NOTHING GREATER

THAN LOVE

The Scientific, Psychological, Parapsychological,

Philosophical, Reincarnational, and Religious
Evidence of the Afterlife

KEVIN R. WILLIAMS
Copyright © 2019 Kevin R. Williams

ISBN: 9781075261343

All rights reserved.

 DEDICATION

To my beloved father, Howard Williams, who was my "Rock of Gibraltar" in life, my closest friend, the best
father any son could ever have, and the best loved one anyone could ever want.
 CONTENTS

I. Exceptional Near-Death Experiences

1. David Goines
2. Dianne Morrissey
3. Larry Hagman
4. Lou Famoso
5. Lynnclaire Dennis
II. Scientific Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Scientific Evidence Supporting NDEs and the Afterlife
2. NDE Research Conclusions
3. Out-of-Body Experiences and the NDE
4. The Void and the NDE
5. The Tunnel and the NDE
6. The City of Light and the NDE
7. The Life Review and the NDE
III. Psychological Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Carl Jung;s NDE
IV. Parapsychology Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Psychics and ANDE afterlife Revelations
2. Psychic Betty Bethards' NDE
V. Philosophical Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Skepticism and the NDE
VI. Reincarnation Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Reincarnation and the NDE
VII. Religious Evidence of the Afterlife
1. Christian Doctrines and the NDE
VIII. References
IX. About The Author
 CHAPTER 1:
EXCEPTIONAL NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

The near-death experiences (NDEs) listed on this page were selected as "exceptional" by myself for various
reasons. David Goines had a childhood NDE where he had an interesting conversation with Jesus. Dianne
Morrissey saw all three of her bodies during her NDE, her dead body, her soul NDE body which observed
everything, and her "higher self" spirit body in the highest heaven. Larry Hagman, the famous actor of
"Dallas" and "J.R." fame, had an LSD experience and, later in life, an NDE which was practically identical to
his LSD experience. His NDE revelations are among the most beautiful I have ever read. Lou Famoso had an
NDE where he was given visions of the future concerning at time when alien intelligences would reveal
themselves during a time of great earth changes. For these reasons and more, all these NDEs are exceptional
in my view and I am sure you will agree.

1. David Goines' Near-Death Experience

This is the true story about an event that forever changed David Goines' life and that has been the basis
for the way he has since lived. When he was thirteen years old, he was riding his bike to school when he was
hit by a concrete mixing truck. His resulting near-death experience revealed to him many of the secrets of the
afterlife. Many questions concerning "Why are we here?" and "What is the meaning of life?" are answered
here. At the end of his experience, he was given a choice - a choice that is offered to all of us. It is a choice
we all must make when we die. The following is David Goines' NDE testimony in his own words.
I remember the fear of impact (getting hit), however, I have no recollection of the impact or having my
body become totally integrated with the bicycle, nor hurtling over sixty feet through the air and landing in the
canal. My next memory was quite a scene in the hospital emergency room. It was the most unique experience
of my earthly life. Unique, because I was observing my own body in the emergency room and all the activity
going on, except that I was not in my body. I was above it all - looking down. I was feeling no pain.
Everyone was very busy. I knew by their activity that I was in serious trouble. There was much discussion
about how to extract me from the tangled wreckage of my bike and/or whether they would need to leave me
in it until I was stabilized enough to try. I could see and hear everything. It was gruesome. It was frightening.
They finally decided they had me stable enough to get rid of the bike and they called for a welding specialist
to bring a torch to help cut me out of the bike. Thank God my body seemed to be unconscious. All of this
would have been quite enough for my young mind to endure - until one nurse, whom I knew, said to another,
"Well - it certainly makes you wonder if it is worth saving this mess."
She nearly scared me to death! At that moment, it was more than I could stand above and watch. I wanted
to run away from this scene. I needed to escape. Quickly, I turned, took one step through the wall so to speak
and found myself in total darkness. I looked back - nothing but darkness! Before I could barely think, "Now
I've done it!" I apparently took another step; and I was instantly in the most beautiful garden I have ever seen.
This garden was like a formal terrace which had been carved out of a rough mountain, just a few feet below
the peak. Everything was white marble and evergreen. The air was so incredibly light and clear and fresh and
cool. It seemed like I was breathing pure chilled oxygen. The garden was trimmed in evergreen shrubs, each a
perfect specimen; and the fragrance of evergreen lightly scented the air. This place seemed so perfect in every
detail. Directly in front of me, just a few steps away, was a marble bench which seemed to invite me to come,
sit, and rest.
As I sat down and breathed in the fresh wonderful air, I looked around. What a wonderful place to rest.
The floor was flat and smooth, polished to perfection such that it looked seamless. This garden terrace was
surrounded by low marble pillars and a marble railing and looked like it had been formed right out of the side
of the mountain in one seamless effort. I noticed the stark contrast between the formal perfection of white
marble and the surrounding mountain that was rough and ragged by comparison.
It seemed like only moments while I looked around this beautiful setting, when I noticed a very warm,
kindly, old gentleman sitting beside me on the bench. I had not seen or heard him come - he was just there. A
light smile crossed his face, and I knew he was a friend. His face was warmly wrinkled, but soft. His eyes were
a soft blue and yet with a depth and sparkle of wisdom. I looked away so as not to fall into his eyes; and as I
did, he spoke to me. His voice was firm, but soft and loving.
He said, "Well, you've had a rough day," as if he knew all about it.
With a tired sigh I said, "I sure have!"
No further explanation seemed necessary as we both sat there. Then, I remembered just how much
trouble I really was in; and I looked back at him hoping he would have an answer I could stand to hear.
I asked "Am I dead?"
He smiled to assure me and said, "No, you are not dead. Your body is in a lot of trouble, but it is being
well taken care of and you do not need to worry."
I remember I felt so relieved to be told that I was not dead. Life was not over. This was not the end. All
these things ran through my mind like a whirlwind that stopped abruptly, and I was filled with a million
questions as to explain my current condition. I could not explain why I felt like I was sitting here in this place
feeling very much like I had a body and yet knowing very much that I had left it behind.
Again I looked at him, and his face looked so understanding I knew he had the answers even before I
asked the question. It was like we could read each other’s thoughts - even before words were spoken - and
I'm not sure but what a lot of our communication did take place this way, mind to mind. Then a kind of
panic set in.
I demanded of him: "How am I here, in this place, when I know that my body is back there in the
hospital?" And "Where is this place? How do I see this place and you, if I'm not with my body? How can I be
two places at once?" I began to feel very upset. "What are you?" I demanded!
His voice calmed me immediately. He said, "You are in a very special place. You are safe."
He went on to explain that, though my body was in the hospital, it was my physical body and that each of
us has also our spiritual body and our mental body.
He said, "It is your mental and spiritual body that is here. It is with your mental and spiritual eyes that you
see this place. Likewise, it is through your mental and spiritual body senses that you perceive everything in
and about this place. This place is in your mind's eye, your imagination; it is as it is because this is exactly
what you need it to be. Your physical crisis and mental need caused it to be just as you perceive it. I am here
too without a physical body. You see me as I see myself in my own mind's eye. A mental picture (a thought)
from my mind to your mind's eye. I am as you see me because this is the way that I perceived that you needed
me to be. Who I am or my name is not important. I am here for you on behalf of your heavenly Father's love
for you and to remind you from where you came."
My first thought was - The hospital?
He smiled a smile of wisdom and patience beyond wisdom itself and said lovingly, "No, I mean your
Father's house."
It was then at that moment that I realized that I knew everything that he was saying was true and that I
had known this consciously before I was born to this Earth to have a physical body. I remembered that I was
also a spiritual and mental body (being), and it all made perfect sense. I even remembered coming through the
veil to find and choose my physical body. I was mildly puzzled that I could have even forgotten such things -
when he reminded me that to have/experience a physical life - it was necessary to at least for a while, forget a
little of our prior knowledge so that we might more fully experience the physical things, be physically
challenged, make choices of free agency, and yes, even make mistakes so that we could learn from them in
ways that only a physical life could impart.
 If we retained all of our prior knowledge, we might not bother to experience the physical life for its
fulfillment - we might decide to skip the pain and thus miss the pleasure. I also remembered the promise I
had made to my heavenly Father upon accepting the opportunity, challenges and responsibility of a physical
life. To make the most of this opportunity for myself and for him. To return to my Father's house with the
knowledge and experience gained such that likewise, my Father (Creator) could be enhanced by the
experience. It was upon this basis that I realized why we need to experience a separation of our total reality
when we take a physical body. That is because in order for us to appreciate, benefit, and learn all we can from
our physical life, we must seemingly have to re-discover what we knew before - now in physical ways.
Likewise, through this physical life we must discover how to return to our heavenly Father. By the good that
we do to each other here, by the ways we improve our minds, and by the ways that we learn to cope with a
physical body and physical life, do we earn our right of safe passage back to our Father's house; and in so
doing, do we likewise magnify and glorify (honor) our Father. It is our Father's love that sends us on the
journey and it is our love for him that will allow us to go back home to his loving arms again.
As soon as I had remembered all that I needed to know, my loving, special friend disappeared.
This was a wonderful place; it was everything I needed it to be. I not only remembered and could see from
where I came, I could also see and remember where I was going, the many things that I was supposed to do. I
knew when I chose this life that it would be challenging. I knew that I would be responsible for finding a
physical life mate and that, together, we would accept the responsibility of providing new physical life so that
others of God's children (creation) could likewise share in a physical experience for themselves. I knew that I
would be responsible for choosing between good and evil so that my life would serve to glorify my heavenly
Father upon my return to him.
As I continued to ponder and re-affirm these things, I felt very refreshed and again more conscious of my
garden place. I turned and noticed a small winding path leading up to the crest of this rugged mountain. I had
not noticed this path before, but it was there now and it beckoned me. I got up from my marble bench and
began making my way up the steep access of the path. It was difficult and my footing was very unsure. As I
reached the top, I looked down upon a beautiful meadow on the other side. It was so tempting. There were
flowers of every description and color. A beautiful brook flowed playfully through the meadow, and I made
my way through the lush grass to be by its side. The brook was only a few inches deep. The water flowed
quickly. I picked up some pebbles and tossed them one by one into the water. I was about to turn away and
leave when I looked on the other side of the stream and saw a beautiful white light much like sunbeams.
From this beautiful light a figure appeared. It was clothed in white robes and white light such that I could
scarcely tell the difference. I could not make out a face - but I clearly saw hands. These hands stretched out to
me and a voice said: "Will you come unto me?"
Without hesitation I stepped into the water, then I paused. I was shaking all over. Then I remembered
that I had a life to learn and experience. I turned; and as I stepped out of the water, I said "No, I still have
many things which I must do."
I made my way quickly, running as fast as I could back up to the top of the hill and back down that
winding path, nearly falling several times. As soon as my feet touched the floor of my beautiful marble
garden, I was consciously back in my physical body, awake, and suddenly in more physical pain than I ever
thought possible. My body was in five-way traction, and I was barely touching the bed. Everything hurt.
My first conscious thought was, "Big mistake - boy, I've done it now! I've screwed up big time! That white
figure was Jesus and I told him, "No!"
I don't know whether I cried more from the physical pain I was in or the spiritual and mental torment I
was having over this decision. Later through prayer and meditation, I have been comforted. I now understand
and have so often reflected that through this experience I was being offered a choice. A choice which I, and
each of us, have the right to make. My heavenly Father has such a profound love for me and all of his
children, for that matter, that I was offered through his son Jesus the opportunity to come back to him right
then.
His love is so great for his children that he was and is willing to sacrifice his potential for glory.
Fortunately for me, I have the opportunity on his behalf to experience a physical life; and hopefully in doing
so, I will ultimately magnify and glorify my heavenly Father and more so than if I had accepted grace and
forgone this opportunity.
 I did not realize that my garden experience had lasted for twenty-one days, until I was told by my doctors
and nurses that I had been in a coma all that time. It was from this experience that I was able to draw enough
strength and energy to rehabilitate my body, learn to walk again, and do all the things that I have been able to
do so far in my life.
I am telling you this story, one, because I needed to tell it; two, because, perhaps you needed to hear it;
and, three, because it allows me a credible basis for sharing with you much of the magic that can enhance a
physical life.

2. Dianne Morrissey's Near-Death Experience

When the late Dr. Dianne Morrissey (1949-2009) was twenty-eight years old, she was electrocuted and had
a very profound near-death experience. Her experience transformed her entire life in a very big way. Today,
she is a certified hypnotherapist and has taught 25,000 people to see and feel God's presence during the
dream state. Her excellent book, You Can See the Light: How to Touch Eternity and Return Safely, will train
you to do this very thing yourself. Her practical techniques will not only give you a transformational mystical
experience but can actually heal your physical body. The following is an excerpt from her book, You Can See
the Light. Her previous book on out-of-body experiences is entitled Anyone Can See the Light. Also, I highly
recommend her video entitled Soul Journeys Beyond the Light. It is one of the best NDE videos I have ever
seen.

A. Dianne Morrissey Leaves Her Physical Body

"I bent over to pick up the plastic tubing. As I began to straighten up, I accidentally bumped the tubing
on the edge of the tank. The water suddenly squirted across my face - the pain was so sharp, it felt as if a
knife where slitting my cheek! I screamed from the shock and pain, then felt a moment of temporary relief as
the water crossed over my molars. My reprieve was short-lived, however, as the electrified water rushed into
my mouth.
"As my body bent over in shock, I had the most uncanny knowledge that death was ahead of me. I began
to mourn the loss of everything I'd known: the Earth, my home, my friends - all that I'd been aware of, all
that I loved. Everything I'd believed to be true and lasting was slipping away from me. I was face to face with
death, face to face with the unknown.
"My body was thrown backwards and to one side by the current. My body crashed to the floor, thrown
with such force that my head went right through the drywall, about a foot above the floor. I never felt the
injuries, however, because I was no longer in my body. I was actually watching my electrocution from above!
"How could I be out of my body and still be alive?" I wondered, astonished.
"Suddenly, I was aware that I was inside a vast, seemingly infinite blackness. I wasn't sure where this
blackness was in relationship to the Earth, but for some reason I was unafraid. My blackout period was brief,
for I now found myself back in my home, but in a new form. I was transparent, yet I still looked like me.
"How elated I felt! Now, out of my body, I had no worries, no cares. Never had I felt like this when I was
'alive.' My entire spirit body was transparent, and I was inside a glowing white light that extended about three
feet around me.
"At that moment, an awareness overtook me - I am not my physical body! This realization made me feel
so free, so wonderful! My spirit was glowing with a white light that illuminated the entire room.
"Then, I was up near the ceiling again. Everything still looked the same - the furnishings, the walls - but
there was a new awareness about the dimension to the scene - it had become transparent. I could see
everything more clearly than ever before, and like a scientist, I found myself looking at life through a
microscope, discovering minuscule particles of matter normally invisible.
"I was now aware of the absence of physical sensations, yet I was feeling a heightened sense of awareness
such as I'd never felt while alive. I knew I was different from the 'Dianne' I had been, but I also knew I was
'me.' It was similar to looking at your reflection in a mirror; you know you're not the reflection, but it does
appear to be you.
 "Now, I saw that everything was shrouded by a mist. Despite a lack of gravity, I could easily control my
direction, and when I moved into the living room, I noticed that I had just walked through the glass coffee
table. 'Wow! How did I do that?' I marveled.
"Tuffy (Dianne's dog) suddenly entered the den and began nipping at my face and pawing at my arm,
trying to get my body to wake up. I knew that his relentless attempts to awaken my physical body wouldn't
work, yet I was proud of him for trying, and even hoped his efforts might work. I wondered where his chum,
Penny, was, and suddenly I was next to her in the backyard. I opened my mouth to talk to her and felt my
tongue moving, but no sounds came out. I could distinctly hear my voice, and then realized it was coming
from my mind. I tried several times to get Penny's attention, yelling, 'Penny, can you see me? Penny, can you
hear me?' Apparently she didn't, because there was no response.
"Next, I walked around my backyard. As I looked through the walls of my house toward the front
sidewalk, I noticed a man walking down the street. Eagerly, I flew to him, right through the walls, and tried to
get his attention. Staring deeply into his eyes, I said forcefully, 'Can you help me? I need help.' Then I tried to
shake his shoulders, but he still didn't notice me. Frustrated, I tried to touch his shoulder to get him to look at
me, and my hand went through his upper right shoulder blade and out his back. This startled me.
"'What am I to do?' I wondered, becoming upset when I realized that the man could neither see nor hear
me. Instantly, I was back in my yard again, Penny beside me. I noticed that whenever I felt any apprehension,
I was instantly moved to a place of greater comfort.
"On the way back to the den, I stopped right in the middle of the wall between rooms. I sensed that I was
to look down at something fantastic, and as I gazed downward, I saw a long silver cord coming out of my
spirit body, right through the cheesecloth-like fabric I was wearing. The cord extended down and out in front
of me, and as I turned around, I saw that the silver cord draped around and behind me, like an umbilical cord.
I followed it through the two hallway walls and into my den, where I saw it attached to the back of the head
of my physical body. The cord was about an inch wide and sparkled like Christmas tree tinsel!
"As soon as I saw that the silver cord was attached to my physical body, my spirit body was thrust into a
dark tunnel. I moved through it with great speed, traveling faster than I could have imagined possible.
Although the tunnel was filled with an all-consuming darkness, I felt peaceful and unafraid."

B. Dianne Morrissey's Profound Life Review

"When I came to the end of the darkness, I stepped into a new dimension. Here, I could sense the
presence of a loving spirit, sent - I knew - by God to greet me. Then, I was back at the site of my physical
body. Back and forth I traveled through the tunnel, several times in succession, moving from the Other Side
to my electrocuted physical body and back again.
"Each time I emerged from the tunnel, I was met by a radiant angelic being who stood before me, smiling.
The being had no wings, and I sense it was female. She was everything I'd ever dreamed an angel would be.
As she moved toward me, I walked to meet her. Her love surrounded me, and my spirit was filled with an
almost unbearable joy. The love this angelic being radiated towards me made me feel that she cared more
about me than anyone else ever had or could. Her love filled every particle of my being, every thought, and
every emotion within me. I felt completely comforted and reassured.
"She 'spoke' by sending words directly into my mind. 'How can I hear her thoughts before she utters
them?' I wondered. Yet, at the same time I was hearing her questions, I was answering them! This marvelous
being seemed to know all my thoughts instantly, just as I immediately knew hers. Although I was standing
directly before her, I could see her from every angle: front, back, top, bottom, and both sides - like a cubist
painting by Picasso.
"She walked closer and stood with me; then, we were both lifted about ten inches into the air, as if we
were on a platform moving upward. Extending her arm before her, she indicated that I was to look to my left.
I did so, my heart and soul completely open to her, for I knew God had sent her to help me decide what I
should do with my life.
"As I turned my eyes left, the entire scene changed into a life review, a vivid, three-dimensional color
display of my entire life. Every detail of every second, every feeling, every thought while I had been alive on
Earth was displayed before me in perfect chronological order, from my birth until my electrocution.
 "At the same time, to my amazement, I was re-living my entire twenty-eight years simultaneously! The
best experiences brought me feelings of great joy, as if God were talking to me through the angelic being,
sharing the highest moments of my life. I felt as if every spirit in Heaven was watching with me, applauding
me and letting me know that God approved of my caring, unselfish deeds. It was then that I asked myself,
'Am I dead? Am I really dead?'
"As the life review continued, I was shown two very special deeds I had performed. As these scenes were
displayed before me, every emotion I had originally felt returned in full force. I also felt as if God and the
angelic being were honoring me for having performed those deeds.
"I will never forget the love that surrounded me at that moment, or the joy that ran through me. Can you
imagine being hugged by God and your angel? It's an experience that defies description!
"The first deed I witnessed had occurred the day I stopped my car to help push a woman's stalled station
wagon out of mainstream traffic and into a supermarket driveway. The driver had been struggling to push the
car by herself, and I felt compelled to give her a helping hand. After I had helped push her vehicle to safety, I
rushed back to my car, afraid of getting a ticket for being double-parked. In my haste, I hadn't given her a
chance to thank me. While reviewing this scene, I was filled with indescribable feelings of love, which seemed
to be directed to me from angelic beings high above me.
"Then, my angel showed me a second vision, a scene I'd forgotten. I now saw myself at seventeen, when
I'd worked at a convalescent hospital after school. I had grown fond of a toothless old woman who was no
longer able to speak clearly, and who never had visitors. She liked to suck on graham crackers before going to
bed, but no one wanted to serve her because when she had finished, she would drool as she kissed the entire
length of the arm of the person feeding her. While others avoided her, I willingly fed her the cookies she
adored, seeing how happy this made her.
"When that scene was replayed for me, I felt as if every loving spirit in God's kingdom was thanking me in
unison. I was amazed that such an act could have meant so much to God - and to me. I felt humbled and
very honored.
"A glow surrounded the radiant being as she presented my life review, continuing to communicate with
me telepathically. As I viewed the scenes of my life, it felt as if I were absorbing many books all at once with
perfect clarity.
"Finally, my life review was finished, and I was whisked away from the angelic being and returned to the
tunnel. This time, I seemed to be falling through it, finally emerging in another room, in another dimension.
It was a world far more beautiful than any I could ever have imagined, a place of awesome serenity. The
peace and calm I felt surpassed any previous notions I had had about Heaven, and I knew, in the deepest part
of my soul, that God was here."

C. Dianne Morrissey Meets Her Higher Self

"In this rapturous place, I recognized that there were two aspects of 'me.' My soul was my consciousness,
everything that had made me who I had been and what I had become. My spirit, on the other hand, was the
part of me that was now transparent and glowing, dressed in white.
"As I looked around me, I initially found everything dimly lit. Then, I clearly saw a canopy bed resting in
the center of an infinite vista stretched out before me. The bed was actually glowing within a Heavenly
radiance which enveloped me as well.
"To my astonishment, I saw a duplicate of myself lying on the bed. 'How can there be two of me? Or
three of me?' I wondered.' But I was instantly reassured by the loving vibrations around me. The feeling
reminded me of being reassured by a dear, trusted friend saying, 'Don't worry, all is well.'
"There were two things I knew for certain: first, that I was Dianne, and second, that my physical body was
dead. I also knew that the duplicate of Dianne on the bed was another me, but I did not know what she
represented. Now, I was beginning to feel as if I were in three places at once!
"One part of me was the transparent Dianne on the bed. The second was my physical body in the den, the
body that no longer had life. The third part of me was my spirit, now out of its body. This part of me
remained conscious and aware of all my experiences, both here and back on Earth.
 "I knew beyond a doubt that I wanted to stay in this magnificent place, where I felt so loved, so accepted.
'How does one feel accepted by a place? Let me put it this way: as I walked toward the bed, I could actually
'feel' Heaven all around me. The rapture and peace were beyond my wildest imaginings, and I wanted to stay
here forever and ever.
"Do you remember how it felt, long ago, to be held and rocked in your mother's loving arms? Take this to
the hundredth power and you're still light years away from the feeling of total peace and comfort that
surrounded me. I felt the love of every mother in the universe being poured inside me for now and for all
eternity.
"Although the bed before me was not my bed, the sheets looked amazingly like my own. I could hardly
believe it when I realized that they were actually breathing, filled with life! The canopy bed was also alive, not
made of the dense physical matter as it would have been created from on Earth.
"As I walked closer to the bed, it radiated such love to me that I knew no earthly painter or craftsman
could have created it - not Leonardo da Vinci, not Rembrandt, not Michelangelo, not Monet. This bed had
been made by God.
"Now, the Light was welcoming me, inviting me to recline on this Heavenly creation. The transparent 'me'
was gone, and as I lay down, I felt the lace caressing me with rapture, peace, and love. I was moved to tears of
joy.
"At that moment, I knew that nothing ever dies. Nothing ever dies!
"I also knew that I would never die. If I stayed in this place, I knew I would be alive, but in a different way
than I had been before my electrocution. I would still be Dianne, and I would still have my memories, but I
would also feel this unbelievable love around me forever. How I longed to stay!
"Then, I sense that I must look to my right, through the lace. There, I could see a pinpoint of Light
coming from the next room, the next dimension, the infinity beyond. I knew I must see more clearly, so with
my right hand I lifted up the lace. I knew I had no choice but to look."

D. Dianne Morrissey Becomes One with the Light

"The pinpoint of Light became a brilliant white beam a trillion times brighter than the brightest sun
imaginable, and began to move toward me. At first, it appeared to be bands of multifaceted light being
stretched and pulled together. I knew this Light was the presence of God.
"I was awestruck, overwhelmed by the Light, the love, the love of God for me! I knew I could go into this
Light, which was part of a tremendous force. And, although the Light was brighter than a thousand suns, it
didn't hurt my eyes.
"I was going to have to choose between staying in the Light and going back to Earth. Somehow, I knew
that if I went into the next room, into the Light, I could never return to my body.
"I felt torn between two desires: wanting to go into the Light, and wanting to touch something tangible
and retain my connection with all that was physical. Both desires grew stronger. The Light became more
intense, more radiant, more loving. As I lifted the lace and extended my hand toward the brilliance, wanting
to touch the Light, it rushed under the lace and touched the outstretched middle finger of my right hand.
"As soon as the Light touched me, I was transformed. The Light and my spirit merged - I had entered the
Light of God, and all sense of my spirit body was gone. My consciousness, fully alive, was now totally
connected to God.
"Within the Light, I knew that everyone and everything is connected to it. God is in everyone, always and
forever. Within the Light was the cure for all diseases; within the Light was all the knowledge of every planet,
every galaxy, every universe. Indeed, the Light was Wisdom and Love beyond all comprehension.
"Being one with the Light was like suddenly knowing every grain of sand on every planet, in every galaxy,
in every universe, and at the same time knowing why God had put each grain of sand in its particular place.
The Light held within it the knowledge of every book in every language, from the beginning of creation to the
end of time. The Light knew why every author had put every word exactly where it was. The Light conveyed
the message that each gain of sand, each plant, rock, animal, and human being has a purpose and that nothing
ever dies because after death, there is a new life on the Other Side.
 "This Light and my spirit mingled for what felt like an eternity, but eventually I began to sense with great
urgency that the time had come to choose whether I would stay here or return to physical life. How could I
decide?"

E. Dianne Morrissey Meets Her Guardian Angel

"Suddenly, my spirit body was back in the tunnel. Again, when I emerged from the tunnel, the angelic
being was waiting for me. Now, I noticed that her hair was brown and turned under just above her heavenly
shoulders. Each of her features was now more clearly visible as I paid closer attention to them. Breathing did
not seem necessary for her or for me, yet we were both full of life. She looked at me and asked telepathically,
'What do you want, Dianne?'
"I said, 'I want to go into the Light, and I want to touch things.'
"She asked me thousands of questions all at the same time, and I responded to them, communicating
directly from my mind to hers.
"Her angelic voice asked, 'Have you ever felt this much love?' "I answered, 'No.' 'Have you ever felt this
much joy?' 'No.' 'Have you ever felt this much peace?' 'No.' 'Have you ever felt this much rapture?' 'No.'
'Have you ever experienced this much bliss?' 'No.' 'Have you ever felt this much kindness?' 'No.'
"Thousands of questions, one within the other, one on top of another, all of the questions at once, yet
separately.
"I wanted desperately to go into the Light again. Then, the radiant being asked, 'Are you sure, Dianne?'
"Yes," I replied. "Of course I was sure!"
"I was suddenly thrust forward through the tunnel, and when I looked down, I was aghast to see my
physical body below me. It looked dead and lifeless, but this time I was disinterested whether I saved it or
not.
"What mattered to me was the Light. I wanted the Light. I was again thrust forward through the tunnel.
The angelic being was still there, waiting for me to truly decide about my life, waiting for me to decide about
my death, waiting for me to decide about my future.
"This time she was even more radiant, more loving. I had never imagined feeling such bliss, and I felt
boundless love for her. She asked, 'Have you ever been in a world without pain?'
"I answered, 'No.’
"She asked, 'Have you ever been in a world without war?'
"I answered, 'No.'
"Have you ever been in a world without anger, without rage, without grief, without sadness, without envy,
without poverty, without jealousy, without worry, without tears?"
"Again, thousands of questions, all at the same time. I answered them all the same way - emphatically,
'No.' 'I knew that no other place in the universe could feel as good, as loving, as peaceful as this Heavenly
place.
"For some reason, however, the angelic being sent me into the tunnel again, back and forth through many
tunnels. I wondered why. I still wanted to 'touch,' but I wanted the Light - both desires tugging at my spirit."

F. Dianne Returns to Her Physical Body

"I finally found myself back in my house, once again looking down at my physical body. This time, I
realized that my physical body had the potential to live again. I had begun to care less and less whether I
returned to my physical body, but at this moment, looking down at my body, my attitude underwent a
change. I thought, 'How sad; she has done so very little.' I realized 'Dianne' hadn't touched as many people as
she could have while alive. And I realized how life could be enriched by touching others’ lives more deeply
and meaningfully.
"While alive, as Dianne, I had always known that my life was full of certain pleasures: a beautiful home, a
good job, a nice car, warm friends, a wonderful family, a beloved best friend, and a musical career I loved.
'But none of these matter anymore,' I thought, reversing myself again. Only the Light mattered. Only God
mattered.
 "To my surprise, I began to feel a persistent pulling sensation from about four inches above my navel. I
tried to resist it, for I sensed a new process was beginning, one that might take me from this place, from God.
I didn't want to leave behind such feelings of elation. Yes, I wanted to touch things, but I wanted the Light
even more.
"Suddenly, I was rushing through the tunnel again. When I emerged, I was up near the ceiling in the den,
looking down at my physical body below me. Then, without warning, I was thrust swiftly back into my body,
entering through the back of my neck, with my spirit legs and arms together, like a diver doing a jackknife.
"As I re-entered my body, I knew that the God within me could never die, and I knew that I could never
die. For a moment, I actually saw myself half in and half out of my body. Then, with a jolt, I landed fully back
in my body.
"Oh, my God," I thought, "How could I have chosen to come back? I want to be in the Light again."
Tears ran down my cheeks and I wept, desolate about the choice that had been made. 'Had it really been my
choice?' I couldn't believe that I had decided to come back.
"I now believe that one reason I was sent back was to help people feel better about dying - and to learn
that death is not an end, but a new beginning."

3. Larry Hagman's Near-Death Experiences

Larry Martin Hagman (1931--2012), www.larryhagman.com, was an actor best known for playing the
ruthless oil baron, J. R. Ewing, in the 1980's television show "Dallas", and the astronaut Major Tony Nelson
in the 1960's sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie." His television appearances also included guest roles on dozens of
shows spanning from the late 1950s up until his death, and a reprisal of his signature role on the 2012 revival
of Dallas. He also worked as a producer and director on television. Hagman was the son of actress Mary
Martin. He underwent a life-saving liver transplant in 1995. Although Hagman was a member of a 12-step
program, he publicly advocated marijuana as a better alternative to alcohol. He died on November 23, 2012,
from complications of acute myeloid leukemia. The following article was written by John L. Griffin, PhD for
the former World University of Ojai, California about Larry Hagman's experiences with LSD and NDEs.
Actor Larry Hagman's perspective on life is the polar opposite from that of his famous character, J.R.
Ewing, on the popular, long-running Dallas television series. He sums it up at the end of his recent
autobiography when he states:
"The only answer is love."
Although he credits his solid marriage and his family for helping shape his love-centered worldview, he
also believes that he has been positively transformed into a more compassionate, loving human being by his
near-death -like experience or, rather, experiences.
An NDE is considered to be where someone "dies" - meaning the person would be considered clinically
dead and without vital signs - but resuscitates and comes back to life. Research with people from various
cultures has established that these experiences are usually truly life changing and that the NDErs often feel
that they have a mission to be as loving and caring as possible. They want to be helpful and their methods of
doing so are sometimes quite creative.
Larry believes he not only had one experience of this type - but two - and they have both been
enormously life changing and enhancing for him. Both experiences contain classic NDE elements but they
also share similarities with what I like to call Threshold-of-Death Experiences (TDE), more commonly
known as Deathbed Visions (DBVs). These occur when a person is either approaching death or is just about
to die. Concerns of the world are slipping away and innate psychic sensitivity comes to the fore so that
visions are seen of what clearly appear to be the other world of the after-life. Sometimes other witnesses share
these visions. These TDErs may be medicated with drugs but in most cases are not. The remarkable
consistency of these experiences, established by research studies, provides one of several persuasive
presentations of evidence in the online course I teach, Evidence of the After-life.
Although Larry lives in the small, coastal mountain town of Ojai in Southern California, where I live and
teach at World University, I never had occasion to meet him until recently. In the latter part of 2001, I
happened to see him on television on the Larry King Show where he mentioned, in passing, having had an
NDE. Actually, there had been two experiences in his opinion, as his serious experiment with LSD in the
sixties had produced a psychic journey remarkably similar to his later medical NDE.
I thought at the time that I should try to interview him about these experiences and turn it into an article
for my online Thanatology course on the World University website. Our mission at World University is, of
course, to educate people and to do that you must get their attention. Many of the visitors to our website are
drawn there from an innate interest in education and our particular spiritually and globally aware educational
approach. But, as we all know, for a variety of reasons the general public's attention is particularly drawn to
what a celebrity has experienced. Aside from being an intriguing "local interest" story, Larry's celebrity status
may help draw attention to this incredibly important and profound experience whereby a person seems to
gain not only a preview of the after-life but a key to the most important qualities to manifest while living in
this world.
Not long after Larry disclosed his NDE on television, I learned that he would be at the Local Hero
Bookstore in Ojai for a book signing. I stopped by to find a diverse group of people in a friendly and almost
festive atmosphere in the large patio behind the store. And there was Larry, jovially signing away. I waited my
turn in a rather long line and then was face-to-face with an open and engaging man who seemed a lot more
like Major Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie than J.R. Ewing on Dallas. Still, there did seem to be a bit of a Texas
persona, but a genuinely friendly, down-to-earth one. I got right to the point and asked if I could arrange an
interview about his NDE. After briefly explaining World University's Thanatology Program in terms of care
for the dying, bereavement counseling, and conscious living and dying - particularly in light of the
implications of the NDE - he understood and agreed to meet with me. Taking a ten thousand dollar bill from
a stack next to him, he wrote his phone number on it, saying "Give me a call." On the face of the bill was a
picture of Larry in a ten gallon Stetson hat underneath a banner proclaiming, "The United State of Texas."
Alongside was a declaration in smaller letters: "This note isn't worth the paper it's printed on." On the reverse
was the motto, "In Hagman We Trust" over a picture of the Southfork Ranch from Dallas. Also included was
a reminder to make arrangements to donate our organs: "This is printed on recycled paper. Why not recycle
yourself? To receive an organ donor card, please call 800-622-9010." As a liver transplantee, Larry works
diligently to motivate more donors to save more lives.
Before following up and calling to arrange an interview time, I read Larry's book, Hello Darlin'. I first
came across his account of his LSD induced NDE-like experience.
LSD had been recommended to him and he finally decided to try it. Well aware of the potential hazards of
such a powerful drug and treating it quite seriously, he took it under the best controlled conditions he could
arrange. Under the guidance of a friend with LSD experience, in the comfortable and secure environment of
his home, and wearing a hooded monk-like robe made by his wife, Larry began his LSD adventure.
The trip began with a strong buzz just below his navel (the basal area of the kundalini energy of yoga). He
was reminded of the term vibrations, which he had often heard used by his friends who had become part of
the higher consciousness crowd. Never really knowing what they were referring to, he suddenly thought he
experientially understood - they were happening to him! Then the visions began.
The entrance to a cave appeared across the room from him, guarded by two octopus-like creatures
accompanied by two entities that looked like feathery lions (reminding me of mythological Griffins, who are
sometimes described as guardians of treasure). Turning his head, he saw his grandmother - who had died
when he was a child - hovering above him with a wonderful, comforting smile on her face. She assured him
that it was all quite natural. He was at the gate of all new experiences and, despite the guards, he need not
worry. Her advice was: if pulled, don't resist and if pushed, don't fight it; go with the flow (a dictum very
much like the essential principle of the Chinese art of Tai Ji). Then a deep understanding dawned on him.
Larry had been attending lectures and reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead and books about Eastern
mysticism. Their meaning had eluded him, but now he felt that he could finally grasp it. It was all basically
summed up in what his Grandma had told him. The constrictive ego could be put aside and the unitive flow
of life embraced.
The interview with his Grandmother ended and the cave claimed his attention. Moving toward it and
reaching its entrance, he was sucked inside and rocketed down a tunnel, at the end of which was a light. He
emerged into a place of bright and diffused light where he saw a person of indeterminate sex who called out
to him without speaking. In typical out-of-body and near-death fashion, the communication seemed to be
telepathic, as the being informed him that:
"This is a glimpse of where you've been, where you're going, where you are all the time."
Put into the terms of yoga psychology:
"You are That" and "That" is our true nature.
Despite the deep insights he had already experienced, it was too much for Larry to fully comprehend. The
person seemed to recognize this in giving him this message:
"You don't have to go any further - Having seen this is enough for now."
This interview also over, he was pulled back out through the tunnel. The guards at the cave entrance were
asleep and he could not see his Grandmother, whom he wanted to thank for taking him through the entrance.
He reflected that, although he hadn't thought of her in a long time, she had been there when he needed her.
With that part of the experience obviously concluded, he got an orange from the kitchen and broke it
open. Its cellular structure was pulsing and it looked to him as though the cells were alternating between life
and death, which seemed perfectly natural. Looking up from his scrutiny of the pulsating orange, he saw his
reflection in a mirror on the wall. He too, was pulsating. Cells were dying, while others were in the process of
being reborn. An intricate picture, every cell was in constant motion and he realized that he was a constant
flow of energy as, indeed, everything was. The scope of realization widened with his conviction that:
"I was part of everything, and everything was part of me. Everything was living, dying, and being reborn."
The friend, who had not taken LSD with him, drove Larry around Beverly Hills equipped with a sixteen-
millimeter camera with which he could zoom in on plants, flowers, and people. Their cells were also pulsating
and changing.
This experience shares a number of similarities with near-death, out-of-body, and certain shamanic
experiences. These are usually intensely transforming and empowering, and Larry's was no exception. Besides
self-insight, he also saw much deeper into people's emotions and how they were expressed through body and
facial language. But most importantly, his view of life and death were profoundly altered. So-called dying was
actually only a transformation into another expression of the vast creative energy that underlies everything.
He concluded that:
"Death was just another stage of our development and that we go on to different levels of existence."
He believed he had an understanding of God consciousness. Fear of man-made concepts of heaven and
hell dropped away and he quit worrying. He felt at home in the cosmos. It was all so clear and so familiar.
Toward the end of the book, Larry relates his second NDE-like experience, which occurred in the
hospital Intensive Care Unit following his liver transplant operation. Although heavily medicated, he was
conscious enough to focus on what he calls his "celestial song" which he believes each of us uniquely has, just
waiting to burst forth:
"Everyone has their own unique song, an inner melody that fuses each of us to the deep, modulating,
harmonious hum of the celestial orchestra that's the collective energy of everything that's ever lived and ever
going to live. It's our life force. The power of the universe."
Shamans discover their sacred songs during their vision journeys. An anthropologist friend of mine
completed a Vision Quest under the direction of a Chippewa medicine man many years ago. He attained his
vision, was given messages, and learned his sacred song. Larry experienced his own vision journey, propelled
by the cocooning conditions of the hospital and the medications but most importantly by his meditation on
his song. He had turned his isolation in the ICU into a context similar to the isolation of a shamanic journey
or vision quest where a ceremonial, meditative practice is enacted. It gave him:
"...a feeling that was ecstatically happy and familiar - and it confirmed what I'd always suspected, that every
one of us living creatures is part of a collective energy that is also ecstatically happy and familiar. The
culmination of that energy is love. It's with us now, it always has been, and it always will be. Every one of us
has this familiarity. We know it. The problem is, we bury it under so much apprehension and worry."
As with his LSD experience of years before, he:
"...glimpsed over the edge of this level into the next, and there was that person again..."
The same being, who had welcomed him into the light from his travel through the tunnel under LSD,
welcomed him again. But he understood that it was "not yet time to cross over." He was also allowed a deep
insight and understanding:
 "This was not the end. There were more levels, an infinite number of levels, of existence, each one adding
to the hum of the cosmic orchestra, as if we're always spiraling upward until we reach a state of atomic
bliss..."
It occurred to Larry that every religion he knew of had tried to figure out the meaning of life and had
essentially reached the same conclusion - the meaning of life is love. The chapter of the book containing this
account of his second NDE-like vision ended with his assessment:
"Don't worry. Be happy. Feel good."
When I reached the end of the book and realized that he concluded with the same exhortation, I felt that
this indeed summed up Larry Hagman's life, although he resolved that he wasn't going to give in to the urge
to do this with his autobiography. As he states, he's "still playing the game..."
Whether Larry's hospital experience might have been a true NDE, in that he briefly slipped over the line
between life and death and then returned, or was more in the nature of a Threshold-of-Death Experience
where he came close to death but did not die, it had the kind of life-enhancing impact usually associated with
these powerful events.
It was early January, 2002, when I met Larry at his mountain-top estate in Upper Ojai. Accompanying me
was Nourhalma Reyes, a daughter of the founders of World University in Ojai and a member of the Board of
Trustees. Nora, as she is generally known, has had out-of-body experiences since she was a small child. Her
father and mother, who shared this ability, treated it as a normal experience and encouraged her. In 1983, as a
result of a horrendous highway accident, she had an NDE herself which her father mentions in his book,
Conscious Dying. She had watched, outside of her body, as her mother knelt over her "dead" body and
pleaded with her to come back to it. Only her mother's distress persuaded her to return to a badly injured and
extremely painful body.
Larry greeted us warmly in the spacious circular parking area of his Texas-sized estate. Leading us down
the entry hall, he stopped to admire a fresh bouquet of red roses. As he extolled their beauty, I was struck by
his genuine childlike sensitivity and love for the beauties of life. When we reached his study, we seated
ourselves around a large coffee table piled with books and video tapes. As we were served refreshments,
Larry had to excuse himself briefly to get something in another part of the house. While awaiting his return,
Nora and I were drawn to the large windows looking out over green valleys, flatlands, distant cities, beaches,
the Pacific Ocean, and two of the Channel Islands. On this mild, sunny and clear mid-winter's day, there
could be no doubt why the Hagmans call their home "Heaven." Soon, Larry was back and we had seated
ourselves again. I mentioned that Nora was an NDEr herself and Larry wanted to hear all about it. For the
next two hours we talked about life and death, altered states of consciousness, various religions and spiritual
traditions, karma and more. Larry was remarkably animated and totally interested in the various, but related,
subjects we discussed.
We loved the visit and Larry said that he enjoyed it, too. But he had other matters to attend to, so our time
together came to a close, but not before I had a chance to ask what he had learned from his NDE. Although
I had read his reactions in his book, I was interested in a personal, off-the-cuff summation. He first referred
in passing to his positive mind-altering LSD experiment, with its pronounced near-death elements. Then,
cutting past the details of his medical related NDE, he concentrated on the most important thing about it:
what it meant in his life.
He summed it up by saying that it had made him so much more aware and appreciative of everything
about life. Our interconnectedness continues to be so apparent and this has made him more compassionate.
Wanting to help others and the world is a definite force in his life. Still, he knows that he can only do so
much, so he chooses to aid causes he not only believes in but which also interest him and give something
back in a kind of symbiotic energy exchange. But Larry and his wife have involved themselves in many
community service projects of various kinds. The "crossing over" altered-state of consciousness experiences,
whatever they may be termed (perhaps "near-death-like experiences" is the best description), gave him a belief
that life continues, that the show goes on in ever varied and unfolding settings, and that love abounds, with
its feelings of ecstasy and deep bliss. I was reminded of the concepts of Prema (unconditional divine love),
Leela (the divine play of consciousness), and Ananda (divine bliss) from the spiritual tradition of India. It was
now late afternoon and as he walked us down the long hallway to the door, the low mid-winter sun was
coming in through the west-facing windows and softly flooding across the colorful Spanish floor tiles. Larry
bade us stop and enjoy this vision for a time before proceeding to the parking area. It was indeed a glorious
sight - the type we may find right before us but too often hurry by.

4. Lou Famoso's Near-Death Experience

Lou Famoso (loufamoso.tripod.com) is a Vietnam veteran having served two tours of duty there. Before
he was to be discharged from the Navy in October of 1964, he returned to the U.S. from Vietnam and was
going to attend a huge party for a friend of his. It was 1963 and he had just bought a brand new model of the
up and coming 1964 Mustang. He was running late for the party so he was doing 100+ mph on an open
stretch of road. With his radio blasting, he had nothing but a good night of partying on his mind. Suddenly,
the front end of his car went nose down and dug into the asphalt. In less than a second, his Mustang flipped
head-over-heals. So as not to slip into unconsciousness, he managed to count every one of those flips,
thinking the last flip would be the last one he'd have to count. It took nine flips to finally cause his car to lose
all the momentum necessary to bring it to a screeching halt. He managed to crawl out of what was left of the
back window of his car and fell to the ground. What followed was an NDE so transcendental, Lou prefers to
call it a "Life After Death" (LAD) experience. Indeed, according to his doctor, it was a miracle that Lou
survived. His encounter with the Being of Light and the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and his visions of
the future concerning the constellation of Orion makes his experience one of the most exceptional NDEs I
have ever read.

A. Hearing the Voices of the Angels

I no sooner got to my feet when I heard an explosion and the shock blew me for what I figured was
another 20-30 feet through the air. I started to get up again while wiping my face so that I could see where I
was in relation to the car and the flames but no matter how hard or how fast I wiped I just couldn't get what I
now knew was blood covering my eyes.
I hear these angelic voices way off in the distance; they're calling out my name and seem to be getting
louder and louder. "Lou", "Lou baby, come over here", "Come to us."
And I'm thinking, "No thank you, I've gone through enough tonight and I didn't need any more
surprises."
I felt these hands reaching me and pulling me. I realized that those that were pulling me were actually
holding me up, and, they were five of the girls from the party I was going to.

B. Out-of-Body and On the Way to the Hospital

When they noticed I hadn't shown up yet, they decided to come to the base to hurry me up so that I
wouldn't miss out on that going away party. It was their headlights I saw headed my way just prior to the
crash, and they were hysterical watching this car flipping and careening down the road right before their eyes,
bursting into flames. But the real horror was when they found out it was my car. All I remember them saying
was, "You better not die on us", and I wanted to do them that little favor so I flipped them a "thumbs up"
sign. It was about all the strength I could muster by then.
They were trying to whisk me into the backseat of it, and rush me back to the base hospital so I could
keep my promise. Three of the girls got into the back seat and the remaining two girls laid me across their
laps. Then the two jumped into the front seat and gunned that Ford toward the base as fast as they dared; and
believe me, they dared.
As I lay across their laps I heard one of them say through her tears, "Look, Lou saved Tigger." And when
she reached for the stuffed animal she was horrified to see the blood start gushing from my head again and
immediately replaced Tigger to its lifesaving duties. Another one noticed my hand bleeding from all the glass
and tore up her skirt to make a bandage. I was thinking how great these girls were for not worrying about the
mess I was making on them and their car.
I suddenly found myself, sort of sitting up right, looking out the back window of the speeding car, amazed
at watching the burning and smoking blob that once was my "Stang" as it faded in the distance.
 I looked down to see the three girls crying and shouting hysterically to the driver to hurry up, when it hit
me, "WOW, that's me on their laps and there's nobody home!"
I'm looking at what was left of my poor, crumpled Mustang from out the window. The other me is just
lying there without a care. I tried to tell the girls I was alright and they could stop the crying and slow down a
bit. I reached for the driver to get her attention and she turned her head slightly toward me. She seemed to be
talking to the girl holding my other head and not to me. She was saying that she was going as fast as this
eight-banger would go.
I felt no pain, no fear and I was with five girls speeding down the highway, me and me. What a night so
far!

C. Walking Through the Emergency Room Door

When we pulled up to the hospital, both girls in the front ran out like it was a relay race and they hit the
doors running. I started to get out and headed for the swinging doors when they were back already with two
corpsman and a gurney. I stepped aside to watch them load that other me on it and as they whisked him
away, I watched the other three girls compose themselves. All five headed toward the emergency room.
I decided to follow since no one seemed to notice me and I wanted to see what all the commotion was
about. There were nurses and corpsmen and a doctor all fussing about and a couple of the girls were at the
front desk giving information about me to the desk clerk while the rest of them were pressing their noses
against the operating room windows. I walked down the corridor and looked at some of the people sitting on
the benches and chairs, apparently waiting their turn to be attended to, but there was the other me at the head
of the line, so I excused myself and headed there also.
I walked straight through the doors and walked around the doctor and nurses who were tearing off my
clothes and swabbing me down. The doctor noticed the large hole in the side of my head and was cleaning it
up when the corpsman, who was standing toward my side, asked if he could stitch up the gash on my hand.
The doctor said it would be OK since he [the doctor] didn't think I would make it anyway.
He said something about having to put a "plate" in my head but that I had lost a tremendous amount of
blood and didn't know if I would survive much longer. The nurse asked if she should have the base Chaplin
standby, so the doctor lifted my dog tags. When he read "Agnostic" and Blood type "O neg," he said, "I don't
think this kid would care but you can call him if you want!"
I thought that was a bit insensitive, and I wasn't happy about a corpsman practicing on my hand either. I
thought to myself, "I should lodge a complaint," but just as those thoughts flickered past, I started to float up
toward the ceiling. It finally hit me that I could see myself on the table being operated on desperately and I
could now see the me that was mostly translucent floating above it all.
I looked around as I floated higher and higher and noticed the dirt and dust on the florescent lights in the
operating room and thought, "Somebody's going to hear about this too."
I heard the doctor say, "Tag`n`bag him. We're not going to need that plate nurse. Corpsman, are you done
on that hand?"
"Yes sir," he replied.
The doctor said, "Fine, sheet him for now son."
I knew what was going on, just then, to the me I knew. But I wasn't ready for what was about to happen
to the "me" I now was.
I was about to attempt to reach the girls that were now crying and hugging each other but instead of going
forward, I was being pulled backward and upward. I had no sense of fear, none of loss. Actually, all I felt was
wonderment and curiosity and an anticipation of what was to come.

