When Raymond Moody wrote his book, Life After Life, Elizabeth Kubler Ross wrote a foreword. In it she said
Dr. Moody will have to be prepared for a lot of criticism, mainly from two areas. There will be members of the clergy who will be upset by anyone who dares to do research in an area which is supposed to be taboo. Some religious representatives of a denominational church have already expressed their criticism of studies like this. One priest referred to it as "selling cheap grace." Others simply felt that the question of life after death should remain an issue of blind faith and should not be questioned by anyone.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Life After Life
I find it interesting that Kubler-Ross mentioned two sources of criticism. One of course is the scientific and medical community who have fallen over themselves to come up with Realm-1 explanations of a Realm-2 experience. We might be surprised though that the other main objectors seem to be sourced in orthodox Christian religion. It is as though the various churches feel that death and the afterlife belong to them, and they need to keep their brand strong by telling followers that only their particular religion/sect has the answers.
Many years ago I was sitting on a train returning from my day job in Melbourne, and the archetype of the “little old lady” sat herself down opposite me, and insisted on starting up a conversation. I didn’t want to engage, I was absorbed in marking test papers and wanted to enter the results on my laptop computer, but she persisted. Finally she asked, “What do you think of religion and euthanasia?” I was totally blown away, and after thinking quickly I replied that if the religions were right and when we left this world we were going to a much better place - then if we were in terrible pain, why should we have to stay here in this pain when we could be released into a state of bliss and healing. She leaned across to me and announced, “That’s just what I said to those bloody priests!”
I like the idea that after almost two thousand years of “brand control” in the West, Realm-2 has taken matters into its own hands and made the knowledge of the survival of death available on an individual basis to many, many souls.
Since Dr Moody wrote his book, there are thousands of NDEs recorded. There are a number of websites that archive them and make them available to people, I shall provide a list at the end of this chapter, but one of the most significant NDE archives is at the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) which has been recording them since 2002. These accounts are anonymous, and are not written to convince anyone of a point of view, rather they are a record of the experience of an individual.
The NDE experience convinces the individual that there are experiences that cannot be put into words (ineffability); that consciousness can continue independently of the body; that there are much higher beings in existence than humans; that life has a purpose and that when they return into a physical body - they are expected to embrace that purpose and change.
Thankyou for this work it’s so interesting l have had a very special spiritual experience and l am excited to be in your company with this work.l cannot express my self as a writer but l will in time improve.