THE AFTERLIFE AS a PATHWAY to a MORE PURPOSEFUL LIFE by CARLTON J. BULLER a Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the R

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THE AFTERLIFE AS A PATHWAY TO A MORE PURPOSEFUL LIFE

CARLTON J. BULLER

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE

July 14, 2015

On behalf of the Department of Graduate Studies of the University of Metaphysics this submission has been accepted by the Thesis Committee.

______Thesis Supervisor

______Dean

______President

Acknowledgements

From the tender age of five, until I was eleven years old, while suffering multiple types of abuse at the hands of perpetrating adults, my spirit somehow knew that it had to separate from my body in order to protect me from the physical and emotional pain.

And I began traveling out of my body in my dreams and while awake. The abuse had forced me through the doorway of astral projection and into the reality of other parallel existences.

As I grew up and matured, my natural curiosity about these and other related topics moved me to further investigate possibilities beyond our physical reality. That ultimately led to multiple paranormal experiences. These culminated with a dream where I traveled out of my body and witnessed an event in real time as it happened.

This ultimately convinced me that there is indeed life beyond our physical manifestation, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Am I grateful to my perpetrators for the abuse they precipitated upon me? That is an extremely difficult case to make. But everything is connected. There are no accidents. And there is no longer any doubt in my mind that everything that has unfolded in my life happened the way it did in order to make me who I am. Therefore, I am thankful to everyone, including my perpetrators, for contributing in one way or another to my continued awakening. Embracing the reality of life beyond our physical world has caused me to begin living a more purposeful life that is filled with unconditional love and compassion for myself and others.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ...... i

I. Introduction...... 1

II. Review of Research ...... 3

III. Discussion...... 17

IV. Conclusion...... 33

Works Cited...... 36

I. Introduction

Religious teachings are typically based on blind belief. The flock is expected to

accept a particular creed on the authority of the organization and its leaders. Of course,

the Bible is cited as the ultimate authority on the word of God. But even belief in the

words inscribed in the Bible is still blind belief because the believers do not know for

themselves. These people are advised to have faith, blind faith, that what they are being taught is so. Conversely, teachers of metaphysics recommend that people not believe anything blindly. This includes the idea of life after death. Instead, they are highly encouraged to know the truth by finding out for themselves.

On the surface, it may appear that the only way to really know the truth about life after death is by experiencing death, which is not a very practical way of finding out.

But for centuries, a select few have gained this very knowledge through meditation.

Today, with increasing frequency, ordinary people are utilizing meditation to make contact with the inner levels of the mind, referred to in psychology as the unconscious.

Through deep meditation, they encounter astral dimensions of consciousness. And because, as psychic and mystical metaphysicians agree, we carry our after-death existence in the deeper recesses of our minds during our physical lifetimes, they are able to mentally experience these other planes of existence.

Another way of acquiring the truth about life after death is through knowledge of the astral body. There is general agreement among mystical metaphysicians and psychics that, during our physical lifetime, the after-death or astral body resides within our physical body. This knowledge has come through both voluntary and involuntary astral projections. 2

During the latter, typically practiced by psychics and some mystics, a person

senses his astral body separating from his physical body. Such a phenomenon can

actually be experienced by anyone, usually during exhaustion, stressful, and life-or- death situations, such as near fatal accidents. But increasingly people and the media are reporting involuntary astral projections during surgery. In such cases, patients who were completely sedated before the operation would indicate, upon being awakened,

that they had been out of their physical body during the entire procedure and observed

everything that had taken place in the operating room. Their stories are believable

because they are able to accurately relate things they could not possibly have known or

seen during such a deep sleep.

Other than the ones involving surgery, experiences that lead to knowledge of

other dimensions may not readily withstand the scrutiny of those who have not

themselves had the experience. And the primary importance of the experience is to

prove that a secondary body does exist, thereby lending credibility to the idea that

there is indeed life after life.

In an effort to go beyond anecdotal information and demonstrate that there is

indeed scientific backing for the metaphysical conclusion that life after death does exist,

I will, in the following pages, summarize the work of a number of life-after-death

researchers. I will also highlight the stories of some credible individuals whose personal

experiences and stories will help to demonstrate that learning about the afterlife can

indeed be a pathway to living a more purposeful and meaningful life before death.

II. Review of Research

According to Dr. Paul Leon Masters, “By combining the knowledge of other dimensions encountered through clairvoyant meditation, and the experiences of astral body projection, METAPHYSICS CAN DECLARE THAT LIFE AFTER DEATH DOES EXIST.

And this declaration is based not on blind belief, but on personally experienced psychic

fact” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:44).

Mystics have long made the case for the existence of the afterlife through

meditation and astral projection. But others not able to have this experience have had

to believe, or not, based on the sum of their experiences up to that point. As time

marched on, increasing numbers of ordinary people began meditating and engaging in

astral projection. But this still left the vast majority of society to believe based on

someone else’s personal experience. Many of the non-believers had been among the

most prominent in the fields of medicine and psychiatry.

Now, science is finally beginning to produce the long sought evidence that life

after death is real. And some of the most respected doctors and psychiatrists, in

addition to documenting the experiences of others beyond a shadow of doubt, are

having their own experiences, many of which occur under circumstances that leave

little doubt about their validity.

One of the first to study the out-of-body experience long before it became

popular was Victor Frankl, author of the critically acclaimed book, The Search for

Meaning. In the early thirties, he continuously sought out people in Europe who had

fallen from mountains and had experienced a review of their lives during the fall.

Attempting to determine how many of these life experiences went through their minds

during the few seconds of the fall, he carefully studied them and concluded that time

could not possibly exist during these out-of-body experiences. There just wasn’t enough

time for them to process all these reviews in a linear fashion. Others have had similar

experiences when in grave danger, or during near death experiences such as almost

drowning. The significance of Victor Frankl’s findings would not be fully appreciated for

many decades. But it marked the beginning of a gradual process of open mindedness

toward this critically important topic.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., one of the better known early pioneers in this

area of research, was influenced by Victor Frankl’s work. Having realized that

thousands of people worldwide reported the awareness of some relatives or friends,

who had previously died shortly before their own deaths, she decided to find a way to

study and verify the phenomenon. And so she began sitting with dying children after

family accidents, specifically ones that occurred after long weekends like 4th of July

weekend, etc., as that was when most accidents involving an entire family occurred. She

reports that these critically injured children were never made aware of the passing of

any family members as a result of the same incident, and yet they were always aware of those that had already died.

