The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread to discuss the afterlife and books (both non fiction and historical fiction) which deal with this topic.

Mary Roach

Goodreads Write-Up:

This book might be best described as the logical sequel to Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. After probing autopsies, the funeral home business, and the implications of human composting, it seems only natural that the author would turn her attention to the afterlife. To learn what she can about the Other Side, she enrolls in an English school for mediums; banters with reincarnation researchers; and interviews a Duke University professor about a plan to weigh the consciousness of a leech

This is a subject that fascinates me. I am aware that my religion, Judaism, goes back and forth on the question of whether there is an afterlife. Ultimately my formulation is that whether there is life after death is not the important question; it's whether the world is a better place for your presence.

The word "karma" has become a part of the English language but few know the actual meaning. In this book, Dr. Steiner, who brought Eastern thought to the West at the turn of the 20th century explains the concept of reincarnation (afterlife) and karma.


Reincarnation and Karma

by Rudolf Steiner

Synopsis

Rudolf Steiner introduced the West to his detailed, scientific knowledge of reincarnation and karma. He gave concrete descriptions of the way individuals metamorphos during the course of successive incarnations and specific examples of how karma works. Steiner also provides practical exercises that lead us to experience the reality of reincarnation. He believed that by experiencing the reality of successive earth lives, we can form a foundation for a spiritual understanding of the relationship between humankind and the cosmos. These talks contain some of Steiner's most important teachings on reincarnation and karma. His examples and exercises can lead us to direct knowledge of the laws of reincarnation and karma.

All, great posts.

Christopher wrote: That is a good thought to live by, James. It really makes you think about what we do with our limited amount of time."

Thanks.

I was lucky enough to spend some time with Dr. Kubler-Ross toward the end of her career when she was concentrating on assisting AIDS patients to live with their disease. She was holding a seminar with health care professionals who were working with these patients. She was wonderful and frankly, quite a character.

This book noted below is the one that comes to mind when a reader is looking for something on death and dying. A classic.

On Life After Death

by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Synopsis

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is the world's foremost expert on the subjects of death, dying, and the afterlife. This book collects for the first time four essays drawn from her years of "working with the dying and learning from them what life is about, " in-depth research on life after death, and her own feelings and opinions about this fascinating and controversial subject.

Thank you Kathy for all of the adds in this area.

Hi Jill . . . I also met Kubler-Ross at a seminar that I went to as part of my continuing education requirement years ago . . .

Tomerobber wrote: "Hi Jill . . . I also met Kubler-Ross at a seminar that I went to as part of my continuing education requirement years ago . . ."

She was quite a character. Her requirements for attending were pretty funny: a hand held microphone since she paced and walked into the audience while speaking; an ashtray as she was going to smoke whether we liked it or not; and a bottle of spirits in her hotel room!!! We all went to dinner and she had us in stitches but her empathy and love for the people living with AIDS who were with us was palpable. We wondered how the restaurant would have felt if they had realized that 95% of the people at that table were either HIV+ or in the early stage of full blown disease since people, at that time, didn't understand that you couldn't get AIDS from being in the same room. We had a good laugh over it.

I'm always interested in books about death and the afterlife, given that I have been playing with house money for the last 37 years after surviving an horrific car accident that essentially destroyed the vehicle I was driving.

The hour ride home took several weeks to complete and included a detour to a hospital, and what westerners think of as an out-of-body experience, or in the East a phowa experience (roughly translated as transfer of consciousness).

I notice from Eaton's table of contents that his book is a mashup of different aspects of death and the afterlife.

The limitation of such a broad inclusion is that there are different experiences that cannot be truly reconciled. For instance, the experience that includes a god presence and views the afterlife as an eternal resting place does not, and cannot be, reconciled with experiences of rebirth and reincarnation.

That's not to say that the possibilities are limited to those two general experiences. But ultimately, they can't all be right.

The one thing I have noticed in common with the vast majority of near death experiences is the sense of peace that describes death and the afterlife.

The book that got me started on exploring the experience that I had is Evan-Wintz's translation on a manual to aid dying entitled The Tibetan Book of the Dead. While the book will have meaning to few, the introduction by Jung makes it worth the price.

by W.Y. Evans-Wentz

There are so many interesting stories about what people experience when the "die" for a few minutes. But I saw a gentleman on television the other evening( accompanied by his physician) who was clinically "flat lined" for 45 minutes and was pronounced dead until he suddenly revived. He reported that he met a beautiful woman who told him that it was not his time to be there and that she would lead him back to the other side (life). The doctor was in shock when the man revived and had no explanation how he could be alive with no residual effects from being clinically dead for 45 minutes. It gives one pause, doesn't it, regardless of what your beliefs in the afterlife.

NDE's (Near Death Experience) have been considered compelling evidence for life after death.

Very interesting, Jill, S, Kathy and Martin.

S-

Depends on what you consider life after death, I think. For instance, many Buddhists re-cognize the life and death cycle, which is a series of suspensions called bardos.

The entire cycle is broken down in some schools into what are called the 12 interdependent links. Of the 12 links, the majority unfold during the stages after we shed the body. (Thich Nhat Hanh in his inimitable style examines the 12 links in The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, as usual a quite accessible explanation.)

Is the passage of consciousness through the cycle life after death?

Or, is the passage life after birth?

Hard to find beginnings and ends in circles.

by Thích Nhất Hạnh

Yes Martin they see life as a continuum; major difference between East and West beliefs - in many of the Eastern cultures you do not see harsh angles in their buildings or their entrances or pathways. Everything flows.

Yes, it is

Thank you.

