Clyde Pitre
July 30, 2010"Dinner With Friends" (Metairie)
August 3, 2010
She started her career as an assistant district attorney prosecuting DUIs in New Mexico, but soon Jody Long became an attorney by day and a relationship and near-death experience researcher by night.
“I spent 10 years dealing with broken relationships, and I thought, ‘Now it’s time to spend the rest of my time putting people together,'” Long said, who also worked as a family law lawyer and recently relocated to Houma to be with her husband.
Long’s husband, Dr. Jeffrey Long, radiation oncologist at Terrebonne General Medical Center, founded the Near Death Experience Research Foundation and website, NDERF.org in 1999.
The website, which has more than 2,000 full-text published near-death experience accounts, has reached international status, and focuses on studying near-death experiences, and supporting individuals who have had such experiences.
Long became involved with the website shortly after meeting her physician husband.
“I met Jeff in 1999, and he started talking about near-death experiences, but I had never heard of it. So he showed me the website and, a year later, I started maintaining it and brought up NDERF in its current form, and we expanded into the global dynamic,” Long said. “We have one of the richest databases of all different types of human consciousness experiences.”
The website is funded with Long’s own money and is for anyone who wants to learn about the near-death experiences and questions of the afterlife.
But the website wasn’t enough, according to Long, who wanted to share her findings from her tenure of studying relationships and different levels of consciousness. “From Soul to Soulmate: Bridges from Near-Death Experience Wisdom” came into form, and its overall message has mostly to do with love.
“In our ultra-fragmented, media-driven society, the art of personal relationships has been lost,” Long said in a press release. “Some people do not know love because they have no idea of what it is, how to give it to others, or how to receive it. People who have this near-death experience have some amazing insights to share, especially on the topic of love.”
Long hopes her book will help readers learn how to maintain healthy and long-lasting relationships, and it starts with making the right choices within each relationships.
“As with all relationships, nothing is simple and to find a soulmate, one needs to understand the basis of human consciousness and behavior, as well as the psychology of relationships and love,” Long said.
The book is a fun, light read that is easy to understand, according to Long. ForeWord Clarion Reviews, which reviews independently published books, agrees.
“Long’s easy-to-read book will captivate readers seeking their soulmate as well as those interested in near-death experiences and what they have to teach us about the eternal importance of building loving relationships in life,” the review said. “It also offers multi-dimensional perspectives on the karmic nature and enduring quality of relationships, coupled with realistic guidance.”
“From Soul to Soulmate” is available for purchase on Amazon.com for $14.95 on paperback. For more information on the NDERF, log on to www.NDERF.org.
Author and near-death experience researcher Jody Long, sits at her kitchen table with a copy of her book, “From Soul to Soulmate: Bridges from Near-Death Experience Wisdom.” JENNA FARMER