In her book, Death is of Vital Importance: On Life, Death, and Life After Death, Dr.

Kubler-Ross described her method of silently sitting with them, sometimes holding their hands, and carefully observing them. Typically, shortly before death, she would observe a peaceful serenity coming over them. And that was when she would ask if they were willing to share what they were experiencing.

She discovered that they all used similar words when sharing that experience.

One case in point was a child who responded by saying, “Everything is all right now.

Mommy and Peter are already waiting for me” (87). Dr. Kubler-Ross knew that the mother had been pronounced dead at the scene and that Peter had been taken to the burn unit at another hospital, but she thought he was still alive. Upon leaving the hospital, she discovered that Peter had died ten minutes prior to her conversation with the dying child.

Dr. Kubler-Ross concluded that story with the statement, “In thirteen years of studying children near death I have never had one child who has made a single mistake when it comes to identifying – in this way – family members who had preceded them in death” (87).

She wrote that her study was verified by laboratory research with the collaboration of Robert Monroe, who authored the books, Journeys out of the Body and

Far Journeys. She said, “I myself have had not only spontaneous out-of-body experiences but also those that were induced in a laboratory supervised by Monroe and watched and observed and shared by several scientists from the Menninger Foundation in

Topeka” (86). Dr. Kubler-Ross’ work received significant media attention and worldwide acclaim. It proved to be one of the seminal moments in the evolution of general acceptance of the reality of life after life.

Another of the better known early pioneers in the study of life after death actually stumbled upon the phenomenon and only reluctantly came to finally acknowledge the reality of its existence. In Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed

Both Their Lives Dr. Brian L. Weiss, M.D., an accomplished psychiatrist and medical

doctor, recounts how, over an eighteen month period, he unsuccessfully applied

conventional modalities to help Catherine recover from her ailments. As a last resort, he

tried hypnotizing her. And then she spontaneously began to recall past-life memories

that turned out to be responsible for her symptoms.

His disciplined conservative perspective, resulting from years of rigorous

scientific training, was severely tested when it became clear that she was also

channeling messages from higher energy forms in the spirit world. Utilizing her as a

medium, they communicated much knowledge about our world and the one where we

go after death. After several weeks, she had been completely healed and was able to begin living a happier, more peaceful life. But he was in for an even bigger surprise.

He recalls that, during one of their past-life regression sessions, she channeled a voice, which told him that his father and his son, a small child, were there. His father told the medium that Dr. Weiss would recognize him as he was named Avrom, and his daughter’s name had been derived from that of her grandfather. He also said that the deaths of both grandfather and grandson had resulted from heart problems. His son’s heart faced in the opposite direction from what is considered normal, much the same as that of a chicken, and his illness and premature death happened as a result of the love he had for Dr. Weiss. The channeled entity concluded by saying that the boy has a highly evolved soul, he had canceled the debts of his parents through his ordeal, and he needed to educate his dad about the inherent limitations of medical science due to its narrow scope.

Dr. Weiss had now arrived at a point of no return. He knew that it was impossible for his patient to know these facts about his life. He needed answers. “Who”,

I sputtered, “who is there? Who tells you these things?” “The Masters”, she whispered,

“the Master Spirits tell me. They tell me I have lived eighty-six times in physical state”

(56). Dr. Weiss goes on to explain that his life, the life of one of the most prominent psychiatrists of his time, had been forever changed. It was not surprising, therefore, that four years would pass before he found the courage to write his story and reveal the truth about his astounding discovery to the world, a revelation that most of his esteemed colleagues were simply not ready to hear. But the evidence was mounting.

And Dr. Weiss’ careful documentation of his research was irrefutable. Anyone examining his methods and his findings would have to conclude that there is indeed life after death.

An even more incredible breakthrough was made by Dr. Michael Newton, Ph.D.

Dr. Newton maintains membership in the American Counseling Association, is certified by the state of California as a Master Hypnotherapist, and is a well-established expert in the field of counseling. Like that of Dr. Weiss, his was also unanticipated. When he began to regress clients so they could access their memories of previous lifetimes, he made the amazing discovery that he could peer into the spirit world through his subjects who were in a hypnotized or superconscious state, and they could then also tell him what their souls were doing between their earthly physical existences.

In Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives Dr. Newton examines twenty-nine case studies chosen from hundreds of people he had taken into the spirit world during a ten year period. These twenty-nine cases were chosen because they

encompassed a wide cross-section, which included the very religious, the spiritually non-committed, and multiple variations between them. All of them were notably consistent in their answers to questions about the space beyond our physical world.

The door to that world was opened to Dr. Newton by an extremely cooperative,

female hypnosis patient. Almost by herself, she was able to access the highest level of

altered consciousness. And he then gave her the suggestion to journey to the origin of

the loneliness she was experiencing. When he asked why she had begun crying she

immediately responded with, “I miss some friends in my group and that’s why I get so

lonely on Earth” (3). Further questioning about the location of this group prompted her

to say, “Here, in my permanent home, and I’m looking at all of them right now” (3).

Dr. Newton’s later review of this case led to the realization that being able to

access that other world was part of the past-life regression process. He searched for and

was able to locate many books on past-life regression but none on our time spent as

souls during those intervals when we are not living physical lives. Thus, he embarked

upon his own research project and journey to determine the best methods to access

people’s spiritual recollections. Dr. Newton’s powerful conclusion from this body of

work is that his clients derived a far greater and more meaningful healing experience

from their journeys into the spirit world of their lives between lives than from merely

revisiting their former lives on earth. He closes by saying, “The most significant benefit

which comes from knowing we have a home of everlasting love waiting for us, is being

receptive to the higher spiritual power within our minds” (276).

Continuing investigation into the various expressions of the phenomenon of life

after death was revealing unprecedented results. As each successive researcher delved

9 deeper, the benefits of this line of inquiry became increasingly clear. And Dr. Newton’s discovery marked the beginning of life between lives regression therapy as a very valuable healing modality.

Dr. Pim Van Lommel, M.D., is a cardiologist with worldwide name recognition.

His very thorough research of near-death experiences had been reported in The Lancet, which is among the foremost of medical publications. He was so struck by the importance of his findings that he has given up his cardiology practice and dedicated his life to continued study of the phenomenon, even as he lectures internationally on near- death experiences. A comprehensive treatment of his research has been published in

Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience.

