The lost secret of death : our divided souls and the afterlife

362 Pages·2003·2.02 MB·English

by  Novak

Praise for Peter Novak's Books:
“Fascinating…Peter Novak submits compelling evidence from
throughout history to support [his hypothesis]. He went on to show how
dreams, trances, and mystical experiences seem to indicate, with an
almost uncanny reliability, that at death there is split between the two
minds (…) To say that Novak's research is impressive in the way he
correlated stories, myths, and legends about death and the afterlife to a
symbolic representation of left-and right-brain hemisphere functions
would be an understatement. I think he is onto something worthy of
further investigation.”
—P. M. H. Atwater, author of Coming Back to Life, Beyond
the Light, and other books on near-death experiences (in a May
21, 2002 letter to The Journal of Near-Death Studies;
“Novak's two books stand beside Myers' as classics of research into the
most disturbing of human problems.”
—Colin Wilson, celebrated author of numerous books,
including Poltergeist and After Life
“Peter Novak proposes that the soul is not a single entity and can even
divide at death. The thesis he presents in this pioneering book is
compelling and deserves serious consideration and empirical research.
This book is quite fascinating!”
—Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology,
Medicine, Neurology, Surgery, and Psychiatry at the University
of Arizona, and author of The Afterlife Experiments.
“This is a strange, disturbing, and brilliant book […] Novak introduces a
whole new theory of the human soul and its journey through the afterlife
[and] succeeds in providing answers to a surprisingly large number of
questions.”
—Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions
“Unique, fascinating, and highly credible. Amazingly, Novak has
discovered a concept that has eluded all the brilliant minds of the past. I
applaud him on his achievement and thank him for his insight.”
—Dr. Donald R. Morse, president of The Academy of
Religion and Psychical Research
“To say that this book is thought-provoking and belief-provoking is an
understatement. I not only read every word of the book, but reread my
underlinings several times. I am totally impressed with the amount of
research Novak obviously did and how he presented his case. His
knowledge of the subject is quite impressive. Just one of the many
discussions that I particularly enjoyed was that of the ‘time dispute.’ The
Lost Secret of Death has most certainly caused me to seriously reevaluate
my thoughts about my hundreds of interviews with NDErs, as well as the
many, many ADC accounts which I have been privy to. Timing is every-
thing! At this time in earth's history, this work is particularly important
and is most definitely something of great value!”
—Barbara Rommer, M.D., author of Blessings in Disguise:
Another Side of the Near-Death Experience, and founder of the
South Florida chapter of the International Association for Near-
Death Studies (IANDS)
“Fascinating. It gives a breath of fresh air to theology and yet remains
within the broad scope of Christian theology. Any seeker of truth should
read Novak. I think it deserves attention that this ‘Division Theory' is
able to pull different concepts into a unity. This new concept of the
double soul…helps to explain, and in some cases even simplifies,
traditional Christian theological tenets.”
—Bill Lanning, Ph.D., professor of philosophy and religion,
Butler College, Andover, Kansas
“This is a work of great significance. You realize that the secret of the
afterlife is staring us right in the face and we don't realize it—that the
supposed conflict between reincarnation and ‘heaven and hell' can be
resolved…. If we apply this divided human consciousness to the afterlife
equation, a truly momentous understanding results—reincarnation and
the heaven/hell model are both true. This division of the afterlife also
explains many of the descriptions that arise of wandering ghosts, spirits,
and the like.”
—Bob Jackson, editor, The Independent Review
“Peter Novak brings an amazing discovery to us in the twenty-first
century. Most people today refer to ‘soul' and ‘spirit' interchangeably.
The ancient Egyptians and other spiritual teachings tell us otherwise.
Novak's scholarly research of ancient teachings brings this wisdom back
and places it alongside current scientific knowledge. He has
accomplished the enormous task of bringing together research in near-
death experiences, past-life therapy, afterlife communications, and other
paranormal information alongside current scientific knowledge. This
book is exciting in its scope, logic, and wisdom. Be prepared to have
