Customer Reviews

Reaching to Heaven: A Spiritual Journey Through Life and Death

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am extremely pleased with Van Praagh newest book. I have read both books in just two days!. From the moment I started reading Talking To Heaven I felt like I couldn't put it down, so after finishing that one I couldn't help myself but to read his newest book Reaching to Heaven, which I found to be outstanding!. Before reading this books, I was living a big depresion, and it affected every part of my life. Then something very cool happen. I had a dream with my my Grandfather who past away about a year ago. In the dream he looked much younger, and he told that he was going to be watching me for sometime. At first I was skeptic, but as time pass on, I decided to give it a try to this books related to the after-life. In my search I found James Van Praagh book and while reading it, I found out that a lot of the stuff my Granfather told was also in the book. From then on I have became a more spiritual person, non-judgmental, and all the depression and toughts of suicide that I have before I started reading this book, have completely gone. Thanks to James Van Praagh and his Powerfull book for putting my life in order and learned to live to its fullest.

While orthodox Christianity offers us a two- or three-dimensional afterlife (heaven and hell for most Protestants along with purgatory for Catholics), James Van Praagh presents us with the unorthodox multi-dimensional afterlife that is much more consistent with varying degrees of achievement on the earthly plane. Part I of the book summarizes the various afterlife planes or spheres from the low spheres, where earthbound souls dwell, many of them unaware they have passed over, on up to the higher realms (Seventh Heaven?) inhabited by more enlightened souls. Much of Part I appears to be based on his metaphysical research rather than what he has learned from his abilities as a medium. Generally, the souls that communicate through a medium seem to be from the middle or lower planes rather than the higher ones.

In Part II, Van Praagh presents some very interesting case histories from his experiences as a medium able to communicate with souls on the "other side."

For those who have not read Van Praagh's first book, "Talking to Heaven" or are unfamiliar with the abilities of a medium, I would recommend reading Part II before Part I.

As someone who has read more than 400 metaphysical/spiritual books, I would place this on my "top 10" list. It's definitely a treasure.

Last night I read this book in one sitting from about 9 PM till 1 AM with a few breaks. It is absolutely fascinating. I liked it even better than his first book because it was details that I have never read before. He wrote in such a way that I completely understood what he was saying and why things are the way he explains them. The feeling I had when reading this book was the same as I've experienced when reading CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD - Yes! I've always believed that and never had someone conceptualize it and put it into words! But I also gained a great deal of new knowledge. I feel much better about my concerns about some of my loved ones who may act in unloving ways due to mental illness, when I wondered if that way of being would continue on after death. Now I have a better understanding of how they continue their existence. If only the world would read & understand this - and other books which point out that love is all there is - then we would, indeed, have heaven on earth!

It's an interesting book, but I have to say I'm a little disillusioned in James Van Praagh. Years ago, back around early 1994, before he became a nationally known celebrity, my mother would drag me over to her television to watch JVP on some obscure talk show. I was impressed then by his seeming decency. My mother asked me to write to him for a reading; she was willing to spend the time and expense to fly thousands of miles to see him. He wrote back saying he was no longer able to read personally anymore, and was dedicating himself to writing and lecturing. Understandable. Yet my eighty-year-old mother was very disappointed, and would have given anything to hear from my late father, as she had belief in JVP's ability to do so. But then, what's this? I keep reading now that any celebrity from soap stars to Cher can request a reading from him very easily, with no trouble at all, no waiting list, nothing. It bothers me also to see that on t.v. he's lost that compassionate, unstaged quality, and he seems to be going in for silly initial games as other psychics do "Do you know someone with a H? Sounds like an H?" He seems nervous, and too eager to please, and his book reflects this shrewd quality.It's very fascinating but I don't know how much now is entertainment, that of him writing under duress to make money, and how much really comes from a gifted inner centeredness.

For over 30 years my sister and I have communicated with the dead through the Ouiji Board. We have had many sessions providing us with information on what it was like after death -- the stages, feelings, etc. When I read Mr. Van Praagh's book, I was totally struck with his descriptions. They were the very same descriptions that we have been told over the years through the Ouiji Board. We were told about the studying level, the resting, suicide, the immediate after-life experience, the guidance and many many more that Mr. VP described.

My dad recently died and we talked with him too several times after his death. Dad described feelings and "places" to us too. His descriptions coincided with the book's. I was struck, comforted and amazed.

Who knows?

I have read many books on mediumship and spirituality. After reading Talking to Heaven, I was convinced that there is no death, and that indeed spirits and my loved ones are very close. Because of the effect the book had on my outlook of life and people I gave it to my 13 year old daughter to read for a book report. She came to me two days later and said she couldn't stop reading it, that it was making her look at life differently. When I was at the book store and saw Reaching to Heaven, it was God sent. I read it in two days and believe that it is a stepping stone from the first in terms of teachings from spirits. Reaching to Heaven provided such clarity about the spirit world and what it is like when you leave your physical body. It is truely a book written from spirits wanting so desparetly to be heard. Thank-you.

This book has given my life meaning, answered my questions, inspired me to explore my spirituality, and filled me with awe! I am 26 years old, and I just lost someone very dear to cancer. This book landed in my lap somehow, and has changed my entire outlook on life, death, and filled me with hope and faith and a new sense of motivation! If you have lost a loved one and grieved their "death", read this book. If you question the afterlife or God, read this book! Everyone who has an open mind and believes there's more to life than this but isn't sure what that is, you've gotta read this book!! :) It is truly the most inspiring book I have ever read! It's easy-to-read, informative, and concise.

I became fimilar with author James Van Praagh by taking his first book, Talking to Heaven, out of the library. Many a time, I am LED to a book, and this was one of the times. That book had such a deep inpact on me, that I obtained Reaching To Heaven as soon as I heard about it.

Reaching To Heaven picks up where Talking To Heaven left off. This book, in some ways, is even better than his first because it probes the spiritual realm even deeper.

Since Mr. Van Praagh is a mediumist, there are still accounts of his readings. These accounts are wonderful and moving, indeed. On top of that, he explains the different "bodies of man", the different planes of the after-life, the death experience, and touches upon the notion of karma and how our thoughts are more important than we think.

I know, today in society, many people may wonder how James Van Praagh has such information, being he never even had a near-death experience. He does talk to the spiritual world, and whether we want to believe such a world exists or not is up to each individual. However, I do believe if more of us had a open mind, we'd allow more miracles to enter into our lives. We, as humans, don't know everything and cannot measure everything in a laboratory. That is part of the mystery of life. James Van Praagh is just one of the many "messengers" that are showing us where to peek beneath the veil. Maybe it's time for us to receive more information as a society, when the world needs it the most.

So, with Reaching to Heaven, we're uplifted, inspired, comforted, and touched. Little did I know, when I had ordered this book, my gradfather had just died, and a pet of 19 years and my godmother had followed shortly thereafter. Having this book was like a blanket on a cold day. For that, I appraise James Van Praagh and his work.

After my aunt passed away, a friend recommended this book to me. This book was almost a guide book of what could be expected. Since losing my mother and all grandparents, I can honestly say that I have received a little peace.

After reading many books by several empowering authors such as Betty Eadie, John Edward, Sylvia Browne, and Tiffany Snow, that I am still reading, my life has opened up to me in such a compelling and wonderful way. This new book is well written, and thought provoking. There are great transforming authors, who shift the consciousness of humankind in a way never known before, and have the courage to reveal their paranormal experiences. "Reaching to Heaven" is one of these.