Lawrence LeShan: Clairvoyant Realty

Lawrence LeShan received a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago and taught at Roosevelt University and the New School for Social Research. He conducted parapsychological research in the 1960s and 1970s and in 1974 published How to Meditate. In the 1980s LeShan shifted his focus to psychotherapy for cancer patients. LeShan was one of the first scholars to write about the similar experiences of mediums and mystics. In this book he adds insights from quantum mechanics to his reflections.

LeShan begins by quoting the early twentieth century medium, Mrs. Eileen Garrett, as saying: On clairvoyant levels there exists simultaneity of time, and the clairvoyant message may concern future events and future relationships which today seem impossible, or meaningless to the person to whom they are revealed. Garrett also affirms: What I see in clairvoyance is neither good nor is it right. It is. It is inevitable.

LeShan identifies this extraordinary knowing as the Clairvoyant Reality: “the best way is not the way of the senses. Since everything—including the observers (you and I)—is primarily and fundamentally related to and a part of everything else—then the best way of gaining information about something is to accept this ‘oneness,’ to accept that you and it are the same thing, and then you ‘know’ about it in the same way you ordinarily know about yourself through self-observation.”[1]

LeShan quotes Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), an English Anglo-Catholic writer on Christian mysticism: “The act of contemplation is for the mystic a psychic gateway: a method of going from one level of consciousness to another. In technical language it is the condition under which he shifts his ‘field of perception’ and obtains his characteristic outlook on the universe.”[2]

In Garrett’s words: there are certain concentrations of consciousness in which awareness is withdrawn as far as possible from the impact of all sensory perceptions. What happens to us at this time is that, as we withdraw from the environing world, we relegate the activities of the five senses to the field of the subconscious, and seek to focus awareness (to the best of our ability) in the field of the superconscious—the timeless, spaceless field of the as-yet-unknown.”[3]

Psychiatrist Kurt Goldstein writes: “I have come to the conclusion that man always lives in two spheres of experience: the sphere in which subject and object are experienced as separate and only secondarily related, and another one in which he experiences oneness with the world.”

 

1 Lawrence LeShan, The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist, 35-39.

2 Ibid., 42-43. Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, 4th ed. (Methuen & Co., 1912), 49.

3 LeShan, The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist, 57.

 

Lawrence LeShan, The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Toward a General Theory of the Paranormal (The Viking Press, 1974).

Jeffrey Long’s NDE research: God as love & light

 The differences that NDE survivors describe are as striking as the similarities. Each experience reflects the personal background of the person, as well as their culture and their exposure (or not) to explicit religious teachings and practices. Many speak of God in ways that reflect an awareness of Christian teaching. Yet, NDEs do not confirm Christian or other monotheistic teachings about God’s judgment or demands for worship. NDE survivors who speak of God do not cite commandments or report any threat of divine punishment for falling short of religious or spiritual teachings.

One NDE survivor reports: The entire encounter was about God, the ultimate power of God, and God’s forgiveness. The message was, “Love is the greatest power in the universe.” {GA, 50}

Another affirms: I’m not afraid of death. Now I know that we are all connected and that each of us is made of light and we are all “God” on earth. I didn’t believe in God and now I accept that we all come from the same light and are part of the light. {GA, 177}

The affirmation that God is Light and the Light is Love is not directly a Christian or monotheistic teaching, nor is the conviction that we are all one with God.

I was one with God, an NDE survivor recalls, or the Collective Soul, Father Sky, a Higher Power, whatever label you wish to attach to it. It was perfect love. {GA, 89}

This kind of experience has led many NDE survivors to feel more spiritual than religious, as the teachings of each religious tradition and community seem to require beliefs in divine attributes and required practices that their near-death experience revealed to them were not only unnecessary but impediments to simply living their faith in Love by being more loving.