Like all the other prominent life after death researchers, he too could not possibly conceive of a person being aware of anything after being pronounced clinically dead. And much the same as the others, his life would be forever changed by his first experience. In Consciousness Beyond Life, he tells the story of a man who was delivered to the emergency room in a coma and had his dentures removed so that he might be properly intubated. A week later, he awakened and saw the nurse who had removed his dentures. He immediately said to her, “Oh, yes, but you, you know where my dentures are. Yes, you were there when they brought me into the hospital, and you took the dentures out of my mouth and put them on that cart; it had all these bottles on it, and there was a sliding drawer underneath, and you put my dentures there” (21).

Further questioning revealed that the man watched from above as his body lay in bed while the emergency room staff worked to try to save his life. He accurately described the room and then told them how terrified he was that they would give up on

him and he would die. Everything he said was one hundred percent correct, right down

to his identification of the nurse who removed his dentures and the place where she put

them for safekeeping. While his desperate attempts to communicate to them that he

was still alive were unsuccessful, he did survive and was profoundly impacted by the

experience, to the point where he no longer feared death.

Dr. Van Lommel goes on to explain that people who have had these experiences find themselves having more self-acceptance and a changed self-image, more compassion for others, a greater appreciation of life, a belief in the afterlife and no more fear of death, a decline in religious affiliation coupled with greater religious sentiment

(a closer personal relationship with God), greater spirituality, a heightened sensitivity to sensory impressions, and enhanced intuitive sensitivity. These conclusions are backed by numerous studies cited in Consciousness Beyond Life. They provide ample evidence that, not only is life after death real, but also that knowledge of it actually improves our lives in some very significant ways.

In 1984, radiation oncologist Dr. Jeffrey Long, M.D. encountered the term ‘near- death experience’ (NDE) while reviewing a medical journal. Almost a decade and a half later, he started the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF), dedicated to collecting as many NDEs as he could through a questionnaire. The idea was to utilize a format that would facilitate identification and examination of the various components of each incident. After the first ten years, he had documented the experiences of over

1,300 people that included all ethnicities, religions, and cultures from almost all countries in the world.

His project, the largest cross-cultural study ever done, demonstrated amazing

uniformity among these NDE cases. In Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-

Death Experiences he writes that, “This study finds that what people discovered during

their near death experience about God, love, afterlife, reason for our earthly existence,

earthly hardships, forgiveness, and many other concepts is strikingly consistent across

cultures, races and creeds” (3). He was surprised by these findings considering

preexisting societal beliefs, religious teachings, and other knowledge gained during the course of a person’s lifetime. This evidence, he reports, suggests that, irrespective of our differences or where we live, all people share the same experiences when they die. And those who come back from that experience to continue their physical existence are changed in some very profound ways.

In one case study about a woman from Saudi Arabia who had a near death experience during a difficult childbirth, his subject discussed a presence, which

identified, telepathically and with images, doubts she had previously held about life and

our purpose here on earth. Carol concluded with, “I understood that everything good and bad happened for a purpose” (164).

Dr. Long concludes his book by pointing out that this NDERF study utilized the greatest number of participants of any research project on near-death experiences up to that time, and it breaks new ground by documenting additional evidence supporting the existence of an afterlife. He points out the effect of this knowledge on his own life by saying that, “For me personally, I’m showing more love to others now than before I started my near-death-experience studies. My understanding of near-death experiences has made me a better doctor. I face life with more courage and confidence” (202). Dr.

Long’s body of work on the near-death experience remains among the most conclusive

with respect to the evidence he identifies that knowledge of the afterlife significantly

changes the way people live the remainder of their lives here on earth. And that change

is always positive.

Forty years ago, Dr. Raymond A. Moody, JR., M.D. published Life After Life: The

Investigation of a Phenomenon – Survival of Bodily Death. Prior to that, the term near- death experience did not even exist. In those days, physicians were referring to the phenomenon as, “the Lazarus Syndrome”. The prevailing wisdom was that it resulted from medical pathology. Much knowledge has been gained in the intervening years, discrediting that notion. But it is only fitting that we revisit some of Dr. Moody’s findings, as they demonstrate remarkable consistency with the findings of various NDE researchers since that time.

As is the case with some other researchers, a few of Dr. Moody’s subjects reported acquiring or noticing increased intuition and even some abilities that could be considered psychic. One said, “And it seems that I am more in tune with people now, that I can pick up things about them faster” (85). Another stated, “Often, for instance when I have been with people on the elevator in the office building where I work, it seems I can almost read their faces, and tell that they need help, and what kind” (86).

A third wrote that, “Since I was hurt, I’ve had the feeling of picking up people’s thoughts and vibrations, and I can feel resentment from other people. I have often been able to pick up what people were going to say before they said it” (86). This person further elaborated that she was once at a party where she started becoming aware of the thoughts of others. Fearing that she was a witch, a group she was not acquainted

with decided to leave the party. She was left wondering whether this was a new ability

she had acquired as a result of her NDE, or whether it had already been present but

dormant and was activated by the experience.

Dr. Moody, in this latest edition of Life After Life, closes with these words,

“Finally, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the multitudes of readers of Life

After Life all over the world who have written to describe their own life-changing visions that took place on the verge of death. And thanks also to the thousands of people who have written to say that the book inspired and comforted them at a time of loss”

(174). The results from Dr. Moody’s research clearly demonstrate that the knowledge of life after death continues to impact the living in some very profound and positive ways.

Even more compelling is the case of Dr. George Ritchie, Jr., M.D. In December

1943, while serving as a private in the US Army, he succumbed to the ravages of pneumonia. Nine minutes later, he returned from the dead. In his book, Ordered to

Return: My Life After Dying, which is actually his second book on the topic, he briefly recounts what happened during those nine minutes of death. But his major focus is on his subsequent spiritual transformation and the very real miracles he has witnessed during his many years practicing as a psychiatrist and as a physician. He remains one of the few who has personally experienced the NDE phenomenon and also studied the impact on the lives of others who have experienced it.

In the final chapter of Ordered to Return, Dr. Ritchie poses the following question.

