losing my Mother. I didn't want to read just one author who might overload me with his own set of beliefs on the subject. I wanted a representative and reasonably objective overview of the subject, and that is just what this book delivers. It covers the full range from uplifting stories of light and love and ultimate understanding on the other side to academic essays on the cultural and religious significance of near death imagery. You get believers and nonbelievers, scientists and saints between the covers of this collection. I read the whole book and am rereading it now. For a skeptic who really wonders where her Mom is now, it is comforting and thought provoking without being saccharine or preachy.

I became aware of this book after reading the book by Kevin Williams' called Nothing Better Than Death. Specifically the NDE by Mellen-Thomas Benedict. His NDE experience goes all the way back to the "big bang" of the physical universe. His NDE journey has many other interesting enlightening experiences along the way. I am glad I own a hard copy of this book.

When you want to find out where some of the most interesting ideas on the planet came from, this book will help you out. I didn't agree with everything I read in it, but I still loved it. What a great overview of some of the most original thinking of our time.

I first encountered this book as a textbook for a class taught by Dr. H.P. French at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY. He used the book for a history class entitled "History of Reincarnation". The class was a combination of history, comparative religion, and philosophical thought and it was positively fascinating. I have re-read this book many times over the years, and I refer to it frequently. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, I think this is essential reading on the subject and it will help you to understand the various perspectives on the idea of rebirth after death. The authors cover everything from Zoroastrianism to Hinduism to modern Western thought on the subject. This will be a wonderful addition to your library.

This is not just a book..it's an experience that takes the reader on an incredible journey through time and history..and beyond! It's about humankind and its fantastic, diverse spiritual development through the ages, but at the same time also about each and every one of us personally, whoever and wherever we may be.
The writing is so clear, the content so spell-binding and the consequences so mind-boggling I was profoundly immersed in it for weeks.
Sorry Amazon, this one I'll keep forever..to start re-reading soon!

I read both of his books and they are absolutely eye opening to different things you see in life. we think there is no more after we die, what if it is true and we get judged by the way we live our life and how we treat others.

The book gives you a great sense of peace, and knowing. I love his sense of humour especially DOA. For anyone who is dealing with their elderly parents it gives them great insight into the journey with peace and love. Thank you.

I saw the movie, then listened to him on the Art Bell show. Then I read the book and couldn't put it down. I especially liked the part about being able to see future events. It gave me insight about what Heaven is really trying to do! I feel they want to let people know there is life after death. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I would also recommend "At peace in the light." It gives more details about his 2nd trip.

A friend lent this book to me because my brother is dieing and she thought it might help.
Although this book is not about religion, it reaffirmed my faith in God's All-powerful Love. It also explained Heaven add hell to me in a way I could understand it.
"Song of the Phoenix" has Universal Truth's no matter which religion you practice. Thank you, Lily Fairchilde, for writing this book and thank you, Julie, for lending it to me.

Its been some time that I've been on this philosophical kick, so when I happened to chance by the "Song of the Phoenix" I kind of picked it with slight cynicism towards the subject. But boy! was I in for a surprise. This book, given the subject has amazing clarity of thought, and a purity and innocence about it, which I just could not negate. I can say this much that I am more of a believer now than, I was before I read the book. Moreover, it actually influenced me to bring to fruition my long drawn wish to do some community service, back here in India.

Having dealt with the loss of my mother about two years ago, I have questioned the existence of life after death. On a lark, I purchased Lily Fairchilde's book and was amazed by how much it affected me. Ms. Fairchilde's contacts with the dead are informative, fascinating and completely absorbing. She has converted a non-believer into a believer.

I was first introduced to this book by some friends in Scotland over 15 years ago and have wanted to find it and read it again ever since. An American friend recently loaned me a copy of another book by Helen Greaves, TESTIMONY OF LIGHT, and I loved it. Thanks to Amazon.com I now discover both the title, THE WHEEL OF ETERNITY, and the author, Helen Greaves, of the book I read and so much liked earlier.