I saw my childhood and felt the emotions my actions created in others. I learned that many of the things I thought I did “wrong” were not necessarily wrong. I also learned of opportunities to love others that I passed up. I learned that no matter what has been done to me, there is more to the story than my ego might not see or understand. My life has changed because I take into account more the feelings of others when I act. {EA, 114}

All of the sudden I floated out of my body. I felt free and peaceful, and I had no pain I looked down and they were doing CPR on me. I continued to float up, and a beautiful tunnel appeared with a bright light at the end of it. The light was brighter than the sun, pure and white, but it didn’t hurt my eyes. I feel so many emotions recalling the experience, but nothing can really express those feelings. Everything was “pure”—the brightest colors—like a filter had been removed and I could see the purity of everything. Then I turned and saw what I believe was God. It was pure energy, and you could sense the great wisdom that was within. God told me that we all have to live in love, that I had to take back the message of love. We need to love one another and help one another. Meeting God and his speaking to me was that blanket of love. I use the male pronoun but there was no gender. The feeling of the love being wrapped around me, the brilliant colors, and the connection—now I try to spread God’s message of love. {GA, 74-76}

The notion that we have come from a higher Consciousness and after life on earth will return to this “home” is a very old idea, which is rejected not only by science and secular culture but also by many who are active in religious communities that emphasize a religious calling to work for peace and social justice. Yet, it is a crucial element of the near-death experience, and sustaining for many survivors trying to live their lives on earth “in the Light” until they die and are “back home” again.

Wendy writes: When I went through the light all my dead relatives were there. I knew everyone even though I hadn’t met them before. They were so happy to see me and welcomed me home. {GA, 74}

And another NDE survivor remembers: I saw a bright light that was a thousand times brighter than the sun and felt that the rays shining down on me were made of peace, love, and serenity. I was safe, I was home, and I belonged. Yes, God was the light I saw. {GA, 85}

{GA} - Jeffrey Long, God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016).

{EA} – Jeffrey Long, Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences (2010)

NDEs affirm God's power and may threaten hell

Jeffrey Long in his book God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016) reports on research conducted by the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF).

Hell

“Hellish NDEs are dramatically different from the overwhelming majority of NDEs. They are also completely outside the life experience of nearly all people. However, frightening and even hellish NDEs do exist.” {GA, 157}

Frances’ experience after she had taken narcotic medication to kill herself: As they were taking me to the hospital, my heart stopped and from outside of my body I watched them do CPR on me. As we arrived at the hospital, I began to descend into darkness. I was falling down a very dark tunnel. Demons appeared around me, and even though I was spirit—my body had stayed at the hospital—they were going through the motions of ripping my flesh off. It was intensely painful. As I went deeper and deeper into Hell, I saw many historical figures, and last, my father. My father welcomed me to Hell, and I thought, “This is it for me. My life on earth is over, and I’ve ended up in Hell.” I didn’t think getting out of Hell would be a possibility, but suddenly I started to go back up the tunnel toward my body. But I didn’t return completely. I stayed apart from my body and watched the doctors work on it. As my vital signs returned, I was pulled toward my body and then into it. {GA, 166-167}

“Frances described her life after her attempted suicide as one of regaining her zeal for life and adding newly found compassion.” Before this experience I did not care about anyone. I was a nurse with no compassion (except when caring for people in hospice). Nowadays I care much about others and try to help whenever possible. {GA, 167}

Long comments that these frightening experiences, as with Frances, “can lead to the same level of positive transformation as those NDEs that might be described as pleasant.”  And he adds, “I never read an NDE describing God casting the NDEr into an irredeemable hellish realm.” {GA, 171}

Power

Long reminds us that: “Many traditional religious stories emphasize the deity’s overwhelming power—whether it is Zeus sending storms of the biblical God destroying Sodom. But in reviewing the near-death experiences that discuss encountering God,” Long says, there are “almost no descriptions of God dramatically demonstrating destructive power.” Long says he cannot recall, “any descriptions in the NDEs of God using power to harm any being. However, descriptions of the power of God are unmistakable when reading near-death experiences.” {GA, 173}

I realized I had entered a new dimension of consciousness. I suddenly realized that I was in the control of some being so powerful it was overwhelming. It was the God that I tried so hard to believe in on earth. {GA, 174}

I became aware of a presence vast and unimaginable, everywhere and everything, the beginning and the end, and he was Love. I came to know that Love is a power to rival all powers—real and perceived—in the universe. {GA, 174}

I wanted to know what to call this light form. It was a pure form of energy. It began to tell me some of the many names for God that our world cultures use. I said that “God” worked for me, even though in my life I didn’t know whether I believed in God. I recognized that many of the people I knew would have called it God. We began to communicate. Where was I? Home, familiar place, somewhere I had been many times before. The light wanted to know what I was doing there; I wanted to know too. {GA, 176}

The Goldenness was all-knowing wisdom, whereas the sheer clarity of the Brilliant Light was what one may call “God.” However, it seems to me that we are incorrect to name such Sacred Holiness and power. I can only say that I have witnessed the ultimate of all that is, was, and ever shall be; yet I can’t name that which can’t be described. {GA, 177}

Cynthia’s NDE at age twelve: The being was God. I asked Him whether only people of one religion will make it into heaven. He said everyone who believes and has faith, even those who don’t think they do, will make it. It depends on what’s in their hearts. {GA, 181}

“It is important to note that near-death experiencers in the God Study come from every walk of life. Among these NDErs are physicians, scientists, nurses, teachers, business executives, homemakers, children, pastors, and others. From these varied backgrounds comes a collection of similar experiences of God and the divine. As a scientist,” Long reports, “I find this not only statistically remarkable, but also hopeful. It suggests that life is not random. And the NDErs agree. Here are just a few NDErs’ thoughts on their renewed sense of life and meaning after their near-death experience.” {GA, 194}

All we need on earth is our belief and faith in God to love, forgive, and accept one another. God loves all creatures. {GA, 195}

We can learn and grow, ultimately learning the power we have within us to create our lives if we honor our calling, our divine purpose. {GA, 195}

I came to understand that life is an opportunity for us to express and experience love. {GA, 195}

“Confounding description even more is the all-inclusive nature of the love these NDE explorers felt. They describe this love as being the very essence of God. Hence, it is the very essence of all reality, the cosmos, life, all things. It is our essence. The light, or energy, behind all creation is or consists of love.” {GA, 195}

Long concludes that: “in the investigation of the largest collection of near-death experiences to date, we see overwhelming evidence of God. This opens a door for science, for humanity, and for religion. Near-death experiences reveal that death is not an end, but an opening to a wonderful afterlife. I believe this is profoundly good news for all of us.” {GA, 196}

{GA} - Jeffrey Long, God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016).

NDEs reveal life's purpose and heaven

Oncologist Jeffrey Long in his book God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016) reports on research conducted by the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation study (NDERF).

Purpose

Life’s meaning or purpose is love. Clear and simple, love. {GA, 97}

To learn and understand love. {GA, 97}

Unconditional love, and our job is to help one another find joy. {GA, 98}

We take that love with us to the other side. People who worry about a loved one dying alone have nothing to worry about. We do not die alone. {GA, 98}

To overcome our fears, we need to love and accept ourselves and each other. The actions and choices we make can either be from love or fear—love is golden light, fear is darkness. {GA, 98}

I felt confirmation that life’s real meaning is love—for family and each other. {GA, 99}

Life is for living, not for impressing someone or gaining something. {GA, 119}

I learned that I hate most in others those qualities that I have in myself but can’t see. I fit very neatly into all the areas I profess to hate in others. Love was the key to everything—acceptance and love. {GA, 119}

Jennifer’s experience: Suddenly I was aware of having infinite knowledge—I knew everything, all languages, all religious thought—all at once. I was one with the Creator and with Creation itself. I was the Creator. We all were; those who haven’t come back still are. It’s impossible to describe. My earthly body, the container or vessel of my soul, had been shed. I was God along with everyone else, and yet God was still a universal power that was gentle and kind, humble and pure. God lives in me; the soul of God was breathed into my dead body when I chose to live. We were in and through and with each other. It was humbling, beautiful beyond beauty, and powerful in the most gentle and kind way. Everything seems to be clear—languages, death and life, God, Creation, love, peace, joy, sorrow. I knew the infinity, oneness, flexibility, and omniscience of all beings; I knew that our physical bodies separate us from the One that we are. We are like water poured from a pitcher into individual glasses, where we stay until we die and return to the whole. The purpose I received was to circulate this knowledge—the knowledge that love is the purpose, or that the purpose of love is life. {GA, 126-127}