7 Reasons to Believe in the Afterlife: A Doctor Reviews the Case for Consciousness after Death

by Jean Jacques Charbonier (no photo)

Synopsis:

An uplifting study of the scientific evidence for the afterlife from an experienced anesthesiologist/intensive care physician

• Details meticulously recorded and hospital-verified cases of near-death experiences

• Cites scientific research on NDEs to refute the standard objections of doubters and materialists point by point

• Explores out-of-body experiences, sessions with mediums, electronic communication with the deceased, and other signs from the afterlife

Over the course of his 25-year career as an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician, Jean Jacques Charbonier, M.D., gathered hundreds of accounts of patients who returned from clinical death. Across all of these accounts--from patients with vastly different backgrounds--Dr. Charbonier found striking similarities as well as indisputable proof that these experiences were more than hallucinations. He surveyed other physicians, nurses, and professional caregivers and discovered that their patients described the same experiences as well as exhibited the same positive life transformations afterward. Igniting a scientific quest to learn more, he collected more accounts of near-death experiences as well as out-of-body experiences, attended dozens of sessions with mediums, experimented successfully with electronic communication with the deceased (EVP), interviewed hundreds of people who have cared for the dying, and gathered countless inexplicable stories of "signs" from the afterlife. With each experience he studied, he found himself more firmly believing in the survival of consciousness beyond death.

Dr. Charbonier distills his findings into 7 reasons to believe in the afterlife, beginning with the more than 60 million people worldwide who have reported a transcendent afterlife experience. He refutes the standard objections of doubters and materialists point by point, citing scientific research on NDEs and the work of pioneers in the field of consciousness studies such as Raymond Moody and Pim van Lommel.

Drawing on meticulously recorded and hospital-verified cases, Dr. Charbonier explains that we should not fear death for ourselves or our loved ones. By releasing our fear of death, we can properly prepare for "the final journey." As those who have returned from death reveal, death is simply a transition and its lessons enable us to live more fully, peacefully, and happily in the now.

Thank you Francie for all of the adds in the Health-Medicine-Science area.

Evidence of Eternity: Communicating with Spirits for Proof of the Afterlife

by Mark Anthony (no photo)

Synopsis:

Discover the enlightening and comforting true stories of Mark Anthony the Psychic Lawyer® as he helps people communicate with their loved ones in spirit. Evidence of Eternity is an uplifting journey that removes the fear and superstition surrounding spirit contact while addressing poignant questions about the afterlife. It provides insights on painful subjects such as crime, homicide, suicide, and survivor guilt.

By bridging the gap between the spiritual and scientific, this groundbreaking book brings spirit communication into the modern era while reaffirming that God and heaven exist, the soul is an immortal living spirit, and that we will be reunited with our deceased loved ones. Evidence of Eternity introduces new and innovative terms and concepts explaining spirit communication based on science, theoretical physics, physiology, theology, and evidence. From karma and reincarnation to embracing the inner light, Evidence of Eternity is a cutting-edge perspective of life after death.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife: Inspiring True Stories from a Psychic Medium

by Kristy Robinett

Synopsis:

For over forty years Psychic Medium Kristy Robinett has communicated with thousands of spirits who have shared their experiences with death and what happened afterwards. In It's a Wonderful After Life, Robinett delves into what heaven is like, if there is a hell, and what the transition to the Other Side is like depending upon cause of death (suicide, natural, accidental, illness, etc). With personal experiences and stories from clients, she also discusses the many signs and symbols that our loved ones share with us to assure that it is a wonderful afterlife.

Death and the Afterlife: A Chronological Journey, from Cremation to Quantum Resurrection

by Clifford A. Pickover

Synopsis:

Throughout history, the nature and mystery of death has captivated artists, scientists, philosophers, physicians, and theologians. This eerie chronology ventures right to the borderlines of science and sheds light into the darkness. Here, topics as wide ranging as the Maya death gods, golems, and séances sit side by side with entries on zombies and quantum immortality. With the turn of every page, readers will encounter beautiful artwork, along with unexpected insights about death and what may lie beyond.

Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages

Upcoming Book
Release Date - May 3, 2016

(no image) Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages by Nancy Mandeville Caciola (no photo)

Synopsis:

Simultaneously real and unreal, the dead are people, yet they are not. The society of medieval Europe developed a rich set of imaginative traditions about death and the afterlife, using the dead as a point of entry for thinking about the self, regeneration, and loss. These macabre preoccupations are evident in the widespread popularity of stories about the returned dead, who interacted with the living both as disembodied spirits and as living corpses or revenants. In Afterlives, Nancy Mandeville Caciola explores this extraordinary phenomenon of the living's relationship with the dead in Europe during the five hundred years after the year 1000.

Caciola considers both Christian and pagan beliefs, showing how certain traditions survived and evolved over time, and how attitudes both diverged and overlapped through different contexts and social strata. As she shows, the intersection of Christian eschatology with various pagan afterlife imaginings from the classical paganisms of the Mediterranean to the Germanic, Celtic, Slavic, and Scandinavian paganisms indigenous to northern Europe brought new cultural values about the dead into the Christian fold as Christianity spread across Europe. Indeed, the Church proved surprisingly open to these influences, absorbing new images of death and afterlife in unpredictable fashion. Over time, however, the persistence of regional cultures and beliefs would be counterbalanced by the effects of an increasingly centralized Church hierarchy. Through it all, one thing remained constant: the deep desire in medieval people to bring together the living and the dead into a single community enduring across the generations."

When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi

Synopsis:

For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, a profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.

One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a naïve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.

Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything," he wrote.

"Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: 'I can't go on. I'll go on.'" When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.