I received a complementary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Anita Moorjani gets it. After a near death experience (NDE) that she describes in vivid detail in her first book, Dying to be Me, she came to the conclusion that “being in that state made me realize that I didn’t have to do anything to deserve being loved. I realized that I’m loved unconditionally just because I exist!” Unconditional love is the basis for my spirituality, and much of what Moorjani writes in her new book “What If This is Heaven? How Our Cultural Myths Prevent Us From Experiencing Heaven on Earth” resonated with me. Sadly, many of the belief systems of today are based in conditional love. “As soon as we put conditions on love, it becomes something else entirely,” Moorjani says.
I liked how the book was organized, with many examples from the author’s own life and conversations she has had with others as a result of her first book. “Each chapter of this book will highlight a common myth that most of us have just accepted as truth and show how these myths are pervasive and often invisible to us,” Moorjani writes in the introduction. I found meaningful the Tips and Exercises she has spread throughout the book, designed to put the ideas the author expresses into practice. “When others put you down in any way,” she writes in one “tips” section, “realize their actions are direct projections of their own state of pain and confusion. Likewise, remember that opening your heart and having compassion for them in their pain (which does not at all mean condoning their behavior) benefits you as well as them.” Since reading the book that tip has come to mind as I encounter challenging people in my life.
Moorjani addresses some big questions in What If This is Heaven? such as the reason for illness, the purpose of the ego, and more. She comes from the perspective of having experienced an incredible love in her near death experience, and not from years of study in seminary.
“One of the vital differences between a good healer and a great healer is that a great healer guides you back to your own innate ability to heal and ultimately encourages your independence,” the author writes. From hearing her speak in person two times, and now reading both her books, I consider Moorjani a great healer. I recommend reading What If This Is Heaven? as an aid to your own healing and expression of your unique talents.