Heaven

“Encounters with God almost always take place in a heavenly realm that may consist of a variety of common earthly elements, including mountains, valleys, forests, streams, lakes, rivers, and dwellings. Often they are described as having a decidedly unearthly appearance (often due to color or brightness or scale). There can also be vast cities that may be beautiful beyond anything on earth.” {GA, 135-136}

“Typically this place is associated with feelings of peace, love, and connection in the environment. Beautiful or ‘indescribable’ music is reported. Sometimes spiritual beings or angels are present. The importance of learning or gaining knowledge is also often in evidence, and there are frequent reports of seeing or experiencing institutions of learning (sometimes called ‘temples of knowledge’). People also often describe receiving knowledge directly in the form of telepathic exchange from Light Beings.” {GA, 136}

Edna’s experience: I went down a blue tube with a bright light at the bottom. When I exited the tube, I was surrounded by the most wonderful music—similar to pan pipes—that was everywhere. The feeling was so peaceful and there was no pain. I asked, “Where am I?” and was told, “The Halls of Music.” There were a lot of people, and they were all exuding so much love. The sky was a wonderful blue and the grass so green. I saw a bridge and wanted to cross it, but I couldn’t—there was some kind of invisible barrier. Someone I felt I knew appeared on the other side of the bridge, and he said, ”It’s not time yet. You still have work to do.” I wanted so much to stay, but in no time I was back in my body. {GA, 145-146}

Diane’s experience: Words are inadequate to describe Heaven. But I knew I was home. I knew this was where I’d come from. I first came to a serene and beautiful countryside filled with animals—they were so beautiful and contented, so full of love. The grass and trees and flowers were all so exquisite, and a vibration of love flowed back to me from them. The water was living and sparkled back to me with love. I heard music all around, fully more melodic and more beautiful than anyone could write on this earth, just suddenly playing and filling my soul with joy. Everything was richer and more beautiful than anything we could ever create on earth. I realized that everything we create that is beautiful—all paintings, woven rugs, tapestries, carvings—all have their seed from Heaven. We saw all this before we came to earth, and we try to recapture some of Heaven while on earth. We deeply desire Heaven on earth. We miss it deep in our souls.

An angel took me to view the reflection of God’s Light—not the full force of His Awesome Wonder. I was so filled with love and wanted to hug Him with joy. His voice came into my mind, and He commanded me to stretch out my hands and arms so that I could see I was made of solid light. And then He imparted the knowledge that we all are made of solid light, and we each have our own identity and purpose. Each of us was created before we entered earth, and each was male or female before that entry. He contains both sides, and this is the truth of it. For it is not the sexual side, but the strong and the gentle of both sides of Him that determine who we will be—a balance of His being. I have a peace most people don’t have about death because I know that is what Christ meant by the words, “Unless you are born again, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” They have nothing to do with the meaning religion has given them; they are about something we all must do.  Our Father told me that I had to go back to earth and complete my test; there was much I still needed to do. He affirmed that He loved me and would be with me all my life. {GA, 151-153}

{GA} - Jeffrey Long, God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016).

NDEs reveal God as Light and All That Is

Oncologist Jeffrey Long in his book God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016) reports on research conducted by the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF).

Light

The light penetrated me fully; I had never felt love like that before. Every cell in my body was full of love from the light, and I began to laugh and cry. I was crying for joy, because I knew I was delivered into God’s light, and I laughed at myself for doubting I ever would be. {GA, 84}

The light was God, and it infused everything. {GA, 85}

I became aware that I am the light also. We are all part of the light. Each soul is part of the whole, or God. {GA, 89}

Andy’s experience while drowning: I never imagined that I could be in such unbearable pain. I sink deeper as the beautiful June sunlight fades to blackness . . . I am instantly drawn toward the Light—I can feel its brightness, warmth, and love. As I get closer to it, I am absorbed by its brilliance and perfect love. Oh my God, I am the light! I look into the Light’s source and see a massive, human silhouette that is radiating with the brightness of thousands of suns. Even though I’ve never seen this form before, I recognize it and it speaks to me: “Andy, don’t be afraid. Andy, I love you, Andy, we love you.” Although I’m in the Light and the Light is in me, I’m still Andy. I’m everywhere and here at the same time. I’m a person but also infinite, warm, and loving Light.  I’ve never heard the Light’s voice before, but it’s not unfamiliar. And the Light has a beautiful smile that I also recognize. We talk and laugh together. The Light has the answers to all the questions in the universe—and I don’t have any questions, because I know everything that the Light knows, which is to say, everything! The Light also knows everything that I’ve ever done and will do but loves me unconditionally. The Light loves me because I’m Andy—a piece of the Light. There is no fear, not judgment, punishment, blame, or shame. No ledger of good and bad deeds. Only warmth, peace, joy, happiness, forgiveness, and love in the Light. I’m one with the unconditionally loving Light. I’m home forever. And then I’m startled because the Light says, “Andy, you must go back. And I say, “No, I’m never going back.” But the Light says again, “Andy, you must go back.” {GA, 79-80}

