THE LIFE REVIEW AND NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES

Article about "The Life Review" and Near death Experience with accounts of the reviews made by people after dying. Includes "Life Review After Death" and explanation of the Last Judgment of the Soul and "The Purpose of Life". If you would like to find out more about the topic then read Craig Hamilton-Parker's books
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The Life Review

“If you develop love, you do not need to develop anything else.”--Sathya Sai Baba

Clearly many of the beliefs about the judgment of the dead have been influenced by different cultural traditions. Today we are more likely to call this the life review. This has again been reported by people who have had an NDE, and cases have been logged by researchers such as Doctors Raymond Moody and Elizabeth Kübler-Ross.

The first stages of the review took place when you first encountered the being of light. During this stage you assessed yourself from the very core of your being. However, like the many layers of an onion, you are a multi-dimensional being. The review takes place in your innermost self which is at one with God then expands to encompass the higher self and the other facets of your being. (I will explain this in more detail later.) In this next stage of the review, you know yourself as being separate from God, who now appears before you like a being of light or in a form that you understand to represent the godhead.

If you made the decision to die, you will now review your life. Your beliefs and cultural background will determine the form this takes. It may take place in a modern setting, or in a historical setting that conforms to your expectations. Conditions will form around you that make you feel at ease and ready to begin the long process of self-assessment.

LIFE REVIEW

Your whole life will be on display to you. This experience is more than memory, for you access the vibrations left in the cosmos by every event that has ever taken place. Some mystics call this the Akashic Record. You may experience this review as looking into a magical book that unfolds the story of your life, as if it is taking place within the pages. You may look into a crystal pool or perhaps even into a television screen. Or you may not need any imagery at all and will experience the unfolding of your life in a more abstract way. The situation that is manifested is in accordance with what makes you feel most comfortable.

Most reports from people who have had an NDE say that the inner experience is similar to memory but somehow apart from normal remembering. Some say that the memories come quickly and in chronological order. Others describe the events as happening out of sequence or all at once. Because of the nature of time in the afterlife, it is probably very hard to explain the experience in earthly terms. The NDE visitor to the afterlife has only moments available to them in which to absorb these ineffable experiences. I would imagine that permanent new residents in the afterlife are allowed more time to become acclimated and, therefore, have a more leisurely period of assessment, perhaps punctuated with time for reflection and rest.

If you pass into the afterlife at an old age, you may have already begun the life review during the periods spent in reflection in your later years. Nowadays, we largely fear old age and spare no time thinking about the inevitable day when the angel of death knocks on our door. However, it is much more psychologically sound to allow some time in the latter part of life for reflection about one’s life and consideration of what’s to come in the hereafter. The psychologist Carl Jung said: “From the middle of life onwards, only he remains vitally alive who is ready to die with life. For in the secret hour of life’s midday the parabola is reversed, death is born. The second half of life does not signify ascent, unfolding, increase, exuberance, but death, since the end is it’s goal. The negation of life’s fulfilment is synonymous with the refusal to accept its ending. Both mean not wanting to live; not wanting to live is identical with not wanting to die. Waxing and waning making one curve.”

PURPOSE OF LIFE

If you have thought about the meaning and purpose of your life, then the life review will be a continuation of this process of spiritual integration. Your guardian angel will help you recall the reasons why you chose to be born and the lessons you set yourself to learn. You will then become aware of everything that has happened in your life and understand it in the context of the life plan you made. You may “see” it as a series of rapidly changing images in vibrant color. Everything will be multi-dimensional and moving. As each image flicks across the screen of your consciousness, it will be perceived and recognized. Scenes from your earliest childhood will seem as if they are happening at that moment. Once hazy memories will spring to life. You will have total recall--everything from the banal to the meaningful--and you will feel all the emotions and feelings associated with what you are seeing while at the same time remaining in a calm state of non-attachment.

The judgment and the life review are not a “final” event, with the application of absolute moral standards followed by purgatory, hell, or heaven. It is a starting point for further spiritual development and progression. During this period of introspection, you will discover the many capacities which need to grow in you, and come up with ways to develop your spirituality.