Beyond Heaven and Earth

by Steven H. Propp

  He did not go up to the lectern; since he was already wearing a cordless microphone, he simply said, “For those of you who may still be unfamiliar with Near-Death Experiences—or ‘NDEs,’ as we in the field call them—I think the easiest way for me to introduce them is to play this short film for you.” He gestured to someone at the side, and the lights dimmed; a few seconds later, a film began to show on the large screen to the side of the lectern.

  The film was well-done, almost of professional quality. It began by talking about the vast mystery of life after death being one of life’s most important questions, and gave a brief historical background of ideas on the subject (Babylonian, Assyrian, Greek, Christian, Islamic, etc.), and ended with a huge question mark filling the screen, and the narrator intoning the words, “Just what does happen when we die?”

  Suddenly the screen was filled with a staged re-enactment of a dramatic scene in a hospital emergency room; there was a narrator “voice over” telling her story, of being rushed to the hospital after a serious car accident, and being frantically attended to by doctors. She felt as if her spirit were being lifted out of her body, and she were watching the doctors working on her from the ceiling. She felt no emotion as she saw them appear to stop working on her, and heard one of the doctors state, “She’s gone.” Then, she had the feeling that someone was beckoning to her; turning, it was as if she were looking down a long dark tunnel, with a dot of light at the end. Able to move down this tunnel, upon approaching the light, she saw her beloved mother—recently deceased—smiling, and waving for her to come toward her, which led to a warm embrace, and a tearful reunion. Gently, she felt herself being separated from her mother’s embrace, and overshadowed by the comforting presence of a great being of light. She didn’t know whether it was God, or Jesus, but she instantly felt the complete acceptance and love that this being was communicating to her. Next, it felt as if she were reviewing the events of her life with this being—but always from a sympathetic perspective; never judgmental; she felt happy as she reviewed the various acts of good and kindness she had performed—many of them long-forgotten—but was ashamed as she saw herself at times behaving spitefully, selfishly, and without any consideration for others. She felt that tht being of light was not “condemning” her for these acts, however; just enabling her to see that there was a better way. Finally, she felt that she was being shown that she had more to do here on Earth—her husband, and children needed her—and was told that she must return. She felt a stab of anguish, not wanting to leave, but she sensed reassurance that they would be waiting for her to come back after her tasks on earth were complete. Then suddenly—with a painful jolt—she found herself back in her body again, with doctors working frantically over her, which now hurt terribly. “No, no…don’t bring me back,” she pleaded. “I want to stay with them….”

  The film now had brief interviews—”sound bites,” really—with many of the major figures involved with Near-Death research: such as Dr. Raymond Moody, Dr. Bruce Greyson, Dr. Melvin Morse, Dr. Michael Sabom, Kenneth Ring; Reverend Montaine was the most prominently featured, of course. The film concluded by giving evidences of NDEs and similar experiences appearing in accounts throughout history, beginning with the Bible, Plato, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The film showed brief footage of speakers at an international conference of researchers on Near-Death experiences. With beautiful and soothing music, the film ended on the “upbeat” note that “experiencers” (as they were called) no longer feared death after the experience, and their religious lives were invariably transformed and deepened—although they sometimes felt less attached to “denominational” religion, and more intensely interested in “open” spirituality and prayer. The film ended, and the lights slowly began to come up. The audience applauded vigorously, as Reverend Montaine stepped up to the lectern, and the film screen was drawn up into the ceiling.

  Reverend Montaine took the lectern with both hands, and said in a commanding voice, “Ever since Dr. Raymond Moody—who is both a Doctor of Philosophy, and a psychiatrist—published his best-selling book Life After Life in1975, Near-Death Experiences, or ‘NDEs,’ have become part of the national vocabulary, covered in every major magazine from Time to Readers’ Digest, and have been the subject of numerous best-selling books—of which I hope mine will become one…,” and he smiled and held up a copy, while the audience laughed, then he continued, “There have been major films about them, such as Flatliners—starring Keifer Sutherland and Julia Roberts—and Saved By the Light; they have been discussed in television specials and talk shows too numerous to mention here.” He paused, placing his book beneath the lectern.