“Is it accidental that I and others had these near-death experiences? Or did we die, or come close to dying, or face cataclysmic experiences in our lives, because a great and loving God was trying not only to save us, but to bring us back in order to tell and show

in our living a better way of life for our world?” (162). He answers himself by saying that he has been living with an incredible sense of destiny and the knowledge that he had been given orders to return to this world, against his own desires, because he is supposed to pass on what he has been shown and taught. He concludes with, “My writing this book, particularly this last chapter, is an attempt to help show a way to reach the highest realm, heaven – not when we die but while we are alive” (162). This is

the clearest example yet of how the knowledge of life after life not only improves the

life of the person who gained that knowledge through the NDE experience but also

improves the lives of so many others he touches either through personal interaction or

by virtue of his teachings.

Dannion Brinkley is not a doctor, psychiatrist, or researcher. But his story is so

compelling that no discussion of this topic would be complete without including it. You

see, this is a man who was killed by a lightning strike and then returned after twenty-

eight minutes – twenty-eight minutes during which he encountered thirteen angels and

received 117 revelations about our future. One hundred of these have already come

true. Incredibly, he was struck by lightning a second time. He has survived two open-

heart surgeries, brain surgery, a massive seizure, and three near-death experiences. His

story is so compelling that he has appeared on every major national television and

radio show in the United States. In Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died

Twice and the PROFOUND REVELATIONS HE RECEIVED he reveals details of his amazing

story and the lessons he was taught, during his visit to the afterlife, about how we

should live our lives today.

Prior to his first NDE, Brinkley had lived a violent life, involved in clandestine operations for the US government and the military. But these events completely changed his life. In the foreword to Saved by the Light, Paul Perry, a noted NDE researcher and author, tells about the time Brinkley read his companion’s mind and then followed that up by telling her, in great detail, the exact contents of each file in her unopened briefcase. In addition to now having the ability to see into the future, he could also know things in the present that no one else could know because they were locked up in someone else’s mind, or physically under lock and key. And this mind reading he could do with total strangers and with incredible specificity.

In the introduction to Saved by the Light, Dr. Raymond Moody, author of Life

After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon—Survival of Bodily Death, which has been cited earlier in this chapter, tells of a time when Brinkley entered a college classroom where he was teaching and was able to disclose personal details about every student in the class. These details were so accurate and specific that all students were aghast, and some openly wept. The students were all strangers to Brinkley prior to this encounter.

Studies, including one reported by Dr. Melvin Morse, M.D. in his book,

Transformed by the Light, have independently corroborated that people who have experienced an NDE have three times more verifiable psychic events than those not having a similar experience. Many had developed an ability to know things before they happened.

Dr. Morse noted some other profound changes as well. Some had increased intelligence. All showed an absence of the fear of death. There were even those who could no longer wear watches because they kept breaking them. And all of them

demonstrated a renewed zest for life. Dr. Morse explained this by saying that, “By this I

mean that they pursue everything life has to offer. They just want to squeeze every drop

they can out of life” (217).

Clearly, documented evidence proves that NDE experiencers have enhanced

psychic abilities and also find themselves living more purposeful lives. In addition to

providing comfort to many families of the dying, Dannion Brinkley was also led to do

hospice work as a result of his experiences. He says he was instructed to spend time with the dying so that he could understand it from their perspective. In his own words,

“I learned that stress reduction was the key to improving a person’s death as well as life” (144). The work Dannion Brinkley continues to do volunteering at hospices, speaking, and generally being influential in the New Age and New Thought movements is proof that his knowledge of life after death and the things he was taught on the other side allow him to continue living a more meaningful life, even as he brings more meaning into the lives of countless others.

The case of Rajaa Benamour, a Moroccan woman in her 30s provides evidence of an additional way in which a life can be changed. Waking Times staff writer Buck

Rogers reports, in an article on the Before Its News website, entitled “The Wonderful

Benefits of Near-Death Experiences”, that Rajaa had a negative reaction to the anesthetic administered in advance of minor surgery and experienced rapid review of her entire life, in addition to viewing the creation of the universe. She subsequently realized that she now had significant knowledge of quantum physics, though she had not previously studied it. She later began pursuing the subject at a university and amazed her professors with her knowledge and aptitude for quantum physics. Staff

writer Buck Rogers points out that. “Rajaa developed then yet unconfirmed theories

that have since been verified by others.” In addition to a tremendous improvement in

her own life, Rajaa was now positioned to impact the trajectory of our understanding of

our world through her new theories and breakthroughs in quantum physics.

Dr. Masters says that, “We live today in a world that is rapidly awakening to an

exciting, yet age-old concept of the mind, and thus a new way of living. The validity of

what mystics and metaphysicians have spoken of for centuries is slowly but surely

being proven” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:2). He further concludes that there isn’t anything that can impact human life in as profound a way as this new understanding of consciousness. In my opinion, the studies cited so far weigh heavily on the side of the view that the knowledge gained about and through near death experiences is contributing significantly to this new understanding of consciousness and our potential as spiritual beings having a human experience.

Dr. Masters also says that, “Ultimately, the Metaphysical and the Empirical will be in harmony as humankind evolves, and outer science discovers that the farthest reaches of Infinity, or outer space, equal the Inner Infinite Depths of the human mind”

(Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:35). This has proven to be very prophetic, as NDEs are becoming more prevalent and science is beginning to better comprehend the meaning of the experiences that people encounter during the time spent separated from their physical bodies.

In a web article titled, Near Death Experiences and Spiritual Transformation, Pam

Johnson bolsters Dr. Masters’ argument by making the case that people who have viewed the afterlife, whether through NDEs, OBEs, or any other means, actually get a

18 look at what the future has in store for humanity. According to Pam, “These individuals realize that they need to start living a life that is more spiritually sound.” She suggests that talking about life and death with someone who has had this experience often results in one’s spirit being healed as well. She concludes that, oftentimes, simply listening to someone’s story about the experience is sufficient to completely transform your life while convincing you that this world is not your final destination and that you will see your loved ones again.

III. Discussion

In the mid twentieth century, early researchers into the phenomenon of near death experiences, such as Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Dr. Brian Weiss, risked everything by publishing the results of their groundbreaking work. And while they may have initially been ridiculed by some in their profession, their work eventually became widely recognized, and all of us are better off as a result.

Others like Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., Dr. Jeffrey Long, Dr. Melvin Morse, Dr.

Michael Newton, and Dr. George Ritchie then took up the mantle and continued to build on the expanding body of work. As each successive researcher got involved, the focus of this work gradually shifted from trying to prove that the phenomenon actually existed to understanding the circumstances under which it occurs and the impact of such experiences on the lives of the people who have them.

