Betty Eadie

Last updated

Betty (Jean) Eadie (born 1942) is an American author of several books on near-death experiences (NDEs). Her best-known book is Embraced by the Light, (1992) describing her NDE. It was followed by The Awakening Heart (1996). The Ripple Effect (1999) and Embraced by the Light: Prayers and Devotions for Daily Living (2001) were both published independently.

Contents

Early life and career

Eadie was born in Valentine, Nebraska to “a full-blooded Sioux Indian”[ citation needed ] mother and Scotch-Irish father, and was primarily raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When she was four years old, Eadie's parents separated and she was placed in St. Francis Indian School, an American Indian boarding school, along with six of her siblings. While in high school, she dropped out to care for a younger sister. She later studied to receive her diploma while on bed rest during her final pregnancy, and eventually pursued a college degree. [1] She spent time variously in churches affiliated with Catholicism, Methodism, and for a time the LDS Church in Seattle, [2] though in numerous public talks she subsequently declared herself non-denominational.

After her NDE, Betty began volunteering her time at a cancer research center comforting dying patients and their families. She then studied hypnotherapy, graduating at the top of her class, and later opened her own clinic. After Embraced by the Light was published, Eadie gave up her hypnotherapy practice and began traveling extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, speaking on death and the afterlife. Eadie continues to collect and evaluate near-death accounts, as well as giving speeches and lectures.

NDE account

In her NDE account, Eadie reports many phenomena similar to other NDE accounts, such as going through a dark tunnel, seeing a bright light and experiencing a Life review, as well as other features unique to her story. In 1973, at age 31, Eadie was recovering from a surgical operation. Eadie reported that she first felt herself fading to lifelessness, then felt a surge of energy followed by a "pop" and feeling of release, a sense of freedom and movement unhindered by inertia or gravity. She was met by three angelic beings who spoke with her about her prior existence and hitherto suppressed memories in order to participate in earthly experience. She traveled to terrestrial locations such as her home merely by thinking about them, returned to her hospital, and then passed on through a dark tunnel-like medium in which she reported sensing other beings in a transitory preparatory stage.

Exiting the tunnel, Eadie approached an intense white light and met in heaven the embrace of Jesus Christ. During this encounter, she reported a strong sense of love and a high-speed transfer of answers to her many questions. Possessing a corporeal identity of an ethereal kind, she visited numerous places, persons, and phenomena such as natural settings and gardens beyond the character of the conventionally material, and was taken on a tour of sorts of learning experiences that she said felt equivalent to weeks or months.

In addition to discussing traditional Christian subjects such as prayer, creation, and the Garden of Eden, Eadie reported visiting a library of the mind. Here it became possible to know anything or anyone in history or the present, in minute and unambiguous detail, as well as being able to observe individuals on Earth and being taken to distant reaches and civilizations of the universe.

Warned initially upon arrival that she had died prematurely, Eadie was at last told she must return in order to fulfill the personal mission allocated her. Its specific character, like numerous other details, were removed from her memory, in order, she said she was told, to prevent difficulties in her fulfilling it. Upon protesting, she was made to understand the reason behind the necessity for her return and reluctantly agreed to do so. She exacted a promise that she would not be made to stay on Earth longer than necessary. She reported her return to material corporeality as extremely heavy-feeling and unpleasant, initially intermittent in phases, and accompanied not long after by a demonic visitation that was cut short by an angelic reappearance.

Eadie's doctor reportedly verified her clinical death on a return visit to the hospital, attributing it to a hemorrhage during a nurses' shift change, and took great interest in her recollections. Independent verification of the length of her death was not possible, but she speculated it could have lasted up to four hours based on her memory of certain details preceding and following it.

After

Subsequent to her experience, she spoke of it very little and suffered a long-term depression. This, she attributed to the anticlimactic nature of returning to corporeality after experiencing the heaven of afterlife. She slowly became involved in near-death groups and studies and gave talks, subsequently going on to write her account in book form, which met with runaway success.

While her account incorporated elements of traditional Christianity, it also met with a certain degree of resistance as well. This was largely, in part, to its teaching (as she reported she was given it) that some denominations might approximate truth better than others. She explains, however, that different teachings were more appropriate for certain individuals at their given stage of spiritual development, and therefore judgment should not be passed on them for where they were. Unlike many fundamentalist Christians, [3] and despite her own strict Catholic upbringing, and a temporary conversion to Mormonism, after her near-death experience, Eadie refers to God as "he" instead of "He" and insists that all religions are necessary for each person. She claims that each religion is necessary for each person, because of their different levels of spiritual enlightenment. This is contrary to the views, shared by many Christian denominations worldwide, that Christianity is the one true, valid religion. Many of her statements also are ambiguous or conflict with the mainstream doctrine of the Trinity, and her website disavows the traditional condemnation of homosexuality.

In addition, unlike some other Near-Death Experiencers, Eadie claims that reincarnation, as it is typically thought of, does not truly exist. [4] Eadie claims she was told that only a few return to this earth more than once, that some are sent back as teachers to help others. [5] She taught similar withholding of censure on individuals for things like atheism and homosexuality and rejected a common traditional image of hell as an eternity of suffering, suggesting that her life review experience, in which she was made to live and feel the full positive and negative consequences of her cumulative actions in intense detail, including their effects on all around her, were a more than adequate equivalent and probably what the term truly signified.

