life after life raymond moody€¦ · experience to himself [telling others], as others either...
TRANSCRIPT
Life After Life
Raymond Moody
LinkedIn. Twitter Email
Operation Value Creation
Website
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 1 | 11
Life after Life Executive Summary
Author: Raymond Moody, M.D. Ph.D
About the Author
Raymond Moody is the man behind the term Near Death Experiences (NDE’s), or as the New York Times
calls him, “father of the near-death-experience”. His work can be credited for revolutionizing the way
we think about death, as his eleven books have sold over 20 million copies, with Life after Life (this
book) selling more than 13 million.
He received his medical degree from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D in philosophy from the
University of Virginia. He is also the recipient of many awards including the World Humanitarian Award
and a bronze medal in the Human Relations category at the New York Film Festival for the movie version
of Life After Life.
Warning: This book is a short read, and the majority of it’s content are straight from the stories. Thus,
this executive summary is an awesome to touch up and preview the text, but the true learning is in the
form of hearing real life encounters. Enjoy!
Summary
Raymond Moody uses his experience of hearing and dissecting 150 Near Death Experiences (NDE’s) to
help us understand the reality of death. He goes from turning death into a taboo and frightening
experience into something we can celebrate, something we can look forward to, and something we can
use to shape our physical existence.
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 2 | 11
Start Here (Click For Direct Reference)
The Impact on Myself
What Is Death?
What is the Experience?
What Parallels Are There?
Explanations
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
click to go to index!
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 3 | 11
My Experience
This book changed my life. Prior to reading this I had suffered with depression and deep rooted anger
towards my parents. Life was “work”, and there seemed to always be a dark cloud over my head. I
wasn’t the classic depression case, I played division 1 sports, graduated magna cum laude, and from the
outside seemed “happy”, but inside was a rollercoaster of emotions I seemingly had no controI over.
75% of the time I was able to channel this anger and depression to work with me and motivate me in
school/work, but right around the time of reading this it was starting to come to a halt. I had been in a
tumultuous relationship that tested my personal faith and career ambitions. I was severely depressed,
having trouble getting out of bed, barely holding on to the motivation of life.
This book will resonate in different ways for everyone, I am a huge believer in self-realization, but the
common truths revealed will enlighten and empower the person you are and want to become. I read
this when I was 23, and prior I had built a strong faith in myself and didn’t feel purpose or reason. I
almost felt like my beliefs were more an educated guess than sound reason.
But without further ado, let’s get into this book and hopefully it changes your life as much as it did mine.
Foreword
Death was never a sensitive subject. In fact, throughout history it’s been celebrated and welcomed.
However, in the twentieth century Western society’s taken any mystification and pretty much shattered
it with what Moody calls scientific materialism. This proposes that only physical matter exists, and that
consciousness is an illusion dependent on the workings of the brain and body.
Why and what were the forces behind this? Moody points to the rapid shift to hospital based care in the
early twentieth century leading to a de-humanization of death since the process was now in hospitals
with loved ones usually ushered away. I would also offer the commercialization of death, with the
amount of money to be made from grants and procedures in keeping patients alive have made it
decidedly unnatural.
“The vast majority of human cultures over tens of millennia have seen death as a natural part
of life and have built their understanding of it into a comprehensive worldview. But with the
rise of scientific materialism in the twentieth century, modern Western culture abandoned
that integrated view, to it’s detriment.”
Personal Death Story: My Grandfather
Within the past year my grandfather passed away. I’m not exactly sure of the reasons but he had fallen
two days before and didn’t look the same the whole day after the fall. Later that night he was having
breathing problems and what seemed like a normal trip to the hospital ended up being his last.
In the hospital (disclaimer, this is a second hand story from my father), he kept saying “I’m sorry”, and
“someone’s here”.
What’s further, is in his closet after he had passed he had laid out a suit and tie, seemingly his burial
outfit. From my perspective he knew, and I feel at peace in that.
