Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing

This is, in my opinion, the best book ever published in the English language (and I suspect any language) of a single near death experience. It may also be one of the most important books ever published on the way we treat and view ourselves. I have known the author personally for several years, but the above statement (and others like it below) are not a result of this. Rather, the exact reverse is the case: Anita's scintillating honesty, her authenticity on all aspects of her experience, the love and integrity of commitment between Anita and Danny (her husband) who saw her through the entire ordeal of cancer, her compassion and care for the healing of others through the self-realizing of their own Magnificence, her intelligent, playful, wholesomely un-guru-like personality in the wake of such an extraordinary event having happened to a human being, is precisely what generated the friendship. When I had a most difficult and delicate personal issue to deal with a few years ago, I chose Anita to confide in, even though we had not known each other very long. I disclose this fact only to illustrate how highly I rate this person's integrity and authenticity. Those who know me on the NDE circuit know that I can also be a real stickler for evidence in the claims made for remarkable experiences (on this issue, more below), but with Anita it was just, purely and simply, never an issue. There is something about this kind of sincerity and honesty that just shines straight through, by the shortest path, like rays beaming through a stained glass window. I knew it. I saw it. And like the rays through the window, no one needed to say "we need to do some research to see if that is sunlight." Anita is not a saint or an Ascended Master. I believe she would be horrified to be regarded as either. She is a real human being, not a Levitating Adept. She can be funny, silly, and just too plain fond of chocolate and ice cream, like the rest of us. In fact, I'm not yet *entirely* convinced that she didn't come back from the other side just for the ice cream...but that's another story. Okay, so to the book. We've come a long way since Dante's Inferno haven't we? Sinners punished in an obsessive and disturbingly peculiar hierarchy of levels, each described in a kind of manic, fascinated detail (this is the Inferno, of course). Anita's book is like the absolute antipodes of the `Inferno'. Instead of a world in which we are already corrupt, fallen, sinful, begging for salvation, stamped on the foreheads with cosmic wrongness from the moment of our birth, Dying To Be Me inverts this picture and says no, that's all wrong. We are not miserable, "sinful", imperfect fleshly contraptions groveling at the divine chair for admission and redemption, in the hope that some pittance of grace will be tossed our way like pennies showered from the gloved and complacent hand of some passing monarch. Rather we ARE the divine, both occupant and chair, as well as tapestries, draperies, and the entire royal chamber. We don't need to seek grace because we are the grace that we seek. We don't need to hunt down, Sherlock Holmes style, the light of the divine, because the very act of arduous seeking blinds us to noticing ourselves as a powerful source of emission. This is Anita's message. How could we ever have fallen, before, for such a dysfunctional and crippling view of life and the cosmos? As if universal force creates us to pity us? To crush us down? To emphasize our smallness? The central message of this book is that we should simply *allow* the essential nature that nature herself intends for us. For myself, the section on Anita's younger years in Hong Kong really helped fill in some blanks and bring to life the whole picture for me. Everything from eating at the Bladerunner-esque Dai Pai Dong in the street, to sipping tea from little cups with tigers or dragons on them, to the vivid depiction of the `hungry ghost festival" and leaving empty seats at the dinner table for the famished dead. More importantly, based on what I hear in this section, it now seems a lot more evident to me, from the patterns she discloses of her childhood, that her fear really was a principal causal factor in her illness. You can sense its systemic presence through all the chapters of her childhood; it is there always, like a crouching bear, this sense of inadequacy, of trying constantly to measure up to essentially impossible and unreasonable standards, and of course (at that stage of life) failing. Turning to the issue of evidence, I don't think it is the most important thing in this case, but it is important enough in the subject at large, I feel, that I would like to mention it. The field of near death research is not without its problems. There are bogus experiences in circulation. Claims of medical events that evaporate when the least investigative pressure is brought to bear on them. These claims subtly (or not so subtly) undermine accounts like Anita's, because the public and the endless ranks of armchair experts, a nontrivial portion of which would still dearly like to dismiss ALL these experiences as not worth the paper they are printed on, are apt to tar all with the one brush. Well, the present account is not one of these. In fact, in terms of medical evidence presented, again even though I don't consider it the most important element of Anita's experience by far, it simply does not get any better than this in a published volume. The places and the doctors involved are named in the text. A full, detailed report written by a cancer specialist is included in the text. This is the only published near death experience I have seen, anywhere, EVER, that has got this right, and I have taken the trouble to make myself familiar with the great majority of them. The only comparison that even approaches was the case of Pam Reynolds, but that did not involve an anomalous healing. The evidential status of Anita Moorjani's case is singular and impeccable. The cancer reversal is (in