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Dr. Don Morse's Near-Death Experience
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When he went
out for a run one day in 1983, Donald
R. Morse, DDS, PhD., a Temple University
science professor, was like many of
his scientific colleagues, not believing
in anything beyond the material world.
His views regarding a spiritual world
and life after death began to change
a few minutes into his workout when
he had a near-death experience. At that
time, Morse was absolutely certain he
was going to die. But when his experience
was over, he discovered that he was
not actually near death at all. Yet
his experience was so profound, it affected
him for the rest of his life. In essence,
he was reborn. His journey into the
spirit realm is a good example of how
extreme anxiety can trigger a person
into having a near-death experience.
It shows that one does not have to be "near
death" to have a NDE. As a result
of his experience and thorough search
for the truth, Morse published his findings
into a book entitled,
Searching
For Eternity: A Scientist's Spiritual
Journey to Overcome Death Anxiety.
The following is Dr. Morse's NDE testimony
in his own words.
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I felt
myself spinning around and around in ever widening
circles. Then the sounds of the world became
more and more quiet. Voices of people and songs
of birds began to slow down. It seems that the
faster I spun, the slower and less distinct
the outside sounds became. Then I heard my heartbeat.
First, it was very rapid and loud. Then, when
it was beating so fast that I thought it would
burst in my chest, it began to slow down.
Slower and slower my heart pulsated, and then
I could feel it no longer. I quickly fell to
the ground, and my heart stopped beating. At
least, I no longer heard it. Was I dead? I had
no idea, but instead of seeing nothingness,
I first saw pitch darkness and then an incredibly
bright, white light. It enveloped me so that
I could see nothing but this light. I was not
afraid. I felt secure, warm, and serene. No
one came to greet me but I felt a loving presence
around me.
Then
in rapid succession, I saw my whole life flash
before me: the temper tantrums of my childhood,
my winning a dart-throwing contest, my hospital
bout with colitis, the asthma attacks, the family
visits to Stamford, Connecticut, throwing an
opposing player out at home plate, shooting
a winning basket, crying when the New York Giants
lost a baseball game, seeing my father die an
agonizing death from lung cancer, getting married
on a cloudy day in Brooklyn, honeymooning in
Bermuda, seeing each one of my three children
being born, watching a developing rainbow in
Las Vegas with my wife and children, vacationing
with my wife in Rome, doing a surgical procedure
on the day John Kennedy was killed, watching
my mother wither away from Alzheimer's disease,
getting the Temple University research award,
falling out of a canoe and later contracting
giardiasis, going out for a jog on the hospital
grounds, spinning around, and falling to the
ground.
Then my review abruptly
ended, I left my body, flew above the clouds
and arrived at the Mt. Eden Cemetery in Valhalla,
New York - the same cemetery where my mother
and father were buried. At this point, everything
was vague. I knew I was being buried, but I
couldn't really see it. I just had the feeling
it was happening. Just as quickly as I had arrived
there, I was gone. Suddenly it was another day.
I was reading the obituary column of the
Philadelphia
Inquirer.
I could not discern what was written about me,
but I was certain that I saw my name. Strangely,
perceiving my funeral and reading my obituary
were not frightening. Was it because I had been
enveloped by that wonderful light and had felt
a caring presence? I don't know, because the
next thing I knew, I was back inside the hospital,
and felt the sharp pain of an injection.
The
injection had revived me and brought me to life,
so to speak. Had I experienced another realm
or was it merely a hallucination? At the time
I wasn't sure. Subsequently, I found out that
the experiences of observing my funeral and
reading my obituary were different than other
people's NDEs. However, the darkness followed
by the glorious light, the life review, the
blissful feelings, and the loving presence surrounding
me, were similar to many other NDEs. Most importantly,
that NDE set the stage for my journey to overcome
death anxiety.
After
this incredible experience, it was important
to find out whether or not I had conquered death
anxiety. To do that, I had to continue the spiritual
journey. There would be several paths
on the journey and since I had a NDE of sorts
myself, I decided that the first path to explore
would be NDEs.
Dr.
Don Morse is Professor Emeritus at
Temple University in Philadelphia. He is
a
polymath having graduate degrees in dentistry,
endodontology, microbiology, psychology and
nutrition. Dr. Morse has been the principal
investigator in many research projects involving
hypnosis, meditation, acupuncture, and
brain wave synchronizers (BWS). Dr. Morse
has written over
200 scientific articles and twelve books,
including nine non-fiction books - seven of
which are on stress and its management. Dr.
Morse was President of the
Philadelphia Society For Clinical Hypnosis
for two years and was Editor-in-Chief of
The International Journal of Psychosomatics
for ten years. He is presently Editor-in-Chief
of the
Journal of Religion and Psychical Research.
Dr. Morse has given courses in hypnosis, meditation,
BWS, relaxation therapy, stress management,
and dealing with death anxiety throughout the
United States and in 28 other countries. Dr.
Morse is also an avid life extensionalist who
believes in maintaining proper exercise and
diet. He won the Senior Grand Master title at
the
2005 Natural USA Bodybuilding Championships
of the Natural Physique Association. He
also won the Grand Master Championships at the
2004 Musclemania Nation’s Capitol Bodybuilding
Contest.
The
following is an excerpt of Dr. Don Morse's
book
Searching For
Eternity: A Scientist's Spiritual Journey
to Overcome Death Anxiety.
Since the Jewish
concepts of God, the soul and its afterlife
travels are closest to the findings from
NDEs and related psi phenomena, and therefore
are of major importance in the personal
afterlife concept, these are considered
in some detail. The Jewish perspective can
be divided into the Early Biblical period,
the Pre-exilic Biblical period, the Postexilic
Biblical period, the Apocryphal period,
the Talmudic and Midrash period, the Medieval
period, the Kabbalistic period, the Hasidic
period and the current periods.
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a.
The Early
Biblical Period: Abraham to the
Exodus (1800-1250 B.C.): No Afterlife |
In the beginning,
Judaism was concerned exclusively with the
destiny of the Israelite people as a whole.
The fate of the individual Israelite after
death was of no concern. In the times of
the patriarchs,
Moses, and the Israelite tribal confederacy
the Hebrew Bible says nothing about the
fate of a person after death except that
death is considered to be a return to the
company of the deceased's family. Although
there is no mention of any individual afterlife
experience, death is thought to be a gathering
to one's ancestors where departed family
spirits cohabited within the sacred ancestral
society of the family tomb. It was also
a common practice then to feed the dead
with food and water. The belief was that
the living would sustain the dead, and the
dead would protect the living.
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b.
The Pre-Exilic
Biblical Period: Joshua to Babylonian
Exile (1250-586 B.C.): Sheol Appears |
In
this time period, the concept of death had
a changing outlook. It was now explained
as a diminution of energy. Vital energy,
which was called
nefesh, existed in each person. While
the individual was alive, nefesh was present
dynamically. When the person was sick, nefesh
was in a weakened state. At death, nefesh
had a maximum loss. Nefesh combines breath,
life force, vital energy and spirit. The
concept of the individual soul leaving the
body at death was unknown since Nefesh is
the totality of being. When alive, a person
is considered to be a
nefesh hayyah: a living nefesh, which
is a vital psychophysical being. Once the
individual dies, he/she becomes a nefesh
met which is basically deanimated energy.
