Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Complete IDIOT'S Guide To Near-Death Experiences by P.M.H. Atwater with David H. Morgan is a must-have for everyone who is interested in the spiritual aspect of death, as well as in the latest developments of our knowledge of spiritual reality. It can be regarded as a easy-to-read encyclopedia on death and afterlife matters. One account about a near-death experience has been titled "Hold on to Your Socks for This One," and the same title can be applied to many of the other survival stories -- all of them are great reads. At the same time, they are classified in a way that expands our understanding of the afterlife. For instance, the authors analyze the differences of how children describe their journeys beyond in comparison to adults. As children are not conditioned by any religious concepts, in their reports darkness isn't always evil. Many children have reported about "the darkness that knows," describing being cradled in a womb-like darkness. The authors recall that light is not always God's light as well. As we know, word "Lucifer" means "light bearer" to begin with. In other words, our dualistic picture of the universe as a battlefield of light and darkness doesn't always hold up. Since the 60's researchers have come across cases of survivors who wanted to report the hellish kind of journeys they experienced. Yet for quite a long time these accounts were suppressed because of the belief that only bad people like murderers go to hell. Regrettably, studies don't confirm it. It is still not quite clear why in near-death situations some people like family oriented community activists found themselves in hell and others in heaven. The belief that a near-death experience produces only positive changes -- needs to undergo a profound revision as well. Some experiencers feed their egos; some change to the extent of alienation; some become difficult to live with... It was high time to reveal more facts about the afterlife and this book definitely leaves us with a considerable amount of new information. In addition, this book gives us an excellent 'further reading' list, a good glossary of pertinent words that otherwise may be confusing and hard to understand, a list of websites and 'get in touch' list of research organizations.

There is one more thing that makes this book special -- its positive energy in spite of its morbid subject. It seems to stem from the authors' liberating intention to be truthful and a profound knowledge of their subject. It was a pleasure to read this book.

It has been awhile since I read Raymond Moody's "Life after Life". I am amazed at the advances in NDE research through Atwater's book. The book is well organized. It is fun to read, and I could hardly put it down once I got started. It is "clinical" in the sense it provides very good and practical information on types of NDE's (including bad ones), psychological and physiological after effects on the experiencers, impacts on family and friends, life values, personality, as well as subsequent challenges. It is a wonderful book for sympathetic helping professionals. The book also reviews other perspectives and interpretations of NDE's, including scientific materialist views, and is not afraid to engage these perspectives on reasoned terms. Another strength of the book, besides its clinical perspective on after effects, is the situating of NDE's in the larger context of transformative consciousness. Atwater does not hide her light, and her theories of evolutionary consciouness is worthy of consideration. Don't let the "Complete Idiot" title fool you. This is a solid book.

Whether you've had a near death experience or just want to gain a better understanding of what NDEs are all about, you'll be fascinated by "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Near Death Experiences". Author PMH Atwater is fully qualified to examine this phenomenon, since she experienced three near death episodes in 1977 and has been seriously studying the phenomenon since 1978.

I love the way this book is organized into sections that help clarify the NDE. Different types of near death experiences are described in detail, along with the differences between adult and child experiences. Common after-effects such as enhanced psychic abilities, transformations of consciousness, and altered views of reality are also described in detail.

This book is fun to read, because almost every page contains an interesting tidbit of information pertaining to near-death experiences. I am intrigued that the vast majority (80 to 90 percent) of near death experiencers report looking and acting younger, feeling substantially more energetic, becoming increasingly sensitive to sound and light, feeling much less boredom, regarding things as new even when they're not, and healing wounds much more quickly.

This is a great reference book because it's easy to understand, contains numerous near death experience stories, and summarizes current research in the field clearly and succinctly.

P.M. H Atwaters book should be renamed an Intelligent Guide to Near Death Experience for it intelligently examines a difficult subject.Ms Atwater has written a number of books related to nde and her sincerety is reflected in this one.
In a thoughtful and caring way this book provides a solid introduction to anyone serious about understanding n.d.es and provides information for learning about n.d.e.s beyond what the book provides. This would make a good text book for a course on n.d.e.s. It is well organizd, concise, clear without being pedantic or boilerplate.

What I appreciated about this book is the in depth examination of the various NDE studies--warts and all--but it's written in both a compelling and user friendly fashion. No sermon on the mount, no woo woo, no author trying to forward an agenda or sort out their own inner turmoil; here's the info., here's what's been discovered so far, make up your own mind. And, all the while being very upbeat and positive.

Giggle at the title if you like. But the book is hardly for "idiots," or silly in any way. In fact, I have quite a few books about near death experiences, the afterlife, and the research surrounding them. And this is the single most comprehensive and straight forward publication I own on the subject. It's over 400 pages of well-written information and reference for anyone who wants to gain insight into the whole subject - not just one, two or a handful of powerful personal stories. Speaking of personal... I found myself putting the book down several times, just to give my mind a rest. If you've had one of these experiences, you can expect to be stunned at how intense the information in the book can get. I recommended it to one other person who read it and felt the same way. My copy is now about five years old. It's worn and sun faded, and if for any reason I were to lose it, or see it fall apart, it's one of the few books in my library that I would replace.

M.B.Davidson

I promised to work on a couple more books about the afterlife, and wanted to include this one. I went through a period a while back where I grew fascinated by studies of life after death, and delved into a number of different approaches to the topic. Scientific studies, though woefully inadequate to date, make for fascinating reading. I think we're just wired that way.

I read about hauntings, claims of reincarnation, visits to heaven and hell, séances, and just general paranormal events. (My computer just changed my misspelling of "paranormal" to "paranoia;" a reasonable faux pas.) More unproven than scientific, these books nevertheless kept me entertained. There is, however, one subtopic that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest, as worthy of further study.

That's near-death experiences (NDE's). But it's still difficult to locate an unbiased treatment. So biased are both the believers and the debunkers that it's quite a challenge to sort out what's legitimate and what's not.

This Idiot's Guide proved to be a well-balanced introduction. It provides not only accounts of various NDEs, but science's response. Then, the debunkers are debunked, and finally the religious get their say on the matter too. (NDE's do not always support our religious beliefs; in fact, the stories of NDE's tend to irritate exclusivists who can't stomach the idea that non-believers share the same often-glorious experiences.)

Recommended.

Although there is a wealth of information provided in this book, it's jumps all over the map in it's presentation, and never really takes a stand on the validity of near death experiences.