Life After Life Raymond Moody

Transcription

1 Life After Life Raymond Moody Operation Value Creation Website LinkedIn. Twitter

2 Life after Life Executive Summary Author: Raymond Moody, M.D. Ph.D About the Author Raymond Moody is the man behind the term Near Death Experiences (NDE s), or as the New York Times calls him, father of the near-death-experience. His work can be credited for revolutionizing the way we think about death, as his eleven books have sold over 20 million copies, with Life after Life (this book) selling more than 13 million. He received his medical degree from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He is also the recipient of many awards including the World Humanitarian Award and a bronze medal in the Human Relations category at the New York Film Festival for the movie version of Life After Life. Warning: This book is a short read, and the majority of it s content are straight from the stories. Thus, this executive summary is an awesome to touch up and preview the text, but the true learning is in the form of hearing real life encounters. Enjoy! Summary Raymond Moody uses his experience of hearing and dissecting 150 Near Death Experiences (NDE s) to help us understand the reality of death. He goes from turning death into a taboo and frightening experience into something we can celebrate, something we can look forward to, and something we can use to shape our physical existence. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 1 11

3 Start Here (Click For Direct Reference) The Impact on Myself What Is Death? What is the Experience? What Parallels Are There? Explanations click to go to index! M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 2 11

4 My Experience This book changed my life. Prior to reading this I had suffered with depression and deep rooted anger towards my parents. Life was work, and there seemed to always be a dark cloud over my head. I wasn t the classic depression case, I played division 1 sports, graduated magna cum laude, and from the outside seemed happy, but inside was a rollercoaster of emotions I seemingly had no controi over. 75% of the time I was able to channel this anger and depression to work with me and motivate me in school/work, but right around the time of reading this it was starting to come to a halt. I had been in a tumultuous relationship that tested my personal faith and career ambitions. I was severely depressed, having trouble getting out of bed, barely holding on to the motivation of life. This book will resonate in different ways for everyone, I am a huge believer in self-realization, but the common truths revealed will enlighten and empower the person you are and want to become. I read this when I was 23, and prior I had built a strong faith in myself and didn t feel purpose or reason. I almost felt like my beliefs were more an educated guess than sound reason. But without further ado, let s get into this book and hopefully it changes your life as much as it did mine. Foreword Death was never a sensitive subject. In fact, throughout history it s been celebrated and welcomed. However, in the twentieth century Western society s taken any mystification and pretty much shattered it with what Moody calls scientific materialism. This proposes that only physical matter exists, and that consciousness is an illusion dependent on the workings of the brain and body. Why and what were the forces behind this? Moody points to the rapid shift to hospital based care in the early twentieth century leading to a de-humanization of death since the process was now in hospitals with loved ones usually ushered away. I would also offer the commercialization of death, with the amount of money to be made from grants and procedures in keeping patients alive have made it decidedly unnatural. The vast majority of human cultures over tens of millennia have seen death as a natural part of life and have built their understanding of it into a comprehensive worldview. But with the rise of scientific materialism in the twentieth century, modern Western culture abandoned that integrated view, to it s detriment. Personal Death Story: My Grandfather Within the past year my grandfather passed away. I m not exactly sure of the reasons but he had fallen two days before and didn t look the same the whole day after the fall. Later that night he was having breathing problems and what seemed like a normal trip to the hospital ended up being his last. In the hospital (disclaimer, this is a second hand story from my father), he kept saying I m sorry, and someone s here. What s further, is in his closet after he had passed he had laid out a suit and tie, seemingly his burial outfit. From my perspective he knew, and I feel at peace in that. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 3 11

5 Intro In what I believe should be the first paragraph of every book, Moody states: THIS BOOK, WRITTEN as it is by a human being, naturally reflects the background, opinions and prejudices of its author. So, although I have tried to be as objective and straightforward as I can, certain facts about me might be useful in evaluating some of the extraordinary claims which are made in what follows. His beliefs technically would be of the Methodist church (in organizational terms), but his beliefs are that no one of us has all the answers to the deep and fundamental truths with which religion deals. Which brings me to the bias of myself even as I synthesize his work. I was raised protestant, but would organizationally call myself spiritual. Like the author above, I believe no one man/woman/ organization has the answers, and I believe never will because existence and our being stems from each individuals unique soul, thus any structure, order, or practice with unilateral rules can t answer your unique truth. Chapter 1: Phenomenon of Death This is where my head first exploded. Lesson 1: Limitation of Human Language First Moody talks about the limitations of human language in regards to discussing death. words of human language allude to things of which we have experience through our own physical senses. Death, though, is something which lies beyond the conscious experience of most of us because most of us have never been through it Lesson 2: How We View Death Next he highlights the comparison of death to sleep, first alluding to Homer s The Illiad in which Homer calls sleep death s sister. He then highlights Plato in his dialogue The Apology, in which he says, Now, if death is only a dreamless sleep. Finally he alludes to modern day, in which he says this analogy is embedded in our contemporary language. His example dogs being put to sleep. My example is much broader. How many times have you heard this word with physical violence or sport? Football, boxing, MMA, just turn on WWE Monday night raw and I promise you ll here it. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 4 11