D. Through the Tunnel Towards the Light

I entered what I thought looked like the Holland tunnel without the cars and traffic and the ability to see
what looked like light at its end. It was dark but not black. The path was slightly illuminated from what I
thought to be the sunlight shining from the other end.
 As I was being drawn toward the lighted end of the Tunnel, I carefully looked around, even squinting to
see into the darker recesses.
I passed what I thought to be very religious men doing what they would do when praying to their GODS.
They were all dressed in their finest garbs, robes, togas, head dresses, loin cloths and the like. Most of them
were off to the sides of the tunnel, but one of them, that I seemed to float right over, looked oriental with a
long grayish Fu Man Chu, sitting there in the middle of the tunnel with his hands clasped and his feet crossed.
Since I had just completed two tours "in country," I figured he must represent the last of the religions I
sought to make my own. I was raised Catholic but withdrew from that faith at an early age and delved into
many others from the Mian to Koran to Hopi as well as all North and South American Native beliefs. It
looked like they were all represented here.
When I floated past the monk just below me, I thought he could actually see me because it appeared like
he began to smile a smile of passage. All the other religious men were mumbling sounds of prayer and were
moving their arms about as if making gestures of a blessing. I wasn't sure if they were blessing me or the
Tunnel. I noticed none of them were actually standing or sitting in the Tunnel but appeared to be levitated. I
wanted to stop and speak with some of them, maybe ask a few questions like who they were and how long
they have been here, but I was being whisked away toward the light.
I saw wisps of smoke I believed to be incense. It came from all portions of the great Tunnel from one end
to the other. I could see and smell, but I had yet to have the sensation of touch since my feet were never
touching the Tunnel's floor. I seemed to be traveling squarely in the center as I drifted toward the end. The
closer I got to the end of the Tunnel, the brighter things got, and as I neared the end, it was like coming face
to face with a huge canvas that was just recently blazed in the brightest white of whites. An empty canvas,
ready to be painted upon and I awaited that painting.

E. Lou's Life Review and Encounter With the Being of Light

Then in an instant, my entire life, starting from birth through the present was flashing before my eyes like
a strobe light at half speed. Frame after frame, some parts in freeze frame, if only for a second, then on to the
next. I felt as if I was being subjected to a test to see if this was in fact the "me" that was supposed to be here.
Then it ended as fast as it had begun. The last scene was that of a rolling mass of metal finally bursting into
flames, and I was looking at the canvas again.
While staring into the vast whiteness, I glanced down to look at my body and use it for a reference, only
to find the translucent outline I once had was no longer there.
I thought, "How could this be? Am I now part of this empty white canvas, but if I were, then where are
my thoughts coming from to be asking these questions?"
Instantly I recognized a brilliant glowing ball of gold headed my way. It grew larger as it grew nearer and
when it reached about the size of a beach ball, just above and in front of me, it radiated brilliantly and
transformed into an indescribable Being of pure LIGHT, now levitated right in front of me.
It was larger than the tallest person I had ever seen, wider than two of me but so evenly proportioned as
to be of Magnificent Stature. Its features were outlined as if made with a fine ink quill hair, face, robe, all
golden and flowing as would an electric charge perhaps even a nuclear charge. This was energy personified.
As its form took on a more solid shape, all that was behind it did as well.
It was as if the entire Canvas of white, I had come to at the end of the Tunnel, was now alive and I was
part of it.
Other figures appeared in front and behind the Being and myself - some winged, most not - some fully
formed, others not - yet even others appeared only as glowing Orbs of light and color, bouncing as would
bubbles in a glass of carbonated water.

F. Meeting the Archangels Michael and Gabriel

I could stand it no longer; every emotion I had ever known was welling up in me ten-fold. Just when I
thought to speak, to question, The Being spoke to me. Its voice was as a chorus of voices, not male not
female, not loud not soft, not deep but perfect and all encompassing.
 As I looked at the two gigantic, magnificent beings dressed in Brilliant capes just off to its side, it said,
"That is Michael and Gabriel. Michael has chosen you as his and Gabriel shall teach you the ways."
I looked past them to another Large Being, so beautiful but darker in contrast, as was the sprawling robe it
wore. This being had eyes that pleased but pierced with its gaze, and the Light Being said, "That is He who
has been cast out. You who I have given choice may go with any of these of your choosing."
I thought as I had a choice, and Michael had already chosen me then I would chose Him. He appeared so
strong and mighty, as did the others, but in his eyes seemed a fire that was drawing and captivating to me.
Gabriel's eyes were softer and gave more in an understanding manner and I thought, "Oh how absolutely
Beautiful are these Beings".
I then looked to The Being before me and It's eyes were full of Love and warmth, authority and
compelling. He seemed to have approved of my choice, then he said to me, "You will be my soldier and you
will go with Michael for a while. Gabriel will come to you at times. I will send others to you and your fruit
shall not fall far from the tree in the time of the Gathering."

G. The Orbs of Light and the Crystal Platter

Just then I saw five Orbs of Light. They seemed to be playing, swirling round and about The Being and
myself.
They had appeared from the outlying landscape and I noticed they were all the same size and shape but of
different hues as subtle as shades of rose petals, save one which had a bluish hue.
Two of the pinkish ones seemed exactly alike, the other two were yet deeper in shades of red and orange,
and before I could ask, IT spoke and said, "They, like all here are of you, who are of me, but these will come
to you and you will care for them more. They will fly apart but come together at the time of the Gathering."
I thought The Being might be telling me these were my children but I was only 21 and not only had never
been married but had no plans to. [Later in life, Lou discovers the five orbs are his five children which he will
raise to adulthood.]
I didn't understand how all this was of me, and me of HE, when a magnificent crystal serving platter
appeared; and it shimmered the colors of many rainbows.
In an instant it shattered into thousands of pieces, each piece brilliant in its own right.
Ever so slowly now, all the pieces began to rejoin themselves to once again form the original serving
platter once again; and I now knew what this Being of Light was showing me: we pieces are the platter. I was
just one of those thousands of pieces, as were all those I was seeing here and those back in the "World."

H. The Signs of the Time of “The Gathering”

Now my mind was still trying to ponder The Gathering. As I thought what this could mean, The Being
answered, "Here you will see the signs that bring forth the Gathering."
And with that, I saw frames appear like screens on a TV set. When I looked into the screens, the visions
would gather up, pop off in an image, and enter my mind. I felt as if I was being pushed back with its impact.
They were only glimpses but they were so realistic, as if happening right there in front of me in the now. I
could not turn away and then it seemed that I had become a part of each of these visions.
There were scenes of men in uniform killing other men in uniforms, I recognized some of the insignias
and some were from the USA. There were also thousands of them not in uniforms killing even more
thousands not in uniform. It was like looking at toy figures moving on their own, mowing down other
figures, different countries, different Nations, different Religions, different weapons, different Decades, but
always resulting in hundreds of thousands dead and dying. I wanted out of there, I could feel the pain these
people were suffering.
I asked the Being why was this, and how long was this to go on, and The Being said "Man will prey on
man, Until Man will pray for man".
The next vision was of floods, many of them spilling across the Earth on different continents in different
seasons and I am again walking among it, feeling the force and taking in the smell of Death. Hundreds of
Lives and acres upon acres of crops were lost as well as hundreds of stock and wild animals floating away into
the abyss.
Then I was watching volcanoes from around the world erupting, first one then another; the molten lava
burying whole towns and villages and the people and animals within them. I gazed among the ruins and saw
little left of what once stood there.
The last vision I saw in the screen were of earthquakes destroying sections of almost every continent. One
was a massive one in America. Most others were in Europe and the Orient. Again thousands are killed,
structures are crumpled, the landscape leveled and I turned again to the Being and He said, "There will not
only be more of what you have seen but there will come a time when it will all happen at the same time and it
will come the same time of mans' greatest sins."
I didn't have time to ask, when HE said, "They will turn from ME and claim themselves like Gods."

I. Becoming a Part of the Universe

While drifting through ORION, I noticed two blazing celestial bodies racing parallel to its center, looking
as Twin Arrows exiting from an Archers Bow and headed straight for the "Blue Marble" of home.
Immediately a vision of millions of people crying because of the devastation of portions of New York City
came to me. I became aware of a strange feeling I had not known previously, and I thought that might be
because this was the city I had grown up in.
I saw a huge earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6 in someplace named EUREKA. A ham operator or radio
announcer was directing thousands of people migrating from areas of frequent disasters to places of safety.
A space station appeared to be falling from the heavens because of an internal explosion.
Missiles were being simultaneously fired into space from several nations.
I thought the Light Being had shown me all there was to see but these were different, stronger, and there
was no pre-screening as before. Gabriel appeared beside me, I thought because I had felt shaky; but he was to
explain the now sprawling Galactic View of my Galaxy.
The sun was expanding and spewing off huge ecto-plasma balls, more than it has ever done in it's past,
and in the very direction the planets would orbit through. I could not take my eyes from the Earth and as I
watched what effect these eruptions would have on the Earth.
A large mass passed me, larger than any of the planets known to me; and as it passes, I see the Earth
wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin. The rotation stopped and slowly started again but it
was tilted now and I was drawn in closer like the zoom of a lens.
The ash clouds that had engulfed the Earth thinned, and like a tack welded piece of metal being
dismantled.
I could see the ocean bodies starting to rise: first the Pacific along the "Ring of Fire", then the others,
synchronistical. As the waters shifted upon the landmasses, the landmasses started to sink under the waters
added pressure upon it. When the pressures equaled out to the spin of the changing axis, the Earth no longer
looked as it did moments before. It was newer, cleaner, more beautiful with darker greens and lighter blues.
Some of the new landmasses looked similar to a few of the other planets I had recently visited with Michael.
People were upon this Earth and appeared happier and more content although seemingly living like the
Native populations of old. Cities, built by the Ancient Ones, which were buried beneath the oceans were now
being populated by the surviving people in this new world.
I saw tribes joining tribes and small nations forming, but it was what I didn't see that made my heart burst.
There were no more wars. True peace and happiness had finally befallen on mankind.
Gabriel now tells me that this is His message that I must take back: to let others know that there is little to
fear, for the Earth will go on forever, as did all the planets I had visited.
I am to tell the world to look to ORION, and they will know when the new world will come upon them.
I asked Him, "What of the others there on Earth, during the change?" Gabriel told me that all will be
lifted. Some will be lifted higher than others and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on
the Earth to replenish and rebuild the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living
there now!
J. The Message of Love For the World

I was now before the Light Being of Gold again. Those five orbs were still darting about. I wanted to stay
and explore this realm with all the other Light Beings but I was told I could not.
I was brought here to go back to tell the others who would be coming after me, that if they would spread
the Love they brought with them to the physical world they would know their Creator eagerly awaits them.
The Being told me that should I ever have questions of the heart or mind, that He will answer them, if I
only look within myself, for that is where He will dwell. From this time forward I need only think it to be so,
and it will be so, for I would forever know the truth.
I was told there was much work left undone and that He had set a road of rocks before me that I must
sweep away for passage. Many will be set before me that I may help in my presence. And more I will not; but
that I must not set aside wrongly - for a soul should not be lost within my heart.
I asked how I would know; and before I received an answer, I was being whisked away through that
darkened tunnel like a dust bunny in a vacuum with about as much control as a runaway freight train.

K. Returning To Life

I awoke to a nurse scrubbing the encrusted blood off of the right side of my head. My body was racked
with pain. I screamed at the nurse for what I felt was her lack of compassion and she had a shocked look on
her face.
"Oh my God, welcome back sailor. We thought you were a goner for sure."
I asked her where was I and how long had I been here and she answered, "You've been in a coma for
seven days now. They thought you died on the operating table and was going to ship you to the morgue when
the assisting corpsman noticed some movement under your sheet and rushed you back to the OR. The
doctor checked you out and he was amazed to find your vitals were returning to normal but what really
floored him was the hardened crust that had formed over the hole in your head seemed to have sealed most
of the damage. He decided he didn't even have to put a steel plate in your head any more as it had healed
sufficiently on its own in the time you were gone."
I said, "You mean that practicing corpsman that was sewing my hand in the operating room saved my
life?"
She said, "Yes, but how did you know he was sewing your hand? You were unconscious the entire time
you were in OR and never came to until just now."
If she had only known all the things I knew from that time she would have surely gone in to shock.
I took the brush and towel from her hands and said I would finish the job for her; and she thanked me
and said she was going to notify the doctors that I was alive and conscious!
I looked across the dorm and saw several sailors and a Marine lying in their perspective beds. The Marine
looked familiar and was situated closest to me. He smiled and said "Hey, Mr. Chuck [a handle I picked up
overseas], you missed a hellava party last week."
I replied, "So I am told; but you should have seen the one I went to. It was a real mindblower."
He told me I made the local papers and a picture of what was left of my car was photographed and on the
second page of the news. Then he said, "I bet you're glad they are going to sign your discharge papers and not
your Death Certificate like they almost did."
I joked and said, "Yeah, you know those Navy doctors, in and out, they'd sign anything to get their Liberty
passes."
The doctor finally arrived and started to check me out. He seemed genuinely interested yet amazed at my
seemingly miraculous recovery. He checked the side of my head first, then ran his hands over my arms and
legs. He asked if I could stand after giving me the "follow my fingers and how many are there" doctor thing.
I jumped out of bed and he stood aghast. He asked if I could raise my arms over my head [thinking I
could not] and when I did he asked if I could slowly reach my toes [which I did] and then he sat me on the
bed and started to talk to me.
He told me I was a medical miracle. Not only was I not supposed to still be alive after the massive blood
loss; but the mental trauma of my head injury would at the least make me a vegetable. He also said that the
injuries to my legs and arms alone should have kept me in the infirmary for another two to three weeks. Yet
there I was, everything working fine, actually as good as new, not even any black and blue marks to show
what my body had been through.
He said he had to admit it was truly a marvel; and when I asked if I could be returned to Active Duty, he
said he really couldn't see why not. He signed my hospital discharge papers and I was returned to my Squad
the next day.
It was good to be among the living but I knew it was a far, far, better place I had been, than any place here
on Earth will ever be again. I remembered everything that happened to me in that other place but spoke none
of it to anyone because just the mention of having been dead was enough to make people twirl their fingers
near their brain when they thought I wasn't looking; and sometimes I wasn't looking, but I knew.
Lou Famoso's testimony ends here.

L. Other Prophecies of the Future and the Orion Constellation

The late John Jay Harper (1951-2010) (www.johnjayharper.com), author of "Tranceformers: Shamans of
the 21st Century," had this to say about Orion and the coming Earth changes:
"Our scientists are musing over the meaning of global warming and the melting of the Arctic ice cap with
a subsequent catastrophic change in climate worldwide. What they don't realize yet is that earlier civilizations
that have come and gone; for example, Egyptian and Mayan, experienced this cataclysm and warned us about
it. They coded this critical cycle of change symbolically as the revolving "circle of animals" in the Zodiac.
These pictorial "signs of the times" were documenting the cause and effect relationship between the
alignments of star constellations, specifically Orion, with Earth. That is, ancients knew that our Sun - our
source of consciousness - would be entering into a new megacycle of solar power output within the Milky
Way Galaxy at the turn of the 21st century - and beyond until the entire planet and its people were restored to
celestial beings of light. Likewise, they forewarned us in myths portraying an apocalypse that this new cycle of
consciousness evolution would trigger massive Earth Changes: surface and undersea volcanism that melts
glaciers and alters coastal landscapes, earthquakes in unheard of places, and overall wind-rain-snow-ice
superstorms of increasing severity and longevity that destroy crops and marketplaces. In a sentence, the poles
are preparing to flip but that is what will open the third eye of mankind. This shift of the electromagnetic
fields of the planet will bring a new heaven and a new Earth, a "telepathic society" capable of creative
solutions to problems almost spontaneously as they arise; indeed we will be manifesting miracles beyond our
wildest imagination. In no uncertain terms, the communication channel we had to God in the Garden of
Eden is opening up within us, again. We are going back to the future." (John Jay Harper)
Ivan P. at Ancient-Code.com wrote: "It’s a global phenomenon. The Orion constellation is a pattern of
stars that is repeated in monuments throughout the ancient world, from Egypt to Mexico, this constellation
has been the center of the skies for our ancestors, but why was Orion so important to the ancient
civilizations?... According to Egyptian mythology, the gods descended from the belt of Orion and Sirius -- the
brightest star in the sky. The people of ancient Egypt believed that beings from Sirius and Orion came to
Earth to begin the human race.
"Sirius and Orion are critically important because they represent Isis and Osiris, the god and goddess from
which all of Egyptian civilization and, ultimately, all of human civilization, supposedly sprang. The ancient
Egyptians were very clear and we find evidence in writings that Orion was linked with creation, Orion and
Osiris are the same in ancient Egypt and the Egyptians believed that Osiris will return from Orion one day,
and not only in Egypt we find tales of “Gods” promising to return and we can find this practically in every
culture in antiquity which had the knowledge of somebody who would return one day. The concept that the
three pyramids at Giza are in a special alignment of Orion’s Belt is amazing...
"Just 35 miles northeast of Mexico City lie the ruins of Teotihuacán, an ancient city once inhabited by
more than 150,000 people. Researchers believe the impressive structures here including two large pyramids
and a temple were built in the second century B.C. and like the Egyptian pyramids of Giza, the monuments
point directly to the three stars of Orion’s Belt." (Ivan P.)
According to Bibliotecapleyades.net: "Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert uncovered the key to the plan
that governed the construction of the pyramids. They reveal in their book, "The Orion Mystery," that the
pyramids were much more than just tombs: they were nothing less than a replica of Heaven on Earth. The
constellation of Orion was known to the Egyptians as "Osiris". The air shafts in the pyramids point directly
towards Orion with the aim of projecting the soul of the deceased king out towards the constellation ... The
King was very important because he was the link between the gods and men, and was accorded enormous
respect in life and in death ... From the moment of his birth he was groomed and trained for his return to the
"First Time" (or "Zep Tepi", a time ancient to the ancient Egyptians themselves.) All his life, every aspect of
it, was associated with his journey. He was taught spells and incantations to secure a safe passage, many of
which are collected in the Book of the Dead and the Pyramid Texts. His sole aim in life was his successful
return to the First Time, and the pyramids, far from being a memorial or commemorative tomb, were the
starting point of this greatest of journeys. The geometry of the pyramids has been a source of confusion for
many years, as was the seemingly imperfect way in which they were laid out on the Necropolis site. The chain
of command in Egypt was unbroken -- each King, though a living, breathing being, was a renewal of the
covenant which the gods made with man. The dead King, though dead to this world, lived on in spirit as he
made his way back to the beginning, to the First Time. His son, the new Horus King, took over his place as
surely as the dead King has taken his own, and ensured the continuation of the Great House, the Pr Aa."
(Bibliotecapleyades.net)
According to Scott Creighton at GrahamHancock.com: "Through the arrangement and dimensions of
the various structures at Giza we are presented with multiple pieces of quite diverse evidence all pointing to a
clear connection of the Giza pyramids with the belt stars of the Orion constellation. With this mathematical
and astronomical evidence - together with the mass of cultural evidence previously cited by Bauval, Gilbert
and Hancock supporting such a correlation – for Egyptologists to continue to reject that such an association
was fully intended by the ancient designers surely now must be considered an untenable position. A sufficient
body of evidence now exists to allow us to conclude safely that the structures at Giza were constructed with
reference to a pre-defined, master plan. The evidence presented here in support of this view may not
conclusively prove an Orion-Giza association but it is probably fair to say that if it is weight of evidence that
counts then we must consider that the Orion-Giza association now has sufficient evidence to allow us to
consider the hypothesis as proven beyond reasonable doubt.
"In acceptance of the Orion association with the Giza pyramids, what remains now is to consider the
"why" question; why did the ancient designers expend so much blood, sweat and tears to create this great
astronomical clock, indicating the past date of 10,500 B.C. and the future date of 2,500 A.D.? Is it significant
that around 10,500 B.C. was when the last Ice Age came to an abrupt end with all manner of animal and plant
species becoming extinct at that time? What event could have occurred on the Earth to bring about such dire
global consequences? Whatever the reason, it seems clear that the reason must have been one of vital
importance. Our civilization ignores these dates -- these Orion 'signs' -- at our peril." (Scott Creighton)
According to Cayce scholar David Wilcock at DivineCosmos.com: Cayce scholars know that the Logos is
of central importance in directing human civilization on Earth. The original incarnation of the Logos was
known as "Amilius" from Atlantis who became the prototype for "Adam" in the Book of Genesis. Before the
Earth's poles shifted that caused the civilization of Atlantis to be lost, Amilius directed the people of Atlantis
to go to Egypt which be the safest place to go for weathering out these Earth changes since it was situated at
the center of the Earth's Grid. This has now been scientifically verified through studies of the Becker-Hagens
grid. Cayce identified another human incarnation of the Logos known as Hermes, who later was honorably
referred to as "Thothermes Trismestigus," meaning "Thrice Greatest Hermes." The Egyptians lauded him as
"the scribe of the Gods" or "lord of divine words". Hermes of the Cayce readings is the one who designed
and build the Giza Pyramids in Egypt through some esoteric means by which the stones were levitated and
set in place. The Atlanteans wished to create a storehouse of their accumulated knowledge and wisdom so
that it would not perish. They placed their records somewhere within the vicinity of the Giza pyramids which
Cayce identified as the "Hall of Records" which has yet to be discovered. According to Cayce, as the time
approaches when future Earth changes occur, these records will be discovered [Cayce reading 5750-1]. Some
sources claim the Hall of Records have already been discovered.
Hermes is also the sage who began the Hermetic tradition. Hermes is also referred to in the Poimandres,
as the "shepherd of men" who teaches that "the Word which came forth from the Light is the Son of God."
Accordingly, Hermes also taught that human nature consists of such divine elements as Nature, Light, Mind,
and Life; and that by recognizing them we may return to the invisible, immaterial world of Truth. The Cayce
readings say Hermes incorporated into the design of the Giza Pyramid "the position of the stars about which
this particular solar system circles in its activity" [Cayce reading 294-151] and "As the changes came about in
the Earth, the rise and fall of nations were to be depicted in this same temple, that was to act as an interpreter
for that which had been, that which is, and that which is to be in the material plane" [Cayce reading 294-151].
These words from the Cayce readings agree with scientific measurements some of which had not even been
discovered at the time of the reading! After many very historic spiritual incarnations including Enoch,
Melchizedek, Joseph, and David, the final incarnation of the Logos on Earth came about in the life of Jesus,
who called himself "the last Adam" (see Romans 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:45). Once Jesus completed his
personal initiation, he began saying "I am the Logos," which again is now translated to "I am the Word." The
Cayce readings also say that Jesus was the first person to complete this process of self-transformation, and
that others would follow a similar path at the end of the cycle.
According to John Zajac, a scientist and pyramid expert at Europa.com, the correlation between the Book
of Isaiah in the Bible and the Great Pyramid is as follows: "In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in
the midst of the Land of Egypt, and a monument at the border thereof to the Lord, and it shall be for a sign,
and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the Land of Egypt" (Isaiah 19:19-24).
In the Hebrew language, each of the original thirty words has a numerical value because each Hebrew
letter is also a number. When the thirty words are added up, the total is 5,449, which is one of the most
significant and dominant numbers utilized in the construction of the Pyramid. It is the exact height of the
Pyramid in sacred Jewish inches. Although the first books of the Bible were written after the Pyramid was
built, the height of the Pyramid could not have been measured when the book of Isaiah was written, because
the geometry required to make such a measurement had not yet been developed. Of course, being located
both "in the midst" of Egypt and at the same time "at the border" seems to be a logical impossibility.
However, in ancient times before the unification of the country, there was Lower Egypt (north) and Upper
Egypt (south). The borderline between the two Egypts goes right through the Pyramid, thus placing the
Pyramid both in the center and at the border of Egypt.
David, Jesus and Paul mentioned the Messiah to be "the capstone which the builders rejected" (Psalm
118:22-23, Matthew 21:41-43, Acts 4:11) with the "capstone" being an obvious reference to the top stone at
the highest point of the pyramid. Jesus also mentioned how "signs in the sun, moon and stars" and events
around Jerusalem and Earth changes will herald his return to Earth:
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not
enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it
will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and
wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.
Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (This occurred in
1948 when Israel became a nation once again after nearly two thousand years). There will be signs in the sun,
moon and stars. On the Earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be
shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these
things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke
21:20-28).