She also stressed that her key lesson was that life's purpose was to learn love and to grow through the exercise of free will, including making mistakes. Other teachings she recounted being given included the idea that there were few if any true accidents and that human lives and paths were chosen, agreed to, and prepared for in advance, with memory of such details suppressed and veiled. Suicide, she said she was told, was wrong because it deprived people of opportunities to learn and grow, and that there was always hope in life.

Sequels

The Awakening Heart is Eadie's second book and also became a NYT Bestseller in which she describes her challenges and experience that followed her NDE up through the time that Embraced By The Light was published, as well as giving additional details about her NDE that were not included in her first book. [6] The Ripple Effect pursued these further, incorporating discussion of the numerous letters she began to receive in response from readers, as well as discussing other NDE contacts she later developed. Eadie formed her own Publishing house, [7] Onjinjinkta Publishing, [8] through which she published her third book and her fourth book, Embraced By The Light Prayers and Devotions for Daily Living, as well as various works from other authors.

Because of their appeal to the innate human desire for an understanding of afterlife, her works led to a strong reader response which she initially attempted to answer in detail but became forced to limit. To meet some of this demand, she developed a website for general information and inspirational materials, as well as distribution of her books and related materials.

During a 2004 interview on Coast to Coast AM radio with George Noory, she said she was disappointed, following her first book's publication, that she was not permitted to return to the Celestial realm. While she could not presently know the full scope of her earthly purpose, she understood a film based on Embraced would also follow.

Personal life

Her husband, Joe, worked in aerospace computing and died in 2011. Together they had eight children.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afterlife</span> Purported continued existence after death

The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.

<i>Life After Life</i> (Moody book) 1975 book by Raymond Moody

Life After Life is a 1975 book written by psychiatrist Raymond Moody. It is a report on a qualitative study in which Moody interviewed 150 people who had undergone near-death experiences (NDEs). The book presents the author's composite account of what it is like to die, supplemented with individual accounts. On the basis of his collection of cases, Moody identified a common set of elements in NDEs:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out-of-body experience</span> Phenomenon in which the soul (astral body) is said to exit the physical body

An out-of-body experience is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world as if from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy, although this term is more commonly used to refer to the pathological condition of seeing a second self, or doppelgänger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Moody</span> American psychologist and philosopher

Raymond A. Moody Jr. is an American philosopher, psychiatrist, physician and author, most widely known for his books about afterlife and near-death experiences (NDE), a term that he coined in 1975 in his best-selling book Life After Life. His research explores personal accounts of subjective phenomena encountered in near-death experiences, particularly those of people who have apparently died but been resuscitated. He has widely published his views on what he terms near-death-experience psychology.

Near-death studies is a field of psychology and psychiatry that studies the physiology, phenomenology and after-effects of the near-death experience (NDE). The field was originally associated with a distinct group of North American researchers that followed up on the initial work of Raymond Moody, and who later established the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) and the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Since then the field has expanded, and now includes contributions from a wide range of researchers and commentators worldwide. Research on near-death experiences is mainly limited to the disciplines of medicine, psychology and psychiatry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-birth experience</span> Alleged recollected event which occurred before or during ones own birth

A near-birth experience is an alleged recollected event which occurred before or during one's own birth, or during the pregnancy, an alleged remembering of one's own pre-existence, or an alleged encounter with the unborn child experienced by relatives or close family friends. Under this usage, the term "near-birth experience" is analogous to the term "near-death experience."

<i>Passage</i> (Willis novel) 2001 novel by Connie Willis

Passage is a science fiction novel by Connie Willis, published in 2001. The novel won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 2002, was shortlisted for the Nebula Award in 2001, and received nominations for the Hugo, Campbell, and Clarke Awards in 2002.

The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) is a nonprofit organization based in Durham, North Carolina in the United States, associated with near-death studies. The Association was founded in the US in 1981, in order to study and provide information on the phenomena of the near death experience (NDE). Today it has grown into an international organization, which includes a network of more than 50 local interest groups, and approximately 1,200 members worldwide. Local chapters, and support groups, are established in major U.S cities. IANDS also supports and assists near-death experiencers (NDErs) and people close to them. In one of its publications the organization has formulated its vision as one of building "global understanding of near-death and near-death-like experiences through research, education, and support".

<i>The Spirits Book</i> 1857 publication about Spiritism by Allan Kardec

The Spirits' Book is part of the Spiritist Codification, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works on Spiritism. It was published by the French educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, under the pen name of Allan Kardec on April 18, 1857. It was the first and remains the most important Spiritist book, because it addresses in first hand all questions developed subsequently by Allan Kardec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Storm (author)</span> American Christian minister and writer

For the film, television director and actor, see Howard Storm (director)

Pam Reynolds Lowery, from Atlanta, Georgia, was an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, at the age of 35, she stated that she had a near-death experience (NDE) during a brain operation performed by Robert F. Spetzler at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Reynolds was under close medical monitoring during the entire operation. During part of the operation she had no brain-wave activity and no blood flowing in her brain, which rendered her clinically dead. She claimed to have made several observations during the procedure which medical personnel reported to be accurate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-death experience</span> Personal experiences associated with death or impending death

A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death, which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, joy, the experience of absolute dissolution, review of major life events, the presence of a light, and seeing dead relatives. When negative, such experiences may include sensations of anguish, distress, a void, devastation, and seeing hellish imagery.

