Customer Reviews

We Live Forever: The Real Truth about Death

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What is the afterlife like? That's what I want to know. I want to read anything that will tell me.

This book leaves me wanting a lot more. It touches on the question, but doesn't give enough substance.

It tells us that there are a dozen heavens, a dozen hells, and many realms that are finer than heaven. That is the closest it comes to telling us what the afterlife is like. But that is clearly not enough.

How do you know there are a dozen hells? Describe each one. Make us feel what it is like to be there. The same for the heavens. Make each one of them real for us. Make them so real that we will be able to recognize which one suits us best. It's too easy to say there are a dozen of them. That means nothing to me. It's just words without a real connection.

And if there are a dozen of them, what makes you think that you will see your loved ones in the one you are going to. They may just as well be in another one.

We're told that there are eleven levels in the afterlife. The ninth is "the end of manifest vibratory creation". The tenth is "the void, nonvibratory or pure consciousness". The eleventh, the highest, is "full at-one-ment and entry into states of consciousness beyond human comprehension".

Tell me something. Is this supposed to mean something to me? What the hell is the end of manifest vibratory creation? Do you understand what I'm saying? This book is throwing words at me, and they don't mean anything to me. I want to feel and understand this.

And don't start telling me it is beyond human comprehension. You are writing a book to be read by humans. We comprehend things. Make us feel it. Get beyond occult-speak and make it a real and meaningful experience for us.

The problem seems to be that the author really doesn't know, and the thousands of people she interviewed really don't know, what the afterlife is like. But with thousands of interviews with people who have been there, I would hope for more, and I would expect more.

Contrast this book with the first two books by Michael Newton, called Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls. Those books are full of detail on the afterlife. There is so much more "meat and potatoes" in those two books. They fill you up a lot better.

My biggest problem with the Michael Newton books is that nobody else wrote a book corroborating his findings. Detail is there in abundance. I'm waiting for one of his proteges to write a book that expands on his, and gives us a lot of new material.

The Newton books also make me feel more empowered. They make the afterlife seem like a place where we actually have some control over what happens. It's a place I can't wait to arrive at and enjoy. As for the afterlife in We Live Forever, it feels too impersonal and unsatisfying to me. I didn't even get one good view of one of the heavens. Why would it be meaningful to me to be told that there are 12 of them, and I don't know what any one of them is like.

The really frustrating part of it is that I don't think the author knows either. If she does, what do I have to do to get her to tell me? If she knows a lot more than she revealed in this book, I feel like shouting at her that she really has to consult with me before writing any more books, because she is missing the boat.

If she really knows something, her next book would be a hundred times better than this one if it is simply an interview with me questioning her. I'd bring her out, and elicit the important information. That's why this book leaves me unsatisfied.

If I were teaching a college philosophy course, I'd give only passing recognition to all of the well-known philosophers in history -- Pascal, Descartes, Sartre, Hume, et al -- and get to some real philosophy, the type of material discussed by P.M.H. Atwater in this 158-page book.

All those old philosophers do is discuss whether God exists or whether He, She, ot It is a product of the need to believe in something greater, how God can permit evil, etc., etc. They rarely get to the root of the problem and address whether consciousness survives physical death. It is necessary to deal with that for everything else to unfold. Knowing that there is a Higher Intelligence, Creator, God, Cosmic Force, whatever name we choose to give to Him, Her, or It doesn't in itself help us understand the purpose of our lives or give real meaning to them. To put it another way, we have to first look for survival of the consciousness and let God emerge from that. If we look for God first, we never get off the ground, because God is beyond our comprehension. And so all those old philosophers just went around in circles searching for God and meaning in life.

The near-death experience (NDE) is one phenomenon that helps us better understand what happens after death. While NDEs were taking place well before Drs. Raymond Moody and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross started writing about them 30 or so years ago, there was no significant research before them. The author had three NDEs and tells us what she learned from them as well as from extensive research she has done with the NDE phenomenon. God, the meaning of life, and the afterlife were all revealed to her, much as they were to other near-death experiencers. "Instintively, I knew the middle was the centerpoint of creation, God's portal," she writes. "As I moved toward it, I was engulfed by a force that I knew, I absolutely knew.was the presence of God. I have no words to describe what happened to me in that presence, except to say that the memory of it still causes me to weep. Instantaneously, I felt as if I knew all things. Yet even more was revealed about the inner workings of creation and consciousness, until it seemed as if I would surely burst fromt he sheer immensity of the knowledge pouring into me."

While Atwater may not have been able to find words to describe what happened to her in the presence of "God," she finds ample words to describe what she otherwise learned during her three NDEs as well as what happened to other experiencers she has interviewed. It makes for a fascinating read and there is much more substance to it than you can find in the writings of any of those old philosophers. This book should be the first book offered in Philosophy 101.

I have read a number of other books by the author, but they were before I started reviewing books at this site. However, I would give them all five stars.

I bought this book after reading the wonderful reviews by some excellent reviewers and felt sure that this book would enlighten me as to the mystery of death. Forgive me, P. Atwater, but I found the beginning of the book so hard to believe, that I couldn't take the rest seriously enough. Perhaps the book 'After Death Then What' - also recommended by a highly respected reviewer would have been a better place for me to start.

For instance, when Atwater explains the circumstances of her three deaths, she relates how she miscarried and severely hemorrhaged in the bathroom, which precipitated her first death upon the bathroom floor. She then comes back to life, struggles five blocks to the doctor's office where she collapses in his office. The doctor apparently doesn't even look at her chart and, while laughing uproariously at the fact that she'd been taken advantage of and raped, injects her in the right thigh with an unknown drug to stop the bleeding and sends her home.

Now, I have very little faith in doctors and constantly question their conclusions, but never have I heard of a doctor who would laugh in the face of a collapsed hemorrhaging woman and then just send her back out to her car to drive home alone. And if this did happen, why did Atwater not haul him over the coals for malpractice?

The second death occurs as a result of a blood clot forming in her right thigh, causing the 'worst case of phlebitis (the doctor) had ever heard of, let alone seen. He kept saying "There's no way you can be alive" ". However, he, too, just sends her home with a prescription of 'dangerous drugs'. Thus follows a second death from a burst blood clot which Atwater manages to return from unaided.

The third death is the result of the rejection of the man who had raped her coming back to ask her forgiveness (which Atwater gives), and then refusing to listen to her relate the experiences of her previous two deaths. Apparently, the "emotional blow of being refused was at the core of death number three" She is brought back to life by her son, who sits opposite her and 'talks' her back to life. No physical intervention such as mouth to mouth resuscitation etc. - just talks. Later, 'several physicians' verify that if her son had called for medics, Atwater would have gone too far to be resuscitated.

There appears to have been no medical verification at any time that any of these deaths actually occurred. I'm not suggesting that Atwater is making things up, just that perhaps she may have left her body and had an astral experience that may or may not have been actual death. Three times returning from 'death' with no help is quite extraordinary, as most medical people will verify after working hard to bring someone back who has 'died' on the operating table.

At this point, I put the book down and forced myself to read the rest later. Yes, there are some very good points raised, but I'm afraid that I wasn't convinced - much as I would like to be.

PMH Atwater brings the subject of death to life with words both poetic and real in WE LIVE FOREVER. Sharing the most intimate details of her own near death experiences, Atwater invites us to open our minds to a deeper understanding of who we really are and how we are all interconnected through life and death. I love the way Atwater describes how everything in the universe breathes, and how we can be at one with each other and God when we breathe together.

WE LIVE FOREVER includes essential information on assisting those who are dying to make the smoothest possible transition in easy-to-follow steps. This book contains numerous fascinating facts and stories that explain how we know when we are going to die, how we can see and feel peoples' prayers for us when we've died, and how many different types of experiences are available to us when we die.

WE LIVE FOREVER is essential reading for anyone seeking answers to what awaits us when we leave our physical bodies behind, as well as for anyone caring for someone who is about to die.

"Long-time professional researcher and recognized authority on the near-death phenomenon, P.M.H.Atwater is amply qualified to interpret and analyze the many detailed accounts from people of all ages and levels of society. Her conclusions, deeply insightful and convincing, build a non-denominational and cross-cultural basis for the science of death, near-death, and the after-life. She creates a credible and useful picture of the soul - its nature, scope, qualities, and its role in one's life and death. Heaven and hell are explored within the many "energetic" levels of reality in and out of the earth plane.Some of the information will startle and fascinate those readers new to this realm: aborted twins, who have "grown up" on the other side, showing up to greet the near-death experiencer; encountering a future child; reliving one's conception, with the attendant knowledge of choosing the most suitable genes for one's life purpose.

Much of the information will comfort and relieve those with a fear of dying and the afterlife. To this end, a listing of groups, projects, music, and videos is full of helpful contacts, including a groundbreaking presentation, "As You Die," available in various formats, to guide a loved one through the process in peace.

The candid sharing of her three deaths makes this Atwater's most personal, heartfelt, and valuable book yet." ...as it appeared in the
Sept/Oct '04 issue of "Venture Inward Magazine" by Susan Lendvay

I have read ever book PMH Atwater has written and believe she is the definitive researcher on the near-death experience. Rather than extracting information from her extensive near-death research, this is her personal story which is truly inspiring and worthy of acclaim. It is wonderful to experience her own voice telling of her three, compelling near-death stories. Her dedication to transforming the spiritual paradigm from one of fearing God and "death" to one of understanding that death is illusion and God is but pure Love, is a great contribution to our society and to the individual seeking personal spiritual growth. Kudos!

Rev Doug Lee

_I've always seen P.M.H. Atwater as one of the more formal, hard-nosed researchers in the area of near-death experiences. This book however, has a much more personal, anecdotal approach. The author goes into detail about her own three NDE's, as well as the experiences of her family and friends. In fact, it was an apparition of her mother in law that encouraged her to write this present book.

_There is an abundance of information here suitable to both the novice and experienced reader looking for facts and validation on the subject of death and the afterlife. In addition to the numerous personal anecdotes you have some advanced theoretical models of the nature of the soul and the structure and nature of levels of existence after death. Not only that, but there is also practical information on the nature and practice of prayer, as well as, techniques for easing the passage of the dieing to the other side.

_Underlying all is the message that sparks of the Creator exist in all of us, that we are here to co-create in unity with the Mind of God, and that we chose to come to this physical plane to grow through struggle and limitation. It all rings true to me.

This is an outstandstanding book and the only one I've read that is accurate in descriptions of NDE and religious experiences. I've experienced both..I am 'different' from the masses and find it difficult to fit in due to past experiences and on-going present happenings that occur so frequently they are 'natural' to me.
Thank you, P.M.H. Atwater for this book...!!

This is the best book I have read on NDEs. Could be very helpful for those who fear death.

We Live Forever is written by one of the most approachable researchers in any field. It reads like a novel, but is the story of PMH's life and her work, including her conclusions after 40 years of research in near death experiences.

Reading this book is an excellent way to spend a weekend, and her conclusions might be something you've never considered.We Live Forever: The Real Truth About Death