Professional medium James Van Praagh (Talking to Heaven) offers a guidebook for the living, which charts the course of the soul as it journeys through life, death, and rebirth. Beyond his psychic gifts, Van Praagh has a gift for simplifying complex spiritual ideas and writing about them in a conversational tone. Most appealing for Van Praagh fans are his detailed theories on death and the afterlife. For example, when people die sudden deaths, Van Praagh reports, spirits of the dead often linger over their bodies, unable to comprehend what has happened (but still able to see and hear everything that is being done and said around the corpse). This is why spirits of the already-deceased are so useful in helping the dead transition to the other side.

Speaking of the afterlife, or heaven, Van Praagh writes: In the higher realms everyone is on the same level of spiritual understanding, like a symphony of beings in tune with one another. For some this may mean a reunion with members of their earth family. For others it could be a meeting with former friends and lovers from previous incarnations. Finally, Van Praagh returns to his fascinating stories of channeling the deceased to illustrate how the living can stay on task with their raison d'être. If we want to help our souls along on their eternal journeys toward enlightenment, then we must remove the emotional obstacles that are blocking their paths, says Van Praagh, who devotes entire chapters to guilt, fear, forgiveness, and love. --Gail Hudson


From AudioFile
Van Praagh begins with some elementary principles familiar to most students of metaphysics. While he relies on these spiritual touchstones and even resorts to aphorisms and basic guidelines for living in attunement with God, Van Praagh seasons his lecture with remarkable accounts of his contact with the souls of the dead. We learn what the afterlife may look like and how one spends time there. A recurring theme is forgiveness by and for the dead, once they contact the living. Van Praagh has been lambasted by some as a charlatan becoming wealthy on people's hopes and fears. But the author seems truly concerned with his listeners' evolution and happiness. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In his acclaimed bestseller Talking to Heaven, renowned medium James Van Praagh conveyed the message that death is not the end. Now he shows us how lessons from the realms beyond death can also teach us to infuse our earthly lives with strength, joy, and love....

Praise for James Van Praagh and Talking to Heaven

"[James Van Praagh] has changed people's lives, banished the fear of death, and brought grieving parents the solace of their dead children's presence....It is impossible not to be moved."—Newsweek

"Anyone questioning life after death must read Talking to Heaven. This loving work...gives guidance to opening your own ability in communicating with those who have returned home."—Dannion Brinkley, author of At Peace in the Light

"A wonderful and uplifting book, and I highly recommend it. If you have ever feared death or grieved the loss of a loved one, James Van Praagh's spiritual stories and lessons will heal your heart. This inspiring book is a must read."—Brian L. Weiss, M.D., author of Many Lives, Many Masters

FROM THE CRITICS

Newsweek

James Van Praagh has changed people's loves, banished the fear of death...It is impossible not to be moved.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING