Readers have asked why I decided to write Beyond this Life, a novel of the near death experience. After all, my previous works focused on peacemaking in the nonfiction genre. Yet the transition makes perfect sense, as my desire to write Beyond This Life was fueled by my reflections on peacemaking.
Reconciliation efforts, I discovered, screeched to a halt when the parties did not know their true nature, when they could not answer the question, “Who am I—really?”
Disputants typically slam into walls of uncertainty as they begin to reflect on their deepest essence. They tumble into confusion, their grasp on reality shaken. They recognize they are lost, as their true nature remains a mystery. They don’t know how they should be treated; they don’t know how they should treat others.
In the best of circumstances, conflict generates a sense of unreality. People wonder, “Why has this happened to me?” They’re haunted by unspoken questions: “What is real? What is the truth in this matter?” As they seek to resolve conflict, they make decisions based on what they consider most true and most real. They assess “right and wrong” in the context of their viewpoint of reality or life.
Perhaps nothing anchors an individual’s view of what’s real and what’s unreal as much as their understanding of the innate nature of a human being. What we call our personal reality or personal philosophy rests firmly on a foundation of Self. People view Life from an intimate perspective. They view Life “out there” from the viewpoint or perspective of Self.
Peacemakers typically discover that parties in conflict have not previously laid a proper foundation of self-identity. This missing foundation of establishing core identity exacerbates the conflict-driven feeling of unreality. A party caught up in conflict feels unmoored: they’re rarely anchored to a reliable knowledge of Self.
In the course of life’s more mundane events, we typically overlook deep questions regarding our innate human or spiritual nature. We leave such reflection to monks sequestered in monasteries or to pontificating philosophers.
However, when we’re entangled in conflict, our situation changes dramatically. We’re pushed to assess the validity of our perceptions. Are we viewing events accurately? And we are forced to evaluate our views and assumptions. Are we tracking with reality? Or has our bias led us into the weeds?
As these doubts accumulate, we may turn to a mediator who will conduct a “reality check” that helps us sort fantasy and fiction from reality. And this may include the uncommon task of sculpting away a False Self to reveal our True Self. And it is during this task that the NDE is invaluable, as its lessons shed light on our basic nature.
In the course of “ordinary life,” absent the stress of conflict, people avoid the difficult spiritual journey into self-awareness. They may fear unseen forces lurking behind the veil of mystery. Rather than embark on a hazardous path of discovery, they stick with “knock on wood” reality. They choose commonplace assumptions over inquiry.
However, there’s one brief journey that jolts people out of a mundane mindset: the near death experience or NDE. Once the veil of mortal life is rent, reality suddenly looks very different. Moments of unusual clarity force a reevaluation of previous perceptions: have they been viewing through a distorted lens? During an NDE they may glimpse heavenly light that purifies their vision. While they still may not relish battling dark forces, they find it hard to extinguish their new desire to seek the light.
In many instances, those who have glimpsed beyond the veil seek to satisfy their new hunger for revealed truth through spiritual direction, a guided exploration of the nature of God. During this exploration a person may find light shined on their nature as an immortal soul. Thus, the NDE, followed by spiritual direction, opens doors to supernatural truths that reframe a person’s reality. They soon find they view life differently, in a manner more conducive to peacemaking.
What is the primary change or shift in viewpoint? We no longer see our opponent as solely a biological entity to be coerced, manipulated, herded, controlled, drugged, or enslaved to our desires. Rather, we see the person sitting across the table from us as an immortal soul endowed with divine qualities: with the image and likeness of God. We see someone with whom we can collaborate in a search for mutual benefit. We see a soul we might be able to love, someone who would like to sculpt away the detritus of the False Self to reveal Divine Self.
New viewpoints inspired by the NDE seem to lift the parties in a conflict “above the fray.” The parties now seem to look down on life’s events from a “birds-eye-view,” from a spiritual viewpoint grounded in supernatural reality. These viewpoints cut a path through the thickets of conflict, a path that leads to peace.
Thus, Beyond This Life, a novel of the near death experience, is not a huge departure from my past themes. Beyond invites readers to journey beyond the mundane. It invites readers to suspend disbelief for a few moments to consider spiritual views that might ordinarily be veiled. It invites readers to find joy in a journey to other realms that may exist just beyond our view. Perhaps during that fleeting journey Beyond This Life, the reader will discover new paths to peace. That is my hope.
