There is absolutely no doubt as to Kenneth Ring's sincerity and compassion, as well as his long-term commitment to expanding our understanding of near death phenomena. And we can be very grateful for the courage of people who were willing to share experiences that are so deeply personal. For those reasons alone I could have given "Lessons from the Light" five stars - had it not gone further than this to claiming definitive answers to questions of life and meaning. It is because of the assumptive role of this book that I see the need for a strong note of caution.
For example, Ring states quite arbitrarily that, at death, we not only review our life, we invariably relive it. However, not everyone described such an event in their NDE - a "white crow" in his theory that the author ignores. There are also disturbing implications for people who have suffered a great deal. Is Ring saying that they must relive their own suffering? I would not wish even those who have treated me cruelly to experience the pain I felt. To what purpose? Surely this is in direct contradiction of the image of compassionate love that the author presents. It certainly negates the concept in wisdom literature of our life journey being progressive and transformative.
Perhaps the greatest concern I have regarding this book (and others that make the same claim) is its unqualified exhortation to "love." Given that humankind has many contradictory definitions of love, I see an urgent need to qualify the word, especially in the context of the life lessons this book claims to teach. Love is often equated solely with a feeling of euphoria - an interpretation emphasised in this book. But love is sometimes spelled N-O. In other words, loving actively is far from easy and not at all comfortable. Love, in fact, has backbone. Out of all the messages the author gives as paramount, this is perhaps the most vital life lesson he could omit. Vulnerable readers may infer from this omission - to their detriment - that love is acquiescent to abuse.
Most of all, it is important not to make assumptions about the COMPLETED death experience from what are only NEAR death experiences, a distinction that Ring fails to make. For one thing, the needs of those who return (to complete a life task, for example) could be very different from the needs of those who move on. The problem is that, in our urgency to find answers, we are strongly tempted to manufacture them - to find ANY answer - but which is often far less empowering than the truth. According to the poet Rilke, we need the courage to "live the questions" and to accept that we can only grow into them.
Perhaps the best way to approach this book is to remember the advice of Ram Das: "The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal...it isn't true that everybody should follow one path. Listen to your own truth."
I have read a number of works on NDEs and I read Dr. Ring's "Heading Toward Omega" when it was first published. As a clergy person that often ministers to the dying and their families the information shared in "Lessons from the Light" can be helpful within the context of the religious tradition one serves in. Of course, since all of these people came back to this life we cannot generalize about post-mortum existence. However, the compelling information about NDEs will give believers and non-believers an opportunity to reflect on the direction of their lives, the goal of their lives and what really matters in their lives. For the religious/spiritual person such accounts tend to strengthen that deep interior expereince of the Holy One in our midst. For those that deny spiritual existence of any kind the NDE of so many people can at least provoke a willingness to rethink things. Dr. Ring gives us much to pray, think and talk about. I am grateful for his efforts.