The fact that some of the researchers like Dr. Ritchie and Dr. Kubler-Ross had their own personal experiences with the phenomenon proved to be very beneficial to the overall effort. Their experiences would help spur the move toward research designed to better understand the impact of such experiences. This research began to indicate that the lives of those they studied were profoundly changed after gaining personal knowledge of the afterlife. As previously indicated, they began living much more meaningful and purposeful lives. And many of them felt the need to help improve the lives of others.

But they also began to notice that the lives of some who did not have a personal experience were also changed, in very positive ways, when they indirectly gained knowledge of the afterlife. These realizations ultimately led to the question of why

20 people were having these experiences and how to explain the apparent increase at this particular time in our history.

The healing aspect of these experiences soon became clear. And out of that realization was born past life regression therapy and life between lives therapy, the latter being created by Dr. Newton. This therapy turned out to be beneficial for both therapist and patient alike.

Dr. Newton says his primary goal in his book, Journey of Souls, is to help readers understand the purpose behind their life choices and recognize why their souls, and the ones of those they love, live eternally. To that end, he recounts the initial years of his practice when his singular focus on traditional healing modalities and his natural skepticism caused him to resist the urge to acquiesce to those requesting past life regression. This all changed as a result of his efforts to help a young male patient manage chronic pain in his right side. Using the hypnotherapy technique of directing the subject to worsen the pain as a means of learning to lessen the pain and acquire control, the man imagined being stabbed, in order to simulate the circumstances surrounding the beginning of his suffering. And as Dr. Newton searched for the genesis of this image, he uncovered the client’s previous lifetime as a soldier who had succumbed to a bayonet wound he suffered in France during in World War I. They were ultimately able to go beyond pain management and completely stop the pain.

He then started agreeing to his clients’ requests and was soon regressing them further and further into the periods before their most recent earthly birth. He would ultimately come to appreciate just how therapeutically important it is for us to find the connection between our bodies, experiences from our former lives, and the lives we

currently live. And that was when, according to Dr. Newton, “I stumbled on to a discovery of enormous proportions. I found it was possible to see into the spirit world through the mind’s eye of a hypnotized subject who could report back to me of life

between lives on Earth” (3).

In Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, he would later say about

his work, “Everything I have learned about who we are and where we come from, I owe

to those who were drawn to me for help. They have taught me that a major aspect of

our mission on Earth as souls is to mentally survive being cut off from our real home”

(274). It would appear that gaining knowledge about the afterlife and the spirit world

increases our chances of mentally surviving the challenge of which Dr. Newton speaks.

Even more remarkable is a story that comes from Dr. Pim Van Lommel in his book, Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience, about a woman who was born blind. She was brought to the emergency room in a coma after being ejected from a vehicle in a horrible accident. She had briefly viewed the accident scene from above and recognized the crushed Volkswagen van. In the emergency room she observed from above her body, as it lay on a metal gurney, watched and listened to two people talking, and recognized her wedding band, which she had only known by touch. Then she went up through the ceiling and saw the hospital roof and trees. She went on to a beautiful place where she was welcomed by, among others, her blind schoolmates who had died years earlier. Unlike their severely mentally handicapped, childhood physical states they appeared as healthy, wholesome, and very happy adults.

She said to Dr. Van Lommel, “And then I was sent back and then I went back into my

22 body and it was excruciatingly painful and very heavy and I remember feeling very sick”

(25).

This is the perfect illustration of how learning about the afterlife can be a pathway to a more purposeful life before death. This woman’s disabilities had weighed heavily on her most of her life. But her experience showed her what her life would be like after death. And thereafter, her life became much more bearable and actually meaningful, as she found purpose in helping others to understand what awaits us on the other side.

More evidence of the impact of the knowledge of the afterlife on our current lives comes from Dr. Jeffrey Long. In Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death

Experiences he describes how some of his subjects told him about specific changes that happened in their lives. Rusty, who almost bled to death said, “My outlook on life and what I hold to be important has changed. My experiences and interactions with other people, especially my family, have gained importance” (181). Gwen, whose heart had stopped functioning due to pneumonia reported that, “I never was patient before; now I have lots of patience. I have a lot of discernment too, which I never had before. I have empathy and understand that none of us are ever going to be perfect in this life” (182).

Finally, Joyce summed up the change that occurred in her after her NDE as follows, “I think it planted a seed that helped me choose better partners for myself and never to be in another abusive relationship” (182). It is quite difficult to ignore such mounting evidence.

Once research begins in a particular area, the possibilities become limitless. Each successive researcher can branch out into areas previously unthinkable. Such was the

23 case with Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr. As it was when Elisabeth Kubler-Ross first began publishing her work on death and dying in the sixties and early seventies, Dr. Moody also endured abuse from members of the mainstream medical community, who ridiculed persons having near-death experiences as simply hallucinating. But Dr. Moody persevered spawning two generations of NDE researchers. And people who have such experiences no longer feel ridiculed or wonder if they are mentally ill. In Life After Life:

The Investigation of a Phenomenon – Survival of Bodily Death he demonstrated how people are indeed positively transformed by their NDE experiences. In fact, Dr. Moody and Life After Life were directly responsible for the formation of The International

Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS), an organization dedicated to counseling and support for those having the experience.

Dr. Moody went on to develop a technique that induces an NDE without actually coming close to death. Then while conducting research on the origins of the NDE phenomenon, he rediscovered the use of a meditative chamber called the psychomanteum. After discovering that ancient Greek physicians had successfully used this during their healing rituals, he built his own “Theater of the Mind,” as he referred to his modern version. He was able to successfully use it to conduct hundreds of clinical trials, which led to installation and operation of many psychomanteums around the US.

The utility of this meditative chamber was also corroborated by independent discovery and successful utilization by Russian psychiatrist Dr. Olga Kharitidi, M.D., who used it to induce out-of-body perceptions and past-life experiences. The positive impact of the knowledge of life after death so impressed her that she became convinced that

we should not have to wait until death to have that experience. And she began working

on techniques for inducing the experience without the use of specialized equipment.

Dr. Moody tells us in Life After Life, that the effect on many of his subjects

appears to have taken quieter, more subtle forms. They indicated that their lives had

been broadened and deepened and they had ultimately become more reflective and

concerned with philosophical issues. Others had a changed attitude and new approach

to their physical lives. One woman simply said that, “It made life much more precious to

me” (84).

