The Unanswered Question: Death, Near-Death, and the Afterlife

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but impossible to verify
Review: Leland offers a detailed overview of his purported out-of-body travels, which, as he freely admits, took the form of dreams. Allegedly he visited realms of existence to which the rest of us will relocate after we die. Trouble is, his accounts differ markedly from those of people with near-dear experiences and from mediumistic information. So whom to believe? Well, the NDEs and the channeled info can at least be verified in certain ways - for instance, if an NDE involves an observation of medical procedures that are later confirmed, or if the medium brings through information about this world that there is no normal way of knowing, then we may perhaps be justified in accepting the rest of the account as trustworthy. Leland's dreams offer no such objectively testable content, so we have to take them on faith.

The author does try to substantiate his views by comparing them with ancient writings on the afterlife and with some NDE accounts, but it's not clear whether his knowledge of these matters may have influenced his dreams in the first place. I also had a great deal of trouble believing that Leland could remember his dreams/travels in such exhaustive detail; he recounts long conversations, which go on for pages, with otherworldly beings called Facilitators. This material reads like fiction or, at the very least, like a highly embellished account of a dream.

On the plus side, the book is well written and presents interesting summaries of esoteric material from many cultures. I just don't buy into Leland's astral traveling.

Rating:
Summary: Deep revelation
Review: The Unanswered Question is one of those books that I realize I have been waiting my whole life for. As I read the material and integrate it into my mind and my life, I am feeling shifts in my understadning and daily "Ahas!". Leland combines accounts of his experiences in "otherwhere", and specifically what he terms the afterlife, with accounts of near death experiences, the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Egyptioan Book of the Dead. For just that combination the book is fascinating, but Leland takes us much deeper than that. The understadning of how negative or unexpressed emotions hold us back, or keep us from growing into our soul's purpose is something everyone could take to heart. I find this and the information on how to do this to be the key behind the fascinating topic of the Unanswered Question. As I read the book, I feel myself connecting more to my own soul's purpose in this lifetime and, although not always an easy journey, I welcome it as I sink deeper into my lessons. Kurt Leland has done the world a huge service by recording his experiences and sharing them with us. His analysis and scholarly attention to detail leaves no questions unanswered, in terms of the material in the book. Because this book is so easy to read and so entertaining, I was not prepared for all the shifts that began happeing in my mind and in my life, but as I said before, I have been waiting for this book for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Look at the Astral Plane
Review: This is an amazing book! I couldn't put it down. Reading it provided a most powerful validation for me. Much of what the author recounted of his own explorations in the Afterlife resonated strongly with many experiences I've been having in the afterlife zones of what I call the astral plane during my own Out-of-Body experiences (or 'Adventures in Consciousness' as Leland calls them.) I've already ordered his previous offering--'OTHERWHERE'--and I'm sure it will be just as fascinating. In this book, Leland offers a 'triangulated' approach--he compares current NDE research, his own experiences, and sources from the Tibetan and Egyptian Books of the Dead, as well as Swedenborg's 'Heaven and Hell'. It's Leland's contention that the NDE experience--though compelling and valid in itself--might not be enough to go on when we're navigating our own post-death journey. His claim that NDE-ers may only be seeing 'death's threshold' seem valid to me. As both an OOBE-er and also having experienced a non-standard and ecstatic NDE myself, I found that I made much more of my NDE because I was already quite practiced at OOB explorations when this event occurred. This is an amazing title, and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking interesting and stimulating perspectives on the afterlife.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Valuable, Informative and Readable Gift
Review: What a valuable bargain author Kurt Leland produces here! Whether one is just beginning to delve into the ultimate question of what happens to us, if anything, after death -or one is a veteran explorer (or experiencer!) of the topic - the refreshing and revealing juxtaposition of various sources, from ancient times through the present, (including his own personal OBE experiences), serve to provide a comprehensive and detailed panorama of "the Other Side".

Utilizing his terrific and well-reasoned analyses and comparison of ancient material, such as the Egyptian & Tibetan books of the dead, Plato and the seventeenth century Swedenborg's "Heaven & Hell", Mr. Leland succeeds in also skillfully weaving into his composition material of modern researchers and explorers, such as Raymond Moody, Robert Monroe, Kenneth Ring, Melvin Morse, William Buhlman and many other notables in the field. In fact, what is most refreshing is to find such a readable, informative and talented voice in the field who is so generous with regard to the mention and support of his fellow spiritual investigators. This triangulative approach accomplishes a scholarly "check and balance" semi-verification of the perceptions and interpretations of each source, while providing a "who's who" background and bibliography for those who passionately need to know more.

Because of the book's constructed style, I found myself feeling as though I was reading the literary equivalent of a musical symphony, and that makes sense when one realizes that Mr. Leland is also a musician. If you buy and read this book, I know you'll hear it - the ring of truth has a comforting sound, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Expansive and profound
Review: Where else can you find a book that is simultaneously a cross-cultural survey on the myth and philosophy of the afterlife and a strange adventure tale about a man's gradual introduction to the strange customs of the other side? Well written, philosophically rigorous, and very entertaining, this book will definitely influence your world view if you approach it with an open spirit.

My only qualms were that Leland sometimes hedges his bets too much in making his arguments appeal to scientifically-minded people who probably won't be interested in the book to begin with, and that the important concept of the "cosmic normative balance" isn't explained in enough depth when it is first introduced.

Rating:
Summary: An in-depth look at the Afterlife
Review: While it certainly does stand on its own, this book is to some degree a sequel to "Otherwhere" as there are a number of references to that previous book in this one. So if you are seriously interested in out-of-body exploration and the afterlife, my recommendation would be to read "Otherwhere" first. The difference between this book and the first is that this one is a more in-depth and scholarly look at the subject.

A lot of ground is covered here: There are Mr. Leland's own adventures in nonphysical reality which are compelling reading. In addition he delves into areas such as NDE's (near-death experiences), early Christianity, Swedenborg's "Heaven and Hell", Buddhism, and ancient Egyptian beliefs with regard to the afterlife--and then offers us his own relevatory insights into them. I personally found this book to be utterly fascinating and illuminating--and would highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: An in-depth look at the Afterlife
Review: While it certainly does stand on its own, this book is to some degree a sequel to "Otherwhere" as there are a number of references to that previous book in this one. So if you are seriously interested in out-of-body exploration and the afterlife, my recommendation would be to read "Otherwhere" first. The difference between this book and the first is that this one is a more in-depth and scholarly look at the subject.

A lot of ground is covered here: There are Mr. Leland's own adventures in nonphysical reality which are compelling reading. In addition he delves into areas such as NDE's (near-death experiences), early Christianity, Swedenborg's "Heaven and Hell", Buddhism, and ancient Egyptian beliefs with regard to the afterlife--and then offers us his own relevatory insights into them. I personally found this book to be utterly fascinating and illuminating--and would highly recommend it.