LOVE is the POWER of the universe

My near-death experience was actually two experiences in 1965. The second followed the first by perhaps 3 months.

The first was caused by falling several meters headfirst down a cliff and landing on sandstone rock. A small tree I was levering myself up on came away in my hands. I found myself traveling rapidly upwards into the sky. I had an immensely joyous feeling of lightness. I remember looking back at my crumpled body on the rock below and observing that ‘I’ was not my body. I could see everything below me very clearly. Below was the Hawkesbury River, with the beautiful bush surrounding it. I was heading towards some very beautiful cumulus shaped clouds. I had no fear, only joy. I looked back again and saw my boyfriend, who I was very much in love with, standing beside my body. In real time, this would have been several minutes after I fell, as he was quite a ways behind me and it would have taken some time to get down the steep cliff. I was a long way away by now and still traveling upwards, but I could feel exactly what he was feeling. He was very distressed. My heart filled with compassion for him, which I guess was what brought me back.

I am joining these two experiences together as I have always believed they are related. My (same) boyfriend and I were visiting a friend’s New Year's Eve party. The party was in the main room of a small house, and was packed with people. It was before midnight. I remember feeling vaguely discontent, as if I wasn't where I really wanted to be. I was standing about one meter from the only door into the room, looking across the room at my boyfriend. Suddenly I was no longer in this room, but facing an enormously tall angel. Surrounding both of us was radiant light. I knew this angel, and he knew me. I felt no fear, only joy and immense happiness. We communicated non-verbally. The angel was 'reminding' me of the power of LOVE that was actually THE power of the universe. It seemed that I already knew this, but 'he' was just reminding me. We communicated for what I would have estimated to be about 20 minutes, then with no warning I was abruptly back on earth, in the same place I had been standing when the experience first happened. The astonishing thing was that it was obviously hours later as there was no one in the room other than a sleeping body crashed on the couch. My boyfriend was not there, and when I eventually found him by calling out through the darkened house, he had been asleep upstairs as he had searched everywhere and not been able to find me. I had been physically removed during this experience.

The effect of these experiences on my life was profound. Overnight, I had become intensely empathetic. I could feel any pain or suffering and sense of isolation of people passing me in the street. I had an overwhelming sense of needing to DO something: my search for what this something is, has dominated the rest of my entire life. The sense of the reality of these experiences has far eclipsed anything else in my life. By this, I mean everything in comparison has been far less real. I could not use the words 'God' or 'Love' for many years as the reality of these words are so much greater than our 'normal' usage. 

NDERF.org, #7446

 

Conversation during his near-death experience

I must have been three or four years old when I underwent an eye surgery to correct the vision in one of my eyes. Before the surgery, I met with a priest who prayed with me because I was frightened of the surgery. During the surgery I underwent anesthesia and all was well until I felt my chest hurting. I thought to myself, 'Won’t the pain end? Won’t someone please help me? God, help me, when will this end?'

I was then suddenly rocketed out of my body and I could see myself on the surgery table. The doctors were all scrambling and I thought to myself, 'Why are they acting like that? I feel great.' I was then pulled upwards from my body. I thought, 'Well I guess this is it, good-bye body.' I was then taken into a tunnel by an individual made of light. I had seen the individual before the anesthesia was given to me. When I first saw this being, I thought, 'Who are you?' No answer came at that time. Nor did an answer come while I was led through the tube of light. Then, I was inside a void with the mysterious being. I asked this being, 'Who are you?' And the being said, 'Who do you want me to be?' The being then took on my mother’s voice and said, 'I can use this voice if it makes you comfortable.' When I declined, the being switched voices again and talked in my deceased grandfather’s voice.

I felt more at ease then. I was given a life review while inside the void. During this review, I told the being to pause. I wanted to better examine the parts of my life. I was then able to view these events from overhead. The life review did not last long because I asked the being something that surprised it. 'Can I plan my next reincarnation?' I asked. The being said, 'Usually people wait until their actual death to choose their reincarnation.'

I was persistent, because I already knew where I wanted to go: Japan. I was then taken to Japan via an overhead view. The being and I looked at various cities until we reached Numero in Hokkaido. I told the being that I wanted to be reincarnated here. Then, I was given a temporary glimpse into my next life. All I remember about this part was that I was Male and was wearing a dark colored coat that was accented by stylish autumn scarf while I stood in front of the train station. Then, I returned to the void.

I was suddenly dragged back into my body as the doctors restarted my heart. The revival soon failed and I was pushed back into the void. I was back with the being. The being asked me multiple questions during the reincarnation conversation and will allow me to be autistic during my next life as well. Near the end of the conversation I asked, 'Wait, can I see my grandfather?' And the being said, 'Not yet.' For the sake of my mother, I returned permanently to my body.

After the surgery I thought to myself, 'I saw an angel!' But did not speak about it to my parents. I strongly believe that I will be reincarnated in Hokkaido during my next life. I believe our souls get some choice during the death process.

Some additional things about the experience:

I was informed that I would develop mental illness during my twenties. So far this has been correct. I am typing this out during my most logical moments because I fully believe that this event will occur and that I will be reincarnated after I die.

 

NDERF.org #9193

Iranian's near-death experience

I was not feeling well and I wasn’t paying attention to my driving. I reached an intersection and looked to both sides of the street without much care. I did not see any cars coming, so I continued along my way. Suddenly, I heard a loud car horn followed by a loud crashing sound. At that moment, I found myself floating in a dark space. I was outside my body, floating in the air and just looking around.