our worldly thinking anyway) the most remarkable aspect of Anita's story. The aforementioned cancer specialist had this to say in his report: **minor spoiler alert** "Based on my own experience and opinions of several colleagues, I am unable to attribute her dramatic recovery to her chemotherapy. Based on what we have learned about cancer cell behaviors, I speculate that something (non-physical..."information"?) either switched off the mutated genes from expressing, or signaled them to a programmed cell death. The exact mechanism is unknown to us, but not likely to be the result of cytotoxic drugs." I have some background in biology, and genetics, and it is scarcely possible to overemphasize the significance of what is being said in this statement. But here's the problem: just another "medical fixit" is not going to solve this conundrum. There is *not going to be* an undiscovered protocol, a daring surgical procedure, a new type of scanner, an inrush of nanobots, a new cocktail of drugs worthy of being shaken and stirred by Tom Cruise...that is going to solve this matter. Because Anita was healed, self-healed, by direct unobstructed agency of the same universal life principle acting in her and through her, as gave rise to genes and bodies and doctors in the first place. All attempts to hunt the snark down other rabbit holes will finally lead to frustration. That was the "information" provided to the system. When Anita's consciousness was aligned in the native state with this universal source of life, aligned like Atman-Brahman, she said "I/We want to live", and since it was the universe itself that was saying it, there could scarcely be any dissenters. Once that happened, what took place in the cells of the body was merely like "handing a clerk some forms to sign." The miracle was not that she was healed. Nothing short of a miracle, either on this earth or off it, could have *stopped* her from being healed. This is the secret passage that medicine needs to explore, with humility and sincerity, if it really wants to deepen its potency for the ability to heal. Medicine has had its successes, and we should applaud those successes, but the fact is, even in a simple case such as bone-knitting, that nature does the healing, and we simply help to clear its path. That doesn't mean that we can't do anything. It doesn't mean there aren't intriguing possibilities and new directions to explore. But it does mean that just another mechanism, just another medicine, is not going to cut it. If the cause is in a high level (meaning-rich) expression or thwarted expression of the life principle, colloquially what we call the "spiritual", then messing around with pharmaceuticals and high tech instruments will be like trying to get rid of political corruption by deleting names from the telephone book. Anita's particular cancer seems to have had this kind of cause. Now we live in a complex world of multifactorial causes. No one, and I'm sure Anita would agree with this, should conclude that the same cause holds in every case. BUT, even in those other cases, with different causes, such as ageing, exposure to radiation, or even other diseases altogether, so much unexpected light may in the future be shed even on those cases by open-minded pursuit of this type of case, that a whole-hearted exploration is more than worth the doing. There is more to all this than just some new age fad. In the fifties, a boy was cured, by treatment with hypnosis, of congenital icthyosiform erythroderma of Brocq, a hideous condition capable of causing almost total skin coverage of hard, horned scale (icthyosis). There's a thread here. The consciousness cannot be left out of the picture, not if we really want to get to grips with this. And this is surely the most important direction in which Anita's account should launch us: how others can also be brought to this kind of healing. But it is not just the technique that will have to change; it is the people behind the gloves...and this is not a concept that Western Medics are used to. I was also glad of the way that Anita placed the emphasis on this life, and not the "afterlife". Although not everyone will agree with me here, I think another signal breakthrough of Anita's case, and her book, is that it begins to wrest the near death experience away from the somewhat clammy hands of the "life after death" brigade, with which it has "too long languished", to coin a phrase. Again, the message of Anita's experience is not some hurried affair in which we frown our way through life as quickly as possible, like so many grim commuters with the brims of our hats pulled down low against the rain, in order to get to some promised land "elsewhere". Life, the universal creative principle, is pouring itself in to *this* world, to this universe, to the now. It is pouring itself IN, with passion, with vigor, not OUT. On this point I agree with Anita absolutely, and it has been my own view for a long time. "The main show" as the author states it, is "here", not "there". This doesn't mean that an extraordinary state or harmony and fulfillment is impossible. It simply means that we have been too hasty (as the Ents would say) in assuming that life was seeking it, building it, elsewhere, and not right here in the universe of action and expression. I think, myself, that this offers a much healthier vision of the near death experience, and Anita's experience may signal a turning point in the way that said experience is glossed and understood in society. Rather than a portal to a realm that is in some sense an idealized continuation of our human life, experiences such as Anita's suggest more that the near death event is a kind of interface between the dynamic, active, expressing realm of being (the "here") and the underlying Fundament or potential which is the high octane source behind it all. But the Fundament isn't satisfied just being potential. It wants to be active, it wants to express, it wants the "here". Thus Anita, the universe as Anita, realized not only that she wanted to come back, but