Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Light: Lessons from Heaven

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this book, Dannion Brinkley and his wife Kathryn Brinkley, examine his three near death experience(NDEs) in perspective, comparing them with each other. As it happens, each of these NDEs had very specific messages to convey and equally specifc lessons to deliver. These injunctions and decrees that Dannion actually makes are, in effect, quite well known, almost trite. For instance, one is asked to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, exercise at least five times a week, set aside time daily for meditation. One is reminded once again the power of love, the power of belief and the power of prayer. One is also provided with a number of potent affirmations. However, coming from Dannion's perspective, the very same cliches (that could bore us to tears if they came from somebody else), have a different clang, a different energy. It is as if one were receiving very common sense advice from a friendly and caring older brother, one who is honestly interested in our welfare. A better intermediary between the so called higher echelons of Heaven and the lower planes of human consciousness would be hard to find. For one quality that Dannion Brinkley is completely free of, is self glorification. His understanding of our faults and foibles is very strong and the main reason why his message is so powerful is because it is so totally non-judgemental.

One important topic that Dannion Brinkley specifically discusses is self pity and self martyrdom. He shows, in exceptionally clear terms, how incredibly toxic the 'victim' mindset can get. I could say more, but I do not want to risk a 'spoiler'.

Another important subject that is covered in this book is the life-review. For him, the pain associated with the first was excruciating, but the successive experiences of the same were more gratifying, the positive was overwhelmingly greater, and the negative, significantly weaker, by comparison.

Speaking for myself, this book gave me a sense of what it is to experience being pure consciousness and totally beyond the fear of death. This sentience is not so easily conveyed by many writers. For, consider the all too familiar dictates made by our modern wisdom keepers, (by these, I mean our doctors, lawyers, professors and other experts) who keep our individual and collective welfare in mind. We, the plebeians, have a natural tendency to delight in defying these dictates, and breaking the rules, just because we can assert our individuality that way. Getting these very rules from Dannion Brinkley's specific imprint of consciousness gives them a power all their own.

This book is well organized and a very fast read. I am a slow reader, but I read it in one and a half sittings.

Strongly recommended, especially in connection with the countdown to 2012.

Brinkley has come of age. This is surely his finest work. It combines his life details ['dying' 3 times] for new readers with practical, easy to read advice and pieces of prose which can only be described as inspirational.
Health-wise Dannion seems to be permanently on the edge of 'going home' to spirit, and whenever he decides to go [let us hope he stays here for many more years] he has already left an amazing legacy.
I have read many accounts of 'heaven/the 'other side.' This is not only the most believable, but a recipe for helping create heaven on earth.
A remarkable book from a remarkable man.

Dannion & Kathryn have outdone themselves this time. Very well written and easy to understand. These two also walk their talk... I'm proud to say I know both of them to be beautiful people who really care about others. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to understand what is in other realms.. Blessings !!

This book makes you conscious of the fact that every thought word and deed in this life affects you and others in this life and then.....onto the other side too. You are accountable for your life and actions. We all count. Every last one of us. Every thought is energy and manifests itself. Prayer is powerful and it really works. Pray for the living and pray for the dead too. They get stuck too. Life goes on and on and on. Cause and effect. There are consequences for all actions. Be conscious always.
You can affect generations to come by what we do or don't do now. Every second counts.Be conscious in every one of them. Be your authentic self and that is your gift to the world. Bring as much joy to this life as you can and help others bring out and shine their light too. It is why you are here. SO SHINE!!!!!!!

If the Secrets Of The Light are important, as Brinkly says, then why is the book all about him and so little about the Secrets Of the Light? Honestly, I only read half the book, then gave up and moved on to another book and another author. After listening to Brinkley on C2C radio I got this book on the promise that it is the best book of all of his, with no need to read the previous ones. Supposedly it's all in this book. I was hoping to read about what he'd learned during his visits to the afterlife. Instead I'm reading all about him and his personal experiences. That's wonderful, I'm not unhappy with that part, however, so far I've not read anything regarding the Secrets Of The Light except tidbits that don't tell much at all. And the book, according to the title and promotions, is supposed to be about the Secrets Of The Light. Maybe if I go back to it and stick with it he'll start offering what he claims he was taught and is so very important to read about. I was sincerely trusting this loving individual and what he'd promised in this book when I'd listened to him on the radio. I wish I didn't have to write a negative review, as he and his wife do so much for our veterans. I feel like I should've donated the amount of the book to that purpose instead. Sorry.