I saw a body lying in the middle of the street next to a car. I was looking at it from several feet away. It took me a little while to recognize that it was my own body that I am looking at. I had no feelings for it; I was just an indifferent observer. I thought to myself that I must have died, but I was not sad at all. I didn't know where I was supposed to go from there. My thoughts and mind were the same as when I was in of my physical life, but I could not imagine the earthly thoughts.

After a short while, I gave up the worry of where I need to go from here, because I was enjoying the peace and silence. I was immersed in that moment. I was just watching from several feet up in the air as people were rushing towards my body from every direction. I couldn't hear their voices clearly, yet I was able to comprehend what they were saying. When I looked at these people, I knew their thoughts and what they were going to say.

Since there was a hospital on the same street where the accident occurred, it didn't take long for the ambulance to arrive. The medics put my body on a stretcher and transferred me to the ambulance. The driver turned on the sirens and sped towards the hospital. In the ambulance, the emergency medical team injected something into my body but it was no use. My body did not respond. Although I was detached from my body, I still felt like I was also somehow inside of my body too. Nevertheless, I was not feeling discomfort or pain. At the same time, I was feeling that I was going higher and higher each second.

I was floating like on a wave and felt so light. At the beginning and end of the accident, everything was moving so fast. When I exited my body, it was in another form, that was transparent and non-physical, yet it was similar to a human form. Although I saw the new form, I wasn’t giving it any thought. I was feeling pleasantly warm, could not smell or taste and did not have any bodily physical senses. I could not feel physical things, but my eyesight was greatly enhanced. I felt like I had turned into energy.

I was flying and entered into a gray-colored environment. I tried to reach a gray and dusty light that was moving in front of me. As I got closer to this light, it became brighter. The light looked like a vapor or smoke that is lit up under a street light. It was formless and had colors of blue, orange, yellow, and gold. I didn't know what it was. The light didn't bother my eyes and wasn’t blinding. I was pulled towards the light with great force. The closer I got to it, the more joy and peace I felt. After a while, I noticed Beings similar to me but they were more brilliantly colored and were moving slower than me. Then I was surrounded by my deceased relatives. I was feeling so much joy and lightness from seeing them. I felt they were there to help me. Their body was transparent and luminous. It never occurred to me to ask them questions like where am I, where am I going, what will happen to me, am I dead? They didn't talk to me either.

A halo of light surrounded me into itself. My life and all of its events started to play in my mind, but it was very clear, real, and alive. It was like a slideshow, but I experienced all the feelings in these events again. Everything was shown in chronological order. Although this whole life review only took minutes, it was pleasant and interesting to me. Once my life review stopped, my mind started to analyze my life and my actions. I felt that overall, I was relatively kind to people.

After that, I felt freedom. The halo of light left me and I felt like I have to return to the physical life. I was trying to avoid this from happening because I was experiencing new and pleasant things. But I automatically left that environment and moved into a grayish-blue environment and was put into a supine position and slowly, with no effort, returned back into the ambulance. The ambulance entered the hospital and they transferred my body into the intensive care unit. My floating Being could easily pass through the walls. It was like as I got close to a wall, it would go away. I could not feel any physical thing or barrier. I knew I was moving, yet I could not feel the motion. I entered the operating room, positioned somewhere close to the ceiling. Doctors and nurses were surrounding my body, but no one noticed me up by the ceiling. They were massaging my chest area. A nurse inserted a tube into my throat and used that to give me breathing. Another doctor injected something in my body. But my body was not responding. I heard a doctor shout, ‘code pink!’

Right then, as I was floating in the air, I passed through something fixed and light, which I felt from my side. An immense feeling of loneliness, depression, and fear engulfed me. I knew that my communication with others was cut off and I could not speak to people. I felt if I don't enter my body again, I would die forever. I was sad for my family and friends and how they would feel after my death. I could imagine and feel their feelings. On the other hand, there were important works I needed to finish and I thought I am too young to die. Nevertheless, I wanted to stay in this pleasant non-physical environment. I felt I need to decide quickly whether to stay in my body or outside of it. I felt that I cannot stay outside for too long or I would die permanently. So I decided to return.

During all this time the medical staff were trying hard to save me. Several times, they gave me an electric shock, but I didn't feel anything. However, I felt I am getting heavier and being pulled down towards my body. It was like their effort was working. When they shocked me again after several times, my body jumped up. I felt I entered my body like a solid object, with a jerk. I felt I am inside my body and heard the nurse shout, "Wow, it worked!"

When I was entering my body, I heard a whistle and felt I am in an open and dark space that is like a funnel and am entering my body from the head. After I entered my body, I felt lots of intense pain. I think I was out for 15 to 20 minutes. For several days, I was not in the natural state. When I healed a little bit, my doctor told me, "You passed a critical state." I said that I know and told him my entire experience from the beginning to the end. He was amazed and speechless.

Since that experience, my mind and soul is more important for me than my body. Some say that I have a healing effect on them. Now I feel I get along better with people and have more tolerance for them. I can better understand their feelings and what is going on inside them. This experience has changed my life and my thinking. I am no longer afraid of dying, as I have experienced it once.


From Gonbade Kavoos, Iran -Winter of 1996, NDE #16074

I hope Gabriel's trumpet might blow me home

 

“Slave Songs of the United States” by Charles Pickard Ware, Lucy McKim Garrison,
and William Francis Allen, 1867.

Agnostic scientist, Nancy Rynes, visits Heaven

In January of 2014, I experienced some things that promised to change my life forever. These experiences went from horribly terrifying and painful, to profoundly beautiful and soul-stirring; all within the space of a few days. On the morning of January 3, 2014, while riding my bicycle here in town, I was struck broadside by a truck. My injuries were so severe that I am still in recovery from some of them. By all accounts of the doctors who treated me, I shouldn't have lived. 'Most people die from injuries like yours,' my surgeon and primary care physician insist. They were right. I shouldn't have lived. In fact, I came very close to death twice during those first few days. During those brushes with death, I had two Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) that promised to change the way I look at life, the way I experience life, and the way I feel about the concepts of God and Spirit.

