M.J. Mandoki's Blog
July 18, 2025
NDEs in a Consciousness-Based Reality
I wrote an artice for a substack group called Coming Home. They are a group mainly focusing on near-death experiences. They have podcasts and article available on their site. My article is called, NDEs in a Consciousness-Based Reality. If you are interested, feel free to check it out.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-168561669?source=queue
M. J. Mandoki
July 8, 2025
The Lesson of Love
It has been over a year since my nephew died–he ended his own life. I was in the Norte Dame Cathedral in Paris, France for the anniversary of my loss. As I lit a candle for my nephew and sat down to contemplate, I asked what the takeaway from this anniversary can be. Then, it hit me like lightening–an epiphany: He did not like his life, therefore, I should learn to love mine.

It is easier said than done. You wake up in the morning and you run through the list of perhaps many unpleasant things you have to do and unpleasant people you have to meet that day. This means that learning to love your life is not easy. To ease the situation, when I woke up every morning, I listed all the good things that might happen that day. Also, I Iistened to a ten-minute affirmation on happiness and the song by Pharrell Williams called “Happy”. Once I sat the tone for the day, it was easier to love my life. In a month, I managed to actually believe that life is wonderful and that I love my life. Big change!
Dealing with people is a greater challenge, though. After all, there are seriously difficult and annoying people in the world. How can I love my life if there are difficult and annoying people in this life? But I took a leap of faith. Although I am not religious in any conventional sense, I decided to learn to love and forgive people. I went through all the people in my mind who hurt me, sent them love from my heart, and then let them go from my soul. Usually, the one you resist the most is the one that really needs a lot of love and forgiveness. (Many times, they are the closest to you.) After, I tried to list the good things in people around me. I reasoned that I should love them with all their flaws because they (hopefully) love me with all my flaws. It worked. I felt that life was even more wonderful and I love life even more.
Since I am a philosopher, I would like to share part of a theory that I really cherish now. According to John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart, the self’s journey is guided by love. The interest of the spiritual self is to express the love that binds them together because one day we will reach the end of our journey where we will exist as spirits in the infinite goodness of love. Although his philosophy is very complex before he gets to this argument, I believe that this part sounds about right.
What is next? I have to learn, as Taylor Swift suggests, to “shake it off” when something not so pleasant happens. Since I love my life more, it is actually getting easier. After all, as Swift says, “the players gonna play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, I shake it off, I shake it off”. (Who knew that Taylor Swift was a bit of a philosopher?)
Anyway, the point is that all the people who prefer to blame and hate others, including the closest to them, I don’t care to listen to their grumbling, fault finding, finger-pointing, and whining anymore. I will just shake it off. I choose to love my life, which includes loving and forgiving others, seeing their good qualities (even if I am aware of the bad ones), and believing that life is great.
I thank my nephew in the beyond for teaching me this lesson. Although I would have preferred that he stayed in this life with us, at least, his loss had a good outcome; his loss was not in vain.
M. J. Mandoki

February 16, 2025
I am ready to get published: About my book, The Art of Revenge
After years of work on my book as a side project, I am ready to get a publisher for my fiction book, The Art of Revenge. Yeah, it’s been years since I started! During these years, I wrote a dissertation on the reality of near-death experiences, I got a PhD from University of Western Ontario, I went to several conferences, I have worked as a research assistant on a cool project on after-death communication, and I taught as a college professor at Fanshawe College. It’s been great, but I am really anxious to get my novel published now that it has gone through a professional developmental edit. It is really ready to go.
What is the novel about? It can probably be classified as a romance novel, with a juice revenge plot. My main character, Georgia confirms that her husband is cheating on her. She vows to take revenge on both her husband, Maurice, and his mistress, Rose. She comes up with a unique way to take revenge: She will wreak havoc in the life of Rose without Rose even knowing the identity of the mysterious woman who is ruining her life. Moreover, Rose is incapable of proving that this mysterious woman even exists. Everyone around Rose thinks that she is sabotaging her own life. Ultimately, the plan is that when the revenge on Rose is completed, Georgia will pack up and exit the marriage. To accomplish her goal, she recruits two people: her P.I. friend, Olivia, and her biker acquaintance, Skinny Tyler, who also struggle with their own life challenges.