Helen Greaves is an excellent writer and has the ability to convey spiritual truth in an attractive and compelling way. THE WHEEL OF ETERNITY demonstrates that what we sometimes refer to as 'ghosts' are merely those who have passed over to 'the other aside'. Above all, she demonstrates again that there is nothing to fear in death and that life is eternal. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand spiritual truth.

Read it!

HUGH MAGEE

Helen Greaves is not only an extraordinarily clear telepath with those who have died, she writes with vivid descriptions about the harmful or healing impact of the characters' thoughts when they were alive. This book will inspire anyone to love more deeply, to lift and aid a wider group of people whenever possible.

Reading this little gem of a book, I realized certain attitudes that I too would have to face and correct when I am on the other side. I began to see beyond the surface feelings of past relationships and to write heart-filled letters asking for forgiveness to those whom I have pulled away from in the past--and felt justified. The hate-filled mistress, her lost servant, and the her son's transforming love will inspire you and possibly transform your life. I am ordering a dozen copies to send to my best friends!

So far I have read 4 of Helen Greaves books. The first was "Testimony of Light" Testimony of Light: An Extraordinary Message of Life after Death "The Dissolving Veil" and the last "The Wheel of Eternity" The Wheel of Eternity and lastly "Living Waters".

All three are excellent sources in expanding your vision of life after death.

"The Wheel of Eternity" teaches us that we are capable now of making life changing choices. That what we choose now will affect our life on the other side. Who you are today is who you will be in the next life.

By living a life of goodness and love now, one can overcome many obstacles when one gets to the other side.

Our journey on this earth prepares us for the next. By becoming more self giving and less selfish one learns the true meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the way we were meant to become. It is our true nature.

Their are many insights that Helen Greaves records for us from the 3 souls that she encounters. There is much wisdom to help us better ourselves and prepare us for the journey through death to life in the Spirit.

This is a rich and textured memior of youth in the South. Wayne Greenhaw is one of the great voices of Southern writers. This is his most personal and engaging work. If you love Harper Lee, Pat Conroy, and Truman Capote, you will love this book.

Readers fond of memoirs will not want to miss this one. It is highly imaginative, moving, beautifully written and immensely satisfying. Wayne Greenhaw has written many books, a wide variety, but he has never written one quite like this one, and I guarantee you'll love it. It would be perfect as a gift for someone you love.

Ms. Duran shows how to stick up for yourself in our pushy medical system. Attitude is everything. Heal yourself or blame yourself. There are universal truths in this book and I have benefited from hearing of her experience. I no longer fear doctors, death, or dismemberment. (Well a LITTLE less fear.)

Laurel Duran's book skillfully weaves spiritual truth and suspense with the story of one who followed her own path of healing in the face of the grim prognosis offered by allopathic medicine. She encourages those challenged by illness to listen to their intuition and explore healing alternatives as well as following the advice of medical personnel. The author, who survived a near-death experience, demonstrates that it is possible for those whom doctors have declared "hopeless" to recover fully. The book carries a powerful reminder that we are not alone in this life - the One who has sponsored us remains with us at all times. I promise any reader that reading The Blue Cord will produce laughter, tears, chills, rage, and leave you with an increased appreciation of human courage and the power of Spirit in the face of challenges.

I found "The Book of Reincarnation" by Sirona Knight both informational and accessable. Along with information on reincarnation, it also contained many stories that illuminated the concepts being discussed. I like the fact that it covered future life progressions as well as past life regressions. I particularly liked the section on Dr. Stevenson, a relentless researcher who uses a scientific approach in examining each of the cases involving past lives. I highly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in reincarnation.

I've read a lot of books on reincarnation because it's something that has always interested me. This book gives lots of people's stories, and very convincing evidence for reincarnation. If you like a good book that holds your interest, I heartily recommend this book.