My first near-death experience happened when the truck initially struck me. In human time, this NDE lasted just a few minutes. As I was struck, I realized that my consciousness was in two places simultaneously. One part, very scared and animal-like, was firmly inside of my broken body that was stuck on the vehicle's axle and being dragged under the truck. The other part, a very calm, dispassionate observer, hovered out in front of the truck and off to the south, watching the whole scene unfold from a distance. This dual consciousness seemed quite normal to the observer part of me. The observer was calm about the whole thing, and I remember the feeling that this was all happening for a reason, that there was nothing to fear. The observer: me, watched as witnesses stopped, called for help, and as the paramedics arrived. When the paramedics started working on me, my two selves came back together. Once I was stabilized enough to move, they transported me to the nearest trauma hospital. It turned out that my head and spinal injuries were so severe that I'd need surgery. My lower spine would need reconstruction, but only after the bleeding in my brain stabilized. In the meantime, the trauma team admitted me to the intensive care unit (ICU). I pondered that initial split-consciousness experience for a few days in ICU while I awaited surgery. I had no explanation for being in two places at the same time, or for experiencing the accident from two different vantage points at once. In my scientific mind, I didn't know how consciousness could split apart with one part of me traveling outside of the body. Finally, I dismissed it as just an oddity of the crash and almost dying. It wasn't important, and it most certainly wasn't 'real.' Or so I thought.

Perhaps because the first experience wasn't enough to get me thinking about spiritual matters, three days later during surgery, I was pulled right into the thick of things. I had another NDE but this one was different. Instead of simply experiencing events unfold from outside of my body, my consciousness was ultimately brought to a place unlike anything I have ever experienced. The beauty and utter peace of the Place defies human words. I felt totally calm, loved, and whole. I also felt a deep, profound sense of LOVE permeating everything there. It was big love, as if the structure of this place was somehow made of love. Love was everywhere because there was nowhere that wasn't love. I can't explain it any further than that. I, already, never wanted to leave this Place. One woman greeted me. Although she said it was a form that 'she' took at that time to make it easy for me to relate to her. She was a stranger to me, although I was somehow not a stranger to her. She moved with me throughout the landscape, telling me things that I and the rest of the world needed to remember; things we'd forgotten or perhaps never learned. These things were reminders that would help us live a beautiful life on Earth. She said she was a spokesperson for everyone in Heaven.

Somehow, she was a conduit for the information I was being given because if I met and communicated with everyone who wanted to speak with me, I would be overwhelmed. It felt as though we were together for days, even weeks. The amount of information she passed on to me was staggering. I am still processing it. But eventually she insisted it was time for me to go back to my life. The thought of that made me weep like a child. I didn't want to go back: Not now, not ever. This Place was too beautiful and loving for me to want to leave. But she insisted that I had a life to live. It wasn't time for me to be here for good. I argued up and down and even yelled a few times. Can you imagine, arguing with a Being such as this? But I did. I argued and cried. I insisted I didn't want to go back to a broken body and all of the repercussions from this experience that awaited me. She watched me with what I felt was sadness, but she insisted that it was my time to go back. As I opened my mouth to argue again, I was back in the surgical recovery room. I was confused, weeping, and already missing that Place and the Being who I'd met there. No: I am no longer an atheist or agnostic, (although, at this point I don't want to put a label on what I am). I did have the good fortune to be shown Spirit in a way that made me realize that I can no longer deny It for myself. These experiences have opened my heart to all peoples, all faiths, and all beliefs in a way that I would not have thought possible. I will share a small bit of the first thing she taught me. We are primarily here to Love: to practice Love, to show Love, to experience Love. Hate is not the language of Spirit, nor is fear. Love is. It is a Love that has no conditions or strings attached. It is simply Love in all of its forms.

I was asked to share this with as many people as possible, so that is what I intend to do. That's what I promised, after all. I am not sure yet how I will get out the information. I think telling on a blog is a good start, but I expect that some larger form of publication will be in the works too. Yes, this is all real. No, I didn't make up or embellish any of it. I understand that some of you will think I'm crazy or hallucinating. Some of you may find any explanation to deny my experiences because they feel uncomfortable to you. Some people I have known for years may choose to distance themselves from me. This could cost me much. I was an agnostic scientist until just a couple of months ago, after all. But this is me and my life now. I trust that telling my story and all that follows will help more than it hurts; that it gives people hope, and that it brings people together. It may be that telling the story brings new people or opportunities into my life as well. All is as it should be. While my time on the Other Side (aka, 'Heaven') was brief in human terms, when I was there it felt as if weeks or months were passing. I observed an amazing amount in, at most, a couple of human hours.

The first wonderful thing that I experienced was the beauty of Heaven, both visually and in a feeling-sense. When I was there, a landscape of gently rolling hills surrounded me. Flower-filled grassy meadows spread out on the hills around me. There were huge, deciduous trees in full leaf. The trees were larger and grander than any here on Earth and surrounded the meadows. There was the barest sense of a light mist, as if it were a humid summer morning clung to the tops of the trees. The sky showed a very light blue, similar to what you might see at the ocean's shore, with wispy clouds and a very bright but somewhat diffuse golden light. That was the visual. But there is more to Heaven than what we can see with our eyes. Below the surface visuals was a well of feeling fueled by love, peace, and an abiding Presence that I will call Spirit or God. Through the landscape around me I sensed a profound feeling of peace, brightness, goodness, and love. The Beauty I felt really does deserve a capital B. It wasn't just pleasing to the eye: there was something deeper to it, more harmonious, more blessed, and more powerful.