The living person stayed with either family,
clan, tribe, or nation in the Earthly realm.
Prior to the
emergence of this belief, it was accepted
that the subterranean dead dwelt in the
grave in the family tomb. In this time period,
something new was added to accepted thought.
Now, it was believed that the graves of
the family, tribe, and nation united into
an underground place (a subterranean region)
known as
Sheol. Sheol was considered to be the
abode of the ancestral dead. Later in this
time period, the Hebrew spiritual leaders
believed that the dead descended into the
bowels of the Earth into Sheol. In Sheol,
an existence of sorts took place, but it
was a faded and weakened condition. The
beings existing in Sheol were know as
rephaim (shades, ghosts, powerless ones,
weak ones). However, death was still a group
process with all the deceased collectively
going to Sheol. Sheol has been compared
to the Christian hell as illustrated by:
Isaiah 5:14,
Isaiah 14:11 and
Isaiah 14:15. Nevertheless, Sheol was
considered to be neither good nor bad.
At this point
in time, God was the personal God of the
Israelites, and Sheol was a realm outside
of His concern. It was thought that God
dwelt in the heavens, humans dwelt in the
earth, and the dead dwelt in Sheol. Sheol
was not a region of terror or punishment.
It was simply where the deceased - rich
and poor, saints and sinners - went and
where the relations and customs of Earthly
life were reenacted. The disembodied beings
in Sheol also had the power to be aware
of the Earthly realm and interact with the
humans there as is shown in
1 Samuel 28:13-14. However, the disembodied
entities residing in Sheol were in a weakened
and faded condition. Nor was Sheol a pleasant
place judging by these descriptions in
Job 17:16,
Proverbs 8:27,
Job 26:5-6 and
Proverbs 21:16.
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c.
The Post-Exilic
Biblical Period: Babylon Exile to
the Hellenistic Era (586-200 B.C.):
Sheol Becomes a Temporary Stop-Off
Place |
In
this time period, the concept of God changed
from being the local God of the Israelites
to being the God of the entire universe.
As such, He had control of everything including
Sheol. This being the case, all deceased
people did not have to go to Sheol:
Psalm 49:15-16 and
Psalm 116:3-6. As previously mentioned,
in the pre-exilic biblical period, the deceased
could interact with the living, but now
that could no longer occur:
Psalm 88:7-9 and
Job 15:13. In this period, Sheol also
became a realm of retribution for the enemies
of Israel:
Ezekiel 32:17-18. As Sheol became a
destiny for the enemies of Israel, it became
accepted belief that not every deceased
Israelite had to go there. The possibility
of a righteous deceased entity that could
be with God after death suddenly became
possible:
Job 20:26. However, there was a further
change in the role Sheol played in the afterlife.
Sheol took on the role of a temporary stop-off
place following death. The righteous deceased
who deserved redemption would wait for an
undetermined time period in Sheol. Then,
when the messiah (redeemer) came, the deceased
would be resurrected from the dead (along
with their bodies) and enjoy the wonderful
messianic kingdom.
As discussed
before, a concept of a final resurrection
had previously appeared in
Zoroastrianism. Here during the postexilic
biblical period, at first, it was described
as a resurrection of all of Israel. This
is shown in
Ezekiel 37:1-14. Later, the resurrection
of deceased individual entities is addressed
in
Isaiah 26:19. However, if a person had
been evil, resurrection would be unfavorable
as described in
Daniel 12:2. Therefore, as the biblical
time periods came to a close, the Jewish
disembodied being was believed to reside
in Sheol as a temporary resting place. Upon
the arrival of the messiah the disembodied
spirit would be united with its physical
body and resurrected to enjoy the messianic
kingdom. However, if a person was evil during
life, his future "reward" would not be blissful.
In fact, it could be unpleasant. This belief
set the stage for the later idea of heaven
and hell as intermediate destinations of
the disembodied entity before the arrival
of the messianic kingdom and resurrection.
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d.
The Apocryphal
Period: Heaven and Hell |
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The Apocryphal period spans
the centuries from 200 B.C.
to 200 A.D. During this
time, Jewish writers from
inside and outside of Palestine
produced a collection of
literature that was not
included in the Hebrew Bible.
The collective texts are
known as the
Apocrypha and the
Pseudepigrapha. One
of the most complete is
3 Enoch: The Hebrew
Book of Enoch. Fifteen of
the apocryphal texts are
included in the
Catholic Bible. The
Pseudepigrapha are not included
in either Bible. It is in
this time period that the
belief in an individual
soul as separate from the
body emerges. Enoch stated
that all humans are a part
of God's creation. Each
person's individual soul
represents a piece of God.
The belief that was first
brought up in the Book of
Daniel was now emphasized.
That is, there will be separate
fates for good and evil
people after death. The
idea of the dualism of body
and soul (with the soul
surviving the dead body)
is addressed in the apocryphal
period literature several
times such as in these passages: |
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"Evildoers
will go down into Sheol ... into
the place of judgment they will
descend. And into the darkness of
the depths they will all be removed
with a cruel death." (Jubilees 7:29)
"Woe to you who spread evil
to your neighbors! ... for you will
be slain in Sheol." (1 Enoch 99:11)
"Their bones (the righteous)
will rest in the earth and their
spirits will increase in joy." (Jubilees
23:31)
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Sheol is now described
as an assembly place for the deceased souls
who wait for the judgment time:
"These
beautiful corners are here in order
that the spirits of the souls of
the dead should assemble into them
they are created so that the souls
of the children of the people should
gather here. They prepared these
places in order to put the souls
of the people there until their
day of their judgment and the appointed
time of great judgment is upon them."
(1 Enoch 22:3-4)
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In this same
time period, a new term comes into use:
Gehenna. Gehenna was used as a synonym
for Sheol, and both terms represent the
equivalent of hell:
"In those
days, Sheol will return all the
deposits which she had received
and Gehenna will give back all that
which it owes. And He shall choose
the righteous and the holy ones
from among the risen dead, for the
day when they shall be selected
and saved has arrived." (1 Enoch
51:1-3)
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Sheol also becomes
a place of torture - a veritable hell with
various punishments such as fire, burning
and darkness:
"Woe
unto you sinners who are dead! ...
You yourselves know that they will
bring your souls down to Sheol;
and they shall experience evil and
great tribulation in darkness, nets,
and burning flame." (1 Enoch 103:7)
"And
with all their glory and their splendor,
and in shame and in slaughter and
in great destitution, their spirits
shall be cast into the furnace of
fire." (1 Enoch 98:3)
"Know
that their souls will be made to
descend into Sheol, and they shall
be wretched in their great tribulation.
And into darkness and chains and
a burning flame where there is grievous
judgment shall your spirits enter;
and the great judgment shall be
for all the generations of the world.
Woe to you, for you shall have no
peace." (1 Enoch 63:10)
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During this time
period, heaven made its first appearance
in the apocryphal period literature. In
the Hebrew Book of Enoch, it states that
not long after Earth's creation, 200 angels
fell from heaven to Earth. These fallen
angels led humans astray by teaching them
secrets about how the universe worked and
initiated them into the practice of magic.
