Customer Reviews

Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I needed to write this review after some previous comments here first held me back from buying the book. Eventually I decided to find out for myself: The book is not as bad as some readers make it sound.

Dr. Moody wrote this book with the same careful approach, and after extensive research into this matter, as he wrote 'Life After Life'. The fact that some readers feel turned off by the use of mirrors does not necessarily speak against Dr. Moody, as there were many famous people in history who used the same techniques. Discrediting Dr. Moody more or less only means to blame the messenger for the news.

I came to read these books after I had lost my beloved wife to cancer. Since there were so many lose ends and since I wasn't with her at the time of her death, I really got sick of grief and of blaming myself for leaving her alone during her final hour. My doctor helped my body and my mind by prescribing antidepressants, and these books eventually cured my soul. I needed to have some 'proof' that my wife was not gone forever, and I desperately wanted to contact her to clear up the misunderstandings at her final hour.

George Anderson's conversations with the other side in 'We Don't Die' and Dr. Moody's 'Life After Life' were as convincing as can be that there actually is life after death. My next step then was to contact my late wife.

Whether someone actually wants to communicate with a departed loved-one, or whether someone reads this book to heal his soul, it actually makes no difference. After I was done reading, I felt that there was no more need to contact my late wife. Dr. Moody's reports of the many successful sessions and the conversations held with the departed loved-ones showed me that there are more important things in the afterlife than some minor misunderstandings. And to cure one's soul, this book is well worth the read.

But if someone really wants to have contact with departed loved-ones, Dr. Moody's very high success rate with these sessions seems to prove the fact that there is more to this than just gimmicks and mirror tricks. The reason I might give his book a rating of only 4 is that Dr. Moody, in my opinion, sometimes got a bit too carried away and too excited about the surprisingly high success rate and the outcome of his studies, but that certainly is understandable...

bennid@hotmail.com

I bought this book sight unseen, on the strength of one of Raymond Moody's previous books that I had read and loved, many years ago, Life After Life. I was hoping for more of the same, and was quite surprised to find that this book is not at all about reincarnation, but about mirror-gazing. This was not something I was initially interested in, but having liked his previous book so much, and having paid for this book, I decided to persevere. I'm glad I did. It was a very worthwhile read.

Being new to this subject, I knew absolutely nothing about it before. More than half of the book is devoted to the HISTORY of mirror gazing in various cultures, throughout time. I didn't even know that there had been a history. One of the most fascinating parts was reading all about the ancient Greek oracles, and how they had worked. I had heard of the Oracles, but previously just imagined they had some kind of fortune-teller. Actually, it was quite complicated. People consulting the Oracles had to undergo a month of preparation, in near total darkness. Then there was a huge, underground metal mirror that they were taken to consult, in which they then had visions. Moody and his wife visited the remains of one of the Oracles, and he describes his trip there, and how he was able to find all the various parts of the oracle chambers.

Moody describes how mirror gazing was a well-accepted diversion during the Middle Ages, and before, in almost every culture, and how it went out with the rise of science, especially after 1900. Even the American Indians had a form of mirror gazing which they practiced. Different cultures had different ways of gazing to try to conjure spirits, including looking into water, looking at shiny silver cups or mugs, and gazing into crystal balls (mentioned only briefly).

The most fascinating historical information was a description of how the Xhosa (pronounded Khosa) people of South Africa, in 1856, after fighting many unsuccessful battles with the British, gazed into the river, and saw the spiritis of six dead ancestors. These ancestors convinced the whole tribe that if they would sacrifice all of their cattle to the ancestors, that the ancestors would come back to life, and lead them to a victory over the British. I asked someone I know from South Africa if they had ever heard of this, and they had not, but they suggested to me that I check on the internet. I did, and found MANY references to The Great Cattle Killing of 1856-1857, in which because of the visions seen in the river, they killed ALL of their cattle, AND did not plant their crops. Apparently, the British even tried to stop them. However, they didn't listen, and the subsequent year, 20,000 Xhosa starved to death.