that it was good to come back; it was good and joyous to express again as Anita Moorjani. In a sense, the needy hankering after an afterlife, like all needy hankering, short-circuits this joyousness. We need to trust that the Fundament is simply always there. It's not going anywhere. We will always be it. I don't agree with absolutely everything that Anita says. For instance, the commentary on rapists and murderers was not particularly convincing to me, for reasons I won't indulge to go into here. But I don't think Anita would mind this. As I say, she is not a guru and I suggest that people don't treat her as such. She does not have the answer to everything, nor should she be expected to. That's a bit too much responsibility for one person! And after all, one of the very reasons we may all be different is precisely because each one of us is capable of bringing unique contributions, and insights, to the structure of existence and this magical (though admittedly sometimes confounding) thing called life. However, that is a minor matter. I do in fact agree with the great majority of what Anita says, a situation that I can honestly say has occurred only about two or three times in forty years of reading. Make no mistake. You will count on the fingers of one hand the number of times a book like this, an opportunity like this, presents itself to you in your lifetime. I won't quite go so far as to say that you should drop everything and read this book. No wait: actually, I *will* go that far...you should drop everything and read this book. No, really. I'm not kidding. No...REALLY, I'm not kidding. I am extremely selective in what I choose to endorse, and this is, without qualification, my biggest endorsement ever. I'm even slightly embarrassed because it is so out of character for me. Anita is not in this for the money. But from me to you, for the few dollars you spend on this book, I personally guarantee you that it will repay its value one hundred fold before you even reach the back cover. Don't say I didn't warn you. I am proud to call Anita Moorjani my friend. And I am profoundly glad she is in the world...first for Danny, and secondly for the world.

The most wonderful book, it is about an East Indian woman who has a near death experience. I was struck by the remarkable Love and light that she is She had similar circumstances in her childhood to mine, and it really made me realize what I was feeling during those times and why I was feeling the same way she was. I loved hearing her story and what she went through and what she has found her purpose to be. It is encouraging and motivating and beautiful If you get a chance, it would be a good book to read, easy to read and small chapters It was an incredible experience. I highly recommend this book if you want to see a unique perspective and a beautiful story about love of family and love in a marriage

WOW Anita! I could end there and that would be enough. You are such a beautiful and courageous Soul. Thank you for reminding me of what is true about myself and helping me to eliminate all the falsehoods. Your book reads like poetry as you take me on a journey from a lost Soul to one who finally sees and allows their magnificence. I'm glad that you reminded me that there was nothing that I had to do to be magnificent. I'm glad that you reminded me that I Am "all that is" and I only have to decide which part of "all that is" that I wanted to experience and then allow that energy to flow through me effortlessly. I'm glad that you told me one of the most important things that I could do in life is to live fearlessly and to laugh often (especially at myself). I'm glad that you reminded me that when I'm happy then the whole world experiences that happiness because we are all one. I'm glad that you reminded me that the way that I see myself will be reflected my outer world and not the other way around. In truth you reminded me that there is no "out there...out there" and there is only an "in here...in here. This encourages me always be wiling to go within when I'm seeking answers. You reminded me that I was born with the answers to all of my questions and they lie within. You freed me from ever having to seek another guru, religion, dogma, book, or coach and that when I go within that I may be led to one of these sources to help point the way but they are definitely not a necessity. I found you at a time in my life when I "needed" you the most. I see in myself how much I've lived in fear for so many years and how that has manifested in the world that I now see. I have equated things that I have done in life to who I am and the results have been devastating. Before buying and reading the book I watched an interview with you and the thing I noticed the most is how much you smiled and laughed which is so rare in the world today. I'm now encouraged to take life more light-heartedly and to laugh more. I appreciate you so much for sharing your story. I thank Dr. Dyer (one of my favorite authors) for helping to bring your story to the world. I felt your unconditional love for humanity burst off the pages of this book. I'm delighted you didn't give me 7 steps, 25 rules, more guidelines, more religion or more dogma to adhere to. I'm delighted that you encouraged me to just be myself and allow myself to be guided in a way that feels most natural to me. Your story allows me to tailor a plan that is specifically made for personal journey. Its been a while since I sat down and read a book from cover to cover but your book was definitely worth every second that I dedicated to reading it. I promise that I will not just let this book be another one that collects dust on a shelf. I promise that I will use your story and words of encouragement to live my life more courageously and on purpose. I promise that I will remind myself of my magnificence even on the days when things are not going according to my plans. I promise that I will let go and let the infinity of who I am flow through and guide me to a wondrous life on planet earth. I Love You.