The fallen angels taught some humans how
to perform magical rituals and how other
angels could be manipulated. Angels were
considered to be alive, and they could appear
in various shapes and forms depending upon
their purpose and function.
Apocryphal literature
started by describing a single heaven, then
four heavens, then seven heavens (which
in the third heaven includes hell and paradise)
and finally the garden of Eden (gam
Eden) emerged:
"Be hopeful,
because formerly you have pined
away through evil and toil. But
now, you will shine like the lights
of heaven, and you shall be seen;
and the windows of heaven will be
opened for you... You are about
to be making a great rejoicing like
the angels of heaven." (1 Enoch
104:2,4)
"When
the Holy One, blessed be he, went
out from the garden to Eden, and
from Eden to the garden, from the
garden to the heaven, and from heaven
to the garden of Eden, all gazed
at the bright image of his Shekhinah
(feminine aspect of God) and were
unharmed." (3 Enoch 5:5-6)
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It is also in
this period that a third category of souls
is designated. First are the wicked souls
who go to Sheol (Gehenna) for punishment.
Second are the good souls who go to heaven
(paradise,
gan eden) for bliss. The third category
of souls are the intermediate souls who
are partially defiled and can go through
post-mortem purification and then can continue
on to heaven as is shown here:
"Samkiel
(one angel of destruction) is in
charge of the souls of the intermediate,
to support them and purify them
from sin, through the abundant mercies
of the Omnipresent One. Zaapiel
(another angel of destruction) is
appointed to bring down the souls
of the wicked from the presence
of the Holy One, blessed be he,
from the judgment of Schechina to
Sheol to punish them with fire in
Gehinnom with rods of burning coal."
(3 Enoch 44:1-2)
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Up to this point
in time, there were two concurrently running
beliefs regarding the soul. The principal
one was that at the end of days when the
messiah would come, all worthy souls would
be reunited with their physical bodies and
live in bliss. Unworthy ones would be condemned
to Sheol (Gehenna). However, with the concept
of the separation of the soul at death,
there arrived the belief that each individual
soul had to have a fate until the end-of-days.
This was considered to be the plan: Immediately
following the soul's emergence from the
dead body, seven days would pass during
which the soul reviewed and considered its
various possible postmortem options. Then
the individual souls, dependent upon their
merit, were either assigned to abodes reserved
for the wicked or the righteous. Each abode
had seven realms. The souls remained there
until the end-of-days with the ultimate
resurrection and final assignment occurred:
"Now,
concerning death, the teaching is:
When the decisive decree has gone
forth from the Most High that a
man will die, as the spirit leaves
the body to return again to him
who gave it, first of all it adores
the glory of the Most High. And
if one of those who have shown scorn
and not kept the way of the Most
High, and who have despised his
Law, and who have hated those who
fear God such spirits shall not
enter into habitations but shall
immediately wander about in torments,
ever grieving and sad in seven ways..."
(4 Ezra 7:78-79)
"There
shall be a judgment upon all including
the righteous. And to all the righteous
He will grant peace. He will preserve
the elect...They will belong to
God and they will prosper and the
light of God will shine unto them....
He will destroy the wicked ones
and censure all flesh on account
of everything that they have done,
that which the sinners and the wicked
ones committed against him." (1
Enoch 1:8-9)
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Hence, it can
be seen in the apocryphal time period, the
soul achieved a separate identity. The righteous
souls would go to heaven. The wicked souls
would go to Sheol (Gehennah) the equivalent
of hell. The intermediate souls would be
purged and, when purified, would go to heaven.
At the end of days, when physical resurrection
would take place, the souls would leave
their temporary resting places for final
judgment.
The
earlier concepts about the soul and its
destiny were further elaborated during the
rabbinic period of the
Talmud and
Midrash. This time period lasted from
70 A.D. to 800 A.D. The writings produced
during this period were based on interpretations
of the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha and the
Pseudepigrapha plus additional legalistic
and moralistic literature and interpretations.
They are known as the Talmud (composed of
the
Mishnah and the
Gemara) and the Midrash.
The earliest
of these writings was the Mishnah, which
was compiled in the late second century
A.D. The Gemara was written between the
third and fifth centuries A.D. Two separate
Talmuds were written, one in Babylonia (the
Babylonian Talmud) and one in Jerusalem
(the
Jerusalem [Palestinian] Talmud). The
Midrash is primarily a compilation of interpretations
of the Hebrew Bible. Within both Talmud
and Midrash are found discussions of the
soul and its journeys. The basic concept
they assert is that the way a person served
God and fulfilled the commandments while
alive determined that individual's fate
in the afterlife. The relative importance
given to this life and the afterlife were
sometimes contradictory as shown in the
following:
"Better
is one hour of bliss in the World
to Come (Olam-Ha-Ba)
than the whole of life in this world
(Olam
Ha-Zeh). Better is one hour
of repentance and good works in
this world (Olam Ha-Zeh) than the
whole of life of the World to Come
(Olam-Ha-Ba)." (Mishnah Avot, M.
Avot:17)
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Nevertheless,
most often the rabbis stressed the importance
of doing good deeds in this life. With regard
to the afterlife, for most of the rabbis,
the world to come was at the end-of-days
when the messiah would arrive. However,
some rabbis stressed an immediate afterlife
following death as is shown here:
"But
there is no basis for the assumption
that the world to come will only
begin after the destruction of this
world. What it does imply is that
when the righteous leave this world,
they ascend on high...." (Tanhuma,
Vayikra 8)
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There is also
disagreement on whether the soul alone will
be judged or whether the body and the soul
will be judged together at the time of the
resurrection:
"He will
overlook the body and censure the
soul, and when it pleads, 'Master
of the Universe! The two of us sinned
alike, so why do You overlook the
body and censure me?' He answers,
'The body comes from below where
people sin; but you come from above
where sin is not committed. Therefore
I overlook the body and censure
you." (Leviticus Rabbah 4:5)
"The
Holy Blessed One puts the soul back
into the body and judges them both
as a single being. He calls on the
heavens to bring forth the soul
and he calls on the earth below
so that he can judge the body along
with it." (Sanhedrin 91a)
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The rabbis also
discussed various ways that the soul departs
the body - with the manner of departure
reflecting the type of person involved.
A righteous individual would have his soul
depart similarly to drawing a hair out of
milk, while an evil person would have his
soul depart similarly to pulling a tangled
rope out of a narrow opening:
"'How
does the soul depart?' R. Yohanan
said: 'Like rushing waters from
a channel (when the sluice bars
are raised)'"; R. Hanina said: 'Like
swirling waters from a channel;'
R. Samuel said: 'Like a moist and
inverted thorn tearing its way out
of the throat." (Ecclesiastes Rabbah
6:6,1)
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Interestingly,
recent findings (discussed by Dr. Joanne
McMahon at the 1999 Annual Conference of
"The Academy of Religion and Psychical Research")
have shown that fear and anger accelerate
rigor mortis. Normally, upon death, the
body's muscles relax. Rigor mortis, a rigid
constriction of the muscles of the body,
begins between two to six hours after death.
However, when people die fearfully or angrily,
rigor comes on sooner and is much stronger.