I wrote this book to ask some serious questions about revenge taking. Firstly, people assume that revenge is about lashing out at other people. For this reason, my main character is a smart, savvy and calculating woman who thinks through everything before she acts. She does not lash out in the heat of the moment, but she still engages in revenge taking. Secondly, in western societies, people often stereotypically think that forgiveness is the solution to revenge. As a narrator, I enter the story in several places to ask hard questions about this seemingly simple solution: How do you go from anger to forgiveness? Should you always forgive such a betrayal as Georgia is going through? Finally, my last set of questions has to do with the possible solution for revenge: Is there a real solution for the desire for revenge? Should a person stay away from revenge? Should the person go through with it? Basically, my book is an exploration of the revenge theme with serious reflective questions and food for thought.

Now that I am done with the story, it is time to get a good publisher. Honestly, I wish the right publisher would just magically appear right now because I don’t like looking for one. I am a writer, not an agent. Still, I know that it will work out somehow very soon because people started asking for the date it will be in print. Hence, I already have potential readers for my juicy revenge story. This means that I know for certain that this stage of the adventure will somehow work out easily and effortlessly.
M. J. Mandoki
July 31, 2024
Does Consciousness Survive Death? Interviewed for Bottom Line Health
I was interviewed by Chris Iliades, M.D., for a second publication on near-death experiences (NDEs), this time, for Bottom Line Health magazine. The article is entitled, Does Consciousness Survive Death? It will be released in September. The article will be placed on pages 8 and 9.
The article talks about the following topics: NDE Incidence, Common Experiences, Research Explanations, Universal Consciousness, Psychedelic Mysticism, and What we can learn from NDEs. Chris Iliades is a fabulous writer, and the piece is easy to read and understand. I am grateful to him for the opportunity to reach wider audience about near-deatch experiences.
The magazine has been in publication for 38 years. It focuses on health-related issues. If anybody is interested, here is the website: https://www.bottomlineinc.com/category/health
This is how the title and part of the first page will look like:

I was very happy to offer valuable information to the public. Thank you for the opportunity!
July 1, 2024
Does Your Mind Survive Death?
I have been interviewed by Chris Iliades for a newsletter called The Mind Health Report about near-death experiences (NDEs) and about my theory on NDEs. Now, this is a printed and mailed newsletter–rare nowadays–that is not available on the internet. Still, it was an exciting opportunity to share ideas with the public. The article is called, “Does Your Mind Survive Death?”

What was the article about? Firstly, the author wanted to know a lot about near-death experiences. For example, I shared the statistics that 10 to 20 percent of those who come close to dying have NDEs. I also listed the most common elements people experience, such as ineffibility, hearing oneself pronounced dead, feeling of peace, seeing a dark tunnel, being out of body, meeting spiritual beings, a bright light, panoramic life review, realm of knowledge, cities of light, realm of bewildered spirits, sensing a border of limit and returning to the body. All in all, I felt that the readers were learning about near-death experiences in general.
In addition, Chris Iliades also wanted to know about my theory–which was exciting! First, I shared the usual definition, provided by experts, such as Dr. Bruce Greyson. According to this defintion, near-death experiences are “vivid, realistic, and sometimes profoundly life-changing incidents that occur within a person close to death”. Then, I shared my own definition: Near-death experiences are a particular type of lifetransforming alteration of the consciousness, in which a person perceives him or herself to be near dying, and, as a result, switches away from the reality that was so-far physically perceived to a new reality that falls outside of physical perception. What does this mean? I shared my principle stand on the issue: I believe that reality is mind created and mind dependent. “If mind is the only thing that’s real, consciousness can simply switch to another phase of existence after death; it can’t be extinguished.” I also told my audience that many people offer a polite smile while most likely thinking that I am crazy when I tell them my ultimate theory of reality.

It was wonderful to share my ideas even with a small audience. It is good to know that my alternative theory is getting out there and people do not have to choose between a body-only idea or a mind-body dual idea. It is possible to entertain a mind-only universe.
(Unfortunately, the publishers used the name M. J. Mandoki for the official publication, even though I prefer to be called Monika J. Mandoki for my academic undertakings. Still, I am happy!)