M. Lou Famoso's NDE Information About the Gathering

The Being of Light and the archangel Gabriel revealed to Lou Famoso the following signs which would
bring forth the Gathering and which would happen all at the same time. Apparently, before the major earth
catastrophe and changes occur, "The Gathering" will yank the souls out of the bodies of those about to be
killed -- a mass out-of-body experience to the afterlife. The Gathering is an event similar to what
fundamentalist Christians refer to as "The Rapture" (also Matthew 24:37-40, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) except
that it occurs as a phenomenon not as a respecter of a person’s religious belief.
(1) Men in uniforms from the USA will be killing men in other uniforms.
 (2) Thousands of men not in uniforms will be killing even more thousands not in uniform from different
countries and different religions.
(3) Many floods will spill across the Earth on different continents in different seasons causing hundreds
of lives, animals, and acres of crops to be lost.
(4) Portions of New York City will be devastated.
(5) Volcanoes from around the world would erupt, first one then another, with the molten lava burying
whole towns and the people and animals within them. Ash clouds will envelope the earth.
(6) Earthquakes will destroy sections of almost every continent with a massive one in America. A huge
earthquake, a magnitude of 8.6, will occur in someplace named "Eureka."
(7) A space station will fall from space because of an internal explosion.
(8) Solar coronal mass ejections will become more frequent and will hit the Earth.
(9) Missiles will be fired simultaneously into space from several nations.
(10) The Earth will wobble wildly as would a top toward the end of its spin.
(11) The ocean level will rise: first along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", then the others, synchronistical,
causing landmasses to sink under the waters.
(12) The archangel Gabriel tells humanity through Lou Famoso to look to the constellation of Orion as a
"sign" to know when the new world will come upon them.
(13) During the Gathering, all the people affected "will be lifted" - some people will be lifted higher than
others and no longer enjoy the physical plane, while some will be left on the Earth to replenish and rebuild
the physical. They too will be of a higher elevation then any that are living there now.
(14) There is little to fear because the Earth will go on forever.
(15) After The Gathering, the people upon the Earth will be happier and more content although
seemingly to live like the native populations of old.
(16) Cities built by the ancient ones which were buried beneath the oceans will be populated by the
surviving people in this new world.
(17) Tribes will join tribes and form small nations, and there will be no more wars, causing true peace and
happiness to come to humanity.

N. Pioneer of Out-Of-Body Experiences, Robert Monroe, and "The Gathering"

The late Robert Monroe (1915-1995) was the pioneer in investigating out-of-body experiences (OBEs)
and was the author of ground-breaking books entitled, "Journeys Out Of The Body," "Far Journeys," and
"Ultimate Journey". Unpredictably and spontaneously, Monroe would find himself leaving his physical body
and traveling by means of a second body to locations within the physical realm as well as the spirit realms.
Monroe and his associates began working on a method to induce and control OBEs and other forms of
consciousness in their laboratory. Because Monroe and his associates were specialists in creating effective
sound patterns, they began their research using sound patterns. Their research ultimately yielded significant
results. In 1974, he founded the Monroe Institute (www.monroeinstitute.org) and began conducting seminars
in self-control of human consciousness. Three patents were issued to Monroe for the methods and
techniques so generated, and the trademark, HEMI-SYNC, also became broad public knowledge. In his
book, "Far Journeys," Monroe described his OBE travels to various spirit/afterlife locations including a
location labeled "The Gathering" (also known as "The Big Show") which is a level of consciousness where
intelligences from other areas of universe (extraterrestrials) and dimensions gather to observe the upcoming
Earth changes. According to Monroe:
"Somewhere between the Earth and the Moon" a host of countless numbers of forms glowing in various
degrees of expectancy have come together to witness "a very rare event -- the conflux of several different and
intense energy fields arriving at the same point in your time-space." The gathering is to observe the possible
birth of a new energy that will "offer human consciousness a rare potential to emerge rapidly into a unified
intelligent energy system that will range far beyond your time-space illusion, creating, constructing, teaching
as only a human-trained graduate energy is able to do."

O. Natalie Sudman's NDE Encounter With "The Gathering"

 The following is Natalie Sudman's (www.nataliesudman.com) description of her NDE encounter with
"The Gathering" from excerpts of her book at NDERF.org, "Application of Impossible Things."
"In this new environment, I stood on an oval dais... addressing thousands of white-robed beings or
personalities. They were arrayed up and all around me as if I stood in the center of a huge stadium... The
personalities were non-physical in essence, taking on form if they intended to do that for a particular purpose.
I perceived the way they looked according to what I preferred for my purposes. At the time, since I had been
abruptly transferred from the physical plane, it was simpler to perceive them in a human form, wearing
glowing white robes... I knew the Gathering to be a meeting of many groups representing a wide variety of
interests and responsibilities pertaining not only directly to Earth and physical universe energies but to
dimensions and issues beyond... I presented what seems from my current physical body/conscious mind
perception to be a transfer of information in the form of an inexplicably complex matrix... It included events,
thoughts, incidents, individuals, and groups in all their relationship complexities: stories, concepts,
connections, nuances, layers, judgments, and projections... Rather than being a classic 'life flashing before the
eyes' scene, this download was a collection that emphasized what might be very broadly understood as
cultural and political information. I was aware that I deliberately offered the condensed data in fulfillment of a
request that had been made by this Gathering of personalities prior to my taking on this body for this
physical lifetime... When the thought form or matrix had been absorbed by everyone, which took but
seconds, discussions proceeded among the various groups and within the whole of the Gathering... All
communication was accomplished through thought. They then requested that I return to my physical body to
accomplish some further work. I was given to understand that my particular skills with energy were needed at
this time and would be effective only were I actually present in a body within the Earth vibration... We agreed
upon specific tasks that I would accomplish and specific things that they would assist me with once I was
back in the physical... We discussed mechanical details of what I’d agreed to do for the Gathering, as well as
some personal issues. Then I simply took a deep breath and popped back into the body... I hesitate to outline
or specifically discuss the skills that were highlighted as useful to the Gathering. I consider them unique and
interesting to me because they’re mine, but I don’t want a description of some of them to be interpreted as
grandiose or 'special' in anyone’s value hierarchy" (Natalie Sudman).

5. Lynnclaire Dennis' Near-Death Experience

Near-death testimonies often include an encounter with a heavenly "Light." But to my, webmaster Kevin
Williams' knowledge, no experiencer other than Lynnclaire Dennis (www.mereon.org) has ever brought back
a detailed scientific description of the Light's complex geometric structure and movement. In her 1997 book
entitled The Pattern, Lynnclaire first described in detail her amazing NDE and description of this Light.
Many years have passed since I first learned of her profound NDE and it remains one of the most
transcendental and amazing NDEs I have ever come across. Her NDE testimony has graced the
"Exceptional NDEs" section of my website from its very beginning. We continued to stay in touch over the
years and I continued to follow her work hoping what she brought back from her NDE would develop into
the scientific discovery we now know it is - the very science of life and living.
From the very beginning, despite her religious upbringing, Lynnclaire courageously refused to give this
Pattern of Light the ambiguous label of "God". She prefers to simply call it "The Pattern" and she describes it
as an all-connecting pattern of Light - a three-dimensional mandala representative of time and space, and the
energy generating matter. Because she experienced The Pattern as pure Love, she has always maintained it to
be the reason why Love is all that matters. In simple terms, The Pattern is a knot; but not just any knot. The
Pattern is the simplest knot (a Trefoil Knot) and yet most profound knot - a never-before-discovered trefoil
knot. The Pattern became of great interest to mathematicians, physicists, astrobiologists, and molecular
geneticists who developed from it the "Mereon Matrix" - an algorithm representing the unification of
knowledge which relies on whole systems both living and life-like. It is a scientific framework charting the
sequential, emergent growth process of systems. Read more about this in the article entitled The Science of
Life Discovered From Lynnclaire Dennis' Near-Death Experience and be sure to check out her blog. What
follows are excerpts of her NDE and an analysis by permission from her book, The Pattern, in her own
words.

A. Lynnclaire Dennis' Initial Near-Death Experience

"I recall precisely the moment that I broke the bonds of this inimical world and was immersed in the
warmth of the light. Suddenly I was safe, warm, and basking in the luminous sunlight high in the luminous
sunlight high in the alpine meadows of Mt. Rainier. I was no longer over the Alps – I was in Washington
State. Somehow this made perfect sense.
"Here, in a place filled with vivid and joyous childhood memories, I took extraordinary comfort in the
firmness of the ground beneath my feet. With gratitude and wonder, I wandered through the valley, suffused
with a certain knowing that I had crossed a cosmic frontier. Was this heaven, or was it perhaps some place
beyond that celestial other-world I'd always hoped to be good enough to enter? All I knew – and knew for
certain – was that time and space were nothing more than attenuated wisps of human invention. Both
were webs of light created in my consciousness.
"As my being expanded I saw the cords of years that bound me to the planet. The bond, which was
braided from strands of days, bands of months, and ribbons of years, fashioned a nexus between then and
now. No doubt this was the mountain of my childhood, but it was essentially different. It was real, yet it was
out of sync with the abstraction of linear time. As I stood there I realized that if time was all here now, then it
could not be a straight line. This could only mean that there could be no such thing as a beginning, a middle,
or an end. Furthermore, it was here that I determined that I was out of time as well, even though I had a
corporal existence.
"Never before had I considered that there might be such things as coexistent realities. Never had I
imagined that there might be concurrent realms. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought there might be a
way to remember and feel different times and events as if they were happening right now. I realized that in
life, death is merely the other side of a threshold over which I could not 'normally' see. So, too, in death, life
and the land of the 'living' were on the other side of a very thin veil.
"It struck me that perhaps neither heaven nor Earth is as black or white as I had heretofore believed.
"It was then that I looked down at my body and with amazement wondered, "Where did this gown come
from?" I was no longer bound in heavy, restricting layers of winter wool, but was wearing an exquisite white
gown that appeared to be fashioned of a fabric some master designer had created by splashing star dust on
filigree spider webs. I watched as it seemed to float above my skin. It was as if a million tiny wings kept it
from putting even the weight of a feather on my body. A sense of lightness permeated my being to what I
thought must be a cellular – indeed a 'soulular' – level.
"And then I heard the MUSIC. It was a tone so sublimely perfect that remembering it still brings me to
tears. I knew then, and know now, that I was hearing the symphony of angels, the song of the universe, what
some have called the 'Music of the Spheres'. All thoughts melted in its melody and everything else ceased to
be of any importance. I closed my eyes and began to dance, moving to the resonant vibration that coursed
through my essence. The melody seemed to issue from a single point and was composed of one verse, a song
whose mystical tone my entire being knew and sang. I bathed in its melody as utter joy filled my being, and as
the sound washed over my spirit, I felt all confusion purged from my consciousness.
"Standing beneath this euphonious canopy of grace, I knew love was being awakened at the depths of my
soul. Moving with this aria of elegant mercy, I began my return to the dawn of totality as a growing sense of
Oneness swelled within my heart, mind, and soul."

B. Meeting Her Deceased Grandmother

"Unspeakable joy filled my heart when I saw my paternal grandmother walking down the mountain. She
approached me and enveloped me with open arms. The last time I had seen her was the summer of 1963.
"For more than twenty years I carried an inconsolable grief in my heart because I never got to say good-
bye.
 "Now we were together again in a magical place where time held no meaning. As we talked of love, I
realized that it alone was real. We walked hand in hand in a vacuum beyond the boundary we call time. My
grief disappeared as our love was redeemed from what I had believed to be oblivion. We walked in a sacred
space where earthly memory pictures were hung without physical frames. We traversed a realm that for many
in the here and now defies logical explanation or reason. Yet, I know that it is a realm that is exceedingly real.
It is a space where grace knows no bounds and only infinite love abounds. We only have to remember to
make it 'real.'
"In luxuriant warmth we moved on, drawn higher into the valley, moving toward the Source of the light. I
made a single turn, and the meadow suddenly became an amphitheater. On a stage that seemed to be
suspended in front of me, I witnessed, with my grandmother, what seemed to be an encore performance of
my life.
"Ninety degrees to my right was what I perceived to be a doorway, just within the range of my peripheral
vision. It was from this doorway that every character who had played in my life's drama emerged. In turn they
walked to center stage, where they faced me. As they greeted me, I inexplicably seemed to understand the
highest purpose of our earthly connection. It was love. I saw each person for who he or she was apart from
the descriptions I had previously used to define each of them. As they taught me love, I realized what an
important role we play in the development of one another's personality. I saw how judgment, blame, and
shame distort or destroy one's sense of self. For the first time I saw the depth of the impression we make on
one another's lives.
"I was greeted by acquaintances, friends, my grandparents, my father's best friend, as well as a school
chum from seventh grade."

C. Meeting Her Miscarried Son and Having a Life Review

"One of them most wondrous encounters came when my maternal grandmother approached me carrying
a baby. I knew this child was the son I had miscarried in the seventh month of a difficult pregnancy in 1977.
Seeing him brought a new peace to my soul as I finally realized that this child of my heart had fulfilled his
purpose to absolute perfection. Both then and now, in what was truly a magical moment, his tiny presence
awakened a new measure of life within my being. It was only upon this sacred mountain that finally my
highest self was endowed with the peace required to end my grief and grant this innocent infant his wings.
I soon realized that time is not linear, but rather composed of life's lessons, all of which I had passed
through. This panorama flowed over me like a river of living water. As my previously shallow awareness of
love and life deepened, I knew that nothing in my life or my death was an accident.
"After each person shared his or her message, the meaning of love, each one turned and exited through
another door located to the left of the stage. I knew without a doubt that I would soon walk through that
door and join them on the other side.
"The last person to walk on the stage of my life was a man unknown to me. As he walked to the center of
the stage and turned to face me, I noticed that my vision was no longer clear. Although I was certain this was
not someone I knew, I could feel him at the depths of my soul. He began to speak, communicating directly to
my heart. The message he shared that day was engraved on both my mind and my soul:
'Lynnclaire, you will be a catalyst for change, for love. You will bring forth, hold, and honor remembrance.
You will bring to conscious awareness the realms, realities, and remnants in order that the spirit may
remember the dance.'
"I knew this was Truth. I also knew that I had never felt so remembered, recognized, understood, or
loved. Yet, when he turned to leave, instead of following the others and walking off the stage through the
door to my left, he turned toward the right. As I watched him return through the doorway from which he had
entered, I clearly recall thinking this was important.
"Since that day I've identified him as the presence. Suddenly, the stage was gone and I was once again out
of time. I was a witness, observing myself as a child ... I watched as my innocent child-self ... began to dance
across the meadows.
"Then, as I contemplated this celebration of life, I saw that in a single turn in my-her waltz, I-she was no
longer a child, but a thirty-five year old woman dancing alone in the Hofburg Palace ... I was once more in my
magical gown, moving alone in harmony with the MUSIC. In that moment I chose to merge with that self
and began to dance. Each step drew me closer to the light.
"Then, in a sacred place somewhere before the light, I found myself being held, gently rocked, nurtured,
and embraced in the arms of the one I believed to be the presence. Whether this was a guide, a guardian, a
human man who has the ability to walk between the worlds, or even an angel, it does not matter. For still
today this memory is alive. The presence vibrates within my senses and daily infuses my sentient memory
archives with love. I knew then, and remember now, the warmth, serenity, and comfort I felt as I was
embraced in the arms of a long and still-remembered love. As I was cradled in this serene embrace, I was
bathed in light. My spirit was imbued with a sense of peace, and my soul was engraved with the remembrance
of a timeless love.
"As the experience dissolved into the light, I found myself again moving higher up the mountain. When I
paused to look back into the valley I saw myself as a child again, this time picking a bouquet of wild alpine
blooms. As I-she waltzed through the meadow, I heard myself-her singing, calling out to the mountain, "I
love you. I love you. I'm home."
"I closed my eyes and wondered, 'Am I home? Or am I going home?'
"With my eyes closed, as if in a vision within a vision, I saw my mother. I could not understand why she
was there. As far as I knew, my mom was very much alive. Wasn't this 'the other side?' I knew I was no
longer alive and felt that I was in a space between the worlds...
"It was then that I saw the tunnel and knew with absolute assurance that I was on my way home, certain
that the home I had long yearned for was in the light at the other end of this passageway.
"As I was standing alone with my grandmother, she told me that I must make this part of the journey
alone. Filled with peace, I knew I would see her again on the other side.
"I was ready, and without hesitation took my first step into the corridor that led toward the light, crossing
an intersection that connected now with forever ... Once I was inside the tunnel it was as if someone at the
other end was calling my name, drawing me forward. I knew that this passageway was taking me to the top of
the mountain, leading me home into the light. I was overjoyed to be going to the summit, as all my life I had
wanted to climb to the top of Mt. Rainier. I had never made the attempt, believing that I would try and fail or
that I would die trying.
"I moved effortless into the passage. Soon I knew I would be able to fly. Fly?
"The light was getting brighter and warmer as I moved through the tunnel. The MUSIC, the celestial
symphony, continued to fill the air with a psalm of Oneness, played on unseen instruments of peace.
"I arrived at the pinnacle and, standing at the entrance to the light, took a single step, leaving my right
footprint imbedded in Eternity. I entered a sacred space – a place where I knew I had returned to my most
essential nature, where I felt wholly and consciously united with all things and Source, where a soothing
balm of peace was poured on my spirit by an unseen hand, an emollient so rich in love that to this day I
cannot fully absorb or comprehend it.

D. Lynnclaire Dennis' Experience with "The Pattern"

"And then, in one ephemeral glimpse, I saw the Pattern, the single strand of the tapestry I knew was the
essence woven through matter in every reality. Its design was so complexly simple that I knew it could only
have been fashioned in the exalted intricacy of infinity.
"Seeing the Pattern, I knew I was looking at life itself. It was light; it was time and space. It was the energy
of all matter, the heart of all that mattered. It was the very essence of all being. It emanated from Source,
illuminated to my mind by 'the Source behind the sun' as it moved in perfect harmony with all the universe.
As I prepared to meld into the Source of light and absolute love, I knew with all my being that the Pattern
was the core of all substance. I knew that the MUSIC emanating from the Pattern was the song of my heart, a
testament of unconditional love. The single step I had taken was the first in a dance that would take me into
the single point of Infinite light, which contained the power of love that would forever illuminate my mind
and heart. I inhaled and prepared to take the next step as the exhalation of love, the Life Force of the
Universe, carried me home, when, without warning, the melody screeched. Before I could move, a cacophony
assaulted me. A cold wind rushed past me, and I remember crying out, 'No!'
 "I knew I was in a life-or-death struggle, this time with an unknown adversary who had grabbed me by my
left foot. I was struggling with an enemy who was attempting to yank me backward, pulling me away from the
light. I was enraged. I did not want to leave. Yet, even as I was being dragged back, I knew I had to
remember. I twisted to the right to look at the Pattern, knowing I must not forget.
"The enemy was my loving partner, Steve. As he frantically administered CPR, he pummeled my chest,
forcing oxygen to circulate in my body. Later he would insist that as I reentered my body, my wind-milling
fists were empowered with an otherworldly rage.
"The exact length of time I was 'dead,' in what is often referred to as a near-death experience, remains
uncertain. However, making the ascent from twelve thousand feet, where I remember going out of my body,
to more than seventeen thousand feet would probably have taken more than fifteen minutes.
"Although Steve was successful in reviving me, one thing was certain - the woman he had brought back
was not the same one who had left. After learning that I was in essence a Being of Light, I had to come back
into this world and reenter a dense, physical body. Furthermore, almost every belief I had embraced only
hours before - that I was a physical being, that love was outside of me, that God was some patriarchal
monarch sitting on a marble throne somewhere in the sky, that death was something to fear, that I was
doomed by my past, that religion and spirituality were the same, that spirituality and science were different –
was no longer true to my experience. Virtually every picture of 'reality' I had used to define my existence
– not to be confused with my life – had been cremated. The ashes of the woman I thought I was were
scattered on the wind."
[Lynnclaire Dennis' near-death experience ends here.]

E. An Analysis of Lynnclaire Dennis' Near-Death Experience by Kevin Williams

One of the amazing aspects of NDEs is how they have so many similar components between them. These
similarities include: an out-of-body experience; a tunnel which they travel through; a heavenly Light made of
indescribable love; a homecoming with deceased loved ones; an arrival to a heavenly "transit station"; a
comprehensive life review; and an encounter with a "Being of Light." Lynnclaire's NDE is certainly no
exception. The following is my analysis of some of the components of Lynnclaire's NDE compared with
other experiencers' NDEs. Note that this is certainly not a complete analysis and more information may be
added or updated later.

(1) Lynnclaire's Expansion of Consciousness

Like many experiencers during their NDE, Lynnclaire described having her consciousness expand. She
described it this way:
"As my being expanded I saw the cords of years that bound me to the planet. I recall precisely the
moment that I broke the bonds of this inimical world and was immersed in the warmth of the light ... The
bond, which was braided from strands of days, bands of months, and ribbons of years, fashioned a nexus
between then and now." (Lynnclaire Dennis)
This expansion process may continue until the experiencer's consciousness fills the entire universe and
even beyond it. People have described this expansion of consciousness as literally "becoming the universe" or
"knowing everything in the universe" or "becoming God". One experiencer, Mellen-Thomas Benedict,
described it as:
"Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life ... At faster than light
speed, I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went ... As I rode this stream
of consciousness through the center of the galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of
energy ... At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually travelling. But then I realized that, as the stream
was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the Universe!" (Mellen-
Thomas Benedict)

(2) Lynnclaire's Life Review in a Heavenly Amphitheater

 Another component found in Lynnclaire's NDE and others is having their life review while inside a
heavenly "amphitheater". Lynnclaire described travelling a heavenly route towards this amphitheater which is
found in many other NDEs. It begins by leaving Earth behind and entering into a "Void" - a spaceless and
timeless realm where self-reflection is optimal. The journey then continues toward a kind of "receiving
station" which in Lynnclaire's case and others was an amphitheater. She described having her life reviewed in
this amphitheater as a kind of heavenly "This Is Your Life" television episode where her deceased loved ones
would appear one by one, greet her, and have Lynnclaire's relationship with them evaluated. Here is how
Lynnclaire described it:
"In luxuriant warmth we moved on, drawn higher into the valley, moving toward the Source of the light. I
made a single turn, and the meadow suddenly became an amphitheater. On a stage that seemed to be
suspended in front of me, I witnessed, with my grandmother, what seemed to be an encore performance of
my life. Ninety degrees to my right was what I perceived to be a doorway, just within the range of my
peripheral vision. It was from this doorway that every character who had played in my life's drama emerged.
In turn they walked to center stage, where they faced me ... I was greeted by acquaintances, friends, my
grandparents, my father's best friend, as well as a school chum from seventh grade ... For the first time I saw
the depth of the impression we make on one another's lives ... ... As they greeted me, I inexplicably seemed to
understand the highest purpose of our earthly connection. It was love. I saw each person for who he or she
was apart from the descriptions I had previously used to define each of them. As they taught me love, I
realized what an important role we play in the development of one another's personality ... I also knew that I
had never felt so remembered, recognized, understood, or loved ... The highest purpose of our earthly
connections is love .. After each person shared his or her message, the meaning of love, each one turned and
exited through another door located to the left of the stage. I knew without a doubt that I would soon walk
through that door and join them on the other side." (Lynnclaire Dennis)
Other experiencers have described having their life reviewed in such an amphitheater. One such
experiencer, Ned Dougherty, described being, "in the deepest void of space feeling comfortable and at
home." He then entered into a magnificent ethereal structure he described as:
"... an amphitheater made of a brilliant, crystal-like substance . suspended in the void of space in the same
fashion that a space station might hover in space. The amphitheater was similar in size to a sports stadium
and conveyed a great majesty." (Ned Dougherty)
It was there that Ned also experienced a life review.
One female experiencer known on my website only as "P. Anderson." described seeing a clear white
bright light which lead her into:
"a huge, wonderful, stadium or amphitheater where love and music emanated from it." (P. Anderson)
Another experiencer, known only as "An Accountant", described it this way:
"As we (he and his deceased parents) walked along together to find Jesus, I noticed there was one building
larger than all the others. It looked like a football stadium with an open end to the building where a blinding
light radiated from it. I tried to look up at the light but I couldn't. It was too brilliant. Many people seemed to
be bowed in front of this building in adoration and prayer. I said to my parents, 'What is that?' They said, 'In
there is God.'" (An Accountant)
Carter Mills was taken to a suspended platform during his NDE where he met a being so powerful he
thought it was God. The angels bowed and took their places with two others at the platform's four corners.
Carter learned that the powerful being was Jesus who then led him through a life review.
The life review has been described by many people as being the single most enlightening component of
their NDE. The main purpose of the life review is for the experiencer to learn important lessons about love
from the perspective of the life they lived while on Earth. Other reasons for the life review are based upon
this main purpose. These reasons include:
(a) For educating the experiencer about life and death.
(b) For educating the experiencer about themselves: why they are the way we are; what were the motives
behind their actions; how did their lives impact others; how they could have done better; and what they can
do to correct aspects to themselves not compatible with life in the spirit realm. Learning these lessons are
important for becoming a better and more spiritual person.
(c) For evaluating the experiencer's soul development for the purpose of attaining soul growth.
 (d) For evaluating the experiencer's progress in completing their mission on Earth.
(e) For determining the experiencer's next step toward their progression in the light.
The life review has been presented to experiencers in various ways and as having many interesting
characteristics - not all of which are found in every life review. They may include instantly becoming everyone
you came in contact with in your entire life: feeling their emotions, thinking their thoughts, living their
experiences, learning their motives behind their actions. The experiencer may relive every detail of every
second of their life, every emotion, and every thought simultaneously; re-live the way they dealt with others
and how others dealt with them. It may involve viewing a few special deeds in your life or replaying a part of
your life to focus on a particular event for instruction. Some experiencers have reported viewing past lives
and/or the future giving them a strong sense of responsibility. The life review is a fact-finding process rather
than a fault-finding process. The experiencer's motives for everything are as visible as their actions. Often the
negative events an individual might expect to see does not show up due to a change of heart.