Anna’s experience: The one word I’d use to describe the experience or journey would be “reality.” It was the most real thing that’s ever happened to me. The life I’d been living was an insignificant experiment that I’d volunteered for. The me, the I, wasn’t Anna, the woman who’d just given birth. I was a light being—“light” in every sense. I was made of the same light as the light that shone from the clear pool in front of me. The light sensed and felt everything, thought and understood everything; it knew I was finally back home! And I sensed “light” as in lightness—no gravity, no strings attached. I was so happy that I wouldn’t have to sleep or eat anymore, I would never feel tired again, no negativity, no anxieties. You just float lightly, dancing and singing with no audiovisuals. You’re just being—that’s what we’re for—to be! The light was God. {GA, 83-84}

Male or Female?

The most beautiful Being of White Light was there. I knew that he took on an image so that I could related to and feel comfortable with him, but his true essence was Light and Love. {GA, 64}

No words can describe my time with God and His perfect love. The type of love God exudes and is all about is beyond human comprehension. God, love, growing spiritually, serving in love, uniting in love are our goals. Our lives are only approximations of what we can achieve through God and His love. Our love is immature and “seen through a glass darkly.” The answer is in God’s light and love. {GA. 77-78}

I believed I saw God not as a female as I thought, but as a man. God was shaped more like an aurora borealis crystalline mist in the shape of a man. {GA, 87}

Imagine a three-dimensional ball of intense energy made up of golden white light. In the center of the ball was the figure of a person—I couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. Around the ball were smaller balls of energy traveling in different directions and made up on all different colors that circled the outside of the ball. But the form didn’t and doesn’t matter. The point is the energy that the form gave off. Once you have “experienced” that energy, form doesn’t matter. I knew who it was by recognizing and knowing the energy the form gives off. {GA, 87}

I was in front of this being, and I knew he was holy. I felt this was God appearing to me as I had always imagined him: an old man with a large beard. He had taken on this persona so that I wouldn’t be afraid. I felt safe. I have never felt so safe in my life. {GA, 86}

All That Is can be perceived simultaneously as a force and as a consciousness that exists within each individual consciousness and yet is separate from each consciousness or being. It might be called God, but the ideas of gods that we have are a pale and incomplete shadow of the All That Is that I perceived. We project an idea of a god or gods upon that infinite creative consciousness, which inevitably limits our understanding of the All That Is in ways that reflect the limited comprehension that we have of ourselves and the physical universe. {GA, 175}

God is indescribable, unimaginable, and not human. {GA, 87}

I didn’t see God with eyes, but God was everything and everywhere. There was no separation felt. {GA, 89}

Amy’s experience: During my NDE, “God” was the Mind, or the “Order” in all things. I felt “God” as the Supreme Highest Vibration and Frequency, which felt like more of an essence than an old man. It was all around me and in everything. And “God” no longer felt male to me—there was no gender. The idea of gender seemed silly because God was all that is beautiful and peaceful and One, and all that is Good. And everything did feel so good. In fact, I came back with a knowing that despite what seemed “good” or ”bad” before, now there was only “Good,” because I trusted and knew that everything was in its right place. Even when people made decisions that I didn’t agree with, I felt that it was still all “Good.” I also had this knowing that the essence or spark of the Highest is in everything—every mineral, vegetable, animal, and human. I knew that the Highest waited within everything to expand and create and grow and experience. I lost all desire to analyze everything in life, to judge everything as being either “good” or “bad.” I wasn’t concerned. We are all just consciousness experiencing life and learning how to love, create, and develop to the highest we can be. I now know to choose what feels right, and I do what I can to work toward harmony when something is unjust or unbalanced. The universe is full of Order, so it always finds a way to balance everything because it can’t exist without perfect balance. {GA, 179}

{GA} - Jeffrey Long, God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016).