Everything felt tied together by love and peace, and the beauty of the scenes around me was the product of this unconditional love. While the beauty of Heaven took my breath away, the sense of love completely ensnared me and made me want to stay there forever. I felt a deep sense of that love flowing through all things around me: the air, the ground below my feet, the trees, the clouds, and me. I felt the love flowing around me, flowing through me, and eventually capturing me by the heart. I felt supported by a loving Presence so powerful, yet so gentle, that I cried again. I had never experienced such unconditional love and acceptance in all of my years on the planet. It felt as though this place were built from love and peace on a very grand, cosmic scale. What I realized, and was later told by my Guide, was that love formed the structure or underpinnings of Heaven.

Each soul might see the 'landscape' differently, but all sensed and 'saw' the love that formed the basis for everything in the same way. That love and peace seemed to shimmer as glimmers of light beneath the surface, winking in and out of visual sight. It had colors and sparkle and texture. It seemed to take the form of what I saw, like trees, a meadow, but at the same time it was also separate from the forms themselves. The closest I can come to explaining what Heaven 'looked' like to my feeling-senses is to point you to the work of artist Ken Elliott. His paintings come closest to capturing what I felt underlying the landscape Over There. I'll share two pieces with you here with his permission, but please check out his website (www.KenElliott.com) for more examples. 'Soft Blue Progression,' comes closest to showing you what the visuals looked like for me as well. 'Yellow Wall,' as well as Ken's other paintings, gives a sense of the energy or vibration of LOVE and PEACE that build everything There.

NDERF.org, #7674 

Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the Light: 12 Life Lessons from a Near Death Experience

 

While drowning experiences house of God

When I moved to Puerto Rico in 1994, I had no idea that I would live through a near-drowning, even though the island, surrounded by oceans and seas, scared me. I have always had a fear of drowning in deep water. A year and a half after arriving, on September 9, 1995, I was settled in my own home and busy working full-time. I was happy and having great fun with my local companions who had become family to me. One night after work, I gave a ride to some visitors of my friends, whom were visiting the island. I drove them up the west coast where I lived and worked. After some cajoling I was glad to take the drive up along the coast of beautiful Puerto Rico as I drove my local friend and his visitors up to their cottage where they were staying for a week.

It was evening by the time we arrived. I was going to stay the night and then drive home in the morning after shopping and going to the beach. Later that night, Maury and I went for a walk together, down to the beach. He was the handsome brother of the friend who had asked for the ride. We were getting along great. I felt invigorated and blessed, enjoying one of the most enchanting beaches in the world. This is the surfing capital of Puerto Rico and known world-wide by surfers who ride the huge waves along the pristine shoreline. The waves were gigantic and loud that particular night because of the post-hurricane weather, with another hurricane on the way.

We were playing by the shore with the beauty of the night sky off-setting the romantic ocean at our finger-tips; we were lulled into the ocean. While playing in the water, the ocean terrifyingly grabbed us in one wave! We were swept out to sea! Panicking, we struggled together to swim back to shore, but the waves were too big and powerful, plus the rip-tide had a deadly hold on us and we could not swim against it. Personally, I knew nothing of rip-tides or what to do if ever caught in one which is to swim parallel to the shore until out of the rip tide current. I did know I was going to drown that night and would never make it back to the beach. Due to the violent blasting of the waves, Maury and I were forcibly separated three times. He was not able to stay or swim me into the shore. I found myself alone in the middle of the vast, immense ocean, fighting for my life. I was able to prolong survival by timing the waves crashing on my head. I think I was out there for about thirty minutes, although it felt like forever. As the waves washed me under, over and over, I was able to tell when to take a breath, to sustain me underwater, until I swam up to the surface, to take another breath. This went on until I was too exhausted to move any body part.

Eventually the moment arrived when I became aware of exactly which wave would pummel me underwater to my death. As I inhaled my last breath, I felt an all-encompassing peace releasing all fears. The moment had come to get right with God. I was acutely conscious of the knowledge I would not make it up to the surface again. I was having my last view of the beach, the stars and the expansive, blue, dark ocean. As I took the breath that would sustain me for the rest of my life, I timed the wave falling on me. The ocean stilled and became very quiet. Stars began to fall on the horizon and dropped into the sea. When I looked up at the wave, it was suspended above me dripping droplets of water from its crest.

The next moment, I traveled to space. My spirit was taken in an instant to outer space and exploded into pure consciousness! I was acutely aware in my mind that I was traveling and had become an astral being. I was taken into the sky and into space. I was above the beach and to the right of the almost full moon. I was completely conscious of being alive without a body! As I began to comprehend where I found myself, my mental dialogue was the same as when I was in the physical realm. I noticed my mind was still thinking, hearing, and seeing. I tried to figure out where I had been taken. My spirit eyes felt the same as seeing through my body's eyes. My mind told me I was in a holy place. I was a visitor in a house of God.

The next moments were timeless, as I was gently informed about how I lived my life on earth. Completely non-judgmental, yet clear and precise was the voice inside my head. I learned why I was dying and how it would affect my loved ones. More information kept flooding my consciousness as I listened, learned, and understood profound life conditions of the past, present and future. I became my own proof of individual divinity, blessed with immortal life, by the infinite mercy of God's unconditional love. The revelations seemed to go on until I noticed a bubble of light, so to speak, to the right of where I was floating. Inviting and comforting, all my attention was eventually diverted to it. I knew without a doubt it was the entrance to heaven. I was happy to be going there, especially if what I was feeling is the norm. I forced myself to float towards it. When close, all of a sudden in an excruciating moment, I was rudely blasted back into my body!

