Words, words, words

I've read a lot of books - probably too many - concerning paranormal phenomena. Here's a list of some that I consider the best on the subject of life after death. (Other topics, like ESP, are not included in this roster.) I'm sure I've left off a few good ones, of course.

In no particular order ...

Is There an Afterlife?, David Fontana. Thorough overview offering a great deal of information in a readable style. Includes a first-person account of the recent Scole Experiment, in which Fontana participated.

Immortal Remains, Stephen E. Braude. Closely argued, rather technical examination of evidence for an afterlife, with special emphasis on the strengths and weaknesses of the super-psi hypothesis. Coverage of the Patience Worth case is of particular interest.

Mediumship and Survival, Alan Gauld. Well-researched, intellectually serious look at the evidence for an afterlife and the competing hypotheses of postmortem survival and super-psi. 

The Search for Yesterday, D. Scott Rogo. Detailed examination of reincarnation cases, marked by Rogo's scrupulous fairness and his resistance to facile answers. Probably the best overall study of reincarnation, covering children's memories of past lives, hypnotic regression, spontaneous deja vu experiences, and xenoglossy. Rogo's equivocal attitude toward the evidence can be irritating after a while.

Natural and Supernatural, Brian Inglis. History of mediumship and related phenomena from early times to the 1920s. The author is sometimes perhaps too willing to give the benefit of the doubt to questionable mediums, but his research is solid.

The Psychic Mafia, M. Lamar Keene. Remarkable expose of fraudulent mediumship by an ex-medium who went straight and told all. Included are discussions of fake materalizations, mentalist tricks, and a nationwide database on clients maintained by phony mediums.

Testimony of Light, Helen Greaves. This purportedly "channeled" book contains no evidential material, but it is a lovely meditation on life, death, and spiritual growth.

Life After Life, Raymond Moody. Though Moody wasn't the first person to write about near-death experiences, he did coin the term and popularize the concept. His first book is a collection of ancedotes rather than a scientific study, but it retains a freshness and simplicity I find appealing.

What They Saw ... At the Hour of Death, Karlis Osis and Erlendur Haraldsson. Studies of deathbed visions reported by hospital workers in the United States and India, exploring the similarities and the (mostly cultural) differences between the two sets of data.

The After Death Experience, Ian Wilson. Mainly skeptical account of mediumship and reincarnation, along with a markedly less skeptical treatment of NDEs. Wilson is hardly unbiased, and his debunking efforts need to be taken with a grain of salt, but his book does offer a lot of good information, including an expose of British medium Doris Stokes.

Ghost Hunters, Deborah Blum. Superb historical study of the early days of "psychical research," focusing on William James, F.W.H. Myers, the Sidgwicks, and other pioneering figures. Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Blum treats her subject with respect and impartiality.

Swan on a Black Sea, Geraldine Cummins. Probably the most impressively evidential "channeled" writing on record. An elaborately detailed "autobiography" of a deceased medium, obtained by Cummins through automatic writing and largely verified by the deceased's adult children.

Mediums, Mystics and the Occult, Milbourne Christopher. Skeptical treatment of parapsychology, thankfully free of the sarcasm, hostility, and childish mockery often seen in such books. Christopher, a stage magician, knows many of the tricks used by fakes, though he mainly limits his examination to such doubtful figures as Mina Crandon and Uri Geller, eschewing stronger cases.

Lessons from the Light, Kenneth Ring. A mixture of psychological investigation, philosophical speculation, and "how-to" advice on spiritual growth. Long-time NDE researcher Ring identifies the main lessons learned by near-death experiencers, suggests their metaphysical and moral significance, and offers ways to incorporate these lessons into our own lives.

The Airmen Who Would Not Die, John G. Fuller. Fascinating, novelistic account of the airmen of the doomed dirigible R-101, who purportedly communicated via the medium Eileen Garrett. One of the strongest and most dramatic afterlife cases on record. (I wrote about it here.)

God: The Evidence, Patrick Glynn. Not a book on the paranormal as such, but a meditation on reasons to believe in God, including the "cosmic coincidences" that conspired to produce a habitable universe, the beneficial role of religious faith in mental and physical health, and the ethical values inculcated by religious belief. What makes the book relevant to this list is the author's relatively brief but very assured treatment of NDEs.

The Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot. Ambitious book popularizing physicist David Bohm's hypothesis that the space-time universe is essentially a four-dimensional hologram constructed out of a substrate of wave-inteference patterns. Also incorporates Karl Pribram's work on the "holographic brain." Far-out at times, but very provocative.

The Unobstructed Universe, Stewart E. White. Another famous "channeled" book, this one presenting a fairly technical explanation of how the physical world and the nonphysical world interrelate. There is much talk of "frequencies," sometimes enlightening, at other times obscure.

Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, F.W.H. Myers. Famous work published posthumously in 1903 in two volumes, available in an abridged one-volume edition today. Occasionally tedious but impressively comprehensive, the book deals with all manner of phenomena that may apply to the afterlife question. Myers formulates a psychological theory that allows for greater richness of the human mind (and spirit) than is found in Freudian or behaviorist systems.

The Trickster and the Paranormal, George P. Hansen. Learned, meticulous study of the "trickster" elements in psychic phenomena. The book, covering a wide array of topics from mediumship to shamanism to deconstructionism, is not an easy read, but it treats its subject with rare subtlety and seriousness.

Conjuring up Philip, Iris Owen and Margaret Sparrow. Record of a series of seances in which "physical" phenomena (mainly raps, table levitations, and table movements) were manifested before a variety of witnesses. What's unusual is that the sitters began by inventing a fictional character named Philip and then proceeded to conjure "him" up in the seance room. Though they acknowledged him as only an "imaginary ghost," Philip was still able to do the things that "real" ghosts can reportedly do. Though really a study of psychokinesis, not life after death, the book is relevant to afterlife proponents who use physical phenomena as evidence of "spirits."

The Secret Vaults of Time, Stephan A. Schwartz. Impressive account of pioneering experiments in "psychic archeology." I discussed it in an earlier post.

Comments

[Varenius]

Michael, could you please briefly explain "the super-psi hypothesis"?

[Michael Prescott]

The super-psi hypothesis is the idea that mediums do not communicate with the dead, but instead use telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition to obtain a variety of information from many sources (sitters in the seance room, distant persons and places, even future events). Then they integrate all this material and dramatize it with a credible persona of the deceased person. All of this is said to be done unconsciously and almost instantaneously. The problem with the hypothesis is that it implies virtual omniscience on the part of the medium's subconscious, and it's not clear that such a wide-ranging explanation can be tested or falsified.

[Bruce Siegel]

Thanks, Michael! I really appreciate this list. I know many of these books well, but many are new to me. I respect your balanced approach, and am delighted to have some new authors to check out.

[Marcel Cairo]

As a medium, I can only laugh at this theory. Why? Because I'm not out there amassing information from a collective consciousness. I am actually having dialog with the deceased - actual dialog. Even though the dialog is sometimes fuzzy, misinterpreted or incomplete, an exchange is taking place. I receive and I return communication. I say "I", but this is something we all can do... and do.

So, when "I" communicate with spirit, together we combine all kinds of communication tools to try and really understand each other. Sometimes it comes easy, other times it's a bad game of Pictionary. However, it is back and forth dialog taking place.

Spirit and I argue with each other, we insult each other, we laugh together and some times we even compliment each other for finally getting something right. All of this takes place in front of the sitter, with the sitter not uttering a word or being asked a single question (unless it is to validate the information with a simple "yes" or "no").

My aim as a professional medium and a student of afterlife communication is to demystify the process to what it is - a simple form of dialog taking place from one dimension of consciousness to another. The real mystery to me, or the real awe and wonder, is in the messages they bring. The story they have to tell.

In my readings, I don't just deliver cute tidbits of fact or delve into archetypal personality traits, I actually deliver a custom tailored message to the sitter. Most of the times, that message is a very clear imperative.

let's get something straight here, spirit has a reason for coming back to share ideas and knowledge with us, and guess what, it's not just for our benefit, it's mainly for theirs.

[Darryn]

Do you know what Braude concludes RE: Patience Worth?

I find it to be one of the most fascinating cases ever.

[Bruce Siegel]

Hi Marcel,

"it's not just for our benefit, it's mainly for theirs."

Your comments are interesting and they make make sense to me. But do you really mean MAINLY for their benefit? My impression, from studying afterlife contacts of all descriptions, is that the motives are unselfish a good percentage of the time.

I wouldn't have been surprised if you had said that it's a fairly balanced give-and-take. But when you say MAINLY for their benefit--that grabs my attention. Is it really what you meant to say?