(3) Lynnclaire's Experience of Timelessness

Experiencers such as Lynnclaire affirm that time does not exist in the spirit realm. This feeling of
timelessness after death has been described by experiencers as having the feeling they are returning to a realm
they inhabited only a moment ago; and the lifetime they spent on Earth seemed like only a brief moment.
One important lesson to be learned from this fact is that by our getting rid of this illusion of time from our
minds right now can go a long way in expanding our consciousness by realizing that we are already living in
eternity right now. For this reason, while experiencers may have been clinically dead for only a few minutes,
their NDE may seem like it lasted for eternity. Lynnclaire described it this way:
"All I knew – and knew for certain – was that time and space were nothing more than attenuated
wisps of human invention ... As I stood there I realized that if time was all here now, then it could not be
a straight line. This could only mean that there could be no such thing as a beginning, a middle, or an
end." (Lynnclaire Dennis)
Another experiencer, Beverly Brodsky described this same principle:
"Space and time are illusions that hold us to the physical realm; in the spirit realm, all is present
simultaneously." (Beverly Brodsky)
Another experiencer, Jayne Smith, described it this way:
"One experience in the spirit realm can feel like forever. Time no longer seems to apply and seems
irrelevant. Time is only relevant when it is relative to the normal orderly sequential aspects of life. The
experience can feel like a moment and an eternity. You realize that you are eternal and indestructible." (Jayne
Smith)
Kimberly Clark Sharp put it this way:
"Earthly time has no meaning in the spirit realm. There is no concept of before or after. Everything - past,
present, future - exists simultaneously." (Kimberly Clark Sharp)
P.M.H. Atwater's description of time and timelessness is my favorite:
"Time and space exists only in the physical realm. When you leave the physical realm, you leave such
constraints. Existence there is never ending and ongoing, forever and ever eternal. The only true movement is
without the distortion of time and space. It is expansion and contraction, as if the existence that exists were
capable of breathing. What appears as a progression, a time-line of starts and stops and ever-changing
variations, is but an overleaf, an illusion, that helps us to focus on whatever realm we currently inhabit so that
we will accomplish what we set out to do (or at least have an opportunity to), and not be distracted by The
Truth that under-girds reality. Using radio as an analogy, dying to this physical realm and entering a spirit
realm is comparable to having lived all your life at a certain radio frequency when all of a sudden someone or
something comes along and flips the dial. That flip shifts you to another, higher wavelength. The original
frequency where you once existed is still there. It did not change. Everything is still just the same as it was.
Only you changed, only you speeded up to allow entry into the next radio frequency on the dial. You then fit
into your particular spot on the dial by your speed of vibration. You cannot coexist forever where you do not
belong." (P.M.H. Atwater)
(4) Lynnclaire's Experience of Heavenly Music

As in Lynnclaire's case, many experiencers hear extremely beautiful, heavenly music during their NDE.
Lynnclaire described it this way:
"And then I heard the MUSIC. It was a tone so sublimely perfect that remembering it still brings me to
tears. I knew then, and know now, that I was hearing the symphony of angels, the song of the universe, what
some have called the 'Music of the Spheres.' All thoughts melted in its melody and everything else ceased to
be of any importance. I closed my eyes and began to dance, moving to the resonant vibration that coursed
through my essence. The melody seemed to issue from a single point and was composed of one verse, a song
whose mystical tone my entire being knew and sang. I bathed in its melody as utter joy filled my being, and as
the sound washed over my spirit, I felt all confusion purged from my consciousness ... The MUSIC, the
celestial symphony, continued to fill the air with a psalm of Oneness, played on unseen instruments of peace
... As I prepared to meld into the Source of light and absolute love, I knew with all my being that the Pattern
was the core of all substance. I knew that the MUSIC emanating from the Pattern was the song of my heart, a
testament of unconditional love." (Lynnclaire Dennis)
Another experiencer, Dr. Richard Eby, described it this way:
"Music surrounded me. It came from all directions. Its harmonic beauty unlike earthly vocal or
instrumental sounds was totally undistorted. It flowed unobtrusively like a glassy river, quietly worshipful,
excitingly edifying, and totally comforting. It provided a reassuring type of comfort much like a protective
blanket that whispered peace and love. I had never sensed anything like it. Perhaps angelic would describe it."
(Dr. Richard Eby)
Steve Roach of Tucson, Arizona, had an NDE after a bike crash and heard:
"... the most intensely beautiful music you could ever imagine." (Steve Roach)
As a result of this experience he decided "to dedicate my life to re-creating the exact same sound." The
result is a record entitled "Structures from Silence." Says Roach:
"Many people contact me after hearing my recordings to tell me that they've heard the exact same music
during their NDEs." (Steve Roach)
Such NDE revelations show the great importance music plays in the universe, in the spirit realms, in our
souls and the divine. Lynnclaire's NDE resulted in a wonderful and rare ability to see sound which she
expresses in her art.

Some of the insights from NDEs concerning this heavenly music include:
(a) In the spirit realm, gardens sing and colors can be heard. It is a realm where light and sound, color and
geometrical patterns are all combined into a totality of harmonic perfection.
(b) The music heard in NDEs is on a level beyond hearing. It comes from within the very core of your
soul. It is like living on a universal wave length which envelops you totally.
(c) Other descriptions of this heavenly music include: unearthly harmonic beauty, angelic, sublimely
beautiful, exquisite harmonies, heavenly, a celestial choir of angels, an orchestra of voices, hymns sung to
God, mystical tones, harmonic perfection, music transcending all thought, bells and wind chimes, glorious
tones and rhythms and melodies, music that is experienced from within, and music that puts Bach to shame.

(5) Lynnclaire's Homecoming Experience

Many NDEs such as Lynnclaire's include a "homecoming" where the experiencer realizes their true home
was not on Earth, but in the spirit realm along with deceased family and loved ones who immediately greet
them. After death, most people are immediately greeted by a loved one(s) to understand what has happened.
This "homecoming" is like a big celebration - similar to a surprise birthday party - heralding your arrival.
Lynnclaire was immediately greeted by her beloved grandmother and then by the rest of her loved ones on
the Other Side. She described her homecoming this way:
"Unspeakable joy filled my heart when I saw my paternal grandmother walking down the mountain. She
approached me and enveloped me with open arms. The last time I had seen her was the summer of 1963. For
more than twenty years I carried an inconsolable grief in my heart because I never got to say good-bye. Now
we were together again in a magical place where time held no meaning." (Lynnclaire Dennis)
Later on in her NDE, Lynnclaire described how she closed her eyes and wondered, "Am I home? Or am I
going home?"
Another experiencer, Barbara Springer, described her homecoming this way:
"I can't find words to explain how I felt. The amount of joy I felt. The amount of love I knew I was being
given. I felt as if I had come home. I knew this is where I actually belonged. Even though I love Earth and I
love living here. But when I was encountered by that being, I knew I had come home." (Barbara Springer)
Another experiencer, Arthur Yensen, put it this way:
"Then I noticed that the landscape was gradually becoming familiar. It seemed as if I had been here
before. I remembered what was on the other side of the mountains. Then with a sudden burst of joy, I
realized that this was my real home! Back on Earth I had been a visitor, a misfit, and a homesick stranger.
With a sigh of relief, I said to myself, 'Thank God I'm back again. This time I'll stay!'" (Arthur Yensen)
Another experiencer, Barbara Marie, described it this way:
"And then there was a period of being embraced by this love and peace and serenity and knowing I had
reached my final destination, that this was truly a home. It gave new meaning to the word 'home.'" (Barbara
Marie)
Barbara Marie realized this was where she actually belonged and where she wanted to be forever.

(6) Lynnclaire's Experience with the Circle of Twelve Elders

After her NDE, Lynnclaire had recurring dreams of The Pattern where she was able to bring more
subconscious memories of The Pattern's geometric structure into her conscious awareness. The Pattern
consists of twelve pieces surrounded by an unbroken line creating seven bridges within it. The mathematical
name for this structure is a Fourier Trefoil Knot. There is an interesting connection between this twelve-piece
Pattern and the so-called "Council of Twelve Elders" - a group of enlightened beings appearing frequently in
NDEs whose primary purpose is to evaluate the experiencer's mission in life. Along with having recurring
dreams of the Pattern, Lynnclaire also had recurring dreams of a "Circle of Twelve Elders" one of whom is
Asian and who's "avatar" is currently living on Earth. In 1996, Lynnclaire visited China at the invitation of a
scientist named Steve Bryson and within hours of arriving there, she was introduced to a man whom she
recognized as the Asian elder. As a result, Lynnclaire worked with The Gorbachev Foundation and found
doors opening to diplomatic circles in many countries. Lynnclaire views the process behind The Pattern as
being a potentially powerful tool for negotiations. Perhaps the Council of Elders from Lynnclaire's NDE are
giving humanity the proof we need to understand how we are connected religiously, culturally, politically and
metaphysically. As human beings, we are all one and the same.
Dr. Michael Newton's ground-breaking research using hypnotic regression to guide people into past-life
memories led him to the discovery of memories of experiences in out-of-body dimensions between Earth
lives. After performing a great multitude of regressions, Newton realized there existed an important process
after death where people appear before a Council of Elders:
"After souls arrive back into their soul groups, they are summoned to appear before a Council of Elders.
While the Council is not prosecutorial, they do engage in direct examination of a soul's activities before
returning them to their groups. Upon returning to Earth, one of the last requirements before embarkation for
many souls is to go before the Council of Elders for the second time. The spirit world is an environment
personified by order and the Elders want to reinforce the significance of a soul's goals for the next life. Some
return to their spirit group after this meeting to say goodbye while others say they leave immediately for
reincarnation. Those souls getting ready for embarkation to Earth are like battle-hardened veterans girding
themselves for combat. This is the last chance for souls to enjoy the omniscience of knowing just who they
are before they must adapt to a new body." (Dr. Michael Newton)
Dannion Brinkley had an NDE where he was led to a heavenly cathedral by a Being of Light. There he
met twelve more Beings of Light each of whom represented one sign of the zodiac:
"I was able to count the beings as they stood behind the podium. There were thirteen of them, standing
shoulder to shoulder and stretched across the stage. I was aware of other things about them, too, probably
through some form of telepathy. Each one of them represented a different emotional and psychological
characteristic that all humans have. For example, one of these beings was intense and passionate, while
another was artistic and emotional. One was bold and energetic, yet another possessive and loyal. In human
terms, it was as though each one represented a different sign of the zodiac. In spiritual terms, these beings
went far beyond the signs of the zodiac. They emanated these emotions in such a way that I could feel them."
(Dannion Brinkley)
Other experiencers have referred to this group of higher beings by other names as well such as: "a council
of men," or "council", or "Elders", or something similar. This council of twelve has also been identified to be
the twelve apostles of Christ.

(7) The Important Role The Pattern May Play in the Future

Visions of the future, as revealed in many NDEs, are practically unanimous in describing a coming
"Golden Age" on Earth which result from near-death experiencers such as Lynnclaire bringing heavenly
information to Earth. The general consensus from NDE revelations is the Earth will eventually be filled with
people who have evolved spirituality in the same way other enlightened beings have, such as: Christ, Buddha,
Krishna, Muhammad, etc. It will also be a world with surprisingly little technology; and where humanity has
developed "superhuman" or supernatural abilities. For example, humanity has been foreseen to evolve to a
point where groups of people praying together will be able to control the climate. Children have been
foreseen to be the most precious commodity in the world; and raising children has been foreseen to be the
highest priority of the human race. It will be a future where greater understanding of the afterlife will be
common knowledge; and wisdom will be more important than science. According to one NDE experiencer
who was shown the future, Howard Storm, it will be:
"... a euphoric future without anxiety, hatred, and competition" and where everyone will have "enormous
trust and mutual respect" for others. (Howard Storm)
Lynnclaire's extraordinary NDE and her bringing The Pattern into this world is already playing an
important role in humanity. As an example, in my opinion, Lynnclaire's educational program for children,
called BeLonging, will be the perfect system to educate children because it is based upon principles
discovered in The Pattern. Lynnclaire, her NDE and The Pattern is proving to be an important catalyst for
humans to mature spiritually enough to assume a higher place in God's universe.
 CHAPTER 2:
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE AFTERLIFE

Dr. Kenneth Ring published a scientific paper in the Journal of Near-Death Studies (Summer, 1993) about
people who have had a near-death experience (NDE) of a type providing verified evidence supporting the
Afterlife Hypothesis. Such people suddenly find themselves outside of their bodies and observing detailed
events happening far away, sometimes hundreds and thousands of miles away, which were later verified by
third-parties to have actually occurred. This phenomenon is called "veridical perception" and it is currently
unexplainable by modern medical science. Such verified out-of-body observations are highly suggestive of a
reality where consciousness can survive apart from the physical body and perhaps survive even death. Should
conclusive evidence of veridical perception be found under strict laboratory conditions, it would be one of
the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. There have been research studies performed, such as the
AWARE Study, where hospitals have attempted to monitor cardiac patients for possible NDEs as they occur
in the hospital. Targets displaying random images are placed near the ceiling where out-of-body perceptions
are more likely to occur during cardiac arrest. There already exists a substantial amount of anecdotal accounts
of veridical perception, and it may only be a matter of time before out-of-body veridical perception is proven
to exist under strict research controls which will satisfy the skeptics. In this article you will discover even
more astonishing evidence supporting the Afterlife Hypothesis.

1. Scientific Evidence Supporting Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife

A. The list of Scientific Evidence

(1) People have NDEs while they are brain dead

Cardiologist Michael Sabom described a near-death experience that occurred while its experiencer - a
woman who was having an unusual surgical procedure for the safe excision and repair of a large basilar artery
aneurysm - met all of the accepted criteria for brain death. The unusual medical procedure involved the
induction of hypothermic cardiac arrest, in order to ensure that the aneurysm at the base of the brain would
not rupture during the operation. The patient's body temperature was lowered to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, her
heartbeat and breathing ceased, her brain waves flattened, and the blood was completely drained from her
head. Her electroencephalogram was totally flat.

(2) Out-of-body perception during NDEs have been verified

Dr. Bruce Greyson documented perhaps one of the most compelling examples of a person who had an
NDE and observed events while outside of his body which were later verified by others. The only way that
these events could have been observed by the experiencer was if in fact he was outside of his body. Al
Sullivan was a 55-year old truck driver who was undergoing triple by-pass surgery in 1988 when he had a
powerful NDE including an encounter with his deceased mother and brother-in-law, who told Al to go back
to tell one of his neighbors their son with lymphoma will live. Furthermore, during the NDE, Sullivan
accurately noticed the surgeon, Dr. Hiroyoshi Takata, operating on him was "flapping his arms as if trying to
fly" with his hands in his armpits. When he came back to his body after the surgery was over, Sullivan's
cardiologist was startled that Sullivan could describe Dr. Takata's habit of arm flapping. It was Dr. Takata's
idiosyncratic method of keeping his hands sterile and pointing out to surgical instruments and giving
instructions to surgical staff.

(3) People born blind can see during an NDE

Dr. Kenneth Ring and Sharon Cooper completed a two-year study into the NDEs of the blind. They
published their findings in a book entitled "Mindsight" in which they documented the solid evidence of 31
cases in which blind people report visually accurate information obtained during an NDE. Perhaps the best
example in his study is that of a forty-five year old blind woman by the name of Vicki Umipeg. Vicki was
born blind, her optic nerve having been completely destroyed at birth because of an excess of oxygen she
received in the incubator. Yet, she appears to have been able to see during her NDE. Her story is a
particularly clear instance of how NDEs of the congenitally blind can unfold in precisely the same way as do
those of sighted persons.

(4) People have been clinically dead for several days

Rev. George Rodonaia underwent one of the most extended cases of a near-death experience ever
recorded. Pronounced dead immediately after he was hit by a car in 1976, he was left for three days in the
morgue. He did not return to life until a doctor began to make an incision in his abdomen as part of an
autopsy procedure. Prior to his NDE he worked as a neuropathologist. He was also an avowed atheist. Yet
after the experience, he devoted himself exclusively to the study of spirituality, taking a second doctorate in
the psychology of religion. He then became an ordained priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He served as
a pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Baytown, Texas. Rodonaia held an M.D. and a Ph.D. in
neuropathology, and a Ph.D. in the psychology of religion. He delivered a keynote address to the United
Nations on the "Emerging Global Spirituality." Before emigrating to the United States from the Soviet Union
in 1989, he worked as a research psychiatrist at the University of Moscow.

(5) People having NDEs have brought back scientific discoveries

Perhaps the best example of a person having an NDE and bringing back a scientific discovery from it is
the NDE of Lynnclaire Dennis (www.mereon.org). Lynnclaire had an NDE where saw a complex geometric
structure: a knot of Light she recognized to be "the energy of all matter," "life itself," "light", as well as "time
and space." During her life review, a being of light told her she would be "a catalyst for change" and "for
love" in the future. She refers to this knot of light as "The Pattern." With no knowledge of mathematics or
geometry, Lynnclaire provided a detailed description of this new dynamic structure which caught the
attention of renowned University of Illinois Chicago knot theorist, Dr. Louis H. Kauffman, who identified it
as a previously unknown version of the Trefoil knot: it is geospherical and polarized. The matrix generated by
The Pattern was given the scientific name "the Mereon Matrix." Top scientists around the world became
attracted to it when its Prime Frequency derived by the mathematics - a "rational" golden ratio - generated the
entire Matrix within the natural medium of water using a CymaScope. It is no stretch of the imagination to
say this new mathematical discovery is the very science of life and living. The Mereon Matrix's sequential
process generates a coherent link to living and non-living systems whether they are physical, mathematical,
philosophical, or social. The importance of this discovery - the elusive "Pattern of patterns" - is underscored
by the fact that a 600+ page academic textbook was published about the Mereon Matrix in 2013 by Elsevier,
the world's leading provider of science and health information. This textbook entitled "The Mereon Matrix:
Everything Connected Through (K)nothing" is the culmination of Lynnclaire being a catalyst for change and
love as revealed in her NDE. The Mereon Matrix to currently helping humanity solve some of its most
critical problems by offering a new way of systems modeling applicable across a multitude of sciences. It
provides the world with an algorithm representing the unification of knowledge and gives a scientific
framework charting the emergent growth process of systems. Astrobiologist Neville Nick Woolf used the
Mereon Matrix to map the formation of matter starting with the Big Bang. The Mereon Matrix defines, and
sequentially and dynamically unites, the fundamental forms we know to be the building blocks of matter: the
Platonic and Kepler solids. In reference to physics, the Mereon Matrix is a 120/180 polyhedron with
triangular faces - a geometric structure which may be the "mother" of all physical matter because it "breathes"
and "births" new systems. At the center of the Mereon Matrix is a core structure that is a pattern match for
theories about the structure of the nucleus of an atom. The Mereon Matrix is a dynamic process currently
being used as a template for a Universal Systems Model. Modeling human clinical molecular genetics is the
first example of this application. The Mereon Matrix is currently being explored in multiple scientific domains
including alternative energy technologies, medical informatics and healing modalities.

(6) NDEs have produced visions of the future which later became true

Many people were given visions of the future during their near-death experience. Generally, these visions
foretell a future of catastrophic natural disasters and social upheaval followed by a new era of peace and have
actually already come to pass. Some of them did not happen as foretold. Many of these apocalyptic visions
are to happen within the next few decades. Examples of events which have been foretold by the NDE visions
of the future by Edgar Cayce include World War I & II, the 1929 Stock Market Crash, the fall of the Soviet
Union and communism, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Desert Storm war against Iraq in 1990,
and the 9/11 terrorist attack.

(7) Groups of dying people share the same NDE

A rare type of NDE called the "group near-death experience" is a phenomenon where a whole group of
people have an NDE at the same time and location. They see each other outside of their bodies and have a
shared or similar experience. In 1996, NDE researcher Arvin Gibson interviewed a fire-fighter named Jake
who had a most unusual NDE while working with other fire-fighters in a forest. What makes it unique is that
it happened at the same time as several co-workers were also having an NDE. During their NDEs, they
actually met each other and saw each other above their lifeless bodies. All survived and they verified with
each other afterwards that the experience actually happened. Jake's near-death experience was so interesting
that Gibson's local chapter of IANDS invited him to tell his story at one of their meetings. Another example
of a group NDE is described in the IANDS publication Vital Signs (Volume XIX, No. 3, 2000) and is
described in a greater way in Dr. Stephen Hoyer and May Eulitt's book entitled "Fireweaver: The Story of a
Life, a Near-Death, and Beyond."

(8) NDEs cannot be explained by brain chemistry alone

Dr. Jeffrey Long is a physician practicing the specialty of radiation oncology in Houma, Louisiana. Dr.
Long served on the Board of Directors of IANDS, and is actively involved in NDE research. In his book,
"Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences," Dr. Long documents a study he
conducted - the largest scientific study of NDEs ever. It is based on his research of over 1,300 NDEs shared
with NDERF.org. Using his treasure trove of data, Dr. Long explains how NDEs cannot be explained by
brain chemistry alone, how medical evidence fails to explain them away and why there is only one plausible
explanation - that people have survived death and traveled to another dimension. Dr. Long makes his case
using nine lines of evidence and they are the following:
A. Crystal-Clear Consciousness. The level of conscious alertness during NDEs is usually greater than that
experienced in everyday life - even though NDEs generally occur when a person is unconscious or clinically
dead. This high level of consciousness while physically unconscious is medically unexplained. Additionally,
the elements in NDEs generally follow the same consistent and logical order in all age groups and around the
world, which refutes the possibility that NDEs have any relation to dreams or hallucinations.
B. Realistic Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs): OBEs are one of the most common elements of NDEs.
Events witnessed and heard by NDErs while in an out-of-body state are almost always realistic. When the
NDEr or others later seek to verify what was witnessed or heard during the NDE, their OBE observations
are almost always confirmed as completely accurate. Even if the OBE observations include events occurring
far away from the physical body, and far from any possible sensory awareness of the NDEr, the OBE
observations are still almost always confirmed as completely accurate. This fact alone rules out the possibility
that NDEs are related to any known brain functioning or sensory awareness. This also refutes the possibility
that NDEs are unrealistic fragments of memory from the brain.
C. Heightened Senses. Not only are heightened senses reported by most who have NDEs, normal or
supernormal vision has occurred in those with significantly impaired vision, and even legal blindness. Several
people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual NDEs. This is medically
unexplainable.
D. Consciousness During Anesthesia. Many NDEs occur while the NDEr is under general anesthesia - at
a time when any conscious experience should be impossible. While some skeptics claim these NDEs may be
the result of too little anesthesia, this ignores the fact that some NDEs result from anesthesia overdose.
Additionally, descriptions of a NDEs differ greatly from those people who experiences "anesthetic
awareness." The content of NDEs occurring under general anesthesia is essentially indistinguishable from
NDEs that do not occur under general anesthesia. This is stronger evidence that NDEs occur independent
from the functioning of the material brain.
E. Perfect Playback. Life reviews in NDEs include real events which previously occurred in the lives of
the NDEr - even if the events were forgotten or happened before they were old enough to remember.
F. Family Reunions. During an NDE, the experiencer may encounter people who are virtually always
deceased and are usually relatives of the NDEr. Sometimes they include relatives who died before the NDEr
was even born. If NDEs are merely the product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly include
far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.
G. Children’s Experiences. The NDEs of children, including very young children who are too young to
have developed concepts of death, religion, or NDEs, are essentially identical to those of older children and
adults. This refutes the possibility that the content of NDEs is produced by preexisting beliefs or cultural
conditioning.
H. Worldwide Consistency. NDEs appear remarkably consistent around the world, and across many
different religions and cultures. NDEs from non-Western countries are incredibly similar to those occurring
in people in Western countries.
I. Aftereffects. It is common for people to experience major life changes after having NDEs. These
aftereffects are often powerful, lasting, life-enhancing, and the changes generally follow a consistent pattern.
NDErs themselves are practically universal in their belief that their experience of the afterlife was real.