Eben Alexander III is an American neurosurgeon and author. In 2008, he went under a medically-induced coma while being treated for meningitis. His book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife (2012) describes his near-death experience while in the coma. He asserts that the coma resulted in brain death, that consciousness is not only a product of the brain and that it can go on to an afterlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin L. Morse</span> American medical doctor (born 1953)

Melvin L. Morse is an American medical doctor who specializes in pediatrics. He has authored several books and articles on paranormal science and near-death experiences in children, including the 1987 New York Times bestseller Closer to the Light, written jointly with Paul Perry, and with a foreword written by Raymond Moody. Morse has authored many journal articles, and has given media interviews on the subject of near-death experiences.

<i>Proof of Heaven</i> 2012 nonfiction book by Eben Alexander

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife is a 2012 New York Times bestselling nonfiction book and autobiographical book written by the American neurosurgeon Eben Alexander and published by Simon & Schuster. The book describes a near-death experience Alexander had while suffering from what should have been a fatal case of acute, gram-negative Escherichia coli bacterial meningitis, while on a ventilator and in a near death coma for one full week, with death eminently predicted by his medical experts - Alexander describes how the experience changed his perceptions of life and the afterlife. The book was a commercial success but also was the subject of scientific criticism in relation to misconceptions about neurology, like relating to medically induced coma as brain death.

The Baháʼí Faith affirms the existence of life after death while not defining everything about it. The soul on death is said to recognize the value of its deeds and begin a new phase of a conscious relationship with God, though negative experiences are possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barney and Betty Hill incident</span> Alleged alien abduction, 1960

Barney and Betty Hill were an American couple who claimed they were abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of the state of New Hampshire from September 19 to 20, 1961. The incident came to be called the "Hill Abduction" and the "Zeta Reticuli Incident" because two ufologists connected the star map shown to Betty Hill with the Zeta Reticuli system. Their story was adapted into the best-selling 1966 book The Interrupted Journey and the 1975 television film The UFO Incident.

Jeffrey Long is an American author and researcher into the phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs). A physician by training, Long practices radiation oncology at a hospital in Kentucky. Long is the author of Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences, which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 1998, he founded the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, which is concerned with documenting and researching NDEs.

<i>Surviving Death</i> 2021 television docu-series

Surviving Death is a docu-series directed by Ricki Stern about near-death experiences and beliefs in life after death, and psychic mediumship. Its first season of six episodes was released on Netflix on 6 January 2021. The series is based on the 2017 book Surviving Death by journalist and paranormal enthusiast Leslie Kean.

<i>Closer to the Light</i> Near-Death Experiences of Children

Closer to the Light: Learning from the Near-Death Experiences of Children is a 1991 nonfiction book written by Melvin L. Morse and Paul Perry with foreword written by Raymond Moody. The book documented the near-death experiences (NDEs) of 26 children and became a New York Times bestseller.

References

  1. ↑ Eadie, Betty J., Embraced by the Light, 1992.
  2. ↑ Introvigne, Massimo (Fall 1996). "Embraced by the Church? Betty Eadie, Near-Death Experiences, and Mormonism" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 29 (3): 99–119. doi:10.2307/45228453. JSTOR   45228453. S2CID   44029501.
  3. ↑ "God with a Capital "G"".
  4. ↑ “We understood that memories would be contained in the cells of our new bodies. This was an idea that was completely new to me. I learned that all thoughts and experiences in our lives are recorded in our subconscious minds. They are also recorded in our cells, so that, not only is each cell imprinted with a genetic coding, it is also imprinted with every experience we have ever had. Further, I understood that these memories are passed down through the genetic coding to our children. These memories then account for many of the passed on traits in families, such as addictive tendencies, fears, strengths, and so on. I also learned that we do not have repeated lives on this earth; when we seem to "remember" a past life, we are actually recalling memories contained in these cells.” In Embraced by the Light (Hardcover Edition) (pg. 93)
  5. ↑ "Often, when I am asked what I understand about reincarnation, I think about this little girl. Life on earth is like going away to college. Our spirits stay here until we graduate, then we leave the campus and go on to further our development elsewhere. Some graduating students can return if they have acquired enough knowledge to return as teachers." Betty J. Eadie, The Awakening Heart: My Continuing Journey to Love, p.157. Pocket Books, 1996
  6. ↑ Eadie, Betty J., The Awakening Heart, cover matter, Pocket Books, 1996 ISBN   0-671-55868-4
  7. ↑ "Media Talk; Inspirational Author Founds Her Own Press," The New York Times: Archives, By Karen Angel July 13, 1998
  8. ↑ Open Library, Onjinjinkta Publishing, Publisher, openlibrary.org
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.