I purchased this book when I purchased Saved by the Light. I didn't know Dannion had published two books let alone three. This book arrived first and I just couldn't wait for Saved by the Light, I started to read the last one first (go figure)!! It is truly a book of discovery. I had to put the book down several times and just think about what I had read. I reread several passages several times.
I have lent this book to my daughter who has a severe eating disorder but a real infinity with people who are dying (she looked after my father when he was terminally ill). She has remembered an NDE she had herself when she was 15yrs old and in a car accident(I had forgotten the NDE). This book has helped to change my daughters concept of life and got her onto her path of recovery. She has also contacted our local Hospice to become a community supporter for the families of the terminally ill. Thank you so much Dannion and our protectors in the universe. She remembers the beings in the light and the feeling of total love.
This book has really rekindled my spiritual path. I have believed for some time that forgiveness and love are the most important things we do in this lifetime and I am so happy to see this corroborated. I have so much to be grateful for, the opportunity to learn though this book is one of those very special things that are put in our path at the time we need them. Thank you Universe and thank you Dannion, your words are truly inspirational.

HarperOne should be ashamed of publishing "Secrets of the Light: Lessons from Heaven" by Dannion Brinkley. The book is that bad.

Brinkley has been to this well several times before. He's written other books that purport to describe his alleged near death experiences. This book covers the exact same material in other books published by Brinkley.

Brinkley has been accused of falsifying his autobiography. Brinkley has made outlandish claims about being a CIA assassin in Laos. The LA Times and the book "Stolen Valor," quoting public records and Marines, report that Brinkley was stationed in Georgia, not in Laos, during his military service.

Brinkley's narcissism overwhelms every page of "Secrets of the Light," just as it did his earlier books. To his credit, Brinkley is aware that he is self-absorbed, and he announces this frequently. Brinkley's theme: "Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, aren't I special? And let me mention me one more time." You never get a sense of any of the people he mentions, from his mother to his girlfriend Sandy to his present wife. You never get a sense of any place he mentions, any object, or any event. It's as if Brinkley is surrounded by a shroud that muffles him from contact with anything other than his own ego. Other people, places and events are just distant satellites around the all-consuming entity that is Brinkley. I don't know if Brinkley is telling the truth about his near death experience, but one has to wonder if meeting God face to face would not render a survivor humbled and able to register the panoply of creation outside of one's own ego.

Finally, contrary to the title, there are neither "secrets" nor "lessons" in this book. In flat, lifeless prose that must have shamed its editor, Brinkley recommends love, faith, and prayer. You can find much better written exhortations to love, faith and prayer in other, better books.

Dannion Brinkley and his wife Kathryn offer this beautifully written account of Dannion's experiences of the afterlife during his near-death experiences. The accounts are told in Dannion's gruff and open-hearted style, and the story is vastly readable. The way the narrative moves between gritty details of his horrific physical disasters and stunning spiritual encounters gives the book a refreshingly robust quality.

The first two-thirds of the book are devoted to the details of Dannion's life, his rough, suffer-no-fools style, and how that collided with the experiences that hurled him out of his body, and into the afterlife. He endorses, not religiosity, but spirituality. "More often than not, I tend to view life as if I were still in Heaven, looking back at myself here." This he uses as his yardstick for kindness, for staying present. "I don't worry about having faith in Spirit. I worry about Spirit having faith in me."

The final portion of the book is devoted to examining the lessons he feels were passed to him during his experiences. These lessons are the Secrets of the Light. While some of these lessons are within the bounds of what one might expect, they are presented with a stark certainty and a clarity that cannot fail to penetrate and touch the reader. For example: "Every single thing that one of us thinks, says, or does impacts the rest of humanity on one level or another."

This book is a zesty spiritual autobiography, a stunning reminder of the unseen meaning in our lives. It's a book you may want to devour, hungrily, or keep by your bedside, and dip into to refresh your soul each day.

Gillian Holloway,[...].The Complete Dream Book, 2nd edition: Discover What Your Dreams Reveal about You and Your Life

The first half of the book where Dannion describes his experiences on the other side are fascinating and filled with an intensity that radiates from every page.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the second half of the book which plods along like every other self-help book you've ever read.

I think what is ultimately frustrating is it seems that, despite his extraordinary experiences, he has been unable to complete what was clearly an important directive - the construction of the spiritual centers defined in his first book.

Why is this? What is holding this back?

Surely with all of the publicity he has generated he should have been able to set up a non-profit organization for the creation of such centers.

C'mon Dannion, do what you set out to do. Enough with the excuses.

As for not wanting to talk about the blue-grey limbo-land, what is the problem? Bob Monroe described these as "Belief System Areas" at least twenty years ago. It's not like its a new idea.

Those centers are needed. You have the knowledge. Either put it out there (as in the next book you write should detail exactly what is needed for each room and so on) or do it yourself. Spiritual capitalism.

Dannion Brinkley's Secrets of the Light was good, but his first book Saved by The Light was better. For some reason Secrets of the Light did not inspire me like his first book did, but overall it was a good book.