(9) The skeptical "dying brain" theory of NDEs has been falsified

Two competing hypotheses are advanced in a book by skeptic Susan Blackmore entitled Dying to Live
and they are (1) The Afterlife Hypothesis and (2) Susan Blackmore's The Dying Brain Hypothesis. The
Afterlife Hypothesis states spirit survives body death. The NDE is the result of spirit separating from the
body. The Dying Brain Hypothesis states the NDE is an artifact of brain chemistry. According to the dying
brain hypothesis, there is no spirit which survives body death. Skeptics who claim the author of Dying to Live
is non biased are proven wrong; skeptics who claim she provides scientific proof are shown, by her own
words, to be in error.
Because NDEs have many common core elements, this suggests that they are spiritual voyages outside of
the body. Also, if the dying brain creates NDE illusions, what is the purpose for doing it? If our brains are
only a high-tech computer-like lump of tissue which produces our mind and personality, why does it bother
to create illusions at the time of death? If everything, including the mind and personality, are about to
disintegrate, why would the brain produce a last wonderful Grand Finale vision? Even if NDE elements can
be reduced to only a series of brain reactions, this does not negate the idea that NDEs are more than a brain
thing.

(10) Skeptical arguments against NDEs are not valid

 Sociologist Dr. Allan Kellehear states that some scientific theories are often presented as the most logical,
factual, objective, credible, and progressive possibilities, as opposed to the allegedly subjective, superstitious,
abnormal, or dysfunctional views of mystics. The rhetorical opinions of some NDE theories are presented as
if they were scientific (Kellehear, 1996, 120). Many skeptical arguments against the survival theory are actually
arguments from pseudo-skeptics who often think they have no burden of proof. Such arguments often based
on scientism with assumptions that survival is impossible even though survival has not been ruled out. Faulty
conclusions are often made such as, "Because NDEs have a brain chemical connection then survival is
impossible." Pseudo-skeptical arguments are sometimes made that do not consider the entire body of
circumstantial evidence supporting the possibility of survival or do not consider the possibility of new
paradigms. Such pseudo-skeptical claims are often made without any scientific evidence.

(11) Quantum theory supports concepts found in NDEs

Principles of quantum physics and quantum mechanics supports concepts found in NDEs including a
universal light (the Big Bang), a creator of the cosmos (Gödel’s incompleteness theorem), an omnipresent
energy field (the "God particle" or Higgs field), a cosmic memory (holographic universe), a holistic oneness
of all things (holographic principle), a conscious universe (fractal cosmology), panpsychism (quantum
indeterminacy and emergence), collective unconscious (quantum consciousness), consciousness creating
reality (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle), telepathy (quantum entanglement), mind over matter (wave
function collapse), synchronicity (space time continuum), mind/brain dualism (wave-particle duality),
mind/body separation (quantum nonlocality), an immortal "soul" or consciousness (quantum immortality and
the law of conservation of energy: energy can neither be created nor destroyed), out-of-body experiences
(quantum superposition), astral body (bioelectromagnetics), bilocation (quantum coherence), the NDE tunnel
(black holes and wormholes), multidimensional realms (string theory), a higher self (parallel universes), an
invisible realm (dark energy), a Void realm (zero point field), a timeless realm (theory of relativity), entire
lifetime memory (holonomic brain theory and Orch-OR), life review flashback (delayed choice quantum
eraser experiments), life review flash-forward (many-worlds interpretation), instantaneous spirit travel
(electricity teleportation and quantum tunneling), reincarnation (omega point and quantum gravity),
subjectivity as true reality (the principle of complementarity), objective reality as illusionary (simulation
hypothesis).

(12) The transcendent nature of minds in NDEs corresponds with physics

New developments in quantum physics show we cannot know phenomena apart from the observer and
how the observer plays a supreme role in creating reality. Arlice Davenport has challenged the hallucination
theory of NDEs as outmoded because the field theories of physics now suggest new paradigm options
available to explain NDEs. Mark Woodhouse says the traditional materialism/dualism battle over NDEs has
already been solved by Einstein. Since matter can now be viewed as a form of energy, an energy body
alternative to the material body can now explain NDEs. This is also supported by Melvin Morse who has
described NDEs that are able to realign charges in the electromagnetic field of the human body and wiring of
the brain. He reports on patients having NDEs who recover from diseases such as pneumonia, cardiac arrest,
and cancer (Transformed by the Light, pp. 153-54) suggesting the brain acts more like a receiver of
information much like a television, radio, or cell phone. Signals, such as voice or music, in the form of
electromagnetic waves, are received by the brain and processed to make them audible to the senses. At death,
the brain (receiver) dies; but consciousness (the signal), in the form of electromagnetic waves, continues to
exist (in the airwaves).

13. NDEs support the "reducing valve" theory of consciousness

One particular theory of consciousness which is supported by NDE research involves the expansion after
death. Stanislav Grof, a leading consciousness researcher, explained this theory in the documentary entitled
"Life After Death" by Tom Harpur: "My first idea was that it [consciousness] has to be hard-wired in the
brain. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how something like that is possible. Today, I came to the
conclusion that it is not coming from the brain. In that sense, it supports what Aldous Huxley believed after
he had some powerful psychedelic experiences and was trying to link them to the brain. He came to the
conclusion that maybe the brain acts as a kind of reducing valve that actually protects us from too much
cosmic input ... I don't think you can locate the source of consciousness. I am quite sure it is not in the brain
– not inside of the skull ... It actually, according to my experience, would lie beyond time and space, so it is
not localizable. You actually come to the source of consciousness when you dissolve any categories that imply
separation, individuality, time, space and so on. You just experience it as a presence."

(14) NDEs demonstrate the return of consciousness from death

An anecdotal example of evidence that a person's consciousness leaves and returns to their body during
an NDE comes from the research of Dr. Melvin Morse. Olga Gearhardt was a 63-year old woman who
underwent a heart transplant because of a severe virus that attacked her heart tissue. Her entire family waited
at the hospital during the surgery, except for her son-in-law, who stayed home. The transplant was a success,
but at exactly 2:15 am, her new heart stopped beating. It took the frantic transplant team three more hours to
revive her. Her family was only told in the morning that her operation was a success, without other details.
When they called her son-in-law with the good news, he had his own news to tell. He had already learned
about the successful surgery. At exactly 2:15 am, while he was sleeping, he awoke to see his Olga, his mother-
in-law, at the foot of his bed. She told him not to worry, that she was going to be alright. She asked him to
tell her daughter (his wife). He wrote down the message, and the time of day and then fell asleep. Later on at
the hospital, Olga regained consciousness. Her first words were "did you get the message?" She was able to
confirm that she left her body during her near-death experience and was able to travel to her son-in-law to
communicate to him the message. This anecdotal evidence demonstrates that the near-death experience is a
return to consciousness at the point of death, when the brain is dying. Dr. Melvin Morse thoroughly
researched Olga's testimony and every detail had objective verification including the scribbled note by the
son-in-law.
In June 2005, scientists of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh
announced that they succeeded in reviving dogs after three hours of clinical death. The procedure involved
draining all the blood from the dogs' bodies and filled them with an ice-cold salt solution. These dogs were
scientifically dead, as their breathing and heartbeat were stopped and they registered no brain activity. But
three hours later, their blood was replaced and they were brought back to life with an electric shock with no
brain damage. A spokesman said the technique will eventually be tried on humans.

(15) Memories of NDEs are More Real Than Normal Memories

Researchers at the Coma Science Group, directed by Steven Laureys, and the University of Liege's
Cognitive Psychology Research, headed by Professor Serge Bredart and Hedwige Dehon, have demonstrated
that the physiological mechanisms triggered during NDEs lead to a more vivid perception not only of
imagined events in the history of an individual but also of real events which have taken place in their lives.
These surprising results - obtained using an original method which now requires further investigation - were
published in PLOS ONE. The researchers looked into the memories of NDEs with the hypothesis that if the
memories of NDEs were pure products of the imagination, their phenomenological characteristics (e.g.,
sensorial, self-referential, emotional, etc. details) should be closer to those of imagined memories. Conversely,
if the NDE are experienced in a way similar to that of reality, their characteristics would be closer to the
memories of real events. Their results were surprising. From the perspective being studied, not only were the
NDEs not similar to the memories of imagined events, but the phenomenological characteristics inherent to
the memories of real events (e.g. memories of sensorial details) are even more numerous in the memories of
NDE than in the memories of real events.

(16) Raymond Moody's NDE study has been replicated

 In 1975, Dr. Raymond Moody published a book entitled "Life After Life" which described his findings
from his study on near-death experiences. Moody's book became a bestseller and focused public attention on
the NDE like never before. Moody recorded and compared the experiences of 150 persons who died, or
almost died, and then recovered. Moody outlined nine elements that generally occur during NDEs: (1)
hearing strange sounds, (2) feelings of peace, (3) feelings of painlessness, (4) out-of-body experiences, (5)
experiencing a tunnel, (6) rising rapidly into the heavens, (7) seeing beings of light, (8) experiencing a life
review, (9) a reluctance to return to the body. Dr. Ken Ring's replicated this NDE study by Dr. Raymond
Moody. Ring's research conclusions include:
(a) Dr. Moody's research findings are confirmed.
(b) NDEs happen to people of all races, genders, ages, education, marital status, and social class.
(c) Religious orientation is not a factor.
(d) People are convinced of the reality of their NDE experience.
(e) Drugs do not appear to be a factor.
(f) NDEs are not hallucinations.
(g) NDEs often involve unparalleled feelings.
(h) People lose their fear of death and appreciate life more after having an NDE.
(i) People's lives are transformed after having an NDE.

(17) NDEs have been validated in scientific studies

On October 23, 2000, The BBC reported: "Evidence of Life After Death" about a study in the UK
conducted by Dr. Sam Parnia and others at the University of Southampton which provided scientific
evidence suggesting the survival of consciousness after clinical and brain death. Then on June 29, 2001, ABC
News reported: "Study Suggests Life After Death: Brains of Dead Heart Attack Patients Still Function"
concerning the same study. These findings support other NDE evidence suggestive of life after death.

(18) NDEs can be considered to be an objective experience

Carl Becker, Ph.D. received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in 1981. He has researched NDEs in
Japanese hospitals and literature for 30 years. Dr. Becker has published numerous books on bioethics, death
and dying, and NDEs in both Japan and the United States. Currently, Dr. Becker is a Professor of Bioethics
and Comparative Religion at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Carl Becker examined four ways in which
NDEs may be considered objective:
(a) Paranormal knowledge that is later verified
(b) The similarity of deathbed events in different cultures
(c) Differences between religious expectations and visionary experiences
(d) Third-party observations of visionary figures, indicating that they were not merely subjective
hallucinations (Becker, 1984).

(19) Out-of-body experiences have been validated in scientific studies

In 1968, a paper by Dr. Charles Tart was published entitled "Psychophysiological Study of Out of the
Body Experiences in a Selected Subject" which documented the out-of-body experience of a young woman
who was one of his research subjects. What makes her particular out-of-body experience remarkable is that
she was able to leave her physical body, read a 5-digit number from a significant distance, and correctly recall
the number to Dr. Tart upon return to her body. The odds of guessing a 5-digit number correctly are 1 in
100,000. Her OBE is an outstanding example of "veridical out-of-body perception" - where verified events
are observed while in an out-of-body state.

(20) The replication of OBEs satisfies the scientific method

 In 2002, Neurologist Professor Olaf Blanke and colleagues at Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland
were using electrodes to stimulate the brain of a female patient suffering from Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. They
found that stimulating one spot - the "God spot" - the angular gyrus in the right cortex - repeatedly caused
out-of-body experiences. The doctors did not set out to achieve this out-of-body effect - they were simply
treating the women for epilepsy. Apparently, the increased electrical activity in the brain resulting from
seizure activity (abnormal electrical activity in the brain), makes sufferers more susceptible to having near-
death experiences. The doctors believe the angular gyrus plays an important role in matching up visual
information and the brain's touch and balance representation of the body. When the two become dissociated,
an out-body-experience may result. Writing in the journal Nature, Electrodes Trigger Out-of-Body
Experiences, the Swiss team said out-of-body experiences tended to be short-lived, and to disappear when a
person attempts to inspect parts of their body (autoscopy). Professor Blanke told BBC News Online that
"OBEs have been reported in neurological patients with epilepsy, migraine and after cerebral strokes, but they
also appear in healthy subjects. Awareness of a biological basis of OBEs might allow some patients who
suffer frequently from OBEs to talk about them more openly. In addition, physicians might take the
phenomenon more seriously and carry out necessary investigations such as an EEG, MRI, and neurological
examinations." However, it must be pointed out that Blanke views OBEs as merely induced mental self-
images and not an actual experience of consciousness separating from the physical body. Nevertheless,
Blanke's study does show that OBEs satisfy the scientific method as being a real phenomenon worthy of
scientific research.

(21) Autoscopy during NDEs have been validated in scientific studies

Pim van Lommel led a 2001 study concerning the NDEs of research subjects who had cardiac arrest and
the results were published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet.. The findings of the study suggest
that research subjects can experience consciousness, with self-identity, cognitive function and memories,
including the possibility of perception outside their body during a flat EEG. Those research subjects who had
NDEs report that their NDE was a bonafide preview of the afterlife.

(22) Experimental evidence shows NDEs are real experiences

Science demands verifiable evidence which can be reproduced again and again under experimental
situations. Dr. Jim Whinnery, of the National Warfare Institute, thought he was simply studying the effects of
G forces on fighter pilots. He had no idea he would revolutionize the field of consciousness studies by
providing experimental proof that NDEs are real. The pilots were placed in huge centrifuges and spun at
tremendous speeds. After they lost consciousness, after they went into seizures, after they lost all muscle
tone, when the blood stopped flowing in their brains, only then would they suddenly have a return to
conscious awareness. They had "dreamlets" as Dr. Whinnery calls them. These dreamlets are similar to near-
death experiences and they often involved a sense of separation from the physical body. A typical dreamlet
involved a pilot leaving his physical body and traveling to a sandy beach, where he looked directly up at the
sun. The pilots would remark that death is very pleasant.

(23) Dream research supports NDEs and an afterlife

One of the strangest cases in the history of dream research is described in the documentary, The Secret
World of Dreams. It describes the amazing story of a woman named Claire Sylvia. She was a professional
dancer with several modern dance companies. As the years passed, Claire's health began to deteriorate. Claire
Sylvia had to undergo a heart and lung transplant. Soon after the transplant, she began having strange and
incredibly vivid dreams about a young man she didn't recognize. Eventually, Claire realized that the young
man in her dreams was the eighteen-year-old organ donor whose heart and lungs resided in her chest.
Through her continuing dream contacts with her donor, she learned a lot about him including his name. She
then decided to do the research to find out if this "heavenly" information was correct.
 Yale University Pediatric Cancer specialist Dr. Diane Komp reported that many dying children have
NDEs which often occurred during dreams. One boy, for example, told Dr. Komp that Jesus had visited him
in a big yellow school bus and told him he would die soon. The boy died as he predicted.
According to the celebrated psychiatrist and dream analyst, Marie Louise Von Franz, and based on her
analysis of over 10,000 dreams of the dying, the meaning being communicated is that the light of the
individual, one of the common metaphors for life that we've heard so often, goes out at death but is
miraculously renewed on the other side. In other words, the spirit seems to live on. This dream then
illustrates perfectly a profound insight of the great psychoanalyst and mentor of Dr. Von Franz, Carl Jung,
MD, who has said: "The unconscious psyche believes in a life after death." According to Jung, dream symbols
which exist in the very depths of the soul behave as if the psychic life of the individual will continue. In Dr.
Von Franz' words: "These symbols depict the end of bodily life and the explicit continuation of psychic life
after death. In other words, our last dreams prepare us for death."

(24) Deathbed visions supports NDEs and an afterlife

Dr. Carla Wills-Brandon has researched, in depth, the universal phenomenon of the Deathbed Vision
(DBV) and has included her findings in her book, One Last Hug Before I Go. Complete with her own
personal encounters, and those of numerous other DBV experiencers, this revolutionary work explores
DBVs throughout history, from ancient Egypt to modern-day America. Through the visions and experiences
common to all dying people, one can learn more about the spiritual journey that begins with death. According
to recent studies, only about 10% of people are conscious shortly before their death. Of this group, 50% to
67% have DBVs.

(25) Remote viewing supports NDEs and an afterlife

On April 23, 1984, the Washington Post reported: "The Race for Inner Space" about the CIA's remote
viewing program. On August 12, 1985, the Deseret News reported: "The United States is Still Involved in
ESP-ionage." More media attention followed. One theory about how remote viewing works is that gifted or
trained people can tap into a "Universal Mind." NDE research also suggests the reality of a Universal or
Collective Consciousness. Some of the most credible remote reviewers, such as Joseph McMoneagle, received
their remote viewing powers from a near-death experience.

(26) People having NDEs are convinced they saw an afterlife

In 1977, Dr. Kenneth Ring was a brilliant young professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut
who read Dr. Raymond Moody's book, Life After Life, and was inspired by it. However, he felt that a more
scientifically structured study would strengthen Moody's findings. He sought out 102 near-death survivors for
his research. He concluded:
"Regardless of their prior attitudes - whether skeptical or deeply religious - and regardless of the many
variations in religious beliefs and degrees of skepticism from tolerant disbelief to outspoken atheism - most of
these people were convinced that they had been in the presence of some supreme and loving power and had
a glimpse of a life yet to come." (Dr. Kenneth Ring)
For the multitude of near-death experiencers who know they have left their bodies and received a glimpse
of life after death, there is no amount of clinical explanation that will ever convince them otherwise.

(27) Atheists believe in an afterlife after having NDEs

Atheists have deathbed experiences and near-death experiences just like everyone else does. The
philosophy of Positivism, founded by the famous atheist named A. J. Ayer, is the philosophy that anything
not verifiable by the senses is nonsense. Because NDEs mark the end of the senses, Positivists believe the
survival of the senses after death is nonsense. But this philosophy has been challenged by its founder A. J.
Ayer himself. Later in life, Ayer had an NDE where he saw a red light. Ayer's NDE made him a changed
man: "My recent experiences, have slightly weakened my conviction that my genuine death ... will be the end
of me, though I continue to hope that it will be." (Ayer, 1988 a,b) (Read more about it from an article in the
National Post and an article by Gerry Lougrhan: Can there be life after life? Ask the atheist! (by Gerry
Lougrhan, Letter From London, March 18, 2001.)
A non-NDE example comes from Antony Flew, a champion of atheist beliefs for more than 50 years. In a
news article titled "Atheist Discovers 'The Science of God'": "One of Britain's most prominent atheists has
decided that God might exist after all. Professor Antony Flew now believes there is scientific evidence
supporting the theory of some sort of intelligence behind the creation the universe. Professor Flew, 81, a
professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Reading, said that this was the only explanation for the
origin of life ... "I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from
the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots - cosmic Saddam Husseins," he
said in his new video, "Has Science Discovered God?"

(28) Childhood NDEs are remarkably similar to adult NDEs

The NDE researcher P.M.H. Atwater has pointed out the fascinating anomaly that an amazing number of
people important to the evolution of humankind may well have had such an episode during their childhood.
She discusses this at length in both of her books, Future Memory and Children of the New Millennium.
Some of the notable child NDEs she came across were Abraham Lincoln, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Queen
Elizabeth I, Edward de Vere/the 17th Earl of Oxford (who most likely is the real Shakespeare), Winston
Churchill, Black Elk, Walter Russell, plus several others.

(29) NDEs have been reported for thousands of years

Reports of near-death experiences are not a new phenomenon. A great number of them have been
recorded over a period of thousands of years. The ancient religious texts such as The Tibetan Book of the
Dead, the Christian Bible, and the Koran describe experiences of life after death which remarkably resembles
modern NDEs. The oldest surviving explicit report of an NDE in Western literature comes from the famed
Greek philosopher, Plato, who describes an event in his tenth book of his legendary book entitled Republic.
Plato discusses the story of Er, a soldier who awoke on his funeral pyre and described his journey into the
afterlife. But this story is not just a random anecdote for Plato. He integrated at least three elements of the
NDE into his philosophy: the departure of the soul from the cave of shadows to see the light of truth, the
flight of the soul to a vision of pure celestial being and its subsequent recollection of the vision of light, which
is the very purpose of philosophy.

(30) The expansion of consciousness occurs during NDEs

The following NDE descriptions of consciousness expansion supports the theory of consciousness
described above by Stanislav Grof. It theorizes that the brain acts as a reducing valve of cosmic input to
produce consciousness. At death, this reducing-valve function ceases and consciousness is then free to
expand. The following NDEs support this:
(a) "I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in
everything in the Universe!" (Mellen-Thomas Benedict)
(b) "My mind felt like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition ... I could feel my mind
expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to belong." (Virginia Rivers)
(c) "In your life review you'll be the universe." (Thomas Sawyer)
(d) "This white light began to infiltrate my consciousness. It came into me. It seemed I went out into it. I
expanded into it as it came into my field off consciousness." (Jayne Smith)
(e) "My presence fills the room. And now I feel my presence in every room in the hospital. Even the
tiniest space in the hospital is filled with this presence that is me. I sense myself beyond the hospital, above
the city, even encompassing Earth. I am melting into the universe. I am everywhere at once." (Josiane
Antonette)
 (f) "I felt myself expanding and expanding until I thought, "I'm going to burst!" The moment I thought,
"I'm going to burst!” I suddenly found myself alone, back where this being had met me, and he had gone."
(Margaret Tweddelll)
(g) NDE skeptic Susan Blackmore had an out-of-body experience where she left her body and grew very
big, as big as a planet at first, and then she filled the solar system and finally she became as large as the
universe. (Susan Blackmore)

(31) NDEs triggered by drugs satisfies the scientific method

Dr. Karl Jansen is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is the world's leading expert on
ketamine. He has studied ketamine at every level. While earning his doctorate in clinical pharmacology at the
University of Oxford, he photographed the receptors to which ketamine binds in the human brain. He has
published papers on his discovery of the similarities between ketamine's psychoactive effects and the near-
death experience during his study of medicine in New Zealand. Because there exists a biological basis for
NDEs and a method to replicate NDEs, this satisfies the scientific criteria for NDEs being a real, scientific
phenomenon. However, this is not to say there are no problems with comparing hallucinations with NDEs as
will be shown later in this web page. Dr. Karl Jansen's ketamine research findings include:
(a) NDEs and ketamine produce identical visions (see Ketamine: Dreams and Realities.
(b) NDEs and ketamine both induce real visions of a real god (see this Lycaeum.org article: Using
Ketamine to Induce the NDE).
(c) Ketamine affects the right temporal lobe, the hippocampus and associated structures in the brain, the
"God" spot (see this online paper Can Science Replace Religion?).
(d) NDEs are an important phenomenon that can safely be reproduced by ketamine (see How to Have an
NDE).

(32) NDEs are different from hallucinations

NDEs are not a denial of reality, as is often seen in drug or oxygen deprivation induced hallucinations.
There are not the distortions of time, place, body image and disorientations seen in drug induced experiences.
They instead typically involve the perception of another reality superimposed over this one. For example, one
young boy told Dr. Melvin Morse that "god took me in his hands and kept me safe" while medics were
frantically trying to revived his body after a near drowning. He said and understood everything happening to
him, but simply perceived something we usually don't perceive at other times in our lives. German
psychiatrist Michael Schroeter-Kunhardt in his extensive review of all published near death research states
there is no reason to believe NDEs are the result of psychiatric pathology or brain dysfunction.