Evidence for God in near-death experiences

Oncologist Jeffrey Long in his book God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience {GA} reports on a study conducted by the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF).

“All the NDErs answered the NDERF survey question: ‘During your experience, did you encounter any specific information/awareness that God or a supreme being either does (or does not) exist?’” Of the “420 experiences shared in the most recent version of the NDERF survey that met all the previously discussed criteria for near-experiences,” 191 answered “Yes,” 62 answered “Uncertain,” and 167 answered “No.” That is, “the percentage of NDErs who were aware of God or a supreme being during their NDE [45%] is greater than the percentage of NDErs reporting a tunnel [32.4%], encountering deceased loved ones [25.2%], or having a life review [20.7%].” {GA, 37-38}

“In addition to asking questionnaire responders if they encountered information about or awareness of God, the NDERF survey also asked this group about their beliefs in the existence of God just before they had their NDE and then again at the time they shared their experiences.” Before their NDE, 39 percent of the respondents believed that ‘God definitely exists.’ “At the time they shared their NDEs with NDERF, an average of twenty-two years later, 72.6 percent of the NDErs believed ‘God definitely exists.’ To put this another way, there was an 86 percent increase in those who believe God definitely exists after their NDEs.” Combining the “NDErs who currently believe that ‘God definitely exists’ with those who currently believe ‘God probably exists,’ you find that this is the belief of a whopping 81.9 percent of NDErs—compared to 64 percent for the combined group before the NDE.” {GA, 39}

Certainty

I went from an uncertain belief in God to a certain belief. {GA, 43}

I was speaking with God, so that is my proof that God exists. The existence of God and Heaven was verified. It is real—the light and the presence. It was clearly God—everywhere and a part of everything. There were no limits on the power of God. I felt unconditional acceptance, forgiveness, and love. {GA, 43}

The light that I encountered felt supreme—unending, unconditional, immense love, a force that feels eternal, powerful and creative at the same time, which satisfies my definition of “God.” {GA, 44}

I have strong faith now and can see where God influences my life. {GA, 46}

I no longer fear death. I have a connection with God that is very personal and is forever. It’s not limited to this earth. {GA, 46}

It was more than an affirmation that God exists. It can’t be explained in words . . .. Saying that it’s “proof” downplays this experience. {GA, 46}

After my experience, I felt greatly comforted. I knew that God loved me and was always with me. {GA, 46}

I believe in God now. I don’t question whether there is a God. I’m not afraid of “death.” I don’t make people question their own faith anymore. {GA, 46}

I had the overwhelmingly creative and unifying emotional experience of the presence of God. This presence is what is “real,” and everything else is such a minor field of this reality. {GA, 55}

Love

I felt the presence of pure love. This is very hard to describe. Everything made sense: God exists, God is love, we are love, and love creates all that is. Everything is pure love, God is love, and everything exists because of this unconditional love. {GA, 50}

The entire encounter was about God, the ultimate power of God, and God’s forgiveness. The message was, “Love is the greater power in the universe.” {GA, 50}

I felt God as an all-encompassing presence—complete, total, and unconditional love in its highest form! I was surrounded by God’s unconditional love, which was so much greater than human love. I was given the knowledge that God is real and loves me unconditionally. {GA, 50}

No human can ever love with the love I felt in that light. It is all-consuming, all-forgiving. Nothing matches it. It is like the day you looked into the eyes of your child for the first time magnified a million times. {GA, 50}

“The NDERF questionnaire asked ‘During your experience, did you encounter any specific information/awareness regarding love?’” 244 respondents (58.1%) answered “Yes” and 136 (32.4%) answered “No.” 85% of those who said, “Yes,” provided a narrative response. {GA, 52}

Love is the paramount element of reality. {GA, 53}

I knew that the being I met was composed of a substance I can only call “love,” and that substance was a force or power, like electricity. {GA, 53}