After aquainting the reader with the complete history of mirror gazing, Moody tries to research the practice scientifically. He builds a chamber in which to mirror gaze, following the same methods he has researched from historical cultures. He chooses a number of people, who fit certain criteria-such as being professional, well-balanced, no belief in metaphysics, and lastly, having a relative or friend who has died that they would like to see again, if it were possible. He then has them follow a preparation procedure similar to what the ancients did-although he devised his chamber and preparation from a melange of historical research, synthesizing his own ritual to experiment with. Before he started, he was expecting a very low success ratio, if any success at all. To his surprise, about 50 percent of the subjects reported communication. A number of interesting case histories are included in the book.

Lastly, he gives the reader good directions, and suggestions, as to how they can pursue mirror gazing, if they are interested in trying it on their own.

I would not recommend this book to the average reader. However, if you are interested in mirror-gazing, or a person of a very open scientific mind, this book will interest you. I think Moody has done a careful, scientific study, and presented his findings.

This must be the third time that I've read this remarkable book since its first publication. Every time I've read it, I have been compelled to read it cover to cover as soon as possible. It is difficult to put down- for so much else that I might be occupied with seems trivial by comparison.

Essentially this is a book on calling up waking visions. To do so is to tap into our unconscious minds while still awake. The remarkable part is the claim that this can be done on a predictable, controllable basis that might even provide the rigid standards of repeatability required for traditional laboratory study. Of course I find this concession to science less significant than the fact that it actually works. This is demonstrated by multiple brief case studies conducted by the author- as well as detailed instructions on how to repeat the results on your own. Indeed an alternate title to this book could have been "A How to Guide to Building and Operating your own Psychomanteum." That's a refreshing attitude, that the innate ability to delve into our unconscious lies within all of us without the need of a mediator....

One of the primary motivations for seeking such visions is evidence that we survive death. In this regard apparitions of the deceased (whether spontaneous or incubated) rank with near death experiences and shamanic voyages. They all provide access to the Middle Realm.

Other than the motivation to contact the dead to personally confirm the survival of the personality, it may provide several other incredibly useful functions. Such controlled visions could greatly accelerate the speed, and increase the effectiveness, of psychotherapy. Of course the value of actually contacting deceased loved ones is obvious in grief consoling. Beyond this, since such visions have been known to transcend time (as well as space) there could be application to historical research. The author also points out that an incredible amount of our mythological and literary heritage seems to be the gift of such visions. Indeed, Plato's parable of the cave may very well parody the operation of the great psychomanteum at Ephyra.

My only question is why this book, and the "Theater of the Mind", has not generated greater popular or scholarly interest?

I decided to give this book a try a couple months after the passing of my father. His image never appeared to me in the mirror, and I had no success whatsoever for several nights. Then one night after having been unsuccessful at the mirror gazing, I had the most memorable dream of my life. I'm a little shy to admit this, but the dream was lit up by a bright shining light and telepathic communication. It was better than any sci-fi movie. To this day I keep asking mysyelf, "Was it really just a dream?" Anyway, different strokes for different folks. Judging from the reviews, this is a book you'll either love or hate. I enjoyed it very much.

I was surprised at the few poor reviews, and can only suggest that people who don't like this well-written, courageous and informative book are those who are consciously or unconsciously afraid of the unknown, don't trust people who aren't, or who need a narrower definition of reality to feel secure. That is fine for them, but this book deserves a more open minded look. It is an unusual topic and as such is certainly not for everyone. But Reunions is well balanced between science and the mystical, and Moody's generous and well thought out suggestions for reproducing the experiences he reports offer hope for those who are interested in what can be a healing if not mind-expanding experience. Moody goes out on a limb here and I applaud him for doing it, and doing it so well. This book should be considered a classic in its field, and one I a glad to have on my bookshelf. I have recommended it to many.

Raymond Moody, one of the fathers of the modern-day metaphysical resurgence continues to share his learned insight through this book, Reunions. Life After Life, Moody's preliminary look into the afterlife was expanded in Reunions by Moody's look into the use of the Psychomantium both historically and currently.