A rare and related phenomenon is known as
cadaveric spasm. In contrast to rigor mortis,
it begins immediately after death. Amazingly,
it is brought on by great psychological
anxiety or tension. It has been observed
in some suicidal deaths. Individuals have
been seen grasping branches of trees or
shrubs following accidental falling. Soldiers
dying on the battlefield sometimes rigidly
hold onto their rifles. Could it be that
not only evil people - but people who die
with anger or great fear - also have their
soul depart with a great deal of resistance?
At the moment
of death as the soul departs, a noise is
supposed to occur. (Some NDErs have reported
hearing a noise as they elevated out of
their bodies.) This viewpoint is shown here:
"....when
the soul departs from the body,
the cry goes forth from one end
of the world to another, and the
voice is not heard." (Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer, Chapter 34)
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Another phenomenon
that has been reported by many NDErs is
a
life review. This was also discussed
by the rabbis:
"When
a man is righteous, his righteousness
is recorded; when a righteous man
arrives at the end of his days,
his recording angels precede him
into heaven singing his praise ...
But when a wicked man dies, a man
who did not bring himself to turn
in repentance to God, the Holy Blessed
One, says to him: Let your soul
be blasted in despair! How many
times did I call upon you to repent,
and you did not." (Pesikta Rabbati
44:8).
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It is in the
rabbinic literature that the Angel of Death
(Malach
Hamavet) first appears. Accompanying
the Angel of Death was a colleague of his
named
Dumah, who was the caretaker of the
souls of the departed:
[After
the Angel of Death takes the soul
from an individual's body], "the
man dies right away, but his spirit
comes out and sits on the tip of
his nose until the body begins to
decay. As decay sets in, the spirit
weeping, cries out to the Holy Blessed
One, saying: Master of the universe,
where am I to be taken? Immediately
Dumah takes the spirit and carries
it to the courtyard of the dead,
to join the other spirits." (Midrash
on
Psalm 11:6)
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The rabbis believed
that even in the grave, one could still
feel pain and communicate with both living
and heavenly realms. It was in this time
period that the belief emerged that, immediately
after death, both body and soul went through
a process of physical torment. The rabbis
also stated that during the first three
days after death, the soul remained close
to the body:
"For
three days after death the soul
hovers over the body, intending
to reenter it, but as soon as it
sees its appearance change, it departs."
(Leviticus Rabbah 18:1)
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As previously
discussed, this is similar to a Zoroastrian
belief. In another rabbinical account, it
was the first seven days during which the
soul remains close to the body:
"All
the seven days of mourning the soul
goes forth and returns from its
former home to its sepulchral abode,
and from its sepulchral abode to
its former home. After the seven
days of mourning, the body begins
to breed worms and it decays and
returns to dust as it originally
was... and returns to the place
whence it was given, from heaven,
as it is said, And the soul returns
unto God who gave it." [Ecclesiastes
12:7] (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer,
Chapter 34)
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The rabbis used
the term
Gehenna or Gehinnon as a place for the
wicked rather than the previous Sheol. Gehenna
was equivalent to hell. However, even a
person who sins and merits the punishment
of Gehenna can avoid it if he/she repents
and does good deeds. It was in this era
that the rabbis stated that, in most cases,
the time a soul remained in Gehenna was
for a maximum of twelve months. However,
certain evil doers who showed no sign of
repentance could stay there forever. Nevertheless,
for the vast majority of souls, Gehenna
was a place for purging one's sins and for
purification. Afterwards, the soul would
go to Gan Eden (the heavenly garden of Eden
where the righteous souls dwell).
It is stated
in the Midrash that before the righteous
can enter Gan Eden they are shown Gehenna
and vice versa. (Somewhat related to this
is the report of the woman whom I interviewed
about her NDE. She said that she had seen
a glimpse of hell, but God told her that
it was the pit and it wasn't for her.) In
this time period, Gan Eden was usually considered
a place for the righteous to go during the
messianic era. However, it is also mentioned
as an after-death destination:
"...these,
when they die, I lay down with great
honor under the tree of life in
Gan Eden; and I give them rest in
their graves." (Pesikta Rabbati
50:1)
|
Here, for the
first time, the Midrash describes a place
in the highest region of Gan Eden where
the souls of the righteous gather. It is
known as
otzar or "divine treasury":
"Both
the souls of the righteous and those
of the wicked alike ascend above,
but those of the righteous are placed
in the divine treasury, while those
of the wicked are cast about on
earth." (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 3:18)
|
Somewhat related
to the "divine treasury" is the "treasury
of life," "bundle of life," or "bond of
life." In Hebrew, it is known as
tzror ha-hayyim. It was a holding place
for souls in the highest spheres of Gan
Eden. It is related to the ancient Greek
concept of the
pre-existence of souls in a transcendent
realm. The Midrash also discusses a storehouse
of souls where the souls stay prior to being
physically embodied. This storehouse is
known as "body" (guf).
The idea was that all pre-existent souls
descended from the guf into physical incarnation.
After death, righteous souls returned to
otzar (divine treasury).
In the first
century A.D., there were two major divisions
in Judaism: the
Sadducees and the
Pharisees. The Sadducees believed that
the soul totally ceased to exist at the
time of physical death. Hence, their viewpoint
was similar to that of Aristotle. The Sadducees,
therefore, totally discounted the belief
in the afterlife transit of the soul and
the
resurrection at the
end-of-days. They denied the possibility
of any postmortem rewards and punishments.
In contrast, the Pharisees believed in the
afterlife transit of the soul and the end-of-days
resurrection. The Pharisees' viewpoint became
the predominant one and was adopted by the
rabbis in the Talmud and the Midrash. Interestingly,
Jesus Christ followed the Pharisees viewpoint
of the end-of-days resurrection for mankind.
The end-of-days resurrection of the dead
was asserted for the righteous:
"More
important is a day of rain than
the resurrection of the dead, since
the Resurrection is for the righteous
and not the wicked, whereas rain
is for both the righteous and the
wicked." (Taanit 7a)
|
Interestingly,
it was generally considered that the end-of-days
resurrection would take place in Israel.
This is believed yet today by some, who,
regardless of where they live, arrange to
be buried in Israel. The basis for that
is shown in the following passage:
"Those
who die outside the land of Israel
will not live again and those who
die in the land of My delight will
live again, but those who do not
die there will not." (Ketubbot 111b)
|
Realizing that this
interpretation would create a great problem
for all Jews, another Midrash interpretation
offered the following solution:
"God
will make underground passages for
the righteous who, rolling through
them like skin bottles will get
to the Land of Israel, and when
they get to the Land of Israel,
God will restore their breath (soul)
to them." (Pesikta Rabbati 1:6)
|
By the end of
the rabbinic period, the consensus was that,
upon death, the body and soul would undergo
a period of physical torment. Then the soul
would go to Gehenna for twelve months where
purgation of sins and purification would
take place. Following this, the soul would
travel to Can Eden, where a blissful existence
would take place until the end-of-days resurrection.
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f.
Medieval
Judaism: The Luminous Soul, The
Dark Soul |
During
the medieval time period from about 850
A.D. to 1450 A.D., the major Judaic concepts
that hold true today were formulated. The
rabbinical concept of physical torment of
the body and soul upon death was elaborated
upon and was known as judgment of the grave
(din
ha-keber). Various types of punishment
occur. They are known as the pangs of the
grave (hibbut
ha-keber). The severity of punishment
depends upon whether the person had led
a moral and righteous life or an immoral
and evil life. Some rabbis state that the
judgment in the grave is more severe than
that in Gehenna.