Dying to Be Me is Anita Moorjani's candid memoir. It would have been a normal memoir of an Indian immigrant growing up in Hong Kong, if it wasn't because Anita has a remarkable Near Death Experience (NDE). Although there are many books and documentaries on NDE, Anita's story is unique because, unlike most NDEs, it involves a medically checked healing from a terminal cancer (lymphoma stage 4B), which occurred immediately after her return from "the other realm". Anita's memoir takes us from her childhood dreams, her young self, her cultural and gender issues, and her personal life, and the years that precede her four years of deteriorating lymphatic cancer until she was hospitalised when her organs started to shut down, her family was told that she'd live just a few hours, and entered a comma. Anita shares with us what she experienced during her NDE (a state of pure consciousness and love, a state of oneness and bent time, in which the Universe is one and many at the same time). She shares with us, in a very intimate way, how her view of the world, life and afterlife dramatically changed, the set of synchronicity events that lead to the publication of this book, and why she thinks she got sick and healed. The book has a final chapter with some questions and answers from people that are rather interesting. What I like the most about the book is that this is a very fresh, warm and intimate narration of Anita's personal experience, and that Anita does not preach anything, does not try to convince anybody of anything, and that she does not present herself as a victim or a warrior. She tells us her personal view of the world and of what her beliefs are, and does not pretend to be a guru or have the key to "the truth", she just wants to share her personal story with the world. Anita's narration of her NDE is beautifully evocative and clear to understand, something remarkable as her experience is nothing that can be easily put into words as it is quite abstract in a way. Her heaven is not a heaven that we know. I also love her comments on how she experienced life differently after her healing, and what her beliefs after the afterlife, past lives, reincarnation, organised religion, sickness, medicine, healing and human relationships among other subjects are. I also like the fact that she does not linger on the description of her sickness beyond what it is strictly necessary. Although I don't agree with some of the things Anita says or some of her beliefs, I have a deep respect for people like her, who do not pretend to be anything and do not preach any religion or try to convert anybody, and, most importantly walk the talk. I think the reader gets an unadulterated version of Anita from this book. At times, the book reads more like a transcription of a speech and the writing is unpolished and repetitive. In cases like this I blame the editor, especially when Hay House is the editorial house and they have the resources to edit a book properly. Also, I think it would have been wise including references (even if just links) to the the two doctor's medical investigation and verification of her medical records (oncologists Dr Jeffrey Long and Dr Peter Ko). Otherwise, anybody can say that this is a made-up story. Her website has a testimonial of the two doctors, but, personally, if a medical report is mentioned, I want it referenced in a footnote. Now something important. Anita says: "Even criminals are victims of their own limitations, fear, and pain. If they’d had true self-awareness to begin with, they never would have caused any harm. A different mind-set—for example, a complete state of trust instead of fright—can turn around even the most depraved person, the same way" (p. 149) She also adds: "We still judge perpetrators of crime as exactly that—criminals who deserve to be condemned, not only in this life but in the afterlife as well! We’re still unable to see them as victims of fear, creations of a reality that we, as a whole, have built." (p. 152). I agree that many people become criminals because of their specific circumstances, childhood abuse, poverty, drugs, hanging out with the wrong people, mental problems and so on. I agree that rehabilitation is possible in some cases. Yet, there are many people in those very circumstances who have never hurt anybody or done any damage to anybody. Even more, there are people who did have a good upbringing, good childhood, grew up in affluent environments, were loved by their parents and turned out to be evil. Like psychopaths, like sociopaths, like malignant narcissists, among others. These people do NOT have a soul to me, these people do not have empathy, goodwill, or remorse. Even if the heaven Anita describes exists and it is the way she says, she experienced it the way you expect a decent human being should experience it. So she is giving us her experience of decent human being, not the experience of an evil person. We do not know if people without a soul would experience the same. I hope they don't. I don't want to be One with women's beaters, children rapists and killers, psychopaths, genocides, or serial murderers who live jail rehabilitated to kill clear-headedly the first person they come across in the street but were declared rehabilitated. Dying to be Me is food for thought, and food for the soul even if you don't think you have a soul. Even if you are an atheist or agnostic, or even if you think that story is made-up, there is an undeniable wisdom in the book that we all need to remind ourselves of regularly, and may pearls of wisdom that resonate with me.

