Author Van Praagh presents many interesting, unique ideas about life after death along with a do-it-yourself program for communicating with the spirit world. Discussions about this shadowy area of life never seem completely satisfying because there is no hard evidence those who have gone before exist in spirit form. The idea that print (and broadcast) dignify any subject, comes into play here. One cannot help but be reminded th:tt anybody can publish anything, particularly something we would all like to believe. On the other hand, what Mr. Van Praagh has to say is intriguingly plausible never forgetting he did a stint as a writer for Paramount.

Is there life after death? Yes. We possess a spiritual body identical to our physical body which, during the transition of death, is released from our physical body. This spiritual body is disease-free, eternal, and can move from one person to another through thought. Here on earth, we live in a three-dimensional world of energy which moves slowly. Spirits, on the other hand, are made up of molecules traveling at a much higher rate of speed, therefore freer, less dense and able to move anywhere through thought. A medium (Mr. Van Praagh) is able to go between the physical and spiritual worlds, pick up the faster vibrations of spirits, and interpret messages from them to this wor1d.

Several chapters relate three-way conversations by the author with his client, and the individual spirit contacted. The stories illustrate various typical problems brought about by the passing of a loved one ranging from a violent accident, drowning, murder, AIDS, to suicide and death by capital punish-ment. Particularly interesting are his thoughts about suicide and capital punishment.

Suicide, does not solve individual problems (they continue to exist in spirit). Capital punishment; it is wrong to take the life of another. Capital punish-ment continues the propagation of violence.

Loss; we all experience loss of many things in our fives but must use this experience to make ourselves healthier and to lead a more full life. This discussion is followed with a listing six steps one can take to overcome a sense of loss and move forward to a more satisfying, rewarding existence.

The concluding chapter delves into the area of making contact with the spirit world along with the thoughts and disciplines necessary to accomplish this feat. The author emphasizes that it is not a game; it takes enormous discipline, time and patience along with a sincere, deep desire to develop an ability as a spiritual go-between. Critical is meditation, described as a focus of consciousness from one state of being to another, or turning off the outside world to become more aware of our inside world. in meditation, we utilize cosmic energies that illuminate and energize the various well-defined spirit centers of the body.

There may be something in what James Van Praagh has to say.


A mountebank and master of chicanery   June 23, 1999
 21 out of 32 found this review helpful

James Van Praagh is simply the latest fad in a world of desperate people willing to be duped because of their sorrow. Not only can Van Praagh not talk to the dead, he barely makes sense when he talks to people. His writing, like his television appearances, public readings, etc. is just a bunch of double talk with no basis in reality and without a hint of logic. Even spirituality has to make sense on some level. If every definition you use is one you invented, there is nothing to use as a standard to measure against. Without this standard, there is no difference between truth and fallacy, in fact you remove the ability to question anything because you are making up everything as you go along. Van Praagh has mastered this technique, and in his readings uses tried and true "psychic" techniques used by every medium, palm reader, and tarot jockey that's ever come down the pike. He simply regales his subjects with a litany of questions until he hits something, then follows the thread. As the subject tells him everything he asks, he presents the answers as psychic power, when the person has told him everything with their own mouths. He also uses sweeping generalizations (popular with astrologists) that could work on anyone. Keep in mind, Van Praagh knows that people who come to him have a lost loved one,and probably have some unresolved issue with that person, or they wouldn't have come to him to begin with. The emotional state of the subject does half of Van Praagh's work for him. The other half is just riddling the person with questions, narrowing down who the dead person is, and then telling the subject that the dead person is well, and forgives them, and wants them to be happy and sleep well. This book is a sham, a meaningless concoction of flapdoodle and wholly unprovable claims. Best of all, he claims that his technique doesn't work on skeptics. How convenient! Van Praagh doesn't have the slightest idea how to talk to the dead, but he is very saavy in the ways of giving false hope to, and taking money from, the living.


A Great Read From A Great Medium   October 1, 2004
 21 out of 23 found this review helpful

James Van Praagh's book "Talking to Heaven", should provide comfort for anyone who has lost a loved one, or who is curious about the afterlife. In this book he describes the healing process we all go through during times of loss. Not only are the stages he discusses right on target, but he explains why we go through them, what's to be expected, and gives the reader direction on how to deal with each particular stage.


I recently just purchased a little over $200.00 in "New Age" books off of Amazon, and I must tell you that reflecting over some of these "Reviews" on this book and several others I am a bit concerned about just whom is teaching who. As it seems to me many of these negative reviews are written by other so called "Psychics" or "Teachers" who have been bitten by the green eyed snake of ENVY. Some are actually ignorant enough to state they are "Psychics" or "Teachers". You can tell that many of them are written by the same three or four people simply by comparing writing style and grammar skills. You don't have to be psychic to figure that one out. Perhaps if they spent half as much time homing their own skills as they do slamming others they would accomplish something monumental in their own lives.