Wholeness Healing Center

Dying to Be Me, a Book Review

Dying to Be Me, My Journey from Cancer to Near Death to True Healing, by Anita Morjani, is the autobiography of a young woman who had a Near Death Experience (NDE) while her body was being ravaged by cancer. The book is her journey prior to the NDE and then how her life, her attitudes, her beliefs, her behaviors, her entire outlook on life, was affected by her experience.

Morjani writes about her life pre-cancer and how her spiritual beliefs were molded. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she then tried different avenues to address the disease, as well as to address her emotional needs. She seemed to find some healing for a while and then her body seemed to succumb to the cancer again. She was rushed to a hospital and then enjoyed the NDE, because as she writes about it later, she really did enjoy it.

The effect of the NDE on her, not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually, in all aspects of her life and future expectations, drastically altered her perception. After the NDE, she eventually was led into contact with others who have had similar experiences, and then she was encouraged to write her story.

As she wrote her story, she realized she had shifted in her perception of others. Her compassion for everyone, including criminals and terrorists, then was “colored” by her experience.  “A self-actualized and happy individual would never carry out such deeds! People who cherish themselves are a joy to be around, and they only share their love unconditionally. In order to be capable of such crimes, someone had to be (emotionally) diseased – in fact, very much like having cancer.” (Morjani, p. 109) Her story of her amazing shift into love, total and unconditional, began to set her apart from others. She also had shifted her view of death, having seen the beauty of that part of it.

As she was led to talk about and share her experience, the sharing of her changes really is more than words. “I still had the visceral knowledge that we’re all one with the universe. Therefore, I knew that even while I’m in my physical body, whether I’m aware of it or not, I am at the center of the great cosmic web that is the universe! This is the same as realizing my magnificence and my connection to the Infinite”. (Morjani, p. 116) Her words become a guide to sorting out how to stay true to oneself.

Staying true is complicated in the day to day life. “When we live completely from the mind over a period of time, we lost touch with the infinite self, and then we begin to feel lost. This happens when we’re in doing mode all the time, rather than being. “ (Morjani, p. 147) She writes about how much more liberated we can be if we spend time “being” and let go of the rest.

After her NDE, her body healed almost immediately, and part of the book is dedicated to the scrutiny of the medical professionals trying to sort out that aspect. She never worried about it, as she knew what the test results would prove. The healing, in all aspects, was truly amazing, as was her understanding of why she had the cancer, and the magnificence of her awareness.

Morjani, Anita. (2012) Dying to be me. Hay House, Inc.: Carlsbad, CA.