At 56 years old, it is usual for me to have something I would now read to be life changing. And these insights do not come from some self-proclaimed guru, but someone who was (at best) reluctant to even share her story. Through Anita, I found that I have been chasing many of the wrong goals, which society has placed heavy value on, which has only cause me misery. Anita tells us that things like social status or possessions are meaningless. The only thing that really matters in the end is how much we have loved, how much have we uniquely become ourselves and how rich have we made the tapestries of our lives through our interactions with other people. Just one of many of Anita Moorjani's insights from the "end" of her life is on page 69: "Just look at my life path! Why, oh why, have I always been so harsh with myself? Why did I never stand up for myself and show the world the beauty of my own soul? Why haven't I followed my own beautiful heart and spoken my own truth?" As Stephen Covey said, "Begin with the end in mind." If you believe that you will face a situation similar to that of Ms. Moorjani at the end of your life, shouldn't you begin to prepare for that eventuality now? Wouldn't you like to have a preview of what that might be like? How easy it is to get distracted and caught up in such trivial things that a week, month or even a decade from now, won't matter at all! Why not share this experience with Anita Moorjani so that at the end of your life, you will be able to give yourself satisfactory answers? After all, unlike Ms. Moorjani apparently thought at the time, you still have the time to write a different ending to the script of your life. I wish I could give this book six stars. Even at the beginning of the book, when many authors recount the early days of their lives that lead up to the book's climax and really only seem to take up space in the book or to be of interest to themselves, "Dying to be Me" is different. It is so fascinating to read of the introspections of a young person who is Indian growing up as a Hindu living in Hong Kong while attending a Catholic school. And each time Ms. Moorjani describes a situation, she paints such a beautiful word picture, she immediately draws you into the situation as though you are right there with her. I must admit, though, that I cheated! While my wife read the book (and completed it in record time), I listened to Anita Moorjani read the words from her book aloud on my iPod as I completed my morning runs. Listening to her emotion, diction and enunciation (given her varied culture and language influences) is a real treat! The best books inspire additional thoughts about your own life as you read them. For example, through Anita Moorjani's wisdom I came to realize how important it is to treat your family with the love and respect that they deserve. Do not be critical and judgmental of them. Forgive them their idiosyncrasies and their faults as they forgive yours. Because, in the end, they will be the only ones who will be there to support you in your time of need. This book is a must read and will be a definite comfort for anyone who has recently lost a loved one, is contemplating a difficult decision in their life, is approaching the end of their life, is afflicted with a disease or knows someone who is.

To start this review, I must preface it by saying that I am an spiritual agnostic (if that makes any sense) who, for years, has been intrigued by quantum physics, out of body experiences, quantum healing, and other pseudo sciences. Mind you, I have been interested in these things as a passing fancy - I always feel like slowly but surely I am putting together the pieces of the puzzle that sooner or later will all fit together perfectly. This book was recommended to me by my older sister. I have recently changed my diet to a vegan diet since I have rheumatoid arthritis and I have studied the affects of food on inflammatory diseases. Anyways, I was at a restaurant, and I was frightened by everything I put in my mouth since some of the foods contained dairy products. I wanted to make sure that I didn't accidentally eat dairy. My sister told me about this book, and about two weeks later I bought it. My life has not looked the same since. Not only was this book an absolute joy to read, I found myself relating to Anita Moorjani on so many levels. I think that most people are people-pleasers to some extent. We all want our parents to feel proud of us. We sometimes put the needs of others over our own. And we're all trying to find our place on this earth. Through our journeys, some of us might experience health problems along the way. In fact, most of us will. Like Anita, my arthritis has forced me to be a little more introspective in the recent years. Pain will do that to you. I realized after reading this book just how important it is to express who you really are to the world! There is no greater gift that loving yourself and accepting yourself fully!!!!! It is more difficult than it sounds. For me, this book not only changed my perspective on life and our purpose for being on earth in human bodies, it also opened the door to other NDErs who had a similar experience as Anita's. I am absolutely hooked! What life after life looks like has brought such a profound change in the way that I live my life, not only do I feel more at peace with myself and my life, but my arthritis has actually improved!!! I cannot emphasize enough how important this book was/ is to me. After seeing what life is really about - hint: it's not about our jobs, our incomes, our boyfriends or girlfriends - my health has made a drastic turn for the better. I cannot express my appreciation enough. It is evidence for me that what she talks about it true and real in every important sense there is. I would recommend this book for anyone who feels lost in the world. Anyone dealing with a health issue. Anyone who feels afraid to be themselves. This will give you the courage to live your life fearlessly and fully! Happy reading!!!!

