"LIFE AFTER LIFE" (RAYMOND MOODY).   Term Paper ID:23419 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines 15 common stages of experience of near-death phenomenon.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines 15 common stages of experience of near-death phenomenon. Paper Introduction: This study will examine the fifteen different kinds of experiences described by Raymond A. Moody, Jr. in Life After Life: The Investigation of A Phenomenon---Survival of Bodily Death. These experiences are features of the dying experience. Moody's book depends on the accounts of individuals who have "died" and returned from that experience. Therefore, it cannot be seen as a scientific work. Moody admits that a "proof" of these experiences are not "presently possible" (xvi). If the reader is to get anything out of the book, he or she must open his or her heart and mind to the possibility of the near-death experience. Moody wants to try to answer the question "What is it like to die?" (1). For such an answer, he goes to people who have had, or who claim to have had, an experience in which they have physically "died" and come back to life. They are the only ones Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. If the reader is to get anything out ofthe book, he or she must open his or her heart and mind to the possibilityof the near-death experience. Moody wants to try to answer the question "What is it like to die?"(1). There are certain common features to most of theexperiences of these people, and Moody has found fifteen such features. At the same time, obviously, it is necessary thatthese people try to describe the experience if it is to have any meaningfor people who have not had such an experience. As withthe other phases and events, the various names and descriptions make clearthat a similar phenomenon is being reported. Moody admits that a "proof" of these experiencesare not "presently possible" (xvi). Also, their descriptionshelp researchers such as Moody see the common features of the experience. or What have you done with your life thatyou want to show me? It is one of Moody's aims to open people's minds to these experiencesand to encourage the faith they bring. The experiences of the people in his book suggestthe latter possibility. At the same time, Moody does note that all of the sensations are notpleasant. At this stage, the individual has "thesensation of being pulled very rapidly through a dark space of some kind."This dark space is called a tunnel, a cave, a well, a trough, etc. Therefore, it cannot beseen as a scientific work. To the contrary, they feel "warmth," "the mostextreme comfort," "the most wonderful feelings," "peace, comfort, ease---just quietness. I felt that all my troubles were gone" (26-27). After coming back, as all of these people obviously have done, theyare invariably changed for life, and want to tell others of what they havelearned about "the other side," although they often fear being brandedmentally unstable. . This study will examine the fifteen different kinds of experiencesdescribed by Raymond A. Often, they try to speak to people around them, butobviously cannot. BibliographyMoody, Raymond J., Jr. Moody notes that there are two possibilities---one is thatnothing survives death, and the other is that some sort of spiritualconsciousness survives. For such an answer, he goes to people who have had, or who claim tohave had, an experience in which they have physically "died" and come backto life. a majestic, really beautiful sort of music" (28-29). . This means that the person experiencingthe near-death phenomenon has a difficult time putting into words thenature of that experience. The experience of "coming back" often involves resistance on the partof the dying person. . With respect to corroboration, the last of the fifteen aspects, Moodywrites that such objective evidence is support of these experiences isavailable. They become more philosophical, more concerned with ultimatequestions of life and death, more appreciative of life and of theimportance of the mind over the body. However, some report a great feeling of peace and a sense ofwonder about why people are trying to revive the body and why they areacting as if something terrible had happened. Some report a completeblackness in this first stage of the process. Usually, but not always, these others are loved ones.Sometimes they are seen as "guardian spirits" (68). They are the only ones who can tell us of such an experience, ifanybody can. . . Althoughmany obviously felt pain before they "died," afterwards they invariablyfelt no pain whatsoever. Itdoes not seem that the people felt this tunnel, even with its darkness, tobe very unpleasant. They value love and learning morethan previously. "The being of light" is the feature which often has the strongest andmost lasting effect on the individual. Thebeing communicates psychically with the dying person, often "asking"questions: Are you ready to die? Again, this is not a judgmental experience. Life After Life. The "tunnel" is always dark,the individual is moving through it at a high rate of speed, there issometimes a sound accompanying the movement, and there is often "a feelingof limbo, of being half-way there, and half-way somewhere else" (31). Some feel they have died andare ready to move on in spirit to the next realm, but most are confused bythe out-of-body