What Was Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s Biggest Mistake?
Her endorsement of the Ramtha spiritual teachings and association with channeler J.Z. Knight in the 1970s, which led to criticism and detracted from her groundbreaking work on death and dying.

What Led to the Mistake?

After revolutionizing end-of-life care with her 1969 book On Death and Dying, Kübler-Ross grew fascinated by near-death experiences and the afterlife. In the 1970s, she began hosting workshops that blended spirituality and psychology, including collaborations with J.Z. Knight, who claimed to channel Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old spirit. While her curiosity about consciousness beyond death drove this shift, it alienated medical colleagues who saw it as pseudoscience.

The Consequences: A Stain on Her Legacy

Critics accused Kübler-Ross of exploiting vulnerable patients and abandoning scientific rigor. Her credibility in mainstream medicine waned, and later work was often dismissed as New Age mysticism. Historians note that while her early contributions to hospice care remained foundational, this association overshadowed her later career, fueling skepticism about her life’s work.

What Kübler-Ross Said About It

She defended her choices, arguing that her patients’ accounts of near-death visions and out-of-body experiences validated her pursuit of spiritual truths. In interviews, she framed her Ramtha involvement as an extension of her mission to “expand humanity’s understanding of death,” insisting that science alone couldn’t explain consciousness.