M. J. Mandoki
April 6, 2024
Are Near-Death Experiences Real? Some people seem to take my ideas seriously now.
Mark Shelvock interviewed me for Psychology Today in February, 2024. Over 2,500 people read the article so far. Now, another writer who read the article quoted from Mr. Shelvock’s work. Denyse O’Leary was generous enough to mention me in the same article as Bruce Greyson. I feel flattered, especially because I have been in contact with Bruce Greyson over emails. I am so happy that people have started taking the reality of NDEs seriously! Thank you Mark and Denyse!
A Philosopher Investigates Near-Death Experiences
Monika J. Mandoki, PhD
February 10, 2024
Are Near-Death Experiences Real?
I was interviewed by a psychotherapist, Mark Shelvock RP(Q), CT, MACP, MA, who writes for Psychology Today. The interview was about my project on near-death experiences with the focus on my PhD thesis, Are Near-Death Experiences Veridical? A Philosophical Inquiry and about my upcoming book based on the thesis, which will be entitled, Are Near Death Experiences Real? The article was published today. Here is the link to the article (it takes five minutes to read):
Monika J. Mandoki, PhD

December 4, 2023
Talking to the Dead: Survey
Have you ever received a message from the dead on a cellular device? Researchers at Western University, King’s University College, are looking for participants who have had apparent after-death communication experiences with their cell phones. If you want to participate, please, follow either the link or the QR code on the poster bellow. We are welcoming participants from all over the world.
https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_24BoiqE8fXcUqz4

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me. I am part of the research project. Here is my email: mmandoki@uwo.ca
M. J. Mandoki
February 17, 2023
Future Prediction: Dumbing Down Education

Based on my recent conversations with people and my own teaching experience, I developed an opinion that the education system is in the process of being dumbed down. Now, some people might claim that this is done deliberately: students are being made dumber on purpose. I am not certain. However, I am certain that it is happening. Artificial Inteligence (AI) is increasingly being used, not just for simple tasks anymore, but for major skills students in school should be able to acquire in order to properly participate at the workplace and in society. The result is that students refuse to acquire these tasks; instead, they rely on artificial intelligence to do these tasks for them. For example, they use not just spellchecks anymore, but essay-writing websites to create compositions. At the end of the day, they do not learn any critical thinking, knowledge development, or basic writing skills. Ultimately, they are becoming dumber than ever.
As a result of this dumbing down, the following is my future prediction for the so-called developed countries. Society will split into two: the priviledged and the seriously under-priviledge. Now, there is nothing new about this prediction in certain ways. The haves and the have-nots are already existing with the gap widening between them. However, I predict that this is going to be magnified in the education system. The haves will end up with the knowledge and skills and the have-nots will have no knowledge and no skills.
What do I mean by it? Ultimately, in every society, both leaders and followers are needed. As the gap widens between the haves and the have-nots, the haves can afford to put their children into expensive schools. Now, these expensive schools will be pushed by their rich patrons–coming from wealthy parents–to create a curriculum that will help their children to acquire leadership roles. Naturally, these roles require the ability to think critically and write intelligently. Hence, these children will be taught these disciplines, which will include logic, essay writing, spelling and other pertinent tasks–without any computer help. Hell, they might even take courses in handwriting! Eventually, these rich youngsters will know how to think and write, which means acquiring all the available leadership positions.
As opposed to this leadership oriented education, the rest of the children, born to average families, will be sent to public schools with a focus on relying on Artificial Intelligence. These children will not learn to think or write critically. Instead, they will be carefully molded by an educational system, created by the wealthy, to learn median tasks that will allow them to work for the rich. Of course, these average children will not complain simply because they are not taught to think critically that would allow them to reevaluate the social and economic system they exist in. Hence, they will just accept their fate. Hey, these people will only be able to write letters that the rich people’s children, engaged in computer programming, would allow them to write using AI. Welcome to the brand new world: You can’t complain if you don’t know what you are missing or how to complain about it!