  “What is a Near-Death Experience? Simply put, it is a person’s experience, after their major life functions cease—often resulting in them being pronounced ‘dead’ by doctors—and yet the individual continues to survive, but in a new, transcendental way,” he said. After a short pause, he continued, “Just as none of us are exactly the same, so no two NDEs are exactly the same. What we call a ‘Near-Death Experience’ is actually a composite of numerous characteristics, and no one individual has actually experienced all of these points or characteristics— although Dannion Brinkley and Betty Eadie come close—Dr. Morse, in fact, says in the Preface to his book, Transformed By the Light, that most people experience only one or two of the traits. One should also note that different researchers find different numbers of characteristics: Dr. Moody originally had 15 or so, Dr. Morse has 9, Dr. Ring has 11, and so on. My own list has the following ten characteristics, as shown by my own research:

  1.Awareness or hearing about one’s own death.

  2.Separation from the body.

  3.Feelings of peace and quiet.

  4.Traveling through a dark tunnel.

  5.Meeting others.

  6.Encountering the Being of Light.

  7.Conducting the “Life Review.”

  8.The decision being made to return to life.

  9.Coming back to life.

  10.One’s changed Life as a result, with no subsequent fear of death.

  He then discussed all of these points in some detail, amply using quotations from “experiencers” to illustrate them. He also mentioned that people that had NDEs not infrequently returned with enhanced capacities in the area of physical health, and stressed that they invariably returned with a greater sense of spirituality, even though—perhaps paradoxically—they sometimes had lessened ties to “traditional” religions, and were more open to newer metaphysical; he said, “A staunch Roman Catholic might even become a Unitarian Universalist, for example,” and the audience laughed appreciatively at this. (I noted that he kept his talk very “mainstream,” and didn’t mention his own correlation of NDEs with Mormon/LDS researches and UFO encounters, the supposed increased psychic abilities—such as ESP, precognition, and healing ability—of people after an NDE, the relation of NDEs to the idea of reincarnation, or other less “mainstream” topics, but I knew from his book that this was in fact the focus of his own research.)

  He then introduced two people (other than the person who had introduced him) from the congregation, who stood up and briefly talked about their own NDEs. Finally, he looked sadly at his watch and said that it was time to end his formal presentation, but that he would be glad to answer any questions we might have about NDEs, or related subjects. He then concluded by saying, “One important message that I want us all to take from the reality of the Near-Death Experience is that the ‘Life Review’ is not done to determine whether one is going to go to ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’—in fact, experiencers almost universally fail to report any ‘Hell-like’ encounters—but is done in a loving spirit, to help us, and show us what we need to do to progress further along our chosen spiritual paths. So take heart, dear friends: Death is not the end!” And he sat down behind the lectern, drinking from a glass of ice water, his presentation and its stirring conclusion having earned him
a prolonged standing ovation.

  The young woman who introduced Reverend Montaine then returned to the lectern, thanked him effusively for his presentation, and announced that they would now open up for questions and answers. “Please signal to the ushers, so that they can pass a microphone to you, so that we can all hear your question.” Jobran was signaling for a microphone, but had to wait his turn. Other questioners asked whether NDEs didn’t simply match expectations based on the religious backgrounds of the experiencers? (They don’t, and seem quite independent of any sort of theological orientation: Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, fundamentalists, Mormons, Hindus, Muslims, even atheists have these experiences. Nor does having the experience seem to be dependent upon how religiously “zealous” a person is.) Don’t some people report “Hellish” experiences? (Very few, and mostly in cases of suicides, or persons who were severely depressed or drug-addicted prior to death.) Why doesn’t the Bible mention these, if they exist? [Obviously, some fundamentalist had snuck in here.] (It does; the 13th chapter of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians 15 is completely consistent with NDEs.) What about Reincarnation? (It would take more time than we have here to cover that topic, but you should read my book for information about this.)