your mind stretched!”
—Janet Cunningham, Ph.D., author of several books, and
past president of The International Association for Regression
Research and Therapies, Inc.
“The Division of Consciousness is, quite frankly the most important
book in its field since Elaine Pagel's The Gnostic Gospels in 1978, and
takes Pagel's conclusions light years further. Some of the conclusions
drawn may make casual Christians uncomfortable, but serious Christian
scholars will either feel vindicated, be intrigued, or both. Division
Theory is such an ingenious concept I'm amazed nobody had been able to
think of it in this way before.”
—Christopher Coolidge, Ph.D., Burlington, Vermont
“Ingenious […] This is too important of a work to be dismissed. It will
definitely be looked back upon as a turning point in the scholar's
collection of ideas, as one of those hinges that opens the field of vision to
possibilities of thoughts that were not possible before this point.”
—Thomas Ragland, Ph.D., Nashville, Tennessee
“Truly momentous. […] This interpretation of the afterlife is pregnant
with meaning. The traditions of the underworld, heaven, hell and
reincarnation all come alive and mean so much more. Swedenborg's
descriptions of heaven and hell become surprisingly poignant, as does the
gloomy afterlife of the Sumerians and Israelites…[and t]he Egyptian
initiatory system…takes on a new relevance.”
—New Dawn Magazine
“Do we, perhaps, have here the lateral thinking that will at last move
forward the tired old debate between reincarnationists and non-
reincarnationists? […] Novak has offered us a novel insight and we
ought to ask whether it can be developed in ways compatible with
mainstream Christianity.”
—Editorial in The Christian Parapsychologist, Journal of the
Church's Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies
Also by Peter Novak
The Division of Consciousness
THE
LOST SECRET
OF
DEATH
Our Divided Souls and the Afterlife
PETER NOVAK
This book is dedicated to my father,
who taught me to believe in myself,
and showed me what love could do.
I hope one day to be as fine a man as he.
Acknowledgments
This book owes its existence to many. First and foremost, my gratitude goes
to my wife, Cassie, and my daughter Ayriel for enduring the many sacrifices this
book required. I must also thank all the friends and researchers I've met and
corresponded with since the publication of The Division of Consciousness,
without whose counsel and assistance this new book would never have been
possible, especially Robert Friend, Dr. Don Morse, Kevin Williams, Stan and
Cynthia Tenen, Ken Eagle Feather, Bill Barnes, Dr. Tamar Frankiel, Robert
Bruce, P. M. H. Atwater, Ramona Louise Wheeler, Dr. Bill Lanning, Ian
Lawton, Anthony Solbach, William Pustarfi, Dr. Janet Cunningham, F. James
Shepherd, Charles Knowlton, Dr. Barbara Rommer, Canon Michael Perry, Kari
Marchant, William McNaughton, Dr. Michael York, Michael W. Norman,
Eugene Poliakov, Colin Wilson, David King, Michael Enevoldsen, Gary Osborn,
Scott Yancey, Dr. Fredric Schiffer, Russell Wright, Isabella Riley, Dr. Bruce
Greyson, Paul Bramer, Richard Stevenson, Jeff Duntemann, Tom Ragland, Dr.
René Turner, and all the members of the “DivisionTheory” and “NDE”
discussion groups. These folks have been an amazing and priceless resource for
me, bringing an endless flow of relevant data to my attention. I also thank all the
authors whose names appear in the bibliography; these people are performing
the most important work of this generation. And finally, I thank my publisher
Frank DeMarco, whose faith in the importance of this research never wavered.
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword by Colin Wilson
Introduction: A Threatening Babble
1. When We All Spoke One Language: The Single World Religion of
Humanity's Past
2. Two Selves in Every Brain: Modern Science's Binary Soul Doctrine
3. Witnesses of Division: Near-Death Experiences
4. Descendants of Division: Past-Life Regression
5. Victims of Division: Ghosts and Poltergeists
6. Healers of Division: Shamanic Soul Retrieval and Out-of-Body Rescues
7. Conquerors of Division: Psychics and Mystics
8. That's Why They Call It a Blind Spot: Cognitive Illusions in Afterlife
Experiences
9. Why We Have Two Souls: The Divine Dichotomy and Our Binary World
10. Why Would Our Souls Divide at Death? The Pathology in the System
11. Message in the Messenger: The Encoded History of the Jews
12. Forging a Self That Won't Shatter at Death: Baptism into the Authenticity of
the Third Soul
13. The Old Path to the Third Soul: The One World Religion of the Pyramid
Builders
14. The Toltec Teachings: Living Voice of the Old Path