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JOURNAL OF NEAR-DEATH STUDIES
This is an important message that I believe is inherent in Full Circle.
The near-death experience (NDE), along with its aftereffects and all it
implies, is in fact a natural phenomenon rather than something cate-
gorized as "supernatural." It should not become the focus of a theoreti-
cal debate between the left-brained scientists and the right-brained
mystics. Rather, the NDE and related spiritual experiences are oppor-
tunities for increasing numbers of people to access an expanded real-
ity, which many of us know is much more than twentieth century
Western society had led us to believe.
Harris's story is one of humility, struggle, and at the same time
divine inspiration. It is a story that should be acknowledged and
respected as we attempt to explore the meaning and implications of the
NDE.
In the introduction to this book, Bruce Greyson, LANDS Research
Director and Harris's colleague, discussed his impression of her when
they met for the first time to appear on a television interview:
I should have guessed from the fact that the show was scheduled for
April Fool's Day that I was in for a surprise. Instead of my fantasized
invalid, I was confronted by a vibrant and dynamic person full of
childlike joy and wonderment, who over the intervening years has
continually challenged my own intellectual biases and breathed into
my research the reality that comes only from experiencing. (p. 2)
Full Circle provides the reader with very specific and comprehensive
descriptions of Harris's two NDEs, which corroborate the research data
and anecdotal case studies that have been accumulated over the years.
As she describes her experiences, the reader also becomes more knowl-
edgeable about such issues as kundalini, psychical research, biofeed-
back, and aspects of healing. In addition, she shares the personal
accounts of her encounters and relationships with such people as Eli-
sabeth Kubler-Ross, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Kenneth Ring, and
Raymond Moody, and allows the reader to see these people through her
eyes. Clearly, this book is one that appeals to both the human elements
and the intellect.
Although Harris describes her experiences in a relaxed, informal
manner, she makes some major points that should be listened to
carefully by both the scientific and psychiatric communities. She de-
scribes the life review experienced in one of her NDEs as "a force or
some sort of intelligent energy that was taking her on a guided tour of
her life" (p. 24). Significant emotional events perceived by her as if in
bubbles provided strong transformative psychological understanding
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