I read this book immediately after "Proof of Heaven" by Dr. Eben Alexander. I found that the two books complemented and supported each other's message beautifully. These are amazing books, for those with open hearts, and eyes to see. I rank them all the way up there with the best spiritual classics I have ever read, such as the amazing "Ramakrishna and his disciples". What is the central message of each of these books? Learn to live in the Eternal "Now", which exists beyond our human conceptions of time and space. After all, "past" and future" have no intrinsic reality and are mere concepts in our consciousness. It is unnecessary to die or wait for a better life tomorrow, or after death. As Father Anthony De Mello SJ writes in his book "Awareness", it is always those who are most afraid to live right now who are most concerned with whether there is a life after this one. Nobody seems to understand the importance of: "Is there a life before death?" It is pretty clear to me, from the deeply personal accounts of these two authors during and after their NDE's, that they both experienced a spiritual awakening which was the substance of their NDE's. This explains their profound post-NDE interest in living fully now, and their enhanced ability to do so, after their respective illnesses. Only someone who is unafraid of living fully now, loses their morbid interest in a life after this one. They also provide interesting clues of how to do this: They echo each other in trying to convey how crucially important total self-acceptance is. This means no matter who you are, you must learn to accept yourself in totality, both the allegedly good as well as the allegedly evil parts. No matter how "bad" you think you are, or how "depraved", you need to learn to approve of yourself and to love yourself, including the "evil" bits, unconditionally. That opens the door and allows you to be healed. This, I think, is also the central message in the Bible: Despite being sinners, we can be saved. But a precondition is that we must stop judging ourselves and stop rejecting the parts of ourselves that we think are evil. As we succeed, we discover that only we were judging ourselves. The door to awakening is always an open door. Nobody, not God, nor any person, stands in the way of all this joy, the unconditional love and immutable bliss which can be ours right now, except our own unwise self-judgements. Some readers on this website were very critical of the touted concepts of unconditional self-love and unconditional self-approval, suggesting that these are very dangerous doctrines. They seem to interpret this as meaning "do as you please". However, doing just what you like, presumably at the expense of others, does not lead to personal liberty, or direct access to the present. Just the opposite. Further, having unconditional love for the worst criminals, doesn't mean that they should not be contained or restrained. As the great Ramakrishna is quoted as saying in his wonderful book "The Gospel of Ramakrishna" (also available from Amazon), "being love" doesn't mean you should not hiss like a snake. It only means not to inject your venom in your "victims". In other words, this world would be so much a better place if only we stopped being afraid, stopped judging, stopped our hatred, stopped worrying so much! Dr Alexander postulates that consciousness is a field that pervades all of space-time, and is in fact the very fabric of space-time. The human body is a filter or valve that limits that experience and confines it to a bodily experience, both authors write. Both authors however make it quite clear, based on their own direct experience of life in the Here and Now, that it is quite possible to experience the unity and non-duality of consciousness, pervading the entire Universe, right now. This experience is accessible to every person, saint and sinner alike. To begin accessing it directly only means that you must learn to get out of your own way. Well-established ways of doing so is through prayer, by awakening faith, and / or daily meditative practice. Besides the human body acting as a filter or a valve which restricts consciousness, language is the only other filter. We can't do anything about the former, but we can vastly expand our own direct experience and understanding of life, and its true meaning for each of us, by gaining insights into the terribly restrictive and distorting filter which language creates in each of us. The only barrier between us and our direct appreciation of the Eternal Now is our own language. The purpose of language is obviously to communicate, but we misuse and abuse it by killing ourselves, our neighbours and earth. How? Through self-judgement. By the same yardstick by which we measure ourselves, we unconsciously mete out judgement and our version of what we imagine to be "justice" on others and in fact our entire world. Therefore our journey to true freedom, if that is what we really want, must begin and end with ourselves. Insight into the afore-said is not an intellectual process. No traction can be gained by simply reading about this, although this can be an important first step. This is also the message we find in these two amazing auto-biographical books. In this regard, many readers were incredibly disappointed, and sceptical, because they found the accounts of each of the NDE's to be so brief, sketchy, and seemingly lacking in cohesion. However, what these two writers learnt directly, is that reality, instead of the distortion most people experience as reality, is unfathomable and