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TEN THOUGHTS TO TAKE INTO ETERNITY

Living Wisely in Light of the Afterlife

Ten thoughts to Take Into Eternity (Simon & Schuster, $21), is available at all bookstores or over the Internet. Here is a selection from its pages:

For millions of credible persons now living, the afterlife is not just a hopeful hypothesis but an actual experience. Somehow revived after having been medically dead, these men, women, and children report not only that death is kind, but that eternal bliss awaits. They know, they insist, because they have been there.

"Learn to die and thou shall learn to live," counsels the medieval Ars Morendi or Art of Dying. It is a lesson well learned by those who have tasted death. They gain an appetite for living, give generously of themselves, and approach their definitive demise with an equanimity, hope, and confidence that the rest of us can only dream of acquiring. Because they have been to the edge already and found the journey exhilarating, they do not fear the return trip.

Death is inevitable, but eternity will take some getting used to. It only makes sense for us to prepare for our ultimate adventure by living our present lives in the light of eternity.

Short of being transported to eternity in a near-death experience, there are other ways you and I can anticipate it.

People of faith agree that the closest experience to eternity is living totally immersed in the present moment. Eternity, after all, is an inexhaustible NOW, embracing past and future.

(Copyright 1999 by David Yount)