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 4 | 11
Intro
In what I believe should be the first paragraph of every book, Moody states:
“THIS BOOK, WRITTEN as it is by a human being, naturally reflects the background, opinions and
prejudices of its author. So, although I have tried to be as objective and straightforward as I can,
certain facts about me might be useful in evaluating some of the extraordinary claims which are
made in what follows.”
His beliefs technically would be of the Methodist church (in organizational terms), but his beliefs are
that no one of us has all the answers to the deep and fundamental truths with which religion deals.
Which brings me to the bias of myself even as I synthesize his work.
I was raised protestant, but would organizationally call myself spiritual. Like the author above, I believe
no one man/woman/ organization has the answers, and I believe never will because existence and our
being stems from each individuals unique soul, thus any structure, order, or practice with unilateral
rules can’t answer your unique truth.
Chapter 1: Phenomenon of Death
This is where my head first exploded.
Lesson 1: Limitation of Human Language
First Moody talks about the limitations of human language in regards to discussing death.
“…words of human language allude to things of which we have experience through our own
physical senses. Death, though, is something which lies beyond the conscious experience of
most of us because most of us have never been through it”
Lesson 2: How We View Death
Next he highlights the comparison of death to sleep, first alluding to Homer’s The Illiad in which Homer
calls sleep “death’s sister”. He then highlights Plato in his dialogue The Apology, in which he says, “Now,
if death is only a dreamless sleep”.
Finally he alludes to modern day, in which he says this analogy is embedded in our contemporary
language. His example dogs being “put to sleep”. My example is much broader. How many times have
you heard this word with physical violence or sport? Football, boxing, MMA, just turn on WWE Monday
night raw and I promise you’ll here it.
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 5 | 11
Lesson 3: How Ancients View Death
The fear of death or misconception death hasn’t always been prevalent, in fact ancient civilizations
seemed to embrace and celebrate it. This is because they believed the human body survives even after
the physical body ceases. They saw it as a “transition” rather than “to sleep”. Moody highlights a Turkish
graveyard used by Neanderthal men 100,000 years ago. Upon digging up fossils, they noticed these
ancient men buried their dead in biers of flowers, signaling the possibility it was a celebration.
Chapter 2: The Experience of Dying
Lesson 1: The Process
Moody systematizes the “ideal’ or “complete” experience which embodies all the common elements, in
the order in which it is typical for them to occur. The outline of his process looks like this:
A man is dying, and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself
pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or
buzzing [The Noise], and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark
tunnel [The Dark Tunnel]. After this, he sees himself outside of his physical body, but still in the
immediate physical environment [Out of the Body]. He is generally in a state of emotional
upheaval as he sees his physical body.
He collects himself after a while, and notices that he has a “body”, but different than anything in
physical form. Most people mention this state of being as limitless, free, truly autonomous.
Soon other things begin to happen. Spirits, usually past deceased relatives and friends visit him
to help with the process [Meeting Others]. Also a loving, warm spirit people call the being of
light appears before him [The Being of Light]. This being asks him two main questions,
nonverbally. One, are you prepared to die, and two, what do you have to show me. This being
helps him along by showing him a panoramic, instantaneous playback of the major events of his
life, teaching with every experience [The Review].
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 6 | 11
It’s around this point he finds himself at the border of earthly life and the next life, usually not
wanting to return to earthly life [The Border or Limit], as he is overwhelmed by intense feelings
of joy, love, and peace. It’s here he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives [Coming
Back]. He tries to tell others about his experience, but has trouble doing so and thus keeps this
experience to himself [Telling Others], as others either scoff or just can’t understand
[Ineffability].
Each subsection is highlighted above, and now I will briefly touch on what I consider the most important
ones (This is where real life stories come in):
The Being of Light
No matter religious backgrounds, not one person expressed any doubt that it was a being, and a being
of light. In fact, they called it a “personal” being.
This being also tends to be largely a function of the religious background, as most of the Christian
backed men and women described the light as Christ while a Jewish man and women identified it as an
angel.