inconceivable. It is beyond telling. No words can ever approach the Almighty. In Genesis in the Bible we find in the centre of the Garden of Eden the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. The former is the man-made ego, developed from an early age using language as the means, and the latter is our eternal selves, to which we should make wise efforts to awaken to. As we succeed, we realize we were always in Eden, from the very beginning, always are, and always will be. How specifically is language a filter? Consciousness is an impartial mirror, which reflects anything and everything that appears within it. There is no "me" in that mirror. The mirror is the entire Universe. But we artificially create the "me" by picking from the mirroring what we like, and pushing away what we dislike. The only tool for doing so is our learnt language. Therefore, when we look at a tree, or a beautiful sunset, we don't simply see a tree or a sunset. Our thoughts, which includes our worries and fears, are superimposed on our perception, killing our joy and all that beauty that is ours, right here and now. So I think the true message of each of these books is not an attempt to convince the reader about a nicer life after this one. The true message for each of us is to do the necessary work, on ourselves, and in our lives, here and now, to awaken here and now. To the extent that we succeed, and know this immeasurable and unknowable Unity directly, we gain all the "Proof of Heaven" that we need to have. No scientist and no sceptic can ever take away that personal certainty. JP

I've been on a quest to figure out as much as I can about the afterlife ever since I lost my teenage son. I search books, videos, blogs, etc., to read about NDE's in particular, since it gives me a glimpse of what my child might have experienced and continues to experience. Late one night, as I was scanning YouTube for NDE's (yeah, I do that!) I found an interview with Anita Moorjani. I was blown away. The healing she had after the NDE solidified the truth of what she experienced and learned while in a spiritual consciousness state. I couldn't wait for her book and eagerly read it when it came out and pre-ordered several copies for gifts. Everyone I've given it to has had a similar reaction to mine -- simply amazing. Anita has the medical science test results which prove the miraculous healing after she awoke from her coma. The test reports and results are not photocopied and detailed at length in the book, but if you doubt her sincerity and want to read medical reports prior to believing her story, then you may visit her website and you'll find she offers up as much as possible in the way of medical evidence, (videos and radio interviews with doctors, etc.) Needing this physical proof reminds me of the doubting Thomas in the Bible. Thomas would only believe it was really Jesus if he could see and feel the physical marks. I've read many, many miraculous healings during my lifetime, as I seek them out whenever I can. It is easy to see that Anita is speaking truthfully from the heart and has written this book to help others. Her motive is pure and she tries to word her experience to stay true to what she experienced instead of slanting it with any particular religious or personal/ego driven view. Even when she is being interviewed, you can hear the hesitation in her voice as she tries to find the correct words to convey the message without tainting it with any personal interpretation. I truly appreciate her efforts to keep her experience true to how she understood the event. If this is your first time reading about the afterlife or an NDE, get ready to expand your mind beyond what the physical senses are dictating. If you think this limited physical life is all that exists, you may not be able to glean all the lessons in store for you in Ms. Moorjani's writing. Self-love is a big message in her book. At first glance, it may seem a rather selfish way of living. Do what feels good to you--Anita challenges us to view this message from a DEEPER perspective than just a surface view which will, of course, appear selfish. A deeper view makes you question, how can one truly love another without loving themselves first? And, how will you know what your life's passion is all about, if you don't know what makes you feel good? Question your motives, your intents--the real reason you're doing something. Learn what is shallow, selfish, and material driven. And, learn what is joyous, pure, and love driven. If it's your purpose to be your true self here in this lifetime, as Ms. Moorjani suggests, then we had better get in touch with that "true" self. I personally thank Anita Moorjani for the courage it takes to write such a personal account. I hope she knows how many people she is helping and comforting. I trust she will be able to deflect the few negative or doubting comments written about her experience, since she knows what happened to her is true. I recently had the pleasure to listen to Anita share her experience at a seminar in California. Her humbleness and sincerity were more than apparent. We're all heading the same direction --basically no one is getting outta' here 'alive'. Keep an open mind and you'll appreciate the wonderful journey Anita Moorjani experienced and has so lovingly shared in her writings. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Anita, for sharing your story. It has brought a lot of comfort to me personally, as I imagine my dear, sweet son being in such a loving environment as you described. Continue to live fearlessly!

