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A review by richardrbecker
Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon - Survival of Bodily Death by Raymond A. Moody Jr.
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
It wasn't lost on me that I was reading Life After Life while two researchers suggested consciousness is a quantum wave that passes through microtubules in our physical brain. These two theories — those presented by Moody and those proposed by Penrose and Hameroff — fit beautifully together. It makes sense that NDE experiences would present themselves as the quantum wave being severed from those microtubules, even temporarily.
While Life After Life feels a little thin—more of an NDE foundation—for someone who has read or seen similar accounts in books, articles, television shows, and movies, it's easy to see how it was groundbreaking in its day. Still, Moody succinctly organizes and defines the field, complete with select testimonials, providing a compelling study baseline. So, even if the reading feels more introductory than I anticipated, it's still very beneficial.
Mostly, Moody breaks down the most common similarities shared by people who have NDE experiences: feelings of peace, a noise, a dark tunnel, out-of-body experiences, meeting others, beings of light, reviews of life, borders between planes, and coming back. Not everyone experiences all of these things, but most people seem to share many of them — regardless of race, religion, etc., presumably.
After digesting the various accounts and summations, it's challenging to dismiss the NDE phenomenon outright, even when Moody presents alternative possibilities. The book provides a thought-provoking case that death may not be the end but a new beginning, perhaps a notion that becomes clear after leaving this life. Who knows? Maybe our life is a period of sleep and forgetting, and death is an awakening, with the destination somewhere where constraints to time and space are not more.
Ideal for anyone who wants to refresh their understanding of NDE or refresh and reorganize their understanding, Moody's book is the perfect go-to for knowledge. Never mind that it was originally published in 1975. The author has refreshed it, and the edition I read included a new forward and afterward. Interesting stuff.
While Life After Life feels a little thin—more of an NDE foundation—for someone who has read or seen similar accounts in books, articles, television shows, and movies, it's easy to see how it was groundbreaking in its day. Still, Moody succinctly organizes and defines the field, complete with select testimonials, providing a compelling study baseline. So, even if the reading feels more introductory than I anticipated, it's still very beneficial.
Mostly, Moody breaks down the most common similarities shared by people who have NDE experiences: feelings of peace, a noise, a dark tunnel, out-of-body experiences, meeting others, beings of light, reviews of life, borders between planes, and coming back. Not everyone experiences all of these things, but most people seem to share many of them — regardless of race, religion, etc., presumably.
After digesting the various accounts and summations, it's challenging to dismiss the NDE phenomenon outright, even when Moody presents alternative possibilities. The book provides a thought-provoking case that death may not be the end but a new beginning, perhaps a notion that becomes clear after leaving this life. Who knows? Maybe our life is a period of sleep and forgetting, and death is an awakening, with the destination somewhere where constraints to time and space are not more.
Ideal for anyone who wants to refresh their understanding of NDE or refresh and reorganize their understanding, Moody's book is the perfect go-to for knowledge. Never mind that it was originally published in 1975. The author has refreshed it, and the edition I read included a new forward and afterward. Interesting stuff.