The last wave had slammed me down hard as I began the descent into the dark, watery abyss to my drowning death. Then I felt a hand! Miraculously I was being rescued out of the last wave at the exact moment I was going to drown. Upon realizing I was being pulled to safety, I died and do not remember being pulled out of the water and laid on the beach. Upon resuscitation when I struggled to wake up, I was shocked to find out I was still alive and much to my chagrin, still in my body!

The only thing I could think about was my near-death experience and how much I wanted to go back to where I had just visited. Plus it made no sense I was on earth. The rest of the night and into the next morning became an extended fight to live. By the time the light of the new day dawned, I had actually lived through the first near-drowning, to almost die again from secondary drowning. Upon admittance to a hospital, I spent a long week in the Intensive Care Unit. Upon being discharged I went home a different person than whom I had been before that fateful night up the western Puerto Rican coast. 

NDERF.org #7516

"God experiences itself through its creation."

When I was younger, my parents were both working full-time jobs. My father was stationed at Fort Bliss and my mother worked various defense or education-related jobs. Thus, I was placed into a summer youth program. I was one of the younger, if not the youngest child, in the program. One summer day, they took us to a public pool. Most of the kids, being older and more experienced with swimming, were at the deeper end of the pool leaving me alone. I remember wanting to join them and went under the floating barrier to swim towards them. I remember not being able to feel the bottom of the pool with my feet and slipping under the water. I felt fear. I remember reaching towards the light of the sun, shining through the water and then suddenly being above the water.

I could see myself under the water and I remember feeling no attachment to the body. I floated higher and higher above the scene and could see a great part of the city below me. I still had a human form while floating up, it was like a 'ghost body'. I remember looking up into the sky and then being somewhere else. This place was like being in space except with no stars. Wherever this somewhere was, I had no human form. I was like a small ball of yellow light. Though in darkness, I knew I could see in all directions at once. Around me appeared other orbs of light. The orbs were other people who had passed away. We all glowed with different shades of light. Some were more pink, some were blue and I was yellow. I remember that all of our thoughts flowed into and out of each other simultaneously. Despite this, I could still process my own thoughts. I knew that the lady near me was in her 30s, that she had died in a car accident leaving behind children but she was at peace with the fact that her husband would care for them.

I remember a great light appearing before us, like the sun but smoother and cleaner in its light. It did not hurt to look at and regardless we did not have physical eyes. There was the greatest feeling emanating from it. It was the greatest form of love I have ever felt. Greatly beyond that of any parent, lover or child. It was like every expression of love combined. I remember being drawn towards it, moving faster and faster but on the other side and moving at the speed we were. There was no real wind, just the softest of breezes. I remember knowing where I was at the time but we do not have a word for it here in the life side. I remembering feeling at home, like I had returned and I was happy. There was a sound like music, but not music like what we have here on Earth. It was like the sound between the ringing of chimes.

Some force moved through my soul and stopped me from proceeding forward. There were no words, but this kind of knowing that came into me. It said I needed to turn around. I remember saying that I did not want to turn around and that I was tired of having to go back so many times and ready to stay here. It said that I had not accomplished what I needed to do. Before I knew it, I was tumbling through darkness and was suddenly back over the city and drifting back towards my body. I was out of the water. I remember several of the other kids out of the water; some crying and the female lifeguard was working on getting me back. I remember having my ghost body back and the feeling of hands pushing me on my back, back down into my body. The re-connection was painful. I remembering feeling confined in my body.

For years after this I was depressed and wanted to go back to that place. My childhood was not the smoothest as far as my family life was concerned and I knew if I took my own life I could go back there.

The biggest thing I learned from the experience is that 'God' experiences itself through its creation. That is, we are all expressions of 'God' simultaneously. I have felt in life a deep and instant connection with certain people, especially one of my friends who I also love deeply and who is currently missing. We both have talked about perhaps having met in a past life and joked about how we would meet in future lives. Though I hope my friend is found, I am confident that either way, our paths shall cross again. 

NDERF.org #7737

Survivor foresees the consequences of his life

I was 4 years old. As I recall it was in the summer or fall. I had been having difficulty breathing and in the evening I was taken to the emergency room by my mother and father. This wasn't unusual; I averaged a trip to the hospital at least once every two weeks. On one occasion I distinctly remember listening to a doctor advising my parents to stop caring for me and to let me die, telling that I was not worth taking care of due to the extremeness of my asthma and would be dead by the time I was age 9.

Anyway, I was laying on an examination table, my parents were to the left of me. The door to the room was closed and I was in extreme pain. Every breath felt like burning razors were tearing through my lungs and throat. I don't remember the moment, I stopped breathing; only, all of the pain stopped and I found myself in a vast place.

The air, if you could call it that, was filled with an unearthly white light. The place seemed to expand for all eternity. I do remember a being of light, God, standing near me. It was looming over me like a great tower of strength, yet radiating only warmth and love. Its first words sent a shock through me, 'Bobby, I'm sorry for the pain this meeting will cause you. When I created the Universe, I put rules and limitations in place. Every time you come here, it changes you, because this is your second time here. You will remember more than you're supposed to, and it will cause you more pain than you know. You will suffer as no one in your family ever has, and I can't change that.' As those words were spoken, if that's what you could call them, I caught glimpses of my life and felt pride, love, joy, and sadness, all pouring into me. Each images was of me, but from the standpoint of a being standing with me or looking on.

