Between Death and Life: Conversations with a Spirit (Updated and Revised) Paperback – November 1, 2013

This book was very interesting. Like many spiritual books, it paints an intriguing picture of the beauty and wonder of the afterlife. I enjoyed the topics about the spirit guides, the various temples, and how karma works. I like the reference to an inverted pyramid when talking about the spirit hierarchy: Source is the root of everything, but it is all the guides and spirits and mortals that give meaning to existence in the largest base section, instead of the typical God/elite being at the top and the “lower classes” in servitude. (Plants and animals are guided by the elementals/devas, humans are guided by their spirit ancestors, guides etc. spirit guides have master guides, then there are the various councils that manage groups of spirits, then there are the powerful ascended masters and deities and other alien councils in charge of civilizations and universes, then you have universe creators like our Source and then finally you have the All.) Those at the top are in divine service to those at the bottom: with great power comes great responsibility. (It is similar to a workplace concept in that the CEO/board of directors are at the bottom of the pyramid instead of the top, they are fewer in number, but play a great role in supporting the “backbones” of the company; the employees and their supervisors.)Although, in my opinion, this book does better than others like Michael Newton’s Journey of Souls, where souls are labeled too much into various levels. I think the spirit world is much more fluid than that, and levels not as clearly defined. I can see why certain souls may not be able to reach higher levels, but at the same time, we are all part of Source and all have access to the Akashic Records. There is a human impression that we are “superior” to the plants, animals and elementals because of the supposed order of soul evolution. While this may make sense for some souls incarnating to Earth from the earlier time periods, there are other souls who have been aliens and other beings in other worlds. Who’s to say that a soul couldn’t choose to incarnate as an animal or an alien after being a human (since we are all the same). I would say that those beings more aligned with the group shared consciousness (animals, plants, and elementals) seem to be more connected to Source and nature, because spirits as a whole operate as a group/shared consciousness. Humans and many aliens only stand out because they have the mental complexity of having individual personalities, which can create conflict and karma if not used properly. Humans aren’t superior to other beings: we just take on harder lessons. The challenge is to get past the illusion of separation and remember our original “groupthink.” We are learning to be like Source: paradoxically unique, yet also part of all things. I also think that souls shouldn’t be forced or pressured to incarnate so much, especially after coming back from the spirit world…living on this Earth is more than just learning lessons and amending karma all the time.The Healing Temple, the Schools, the Tapestry Room, the Library, and the Garden were beautiful places. However, like other afterlife texts about the divine schools we go to, it is too human centered. If all of us have to go to “Universe University” and study our lives and learn, at least let us learn from other beings. We can learn just as much from our animal, plant, and alien companions, as we can from the Council of Elders and our human spirit guide counterparts. (The spirit guides of animal and plant souls would indeed match their species) All species from every corner of the universe would be learning together, rather than human soul groups studying separately from everyone else. In fact, I think the species of souls should only be separated when it comes to choosing incarnations because it would take more training and practice to become a human in comparison to an ant. There are so many realms to explore, not just those that look like our planet Earth with its suburban houses and nature and ornate temples. I’m sure the spirit world looks different to animals, plants, and aliens, but of course, as humans, we only have our own perspective to reference.I also don’t appreciate the judgment toward suicide. Suicide is “the worst sin” in the spirit world? Really? I would’ve thought spirits would be more understanding toward us humans. Why would it be any worse than murder or accidental deaths or mental illness? She even had a chapter: “A suicide repays karma” but claims that “suicide is never part of karma.” I’ve heard of some souls where suicide was part of their exit point/soul plan. And some people get killed early or die before they are supposed to. No matter how you die, lessons are learned by everyone and that’s all that apparently matters. And if it’s beyond the exit point and it breaks a contract, you can just reincarnate again and fix it. Be wary of the “all deaths are planned” flawed concept in Dolores’s books. We all know life is never that simple.

This book is awesome! Dolores explains so much of the afterlife in easy-to-understand language. I learned things that I never knew before!

This book was bought for someone else who wasn't even impressed by it, even though the book is good and easy to read. And I feel this book has plenty to learn from as well.

Excellent read. Very well articulated and easy to understand. Very calming voice on Audible. Glad I bought this enlightening book.

Audible was my first choice for this book, but the narration was too difficult to follow, so i returned it and bought the kindle version, as the same person was both asking and answering questions. i had fallen asleep and awakened tired and frustrated. it took but a couple of minutes to realize why. it was so difficult to listen to and follow. they should have the Audible book re-narrated.well, Cannon appears to have fallen hook, line and sinker for everything about these regressions. some of them seem to be legitimate, while in others it sounds like fantasy could be involved on the part of the person being regressed. but in all cases, i believe in Cannon's goodness and sincerity of purpose.i'd like to think that a lot of what is presented in this book is true. having said this, it would be really hard to stumble onto amazing finds like Cannon did in **Jesus and the Essenes** and Weiss did in **Many Lives, Many Masters** yet manage to retain healthy skepticism going forward rather than accept information received as automatically and necessarily legitimate.i would definitely seek out Cannon were she still alive, as intrinsic goodness emanates from her spiritual journey. whatever is true about the legitimacy of the information she gathered...and it could be a high degree of accuracy, or not...her intentions were undoubtedly beyond reproach from when she began this journey until she died.[after writing this review, i found the following admission from the introduction of Cannon's last published book, **The Search for Hidden Sacred Knowledge**: "... I no longer question the information I receive through my thousands and thousands of clients who come to me for therapy. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that nothing is impossible in my work. ..." (for my part, i agree with the late Ms. Cannon that nothing is impossible; however, that is a moot point. once she decided to suspend healthy skepticism and believe everything without question, to assume Truth as a given, the floodgates were opened.)]

My loved one passed away and I was devastated. This has helped immensely. I read it once and am re-reading it again! Thank you!

Very interesting book and ver thought provoking.