Do you think that this time is far away in the future? Think again! I teach essay writing in a college. Most students do not know how to write properly. They can’t organize their thoughts, create critical pieces or spell words at all. In fact, it is impossible to make them even work using paper and pen to avoid cheating because they are incapable of handwriting. Moreover, given the technology, most are too lazy to learn to write anything. Why would they want to learn to write when AI can create the desired result with a click of a button? So, the future is already here. Our youngsters are allowing the machine to think for them. And the rich people own those companies who program these machines. Add two plus two together and things are not looking good for the general public. (Naturally, if you are a youngster, you need a computer program to add two plus two. Once you get the result of four, you will be scratching your head because you don’t understand what I am talking about. Sorry!–It’s your education that is at fault.)
What should people do? Do not buy into the idea that this so-called technological revolution is inevitable. Nothing is inevitable in life other than death and taxes. The future is what we make it. What is the solution? Technology should be part of our lives, neatly integrated into our lives, as opposed to overtaking our existence. We should not be technologically dependent. Technology should be an aid to our lives and not a crutch we need to rely on for our existence. Retain your ability to think and write, and demand that the integrity of the education sytem be kept for all children to be able to critically examine their lives and the society they live in. Don’t let education be dumbed down!
December 31, 2022
The Art of Revenge
Chapter 1
Ad Vitam Aeternam (To Eternal Life)
The following story is not for the faint of heart, for the politically correct, or for the sentimental romantic. Instead, this story is for the person who would like to visit the shadow side of the self, the self that explores those hidden thorny parts of the psyche that are too painful or difficult to visit. In these hidden thorny parts lies Georgia’s story about one of humanity’s most universal experience: betrayal. Georgia’s twisted tale becomes an inquiry into the manner in which this painful and difficult universal experience should be handled.
On that fateful October night, Georgia saw the telltale signs again: The haunted look, the scattered gaze in the opposite direction, and the nervous blinks. Georgia had seen these expressions of guilt repeatedly in the previous few weeks whenever Maurice had left the house. And there it was again. Maurice was on his motorcycle in the garage, holding his helmet in his hand and ready to go, while displaying this exact behaviour as soon as she stepped in front of him.
“I thought that you would spend the evening with me now that our son is having a sleepover next door. Yet, you are leaving again as usual,” she said.
His scattered gaze returned to her briefly. “I need to help my friends out. I promised them,” he responded in his shaky voice.
“You mean your outlaw biker friends, the criminals.”
He was agitated. “Not all of them are criminals! And I gave you my word right from the beginning that I would not do anything shady for them. But they are my friends, and they did help me out a lot when I was opening up my motorcycle-parts store a few years back. They are also great customers. I will not abandon them when they need my help.”
“Why can’t it just wait until tomorrow then? Why does it have to be on this Friday night, in this late hour, at a bar?”
“Georgia, you know that these people don’t exactly keep regular office hours.”
“But, if it is not illegal, why can’t you just call them on the phone? Besides, if it is not illegal, why can’t you just tell me about it?”
The haunted look, the scattered gaze in the opposite direction, and the nervous blinks–there they were again.
“I think you’re making a big deal out of it. I will–“
“Argumentum non-sequitur,” she said, interrupting him.
“There we go again with your over-rationalized analysis, ending with one of your favourite Latin quotes you had learned in university. You are the prime example of what’s wrong with society teaching people critical thinking: You’re over-rationalizing everything, dissecting every detail of every action the other person takes to the point where the other person–this time, you husband–has to justify every detail to your absolutely well-thought-out rational mind. Enough already! This isn’t a rational mind game. They asked me to meet them and I agreed in order to help them out. Don’t overthink it! Please! I love you, Georgia, but I need to go. As I was going to say before you interrupted me, I will make it up to you, I promise.”
The haunted look, the scattered gaze in the opposite direction, and the nervous blinks–there they were one more time before he put his helmet on and started up his rumbling motorcycle. The garage door opened and he shot out of the garage, taking a sharp right turn at the end of the driveway almost running over the last portion of the white picket fence, bending it out of shape. Georgia watched the scene silently. She waited until the garage door closed in front of her to go inside.
She had a pretty good idea of the root cause of her husband’s guilty look–or, at least, she thought she did. If it were about biker business, she reasoned, he would not display the signs of guilt; he would simply be agitated. Therefore, Georgia was confident that she could tell by his look that Maurice had something to hide that was personal rather than biker business–a personal business that even his biker friends might not know about: He was most likely having an affair with another woman in complete secrecy. As far as she was concerned, that was the only rational explanation for this type of guilty look. But was she right it or was she just overthinking it, as usual, just like her husband accused her of doing?
