Leslie Kean's new book "Surviving Death"

[Elvis]

numerous reports of persisting lifetime-to-lifetime relationships

This shows up often when toddlers say things like, "Remember when I was the mommy and you were the baby?"

Further, I'm persuaded that whole civilizations 'reincarnate' as a group.


Don't worry—existence is limitless: we all get to be Cleopatra Trump.

[semper occultus]

there was the Arthur Guirdham stuff about a whole group of Cathar heretics re-incarnating together - including himself

http://www.historyextra.com/qa/bath%E2% ... d-heretics

[Iamwhomiam]

I convinced myself the reemergence of the Goths were those now reincarnate souls who were in some way traumatized during their last incarnation during the time of the great plague.

[semper occultus]

LIFE AFTER DEATH? Top journalist convinced after 'dead man's hand forms in front of her'

http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/802 ... and-formed

Her latest work Surviving Death: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife, followed lengthy research into the subject and that of spiritual mediums and near death experiences. The book features 10 chapters written by experts in the fields of reincarnation, out-of-body and near death experiences, mediumship and paranormal investigation.

Ms Kean also carried out two of her own experiments with psychic mediums and witnessed "life-changing events" at a seance conducted by English medium Stewart Alexander.

She wrote: "The seances with Stewart Alexander have changed my life. "Since I witnessed the materialisation of a human hand, touched it, and felt its life and warmth, a door was opened in me. I encountered something utterly incomprehensible yet physically real."

Mediums are said to have spirit guides, long dead individuals who help them meet with others in the spirit world. Ms Kean said she "came to know" Mr Alexander's spirit guides by "laughing with them and asking them questions”.

She wrote of an encounter with ectoplasm. She said she was asked during a seance 'would you like to feel the hand of a man dead to your world for over 100 years?'

She wrote: "I watched it form again into a living hand, which moved close to my hand and touched it.

"I held that materialised hand in mine. It felt completely normal and human with joints and bones, and fingernails, but much warmer, than my hand and larger, with sort of stubby fingers and very soft skin. Once again it withdrew."

The experience has left the author in no doubt spirits live on.

[peartreed]

I’ve just finished reading Leslie Kean’s book, “Surviving Death” and found it interesting, at times intriguing, mostly subjective advocacy and testimony for the afterlife, based on anecdotal evidence. Other authors wrote some of the chapters about previously published cases, which I found to be somewhat superficial in that the series of accounts have been well publicized over recent decades. Some of these remain more controversial than convincing.

The author’s own first-hand experiences were more freshly informative but similarly invested with a prior belief system seeking substantiation and verification. Admittedly impressive, it still read like a one-sided advocacy argument.

While the book was worth buying and reading, I was disappointed it didn’t have a more balanced presentation including counter findings, explanations and arguments that offer alternative possibilities to the cases cited. There was hardly any mention of the rampant fraud, deception and stage magic illusions used to fool the gullible, curious or bereaved followers seeking contact with the dear departed.

Nevertheless, I’d recommend “Surviving Death”. I’d like to think we all will!

[LilyPatToo]

Oh, the relief of finding a topic that might have graced the pages of Golden Age RI I just finished reading Leslie Keen's latest book and really enjoyed it. I agree with the comments above in this thread about its deficiencies, but it was, after all, written by a comparative newcomer to the life-after-death field. I'd love to see another book from her that ranges even wider and deeper, since the subject tends to be addressed mostly by the mixed in-crowd of mediums and researchers.

To find a new voice that's backed by such intelligence and healthy skepticism is a treat. Survival is deeply interesting to me and has been since I was a small child and discovered Spiritualist writings in our local Public Library. It took me a lifetime to find a Spiritualist church (in the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco), but it's proved to be worth the wait. I differ with them on my knowledge (not belief, but personal experience that has convinced me) of the reality of reincarnation, but otherwise it's a great fit.

If you find the subject matter interesting, but are put off by the flood of NewAge-Rhymes-With-Sewage afterlife books for sale at Amazon, I can recommend the Keen book as a more palatable introduction to the field. Personally, I enjoy almost all books on the subject and have shelves and shelves of them, but I'm aware that the true believer nature of some authors might be off-putting for RI folks. There are some excellent suggestions above for other sources who feature less woo and more intelligent inquiry, too. It's not all ladies in floaty violet draperies and self-deluded grieving survivors. There are real scientists working in this field and people like Leslie Keen examining their findings and opening up to personal experience themselves. Totally cool.

