I’ve written about a couple near-death experiences (NDEs) here and here, but I wanted to discuss a few more because: 1. We’re all curious about what happens when we die; 2. Reading about them is comforting and makes it easier to keep everything in perspective, which enables us to be happier in general; 3. They’re entertaining as hell.
Countless people have had NDEs, and the vast majority of them are positive experiences. It’s common for there to be an overwhelming sense of “returning home”, where several deceased loved ones greet the NDE experiencer to ease the transition away from Earthly existence. Almost all who have had a NDE are told that they still have more to accomplish on Earth, so they return, and with a much more relaxed mentality about Earthly life and their purpose in it. And of course those who don’t return are unable to describe their experiences to us 😉
By reading about the NDEs of others, we can give ourselves a taste of the wonders of our own lives.
Keep in mind, however, that post-death conditions are highly subjective, and in order even to understand them at all, they must be translated from the wider, non-physical reality into symbols and images that we as conscious humans can understand. As such, our present beliefs will influence to a large degree our interpretations of our post-death experiences.
If these stories are true, and I believe almost all of them are, then reading about them can only help us ease our transitions when our own clocks stop ticking.
That said, enjoy these interesting near-death experiences…
Randy Gehling’s NDE
Randy was ten years old when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle. Here are a few quotes of his account from this page:
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“I didn’t really know what had hit me. I just seemed to go flying through the air.
“And then a really funny thing happened. A part of me – I guess my soul – just kept flying, and I saw my body smash into the ground. I knew it had to hurt to land that hard, so I was happy that I was where I was – wherever that was.”
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“But then this beautiful angel appeared beside me. She was really pretty. She looked like a movie star with wings. Her voice sounded kind of like Mom’s when she is comforting me when I have a stomach ache or something.
“She told me not to worry. She said that she was with me and that she would stay right by my side. She took my hand, and I felt a lot better.”
Randy said that they soon approached a dark tunnel. When he held back and said that he was afraid to go into the darkness, the angel smiled and told them that this was the only way that they could get to their destination.
I could see a bright light at the far end of the tunnel, so I said:
“All right, as long as you don’t let go of my hand!”
She laughed and said:
“I told you that I would never leave your side. I have been with you ever since you were born. In fact, I was there at your mother’s side when you were born. I am your guardian angel.”
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“That was really cool! I kind of felt as though my body exploded – in a nice way – and became a million different atoms – and each single atom could think its own thoughts and have its own feelings. All at once I seemed to feel like I was a boy, a girl, a dog, a cat, a fish. Then I felt like I was an old man, an old woman – and then a little tiny baby.”
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Reinee Pasarow’s NDE
Reinee had a severe allergic reaction which almost resulted in her physical death. She ceased breathing and her body lay on the sidewalk while her mother, her friend, and some others surrounded her while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The quotes below are excerpts from this page:
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“I followed their attention to something on the sidewalk and I looked at a body on the sidewalk. I looked at the curve of the wrist bone and I recognized it. I remember looking at it and thinking, “That looks so much like my wrist bone.” And then I became aware that the thing on the sidewalk, that thing that suddenly became a piece of meat to me, was what I had identified as myself before, but had no connection with it other than that I had been with it for a very long time. But it had nothing to do with me because suddenly, I was more of a person than I had ever been before. I was more conscious than I could ever be. I was free of the limitations of being a physical being.
I looked at my body and I was repulsed with the grief and the tumult around it and with the very idea that I had ever considered something physical to be my reality, to be a human reality.”
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“My attention turned away lovingly but knowing that there was nothing I could do. I turned away from them and began to pull up. I became aware (it was as if I were a camera on a space ship or something) of our place, my particular little street and then my particular little town. I kept pulling up and up and up to a point where I could observe the whole Earth. This was wonderful!
“The Earth was alive and the Earth was singing. It was singing a single song and in that song everyone had a voice. Every human being had a very important note to add to this precious song of the Earth. It was a song of love and every living being had something to add to the song of Earth. Every one of these essences was very much connected. I was seeing it not like we see normally. I was seeing it both from a macroscopic (from the point of view of the spaceship) and from a microscopic vantage point. [It was] microscopic in that I could see that an amoeba in the ocean was connected to the song of the heart of all humanity and that this world was responding to the song in our hearts in a miraculous, unified, and beautiful way. I too began too sing. I was so overcome with joy. It wasn’t a song obviously with the mouth. I had no mouth. I had no body. I simply was. I became a part of that song and very full of joy that I could have something to contribute to this sacred beauty of our Earth and of all people.
“I became very aware that we as people have a unique influence on the world even if we are not actively doing something. We influence this planet by our state of being. We influence this planet very positively if we are filled with love and respect for others or negatively if our hearts are negative.”
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“She then described an encounter with a “Being of Light” who showed her various elements of her past past life and reviewed them with her. She talked in general terms about how little acts of kindness were far and away more important than the activities we usually give so much value to in normal life. She described how the most positive thing she did was to give special attention to a not so lovable boy at a summer camp so that he would know he was loved. During the review, she said this act of kindness was more important from her viewpoint of expanded awareness than if she had been president of the United States or the queen of England.”
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Walter C’s NDEs
In Walter’s accounts on this page, he discusses two out of body experiences he had. #1 was during a car crash when time completely froze, and #2 was when he discovered his wife of ten years, the mother of his three children, had been cheating on him and become pregnant. This discovery led to a nine month in and out of body experience. I’d not heard of experiences like this before. Very interesting.
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(Car crash)
“Now, having time stop when you are in an accident proves to be a very interesting experience! The first thing I did was view what was going on within the vehicle. Every shard of glass from the broken windows was suspended in the air—not falling. I was caught up in the beauty of the moment, admiring how each shard of glass was refracting the sunlight differently. They looked no different from other shards of glass from a wreck, but these were all alive with light, shimmering in the air. I could perceive every shard in its entirety. My spirit moved around the suspended shards, admiring them for a few moments, and then I turned to the “task at hand.” This body (to which I felt NO emotional attachment) had just been in an accident, and I wasn’t sure it was still inhabitable. I know that sounds odd, but that was my question—was this body still intact—could I still “use” it? My consciousness positioned itself in front of the body to examine it—to scan it—from top to bottom. No damage. I was pleased, because I needed to pick my children up. I knew they would be confused if it were time for them to leave and I wasn’t there to pick them up. When I realized I would need time to arrange alternate transportation, there was an instant “blip” of urgency to return to the body, and immediately I was inside it again.”
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(Cheating wife)
“It showed me that our lives in this world are not as we perceive them. It also showed me that the self and the body are separable. I now realize that the body is a part of me, rather than me being a part of the body. The spiritual self is the true entity and the body is a manifestation of that greater self.”
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Note: Walter’s account is similar to my out of body experiences, one of which you can read about here.
NDE Resources
It’s funny how internet searches can lead to strange places. After publishing yesterday’s post on the second Seth book, I googled “Seth criticism” and stumbled upon a blog post on that topic. I read some other posts on that blog, and in one of the comments the two sites below were linked. They are NDE archives with hundreds of personal accounts. I’ve only read a few of them, but if you have some time, it’s worth reading up.
Archives of Exceptional Accounts of NDEs from nderf.org
Archives of NDE Testimonials from near-death.com
Enjoy!