  Finally, it came Jobran’s turn, and he asked, “Is there the possibility of reunion with loved ones?” Stammering, he continued, “I mean, where we know them, and they know us, and we can go on in our lives together?”

  Reverend Montaine nodded, and said, “Yes, very much so; in fact, most experiencers are met by loved ones who have passed on before them.”

  Jobran then asked, “How about particularly close loved ones, such as a spouse?”

  “Absolutely,” Reverend Montaine said. “Experiencers report that they will be able to continue to love their spouses, lovers, or significant others in the afterlife. Next question, please…?” and he looked toward the opposite side of the sanctuary.

  As Jobran started to hand the microphone back to the usher, Abraham grabbed it out of his hand, and before anyone else had a chance to ask a question, said pointedly, “You said that not all experiencers go through all ten of the points you outlined. Suppose that we were to plot a matrix, listing all ten of your points on the top heading, and listing the different experiencers down the vertical column, and went down the list, checking off which of your points the experiencers matched. Then if we arranged the chart in order, by the number of your ten points that they had experienced, what would the chart look like?”

  Reverend Montaine looked puzzled, and said, “I’m not sure that I understand the question.”

  Abraham said, articulating his words carefully, “Let me put it this way: Do most NDErs experience, say, 9 or 10 of your points? Or 5 or 6? Or only 1 or 2, as you said Dr. Morse said?”

  Reverend Montaine interrupted, shaking his head, and said, “I think you’re missing the point; we’re not trying to conduct a scientific study here—we’re trying to communicate an experience that is essentially ineffable, and that gives experiencers new focus and reorientation to their lives. If you want scientific studies, read Ken Ring’s books. Next question…?” and he sharply looked toward the other side of the room from Abraham.

  Refusing to hand to microphone back to the usher, Abraham said sharply, “No, wait; you haven’t answered mine yet.” He now stood up, to more directly confront Reverend Montaine. “You don’t need to conduct a scientific study in order to estimate this. If you were to take an average among the experiencers you’ve personally studied, would more than half of them have experienced 5 or more of your 10 points, or would less than half of them?”

  Reverend Montaine shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I still fail to see the point of your question.”

  Passionately, Abraham said, “My point is, if their experiences are not substantially the same, this ‘composite picture’ you paint may be fictional! You may be erroneously lumping together two or three or four different types of experiences, and trying to make it seem like one and the same experience! Instead of calling this a ‘Near-Death Experience—singular—perhaps it should be plural! Maybe there is a whole host of experiences that people can have, in these kinds of situations.” Although the audience had been growing increasingly irritated with Abraham during his persistent questions, you could sense some of them starting to see that he had a valid point.

  In a somewhat patronizing tone, Reverend Montaine said, “There is substantial commonality among the experiencers; if there were not, I wouldn’t have been able to develop my ten points. But these ten points are not scientifically discrete phenomena, which is why different researchers have different numbers of points, as I pointed out earlier. That is the truth that you skeptics continually miss,” he said, with a self-satisfied smile.

  Softly, Abraham said, “Actually, I’m not a skeptic—I’m a rabbi, in the Reform tradition of Judaism. I’m the leader of a Temple in (city).” This set off an excited murmur within the congregation, and he continued, “I don’t mean to give you a hard time, but my friend and I are engaged in a very serious study of different conceptions of life after death, and we have some very serious questions to ask.”

  Reverend Montaine looked contrite, and said, “I hope you will accept my sincere apologies, Rabbi; I was confounding you with other types of questioners—of which I’m afraid I get quite a few after my public lectures.” He picked up the copy of his book again, and said, “For serious students such as yourself, I have recently established an Institute to perform the kind of advanced study that you suggest; the address and phone number are in my book. You and your friend would be more than welcome to visit us, sometime.”