[Iamwhomiam]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56u4wMxNlg

[Elvis]

Oh, the relief of finding a topic that might have graced the pages of Golden Age RI I just finished reading Leslie Keen's latest book and really enjoyed it. I agree with the comments above in this thread about its deficiencies, but it was, after all, written by a comparative newcomer to the life-after-death field. I'd love to see another book from her that ranges even wider and deeper, since the subject tends to be addressed mostly by the mixed in-crowd of mediums and researchers.

To find a new voice that's backed by such intelligence and healthy skepticism is a treat. Survival is deeply interesting to me and has been since I was a small child and discovered Spiritualist writings in our local Public Library. It took me a lifetime to find a Spiritualist church (in the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco), but it's proved to be worth the wait. I differ with them on my knowledge (not belief, but personal experience that has convinced me) of the reality of reincarnation, but otherwise it's a great fit.

If you find the subject matter interesting, but are put off by the flood of NewAge-Rhymes-With-Sewage afterlife books for sale at Amazon, I can recommend the Keen book as a more palatable introduction to the field. Personally, I enjoy almost all books on the subject and have shelves and shelves of them, but I'm aware that the true believer nature of some authors might be off-putting for RI folks. There are some excellent suggestions above for other sources who feature less woo and more intelligent inquiry, too. It's not all ladies in floaty violet draperies and self-deluded grieving survivors. There are real scientists working in this field and people like Leslie Keen examining their findings and opening up to personal experience themselves. Totally cool.

I'm glad to see you grace the pages of RI again, LilyPat. I haven't read Keen's book, and not being a newcomer to the ideas, I probably won't seek it out, but I appreciate your comments above about it.

Also, let me take this chance to say how much I love your story about your little bird friend who would visit you and sing to you, as described somewhere on the board; it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read on RI and I'll never forget it. Thank you.

[identity]

Also, let me take this chance to say how much I love your story about your little bird friend who would visit you and sing to you, as described somewhere on the board; it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read on RI and I'll never forget it. Thank you.

Think I may have missed this the first time 'round, but would love to hear the story! Can anyone point me to where I might find it here, or would you, LilyPatToo, be kind enough to retell it here for our edification?

edit: Ah, I think I found it here: http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/view ... 9&p=429280

Thanks for mentioning that, Elvis, and lucky you, LilyPatToo, to be the intimate auditor of the soft singing of the Scrub Jay!

[Elvis]

edit: Ah, I think I found it here: http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/view ... 9&p=429280

Thanks for mentioning that, Elvis, and lucky you, LilyPatToo, to be the intimate auditor of the soft singing of the Scrub Jay!

identity, I realized afterward I should have located the post and linked it here—glad you found it!

[Belligerent Savant]

.
Came across a reference to Kean's book elsewhere and then found this thread here via forum search (bumping it so others can appreciate LPatToo's bird story).

If anyone has any other book recommendations on this topic (surviving death, etc), feel free to share.

I've read a number of books that cover this theme across varied perspectives (clinical/scientific, spiritual, chemical/psychotropic, etc) but I try to avoid the fluffy new age and/or 'compromised' authors whenever I can (which can be a hit and miss endeavor). I'd value the input from forum members here over most other venues.

[Harvey]

I enjoyed this far more than I imagined I would. It's one of a number of conversations I was thinking of posting in a dedicated thread "Interesting Conversations" perhaps in the lounge. (Any thoughts on that?) Apologies if it's been linked already:

[Elvis]

I enjoyed this far more than I imagined I would. It's one of a number of conversations I was thinking of posting in a dedicated thread "Interesting Conversations" perhaps in the lounge. (Any thoughts on that?) Apologies if it's been linked already:

Excellent conversation, thanks Harvey! I didn't know the Perceptual Studies had such videos. They have done such groundbreaking work.

An "Interesting Conversations" thread sounds like a fine idea.

[thrulookingglass]

Nope. I ain't doing this shit again. No fucking way. There's no way in hell I'm coming back to the land of dishonest people who wage war on others because their skin is darker than their own. No fucking way. No more warlords, no more shit-bag kings, no more economic villainy, no more fag beatings, no more heartless 'christ followers' who spend their days barking at others about how they're headed to hell for fornicating. I'm done with this ride going nowhere. I have no interest in watching people fuck each other over again all life.

We all get to be Muhammad Atta again.