(33) NDEs change people unlike hallucinations and dreams

No matter what the nature of the NDE, it alters lives. Alcoholics find themselves unable to imbibe.
Hardened criminals opt for a life of helping others. Atheists embrace the existence of a deity, while dogmatic
members of a particular religion report "feeling welcome in any church or temple or mosque."
Nancy Evans Bush, president emeritus of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, says the
experience is revelatory. "Most near-death survivors say they don't think there is a God," she says. "They
know." In 1975, when Raymond Moody published Life After Life, a book that coined the term "near-death
experience" (NDE) to describe this hard-to-define phenomenon. Moody interviewed 150 near-death patients
who reported vivid experiences (flashing back to childhood, coming face to face with Christ). He found that
those who had undergone NDEs became more altruistic, less materialistic, and more loving.
Bruce Greyson and Ian Stevenson have been instrumental in gathering evidence indicating that religious
backgrounds do not affect who is most likely to have an NDE. They have mapped out the conversion-like
effects of NDEs that can sometimes lead to hardship. "They can see the good in all people," Greyson says of
people who have experienced the phenomenon. "They act fairly naive, and they often allow themselves to be
opened up to con men who abuse their trust." They have gathered reports of high divorce rates and problems
in the workplace following NDEs. "The values you get from an NDE are not the ones you need to function
in everyday life," says Greyson. Having stared eternity in the face, he observes, those who return often lose
their taste for ego-boosting achievement. Not even the diehard skeptics doubt the powerful personal effects
of NDEs. "This is a profound emotional experience," explains Nuland. "People are convinced that they've
seen heaven."

(34) NDEs have advanced the field of medical science

Another example of bringing back scientific discoveries resulting from an NDE comes from Mellen-
Thomas Benedict. After his NDE, Mellen-Thomas Benedict brought back a great deal of scientific
information concerning biophotonics, cellular communication, quantum biology, and DNA research. Mellen-
Thomas Benedict currently holds eight U.S. patents and is always working on more. In a 2007 interview with
Guy Spiro of Lightworks, Mellen-Thomas discusses this phenomenon:
From Mellen-Thomas Benedict's NDE: "One of the things I did that got me a lot of attention was
working with the University of Texas. I was brought in with Dr. Ken Ring and not told what it was going to
be or any details whatsoever and I didn’t know anything until we entered the room. By the way, this was
videotaped and recorded. At that time, I could do almost a self-hypnosis and get to the light.
"So, the University of Texas sat me down and they said, 'Today, we are going to be working on something
call CNT.' That was all the information that they gave me, that it was a medical problem, and then I did my
technique. In those days, the only tools that I brought with me were a big pad of paper and large Crayola
crayons. I could sit there, go to the light and still speak to you and draw pictures while seeing.
"With this experiment, I went to the light and asked 'What information can we bring back?' I almost
immediately started drawing and I drew something that to me looked like two horse shoes. A big horse shoe
facing down on the bottom and a smaller horse shoe facing up on top. I said, 'The answer is in this upper
horse shoe and it’s these three segments.' I numbered them exactly and I said, 'That’s where the problem is
and the real problem is in this third piecing which is this thing.' I was pointing out a gene, but I didn’t know
any of that. And then I drew picture and I said, 'There are two heads on it and one head is normal and the
one that isn’t right is overriding the head that is. If we can figure out a way to cleave that head off, I think we
can cure this.'
"It turns out that I was exactly right. I helped decode a genetic disease and the information was very
accurate. Everybody thanked me and I went away. Then about three months later, I started getting letters and
calls saying, 'My God, you hit it right on the head! This is astounding. There is no way you could have had
this information in advance.' I did a fair number of projects like that and a fair number of think tanks, all of
which you have to sign nondisclosures and promise to never talk about. I worked in a lot of think tanks with
some very impressive world class scientists over the next ten years until I retired from all that in 1995."
(Mellen-Thomas Benedict)

(35) NDEs have advanced the field of psychology

In a hospital in Switzerland in 1944, the world-renowned psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, had a heart attack and
then a near-death experience. His vivid encounter with the light, plus the intensely meaningful insights led
Jung to conclude that his experience came from something real and eternal. Jung's experience is unique in
that he saw the Earth from a vantage point of about a thousand miles above it. His incredibly accurate view
of the Earth from outer space was described about two decades before astronauts in space first described it.
Subsequently, as he reflected on life after death, Jung recalled the meditating Hindu from his near-death
experience and read it as a parable of the archetypal Higher Self, the God-image within. Carl Jung, who
founded analytical psychology, centered on the archetypes of the collective unconscious. During his near-
death experiences, he met the avatar of the physician who was treating him and was still living on Earth.

(36) NDEs have advanced the fields of philosophy and religion

Philosophies and religions were founded on NDEs. The famed Greek philosopher, Plato, described at the
conclusion of his legendary work entitled Republic, the NDE account of a soldier named Er which has
greatly influenced religious, philosophical, and scientific thought for many centuries. Plato integrated at least
three elements of this NDE into his philosophy: (1) The departure of the soul from "the cave of shadows" to
see the light of truth, (2) The flight of the soul to a vision of pure celestial being, (3) Its subsequent
recollection of the vision of light, which is the very purpose of philosophy.
When it comes to religion, one NDE was responsible for making Christianity a world religion. The apostle
Paul once persecuted Christians until he converted to Christianity himself because of an NDE which he
described as follows: "I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up the third heaven.
Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows. And I know that this person -
whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows - was caught up to paradise. He
heard inexpressible things, things that people are not permitted to tell. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). In this letter,
Paul based his authority as an apostle on this NDE. Some or all of his revelations of Jesus certainly came
from this NDE. The inspiration of much of the New Testament can therefore be attributed to Paul's NDE.
Tibetan Buddhism is a religion based upon the NDEs of "deloks" which are described in the Tibetan
Book of the Dead, whose actual title is "The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State" or
"Bardo Thodol." This holy book describes what happens after death and has striking parallels with modern
NDEs. The Bardo Thodol is a guide that is read aloud to the dead while they are in the out-of-body state
between death and reincarnation in order for them to recognize the nature of their mind and attain liberation
from the cycle of rebirth. The Bardo Thodol teaches that once awareness is freed from the body, it creates its
own reality as one would experience in a lucid dream. This dream occurs in various afterlife realms (bardos)
in ways both wonderful and terrifying. Overwhelming peaceful and wrathful visions and beings appear.
Because the deceased may be in a state of confusion due to its disconnection from its physical body, it might
need help and guidance in order for enlightenment and liberation (Nirvana) to occur. The Bardo Thodol
teaches how we can attain Nirvana by recognizing the heavenly realms instead of entering into the lower
realms where the cycle of birth and rebirth continue.

(37) NDEs have the nature of an archetypal initiatory journey

Dr. Kenneth Ring believes NDEs can be viewed psychologically as archetypal initiatory journeys involving
a death of one's old ego and a rebirth of a new Self. In addition, he thinks an adequate interpretation must
incorporate the spiritual realm of Kundalini experiences, the imaginal realm, and the Mind at Large. As Ring
envisions in his essay in the book, The Near-Death Experience: A Reader, this shift in thinking will
deconstruct our traditional Western worldview. It may bring a dramatic next step of evolution towards a
more ecological and more compassionate consciousness.

(38) Contact with the deceased have occurred under scientific controls

On October 4, 1999, the University of Arizona announced a study conducted by Dr. Gary Schwartz: "UA
Researchers Look Beyond the Grave" concerning scientific evidence supporting a theory of the existence of a
Universal Living Memory. This was achieved by testing highly qualified psychic mediums to see if they could
contact the dead. The success of this study is important in that it supports NDE research in providing a
scientific foundation toward investigating the survival of consciousness after death.

(39) Many people have experienced after-death communications

An after-death communication (ADC) is a spiritual experience that occurs when a person is contacted
directly and spontaneously by a family member or friend who has died. During their seven years of research,
Bill and Judy Guggenheim at www.after-death.com collected more than 3,300 firsthand reports from people
who believe they have been contacted by a deceased loved one. Their book, Hello From Heaven, documents
many such experiences.

(40) A transcendental "sixth sense" of the human mind exists

 On September 11, 2003, new research by the Institute of Psychiatry caused British scientists to announce
that there is convincing evidence that people are capable of paranormal feats, such as premonitions, telepathy,
and out-of-body experiences. The British Association for the Advancement of Science was told an increasing
number of experiments support the theory of a human "sixth sense" - an ability which may have its roots in
our past, when the ability to sense the presence of a predator was a matter of life or death. The view that
people are capable of paranormal feats, such as premonitions, telepathy, and out-of-body experiences, is
supported by new research by the Institute of Psychiatry, which suggests the human mind may exist outside
the body like an invisible magnetic field. The research is being led by Dr. Peter Fenwick, a neuropsychiatrist
at London University, who has just completed a survey of heart patients claiming to have had "near-death
experiences" after their hearts had stopped beating.

(41) The brain's connection to a higher power has been validated

Dr. Melvin Morse is the former Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington and has
studied near-death experiences in children for over 15 years and is the author of several outstanding books on
the subject. In his book, Where God Lives, Morse makes the case that a connection to the right temporal
lobe of the brain (the "God Spot") to a higher power or "force" in the universe has been validated in the
merging of scientific and paranormal research. Such research includes the following:
(a) Right temporal lobe activity verifies the reality of the brain's connection to a higher power (see Where
God Lives)
(b) Memories can exist outside of the brain (see Holonomic Brain Theory, Holographic Principle, Orch-
OR).
(c) Evidence exists supporting the theory that consciousness exists in some form after death (see the
NDE of Pam Reynolds).
(d) People can exhibit supernatural powers after having an NDE (see Joseph McMoneagle and Remote
Viewing).
(e) The brain can be induced to have paranormal experiences (see The Trigger of Brain Stimulation).
(f) Consciousness research supports the reality of discarnate consciousness (see Dr. Gary Schwartz HBO
Study) and global consciousness (see The Global Consciousness Project).
(g) Scientific evidence exists supporting the theory of reincarnation (see Dr. Ian Stevenson's research).

(42) Apparitions of the dead have been induced under scientific controls

Dr. Raymond Moody, who became famous for his pioneering studies of NDEs, has been working on
ways of inducing facilitated apparitions in a controlled setting. He took as his model classic works from
ancient Greece which suggested that when people wished to contact a deceased loved one they consulted
with an 'oracle' at a psychomanteum. A psychomanteum is a specially built laboratory using mirrors to help
facilitate the psychic process. Part of the actual psychic process includes the sending of telepathic messages,
sending vibrations - to the selected recipient in the afterlife. Moody has reconstructed the process with
astonishing results - 85% of his clients who go through a full day of preparation do make contact with a
deceased loved one - but not necessarily the one that they are seeking to meet. In most cases this occurs in his
specially build psychomanteum but in 25% of cases it happens later in their own homes - the client wakes up
and sees the apparition at the foot of the bed (Moody 1993:97). According to Dianne Arcangel, an associate
of Dr. Moody, in some cases when contact is made with intelligences from the afterlife information is
transmitted to reveal something that the person seeking contact does not know (1997). Moody gives full
instructions on how to create your own psychomanteum in his book Reunions: Visionary Encounters with
Departed Loved Ones and on his Psychomanteum page.

(43) Studies show prayer to be effective under scientific controls

On October 25, 1999, BBC News reported: "Healing Power of Prayer Revealed" about a study at a
university hospital in Kansas City, U.S. about scientific evidence of healing through the power of prayer.
Then on June 5, 2000, BBC News reported: "Prayer Works as a Cure" about a different study conducted at
the University of Maryland providing more evidence of healing through prayer. These findings support NDE
research findings which demonstrate the reality of a transcendent consciousness. Dr. Larry Dossey has done
extensive research on the efficacy of prayer and has written several excellent books on the subject.

(44) Scientific evidence of reincarnation supports an afterlife

On June 11, 1992, at Princeton University, Dr. Ian Stevenson presented a paper entitled: "Birthmarks and
Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons" providing scientific evidence suggestive of
reincarnation which was published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. These findings support
reincarnation in NDE research findings as well. Reincarnation has been called by some to be the greatest
unknown scientific discovery today. In the last chapter of Dr. Ian Stevenson's book entitled Twenty Cases
Suggestive of Reincarnation (1967), he provides rigorous scientific reasoning to show how reincarnation is the
only viable explanation that fits the facts of his study. He considers every possible alternative explanation for
his twenty cases of young children who were spontaneously able to describe a previous lifetime as soon as
they learned to talk. He was able to rule out each alternative explanation using one or more aspects of these
cases. Later research has even bolstered his case in favor of the existence of reincarnation. His study is also
completely reproducible which means that anybody who doubts the validity of this study is perfectly welcome
to repeat it for themselves. I believe it is only a short matter of time before his discovery of the existence of
reincarnation is finally realized by the scientific community and the world to be accepted as one of the
greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

(45) NDEs support the reality of reincarnation

Amber Wells was a student at the University of Connecticut and wrote a research paper based on her
study of the near-death experience for her senior honors thesis under the direction of Dr. Ken Ring. Her
paper was published in the Journal of Near-Death Studies in the fall of 1993. In her study, 70 percent of the
group of near-death experiencers demonstrated belief in reincarnation. Claims have been documented by
other researchers of direct knowledge of reincarnation which became available during the near-death
experience itself. An example of this type of out-of-body research of knowledge can be seen in a letter written
to Dr. Ken Ring by John Robinson: "It is a matter of personal knowledge from what the being with whom I
spoke during my near-death experience told me about my older son, that he had had 14 incarnations in
female physical bodies previous to the life he has just had."

(46) Xenoglossy supports reincarnation and an afterlife

One of the most amazing psychic phenomena, which religionists, skeptics and atheists have continuously
and deliberately ignored is xenoglossy - the ability to speak or write a foreign language a person never learned.
After all other explanations have been investigated - such as fraud, genetic memory, telepathy and
cryptomnesia (the remembering of a foreign language learned earlier), xenoglossy is taken as evidence of
either memories of a language learned in a past life or of communication with a discarnate entity - a spirit
person. There are many cases on record of adults and children speaking and writing languages which they
have never learned. Sometimes this happens spontaneously but more often it occurs while the person is
under hypnosis or in an altered state of consciousness. In some cases, it is only a few words remembered but
in other cases the person becomes totally fluent and able to converse with native speakers sometimes in
obscure dialects which have not been in use for centuries. There are literally thousands of xenoglossic cases,
many hundreds of which have been documented. They involve modern and ancient languages from all over
the world. Psychic investigators, such the highly credible Dr. Ian Stevenson, used scientific method to
illustrate xenoglossy and claim that there are only two possible explanations - either spirit contact or past life
memory both of which are evidence for the afterlife.

(47) Past-life regression supports reincarnation and an afterlife

 Past life regression such as that practiced by Dr. Michael Newton, simply involves placing a person under
hypnosis and asking them to go back through their childhood to a time before they were born. In many cases
the person begins talking about his or her life or lives before the present lifetime, about their previous death
and about the time between lives including the planning of the present lifetime. The main reasons why at least
some of these claims must be considered as evidence are:
(a) The regression frequently leads to a cure of a physical illness.
(b) In some cases, the person regressed begins to speak an unlearned foreign language.
(c) In some cases, the person being regressed remembers details of astonishing accuracy which when
checked out are verified by the top historians.
(d) The emotional intensity of the experience is such that it convinces many formerly skeptical
psychiatrists who are used to dealing with fantasy and imagined regressions.
(e) In some cases, the alleged cause of death in an immediate past life is reflected by a birthmark in the
present life.

(48) The Scole Experiments supports NDEs and an afterlife

Victor Zammit is a lawyer who has collected a large body of evidence supporting the reality of an afterlife.
Zammit has an excellent article concerning what many regard as the greatest afterlife experiment in the world.
The evidence collected over a period of more than four years and with more than 500 sittings by the Scole
Experiments and the afterlife team is absolute, definitive and irrefutable. Scole is a village in Norfolk,
England. Using it as a base, mediums Robin and Sandra Foy and Alan and Diana Bennett and other
experimenters produced brilliant evidence of the afterlife in England, the U.S. Ireland and in Spain. Their
results are being repeated by other groups around the world and will convince even the toughest open-
minded skeptic. The group began with two mediums delivering messages from a non-physical group. Many of
these messages contained personal information that nobody else could know about. Soon the messages came
in the form of voices which could be heard by all in the room. Then came the actual materialization of people
and objects from the non-physical side.

(49) Electronic voice phenomena supports NDEs and an afterlife

For more than 50 years, experimenters all over the world have been tape recording "paranormal voices" -
voices which cannot be heard when a tape recorder is playing but which can be heard when the tape is played
back. Many of these messages have been reported to be from loved ones who have passed on. Such messages
would include the experimenter's name and also answers to the experimenter's questions. It is a phenomenon
known as "EVP" or "electronic voice phenomenon" and there are thousands of researchers around the world
researching this fascinating psychic phenomenon. This phenomenon is particularly relevant to evidence
supporting the survival hypothesis because it follows strict scientific procedures and have been duplicated
under laboratory conditions by various of researchers in many different countries.
Friedrich Jürgenson (pictured above) is considered to be the "The father of EVP" because he was the first
to capture EVP successfully on a recording device. One particular recording changed his life forever. After
playing back on of his recordings, he was shocked to hear his mother’s voice say “Friedel can you hear me.
It’s mammy.” Friedrich's mother had long ago passed away and the endearment he heard was used exclusively
by her. Jürgenson was now convinced these unusual audio transmissions were voices from the afterlife. In
1964, Jürgenson published a book on his EVP research entitled "The Voices From Space."
After reading Friedrich Jürgenson's book, Dr. Konstantins Raudive (1909–1974), a Latvian psychologist
who was a student of Carl Jung, meet with Jürgenson and conducted EVP experiments with him. As a
result, in 1965, Raudive began to conduct his own EVP research and with the help of various electronics
experts, Raudive recorded over 100,000 audiotapes, most of which were conducted using strict laboratory
conditions. Raudive would confirm the accuracy of his recordings by inviting listeners to hear and interpret
them. Over 400 people were involved in his EVP research and all heard the voices. This culminated in his
1968 book entitled "Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead."
Raudice's research into EVP gave experimenters various methods for recording EVP’s including the EVP
classification scale that is used by researchers today. The popular paranormal TV series called "Ghost
Adventures" features an overwhelmingly number of convincing EVP recordings as they occur.

(50) Psychometry supports NDEs and an afterlife

According to Wikipedia.org, "psychometry" is a psychic ability in which the user is able to relate details
about the past condition of an object or area, usually by being in close contact with it. The user could
allegedly, for example, give police precise details about a murder or other violent crime if they were at the
crime scene or were holding the weapon used. About.com's Paranormal Phenomena website lists information
about several of the most convincing psychometrists.
Stefan Ossowiecki, a Russian-born psychic, is one of the most famous psychometrists. Ossowiecki
claimed to be able to see people's auras and to move objects through psychokinesis. His psychic gifts enabled
this chemical engineer to locate lost objects and missing people, and he assisted in several criminal
investigations. In 1935, he participated in a test of his psychometric powers - a test devised by a wealthy
Hungarian named Dionizy Jonky that involved a sealed package. Jonky stipulated that this test was to be
conducted eight years after his death. (Jonky and Ossowiecki did not know each other.) First, 14 photographs
of men were placed in front of Ossowiecki, one of which was of Jonky. Ossowiecki picked out the correct
photo. Next, Ossowiecki accurately described many details of Jonky's life and correctly identified the man
who held the package for the past eight years. Finally, Ossowiecki was presented with the sealed package
Jonky had prepared before his death. Ossowiecki touched the package and concentrated. "Volcanic minerals,"
he said. "There is something here that pulls me to other worlds, to another planet." Oddly, he also sensed
sugar. Inside the package was a meteorite encased in a candy wrapper.
In later experiments, Ossowiecki performed remarkable psychometric feats with archeological objects - a
kind of psychic archeology. These tests were conducted by Stanislaw Poniatowski, a professor of enthology at
the University of Warsaw who could verify the accuracy of what Ossowiecki "saw." While holding a 10,000-
year-old piece of flint, Ossowiecki was able to describe in amazing detail the lives of the prehistoric people
who made it. In other tests he provided similar descriptions of people who lived as long ago as 300,000 years.
Some of the information he provided was not even known by experts at the time, but confirmed by
discoveries years later!

Ossowiecki described his visions as being like a motion picture that he could watch, pause, rewind and
fast-forward - like a videotape or DVD.

(51) Other anomalous phenomena supports an afterlife

Other anomalous phenomena supports the Afterlife Hypothesis including astral projection research such
as that done by Jerry Gross. Also, anomalous phenomena associated with the following:
(a) Synchronicity
(b) Quantum Mechanics and Physics
(c) Hypnosis
(d) Consciousness research

(52) The burden of proof has shifted to skeptics of an afterlife

All neurological theories concluding NDEs to be only a brain anomaly, must show how the core elements
of the NDE occur subjectively because of specific neurological events triggered by the approach of death.
These core elements include: the out-of-body state, paranormal knowledge, the tunnel, the golden light, the
voice or presence, the appearance of deceased relatives, and beautiful vistas. Perhaps the final word should go
to Nancy Evans Bush, a NDEr with the International Association for Near-Death Studies, who said: "There
is no human experience of any description that can't simply be reduced to a biological process, but that in no
way offsets the meaning those experiences have for us - whether it's falling in love, or grieving, or having a
baby."

2. Near-Death Experience Research Conclusions

There are many possible components to near-death experiences (NDEs). The fact that many of these
components are unique to NDEs and can be found in many NDEs is evidence that NDEs are not merely
random hallucinations or dreams. However, not all NDEs have all these components; and not every
component can be found in all NDEs. Generally speaking, the more transcendental an NDE is (or the longer
the experiencer is near-death), the more it will have these components. But when it comes to scientifically
quantifying an NDE, a scale was created by Dr. Bruce Greyson who is the professor, psychiatrist and "father
of NDE studies" at the Department of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. The "Greyson NDE
Scale" measures the depth of the transcendental nature of a person’s NDE and is based upon a questionnaire
and point system. The more points an NDE has, the more transcendental the NDE. A score of 7 or higher is
considered an NDE for research purposes. The mean score among a large sample of NDEs is 15. If you are
an NDEr, I highly recommend you taking the Greyson NDE Scale Questionnaire on the IANDS website for
yourself. The following are articles providing research conclusions for various components of NDEs profiled
on this website.

3. Out-of Body Experiences and the Near-Death Experience

Imagine you are a patient in a hospital and surgery is being performed on you. You are sound asleep. You
were sound asleep long before they wheeled into the operating room. But while you are asleep something
very strange happens. During the operation, you are suddenly awakened to find yourself floating near the
ceiling! Down below are the doctors working on your body (as in the cartoon on the left). You see a strange
sign hanging from the ceiling which says "Popsicles are in bloom." You watch as the doctor puts the electric
paddles on your chest. You have a wonderful peaceful feeling which you have never had before. The doctors
give your body a shock and you are back in your body sound asleep again. Later, you awaken in your hospital
room and tell the doctor about your out-of-body experience and the weird "Popsicles are in bloom" sign. The
doctor smiles and tells you, "Your heart stopped during surgery and we had to revive you." The doctor then
explains to you, "You are part of a near-death study and you just had a near-death experience. You are the
first patient who has ever read that sign. That sign can only be read by someone reading it from the vantage
point of the ceiling. And because you were able to read this sign and tell us about it, you have proven
scientifically that the mind can function outside of the brain and body. A great scientific discovery has just
occurred. Congratulations. You have proven scientifically that consciousness transcends our physical body
and death. Your validated out-of-body perception during your near-death experience (NDE) has won you the
Nobel Prize. As you will read below, there are many NDEs which come very close to providing such
evidence. Indeed, it is only a matter of time.