After covering The Nature of Visions in Chapter I, Moody gives a quick and informative review of not only the Greek's use of their underground psychomantiums in Chapter II, Gazing Through History, he also delightfully touches on other gazing forefathers such as the Tungus shamans in Siberia with their copper mirrors, the Malagasy of Madagascar, the Pawnee Indians of North America, the Africans of Fez, and the Nkomis tribe of Cap Lopez to name a few.

After grounding the reader in the history of gazing, Moody shares his own experience in selecting property and adapting a gristmill in Alabama into his own therapeutic psychomantium. He relays personal experiences as well as those of his visitors/patients and left this reader with the impression that the use of a psychomantium, wisely done and well directed, could easily lead to lessening of grief and an increase of spiritual insight. Thank you, Dr. Moody.

This is a fascinating book! I could hardly put it down. It describes the use of mirror-gazing to reunite with loved ones who have crossed to "The Other Side." Not only how to do it, but examples of others who have visited with their departed loved ones, and historical references. At times it is repetitive, but well worth reading. Highly-recommended.

Dr. Moody describes simple instructions on how to communicate with a deceased loved one. In a nutshell, he recommends sitting before a mirror in a darkened room and gently gazing into the "empty space" beyond the glass and before long...gulp...you will see a mist develop, and perhaps a face from the other side. I've made several weak attempts at this, but am too afraid I may invite a bad presence into my home. Dr. Moody's numerous anecdotes have frightened me way too much to give it a try.

"Reunions" is an interesting book by Raymond Moody, whose books on near-death experiences are almost common knowledge. In "Reunions", he deals with another paranormal phenomenon: apparitions of dead relatives.

The phenomenon as such certainly exists, but is it real or some kind of hallucination? Sceptics, obviously, suggest the latter. Moody suggests the former. However, his way of doing so might be seen as controversial even among those who do believe in the reality of apparitions. Moody has experimented with methods which induce apparitions in a seemingly "artificial" manner. Essentially, he uses scrying to make the dead appear to the living. Many Christians are absolutely opposed to any attempts to conjure up the spirits of the dead - witness the story of Saul's visit to the witch of En-Dor. Moody tries to save the day by pointing out that the patriarch Joseph was a scryer, but I'm not sure whether that works, since Joseph apparently didn't communicate with the dead.

Be that as it may, "Reunions" is interesting, even intriguing. Moody has built a room he calls the psychomanteum in which visions of the dead and departed can be induced by a kind of self-hypnosis. He tested the device on himself, and it worked in a somewhat unexpected manner. Moody wanted to conjure up his maternal grandmother, but instead his *paternal* grandmother showed up in the room. The experience was very "real" and didn't seem to scare Moody, who conversed with his deceased relative in a seemingly casual manner. Incidentally, Moody still uses the psychomanteum for therapeutical purposes (it's mentioned on his website).

I admit a certain scepticism to artificially created visions. Even if you believe in the immortality of the soul, shouldn't the soul be in Heaven, Hell or reincarnated as another human being, rather than being present in Moody's chamber in Alabama or wherever he resides at the moment?

Still, I'm fascinated by "Reunions". Weirdly, apparitions of the dead seem to have certain things in common: the deceased always look younger than at the time of his or her actual death, their loved ones don't recognize them immediately, they are fully dressed, and its strictly prohibited to touch them.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Noli me tangere...

I know Raymond Moody is revered as the First Great Popularizer of NDE studies, but the more I read of and by him, the more credit I want to give to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. At least she was serious.

Reunions takes a potentially serious subject and spins it as more of a form of entertainment for some, and grief reduction for others. For Raymond Moody, I guess that's all it is.

Scrying, that is, gazing into mirrors or a crystal ball, has been used for thousands of years to "see" into the future. With Reunions, Moody presents his technique for using scrying by mirrors to encounter deceased loved ones. He does a good job of describing the technique, even providing a do-it-yourself guide. But he leaves the reader hanging on, wondering if he thinks the technique is valid or not. Sort of takes the wind out of the sails of the narrative.