cover image The Eternal Journey: How Near-Death Experiences Illuminate Our Earthly Lives

The Eternal Journey: How Near-Death Experiences Illuminate Our Earthly Lives

Craig Lundahl. Warner Books, $24 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-446-52054-6

Seeking to substantiate near-death experience as a source of answers to universal questions about ""the purpose of life and the meaning of death,"" sociologists Lundahl and Widdison offer scientific evidence for the NDE as a ""certifiable phenomenon"" rather than fantasy or medical anomaly. They cite the consistency of accounts of NDEs, emphasizing that this ""spiritual phenomenon"" has been experienced by ""approximately one person in every eleven in the United States."" The bulk of their book is devoted to anecdotal evidence of ""pre-earth life,"" in which many of us supposedly made commitments to ""do things that can only be done on earth."" Disarmingly, they report commitments that were remembered by child NDEers, including to ""Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."" Other elements common to NDEs include descriptions of ""the spirit body,"" a ""city of light"" and a ""realm of bewildered spirits."" Important themes include the contention that ""the family is forever"" because related spirits agree to stick together life after life, and the existence of helpful ""angels."" Virtually all ""NDErs,"" say the authors, agree that what counts most in earthly life are ""unconditional love,"" an awareness of life's preciousness, the pursuit of knowledge and the fulfillment of one's mission. Much of this material will be familiar to readers of books about NDEs by Kenneth Ring, Raymond Moody, Betty Eadie, etc., but the authors do a good job of summarizing and synthesizing the more ground-breaking work of others. Author tour. (Aug.)