Love was everywhere. It permeated the afterlife. It was incredible. {GA, 53}

I was loved unconditionally despite my faults and fears. {GA, 54}

This love was unique. I felt completely safe; nothing bad could happen. I was no longer in pain, and all my worries and fears were left behind with my body. {GA, 54}

Thelma’s experience: I have not found words to tell of it. “Light”? It was much bigger, profoundly more than just light. It was so vast! Shimmering, a cloud of warm love. Like I was in love with the whole world, and everyone loved me back! It was such a glorious feeling, I didn’t want to return. Our life is a gift; we make of it what we want. There is a “God,” for lack of a better word, and it would have to be called love! Now I understand some of my father’s Bible. {GA, 55-56}

Katie’s experience: When I died, I rose above my body and saw my grandfather trying to revive my body. But my body was of no interest to me, so I moved out of the room toward a presence I felt in the living room. I went toward this presence, which was in a brilliantly bring space—not a tunnel, but an area. The presence was one of peace, love, acceptance, calm, and joy. It enveloped me, and my joy was indescribable. I can still feel this spectacular feeling. I did not experience this presence as God (I was too young to understand the concept), but I did experience it as that which made me. I knew without a doubt that I was a created being that owed its existence to this presence. {GA, 65-66}

{GA} - God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience (2016)

NDEs require a new view of consciousness

Cardiologist Pim van Lommel writes: “it is indeed a scientific challenge to discuss new hypotheses that could explain the reported interconnectedness with the consciousness or self of other persons and of deceased relatives; to explain the possibility to experience instantaneously and simultaneously (nonlocality) a review and a preview of someone’s life in a dimension without our conventional body-linked concept of time and space, where all past, present, and future events exist and are available; and to discuss the possibility to have clear and enhanced consciousness with memories, with self-identity, with cognition, with emotion, with the possibility of perception out and above the lifeless body, and even with the experience of the conscious return of the self into the body.” [AS, 25]

To conceptualize this experience of an “enhanced consciousness” van Lommel proposes that: “our endless consciousness with all the aspects or essence of self finds its origin in, and is stored in a nonlocal space as wave fields of information, and the brain only serves as a relay station for parts of these wave fields of consciousness to be received into or as our waking consciousness or ego in the shape of measurable and changing electromagnetic fields.” [AS, 25]

He suggests: “The function of the brain should be compared with a transceiver, a transmitter/receiver, or interface, and the function of neuronal networks should be regarded as receivers and conveyors, not as retainers of consciousness and memories.” In this concept, “consciousness is not rooted in the measurable domain of physics, our manifest world. This also means that the wave aspect of our indestructible consciousness in the nonlocal space is inherently not measurable by physical means. However, the physical aspect of consciousness, our waking consciousness or ego, which presumably originates from the wave aspect of our consciousness through collapse of the wave function, can be measured by means of neuroimaging techniques like EEGs, fMRIs, and PET scans.” [AS, 25-26]

“There is a kind of biological basis of our waking consciousness or ego, because, during life, our physical body functions as an interface or place of resonance. But there is no biological basis for our whole, endless, or enhanced consciousness because it is rooted in a nonlocal space. Our nonlocal consciousness with the experience of self resides not in our brain and is not limited to our brain. So our brain seems to have a facilitating, and not a producing, function to experience consciousness.” [AS, 26]

“In trying to understand this concept of interaction between the invisible nonlocal space and our visible material body, it seems appropriate to compare it with modern worldwide communication. There is a continuous exchange of objective information by means of electromagnetic fields for radio, TV, mobile telephone, or laptop computer. We are not consciously aware of the vast number of electromagnetic fields that constantly, day and night, exist around us and even permeate us, as well as permeate structures like walls and buildings.” Yet we know: “The voice we hear over our telephone is not inside the telephone. The concert we hear over our radio is transmitted to our radio. The images and music we hear and see on TV are transmitted to our TV set. The Internet, with more than a billion websites, can be received at about the same moment in the United States, in Europe, and in Australia, and is obviously not located in, nor produced by, our laptop.” [AS, 26]

AS – Pim van Lommel, “Near-Death Experiences: The Experience of the Self as Real and Not as an Illusion,” Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. ISSN 0077-8923, 1234 (2011) 19–28, http://pimvanlommel.nl/files/NDE-NYAS-Experience-Self-article.pdf.