The Lost Secret of Death: Our Divided Souls and the Afterlife

Rating:
Summary: a waste of money
Review: I did not get this book from Amazon knowing that I was about to read what ends up as a piece of evangelistic propaganda. Such as it is, its author seems to be narrowly educated, glowing with blind enthusiam, and speedily skips over deeply problematic religious questions I doubt he has the capacity to understand. I am surprised that Hampton Roads publishes such twaddle these days. Too bad for them. Had I browsed this book in a bookstore, I would not have bought it.

Rating:
Summary: The most important book I have ever read!
Review: I first became familiar with Novak's work when he contacted me to suggest I visit the website he had built in association with his first book on "Division Theory" and add it to the directory of online resources I maintain for a variety of paranormal, metaphysical, and spiritual topics. His first book was impressive, displaying excellent integration of many sources into a cohesive theory about consciousness and the death experience. This current book expands and refines the initial ideas and is more comprehensive and powerful an assessment of the topic. There are certainly questions left unanswered here, and I find the theory to be incomplete in some ways, which all theories must be, since theories can only describe what is perceived from a particlar level of awareness or perception. This is truly an exceptional book for anyone involved in metaphysical and psychological exploration, as it explains the distinction between soul and spirit, conscious and unconscious, and how they each continue when separated from the physical body.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not credible
Review: I gave this book three stars because it contains some interesting information and a fresh perspective on the meaning of certain prophecies and scriptures that I've read before. And also because I believe that the author is sincere and wishes to share his views on an important topic with others who are interested in spirituality. In the end, however, Novak's assertions just don't ring true. Try as I may, I can't accept the idea that we have two souls, never mind the even more oddball ideas this book contains.

Novak would probably say that I'm simply in denial about the so-called "binary soul doctrine" because it's scary, which indeed it is. Seems to me, though, that he is trying to preempt criticism by branding challengers as self-serving cowards before they have a chance to question his analysis. Many of his assertions are pretty far fetched, particularly in regards to passages from the Gnostic gospels and other well-known ancient texts. I have done a fair bit of reading in this area and certainly resist the idea that things are quite as black and white as Novak appears to believe. And his interpretations of the modern seers like Edgar Cacye also leave me wondering how closely he has actually studied Cayce's readings, as opposed to merely scanning them for potential evidence to back up his theory.

One thing I like about Novak's approach is his outright caution to readers early in the book to beware of New Age charlatans, of which I've learned there are a gracious plenty. He is right to encourage readers to think for themselves and not merely accept the conventional interpretations of scripture and related texts just because someone with a post-graduate degree has proffered them. In that spirit, I encourage people to read Novak's books and decide for themselves whether or not his theories are convincing. As for me, I've given his ideas a fair reading and doubt that I'll be saving this book as part of my permanent collection.

I advise those who are interested in reading more credible books on the after-death experience to try Michael Newton's Journey of Souls and Robert Grant's A Place We Call Home. Both of these are well researched, well written and, in my view, more believeable.

Rating:
Summary: The most important book I have ever read!
Review: I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE! It answers the most profound questions in life in a very clear and logical manner. Peter Novak has done a wonderful job presenting this material to the world. The information he gives is not only fascinating, it is also vital. We all need to know and understand this book before we pass on to the other side. This book presents a rare moment where science and religion come together in harmony, bridging the gap between them both. I urge you all to read this book. It is "an answer few realize even exist"

Rating:
Summary: A work of sheer brilliance!
Review: I predict this book will become a classic in its field. It not only explains why death has remained such an enigma, but it also ties together many paranormal/spiritual loose ends and makes a great deal of sense to boot. Novak takes readers by the hand and leads them on a mind blowing journey, examining evidence from all relevant fields. These include past life research (reincarnation), near death experience, modern psychology, scientific and medical research, parapsychology and philosophy, out of body experience, myths and legends, archeology and Egyptology, shamanism and mysticism and paranormal phenomena, plus religious texts and holy books from all over the world. Novak leaves no stone unturned and pieces of life's greatest puzzle appear like magic at every turn of the page, leaving readers breathlessly awaiting more. This builds into an identifiable picture of what actually happens after death. And perhaps more importantly, Novak also explains why this natural process is a necessary part of spiritual evolution.

Rating:
Summary: What a discovery!
Review: Peter Novak is a man on a mission - and this is the first thing that strikes the reader about `The Lost Secret of Death' - the author's overwhelming belief in his subject matter and his fervid desire to get the message across. At first glance this desire comes across to the reader as self-congratulatory, as he expresses again that `such and such' can only be explained by his theory - but one soon realizes that his evangelicalism is not at all self-righteous - it has the air of the desperation of an unheeded prophet declaring `the end of the world is nigh'. Where Novak's seeming hubris in claiming to know all the answers differs from your run-of-the-mill self-proclaimed New Age prophets is that his answer to the `problem of death' comes not from some `revelation' granted to him from `beings from the cosmos' or spirit guides from the `other side' but from the writings of antiquity and the researches of modern science. Novak states that if there is a `lost secret to death' then arguably it has been known before at some point in man's long history. To this end Novak does not claim to have invented his `doctrine' but to have `rediscovered' it. The binary-soul doctrine (BSD) as he calls it states that man has not one but two souls - to be compared to the `conscious' and unconscious' minds of modern depth psychology. This idea seems to fit in with recent research into the characteristics of the two hemispheres of the brain that seem to act as separate `personalities'. This `self-division' Novak argues, was known to early Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists; and in the early part of the book he gives evidence for this, beginning with the Egyptian concepts of `Ba' soul and `Ka' soul. One could argue that all Novak has done is show that ancient man had a similar idea of the make-up of the human psyche as modern psychiatrists - which would be an interesting thesis in itself. But Novak goes one step further in identifying each component of this divided self as immortal `souls' - he takes a giant leap from the field of psychology into metaphysics. What, he asks, if ancient man was correct and these two `souls' are exactly that - immortal, non-temporal entities? And it is in answering this question that Novak's thesis establishes itself as more than just an interesting jaunt into archaeo-psychology - for he uses it to explain seeming inconsistencies in a theoretical post-mortem existence. Most theories on life after death attempt to explain certain beliefs, such as reincarnation or the existence of a post-mortem paradise. While some theories are entirely self-consistent, they often fail to account for other evidence in the field of parapsychology. Near Death Experiences (NDE's), for instance, seem to suggest the existence of an eternal paradise or hell, while other research has convincingly argued the case for reincarnation. Such conflicts beg the question which is correct - presuming there is life after death do we reincarnate or do we enter some kind of other world? If we enter some other state then why are ghosts seen wandering the earth? What, Novak asks, if these weren't really inconsistencies at all but reflect the differing fates of separate soul parts? If this were the case then one of the major arguments against life after death - the seeming inconsistency of the evidence - would be immediately silenced. This is Novak's achievement - a paranormal `theory of everything'. His answers were illuminating, and I find his theory of ghosts quite satisfying. His book counsels for immediate evasive action to prevent the personality fracturing after death; fracturing which he compares, ingeniously, with the rending apart of Osiris. Novak's book is confident, tightly argued and compelling. The evidence he pulls together can be explained by his theory. He is confident in claiming this - what other theory explains them all? And one does have to concede that he has a point. His book is a very major contribution to the field of parapsychology and religious studies.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning proof that the key to the afterlife has been found!
Review: That we all have a soul is a given. But after reading Peter Novak's awe-inspiring & shocking The Lost Secret of Death: Our Divided Souls and the Afterlife, an intensely researched argument for the Binary Soul Doctrine, any givens are suddenly up for grabs.

So persuasive is Novak's book, & the amazingly rich & detailed evidence he backs up his theory with, that this reader was completely changed & will never think the same about life, death or anything again.

The Binary Soul Doctrine, as Novak claims so persuasively, is a theory that has been present from the beginning of time, & one that is found in every great religion on the face of this Earth. The Doctrine states that we have two souls, divided at birth, that long for union all through our lives.

That most of us will never achieve union while we are alive is tragic, & the author brilliantly parallels the divided soul theory with the ills & miseries of human life, especially in modern times when we are so cut off from our inner voices. But the real scary & challenging stuff is not what happens during life, but after death.

Using a myriad of near-death accounts, past life regressions, & the writings of religious texts, Novak compares the after-death experience & finds that there is a pervasive similarity which runs beneath all -- the divided soul that is trying to unite its two parts. Even the Bible is filled with comments about this binary soul, as are the major texts of the world's religions, as well as the ancient shamanic & earth-based traditions.

Novak also examines the most recent research into consciousness, the brain & thought to show how this dual soul theory also reaches into the realms of science & human biology, & how it explains the constant battle between left & right brain, reason & intuition, science & art.

With all this evidence of the Binary Soul Doctrine, it is hard to see how we could have gotten so far from the possible truth & instead settled on a one-soul theory that permeates our belief systems today. Novak covers those issues as well, along with the fact that Christ himself may have been our real ticket to soul union, & unless we learn from him & follow his lead, the suffering our souls may face in the afterlife will be tremendous.

What this book does is shoot down so many shaky theories we hold near & dear about how pretty & cozy death will be, & for some it will be. But for many it will be just the opposite, & without giving away too much, suffice to say that the author does a truly convincing job of explaining heaven & hell in Binary Soul Doctrine terms.

The glorious thing about the Binary Soul Doctrine is how it explains all the discrepancies, differences & disparities between science & religion, & between Eastern & Western spiritual thought. It also reconciles different accounts of life after death with one basic concept that is so hard to ignore or deny once you've read this book. The Doctrine also connects the world's greatest philosophers such as Carlos Castaneda, Edgar Cayce, & Emanuel Swedenborg with a commonality of vision that makes the concept of death much clearer, when examined in terms of a dual soul.

That the Binary Soul Doctrine is 100% completely, unarguably right is still up for grabs. But after reading this truly amazing book, I, for one, am convinced. I read a lot of books, & not one has ever made so many things about life, misery, happiness, destiny, death & religious belief make sense as this one did.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for any Thinking Person!
Review: This book ought to be read by every thoughtful person on this planet - because by studying the after-life, we can all learn to get more out of our current lives. Peter Novak effectively pulls it all together: religion (the major World religions' after-life beliefs of reincarnation and a heaven/hell scenario, and more); science (current scientific ideas about the duality of the mind, ie. the conscious and un-conscious aspects of the brain); "paranormal" activity (ie. near-death experiences, past-life hypnosis regression analysis, ghosts, and poltergeists).

Through his comprehensive research, lasting over a decade, Peter Novak has shown that the current major World Religions have all been partially correct in their after-life beliefs about what transpires after we leave this three-dimensional existence, but none has had the whole picture. The simple, yet profound, very early Christian belief of the Binary Soul Doctrine, which was effectively squelched over time by a variety of means, has been almost single-handedly resurrected by Peter Novak. And now, with the advent of the Internet, the ideas discussed in this book, may have a real chance to elevate our global consciousness and unity. Passages from the Bible, whose meaning had heretofore eluded comprehension by most of us, now re-looked at through the Binary Soul filter, make a lot more sense!

While his book is brilliant, Peter would be the first to admit that his attempt to resurrect the ancient binary soul beliefs is a work-in-progress. Peter continues fleshing out the nuances of the ideas proposed in his book, via his web site and discussion groups. I think a third book may eventually result from his continued research and I'll be one of the first in line to purchase and read it! For those who haven't read his first book, "The Division of Consciousness: The Secret Afterlife of the Human Psyche" - I highly recommend it also!

Rating:
Summary: Scan this at the bookstore before buying it
Review: This book was probably the biggest reading disappointment I have had in the last five years of reading. True, there is a lot of interesting material presented on the Binary Soul Doctrine. However, I found the author's subsequent logic and conclusions so suspect at times that I ended up doubting the veracity of his initial material on BSD.

The material on near-death and out-of-body experiences, past-life regression and ghosts, while interesting and perhaps relevant to the BSD, in no way invalidates other non-BSD theories regarding their origination or nature of their behavior. For example, the author emphasizes the aimless meanderings and seemingly pointless activities of apparitions from certain reported cases for the purpose of supporting the BSD. However, this assertion ignores the implication that can be drawn from the numerous cases where apparitions appear to be completely engaged in both their intellect and emotions.

The most disappointing aspect of this book was the way in the which the author diligently, but with little supporting evidence or reasoning, shoe-horns a conclusion based on the binary soul doctrine into an affirmation of the Judeo-Christian faith. Using some of the weirdest, twisted reasoning I've ever encountered, the author asserts that, while Jesus did not really die for our sins, he did take out a really big loan from the cosmic bank account to cover everyone's "karmic" debt. And, so, you see, we all end up "owing" him in the end anyway. If that's the case, then, the next question should probably be, "Who the hell gave him permission to do that?" If your sincere answer is "God", then you may like this book.

However, if you are a person interested in the phenomenon of the potential survival of the human consciousness but do not crave the affirmation (or denial) of any particular religious belief, then you might want to scan this book before buying it.

Finally, this book claims to provide information on developing a "self" that won't disintegrate at death. A worthy idea but don't expect to find much useful here on that topic.