6 Lesson 3: How Ancients View Death The fear of death or misconception death hasn t always been prevalent, in fact ancient civilizations seemed to embrace and celebrate it. This is because they believed the human body survives even after the physical body ceases. They saw it as a transition rather than to sleep. Moody highlights a Turkish graveyard used by Neanderthal men 100,000 years ago. Upon digging up fossils, they noticed these ancient men buried their dead in biers of flowers, signaling the possibility it was a celebration. Chapter 2: The Experience of Dying Lesson 1: The Process Moody systematizes the ideal or complete experience which embodies all the common elements, in the order in which it is typical for them to occur. The outline of his process looks like this: A man is dying, and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing [The Noise], and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel [The Dark Tunnel]. After this, he sees himself outside of his physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment [Out of the Body]. He is generally in a state of emotional upheaval as he sees his physical body. He collects himself after a while, and notices that he has a body, but different than anything in physical form. Most people mention this state of being as limitless, free, truly autonomous. Soon other things begin to happen. Spirits, usually past deceased relatives and friends visit him to help with the process [Meeting Others]. Also a loving, warm spirit people call the being of light appears before him [The Being of Light]. This being asks him two main questions, nonverbally. One, are you prepared to die, and two, what do you have to show me. This being helps him along by showing him a panoramic, instantaneous playback of the major events of his life, teaching with every experience [The Review]. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 5 11

7 It s around this point he finds himself at the border of earthly life and the next life, usually not wanting to return to earthly life [The Border or Limit], as he is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love, and peace. It s here he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives [Coming Back]. He tries to tell others about his experience, but has trouble doing so and thus keeps this experience to himself [Telling Others], as others either scoff or just can t understand [Ineffability]. Each subsection is highlighted above, and now I will briefly touch on what I consider the most important ones (This is where real life stories come in): The Being of Light No matter religious backgrounds, not one person expressed any doubt that it was a being, and a being of light. In fact, they called it a personal being. This being also tends to be largely a function of the religious background, as most of the Christian backed men and women described the light as Christ while a Jewish man and women identified it as an angel. The Review To me this is where the book takes shape, for it is here the being releases the true meaning of life and we see from NDE s the teachings this being presents. The being starts by asking two questions related to your readiness to die and your past accomplishments. One woman said: The first thing he said to me was, that he kind of asked me if I was ready to die, or what I had done with my life that I wanted to show him. However, these questions were NOT asked in a subjective way, but rather a socratical way, focusing on reflection rather than anything absolute. As the author says, not at all asked in condemnation. Reflection Next the being takes you through a panoramic review of your life, with memories following one another swiftly in chronological order. Here he uses every experience to teach the following principles: Love and Knowledge. I d like to point out this man s story: All through this, he kept stressing the importance of love. He seemed very interested in things concerning knowledge, too. He kept on pointing out things that had to do with learning, and he did say that I was going to continue learning, and he said that even when he comes back for me (because by this time he had told me that I was going back) M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 6 11

8 that there will always be a quest for knowledge. He said that it is a continuous process, so I got the feeling that it goes on after death. This is where I came up with my following truth. Each one of you will have different truths, but all centered on the teachings of this being. My Truth: Life has meaning, and the meaning of this physical life is the soul s self-realization journey towards duty, knowledge, and love. This means aligning the above truth with your intention in everything you do. Coming Back What is important here is the reason people come back. We ve seen above the meaning of life, and how we can apply this to everyday, but WHY did the people come back. It comes back to this being, and according to the people, it wasn t for them, but rather the people on earth. As one woman said, I had a duty to my family so I decided to try to come back. Moody said: Others feel that they were in effect allowed to live by God, or by the being of light, either in response to their own request to be allowed to live (usually because the request was made unselfishly) or because God or the being apparently had some mission in mind for them fulfill. The message is this, your existence is predicated on love for others, and the intention of coming back must be for others and not yourself. Effects on Lives The profound impact of NDE s don t have to be exclusive to those with experience. In fact, it is only to our benefit to understand their experience and carry it over to our own life. We ve discussed the feelings of limitless and freedom, but what is most important in our existence right now is the experience with the white light. This white light brings you through a panorama of your life, guiding and teaching you to focus on love and knowledge. The consensus of effect from people coming back summarize into this: - Life becomes more precious - Actions are now driven by meaning - People focus on loving others, doing things for other s good rather than their own, and being non-biased or judgmental M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 7 11