In this time
period, Gehenna becomes interpreted as hell,
with all sorts of elaborate punishments
depicted for those who had sinned during
their lives. The concept was an elaboration
of the biblical passage: "...eye for eye,
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burning
for burning, wound for wound, stripe for
stripe." (Exodus
21:24-25).
Just as Gehenna
becomes hell, Can Eden becomes heaven with
elaborate descriptions of the heavenly realm.
In the same way as with punishment for the
wicked, the more righteous a person had
been in his life, the more wonderful would
be the heavenly rewards
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g.
Medieval
Jewish Philosophers Tackle the Afterlife |
During this same
time period, Jewish philosophical writings
emerged as a result of a blending of rabbinic
viewpoints with Greek, Christian and Arabic
philosophies. The principal philosophers
of this time were •
Saadia Gaon, •
Maimonides, •
Gersonides and •
Nahmanides.
Saadia
Gaon (882-942 A.D.) believed that the
soul was created in the human embryo by
God and because of this, the soul is immortal.
This belief is in conflict with the Talmudic
teachings of a pre-existent storehouse of
souls (guf). Although Plato believed in
the non-material nature of the soul, Saadia
Gaon considered that the soul is comprised
of a spiritual, transparent substance that
is as pure as the heavenly spheres. This
soul achieves luminosity as the result of
the light it had received from God. This
is somewhat related to the brilliant light
people reported who have had NDEs.
Although the
soul is a unity, it has a three-fold division
into
nephesh (appetive awareness),
ruach (ability to experience emotions
such as anger and courage), and
neshamah (the ability to have cognition
and reasoning). These separate manifestations
of the soul occur because of its union with
the physical body. At the time of death
the soul exists as a unity.
People who were
ethical and moral will have a bright and
luminous soul. In contrast, Saadia Gaon
cited a biblical passage to show that people
who were immoral and evil will have a soiled,
stained, and darkened soul. The cited biblical
passage is the following: "When the wealth
of his house is increased; For when he dieth
he shall carry nothing away; His wealth
shall not descend after him. Though while
he lived he blessed his soul: Men will praise
thee, when thou shalt do well to thyself,
It shalt go to the generations of his fathers;
They shall never see the light. Man that
is in honor understandeth not; He is like
the beasts that perish." (Psalm
49:17-21).
The darkness
of the soul is reminiscent of the few reports
of evil people who had a dark and dismal
NDE. Saadia Gaon also believed that while
alive, a person is capable of repentance
(teshuvah),
and the tarnished soul can be purified.
However, once a person died, his soul could
no longer be purified. The rewards or punishments
will take place at the end-of-days. The
righteous would have luminescent light in
Gan Eden; the wicked would have a burning
fire in Gehenna. Saadia Gaon followed the
rabbinical concept of a physical reunion
of body and soul at the end-of-days. Hence,
he did not believe the possibility of reincarnation,
during which a soul would enter another
body. Here too, is the luminescent light
reminiscent of NDEs
Moses
ben Maimon (1135-1204 A.D.) was known as
Rambam or most frequently,
Maimonides. For Maimonides, the body
and soul were completely separate. He said
that the pleasures of the spiritual world
could not be understood by living people.
Maimonides' concept of the soul was similar
to that of
Aristotle - having three divisions:
(1) vegetative (controls
procreation and nourishment); (2)
sensory (controls imagination, sense perception
and movement); and (3)
rational (controls reasoning).
At the time of
death, the first two aspects of the soul
cease. However, the rational and intellectual
aspect is retained as the portion of the
soul that can understand universal truths
and concepts. It is important for the living
person to advance intellectually because
then, he/she will be able to know the spiritual
world and eventually attain immortality
of the soul. For people who were moral and
righteous, the third part of the soul experiences
the bliss of the "World
to Come" (olam ha-ba). The World to
Come is a spiritual realm that is entered
by righteous souls immediately after death.
The blissful
state of the soul in the World to Come is
incomprehensible for a living person. Maimonides
stated that there is no comparison between
the bliss of the soul in the hereafter and
the feelings of joy, pleasure or even euphoria
that living people experience. The spiritual
bliss is incomparable and unsearchable.
This is also reminiscent of the reports
of people who have had a NDE. Almost every
one of them has stated that the bliss that
they felt in the experience was beyond comprehension
and impossible to adequately communicate.
Maimonides further stated that people who
were evil and wicked would not receive the
pleasures of the World to Come. They would
be excluded from that domain and remain
as isolated matter.
Maimonides, however,
still followed the traditional concept that,
at the end-of-days, there will be a physical
resurrection of body and soul. However,
he stated that this resurrection will only
be for the righteous. Nevertheless, Maimonides
is contradictory in his writings. Sometimes
it appears that after death, the righteous
soul goes immediately to the blissful World
to Come. At other times, his writings stated
that the World to Come is an end-of-days
event. There is also some confusion about
resurrection. Maimonides stated that here
will be a physical resurrection of souls
with their own bodies, and these resurrected
beings will live a long life in the messianic
era. Eventually, the resurrected dead will
return to the dust. Then, the immortal souls
will exit their bodies and continue to exist
in a form similar to the angels.
Levi Ben Gershom
(1288-1344 A.D.) was known as Ralbag by
the Jews and
Gersonides by the Christians. He considered
that each human has two intellects: a human
(material) intellect; and an agent (acquired)
intellect. When the person dies, the human
intellect is lost. The knowledge that was
acquired through the use of the human intellect
remains as part of the agent intellect and
is immortal. So for Gersonides, the soul
is the acquired knowledge that becomes part
of the agent intellect. No new knowledge
can be acquired after death. Therefore,
post-death intellectual enjoyment is a reflection
of what the person acquired during his/her
lifetime. This is similar to Maimonides'
viewpoint about the importance of acquired
knowledge. These concepts are reflective
of the NDEs of many who have reported that
they received the message that the attainment
of knowledge is very important as a preparation
for the afterlife.
Moses Ben Nahman
(1194-1270 A.D.) was known as Rambam or
most frequently,
Nahmanides. He believed that when an
individual died, his/her deeds are evaluated
and rewarded or punished. The completely
righteous souls are immediately inscribed
and sealed and enter Gan Eden. Nahmanides
mentioned that there are two Gan Edens:
a lower one; and a higher one. This concept
is elaborated on by the kabbalists (discussed
next).
The completely
wicked are immediately sealed and sent to
Gehenna for their punishment. Punishment
is given in proportion to one's deeds. Most
souls are in Gehenna for a maximum of twelve
months. The thoroughly wicked remain there
for many generations. For most souls, after
twelve months, they enter Gan Eden, but
their experience there is not nearly as
blissful as that of the completely righteous.
Those souls which are intermediate between
the righteous and the wicked cry out in
prayer and are sent to a place of tranquility.
The next judgment
takes place at the end-of-days when the
body and soul are united during resurrection.