Some mentioned that their perspective on relative importance of the mind

versus the body had been drastically altered. A male subject reported that he had

previously been preoccupied with all things material, including the shape of his body.

But after his experience, it was quite the opposite, and the body simply became

something that encased the mind. He said of his perspective after the experience, “I

didn’t care if I had a body or not. It didn’t matter because for all I cared my mind was

what was important” (85).

One dramatic example of the most profound way in which lives can be altered

comes from Dr. George Ritchie, Jr. in his book, Ordered to Return: My Life After Dying.

This is one of the most notable accounts of a person’s exposure to the afterlife through a near death experience and the impact it has had on his life, as well as the lives of others.

This is such an extraordinary series of events that it warranted a Foreword by past Chairman of the Psychiatry and Neurology Department at the University of

Virginia, Dr. Ian Stevenson, M.D., one of the very first members of any highly scientific and medical circle to investigate spiritual healings rather than cast them aside as

nonsense. Dr. Stevenson had previously investigated hundreds of cases of reincarnation and had reported his findings in his own book, Twenty Cases Suggestive of

Reincarnation.

In his Foreword to Ordered to Return, he embraced the opportunity to say that,

“It is difficult to believe that a single experience lasting only a few minutes could

radically transform a personality that had seemingly been fixed for many years; and yet

it is even more difficult to discredit the assertions by so many patently honest persons

that this has indeed happened to them” (10).

Dr. Ritchie then goes on to explain details of the profound impact those nine

minutes have had on his life. Included in those details is the story of how he met Jesus

Christ during his near-death experience, as well as several examples of miraculous

healings he subsequently witnessed. Notable among them is the story he refers to as “A

Modern Lazarus.” In it, he relates how family friend, Mary Bugg, had asked him to come

and pray for her husband, who had taken a turn for the worse. Edlow took his last

breath just as Dr. Ritchie arrived in the room, and he pronounced him dead after

determining that he had no respiration, blood pressure, or heartbeat. Mary’s response

was to ask whether he was going to pray for him. And when Dr. Ritchie reiterated that

he was dead, she responded by sternly reminding him that she had asked him to come

to the house specifically to pray for him. And then she blocked his path, clearly

indicating that she had no intention of allowing him to leave until he had done exactly

that. His interpretation of her state of mind is that she clearly did not believe it was too

late to save him. She was in denial.

Pondering his next move, he did the only thing that he felt was left to do and said

loudly, “Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes” (95). Then he silently asked the Lord

how to pray in that kind of unprecedented circumstance. In a clear voice, the answer

very quickly came into his mind. “You are to call Edlow by his first name and tell him to

sit up” (95). Realizing, he was now committed after asking for and receiving divine

guidance, he then, with a firm and authoritative voice said, “Edlow, sit up! (95). And then the unthinkable happened. Edlow began breathing, opened his eyes, even as his color began returning to normal, asked Dr. Ritchie when he had arrived, swung his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up, and then asked Mary for a glass of water.

Edlow’s inability to change his lifestyle, and the resulting toll it was taking on his health, eventually resulted in him dying in his sleep many months later. By then both he and his wife had gotten used to the idea of him being on his way out. But none of them could ever really ever forget what had taken place that day. It is indeed, one of the more extraordinary after effects of a near death experience, not on Edlow, but on Dr. Ritchie, who repeated something that had only ever been done once previously, as far as we know.

It is important to note that, while this phenomenon may be just now becoming widely known, by no means is it new. Dr. Van Lommel does an excellent job of making this case by including in Consciousness Beyond Life the story of an out-of-body- experience that noted psychologist Carl G. Jung had during his heart attack in 1944.

During this experience, he found himself far up in space. He couldn’t see the entire globe. Instead he saw the deep blue sea, some continents, Ceylon, India, the reddish- yellow desert of Arabia, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and even the snow-covered

Himalayas. Carl Jung would eventually say of his experience, “Later I discovered how high in space one would have to be to have so extensive a view – approximately a thousand miles! The sight of the earth from this height was the most glorious thing I had ever seen” (23). Another twenty plus years would pass before images from outer space would confirm the visual perspective Jung described having in his 1944 experience. And it was even longer until the medical community began to acknowledge the fact that near death experiences do actually exist.

Collectively, the research completed by the experts I have cited makes a very convincing case for the reality of life after death. It also provides a good deal of evidence of the benefit such knowledge brings to those experiencing an OBE or NDE, as well as certain others who become aware of the details of these experiences.

Nevertheless, skepticism exists in certain quarters about the validity of these experiences and the beneficial impact they appear to have. But the foundation has been built, and acceptance is increasing around the globe about the reality of life after death and the experiences that give us a rare glimpse into the true nature of the afterlife. And at some point this will reach critical mass. So, perhaps it is time for the focus to shift to understanding why this phenomenon is on the increase at this particular time in our history and figuring out how to further boost the numbers of those gaining personal knowledge of life after life.

A very good explanation of why there appears to be a significant increase at this time is given by Dr. Masters in an article in his Mystical Insights Newsletter titled,

Earthly Incarnation. In the article, Dr. Masters makes the case that, with the exception of a few souls in a higher state of awareness, all souls incarnate on earth as a result of

having a certain level of consciousness. And the higher souls come specifically to raise

the awareness level of those that are ready for theirs to be raised. He says, “The

readiness is not brought about by any religion or spiritual teacher – but from God’s

Presence within a soul that knows a soul is now aware sufficiently to awaken to more of

Reality.”

Dr. Newton further expounds on the reason for the apparent increase at this

time by explaining that some of his more advanced subjects have told him that their

souls had more knowledge of the spiritual self during physical incarnations much

further back in our history. Their conclusion is that our immortal memories had not

recently been as available to us by design. But that resulted in a great deal of emptiness

and hopelessness. The meaning of life was getting lost. Too many were turning to

readily available mind-altering chemicals as a means of escape. In response, those

controlling our destiny seem to now be facilitating changes that result in experiences

which allow us to better understand who we are and why we are here in this world. He concludes by telling us that it is reassuring to know that we belong somewhere. That knowledge gives us peace – a peace that is not just a haven from conflict but also a force that unifies us with a universal mind. His closing statement in Journey of Souls: Case

Studies of Life Between Lives is, “One day we are going to finish this long journey – all of us – and reach an ultimate state of enlightenment, where everything is possible” (276).