9 My Experience Growing up I was always an athlete. At 13 I was traveling the nation finding the best competition in baseball. By high school I was talking to college coaches, and by college I was invited to a tryout for the Atlanta Braves. However I never felt fulfilled, or meaningful in doing this. Rather, I felt like I was doing it because I was supposed to rather than because it was right or I wanted to. I felt like I was living the life others wanted and wasn t in control. Somehow I made it through 4 years of division 1 college baseball, and even though I would practice every day and had a successful career, I never felt in it. After this book what was fuzzy became clear, and my realization was this: I wasn t helping anyone through playing. I wasn t loving anyone through playing. In fact, I was doing to do it, not because there the meaning of knowledge and love as the being calls it. One man echoed my realization: There s so much more that I ve got to find out there s more to life than Friday night movies and the football game. This realization now drives me in every project/job/work I do. If there is no meaning, I am wasting my existence living the life not for me. Its not about pay, or prestige, but rather meaning. New Views of Death As you can imagine, the view of death as to put to sleep disavows logic and personal experience, while viewing it as a transition and coming home seems best fit. As one man puts it: I ve had a gun pulled on me and put to my temple. And it didn t frighten me very much, because I thought, Well, if I really die, if they really kill me, I know I ll still live somewhere. But the author makes sure to point this is only with unintentional death, as intentionally dying is considered throwing the gift of life away. Chapter 3: Parallels Moody now highlights the parallels between NDE s and highly esoteric writings from the literature of several very diverse civilizations, cultures, and eras. The Bible The Bible, specifically the Old Testament, says very little about death. In fact, in the little of text on it, it alludes to sleep until all physical beings are resurrected. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 8 11

10 Isaiah 26:19: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for the earth shall cast out the dead Daniel 12:2: And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Personal Objection This is where my personal bias might spill over, but in no NDE were there feelings of shame. Unlike as mentioned above, the reflection period was met with love and the yearning for knowledge, even when touching upon the experiences of greed and guilt in the panorama. In fact, Moody says when most people come back they become more reflective and concerned with ultimate philosophical issues, which to me means universal leaning views. Plato Plato, who lived in Athens from 428 to 348 BC was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He believed strongly in the use of reason, logic, and argument in the attainment of truth and wisdom, but up a point, as ultimately truth can only come to one in an almost mystical experience of enlightenment and insight. This mystical experience refers to the fact he believes this physical realm could be understood by referencing higher planes of reality. Accordingly, he was interested mainly in the incorporeal, conscious component of man-the soul-and saw the physical body only as the temporary vehicle of the soul Brace up, because the next book you read this will come full circle. Seat of the Soul Summary The Tibetan Book of the Dead This remarkable work is the compilation of teachings of sages over many centuries in prehistoric Tibet, and would be read at the funeral or during the dying process. It was thought to serve two main purposes: 1: Help the dying person keep in mind the nature of each new wondrous phenomenon as he experienced it. 2: Help those still living think positive thoughts and not hold the dying one back. What is remarkable is their contradictory view of death compared to current day, as the wise men who wrote it regarded dying as a skill, something which could be done either artfully or in an unbecoming manner. Without getting into the specific process described in the book, we can confirm that with the exception of later stages of death, their account was extremely similar to NDE s. M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 9 11

11 Emmanuel Swedenborg Swedenborg, who lived from , was renowned in the field of natural science. However, later in life he underwent a religious crisis and would tell of experiences in which he would communicate with spiritual entities. What is phenomenal is how striking his claims are with these experiences, as he explains when respiration and circulation ceases like this: Still man does not die, but is only separated from the corporeal part which was of use to him in the world Man, when he dies, only passes from one world into another. He brings me to the following understanding: It is obvious we don t use all of our brain. Without getting into scientific debates, I bring up dreaming to defend this, as thoughts you would never have in a conscious state are brought to life. Lucid Dreaming: Chapter 4: Questions Here Moody confronts every question. Refer to your book for specifics. Chapter 5: Explanations For each solution someone can find 20 problems In this chapter Moody takes the 3 main explanations and compares them to his subject s experiences. Supernatural Here Moody describes the common supernatural view of an experience being either God-directed or Satan-directed. He says in all experiences his subjects come back with a renewed commitment towards loving and forgiving which would most resemble god-directed. Natural (Scientific) In examining any explanations due to drugs, physiology (biology of functions within body), and neurology (nervous system), Moody points out that although experiences are similar, there are distinct M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 10 11

12 differences between the above group and NDE s. Specifically, the above group has experiences more tailored to their religious training versus what raw NDE s have said. Psychological Before getting into the details, the author makes sure to clarify how psychology as a field is very scattered. He then discusses two core psychology concepts that create similar NDE experiences: 1: Isolation Research 2: Dreams, Hallucinations, and Delusions Just like with the natural (scientific) section, the differences were in the details, as non-nde s tailored more to the person s beliefs than the common NDE. Like What You See? To learn more check this out! M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 11 11