"Why, in over thirty years of private practice, after listening to hundreds and hundreds of patients dreams, had I not once encountered the presence of God, the joyful fantasy of an afterlife, the radiant appearance of an angel? Why in the outpouring and welter of wishes, secrets and hopes to which a therapist regularly attends, was heaven never mentioned?" -- from the Preface. This is a book about what people in their heart of hearts, when no one is looking, believe or dont believe before organized religion, political correctness, and group pressure gathers them up in its collective grasp. It is a psychodynamic axiom that death does not exist in the unconscious. If that is true, then neither does the afterlife. Neither do angels, the pearly gates or heaven. There is, however, in addition to hope and belief, a very profound desire to be paid attention to, to be cared for, to be reassured.

"Why, in over thirty years of private practice, after listening to hundreds and hundreds of patients dreams, had I not once encountered the presence of God, the joyful fantasy of an afterlife, the radiant appearance of an angel? Why in the outpouring and welter of wishes, secrets and hopes to which a therapist regularly attends, was heaven never mentioned?" -- from the Preface. This is a book about what people in their heart of hearts, when no one is looking, believe or dont believe before organized religion, political correctness, and group pressure gathers them up in its collective grasp. It is a psychodynamic axiom that death does not exist in the unconscious. If that is true, then neither does the afterlife. Neither do angels, the pearly gates or heaven. There is, however, in addition to hope and belief, a very profound desire to be paid attention to, to be cared for, to be reassured.

"Why, in over thirty years of private practice, after listening to hundreds and hundreds of patients dreams, had I not once encountered the presence of God, the joyful fantasy of an afterlife, the radiant appearance of an angel? Why in the outpouring and welter of wishes, secrets and hopes to which a therapist regularly attends, was heaven never mentioned?" -- from the Preface. This is a book about what people in their heart of hearts, when no one is looking, believe or dont believe before organized religion, political correctness, and group pressure gathers them up in its collective grasp. It is a psychodynamic axiom that death does not exist in the unconscious. If that is true, then neither does the afterlife. Neither do angels, the pearly gates or heaven. There is, however, in addition to hope and belief, a very profound desire to be paid attention to, to be cared for, to be reassured.