Of course, one could argue that there is no increase in NDEs or OBEs, and it is

instead simply a matter of more people hearing about them due to the fact that the

world has become a global village, with instant access to information via the internet

and the twenty-four hour news cycle. But even if that is true, it doesn’t account for those

29 who learn of the afterlife by virtue of the experiences of others. Many of those acquiring the knowledge in this way then seek to acquire their own personal knowledge of the afterlife through meditation or some other means. And there is no denying the significant increase in the numbers of people who are now meditating, particularly in the Western world.

In reference to the acquisition of this knowledge about the afterlife, Dr. Masters says that, “I want to emphasize that statements made here are not based on blind belief, but on the personal experiences of psychics, mystics, and above all, the ‘average’ person who has persisted in the practice of meditation” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:42). Dr.

Masters goes on to conclude the case he makes by saying that, “Through such astral experiences, the average student can personally understand the existence of life after death” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:42). And if Dr. Masters is right about what he said in his most recent “Earthly Incarnation” newsletter, then a great deal more souls are indeed awakening to more of Reality. And that is perhaps one of the reasons why many more people are beginning to gain personal knowledge of the afterlife.

As one of those who has gained personal knowledge of the afterlife, it is only fitting that I give an example of the personal perspective and how it led me to pursue this area of research. For a couple of years leading up to 1987, I had been experiencing unusual occurrences, some during dreams but not all. These culminated with the most profound experience I have ever had in all my years, including surviving multiple types of child abuse, which began at the age of five, and the astral projection ability I developed as a temporary means of escape from my terrible ordeal.

On Sunday, March 15th, 1987, I went to Houlihan’s (an Irish Bar on the San

Francisco waterfront) to meet a friend. Around 1:00 am I headed for my home in

Fremont, about 40 minutes southeast of the City. I took a shower upon arrival and hit

the sack right about 2:00 am. I immediately began dreaming.

The first thing I became aware of was that I was standing on a cliff at Sutro Baths

in San Francisco peering over a metal railing into the seemingly impenetrable darkness.

Then I heard a voice say, "You're going to fall, step away from the rail." I immediately

complied. And at that moment, I saw a body go flying over the rail and down into the

darkness. It seemed to come right out of mine, almost as if my body remained at the rail after I had stepped back. I got the sense it was the body of a Caucasian male, and I am

quite the opposite.

Both the fire department and the coast guard responded. Then, having

determined that he had not fallen into the ocean but was lodged on the rocks below the

cliff, the coast guard departed, and the fire department proceeded to rescue him. I

approached the rail to better see what was going on. The voice again warned me, this time saying that it was dangerous and I should leave the area. I heard Fire Rescue saying that they were taking him to San Francisco General Hospital. Then I began making my way down between the many homes that lined both sides of the darkened street. I woke up to use the bathroom a bit after 3:00 am.

A few hours later, while reading the paper over a cup of coffee before heading off to work, I suddenly found my dream being replayed word for word in the newspaper right down to the minutest detail, including the time it happened, with one solitary exception. In my dream, they took him to San Francisco General Hospital. In the paper

he was taken to Mission Emergency. I was too flabbergasted to do much more than take

note of this discrepancy, clip the story, put it in my wallet, and drive to work.

Within an hour, I had developed a strong urge to go to the hospital to meet this

guy. Unable to leave work, I eventually lost that urge later that morning. The next

weekend I persuaded a friend to go with me to try to identify the spot. I was unable to

find it, and I did not see any houses. The area was barren.

As the months passed, I became increasingly troubled and eventually went to see

a psychic. She asked me if I had heard of parallel existences, went on to explain what

they are, and then said that it was me going over the cliff and that I didn't fall but had

been pushed. She advised me to find out who he was. I said I would call the newspaper, get his info, and contact him. She told me that would not be possible, as he was dead. I objected to that because I knew he had been rescued, but she insisted. Her final comment was that the houses I saw were there at the turn of the 20th century. I paid her the sixty-five dollars and left.

I returned home and immediately called the Fremont Argus. They said they had picked up the story from the San Francisco Chronicle. Despite the fact that this was

more than a year later, the lady who answered the phone immediately remembered the

story and went to retrieve it from the archives. It had details that had not been in the

Fremont paper. She said he had gone there with four friends after the St. Patrick's Day

Parade. He bent down to pick something up and fell. I immediately remembered what

the psychic had said and wondered whether he had indeed been pushed. I asked for his

info so I could contact him and she told me he had died on Monday morning, March

16th. Then she proceeded to give me his personal info.

Incredibly, an instant before she told me his name, I knew what she was going to

say (his first, middle and last name). The same thing happened right before she told me

he was from Ireland. And again right before she told me what city he lived in, I knew

what she was going to say. Finally, before I hung up I told her about the one discrepancy

between my dream and the news story. She said it was no discrepancy at all. Because

the emergency entrance to San Francisco General Hospital is located on Mission Street,

the locals and the media commonly refer to it as Mission Emergency.

Suddenly, I knew this was no coincidence. I had traveled out of my body,

witnessed someone falling to his death, and interacted with some entity at the scene.

And just in case, years into the future, I began questioning whether I had just dreamed

about a story I had read in the paper, the one discrepancy, which turned out not to be a

discrepancy at all, would be all the proof I needed. I see this as the rough equivalent of the depiction in a movie of a woman in a dream traveling to a faraway beach, picking up

a shell, and then waking up with it clasped tightly in her hand – a shell that she had

unknowingly brought back as proof that she had been there.

The following weekend, I again persuaded a friend to accompany me to search

for the spot. This time I was able to identify it. Then we had dinner at the Cliff house, just a few yards away. Afterwards, I went down to the first floor to use the bathroom before heading home. On the way back up I had to walk at a snail’s pace behind a long line of Japanese tourists. And, as I absented mindedly stared about, I suddenly realized the walls of the staircase were lined with pictures of all the homes I had seen in my

dream. The dates on them indicated they were all from the turn of the century.

The abuse I suffered as a child had forced me through the doorway of astral

projection and into the reality of other parallel existences. That ultimately led to

multiple out of body experiences, including the one I just described. I began to realize

that our consciousness must exist beyond the confines of our bodies. Once I had

stepped through this door, there was no turning back. I began to research the various

phenomena in earnest. More importantly, I learned to meditate in an effort to gain more

personal knowledge about life after death. And I saw many similarities between the

psychic abilities I had developed after my experiences and the ones validated by the

research of the various experts cited in this thesis.