Hence, unlike Maimonides who makes contradictory
statements about the World to Come, for
Nahmanides, the righteous go to Gan Eden
after death, and remain there until the
end-of-days when resurrection of body and
soul occurs in the World to Come.
Nahmanides also
introduces a new concept known as the "World
of Souls" (olam
ha-neshamot). This is the realm that
the righteous soul enters immediately upon
death. (Previously, Nahmanides had considered
this to be Gan Eden.) His concept was that
at the end-of-days, when the messianic era
is ushered in and the resurrection of the
dead occurs, then God will create the World
to Come. In the World to Come, the bodies
will exist along with their souls. The righteous
souls will be in a most elevated state in
their bodies, and the people will then exist
forever and ever. Nahmanides, therefore,
disagreed with Maimonides, who considered
the World to Come to be an immortal realm
- but only for souls.
"A man's
good deeds done in this world draw
from the celestial resplendency
of light a garment with which he
may be invested when he comes to
appear before the Holy Blessed One.
Appareled in that raiment, he is
in a state of bliss and feasts his
eyes on the radiant effulgence."
(Zohar II, 141b)
|
Kabbalah
(Qabala, Cabala) is the major formalized
type of Jewish mysticism. It developed in
Provence (formerly a separate country, now
a part of France) and Spain from the thirteenth-to
fifteenth centuries and in Palestine in
the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, some
believe that it actually originated in ancient
Sumer as a religion separate and distinct
from Judaism. Babylon succeeded Sumer, and
the ancient teachings were then transmitted
to the Hebrews who were held captive in
Babylon. In this viewpoint, many elements
of their ancient religion were incorporated
into the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible
(the Torah). It is then believed that in
the second century, the Jews added to the
Kabbalistic lore with a book known as the
Sepher Yetzirah.
In the thirteenth
century, the principal text of the Kabbalah
was written. It is known as the
Zohar and is a mystical commentary on
the Torah. The Zohar soon came to the attention
of Christian scholars and initiated an interest
in the Kabbalah by a wide range of European
occultists and mystics. Hence, the Kabbalah
became an important component of such groups
as the
Rosicrucians and
Freemasons. Others who later incorporated
Kabbalistic teachings into their teachings
were the
Theosophists and the
Golden Dawn. Collectively, these groups
were known as Anglo-Kabbalah. An essential
teaching of the Kabbalah is that those patterns
that govern the universe's operation are
found in the deepest soul of a human, as
well as the forces that drive those patterns.
Before considering
the Kabbalistic viewpoint of the afterlife
journey of the soul, first it is necessary
to consider the Kabbalistic idea of the
soul in the living person
The
soul is unified, but it has three levels
for most individuals (first considered by
Saadia Gaon) and two higher, sublime levels
of intuitive cognition that can only be
within the reach of a few chosen people.
The levels are: (1)
Nefesh: This is the lowest level of
the soul and is known as appetitive awareness
or bioenergetic field. It is the vital energy
of the physical body that animates and preserves
it. Nefesh originates at the moment of birth.
(2)
Ruach: This is the second level of the
soul and is known as emotional awareness
or emotional energy field. Ruah is the emotional
or feeling aspect of the soul. (3)
Neshamah: This is the third or supernal
level of the soul and is known as intellect,
transpersonal self and higher mind. Neshamah
is the intellectual, mental or thinking
aspect. It is a bridge between human and
divine levels of the soul. (4)
Chayah: This is a subconscious level
of the soul and is known as spiritual, divine
life force or universal self. Hayyah could
be achieved by some during meditation, and
it is a connection to the source of Eternal
Life, God. (5)
Yehidah: This is the highest level of
the soul where all the soul's facilities
are unified with God. Yehidah is known as
essence, innermost uniqueness and transcendental
field of light. It can only be achieved
by few people while still alive. It would
require a very deep level of meditation
to possibly reach this level.
Now,
let us consider the post-mortem fate of
your soul. As you die, you are blessed with
a vision of the
Shekhinah, the female essence of God.
The Shekhinah appears as a formless, radiant
image. When your soul sees the Shekhinah,
it goes out in joy and love to meet Her.
If you had been righteous during life, your
soul cleaves and attaches itself to Her.
If you had not been righteous, your soul
is left behind and mourns for the separation
from its body. The radiance and love relationship
of the Shekhinah is reminiscent of the NDErs
seeing a celestial being of light and feeling
intense love.
As you die, the
Angel of Death also makes an appearance.
If you were virtuous during life, then your
soul cannot be harmed by the Angel of Death.
If not, then your soul is subjected to punishment.
As your soul separates from your body, it
has the experience of being welcomed into
the post-mortem realms by deceased family
members and friends. This is a common manifestation
of NDEs.
While dying,
you are given a life review, an instant
recall of all life occurrences. As previously
discussed, this phenomena has been found
in other religious traditions. This is another
manifestation often observed in NDEs. Now,
let us consider the fate of the five integrated
components of your soul.
(1)
Nefesh: This remains closely attached
to your physical body and experiences the
pangs of the grave (Hibbut Ha-Kever). This
is a 3-to-7 day process. The concept originated
in the Talmudic and Midrashic period. Nefesh
remains with your dying body.
(2)
Ruach: The process of separation of your
soul from its body is considered to be painful
and emotional. However, the pain can be
lessened. Dumah, the guardian of the dead,
appears to the departing Ruah and asks its
name. If your soul remembers its name, that
will minimize its struggle to leave your
body. This name concept originated in ancient
Egypt with the eighth soul (ren).
With Kabbalah, Ruah next experiences the
"catapult" (kaf
ha-kela): your soul is believed to be
thrown about or catapulted through the postmortem
realms. This can be compared to the rapid
upward movement often found in NDEs. As
your soul leaves, your body decomposes and
separates into four elements. This is similar
to the Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu concept
of the body's dissolution of its elements
of earth, water, fire, and air. Once your
soul departs, it becomes enveloped by a
separate field of light known as a "transparent
body" (guf
ha-dak). This again is similar to the
NDErs who frequently are surrounded by a
brilliant light. However, you would you
receive this celestial garment only if you
were righteous. If you were wicked, your
soul would go naked to its fate. As previously
discussed, some non-righteous individuals
who had NDEs did not experience the brilliant
light, but rather had a hellish experience.
Ruah next goes through the twelve-month
purgations of Gehenna. However, if you were
righteous during life, you wear the celestial
garment and do not suffer the torments of
Gehenna. In contrast, if you were wicked
and never repented, you could remain in
Gehenna forever.
These concepts
originated in the medieval period. The severity
of the purgation depends upon your lifestyle
- the more wicked one was, the more severe
the punishment. In essence, purgation functions
as an abreaction - discharge and catharsis.
It is also a time for purification and allows
for progressive resolution of painful, incomplete
emotions. It could be seen as similar to
a prolonged, intensive psychotherapy. It
is the process in which Ruah gets to deal
with unresolved and unconscious emotional
issues. Hence, it can be seen that, if you
had led a relatively good life and dealt
with the negative emotions such as hate,
anger, fear, anxiety and frustrations, very
little or any punishment would occur in
Gehenna. However, if you failed to learn
in life how to deal with these negative
emotions, there remains an opportunity to
resolve them in the afterlife at Gehenna
and still be able to have a blissful afterlife,
as is now shown.
From Gehenna,
your purified Ruah moves toward healing
and transformation, with its next stop being
lower gan eden (first mentioned by Nahmanides),
which is considered to be the earthly Garden
of Eden. It is here that the processes of
purification and preparation for entry into
upper gan eden occurs. If all goes well,
your soul goes to Upper Gan Eden.
(3)
Neshamah: If you were righteous during life,
this part of your soul directly enters the
sublime regions of Upper Gan Eden (also
first mentioned by Nahmanides), which is
the realm of heavenly delights. In these
regions are schools of learning and understanding.
NDErs often revealed that the importance
of learning was stressed to them. In Upper
Gan Eden, the light is brilliant. Immersion
in the divine light source serves to further
purify your soul of any lingering psychic
recollections of Earthly existence. Your
soul then enters the "River of Light" and
becomes completely purified and is ready
to come before the presence of the Master
of the Universe. It is of interest that
a few NDErs stated that they ascended into
heaven where the light was brilliant beyond
description.
(4)
Hayyah and Yehidah: If you are one of the
few truly enlightened people, these two
aspects of your soul would be linked, and
they enter the Bundle of Life or the Bundle
of the Living (tzror ha-hayyim), the divine
region where all souls are stored. It is
also known as the storehouse of souls. This
concept originated in the Talmudic and Midrashic
period. If you had been an ordinary person,
your soul, which had gone through the various
other realms and reached Upper Gan Eden
thoroughly purified, now enters the tzror
ha-hayyim. This is the center where souls
are given their assignment for subsequent
incarnations. This is based on the Kabbalistic
doctrine of GILGUL or reincarnation of souls.
Return to Top
|
III. The
Voyage of Your Afterlife Soul Continues:
Reincarnation and Beyond |
Reincarnation
is an ancient tradition that has been incorporated
into various religious traditions throughout
the world. For the kabbalists, reincarnation
is for the purpose of the soul's restitution
for the wrongdoings of a former life and
to attain further perfection. Unlike Hinduism
and Tibetan Buddhism, the vast majority
of kabbalists did not believe in reincarnation
into the bodies of animals. For the most
part, they did not believe that all souls
get reincarnated only those that had some
imperfections remaining or had a pressing
need to return to Earth.
The idea of reincarnation
most probably entered the Kabbalah through
the influence of Plato, Hinduism,
Tibetan Buddhism, ancient
Gnostics and the
Christian Cathars. The kabbalists embraced
the widespread Jewish notion of the resurrection
of the dead at the end-of-days. If your
soul had gone through reincarnation, the
predominant belief was that only the last
body that had been firmly planted and took
root would have physical resurrection.
The end-of-days
resurrection is not the ultimate state.
The belief is that your fully awakened soul
with its spiritualized, resurrected body
will have itself fully actualized. This
will occur when your soul merges with the
source of the Divine Being.
Because of all
of the above, for the kabbalists, the idea
of death was not distressful or anxiety-provoking.
This is because they considered that death
was not the end but rather another phase
in the continuous process of coming closer
to God.
The Kabbalistic
viewpoint is very important to our discussion.
The reason is that the Kabbalistic afterlife
journey occurrences are similar to many
of the components of the NDE and associated
psi phenomena. These include: the catapulted
surge out of the physical body; the brilliant
light; the Celestial Being of Light; meeting
deceased relatives and friends; a life review;
and learning that love and learning are
the most important aspects. Also, that only
virtuous people have this splendid afterlife.
Evil people have to suffer in their afterlife
journey. This is also found in certain NDEs
when criminals and people who attempt suicide
often have hellish episodes.
Return to Top
|
V. Hasidism:
Mystical Judaism With a "Righteous
One" |
Hasidism is a mystical Jewish movement
that was founded in the mid-eighteenth century
in the Ukraine by
Rabbi Baal Shem Tov. It emphasizes ecstatic
devotion and religious fervor over scholarship
and legalism. Unique to Hasidism was the
concept of the righteous one (the
tzaddik). He was considered to be an
intermediary between a person and God. The
tzaddik was the means through which a divine
blessing (shefa)
was transmitted to people. The tzaddik was
also considered to be a spiritual redeemer
of souls. The tzaddik was conceived as a
holy man who had the powers to control life
and death and to travel in the worlds beyond
death in ways similar to that of shamans
of many different primitive cultures. Hasidism
integrated the concept of the tzaddik with
the Kabbalistic viewpoint of the journeys
of the postmortem soul. Now, let us consider
the current viewpoints.
The major divisions
of current Judaism are •
Orthodox, •
Conservative, •
Reform and •
Reconstructionist. The Orthodox adheres
to strict biblical, Talmudic and Midrashim
interpretations. Each successive movement
is less strict in its interpretations. Each
division has some concept of the afterlife,
but much more attention is placed on living
one's life fully in God's way. Every year
from
Rosh Hashanah to
Yom Kippur, all are judged by God on
their deeds for the preceding year, and
the result determines whether they will
live or die. Nevertheless, with the renewal
of interest in spirituality and Kabbalah
and concern with life after death, these
concepts are becoming more popular in Judaism
as a whole.
Of all the Judaic
concepts, for afterlife considerations,
the Kabbalistic viewpoint is most important.
The major lesson learned from Kabbalah is
that, you - as a virtuous person - would
have the best possibility to reach a blissful
afterlife. If you learned how to control
your negative emotions (for example, anger,
hate, fear, jealousy) by using positive
stress management techniques such as meditation
and psychological counseling, the need for
emotional purging in the afterlife would
be greatly decreased, if not eliminated.
In addition, if you had stress management
training while alive, you would have a shorter
and less painful postmortem and would have
a better chance to avoid reincarnations.
As has been discussed previously, similar
viewpoints had been found in a branch of
Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and a branch of
Buddhism.
|
|
|

|
Searching For
Eternity:
A Scientist's
Spiritual Journey to Overcome Death Anxiety
|
by
Don Morse
|
Many people
experience increasing anxiety as
they face this issue as did Dr.
Don Morse. Dr. Morse, a scientist
who believed in the absolute finality
of death, had a NDE that led him
on a quest to uncover what science
knows about the realities of death.
His quest, detailed in this book,
led him through the entire realm
of science and all of the major
religious traditions regarding death.
After sifting through modern physics,
research on NDEs and related phenomena,
and a vast body of religious literature
and theories offered by a host of
organizations and individuals, Dr.
Morse came to an inescapable conclusion:
Some form of afterlife must exist.
This remarkable book details what
modern physics tells us about the
underlying nature of the universe
and its creation, what virtually
every religious and philosophical
group tells us about life/death,
and results from a host of research
findings.
|
|
|
|
|

|
Young at 100:
Successful Longevity
Strategies
|
by
Don Morse and Marvin Herring
|
To live
to be 100 is great but not if you're
feeble. This book will show you
how to be healthy and happy at 100.
Other "live to 100" books stress
longevity factors, such as exercise,
nutrition, relaxation, hormones,
and strong relationships. Some authors
have written about longevity from
research studies; others from investigation
of centenarians; and a few from
personal experiences. "Young at
100" is based on all three aspects
initiated by the author's quest
for longevity. Two outstanding athletic
and intelligent centenarians (age
103 and 106) are featured. "Young
at 100" is the most comprehensive
book ever written on living to 100.