The Review
To me this is where the book takes shape, for it is here the being releases the true meaning of
life and we see from NDE’s the teachings this being presents.
The being starts by asking two questions related to your readiness to die and your past
accomplishments. One woman said:
“The first thing he said to me was, that he kind of asked me if I was ready to die, or what
I had done with my life that I wanted to show him.”
However, these questions were NOT asked in a subjective way, but rather a socratical way,
focusing on reflection rather than anything absolute. As the author says, “…not at all asked in
condemnation”.
Reflection
Next the being takes you through a panoramic review of your life, with memories following one
another swiftly in chronological order.
Here he uses every experience to teach the following principles: Love and Knowledge.
I’d like to point out this man’s story:
“All through this, he kept stressing the importance of love. He seemed very interested in
things concerning knowledge, too. He kept on pointing out things that had to do with
learning, and he did say that I was going to continue learning, and he said that even
when he comes back for me (because by this time he had told me that I was going back)
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 7 | 11
that there will always be a quest for knowledge. He said that it is a continuous process,
so I got the feeling that it goes on after death.”
This is where I came up with my following truth. Each one of you will have different truths, but
all centered on the teachings of this being.
My Truth: Life has meaning, and the meaning of this physical life is the soul’s self-realization
journey towards duty, knowledge, and love. This means aligning the above truth with your
intention in everything you do.
Coming Back
What is important here is the reason people come back. We’ve seen above the meaning of life, and how
we can apply this to everyday, but WHY did the people come back.
It comes back to this being, and according to the people, it wasn’t for them, but rather the people on
earth. As one woman said, “I had a duty to my family…so I decided to try to come back”.
Moody said:
“Others feel that they were in effect allowed to live by “God”, or by the being of light, either in
response to their own request to be allowed to live (usually because the request was made unselfishly)
or because God or the being apparently had some mission in mind for them fulfill.
The message is this, your existence is predicated on love for others, and the intention of coming back
must be for others and not yourself.
Effects on Lives
The profound impact of NDE’s don’t have to be exclusive to those with experience. In fact, it is only to
our benefit to understand their experience and carry it over to our own life.
We’ve discussed the feelings of limitless and freedom, but what is most important in our existence right
now is the experience with the white light. This white light brings you through a panorama of your life,
guiding and teaching you to focus on love and knowledge.
The consensus of effect from people coming back summarize into this:
- Life becomes more precious
- Actions are now driven by meaning
- People focus on loving others, doing things for other’s good rather than their own, and being
non-biased or judgmental
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 8 | 11
My Experience
Growing up I was always an athlete. At 13 I was traveling the nation finding the best competition in
baseball. By high school I was talking to college coaches, and by college I was invited to a tryout for the
Atlanta Braves. However I never felt fulfilled, or meaningful in doing this. Rather, I felt like I was doing it
because I was supposed to rather than because it was right or I wanted to. I felt like I was living the life
others wanted and wasn’t in control. Somehow I made it through 4 years of division 1 college baseball,
and even though I would practice every day and had a successful career, I never felt “in” it.
After this book what was fuzzy became clear, and my realization was this: I wasn’t helping anyone
through playing. I wasn’t loving anyone through playing. In fact, I was doing to do it, not because there
the meaning of knowledge and love as the being calls it.
One man echoed my realization: “There’s so much more that I’ve got to find out…there’s more
to life than Friday night movies and the football game”.
This realization now drives me in every project/job/work I do. If there is no meaning, I am wasting my
existence living the life not for me. Its not about pay, or prestige, but rather meaning.
New Views of Death
As you can imagine, the view of death as “to put to sleep” disavows logic and personal experience, while
viewing it as a transition and coming home seems best fit.
As one man puts it: “I’ve had a gun pulled on me and put to my temple. And it didn’t frighten me very
much, because I thought, “Well, if I really die, if they really kill me, I know I’ll still live somewhere”.
But the author makes sure to point this is only with unintentional death, as intentionally dying is
considered throwing the gift of life away.
