Life After Death: The Burden of Proof
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Manufacturer: Harmony
Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 202.3
EAN: 9780307345783
ISBN: 0307345785
Label: Harmony
Manufacturer: Harmony
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2006-10-17
Publisher: Harmony
Release Date: 2006-10-17
Studio: Harmony
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Editorial Reviews:
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Deepak Chopra has touched millions of readers by demystifying our deepest spiritual concerns while retaining their poetry and wonder. Now he turns to the most profound mystery: What happens after we die? Is this one question we were not meant to answer, a riddle whose solution the universe keeps to itself? Chopra tells us there is abundant evidence that “the world beyond” is not separated from this world by an impassable wall; in fact, a single reality embraces all worlds, all times and places. At the end of our lives we “cross over” into a new phase of the same soul journey we are on right this minute.
In Life After Death, Chopra draws on cutting-edge scientific discoveries and the great wisdom traditions to provide a map of the afterlife. It’s a fascinating journey into many levels of consciousness. But far more important is his urgent message: Who you meet in the afterlife and what you experience there reflect your present beliefs, expectations, and level of awareness. In the here and now you can shape what happens after you die.
By bringing the afterlife into the present moment, Life After Death opens up an immense new area of creativity. Ultimately there is no division between life and death—there is only one continuous creative project. Chopra invites us to become cocreators in this subtle realm, and as we come to understand the one reality, we shed our irrational fears and step into a numinous sense of wonder and personal power.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book -- Filled with Wisdon
Comment: Love from Both Sides: A True Story of Soul Survival and Sacred Sexuality I'm a writer and working hypnotherapist. Seven years ago yesterday, my husband died in my arms and then "came back" to me, and that's the story my own book tells. "Life After Death," Deepak Chopra's wonderfully wise book echoes and expands on my own personal experience. "The afterlife," he says, "is not a mystery to be solved. It's an opportunity to expand life beyond boundaries." If you're reading this review, it might be because you've just "lost" someone and are searching for comfort and for answers. And if that's the case, my heart goes to you. Nothing can take away the pain of your loss, (time, however, helps) but you might find some comfort in reading Deepak's wise words. If you can't read right now, get his books on CDs... Then listen, and let his voice sooth your battered soul. I recommend this book highly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally Rewarding Discussion on the Afterlife *
Comment: Chopra offers a compelling book complete with two distinct sections; Life After Death, and The Burden of Proof. The first half deals with Chopra's feelings regarding the spiritual afterlife based on his research of both western and eastern religions. The second section changes gears entirely with a scientific and logical analysis of what occurs after the physical body expires. The two sections are quite dissimilar and my positive rating is only geared toward the second segment.
The Life After Death section of the book reads like a sermon. It would be inappropriate suggest the thoughts of a world renown thinker such as Chopra do not have value; however, this section spoke of the afterlife with a precision Chopra can not possibly know, and thus his beliefs were meshed with unsubstantiated facts which is disappointing.
The second half of the book, The Burden of Proof, is an absolute success and fully refreshing in its approach. Chopra immediately deals with the inability of science to properly define certain aspects in life. Chopra explains, "If one could calculate every vibration of a violinist's bow while playing a Beethoven sonata, that wouldn't explain music or its beauty" and thus along the same line of thinking, science may indeed one day be able to explain all physical reality, yet science may never be able to fully explain the emotion we derive from that very reality.
The most invigorating element of this section was Chopra's assessment of science and energy. Humans consume water and air, thus the atoms that comprise these elements become the atoms that make up the physical components of a human, including the brain. Therefore, those very atoms eventually become part of what gives us life, but from a purely scientific point of view, they are still the same physical atoms. Chopra asserts it is thus quite possible that the very life breathed into atoms during that change might not be from the physical, but from a field that drives life and the mental phenomena that is beyond the physical nature of atoms. A
As much as a radio is merely a transmitter of music, a brain could simply be a transmitter of human conciseness (thoughts, memory and beliefs). Chopra acknowledges that it is possible this consciousness could in fact be physical and science has just not yet discovered how to see or measure such an element. This reads not as an admission but as a statement that in the very least, the current base of knowledge surrounding the physical elements of life and death are positively limited and offer no explanation where Chopra offers possibility.
Despite the profound content, Chopra displays some weakness when confusing some of his conclusions with logical fallacy, such as cherry picking results, particularly pertaining to his explanation of prayers and other unexplained phenomena. Despite this short coming, the abundance of thought provoking material easily over compensates and the material can be valued by merely passing over these issues.
Most of Chopra's thoughts are extremely reflective and will require a basic scientific understanding of terms. Perhaps the biggest appeal is that Chopra presents a study of the afterlife that melds both science and religion together in a manner that would be acceptable to each. I highly recommend this book (the second half specifically) to all critical thinkers especially those with conflicting views. At worst, Chopra will not leave you disappointed; at best, Chopra will help shape your expectation of life after death.
* Title Refers specifically to Second Half of the Book - the Burden of Proof - as I found the first section unrewarding.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spiritual "AH HA!" Moments Galore!
Comment: My Mother is in Hospice now and as a result of her illness and imminent death, I have been pondering death alot. Additionally, I have been questioning everything - mostly the existence of God. Not the impersonal, creative force - I see that every day. But I just could no longer connect to a personal God - one who knows ME and cares about ME. I've been in this "spiritual angst" for a good long while...probably over a year.
On the advice of a friend, I got this book. I was a bit reticent about it because as a "recovering new ager", I didn't want to get back into that woo-wooo, hocus-pocus stuff. But, I was interested to hear what he had to say about death.
What a wonderful book! My first (and MOST freeing) "AH HA" moment occurred when he was describing the different spiritual traditions. He had a little questionaire to help you determine where you fall on the
Spiritual belief continuum. When I added up my scores, I realized that what I was holding as truth was called materialism.
Since my father's death 6 years ago I have slowly been rejecting the "New Age" stuff and returning to the way of life/way of thinking that he lived. (Mind you, I just realized this as a result of reading this book.) I came to think that all the spiritual learning I had done in the
past was just HooHaa and that I needed to get back to "reality". This
book helped me realize that what I thought was "reality" is actually just another belief system! LOL What a relief! I didn't know it at the time, but I always felt a bit guilty about leaving my father's belief system, read that: my father's reality. Now that I realize it is also a belief system, I no longer feel that it holds any more truth than any other tradition. I feel free to follow what my heart and soul says is my path.
Since this book is about life after death, he also wrote about the different spiritual views on what happens after death. He decribed the Christian belief system of heaven & hell, the Vedic traditions of different levels of consciousness, the Islamic traditions, etc... What triggered my second "AH HA" was when he said that death simply means you no longer experience life through the 5 senses. What a HUGE thing that is. Life continues, you just no longer have access to it through the five physical senses. That sure lessened the fear of death for me.
I'm not done with the book, for me it takes some digesting, but so far, I've had a rolling, expanding, deepening understanding of how everything I've learned along my life fits into everything else. I can see/ understand/ feel what Jesus taught in a deeper way - "OHHHH so THAT'S what He meant by that!" ""Miracle of Love" teaches that same thing... only they use this term!" "That feeling I've had IS my soul shining through."
I am very grateful that I picked up this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a comparison of spiritual traditions or who might be experiencing a particularly difficult time with the death of a loved one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spiritual "AH HA!" Moments Galore!
Comment: My Mother is in Hospice now and as a result of her illness and imminent death, I have been pondering death alot. Additionally, I have been questioning everything - mostly the existence of God. Not the impersonal, creative force - I see that every day. But I just could no longer connect to a personal God - one who knows ME and cares about ME. I've been in this "spiritual angst" for a good long while...probably over a year.
On the advice of a friend, I got this book. I was a bit reticent about it because as a "recovering new ager", I didn't want to get back into that woo-wooo, hocus-pocus stuff. But, I was interested to hear what he had to say about death.
What a wonderful book! My first (and MOST freeing) "AH HA" moment occurred when he was describing the different spiritual traditions. He had a little questionaire to help you determine where you fall on the
Spiritual belief continuum. When I added up my scores, I realized that what I was holding as truth was called materialism.
Since my father's death 6 years ago I have slowly been rejecting the "New Age" stuff and returning to the way of life/way of thinking that he lived. (Mind you, I just realized this as a result of reading this book.) I came to think that all the spiritual learning I had done in the
past was just HooHaa and that I needed to get back to "reality". This
book helped me realize that what I thought was "reality" is actually just another belief system! LOL What a relief! I didn't know it at the time, but I always felt a bit guilty about leaving my father's belief system, read that: my father's reality. Now that I realize it is also a belief system, I no longer feel that it holds any more truth than any other tradition. I feel free to follow what my heart and soul says is my path.
Since this book is about life after death, he also wrote about the different spiritual views on what happens after death. He decribed the Christian belief system of heaven & hell, the Vedic traditions of different levels of consciousness, the Islamic traditions, etc... What triggered my second "AH HA" was when he said that death simply means you no longer experience life through the 5 senses. What a HUGE thing that is. Life continues, you just no longer have access to it through the five physical senses. That sure lessened the fear of death for me.
I'm not done with the book, for me it takes some digesting, but so far, I've had a rolling, expanding, deepening understanding of how everything I've learned along my life fits into everything else. I can see/ understand/ feel what Jesus taught in a deeper way - "OHHHH so THAT'S what He meant by that!" ""Miracle of Love" teaches that same thing... only they use this term!" "That feeling I've had IS my soul shining through."
I am very grateful that I picked up this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a comparison of spiritual traditions or who might be experiencing a particularly difficult time with the death of a loved one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great insight, although his writing can be confusing.
Comment: I love this guy! He is so intriguing. I have seen him on TV and always thought what he said made sense. So I bought this book... my first Deepak Chopra book. I feel that he has many important things to say, but uses long confusing sentences when he could have easily gotten away with a simpler one. I found myself rereading sentence after sentence. Its not that the vocabulary was difficult, its just that some of the wording can be a bit convoluted. Here is an example.. picked out of the book...
"If there is only one reality, as the rishis declare, then life is not a struggle between good and evil, but a tangled web where all actions, good and bad, move us closer to reality or deeper into illusion."
I mean really, that was a random example, but I had to read that twice... slowly, to get what he was saying.
"the erosion of faith has not left Paradise untouched."
So does that mean it left Paradise touched? I am not sure. The whole book is like that. But, when you finally 'get' what he is saying, it is truly profound. It just takes awhile. Or maybe its just me.
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