She curled up on her living room couch. She thought about it. Maybe she was actually over-rationalizing the matter. Maybe he was right about her tendency. Maybe she was just driven to paranoia by her highly rational mind. For a while, she willed this paranoia, this feeling of infidelity to be untrue over and again while staring at the dark screen of the television in the silent living room. Her strategy to defeat her feeling was to cite a list of reasons that would justify her husband’s strange behaviour beside the obvious conclusion of an extramarital affair. The list she composed in her mind perfectly explained the potential reasons for him not having a romantic affair, but, instead, hiding a secret of some kind of biker business in order to protect her and their young son, Tommy. On top of her list was the theory that, even though he was not directly involved in some shady business, he at least knew about it, and tried to offer free consultation for the biker club on the matter. This theory would explain Maurice’s insistence on keeping his original promise to her that he would not be involved in anything illegal and, at the same time, would also explain his guilty look. Contemplating this option gave her a satisfactory feeling of a rational conclusion that eliminated a married woman’s irrational fear. She felt satisfied by her theory—for a while.
Eventually, the power of rationality could not outweigh the power of intuition that the explanation just did not ring true to her. The sickening feeling of a secret infidelity kept returning on that October night. Finally, after three hours of nail biting and nervous twitching in her stomach, she could not calm her anxiety anymore: She needed to do something. She needed evidence. With a burning desire to act, she was ready to investigate the matter. Overthinking it or not, she wanted to know.
Naturally, she felt guilty at first. Who wouldn’t be? After all, what if she was wrong about her husband? Eventually, she overcame her initial guilt of spying on her husband by focusing on her logical conclusion that she just needed to check on Maurice, not to prove that her husband was guilty but to prove that her own suspicion was wrong. As she was getting dressed, she kept repeating to herself that she was ready to show herself that she was weak, not that he was. By the time she was dressed and ready to go, she was fully convinced that she was in fact paranoid.
Despite her conviction, she got into her dark silver SUV and rolled out of the garage. She made a sharp right turn, and just like her husband, she bumped into the last section of the already bent-out-of-shape white picket fence that, this time, landed on the ground behind her car. She took a note of the damage nonchalantly, too preoccupied with the nervous twitch in her stomach, and then she headed to the bikers’ favourite bars. She wanted to give up the investigation and go home after checking out the parking lot of just the first bar. She could not shake the guilt of even potentially suspecting her husband of cheating on her. She kept asking herself, Where is my faith in him?, at every corner she turned. Still, she could not make herself give up her quest. She drove to the next bar. His motorcycle was not in that parking lot either. Guilt-ridden, she fought a battle with her intuitive suspicion once again. Her breathing was heavy, her heart was pounding, and her palms were sweaty. Every turn and every corner was another struggle. Nevertheless, she drove to the third bar.
The bar was located at the edge of town on a paved country road. It reminded Georgia of a roadhouse from American western movies. Erected amid of a forest area, the one-story farmhouse-styled building had rather small windows with an oversized porch covering the entire front structure. Enough wood was cleared around it to accommodate at least a hundred cars. Georgia did not have to look hard: Two dozen motorcycles had parked right in front of the bar, her husband’s amongst them. She sighed. At least, he may not be lying about the biker party, she thought to herself.
She parked her SUV close to the road. It was almost pitch dark; there were no lights in the parking area. Still, the lot was made somewhat visible by the street lamps from the road and by the escaping glow through the small windows of the bar. As Georgia casually walked in the direction of the front door, situated in the middle of the porch, she became aware of the utter silence under this dark blanket. At first, it appeared as if she were walking in a three-dimensional dream setting of a still landscape with pictures but with no sounds. It was reminiscent of some western movies where the main character is shown to approach a bar in complete silence as a way of foreshadowing some impending disaster the person is about to face. Here, the sound engineer drops all sounds to create the utter silence to make the movie watchers’ heart pump faster. It is just like a dream. Or, for Georgia, perhaps a nightmare.