[Marcel Cairo]

Way to be alert, Bruce... perhaps I did tip the scales a little in favor of the spiritual side. Perhaps what I meant to say was that as Spirit lives in greater clarity that we here on this plane of consciousness do, they are more "anxious" to speed up our awakening... though they are also infinitely patient.

However, I have noticed through my work that spirit can reap immediate benefit from consciousness to consciousness communication, while we, the carnal, crawl our way toward understanding, forgiveness and enlightenment.

[Claudia]

Thanks for this Michael!

[Michael Prescott]

>Do you know what Braude concludes RE: Patience Worth?

Braude doubts that Patience Worth was a real historical figure, because there is no record of her existence or of any literary works she produced. Also, the Patience Worth persona assumed by Pearl Curran provided few details of her earthly life. To Braude, Patience looks like a dissociative personality rather than a channeled spirit.

He sums up, "... a survivalist interpretation of the case simply leaves too great a residue of mysteries. By contrast, we can formulate a credible, although largely unsubstantiated, account of the psychogenesis of the Patience Worth persona, and we can explain Pearl's creative facility and anomalous knowledge in terms of latent capacities and (presumably psychic) processes for which we have independent evidence. For that reason, I'm inclined to echo Schiller's comment that 'it is... safer to credit "Patience worth" to the unconscious and to classify her, officially, as Mrs. Curran's "secondary self."'" (Page 174)

This is, of course, a very brief summary of Braude's treatment of the case, which takes up more than 40 pages of this book. Personally, I'm less inclined to accept the super-psi hypothesis than Braude is.

By the way, if anyone wants to suggest favorite books of their own (dealing with life after death), feel free to do so.

[CJ]

As far as current books I am reading, Stanislav Grof's book, "The Holotropic Mind" is very interesting and it

[CJ]

As far as books I am reading now, Stanislav Grof book, "The Holotropic Mind" is very interesting. It deals with a wide range of phenomena and also coincides well with Talbot's "Holographic Universe". It actually is a very provoking theory. I am still inclined to look lean towards a theory of collective consciousness. This does not mean something does not survive. I am sure something goes on. I am not convinced that the entire individual, ego and all goes on. "Zen Physics" by David Darling was also a good read. These are just my opinon though. Anyways, sorry about the partial post before this.

[Matthew Cromer]

This is not a book recommendation, but neardeath.com has absolutely the most comprehensive set of links and near-death experiences anywhere, and should be perused by any serious student of survival.

I'm also a big fan of the NDE paradigm project as a good discussion of the *meaning* of near death experiences.

[Matthew Cromer]

sorry should have written "near-death.com" (although the hyperlink is typed correctly).

[CJ]

I just got Stanislav Grof's newest book, "Ultimate Journey: Consiousness and the Mystery of Death" (the entire book deals with this subject) in the mail today. I am only a little ways into it but it is very provocative. I know I sound a bit like a cheerleader regarding Grof, but so he is a master in the field of altered stated and his arguements for life after death are very scientific and he brings alot of clinical evidence to the table in this subject. I personally was a huge sceptic, still am but not so close minded, and it took something like this to at least allow the possibility of survival into my mind. In regards to David Fontana's Book, very good. A very heavy tome, but one that allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. The strange thing about this or any other paranormal subject is that so much of the evidence may be anecdotal in nature. And of course, that is not universally scientific. However, when someone you trust, or you yourself explains something that happened to them, it has the potential to change your entire world view. The pivot of trust is very delicate and very human. You just can't use it to change others. Thank you Michael for your blog. It is nice to see a level headed person taking these subjects seriously without deluding themselves or getting zeolous. Like a certain websites that take everything at face value and get ultra definsive. I am still very sceptical of dim lighted rooms and singing spirits. No need to mention names. Thank you.

[Art]

There is a really interesting FREE online book about death bed visions that I think is excellent. The URL is:

http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/books/barrett/dbv/contents.htm

It's written by Sir William Barrett and I've read it through a couple of times. It's not so long, but it's very interesting. The title is simply "Death Bed Visions" and I find it very comforting and uplifting. - Artie

[G. Vervloet]

I'm always wondering why almost nobody who is interested in life after death and other spiritual matters, takes notice of the work of Rudolf Steiner. This founder of antroposohpy is far the most intriguing writer about and investigator of soul and spirit of man. Maybe you can tell me why this lack of interest for this great man exists?

[david stobbs]

book of the soul by ian lawton-very good!