Ellias and Theanna's (his deceased wife and soulmate)story is an inspiring journey into who we really are : spiritual beings who have temporarily incarnated. As we enter the aquarian age,there is more communication with the other realms than ever before. The lessons are about love and suffering, this earthly planet with its gifts and pitfalls, the freedom and evolution of the human race.

I purchased this book some four years ago, when I found it in the Death & Dying section of a local bookshop. I had no idea what I was about to read.

The author of the book is Theanna Lonsdale, deceased wife to widower Elias Lonsdale, who writes through her husband in the manner of that otherwise often laughable New Age invention, "channeling." Reader beware: in the case of this book, the result is a voice of such breadth and astonishing vision that you may find yourself at a loss as to how such vivid, warm and living wisdom could be speakable at all.

Upon her death in the late '90's, the now-deceased Theanna speaks of her transmigration into subtler dimensions, in a Dantean-like tour of heavens and hells that left me quietly transformed by her reports in a way I still have not been able to quite come to grips with. Among her many meetings are included meaningful encounters with Rudolph Steiner, a most heartbroken and despairing Jesus Christ, and "The Lord of Death," with whom Theanna engages in a spiritual battle that leaves her immune to hell and able to tell about it, and many other beings and cosmic realities besides.

What Theanna has returned to Elias to say to the world is that this world, this Earth, is spiritually "blasted" and ready to give way to its spiritual rebirth. In the meantime, the drama that must play out is the difficult exhausting of the possibility for life upon it, with all too much in the way of human suffering, amidst a burgeoning birth of spirituality in its midst nevertheless. According to Theanna, we are here to navigate this bifurcation and find our way into the future against its heightening drama.

The quality of articulation that Theanna displays about the subtleties of spiritual suffering defy the rarest dharmas I have personally encountered. Though I cannot say one way or another whether Theanna is really a living being or not, the razored edge of fresh truth that flies off these pages leaves me more in a state of informed wonder than any kind of skepticism I could otherwise muster.

Most importantly, Theanna's voice itself acts as a strengthener to the soul, encouraging us to withstand our greatest suffering here and to value it as such. Part of why we are here, she says, is to carry the most destructive information about this dying planet beyond its lifespan (and our own), and to take the imprint of its failure (at the hand of mankind's historical condition of being overrun by the demonic) as primary information to carry with us beyond our stay here, in order to share it outward into the wider reaches of the cosmos -- yet untouched by the particular and devastating sorrows that our now ours to endure for as long as we are here.

Where has such a radically honest and yet altogether affirming wisdom as this ever been made available at large? Trust me, this book is at least as alive as it sounds, and well worth the read. Buy it used for a dollar or two and just read the first page....I only hope that it may inform your trust in our place here on this brutalized earth in this unbearable time a fraction as much as it has informed mine, and encourage you thereby to hang on and hold out through whatever lies ahead -- for the sake of everything that lies beyond.

From the opening pages of this extraordinary book:

"A Personal Note

"Our hope and dream is that we can encourage each willing reader to follow a path of destiny that is truly your own. We do not think of death as just the final curtain. It is instead the opening act into the next realm. Each one dies and lives on, changes and evolves, loses everything and finds what they did not know they could ever find again. Our story is your story. Take in it what you make your own and let the rest be for now. This is not meant to weigh you down, but to set you free. If the medicine is a bit strong, self-administer the dosage according to your tolerance. This is a supercharged path we are on and it does need to be taken up wisely, with inward attentiveness. We send you so much love with the words in this book that you can key on that love and imagine that the journey you are taking is entirely here for you. Let death be more life in you, a path into closeness to this Earth. For this is a book of dreams that just keeps on coming true. Whatever your apparent condition, you are beloved of the gods, now and always. Bless you."

For some, the above probably still sounds like New Age pap. So be it. It is but a taste of the reality living inside.