Actually, the silence and the stillness were deceiving. Getting closer to the building, she saw two women quietly smoking at one end of the porch. So, there was some noise and movement on this landscape. The women did not look familiar. Georgia ignored them stepping closer to the front entrance. She heard music. It became louder with the final steps. The bar seemed to be well insulated, even soundproof. As she placed her hand on the front door, though, she could feel the vibrations of loud music under her fingertips.
Georgia had never liked the atmosphere she just found herself in. The combined smell of beer and sweat punched her in the nose when she finally had the courage to slowly open the door. Inside, the party must have been going on for quite some time because a large crowd of drunken men were shouting and dancing around an oversized table. The shouting was barely audible, not just due to the loud music, but also due to the level of noise the intoxicated men produced stomping and bumping into objects. Their dance moves appeared uncoordinated, most effort going toward staying on two feet. Two people moved around on top of the oversized table with their backs to Georgia. The man raised his left hand to get attention from around. As he did, a nearby disco ball shone light on his hand, striking his wedding ring. The reflection struck Georgia’s eyes. She raised her hand in front of her face for a second to block out the bright reflection. Then, she continued to study the crowd to find her husband. At this moment, the man on the table turned his head and leaned over to kiss the pretty brunette next to him. The drunken men around raised their glasses in celebration of the kiss. Georgia recognized the inebriated man on the table right away: It was her husband Maurice.
So, she wasn’t wrong about her intuition, after all. Her suspicion proved to be correct–not that it pleased her. She stood near the entrance frozen. It was the first time in her life that she regretted having escaped the self-diagnosis of paranoia. It was a very different experience to suspect that her husband was cheating than to actually see him do it in real life. She could not move. She could not even breathe properly; she often gasped for air. Her attention moved to the cheering crowd around. The thoughts of a beautifully decorated ballroom flashed in front of her eyes. In her mind, she was standing next to a round table in front of a room full of people. Large red roses made of marzipan covered the five-tiered, cream-coloured marble cake she was ready to cut into with a decorative knife. She had to pull her veil back and let it fall over the shoulders of her wedding dress to pose for the photo for the cake-cutting. Everyone cheered when she placed a piece of cake into Maurice’s mouth, smudging some of it on his nose. People had applauded then, just like they did in the bar in front of her.
The door opened behind her that shook her out of her nostalgia. The two women had returned from smoking outside. Georgia had to move aside to let them in. She decided that she had seen enough. She held the door open and, once the ladies were inside, she walked through the door in a hurry. She retreated to the silent darkness of the parking lot. She moved fast across the lot to avoid detection. The last thing she needed was for someone to recognize her with painful agony written all over her face. She held it together until she got inside her vehicle. Then, the frail woman broke down. She could not bear the betrayal. It was too much. She cried uncontrollably for a while. It could easily be assumed that her unfaithful husband’s action had caused this deep laceration on her heart. Certainly, it was the most painful part of the experience. However, there was much more to it. The happy cheer inside the bar epitomized the ultimate betrayal of her marriage. Maurice’s biker friends had been at their wedding; they had all cheered for Maurice and Georgia, just like they just cheered for Maurice and the other woman. They all betrayed her! It could not have been worse. Georgia had thought that Maurice was having an affair in secret. Of course, this rational conclusion she had been definitely wrong about. It would never have crossed her mind that the others would know about it. Facing utter betrayal from all of them, the broken woman oscillated between the emotional points of outrage, anger and hurt. Finally, she settled on a feeling that the pendulum never even pointed to on the map of emotions: loneliness. She felt like an abandoned, outcast child, sitting alone in the obscurity of her cold SUV.
It took her a half of an hour to gather herself. By the time she pulled out of the parking lot, the pendulum hit the emotion of anger and got stuck on it. Anger refused to leave. She wanted revenge. For most people, the desire for revenge is a passing idea; it passes with the dissipation of anger. Not for Georgia! The betrayal cut too deep. She knew that the feeling of the desire for revenge would endure–and she would not be wrong about that! It became crystal clear to her in that short time between spotting her cheating husband with the mistress and the experiencing of retaliatory anger that her husband and his mistress had to pay. They had to pay for the betrayal, especially the mistress who was willing to date a man with a wedding ring on his finger. There would be no more cheering for anyone once the revenge was complete!
You can read the rest when I find a publisher for it! Wish me luck!
M. J. Mandoki (mjmandoki@gmail.com)