Why this book: I had recently read Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven and was impressed. I’m exploring ideas in this alternate/expanded view of reality and I was/am interested in following Alexander’s journey since his NDE and learning form his insights.

Summary in 3 Sentences: This is a follow up to Proof of Heaven in which he shares insights from his experience in the six years after publishing his highly successful and widely read Proof of Heaven. The first five chapters address possible scientific explanations for his experience and addresses the arguments from the skeptics who claim that the alternate reality he describes in his Near Death Experience (NDE) could not exist. In the following eleven chapters he explains the many implications of of his experience of this alternate reality, and his and his co-author Karen Newell’s experiences teaching, lecturing, and facilitating others in understanding and even having their own experiences.

My Impressions: This is a good book for someone who, though skeptical and uncertain, is willing to accept the possibility that Eben Alexander truly experienced something “real” in the NDE he wrote about in Proof of Heaven. At least initially in the book, he tries to remain detached and objective, and speaks to those of a more practical and skeptical mindset, anticipating their questions and objections (he’s heard them all) and providing responses and explanations. He notes that readers who are primarily interested in or lean to the more objective and scientific perspective on NDE’s will find the first five chapters most instructive. These chapters have titles like “A Hard Problem Indeed,” “Science Meets Spirituality,” “Moving beyond Materialist Science,” “The Primordial Mind Hypothesis” But he warns us that those who may not be interested in examining how different theories of quantum physics, time, and epistemology apply to the issue of NDEs and the “paranormal,” may want to skip these early chapters and go on to chapters six through sixteen. These chapters will be of greatest interst to those who generally accept that his and other NDE’s and other demonstrated paranormal experiences indeed point to a greater reality. I found the first five chapters enlightening, even if I didn’t fully understand all of the physics and quantum theory they described.

In the second section of the book (chapters 6-16) Alexander and his co-author Karen Newell relax and are clearly in their element. He reinforces the point he made in Proof of Heaven that the mind is not the brain. He reminds us that his brain was “out of commission” during his NDE while his mind had an incredible, “transcendent” experience. The mind he points out, has qualities and characteristics that are not tied to the limitations of the biological brain. Alexander and Newell explore what these powers and capabilities are, with examples from their own lives and their work with others.

The second section begins with the premise that the reader accepts the possibility of the existence of a greater, non-materialist reality, and includes chapters with the following titles: “The Power of Prayer,” “The Practice of Going Within,” “Riding the Wave of Consciousness,” “Be the Love that you are,” “The Answers Lie Within Us All,” and “Mind over Matter.” If it sounds pretty woo-woo, it is, AND it is well done and credible.

They note that in our daily vernacular we speak of “love” in many guises and contexts and with many meanings. But one of the most important insights Alexander had in his NDE, and which common to many others who’ve had NDE’s, is that “LOVE” is not “merely” an emotion, but “unconditional love” and the interconnectedness of all beings are fundamental to the reality of the universe. They note that the experience of such unconditional love and interconnectedness was THE overwhelming insight in Alexander’s NDE, and in so many (nearly all) other NDE’s, as well as in the mystical experiences of sages and saints throughout history.

They provide evidence to support their belief that all our minds are part of an interconnected collective mind, what they refer to as “non-local consciousness,” which is similar to what Carl Jung called the “collective unconsciousness,” and that for each individual, their mind is restricted by the limitations of the biological brain. They offer extensive evidence that the mind has powers and insights that are separate from and not often realized by the physical brain. They provide guidance for how we can access this “collective mind” in ourselves, through meditation and quieting the brain’s preoccupation with worldly concerns. You don’t have to have an NDE or a mystical “road to Damascus” experience to access the power and interconnection that each of our minds possess.

If one accepts that the mind exists separate from the brain, that helps explain many paranormal phenomena that otherwise run counter to our materialist view of the world. They explore how telepathy, reincarnation, remote viewing, miracle healing, and other such phenomena can be explained by this understanding of the non-local consciousness, and that the mind as a separate entity is connected to a larger reality. A materialist view of the world can’t explain and often ignores these paranormal phenomena. Rather than accept that materialism may be incomplete and that these phenomena could be indicative of a mystery worth considering, true believers in scientific materialism choose to look the other way.

This is a great book for anyone who is intrigued by NDE’s, and by Alexander’s NDE in particular, and is open to looking at a scientist’s perspective on the broader implications of NDE’s and paranormal phenomena. Since that describes me, I found the book very enlightening – it covers ALOT of territory in 246 pages, and I’ll be reviewing it again soon.