I remember the conversation going on for an eternity, but in reality it only lasted a minute or two at the most. I remember a white light that seemed to pulsate and understanding that it was some kind of extension of God. It stored the moments of every moment and life. It allowed a mortal to experience them. If I was to label this, I would call it the Book of Fate, that contains all that has, is, and will be.

Somehow I felt the light from that device and God merge to become one with me. I saw my life, all 128 years of it. I saw my mother die, and me being unable to do anything about it as I had moved away. I saw my sister struggling with depression and worse due to a rape she experienced in her mid 20's. I saw my father die a few years after my mother. I saw a home I'd built for my family, in a place halfway across the country,. This home was far away from my home. I also experienced the final moments of my mortal life. I was in a bed, I don't know where, my children and grandchildren were there with me. I remember thinking, 'It's finally done.' I remember feeling a horrible wave of sadness rip through me as I thought of my daughter who had died before me, and then I remember thinking of my wife. (Keep in mind I was 4 years old while experiencing the life experiences of an 128 year old man) I remembered the night we were married, the room was dimly lit and she was standing in front of me getting undressed. I remember seeing a strand of gray in her hair and then looking back on that moment, realizing how in that moment I had been reborn and everything was worth it. Then I realized I'd be able to see her and my daughter again, and gave into death for the final time.

That wasn't the end though, I was shown the consequences of my life, thousands of people that I'd interacted with and felt what they felt about me, saw their life and how I had impacted them. Next I saw the consequences of my life and the influence of my actions. I saw people reading my books, teaching lessons to children that I had taught them.

I remember waking up confused and trying to deal with everything. For a long time afterwards I struggled to deal with what I saw, every time my mom got sick, I wondered if it was time for her to die. I tried to always be strong, and in time eventually came to blame myself for my mother's oncoming death and sister's oncoming rape. I couldn't deal with the things I had experienced and it took nearly 29 years after this before I could begin to stop blaming myself and accept that I had nothing to do with those things. 

NDERF.org, 8010

 

Survivor gives thanks for being in God's presence

I was 8.5 months pregnant and suddenly developed toxemia poisoning. This was my 5th pregnancy, but only second birth. I had lost 3 other babies. I had a 5 year-old-son of my own and a 2-year-old that we had adopted as a baby when I kept miscarrying. I was rushed to a hospital emergency room when my blood pressure went way out of control. My face was so swollen that I could hardly see out of my eyes. The rest of my body swelled to the point that the doctor on call, mistakenly thought I was an obese person and yet I only weighed 135 lbs! Everything happened so very fast, such that I suddenly could not breathe on my own. I lost consciousness at some point. That is when I experienced being outside of my body and was watching how frantically they were working to get me to breathe on my own.

My next realization was that I was no longer frightened about not being able to breathe on my own. I was at peace and very aware of the steps the doctors and nurses were taking to save my life. I understood all the terms they were using and could comprehend that I was not alive as far as they were concerned. I became aware of is the state of each person's relationship with others in the room. There were suddenly no secrets and yet, there was no judgment on my part, but rather an unconditional love. I felt very much loved at this time and I wanted to extend that to the others in the room. But they could not hear me. I could hear and see everything! It made me think of the scripture that says, we 'will fully know as we are fully known.' Oddly, this ability continues today in terms of knowing the truth about people's relationships with others.

I was not allowed to stay in God's presence, which was so full of light and love. I was told, not in words, but rather a thought that I had to come back and continue to be a mother to my sons.

I suddenly became aware of being rushed to the delivery room and being guided through the birth which was so fast! Then I was sent to the recovery room and I wanted my bible because I didn't want to lose that incredible sense of love and light that I had experienced. However, the recovery room nurse wouldn't let me have my bible! She said I needed to rest. I laughed and had the boldness to tell her that she had no idea what true rest was. I told her I had just been in God's presence and discovered a rest and peace, that no amount of sleep would ever bring. She didn't comprehend what I was saying but did acknowledge that I must have gone through a frightening experience since they 'lost me for a little while'. I tried to explain that I wasn't lost at all and that I felt more alive than I every had felt. I suddenly understood what 'living in the spirit' meant. I also came to see that we put so much effort into our physical being, when in fact life through the spirit is far more powerful and satisfying. Words cannot adequately describe the incredible life and power that I had experienced from being in God's presence. I feel at loss to help others understand that the reality we live in our physical lives is nothing compared to life in the spiritual realm. Words cannot describe adequately what it is like to be in God's tremendously loving presence. I did learn that I can give the same unconditional love to others as though it is flowing through me from God.

NDERF.org, #8034

Pathway Program of Shared Crossing Project

Eben Alexander and Karen Newall write: "Hospice volunteer, William Peters in Santa Barbara, in 2010 created protocols via the Shared Crossing Project’s Pathway program, designed to assist others in accepting death as a natural process and specific exercises in how to establish ‘links’ between the dying and their loved ones.

"One such introductory exercise to facilitate this bond goes like this: 'Take a moment to deepen into a relaxed and contemplative state and focus on one particular close relationship. Reflect on a specific event or memory that evokes feelings of gratitude for this loved one. Perhaps this occurred at a time of great joy in your life, or when you most needed comfort. Allow these feelings of appreciation to form a bond across time and space, between you and this special loved one. Allow yourself to sense and feel the presence of this being, with you, now.'

"When practiced with some frequency over time, this visualization creates a link that stretches between this life and what lies ahead. Through a series of increasingly elaborate exercises, participants learn the landscape that leads from this human life into afterlife and choreograph their transitions with loved ones. Participants who followed such protocols have attained a more meaningful relationship with death and numerous long-term benefits. These include increased appreciation for life, decreased fear of death, more manageable grief, and a deeper understanding of their own purpose in life.

