Anita Moorjani

In one sense I find this to be, upon careful study, which I have not completed yet—and it would be fair to say that it rewards careful study—pessimistic isn’t really the right word, given her great optimism: but it shines a light, somehow, on the negative aspects of the “givens” if you like, of modern life: the lack of trustworthy leadership, the sense of the wound received from society by the individual, the sense that our traditions have ruled us but not quite seen us as worthy show more of respect…. Even just the simple fact that it’s hard to stay healthy—foods are, just in general, unhealthy!…. There are also things that she herself doesn’t understand about society, like her place in it: she was born middle class, never really had to worry about money, etc etc. Never quite took political action about all the sexism and racism she observed and experienced. I don’t say this to mean that she is “bad” as a person; only that, sometimes if you compare her reporting of the raw data of life, and her interpretation, sometimes, I don’t know; I feel bad for her that there’s so much she doesn’t know. It is kinda the age of the breakdown of traditional unjust spiritual etc systems; it’s the age of “just like me”…. But sometimes, just-like-you only knows but so much more, than you do, right.

But yeah; it’s not exactly a depressing or misleading book, at all, really: it’s optimistic, and outlines many of the positive features of most ages, and our own in particular: the possibility for freedom—to think as you please; the possibility to have spiritual experiences, and to experience for yourself, what is often only spoken of third-hand or whatever; the possibility for change, recovery, and joy. The possibility to experience, what can, by the very nature of the experience itself, and of the nature of language, never be put, finally, if you like, into a linguistic form. A very curious and worthwhile book. show less

I went back and forth on this one. The good is that she has valuable advice and perspective to offer. She has a unique way of talking about the importance of your emotional state, being love, being magnificent and sharing that magnificence with the world, allowing things to happen but keep doing what you love and the right things will happen. This was in contrast to using positive thought and attempting to attract what you want by wishing it. Her view is a useful one. If it was a religion, I show more would call it the Religion of Leo (the astrological sign), because it reminds me of that sign's propensity to be warm, loving, beaming with radiance like the sun in the sky, but for which others get the impression they are self-centered or living like the world revolves around them. Despite those misgivings of some people, I actually value her perspective.

There was a lot to dislike unfortunately. She writes well, but emotionally flat--which doesn't sit ideally in a description of a near-death experience. My personal disappointment was with the lacking spiritual, or otherworldly details in her out-of-body experience. When I read this genre I am most intrigued by what one encounters on the other side. I imagine it's hard to put into words feelings of infinity or just how pure unconditional love can be. But I wanted more description. I was disappointed that part of the precious space for describing the out-of-body experience was instead used to formulate an analogy, and that was left to suffice. The analogy may be useful, but that can come later.

The out-of-body experience was lacking characteristics that I've come to recognize as earmarks. So it made me feel that she generalized too much or left out important details. When she described that she sensed the essence? or presence? of loved ones, but gave no description of it, that was too vague for me, and seemed inconsistent with other accounts I've read.

The serious problem with the book is how far she takes her extrapolations. She went beyond the veil, felt infinite unconditional love, she was the love, she was divinity, divinity was her, felt the connectedness to everyone and everything, etc--but that doesn't mean that you saw everything there is to see, and gained all the knowledge there is to gain. For example, she didn't see a Hell, so now she simply pronounces there is no Hell--while many others who have died have seen Hell, experienced Hell in gruesome detail. Her account is that there was no judgement from the unconditional love. But even within this context Hell can still exist if only in the form of a person who is judging themselves.

The worst part is the floatsam like the magic of how she got her book deal, met Wayne Dyer, a recounting of the similar details from Wayne Dyer and then his secretary, etc.--which was obviously used to fluff the page count. show less

For me this is the Book of the Year. Everywhere on the Net I encounter interviews and videos with Anita Moorjani, and even quotations by her. And this is well-deserved – we all need to hear of her experience.

Wayne Dyer was involved in “discovering” Anita and helping to get her book published, and has written the foreword to this book.

Anita informs us of her upbringing – born of Indian parents in Singapore but residing in Hong Kong. She was exposed to several cultures and spoke both show more English, Cantanese and Sindhi fluently.

She managed to avoid an arranged marriage, and eventually finds her “true love”, Danny, whom she marries.

But Anita’s problem is that she is a people-pleaser and is always trying to do what others believe is best, thus finding it impossible to be her true self.

One of Anita’s biggest fears was that she might develop cancer, and her best friend died of the disease, which made her even more fearful. And so she did contract cancer, Though she tries various healing modalities, they are to no avail, and eventually she slips into a coma. This is when she begins to be aware of everything those connected with her are doing and saying. She is at death’s door, but has never felt so good! She had unlimited perception and “360-degree peripheral vision”.

She felt “all moments” at once. “I was aware of everything that pertained to me – past, present, and future – simultaneously.”

She feels she understands the Universe. She realizes that “God isn’t a being, but a state of being … and I was now that state of being!”

She was completely enveloped in unconditional love and acceptance. She saw that she was “a beautiful being of the Universe”. She deserved to be loved simply because she existed. She became aware that we are all connected – everything in the Universe was connected. “The entire Universe is alive and infused with consciousness, encompassing all life and nature.”

In this book not only does Anita describe her NDE in absolute detail, but also explains all the insights she takes back with her from it. Before she wakes from the coma she is told that if she chooses to return to life, she will be healed completely, and this is what happened, despite the doctors doing their best to seek out traces of cancer somewhere or other in her body.

There is a chapter on “Why I got Sick … and Healed”, “Infinite Selves and Universal Energy”, “Allowing and Being Yourself” and, finally, “Questions and Answers”.

Anita’s NDE was a glimpse of our Oneness, and she experienced becoming the Source.

She realized that even the worst criminals, including murderers, are victims of their “own limitations, pain, and fear”. In the other realm we are all One, all the same.

Anita Moorjani is wonderfully articulate, and the book is a joy to read. Absolutely everyone should read this book, particularly of course those afraid of death. They will not be afraid ever again. Anita went through her ordeal in order to experience her NDE and inform you and me and the whole world of the amazing love, acceptance, joy and bliss of the afterlife.

Anita’s final instructions to us are: Go out and live your life fearlessly! show less

If anything can be viewed as life-changing experience, NDE (Near-Death Experience) should be at the top of the list. This book is an extraordinary account of such an experience and the incomprehensible consequences that it brought to the life of the author, far beyond the miraculous healing of her body from cancer. There will be people who would look at this narrative with skepticism (I had some within my close circle who did), but for me it was an extremely inspirational read. It reminded show more me of another extraordinary book - "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist who underwent a transformational experience of a kind, even though no NDE was involved. The message in both books is similar, to an extent. Anita Moorjani makes you think of such concepts as joy vs fear as a leading component of our life, of the importance of functioning in the "being" mode vs in the "doing" mode, of the difference between self-love and selfishness. And then there is this wonderful concept of synchronicity the existence of which even I sometimes feel - "things falling into place effortlessly..." - and which occurs only when one is in tune with the universe - through meditation, mindfulness, etc.

Another crucial point she makes is the fact that we don't have to live in anxiety about what comes next. There is a way of not doing that. "My sense is", the author states, "that the very act of needing certainty is a hindrance to experiencing greater levels of awareness. In contrast, the process of letting go and releasing all attachment to any belief or outcome is cathartic and healing". Once in a while, throughout the book, ideas and notions get repeated again and again, using different words, but this repetitiveness (to which the author herself admits) is in no way to be judged: it's the result of her desire to explain her most extraordinary experience to the reader, to clarify something that fails to be defined, and yet it happened.... show less