J'ai lu ce magnifique livre sur une dame qui est morte pendant quelques instants et a expérimenté l'autre côté, l'autre royaume. Le livre a conforté l'idée que nous sommes tous connectés, que nous sommes pur amour et avons déjà en nous tout ce qui est nécessaire à notre épanouissement et bonheur. Il a aussi mis en exergue que le plus important est de s'aimer inconditionnellement, de s'honorer, de se donner de l'amour chaque jour, chaque instant, aussi souvent que possible parce que quand on décide de ne pas consacrer une partie de notre énergie en amour inconditionnel, mais plutôt à la peur par exemple, cette énergie non canalisée peut se transformer en une énergie moins désirable pour nous réveiller en vue de nous réapprendre à mieux nous aimer. La vie est parfaite comme elle est, la vie est belle, le rire (et surtout rire de soi) est la voie pour toute guérison. Dieu est nous et nous sommes Lui.

Very good and easy to read

Everyone should read this book to help them at least lessen their fear of death, let alone be kinder to themselves. Ive read this book many times as to gain more perspective from each read. Ive added a plethora of notes the more times I read it (or devoured it) i got so excited I wanted to highlight so much, I found I was nearly highlighting entire pages & chapters! I wanted to go back time & time again, then devour this life changing book with an excited relish that takes my breath away.

This is a truely remarkable story that she has to share ! For those who already know a lot about this topic, this book however does not really bring much new information. But it very nicely fits without contradiction into the already known picture. What makes it so unique is that it shows us from a first hand experience the incredible power each (human) being has. But since we don't know (or rather believe) this, we unintentionally use it mostly to harm us ourselfs and then blame some 'external circumstances' for the outcome. This story very well describes her personal background and the death process from a first person perspective. The part about the NDE is rather short and does not reveal what might come next. So to speak she was only 'knocking on heavens door', but even this glimpse she got and shared with us is astonishing ! From the medical point of view however she already passed the point of no return, since the body already was shutting down and noone ever got back to life from such a state. The sceptics who claim that she hasn't been 'really' dead since if she was, she'd no longer would be amoung us, this book can't convince either. Those of them who had first hand access to the facts and can't deny or dismiss it call it 'remarkable', for those who hadn't, it might be nothing but another tale - the experience at best a malfunction of the brain, the healing a fortune. Since it is not in their experience space, they can not relate to it. Knowing comes by experiencing, believing by faith. What was most remarkable was the part where she described her perception of the interweavedness of her life with those of others. Those who are still a babe in the woods about this topic may be tempted to simply dismiss this as a kind of personal hallucination. But what makes this so outstanding is the fact that it matches the description of an experience R. Monroe once had in a deep altered state to a T ! In science you'd call this an 'independent replication', which in science is accepted as proof of a theory. When it comes to NDE and the topic of afterlife however, our current established science accepts nothing as a proof. The subtitle of the book nails it down to the point "I came back when I realized 'heaven' is a state, not a place." - that's the very reason for us being here - even if we sometimes wish we weren't 'cause life is challenging us to hard. Here again her story shows us that we might not be the innocent victim that is vulnerable to uncontrollable external circumstances.

This book is very profound and truly resonated with me. It brought me some amazing new insights as well as a lot of recognition having been going through metastatic breast cancer, completely debilitated in a wheelchair an diapers, but came back from that. Having had that experience, books like this are important. To remind me of my inner power, of our power as human beings. So to not give up when doctors give you a very dark prognosis, no chance of survival. I felt trapped and did not see a way out but knew there had to be. And there is. There always is. But also our view of death needs to change. Its not something to fear and just as much part of life as being born. But I am not ready here. I am here because I want to be. Because I want to enjoy all of life's beauty. And after facing death, it truly is more intense and you see the beauty in all the small, but actually really big, things of life. Sometimes I get trapped in the fear again. Afraid it will come back and hurt me again. Then books like this remind me that I am my body and disease is just a consequence of our emotions. Then I let go of trying to control everything and let life unfold itself. Knowing that whatever happens, all is well and just part of a story. That we never truly die.