Dr. Masters tells us that, “The beauty of metaphysics is that people are asked to

find out for themselves.” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:39). The significance of this topic is its applicability to the life of each and every individual, and by virtue of that, to the collective human experience while we still have a chance to live a more meaningful life before death. That is why the brief inclusion of my personal experience is relevant. I set out to do exactly what Dr. Masters recommended. I found out for myself. And part of that process of finding out was examining the research of experts, as well as documented personal experiences of some of those experts and the general public, having my own out of body experiences, and meditating.

In so doing, I have arrived at a place of knowing. This allows me to have confidence that anyone can acquire this same knowledge for themselves. And they do

not have to have a near death experience in order to get it. Learning about the

experiences of others is a first step. Gaining personal experience through meditation

will resolve any remaining doubt about the reality of life after life. And in the process of

34 gaining that personal experience, they will come to perceive and understand how to live a more meaningful life before death. They will learn, as Dr. Masters teaches, that “. . . the purpose of one’s physical existence is to manifest the perfection of the Infinite God through the vehicle of the physical body.” (Master’s Degree Curriculum 1:47).

IV. Conclusion

We are at a critical time in the evolution of human history. Our world is plagued with seemingly never ending military conflict, increasingly violent and widespread acts of random violence and mass killings, domestic and child abuse, escalating incidence of extreme poverty, intolerance, hypocrisy, greed and chemical dependency. Life, it seems, is not valued nearly as much as material possessions by a growing segment of our civilization.

Simultaneously, increasing numbers of people are having varying types of out of body experiences that invariably reveal the true nature of our connection to the spirit world. While some are spontaneously having these experiences, others are actively seeking them. No matter how the experience comes about, it appears that the impact on the person is profoundly life changing. The evidence presented in this thesis makes that abundantly clear. And I can certainly attest to it by virtue of my own personal experience.

I began this project with the intention of satisfying the requirements for my

Masters’ Thesis by selecting a topic from the course curriculum, doing the research, and

reporting my findings. I did not expect this to be a life changing exercise and had no clue

about what was about to happen when I selected my topic. To me, it was just another

topic to be researched. All that changed by the third day of my research, and I began to

realize that I must have been divinely guided when I made that selection. The stress of

daily living had long ago caused me to suppress my very keen interest in this topic,

which had been a natural outgrowth of my own experiences with the afterlife.

Suddenly, I was no longer just trying to complete an assignment. I dived

headfirst into my research and went well beyond what would have normally been

required for a paper of this type. I simply could not stop myself. Every bit of the

knowledge I was acquiring seemed to have relevance with respect to my understanding

of the uniqueness of the circumstance in which humanity currently finds itself.

I now know that the past life regression therapy conducted by Dr. Brian Weiss and other experts is tremendously important in helping people find answers to the question of who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. Dr. Michael Newton has raised the bar with the life between lives therapy that he and others are now utilizing to help people answer that question and connect with their divinity.

Gaining knowledge of the afterlife through these and other means is proving invaluable in helping people to lose their fear of death, become more compassionate, develop useful psychic abilities, and live a more purposeful and meaningful life. Some of these psychic abilities are being used to help others heal from physical, mental and emotional ailments. But the world is in such sad shape that it will take a long time before these efforts begin to make a tangible difference in a world gone amuck.

Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope. And it lies in the ever increasing numbers who are now developing interest in, and actually getting involved in the work of making a difference. I am a perfect example of this, as I now believe I was divinely guided to this place where I have now made a decision to become involved in this work. It is my stated intention to study past life regression therapy first with DR. Brian Weiss and then life between lives therapy at the Newton Institute, started by Dr. Michael Newton. I am already on the waiting list for Dr. Weiss’ next class.

The increasing numbers of people who are now engaging in daily meditation is an even more hopeful sign, as this area may hold the greatest potential. There is no delimiting factor – no gatekeeper. People are free to do it on their own any time they choose and are not dependent on someone else to do it for them, or guide them through it. Dr. Masters says that, “Mystical Meditation is the key to contacting and maintaining contact with the Ultimate Intelligence. Through that contact, its Power and Intelligence can be manifested and demonstrated in your daily life” (Minister’s/Bachelor’s Degree

Course Curriculum 1:7). And perhaps, there may even be some benefit derived from the collective effort of large numbers of people meditating at the same time and for the same purpose. I have heard of people engaging in such activity in certain quarters but am not aware of any research being done so far.

This is an area where I believe future researchers can make a significant difference. The Church has long espoused the power of large groups of people praying together, and references to this are even contained in the Bible. Perhaps the time has come for the scientific community to determine, through peer reviewed research, the true power of collective Mystical Meditation. I look forward to one day reading the results of such a study.

In the interim, I must conclude, based on the evidence I have cited from some of the most prestigious researchers on the topic, that knowledge of life after death is indeed a pathway to a more purposeful life before death.

Works Cited

Brinkley, Dannion. Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He received. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

Johnson, Pam. “Near Death Experiences and Spiritual Transformation.” Powered by Intuition. Web. 1 Jan. 2013.

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth. Death is of Vital Importance: On Life, Death, and Life after Death. New York: Station Hill Press. 1995.

Long, Jeffrey. Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences. New York: HarperOne, 2011.

Masters, Paul Leon. Master’s Degree Curriculum. 2 vols. Burbank, CA: Burbank Printing, 2014. Microsoft Word File.

---. Minister’s/Bachelor’s Degree Course Curriculum. 4 vols. Burbank, CA: Burbank Printing, 2014. Microsoft Word file.

---. “Earthly Incarnation.” Founder, Dr. Masters’ Weekly Mystical Insights. Burbank, CA: Burbank Printing, 2015. Microsoft Word File.

Moody, Raymond, Jr., M.D. Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon – Survival of Bodily Death. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.

Morse, Melvin, M.D. Transformed by the Light: The Powerful Effect of Near-Death Experiences on People’s Lives. New York: Random House, 2012. Kindle file.

Newton, Michael. Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life between Lives. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1994.

Ritchie, George G., Jr. and Stevenson. Ordered to Return: My Life After Dying. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., 1998.

Rogers, Buck. “The Wonderful Benefits of Near Death Experiences.” Before It’s News. Web. 8 Jul. 2015.

Van Lommel, Pim, M.D. Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Weiss, Brian, M.D. Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy that Changed Both Their Lives. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1988.