Towards the Unknown

Readers may recall the obituary written by Bernard Carr in the last issue, and some will be more familiar than others with the research work carried out by Erlendur in his long and productive life. He worked as a professor of psychology at the University of Iceland and with many leading figures, including JB Rhine, Ian Stevenson and Karlis Osis. He covers a [range of] areas involving both laboratory and cross-cultural fieldwork, including children who remember previous lives, deathbed visions, mediumship, precognition, xenoglossy and phenomena associated with Sai Baba. His original interest was in philosophy, and I found it interesting that he specialised his studies in Plotinus and Meister Eckhart. He describes a number of significant personal experiences that provide the background for his research work as well as a number of strikingly evidential case histories. Few readers will be familiar with his passion for growing trees, and his gentle nature comes across in the narrative, including towards the end when he is looking forward to the unknown.

He reflects on arguments for and against the afterlife based on research findings. The book also includes a selected bibliography of his work – it is altogether a fascinating and informative memoir.