  “We may just take you up on that; thank you,” Abraham said, handing the microphone back to the usher, and he sat down again.

  * * *

  After the lecture, Jobran was ecstatic, saying, “This was by far the most exciting and encouraging thing I’ve heard or found so far in this whole damn ‘quest’! The thing that impresses me most of all is that this is experiential, it’s medically proven! These people aren’t just quoting the Bible, or talking about some abstract philosophical ideas—they are talking about people that were demonstrably and scientifically dead, yet who came back to life! It’s exactly what I’ve been hoping for!”

  Sympathetically, Abraham nodded and said, “Now, Jobe; isn’t it possible that you’re feeling this just because he told you exactly what you wanted to hear?”

  “Abe, I can’t believe you, man!” Jobran looked shocked. “You of all people know how long and how hard I’ve been working at this!” Plaintively, he said, “Can’t you give me a little support, here?”

  Abraham gave Jobran a warm hug around the shoulder, and said, “My support and my friendship you’re always got, 1000%.” Then he added, in a quieter voice, “But remember, these people hadn’t been, say, dead and buried. It wasn’t like Elijah or Elisha in the Bible raising someone from the dead—or even like Jesus of Nazareth supposedly raising Lazarus from the tomb after a couple of nights. These are just people whose hearts had stopped, but who were able to be resuscitated medically; in the most important sense, they weren’t really ‘dead.’” Jobran didn’t say anything, so he continued, “It can’t be medically surprising to the doctors that it’s possible to revive people after their hearts have stopped; why else are the doctors working so frantically to revive them, otherwise?”

  “Reverend Montaine was right—you are a skeptic,” said Jobran, sarcastically. “How could these people be able to look down from the ceiling at the operating table, if they hadn’t left their physical bodies? How would they know what the doctors were saying?”

  “They knew what the doctors were saying because their sense of hearing was still functional, even with their eyes closed; they hear the doctor pronounce them dead, and they fantasize the whole thing, just as if they were watching from a camera above the operating table, like you
always see on TV and in movies,” Abraham countered. Jobran didn’t reply, but stood sulking. Abraham said, “I don’t understand, Jobe; you’ve read Moody before, and Morse—not to mention Reverend Montaine—but you didn’t get this excited. Why the big change?”

  “I don’t know,” Jobran replied, still bubbling with enthusiasm. “Maybe it’s just the fact that I was able to see and hear people—real people, not just books—and I could tell from their eyes and their voices that they really did experience this!” He shrugged his shoulders, then added, “Moody’s first book looked like it was written so hastily, and was so anecdotal, I didn’t take it that seriously’ and his second book looked like…well, like his publisher just threw it together in order to capitalize on the unexpected success of the first book.” In a serious voice, he added, “But the later researchers like Kenneth Ring, Bruce Greyson, Michael Sabom, Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick—I really think they’re on to something here.”

  Abraham said, with a conciliatory tone in his voice, “Well, maybe they are. It’s just my natural Jewish skepticism coming out, perhaps.”

  “No,” said Jobran, shaking his head. “I trust your judgment; I guess I am going too far off the deep end about this; I haven’t researched the subject enough, yet—but I will, believe me,” which caused Abraham to laugh.

  “I never doubted that,” Abraham said.

  Jobran continued, “Another thing I liked about this presentation was that it seemed free from all the ‘New Age-y’ stuff like UFOs, psychic healing, and so on; although I like Jana a lot and respect her as a friend, some of the stuff she carries in her store just seems intellectually ludicrous to me—whereas this lecture seemed to be a very balanced and sober presentation, if not exactly ‘scientific.’” He seemed momentarily troubled, and added, “The only thing that bothered me, was that he kind of glossed over the stuff in his book about reincarnation, UFOs, and so on. It was almost like…well, he didn’t want it to come up.”