experience. The next feature, "hearing the news," refers to the individual'shearing of his or her own death through the words of a witness. The questions asked bythe light and the loving feelings set off the next stage of the process---the review. With respect to sounds, for example, Moody writes that "in manycases" people report sounds, some pleasant, some not. Specifically, thesepeople are no longer afraid of physical death. It is an "educational" experience whichemphasizes two life lessons: "Learning to love other people and acquiringknowledge" (81). The next stage, "the dark tunnel," often is experienced at the sametime as the sounds just mentioned. One man reported aloud "uncomfortable" buzzing, another reported "a roaring, a banging," andanother reported "bells tingling . This being is made of light, is seenas a spiritual power, is "indescribably brilliant" and yet "does not in anyway hurt their eyes" (7 -71). A Christian saw it as Christ, while A Jew saw it as an angel. Moody says that most people areconfused at this phase and desire to get back into their bodies but do notknow how. . in Life After Life: The Investigation ofA Phenomenon---Survival of Bodily Death. They have come back to their bodies, knowing they have work to doon earth, but they no longer fear the death that is inevitable. Many report a sense of a spiritual body at this stage. These "others" are "spiritual beings . New views of death are adopted afterward as well. Next come "feelings of peace and quiet" (26). It is such a powerfully emotional and/orspiritual experience that "They just don't make adjectives and superlativesto describe this" (22). . To the contrary, most reported it to be pleasant, oneman calling it "the most wonderful, worry-free experience you can imagine"(32). Theindividual first feels that he is not dead, and tries to move but cannot.He feels nothing of the resuscitation efforts. Moody, Jr. to tellthem their time to die had not yet come" and they must go back into theirbodies (65-66). Instead, thebeing of life intends "to provoke reflection" on the individual's partabout his life. "Meeting others" can occur at different parts of the near-deathexperience. Theborder experience seems to indicate a point which separates this world fromthe next, a point which the dying do not cross, but instead move toward,and then away from as they return to life on earth in human form. The next phase---"out of the body"---comes after the journey throughthe tunnel and involves the individual's seeing his own body from aperspective outside of his body. They all are completely convinced their experiences werereal. The individualsundergoing the near-death experience very often "describe extremelypleasant feelings and sensations during the early stages" (26). Hall & Co., 1975.----------------------- 3 Moody's book depends on the accounts of individualswho have "died" and returned from that experience. The effects on the lives of these people are various, but generallypositive. They do notwant to kill themselves to experience death again, but feel that death is anatural part of life, a passage rather than a conclusion. The review has the individual seeing his entire life displayed by thebeing of light. like Japanese wind bells." Another"began to hear . Other non-medical witnesses alsocorroborate in detail the stories of people who had ben medically dead. Boston: G.K. Above all, "the love and the warmth whichemanate from this being to the dying person are utterly beyond words, and he feels completelysurrounded by it and taken up in it" (71). It is a rapid review in chronological order, with somesaying it happens in one moment. After all, from theirperspective, they have already experienced death, have seen that it is adesirable spiritual journey, and did not even want to come back to theirbodies. Weightlessness and timelessness are oftenreported at this stage. Despite the similarity of thedescriptions of this being, individuals interpret its identity in differentways. The "common stages or events of the experiences of dying" begin withthe ineffability of the experience. . For example, one woman who had "died""moved out" of her body, floated to the ceiling of the hospital room, andlooked down upon her own body in the bed where the nurses and doctors triedto revive her: "I felt almost as though I were a piece of paper thatsomeone had blown up to the ceiling" (37). who were apparentlythere to ease them through their transition into death, or . These experiences are features ofthe dying experience. There is no judgment or condemnation in thesequestions, but are asked with total love and acceptance "The love that camefrom it is just unimaginable, indescribable" (79). Doctors, for example, corroborate the accounts of people whohave "died" and witnessed medical procedures performed on bodies thedoctors confirm as medically dead. The dying experience by this stage has taken theperson into a spiritual realm full of joys and pleasures, and often he doesnot want to return to his earthly, human body: "I never wanted to leave thepresence of this being" (1 1). Next comes "the Border or Limit." This is described in different ways---as a fence, a line, a body of water, a door, etc., but again it seems tosuggest a similar experience running through the various accounts. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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