"Research reveals that these practices enable a variety of profound and healing end-of-life phenomena that Peters has identified and documented as ‘shared crossings.’ These refer to a kind of communication across the veil that yields a transformative gift, including predeath dreams/visions (where the dying express that they have been visited by a deceased loved one who provides them guidance and comfort); the shared death experience (where loved ones report that they went into the initial stages of the afterlife with the dying individual and experienced phenomena such as a shared out-of-body event, witnessing benevolent beings of light, encountering heavenly realms, and ultimately realizing that their departing loved one is safe, well-cared-for, and happy); postdeath coincidences (where an individual experiences a profound energetic event in which they know that a loved one has died, yet are alive and well); and many more.

"We are spiritual beings living in a spiritual universe. Fundamentally, this spirituality means we are all interconnected through the Collective Mind, and that the emotional power behind our hopes and dreams has a basis in reality that guides the unfolding of events in our lives. The very fuel of that spirituality is love, and the more we can express unconditional love for self and others, the more healing or ‘becoming whole’ we will be. The best way to discover this is through cultivating a means of going within, often described as a practice of meditation or prayer. Any physical, mental, or emotional health must be firmly rooted in spiritual health, and prayer is a most natural means of invoking such overall wellness. As hundreds have shared with us, that sense of eternal connection is truly a life changer. We just need to be open to the possibility."

Eben Alexander and Karen Newall, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness (Rodale, 2017).

Slave song: "I'm Going Home"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Slave Songs of the United States” by Charles Pickard Ware, Lucy McKim Garrison, and William Francis Allen, 1867.

Quantum energy and love binds the universe

A natural result of feeling the infinite love of the universe is to recognize that conscious awareness is the very same force at the core of all existence. Such oneness and dissolution of the sense of self, and complete identity with all of life and the source of all that is, is the pathway toward truth. Indeed, the deepest lesson of my journey was realizing that unconditional love was the very fabric of the spiritual realm from which the totality of reality emerges.

The binding force of love reported by the vast majority of spiritual journeyers over millennia brings to mind the concept of ‘the ether,’ a substance that scientists in the late 19th century postulated might possibly serve as the medium pervading the entire universe through which light waves travel. Light fundamentally connects our entire universe with itself, pervading every bit of the physical universe throughout time.

In 1887, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley performed an experiment to investigate the ether, and they proved that the ether as it was postulated (as a classical medium, like air and water) did not exist. Yet in an amazing turn of events, the most recent work in physics demonstrates that the ether is now the way most modern physicists would describe the vacuum energy, the amazingly powerful source of energy that quantum physics has revealed to exist in the very fabric of spacetime itself. Vacuum energy is a potentially endless source of energy that could revolutionize our society, if we could just determine a way to harness it for our use here on earth. Ether has not resurged as an idea in physics, but it is a relativistic ether that is fully compatible with the ideas of relativity. But the concept of ether, which many would identify as the substance that acts as the binding force of our universe, is almost identical to the infinite binding force of love.

Our concepts of a loving, merciful, and compassionate force operating in the universe (whether from the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam or from other traditions, such as Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Hinduism, or Buddhism) have originated from human encounters in the spiritual realm. Most of those traditions emerged from individuals who had witnessed extraordinary features of the invisible realm that revealed a much deeper connection with the universe. In essence, this is the most basic definition of spirituality, that we have a connection with the universe that enables us to sense vital aspects of it and to have some influence in achieving our goals and desires.

Eben Alexander and Karen Newall, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, 2017.

Alexander and Newall: we are cocreators with God

Experimental results in quantum physics serve as the smoking gun to indicate that consciousness is fundamental in creating the universe: All of the observable universe (and all of the rest of the cosmos that exist anywhere or anytime) appears to emerge from consciousness itself.

The mathematical precision of our world and the fine-tuning of physical parameters involved in its structure provide compelling evidence of a highly ordered consciousness underlying all of existence. I believe that this ordering intelligence, which many might see as a creative God, is actually the very source of our conscious awareness as sentient beings. There is no separation between this ultimate creative force and our conscious awareness of existing in this universe. The observer, the self-awareness of the universe for itself, is us at the deepest level.

The great psychologist William James (1842-1910) offered up what he called ‘the More,’ His concept was simply that one could not fully explain the events of human lives through interactions defined in the physical realm alone. I view ‘the More’ as a top-down organizational principle that sets the stage for true evolution on a grand scale—that is, evolution of information and understanding of the universe, aligned with a structure suggestive of meaning and purpose in human existence. In many ways, this grander evolution of consciousness is the reason the entire universe exists.

By consciousness, I mean that self-awareness, that knowing in this moment that you exist, that you are a human being alive in the here and now—the observer part of awareness—the knower of knowledge. We are all participants and cocreators in this grand evolution of consciousness itself.

Eben Alexander and Karen Newall, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness

 

Eben Alexander on praying for the dying

"Those familiar with my coma ordeal often write to me to ask what they can do for someone close to them who is presently in coma due to accident, illness, or other reasons. They are distraught at the thought of losing their loved one and wish to prevent it at all costs. Often they ask if prayers will make a difference. They are usually inspired by my inexplicable recovery and desperately wish to know if prayer will help their loved one survive and recover. The key thing to remember is that our existence does not end with the death of the physical body. Prayer can have tremendous power—remember that your prayers will get through to your loved one’s soul on this journey, providing him or her with comfort and love. Whether or not the physical body recovers is not the end goal. If such recovery allows for growth in understanding our relationship with the universe in pursuit of our intended life’s lessons, then it becomes possible.