Chapters include: exercise (all
types); nutrition (foods, nutrients,
drinks); relaxation techniques;
relationships; humor; diversions
(hobbies, vacations); sleep; spirituality;
anger and anxiety control; overcoming
obesity; dealing with smoking, alcohol,
and drugs; and avoiding danger.
This book should help everyone -
young and old. It is written in
a down-to-earth style, and to lighten
the load it includes humorous stories
and relevant illustrations by Dr.
Marvin Herring, a renowned cartoonist
and exceptional physician.
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Surviving Stress: Simple, Safe, Strategic
Solutions
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by
Don Morse
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Stress is
part of being human and has been
documented since the caveman era.
However in the 21st century, with
problems such as terrorism, wars,
pollution, unemployment, criminal
acts, serious diseases, and excessive
divorces, stress is rampant and
must be dealt with. First described
is the nature of stress and what
it can lead to (for example, heart
attacks, alcoholism, divorce and
death). Then, both negative (for
example, drinking, taking drugs,
smoking, overeating, and using denial)
and positive (for example, exercise,
relaxation, consultations, nutrients,
humor, and diversions) ways of stress
management are presented. After
this, the stress associated with
the disadvantaged and their caregivers
is examined. Finally, stress and
the afterlife (if there is one)
is considered. A unique aspect of
this book is humor. Reducing stress,
using humor, is both natural and
universal. Humor is displayed in
fun-filled, stress-related stories
and cartoons, which are an integral
part of the book and illustrate
points made in the text. They serve
two other purposes: (1) give a needed
break from the seriousness of the
subject matter; and (2) act as a
means of reducing stress. The cartoons
are by Dr. Marvin Herring, a renowned
cartoonist and exceptional physician.
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The Stress-Free, Anti-Aging Diet
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by
Don Morse and Robert Pollack
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Publisher:
Ams Pr Inc (February 1990); Series:
Stress in Modern Society; ISBN-10:
040463270X; ISBN-13: 978-0404632700:
Hardcover: 198 pages; Product Dimensions:
9.1 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches.
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You and God: The Single Life
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by Gwendolyn
Elaine Kirkland
and Don Morse
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Do you want
to overcome the feeling of loneliness?
Are you experiencing the battle
of loneliness? Are you tired of
fighting this feeling and not knowing
what to do? You are not alone. Many
singles today deal with the feeling
of loneliness, thinking their life
is empty or that they are missing
something because they don't have
a mate. How do you deal with the
loneliness in your life? You and
God, The Single Life, an uplifting
book from author Gwendolyn Kirkland,
shows you how to step out of flesh
and enter into a powerful relationship
with God in your loneliness. She
shares the steps she took by reconstructing
herself and building an intimate
relationship with God to help her
gain control of the loneliness she
felt inside and have victory over
it. You'll see how faith, trust
and patience in God will cause a
major breakthrough in your loneliness
and help you to live your single
life the way you were meant to.
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Women Under Stress
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by
Don Morse
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Women Under
Stress looks at the special causes
of stress at each stage of a woman's
life and describes various ways
to manage stress. Publisher: Van
Nostrand Reinhold (Sept. 1981);
ISBN-10: 0442266480; ISBN-13: 978-0442266486;
Hardcover: 473 pages; Product Dimensions:
8.8 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches.
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Stress For Success
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by
Don Morse and Merrick L. Furst
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Stress For
Success probes the causes and detrimental
physiological and psychological
effects of stress, providing a variety
of stress coping methods. Publisher:
Van Nostrand Reinhold; New edition
edition (June 1982); ISBN-10: 0442262280;
ISBN-13: 978-0442262280; Product
Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches.
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Animal Talk:
An Illustrated
Workbook of Animal Sayings
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by
Don Morse and Marvin Herring
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Animal Talk
is a book for educators (ESL instructors
will find it particularly useful
and fun), librarians, puzzle fanatics,
animal lovers and anyone fascinated
by the intricacies of the English
Language. Animal Talk is written
in a warm conversational manner,
filled with whit and humor on every
page. By the time you work your
way through Animal Talk, you not
only will recognize the intricate
relationships between animal and
human behavior, but also the subtlety
and richness of the imagery animals
have brought into everyday speaking
and writing. With 100 illustrations
of popular and little known sayings,
Animal Talk takes you through humorous
exercises, page by page, that will
expand your working knowledge of
this imagery in conversation and
literature.
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Medical Mystery Fiction
by Don Morse
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The Montegra Inheritance
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by
Don Morse
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The lives
of Brian and Julie, a young, married
couple living in a quiet, English
village are thrown into turmoil
when international terrorists come
looking for Julie as a key to oil
money held in a Swiss bank. The
husband and his friend, Jack, both
veteran commandos of the Falkland
dispute, are engaged in defending
Julie against unknowns that are
bent on kidnaping her. The intrigue
gets worse when it is discovered
that the terrorists have planted
a local resident and employees of
the Julie's stepfather for some
time. As the money stakes are very
high, the terrorists are gambling
large amounts of money to paying
for people for their use. Any more
information will give the story
away.
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Malpractice
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by
Don Morse
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Medical
malpractice is a front-page news
item that is highlighted in this
medical mystery thriller. A young
boy goes to see Dr. Artie Rosner
for routine dental treatment. The
child is given nitrous oxide/oxygen
and falls into an intractable coma.
Did the dentist do something wrong?
Was there a problem with the gases
or the gas machine? Did the boy
have a contributing medical condition?
Whatever the case, a medical malpractice
case results. Dr. Rosner's associate,
Dr. Mark Procter, helps him in the
defense. Outside of the office,
Mark gets to know his beautiful
dental assistant, Ginny Walker.
A romance blossoms, and the two
of them become involved in the case.
There are exciting trips to South
Jersey, Florida, and Costa Rica.
You think you know what's happening,
but there is more here than meets
the eye. It is not until the last
quarter of the book that the mystery
is solved.
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Deadly Reaction
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by
Don Morse
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Product
Details: Publisher: Cryptic Press;
Genre: Fiction; ISBN-10: 1878869000;
ISBN-13: 9781878869005; Publication
Date: 8/28/1990; Pages: 306; Product
Dimensions: 23.2 x 16.7 x 2.8 cm
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It's A Zoo Out There
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by
Don Morse
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It's A Zoo
Out There is a humorous, illustrated
animal saying book with illustrations
by Dr. Marvin Herring.
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Eye To Eye
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by
Don Morse
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An unidentified
doctor has decided to practice his
own brand of euthanasia on unsuspecting
senior citizens in North Miami Beach,
Fla., using hypnosis to induce them
to will themselves to death. Although
the deaths are ruled accidental,
one victim's daughter, Marilyn Meltzer,
suspects foul play. She and her
new husband, Hank (both debuted
in Deadly Reaction ), private investigators,
are hired to find out who or what
has made one old man become a zombie.
Marilyn hopes the hunt will turn
up her father's killer as well.
The case takes the Meltzers to Haiti,
deep into the mysteries of voodoo.
There they narrowly escape premature
burial and zombie smoked. Upon their
return to the States, they still
must identify and then contend with
the murderous doctor.
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