ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 6, 1996 TAG: 9607080005
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MILDRED WILLIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
"In Heaven As on Earth" (Hyperion, $19.95) is a vision of the afterlife - a 20th century vision that still manages to recall Dante's "Divine Comedy," another vision of the afterlife altogether.
The unique difference of each vision is striking. Dante's afterlife is that of the soul whose pain, sorrow or joy is inflicted upon him by an outside force. "Heaven's" afterlife is of the soul who inflicts pain, sorrow, and joy upon himself; freedom and responsibility still reign.
In this fable about life after death, Dr. M. Scott Peck ("The Road Less Traveled") has once again combined his fields of expertise: religion and psychology. He has produced a fast-reading book that guides us through an imaginative spiritual journey of a soul leaving the body and entering the afterlife.
As the novel begins, Daniel, the narrator (who in earthly life was an author and psychiatrist much like Peck) has just died of lung cancer. "I know the moment it happened ... Instantly I was somewhere near the ceiling of my bedroom. A body of an old man was lying in my bed ... I knew it was mine but emotionally, as far as I was concerned, it was an it; it had no connection to me or I any attachment to it."
Soon, as in many reports of near-death experiences, Daniel is whisked through a dark tunnel and absorbed into a brilliant, all-accepting light. Later he finds himself lying in a small green room, wondering where he is. Confused and frightened he prays for help.
Two spiritual greeters, Norma and Sam, come to greet him. They are helpers and guides in this new realm. Through them, Daniel learns that his imaginary green room has been prepared for him as a place of comfort for the duration of his Adjustment. By just imagining and wishing, he can travel anywhere he wishes, even earth. But while visiting earth, he must follow the Rule of Non-interference. The greater Adjustment, they say, will come later: the Adjustment to Freedom. At that time, Daniel will learn how challenging freedom really is.
On his journey through the afterlife, Daniel wanders freely through what appear as corridors in a hotel. He encounters a woman unhappily fixated on her overweight body image. From her, he learns the meaning of purgatory. From a hard-driving businessman, he learns about one type of hell. A beautiful young woman who embodies his ultimate sexual fantasy promises him erotic bliss for eternity - if he will worship her.
From these souls, from angels and from demons, Daniel learns that mysteries remain in the afterlife as they do on earth; that some souls cannot escape the bounds of their earthly life, so they continue to make the afterlife their own little hell; that there is much work to be done here as well; and that the reality of God is elusive yet undeniable, and that when he prays, God responds.
Peck's untraditional vision of the afterlife suggests that freedom and responsibility are as important in the hereafter as they are in the here and now.
"In Heaven As on Earth" carves another notch in the impressive list of Peck's spiritual guidebooks.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB