Remember Every Breath is Precious

Subtitled 'dying taught me how to live', this book is another good example of the practical wisdom derived from the near death experience and which forms a kind of gnosis for our times; it is endorsed by many of the major scholars in the field, and the title encapsulates the essence of the message. The author was involved in a horse accident, found herself immediately out of the body, and is then transported into a dimension she calls Upstairs where she meets her guides and members of her soul group - strikingly, these include the 'blue lady' that she had perceived as a child. The essential message is contained in a chapter called Awakenings, while chapters explain the background to her life and her slow but remarkable process of healing and recovery. There is also an extensive dialogue chapter where she answers questions put by Leslie Klein.

The author finds herself, like many other experiencers, engulfed with an unprecedented intensity of selfless love and perceives a central point of energy emitting this love and radiance whose oneness informs the whole of manifest existence. Spiritually remembering who you are is one of our hardest tasks in terms of recovering the connection with our immortal soul, which must then be interwoven with human consciousness (p. 41). The keynotes of our time are cooperation, kindness, forgiveness and 'a higher level of hope', which must first arise as an inner light within. I was struck by the phrase 'a unified field effort to treat all life with dignity, with respect, no matter who they are' as I find these sentiments repeatedly in the work on inspiring purpose that I do with young people. Another remarkable feature of the book is an evidential reading with a medium, who describes key features of Lesley's experience that are analysed by Gary Schwartz. This valuable book repays careful study in a way that the lessons it contains can be used in practice.