"No matter how deep in coma a loved one might be, assume that the loving energy of your prayers will help you connect with their soul. Use the energy of that loving connection to manifest the highest and best good for all involved. This does entail detaching from the outcome, and asking that ‘thy will be done.’

"It is crucial to realize that death is not the end of our soul connections with loved ones. Prayer often opens the door to show us that connection, as we sense that the soul of our departing loved one is not actually departed at all, even after they have left their physical body once and for all.

"Recall that healing is to hallow or to make holy, essentially to ‘make whole.’ The reuniting with the infinitely loving creative force at the death of the body is a most beautiful lesson of the true oneness underlying our existence, the eternity of spirit and interconnectedness of all souls.

"Our job, as caregivers and as loved ones of the dying person, is to share gifts—of recognition, of acceptance, and of forgiveness (of the departing soul, of siblings, and other family, but most especially of ourselves) to comfort and console the dying. Dying is a natural aspect of the cycle of life. Telling a dying person that it is okay, that you are also at one with it, offers powerful healing to all parties. Interpret what you witness with your heart, not your head. Stay alert throughout the dying process."

Eben Alexander and Karen Newall, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, 2017.

 

Clark was rejected when she shared her NDE

As I wrote yesterday, cytologist Nancy Clark died in a hospital, her body was moved into the morgue, but then she returned to her body. Twenty years later she had a similar extraordinary experience that wasn't life-threatening, but was equally transformative.

Larry Dossey writes in One Mind: "Although inspired to convey her experience to others, Nancy Clark encountered great obstacles. She lost all her friends because they thought she was crazy. Her own family did not believe her. She was mocked when she related what had happened. 'To be honest,' she says, 'I don’t think I would have believed someone who told this story, either.' But she was undeterred by critics. 'The skeptics and naysayers will one day enter that transcendent realm' she says, 'and they will find out for themselves what I tried to tell them was true after all.'

"As Clark lectured and wrote about what she’d experienced, she collected 102 reports from people who had undergone experiences similar to her podium event. These individuals were healthy and nowhere near death when they had their transformative experience. They were aged 22 to 93. Some were religious, some were spiritual but not religious, and some were agnostic or atheist. Their experiences erupted spontaneously and without warning. Among the situations that preceded them were being at rest, at work, or play; praying or meditating; driving a car; having a dream; watching television; flying in an airplane; and talking on the phone. Like Clark, they emerged from these experiences with renewed purpose and meaning in life, and with a sense of connection and unconditional love for everyone. They typically described this experience as the most important event of their life."

"Clark merits our attention," Dossey asserts. "Her experiences have spanned five decades. She underwent clinical death and a classic NDE long before the term was introduced, which rules out the possibility that suggestion and expectation colored her experience. Two decades later she had an identical experience as a well person while speaking at a memorial service. She has seen Western cultures transition from denial of these events to the recognition that millions of Americans have experienced some kind of NDE.”

Dr. Larry Dossey, One Mind How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters, 98-99.

Nancy Clark's NDE and her transformation

“Nancy Clark graduated from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania as a cytologist (cytology is the study of cells), and she taught cytology and did cancer research at a major university before retiring to devote her life to writing and lecturing about near-death experiences.

“In the early 1960s, long before Raymond Moody alerted Western culture to the near-death experience in Life After Life, Clark was believed to have died while giving birth to her son. The problem was eclampsia of pregnancy, characterized by severe high blood pressure, edema, and convulsions. She lost consciousness yet remained aware of what was going on. She saw her physical body below; saw a light source streaming toward her; and felt bliss, peace, and love saturating her entire being. All the while she saw the delivery nurse pounding on her chest saying, ‘Come back, Nancy, come back!’ The nurse soon added, ‘You have a son.’ Clark decided to return to her physical body.

“But it was too late. She regained consciousness in the morgue, lying on a cold metal surface with a sheet over her face. She pulled the sheet away and saw another body on a gurney beside her, also covered with a sheet. Then she lost consciousness again. The next time she awoke she was in a hospital room.

Her physician advised her to forget about what she remembered, and she did until, “at age 38, while perfectly healthy and teaching and doing cancer research, she had an almost identical experience. She was standing at a podium delivering a eulogy for a friend who had died, when the light appeared again. Although her physical body continued to perform normally and the eulogy went off without a hitch, at the same time she had the sensation of leaving her physical body into another dimension she calls ‘the Light of God.’ She experienced great beauty, ecstasy, and bliss. Unconditional love poured in, the likes of which she had never felt. She experienced a review of her life.

“Clark ‘felt the illusion of my separate self simply melt away. I loved everyone and everything with an immense transforming consciousness.’ She ‘merged into Oneness with the Light of God, [and] communication took place telepathically.’ She saw her deceased friend, for whom she was delivering the eulogy, standing beside her, holding her hand, letting her know that he was all right and very happy, and that there was no reason to grieve. She had no desire to go back into the body of Nancy at the podium. She did so, however, because she knew she had been given a mission to convey to others what she had experienced. She felt equipped to do so because she sensed she’d been given access to ‘ultimate knowledge. As she put it, ‘I knew everything there was to know, past, present, and future. Every word and every thought that was or ever will be spoke or written down was made known to me.’ She later understood, however, that she was not permitted to remember all of that knowledge, only parts of it. ‘This is what all near-death experiencers report as well,” she wrote. “This is one of the classic, across-the-board similarities in over thirty years of scientific research, revealing this common thread among researchers.’

“After 15 minutes in this ecstatic, idyllic state, Clark returned to her physical body, which was still delivering the eulogy. When the memorial service was over, several people told her that while she was speaking, they witnessed a white glow all over the outline of her body.”

Dr. Larry Dossey, One Mind How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters, 95-97.