Brings together inspirational accounts of near-death experiences and considers the universal truths that such experiences can teach us about life and death, as examined by a student of comparative religions. Tour.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Readers who stop short of this book's final section may dismiss it as a savvy marketer's creation: multicultural spirituality focusing on near-death experiences replete with angels and dazzling light. Furthermore, Berman's list of virtues includes self-actualization, ecological sensitivity and tolerance, while the roster of vices lists materialism, dogma and ecclesiastical authority. Berman, the award-winning author of The Search for Meaning and The Courage of Conviction, is without doubt a gifted communicator in the spiritual idiom of the 1990s; he has not, however, succumbed entirely to spirituality lite. From the book's premise that death teaches us how to live to its ethics-based conclusion that "when you love something,... responsibility quickly follows," Berman proclaims the goodness of creation without losing sight of the starker side of classical mysticism: sin, judgment, hell. The book's always fascinating and sometimes sensational stories are anchored by the last two chapters, in which Berman works out an "eternal theology" that ranks with the best of contemporary wisdom literature. (Dec.) Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Berman, an oral historian and author (Search for Meaning, Ballantine, 1993), believes there are common themes and insights into near-death experiences (NDEs) through which we can obtain a greater appreciation of life. His collection of interviews is less comprehensive than Near Death Experience: A Reader (Routledge, 1996), but it is more thorough in underscoring common themes in NDEs. Most NDEs relate the participant's need to become closer to his or her God, to gain knowledge; individuals do not lose a fear of dying but do lose a fear of death. The transformation in the individual after the incident demonstrates that he or she has had a glimpse of a profound spiritual vision. Berman includes in this collection Howard Storm, a former art professor, whose NDE was a trip to a dark place (hell); in his despair he called to God for assistance and moved to the bright light. Whatever the outcome, individuals feel self-transcendence, timelessness, ecstasy, and unity. A compelling study; recommended for public libraries.?L. Kriz, West Des Moines Lib., Iowa
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A synopsis for all that I have become to believe in about how to live a good life,
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This review is from: The Journey Home: What Near-Death Experiences and Mysticism Teach Us About the Meaning of Life and Living (Hardcover)
Berman's book is not thick, but he has succintly covered large and important issues about the meaning of life and how to live a spiritually meaningful life. He compares near-death exepriences with mystical experiences, present and past, and draws intellectually and logically brilliant conclusions of the common elements in them both. He does not concentrate on what NDEs may tell about our existence after death, but makes these accouts (combined with accounts of mystical experiences) a basis for a perennial philosophy, or as he prefers to call it eternal theology. His eternal theology, close to Aldous Huxley's perennial philosophy, is, as far as I am able to judge, the best basis for a tolerant, encompassing, unitive religion, that an intellectually honest person can accept in the Global Village we are living in. This is not an intellectual tour de force, the book is written with much warmth, gratitude for the gifts of life and humility. It's central message is the importance of love for a truly spiritual and fulfilling life. Read it! You will be richer afterwards.
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