Chapter 3: Parallels
Moody now highlights the parallels between NDE’s and highly esoteric writings from the literature of
several very diverse civilizations, cultures, and eras.
The Bible
The Bible, specifically the Old Testament, says very little about death. In fact, in the little of text on it, it
alludes to “sleep” until all physical beings are resurrected.
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 9 | 11
Isaiah 26:19: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and
sing, ye that dwell in dust: for…the earth shall cast out the dead
Daniel 12:2: And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Personal Objection
This is where my personal bias might spill over, but in no NDE were there feelings of shame. Unlike as
mentioned above, the reflection period was met with love and the yearning for knowledge, even when
touching upon the experiences of greed and guilt in the panorama.
In fact, Moody says when most people come back they become more reflective and concerned with
“ultimate philosophical issues”, which to me means universal leaning views.
Plato
Plato, who lived in Athens from 428 to 348 BC was one of the greatest thinkers of all time.
He believed strongly in the use of reason, logic, and argument in the attainment of truth and wisdom,
but up a point, as ultimately truth can only come to one in an almost mystical experience of
enlightenment and insight. This mystical experience refers to the fact he believes this physical realm
could be understood by referencing “higher” planes of reality.
“Accordingly, he was interested mainly in the incorporeal, conscious component of man-the
soul-and saw the physical body only as the temporary vehicle of the soul”
Brace up, because the next book you read this will come full circle.
Seat of the Soul Summary
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
This remarkable work is the compilation of teachings of sages over many centuries in prehistoric Tibet,
and would be read at the funeral or during the dying process. It was thought to serve two main
purposes:
1: Help the dying person keep in mind the nature of each new wondrous phenomenon as he
experienced it.
2: Help those still living think positive thoughts and not hold the dying one back.
What is remarkable is their contradictory view of death compared to current day, as the wise men who
wrote it regarded dying as a skill, “something which could be done either artfully or in an unbecoming
manner”.
Without getting into the specific process described in the book, we can confirm that with the exception
of later stages of death, their account was extremely similar to NDE’s.
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 10 | 11
Emmanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg, who lived from 1688-1772, was renowned in the field of natural science. However, later in
life he underwent a religious crisis and would tell of experiences in which he would communicate with
spiritual entities.
What is phenomenal is how striking his claims are with these experiences, as he explains when
respiration and circulation ceases like this:
“Still man does not die, but is only separated from the corporeal part which was of use to him in
the world…Man, when he dies, only passes from one world into another.”
He brings me to the following understanding:
It is obvious we don’t use all of our brain. Without getting into scientific debates, I bring up
dreaming to defend this, as thoughts you would never have in a conscious state are brought to life.
Lucid Dreaming: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/lucid-
dreaming-and-self-realization
Chapter 4: Questions
Here Moody confronts every question. Refer to your book for specifics.
Chapter 5: Explanations
For each solution someone can find 20 problems
In this chapter Moody takes the 3 main explanations and compares them to his subject’s experiences.
Supernatural
Here Moody describes the common supernatural view of an experience being either God-directed or
Satan-directed. He says in all experiences his subjects come back with a renewed commitment towards
loving and forgiving which would most resemble god-directed.
Natural (Scientific)
In examining any explanations due to drugs, physiology (biology of functions within body), and
neurology (nervous system), Moody points out that although experiences are similar, there are distinct
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
M a t t h e w R M o t t o l a P r o p r i e t a r y 11 | 11
differences between the above group and NDE’s. Specifically, the above group has experiences more
tailored to their religious training versus what raw NDE’s have said.
Psychological
Before getting into the details, the author makes sure to clarify how psychology as a field is very
scattered. He then discusses two core psychology concepts that create similar NDE experiences:
1: Isolation Research
2: Dreams, Hallucinations, and Delusions
Just like with the natural (scientific) section, the differences were in the details, as non-NDE’s tailored
more to the person’s beliefs than the common NDE.
Like What You See? To learn more check
this out!
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj