My Experience at New Renaissance Bookshop: Contest Winners

First Prize Winner
A Taiji student of mine told me that I could get a copy of T’ai Chi Magazine at this cool book store in Portland. I Googled the directions to The New Renaissance Bookshop and was surprised that I had passed by it many times on my way to the Taiji studio where I practice . . .  Click here to read all 3 winner’s stories.

Proof of Heaven

“Dr Eben Alexander's near-death experience is the most astounding I have heard in more than four decades of studying this phenomenon. In my opinion, Dr Alexander is living proof of an afterlife."
- Raymond Moody, MD, PhD, author of Life Beyond Life, 1974, and "father of the field" of Near-Death Experience studies

Life is like ocean waves crashing onto the beach. The waves come in, soak the sand, and then recede with the outgoing tide. The cycle of birth and death, like waves, comes and goes without ending. Life comes into material existence, ages, and then goes back to.... what?

Where do we go on the tide that goes back out? Do we lose complete consciousness and self when our bodies die? Are we nothing more than our bodies or does our conscious mind continue after physical death?

My personal belief is that we, like the cycle of water in its journey, are conscious beings in a cosmic dance with The Conscious Being that is Life Itself--- GOD.
I sense this deeply within me, yet I have not died to come back to life to share some testimony about it. However there is a growing community of people who have had Near Death Experiences and their stories have long fascinated me.

In our dominant materialistic culture, especially in scientific circles, any claims of the afterlife or anything not physically verifiable are treated with skepticism and dismissal of any relevance, often with a wall of cynicism and a labeling as pseudo-science. This leaves little room for another way of looking at the nature of reality and creates an atmosphere of alienation for those who claim to have tapped through the veil of spirit and matter.

This is when accounts of Near Death Experiences, like Dr. Eben Alexander, can help bridge the gap in this perception and offers us hope and comfort in hearing about their experiences. Furthermore, it may serve as a model for the scientific community to accept as plausible evidence and push the envelope for greater acceptance and dialogue for these accounts, especially when one of its own skeptics turns into a believer!

Dr Eben Alexander is a renowned academic neurosurgeon. He thought he knew how the brain and mind worked and claims in his book, prior to his NDE, to have been steadfast in his scientific assertion that consciousness ends when the brain dies, there is no afterlife, and skeptical of anyone who suggests otherwise. Alexander even points out that previous to his experience, he wouldn't entertain any interest in patients accounts of spiritual phenomena.

Then in 2008 Dr Alexander suffered near to the brink of death and spent a week deep in a coma from a brain infection induced by bacterial meningitis that wiped out his neocortex, "the part of the brain that makes us human-- where consciousness, memory, emotions, language, visual, auditory, and all of our experiences are put together" says Alexander.

The story and revelations he shares about the nature of consciousness outside of the confines of the body is significant and his account would serve everyone well to read. We may find comfort and inspiration to know that, "You are loved, deeply cherished, forever. There is nothing you have to fear. You will always be loved, and there's nothing that you can do wrong.... Don't worry, all is well!"

Since having his experience, Dr Alexander is dedicated to helping others make the transition we all face with greater awareness and to help the whole by being a bridge for science and spirituality.

This is a perfect book to offer as a gift for your friends and family, including those who are most skeptical of spiritual topics. Click here to order your copy.

Namaste, Nate