A. How NDEs will prove the survival of consciousness after death

Someday, someone is going to have a near-death experience and observe a scientifically controlled test
object, such as a sign like "You are dead" which can only be seen if the observer is actually outside of their
body. However, this is only the first step. Researchers must also do the following:
(a) Prove that consciousness can transcend the body by perceiving verifiable events while out of the body.
(b) The next step is the same as the first step except it occurs while the body is verifiably "dead" (i.e.,
clinical and brain death).
(c) Once the above can be proven, all the skeptics will have to admit that consciousness survives death.
It may surprise some people to know that these kinds of studies are going on right at this moment.
Indeed, it is only a matter of time when someone tells a doctor they saw the "You are dead" sign. For test
purposes, however, the sign will probably say something more cryptic to insure the uniqueness of such an
event.
B. Examples of out-of-body visual perception

A large number of near-death experiencers have witnessed verifiable events occurring outside of their
body. Unfortunately, such evidence does not constitute "scientific evidence." The reason is because scientific
evidence involves replication of the experience and the existence of strict controls over the events being
witnessed. However, the example I gave at the beginning of this page is the kind of test environment which
can provide such scientific evidence. Many examples of anecdotal evidence of verifiable perception are
provided on this web page.
The following are three of the most interesting out-of-body testimonies from three NDEs which I have
on my website. They are from the near-death experiences of Dr. Dianne Morrissey, Dr. George Ritchie, and
Reinee Pasarow. They are exceptional because they are NDEs involving an extended out-of-body phase,
when the experiencer observed events happening around their body.

C. Dr. Dianne Morrissey's NDE and out-of-body perception

Dr. Dianne Morrissey is the author of the books You Can See the Light and Anyone Can See the Light.
She describes her beautiful NDE in detail in her video entitled Soul Journeys Beyond the Light. It is one of
the best videos I have ever seen. When Dianne was twenty-eight years old, she was electrocuted and had a
very profound NDE. The following is the out-of-body aspect of her NDE reprinted by permission from her
book Anyone Can See the Light:
"I bent over to pick up the plastic tubing. As I began to straighten up, I accidentally bumped the tubing
on the edge of the tank. The water suddenly squirted across my face - the pain was so sharp, it felt as if a
knife where slitting my cheek! I screamed from the shock and pain, then felt a moment of temporary relief as
the water crossed over my molars. My reprieve was short-lived, however, as the electrified water rushed into
my mouth. As my body bent over in shock, I had the most uncanny knowledge that death was ahead of me. I
began to mourn the loss of everything I'd known: the earth, my home, my friends - all that I'd been aware of,
all that I loved. Everything I'd believed to be true and lasting was slipping away from me. I was face to face
with death, face to face with the unknown. My body was thrown backwards and to one side by the current.
My body crashed to the floor, thrown with such force that my head went right through the drywall, about a
foot above the floor. I never felt the injuries, however, because I was no longer in my body. I was actually
watching my electrocution from above! How could I be out of my body and still be alive? I wondered,
astonished.
"Suddenly, I was aware that I was inside a vast, seemingly infinite blackness. I wasn't sure where this
blackness was in relationship to the earth, but for some reason I was unafraid. My blackout period was brief,
for I now found myself back in my home, but in a new form. I was transparent, yet I still looked like me.
How elated I felt! Now, out of my body, I had no worries, no cares. Never had I felt like this when I was
"alive". My entire spirit body was transparent, and I was inside a glowing white light that extended about
three feet around me. At that moment, an awareness overtook me - I am not my physical body! This
realization made me feel so free, so wonderful! My spirit was glowing with a white light that illuminated the
entire room.
"Then, I was up near the ceiling again. Everything still looked the same - the furnishings, the walls - but
there was a new awareness about the dimension to the scene - it had become transparent. I could see
everything more clearly than ever before, and like a scientist, I found myself looking at life through a
microscope, discovering minuscule particles of matter normally invisible. I was now aware of the absence of
physical sensations, yet I was feeling a heightened sense of awareness such as I'd never felt while alive. I knew
I was different from the "Dianne" I had been, but I also knew I was "me". It was similar to looking at your
reflection in a mirror; you know you're not the reflection, but it does appear to be you. Now, I saw that
everything was shrouded by a mist. Despite a lack of gravity, I could easily control my direction, and when I
moved into the living room, I noticed that I had just walked through the glass coffee table. Wow! How did I
do that? I marveled.
 "Tuffy (her dog) suddenly entered the den and began nipping at my face and pawing at my arm, trying to
get my body to wake up. I knew that his relentless attempts to awaken my physical body wouldn't work, yet I
was proud of him for trying, and even hoped his efforts might work. I wondered where his chum, Penny,
was, and suddenly I was next to her in the backyard. I opened my mouth to talk to her and felt my tongue
moving, but no sounds came out. I could distinctly hear my voice, and then realized it was coming from my
mind. I tried several times to get Penny's attention, yelling, "Penny, can you see me? Penny, can you hear
me?" Apparently, she didn't, because there was no response.
"Next, I walked around my backyard. As I looked through the walls of my house toward the front
sidewalk, I noticed a man walking down the street. Eagerly, I flew to him, right through the walls, and tried to
get his attention. Staring deeply into his eyes, I said forcefully, "Can you help me? I need help." Then I tried
to shake his shoulders, but he still didn't notice me. Frustrated, I tried to touch his shoulder to get him to
look at me, and my hand went through his upper right shoulder blade and out his back. This startled me.
"What am I to do? I wondered, becoming upset when I realized that the man could neither see nor hear
me. Instantly, I was back in my yard again, Penny beside me. I noticed that whenever I felt any apprehension,
I was instantly moved to a place of greater comfort. On the way back to the den, I stopped right in the
middle of the wall between rooms. I sensed that I was to look down at something fantastic, and as I gazed
downward, I saw a long silver cord coming out of my spirit body, right through the cheesecloth-like fabric I
was wearing. The cord extended down and out in front of me, and as I turned around, I saw that the silver
cord draped around and behind me, like an umbilical cord. I followed it through the two hallway walls and
into my den, where I saw it attached to the back of the head of my physical body. The cord was about an inch
wide and sparkled like Christmas tree tinsel. As soon as I saw that the silver cord was attached to my physical
body, my spirit body was thrust into a dark tunnel. I moved through it with great speed, traveling faster than I
could have imagined possible. Although the tunnel was filled with an all-consuming darkness, I felt peaceful
and unafraid."

D. Dr. George Ritchie's NDE and out-of-body perception

In 1943, Dr. George Ritchie died of pneumonia and nine minutes later returned to life to tell about it. The
following is the account of the out-of-body aspect of his NDE excerpted from his excellent book Return
From Tomorrow. His follow-up book is My Life After Dying:
Dr. George Ritchie's NDE: "The men let go of my arms ... I heard a click and a whirr. The whirr went on
and on. It was getting louder. The whirr was inside my head and my knees were made of rubber. They were
bending and I was falling and all the time the whirr grew louder. I sat up with a start. What time was it? I
looked at the bedside table but they'd taken the clock away. In fact, where was any of my stuff? I jumped out
of bed in alarm, looking for my clothes. My uniform wasn't on the chair. I turned around, then froze.
Someone was lying in that bed. I took a step closer. He was quite a young man, with short brown hair, lying
very still. But the thing was impossible! I myself had just gotten out of that bed! For a moment I wrestled
with the mystery of it. It was too strange to think about - and anyway I didn't have the time. I went back past
the offices and stepped out into the corridor. A sergeant was coming along it carrying an instrument tray
covered with a cloth. Probably he didn't know anything, but I was so glad to find someone awake that I
started toward him.
"'Excuse me, Sergeant,' I said. 'You haven't seen the ward boy for this unit, have you?' He didn't answer.
Didn't even glance at me. He just kept coming, straight at me, not slowing down.
"'Look out!' I yelled, jumping out of his way.
"The next minute he was passed me, walking away down the corridor as if he had never seen me, though
how we had kept from colliding I didn't know. And then I saw something that gave me a new idea. Farther
down the corridor was one of the heavy metal doors that led to the outside. I hurried toward it. Even if I had
missed that train, I'd find some way of getting to Richmond! Almost without knowing it I found myself
outside, racing swiftly along, traveling faster in fact than I'd ever moved in my life. Looking down I was
astonished to see not the ground, but the tops of mesquite bushes beneath me. Already Camp Barkeley
seemed to be far behind me as I sped over the dark frozen desert. My mind kept telling me that what I was
doing was impossible, and yet ... it was happening. I was going to Richmond; somehow I had known that
from the moment I burst through that hospital door. Going to Richmond a hundred times faster than any
train on earth could take me.
"Almost immediately I noticed myself slowing down. Just below me now, where two streets came
together, I caught a flickering blue glow. It came from a neon sign over the door of a red-roofed one-story
building with a Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer sign propped in the front window. Cafe, the jittering letters over the
door read, and from the windows light streamed onto the pavement. Staring down at it, I realized I had
stopped moving altogether. Finding me somehow suspended fifty feet in the air was an even stranger feeling
than the whirlwind flight had been. But I had no time to puzzle over it, for down the sidewalk toward the all-
night cafe a man came briskly walking. At least, I thought, I could find out from him what town this was and
in what direction I was heading. Even as the idea occurred to me - as though thought and motion had
become the same thing - I found myself down on the sidewalk, hurrying along at the stranger's side. He was a
civilian, maybe forty or forty-five, wearing a topcoat but no hat. He was obviously thinking hard about
something because he never glanced my way as I fell into step beside him.
"'Can you tell me please,' I said, 'What city this is?' He kept right on walking.
"'Please sir!' I said, speaking louder, 'I'm a stranger here and I'd appreciate it if ...’ We reached the cafe and
he turned, reaching for the door handle. Was the fellow deaf? I put out my left hand to tap his shoulder.
There was nothing there. I stood there in front of the door, gaping after him as he opened it and disappeared
inside. It had been like touching thin air. Like no one had been there at all. And yet I had distinctly seen him,
even to the beginnings of black stubble on his chin where he needed a shave. I backed away from the mystery
of the substance-less man and leaned up against the guy wire of a telephone pole to think things through. My
body went through that guy wire as though it too had not been there. There on the sidewalk of that unknown
city, I did some incredulous thinking. The strangest, most difficult thinking I had ever done. The man in the
cafe, this telephone pole ... suppose they were perfectly normal. Suppose I was the one who was - changed,
somehow. What if in some impossible, unimaginable way, I lost my ... hardness … My ability to grasp things,
to make contact with the world. Even to be seen! The fellow just now, it was obvious he never saw or heard
me.
"And suddenly I remembered the young man I had seen in the bed in that little hospital room. What if
that had been ... me? Or anyhow, the material, concrete part of me that in some unexplainable way I'd gotten
separated from. What if the form which I had left lying in the hospital room in Texas was my own? And if it
were, how could I get back to it again? Why had I ever rushed off so unthinkingly?
"I was moving again, speeding away from the city. Below me was the broad river. I appeared to be going
back, back in the direction I had come from, and it seemed to me I was flashing across space even faster than
before. Hills, lakes, farms slipped away beneath me as I sped in an unswerving straight line over the dark
nighttime land. I was standing in front of the base hospital. And so began one of the strangest searches that
can ever have taken place: the search for myself. From one ward to another of that enormous complex I
rushed, pausing in each small room, stooping over the occupant of the bed, hurrying on. I backed toward the
doorway. The man in that bed was dead! I felt the same reluctance I had the previous time at being in a room
with a dead person. But ... if that was my ring, then - then it was me, the separated part of me, lying under
that sheet. Did that mean that I was ...
"It was the first time in this entire experience that the word death occurred to me in connection with what
was happening. But I wasn't dead! How could I be dead and still be awake? Thinking. Experiencing. Death
was different. Death was ... I didn't know. Blanking out. Nothingness. I was me, wide awake, only without a
physical body to function in. Frantically I clawed at the sheet, trying to draw it back, trying to uncover the
figure on the bed. All my efforts did not even stir a breeze in the silent little room.
"Suddenly I was aware that it was brighter, a lot brighter, than it had been. I stared in astonishment as the
brightness increased, coming from nowhere, seeming to shine everywhere at once. All the light bulbs in the
ward couldn't give off that much light. All the bulbs in the world couldn't! It was impossibly bright. It was like
a million welders' lamps all blazing at once. 'I'm glad I don't have physical eyes at this moment,' I thought.
'This light would destroy the retina in a tenth of a second.'
"'No, I corrected myself, not the light. He. He would be too bright to look at.' "For now I saw that it was
not light but a man who had entered the room, or rather, a man made out of light, though this seemed no
more possible to my mind than the incredible intensity of the brightness that made up his form."
 (George Ritchie then meets Jesus who shows him his life in review and then gives him a tour of several
afterlife realms.)

E. Reinee Pasarow's NDE and out-of-body perception

Reinee Pasarow was as a teenager when she had an NDE after she became unconscious following an
allergic food reaction. While outside of her body, she could sense every sound, every action and even every
thought of the persons people around her. She observed two firemen’s frantic efforts to revive her. All the
events she witnessed while out of her body - the conversations, the actions of the persons involved, the
hospital scene - happened exactly as she remembered them. Furthermore, aspects of her OBE have been
reported by other people who have had OBEs which is remarkable because this type of information was
something she did not know about at the time and would read about later.
Reinee Pasarow's NDE: "Then, just like that (clapping her hands), I became a ball of light or energy in
the midst of this crowd that was circling a body. I became massively aware, unlike any awareness I had had
during physical existence. I was not really aware of myself. I was aware of everyone around me. I was aware
of my mother and my neighbors, and my friends and the firemen and what they were thinking and what they
were feeling and what they were hoping and what they were praying. This was such a pummeling input of
emotion and information that I was all at once overwhelmed and confused, and rather disoriented.
"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. And with that (taps the
table) again like this, I was bumped way up, up above some light wires. From that point I could watch
everyone beneath me, but I was not as closely associated with them, [but] I was completely feeling everything
they were feeling.
"I watched my mother and a boy come out of the house and up the hill which I could not have seen
physically. I was very sad for my mother. I was very sad for my friend who kept calling me. And I was very
sad for the child who had come out of the house. I was very sad that he would think I was dead. So my
concern was for them. I spent my time observing them and calling to them - calling to them that everything
was as it should be, that everything was fine, that I was free, that it was wonderful, that I loved them and that
they loved me and that the bond, unlike physical bonds, would never be destroyed. I tried to communicate
this to them over and over again and I realized that I had no mouth. I had no body. They could not hear what
I was saying to them. I would have to leave them in the same hands I had left myself in the process of dying.
With that I turned away, just sort of like a ball, just turned away.
"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!
(After Reinee's visit to heaven, she returns to where her body is located.)
"With a terribly hard crash, I became aware of the scene I had left earlier - the fire trucks, and now an
ambulance. There were men who were picking up my body and loading it into the ambulance. I was in a state
of complete grief. I felt that I had become Eve and was cast out of the Garden of Eden.
"As I was descending down this tunnel, my heart was already attached to my home beyond. I was begging
not to leave. I crashed down into this realm of existence and was suddenly confused by time and space. It was
as if I had never existed physically. I was suddenly disoriented. My concern was for my mother, because she
was by herself and she was losing a sixteen-year old daughter. She knew that this was happening because the
ambulance attendant looked at the driver in front and said, "DOA. DOA," which means, of course, dead on
arrival. The driver turned off the siren and slowed down the ambulance. Before, he had been driving in a very
reckless manner.
"We were coming out of the mountains. As we did that, my concern was for the pain of my mother. I
simply wanted to comfort her and to wrap my soul around her. To assuage the loss of a daughter, the loss of
a child, I found myself simply praying for her.
"I followed the ambulance to the hospital and I watched as my body was unloaded. My mother followed
the gurney into the emergency room. I watched as the first doctor went to work on me. I wasn't particularly
interested in the first doctor because the first doctor had, that day, been through motorcycle accidents coming
out of the mountains. He had been through a very long day and he was not concerned with someone who
had been brought in dead on arrival. He had no connection with me. He didn't care and had no affection. So
I had no interest in watching what he did because my interest was based on affection and love.
"I then left the emergency room and was above my mother and some friends who had followed her into
the other room. I again tried to communicate with them. I tried to let them know that, "This is a very joyous
occasion. I am dead on arrival. Hopefully all would go well. They are never going to be able to revive me. I
was going to be dead now. Death had become life to me. Death was not something to be frightened of, but
something to look forward to."
"What happened then was the first doctor pronounced me dead and was sending my body off to the
morgue. My own personal physician, who was a country doctor and a very gruff man, stormed into the
emergency room in a tuxedo with his black bag. He looked at the nurse on the phone who was calling the
morgue, and looked at the doctor who was washing his hands, and looked at my [covered] body and said,
"What the hell happened here? Where is the patient?" They said, "She was dead on arrival." He said, "The hell
she was." He proceeded to scream at the other nurse who was sort of standing off in the corner, "I want
injections of adrenaline. Bring them to me immediately and come over here and assist me." He began to go to
work on my body. He began to beat on the chest and began to shock. I was simply terrified by this turn of
events and disgusted that they would treat a body so brutally.
"All of a sudden I sort of became protective towards my body, even though I wanted nothing to do with
it. I began to be protective. They could at least be nice about it. But they were beating on my chest and
shocking my body, but I was up in the corner of the emergency room accompanied by other essences who
were keeping me contained in that emergency room." (Reinee Pasarow)
Reinee then described how she finally returned to her body as a result of her doctor's last effort to revive
her. The medical professionals she talked to did not know how to deal with her experience.

F. Verified out-of-body perception In NDEs

The "holy grail" of NDE research is finding an undeniable answer to the question of whether
consciousness can survive bodily death. But before this can be answered, researchers must first determine
whether consciousness can transcend the brain and function outside of it. One way is to discover this is to
examine those NDEs which are "veridical" (i.e., verified). Veridical NDEs occur when the experiencer
acquires verifiable information which they could not have obtained by any normal means. Often, near-death
experiencers report witnessing events that happen at some distant location away from their body, such as
another room of the hospital. If the events witnessed by the experiencer at the distant location can be verified
to have occurred, then veridical perception would be said to have taken place. It would provide very
compelling evidence that NDEs are experiences outside of the physical body. NDE research is coming very
close to providing such undeniable evidence. What follows are some examples.

G. Pam Reynolds's verified out-of-body perception

In Dr. Michael Sabom's book, Light and Death, he includes the NDE account of a woman named Pam
Reynolds who underwent a rare operation to remove a giant basilar artery aneurysm in her brain that seriously
threatened her life. The surgical procedure used to remove the aneurysm is known as "hypothermic cardiac
arrest" or "standstill." Pam's body temperature was lowered to 60 degrees, her heartbeat and breathing were
stopped, her brain waves were flattened, and all the blood was drained from her head. For all practical
purposes, she was put to death. After removing the aneurysm, she was restored to life. But, during the time
that Pam was in standstill, she experienced a profound NDE. Her remarkably detailed veridical out-of-body
observations of her surgery were later verified to be very accurate. Pam's case is considered to be one of the
strongest cases of veridical perception evidence in NDE research because of her ability to describe the unique
surgical instruments and procedures used and her ability to describe in detail these events while she was
clinically and brain dead. The following is the out-of-body aspect of her NDE in her own words:
"The next thing I recall was the sound: It was a Natural "D." As I listened to the sound, I felt it was
pulling me out of the top of my head. The further out of my body I got, the more clear the tone became. I
had the impression it was like a road, a frequency that you go on ... I remember seeing several things in the
operating room when I was looking down. It was the most aware that I think that I have ever been in my
entire life ...I was metaphorically sitting on [the doctor's] shoulder. It was not like normal vision. It was
brighter and more focused and clearer than normal vision ... There was so much in the operating room that I
didn't recognize, and so many people.
"I thought the way they had my head shaved was very peculiar. I expected them to take all of the hair, but
they did not ...
"The saw-thing that I hated the sound of looked like an electric toothbrush and it had a dent in it, a
groove at the top where the saw appeared to go into the handle, but it didn't ... And the saw had
interchangeable blades, too, but these blades were in what looked like a socket wrench case ... I heard the saw
crank up. I didn't see them use it on my head, but I think I heard it being used on something. It was
humming at a relatively high pitch and then all of a sudden it went Brrrrrrrrr! like that.
"Someone said something about my veins and arteries being very small. I believe it was a female voice and
that it was Dr. Murray, but I'm not sure. She was the cardiologist. I remember thinking that I should have
told her about that ... I remember the heart-lung machine. I didn't like the respirator ... I remember a lot of
tools and instruments that I did not readily recognize.
"There was a sensation like being pulled, but not against your will. I was going on my own accord because
I wanted to go. I have different metaphors to try to explain this. It was like the Wizard of Oz - being taken up
in a tornado vortex, only you're not spinning around like you've got vertigo. You're very focused and you
have a place to go. The feeling was like going up in an elevator real fast. And there was a sensation, but it
wasn't a bodily, physical sensation. It was like a tunnel but it wasn't a tunnel."
(Pam meets her deceased relatives and then must return to her body.)
"But then I got to the end of it and saw the thing, my body. I didn't want to get into it ... It looked terrible,
like a train wreck. It looked like what it was: dead. I believe it was covered. It scared me and I didn't want to
look at it. It was communicated to me that it was like jumping into a swimming pool. No problem, just jump
right into the swimming pool. I didn't want to, but I guess I was late or something because he [the uncle]
pushed me. I felt a definite repelling and at the same time a pulling from the body. The body was pulling and
the tunnel was pushing ... It was like diving into a pool of ice water ... It hurt! When I came back, they were
playing Hotel California and the line was "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." I
mentioned [later] to Dr. Brown that that was incredibly insensitive and he told me that I needed to sleep
more."

H. Dr. Charles Tart's case of verified out-of-body perception

Dr. Charles T. Tart, www.issc-taste.org and www.paradigm-sys.com, is a transpersonal psychologist and

parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness (particularly altered states
of consciousness), as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in
scientific parapsychology. He served as an instructor in psychiatry in the School of Medicine of the University
of Virginia, and as a consultant on government funded parapsychological research at the Stanford Research
Institute. Dr. Tart, the author of The End of Materialism, is known for his experimental work in autoscopic
out-of-body and near-death experiences. He is currently a professor of psychology at the University of
California at Davis. Dr. Tart published an article in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical
Research which documents the OBE of a young woman who was one of his research subjects. What makes
this particular OBE remarkable is that she was able to leave her physical body and read a 5-digit number from
a significant distance and correctly give it to him upon return. This is one of best examples of a veridical OBE
occurring under laboratory conditions.

I. Reverend George Rodonaia's NDE and verified out-of-body perception

The book entitled, The Self Does Not Die: Verified Paranormal Phenomena from Near-Death
Experiences, by Titus Rivas, Anny Dirven, Rudolf H. Smit, Robert Mays, and Janice Holden, documents
P.M.H. Atwater's research into George Rodonaia's extraordinary case of veridical out-of-body telepathic
perception of an injured infant and George's wife during his NDE from Atwater's book Beyond The Light.
The following is an excerpt:
"When Rodonaia thought of his body, he saw it lying in the morgue. He remembered everything that had
happened. He was also able to 'see' the thoughts and emotions of his wife, Nino, and of the people who had
been involved in the accident. It was as if they had their thoughts 'inside of him.' He then wanted to find out
the 'truth' of those thoughts and emotions. By expressing a longing for greater knowledge, he was confronted
by mental images of existence and thus became acquainted with thousands of years of history.
"When he returned to his body in the morgue, he was drawn to a nearby hospital, where the wife of a
friend had just had a baby. The newborn was constantly crying. He examined the baby, a girl. His 'eyes' were
like X-rays that could look right through the little body. This ability enabled him to draw the conclusion that
the baby had broken its hip during delivery. He spoke to her, 'Don’t cry. Nobody understands you.' The baby
was so astonished by his presence that she immediately stopped crying. According to Rodonaia, children are
able to see and hear transmaterial apparitions. The child reacted to him, he believes, because he was 'a
physical reality' to her.
"After three days, when the autopsy of Rodonaia’s body was just getting under way, he succeeded in
opening his eyes. At first, the doctors thought it was a reflex, but Rodonaia appeared to have actually come
back from the dead, even though his death and his frigid condition had both been confirmed. He was in poor
condition physically, but after three days, the first words he spoke were about the baby that urgently needed
help. X-rays of the baby confirmed that he was right.
"At one point, Atwater interviewed Rodonaia’s wife, Nino, who stated that during his NDE, Rodonaia
had actually witnessed what she had seen. According to Nino, he had actually had telepathic contact with her.
In an email dated July 28, 2015, Atwater wrote Rivas the following about this aspect of the case:
"George told me that as part of his near-death experience, among the many things he could do was to be
able to enter the minds of all his friends and find out whether or not they were really friends. During this
entry process, he also entered the mind of this wife, Nino. When he did, he both saw and heard his wife
picking out his gravesite. As she stood there looking at the gravesite, in her head, she pictured several men
she would consider being her next husband. She made a list for herself of their various qualities, pro and con,
to decide which one would be the most suitable.
"After George revived and his tongue shrunk back to its normal size so George could talk (this took three
days), George greeted his wife. He told her about the gravesite scenario. He described everything she saw
there. Then he told her everything she thought about while there, the specific men she was considering to be
her next husband and [the] list she was making in her mind about their various pros and cons. He was correct
in every detail. This so freaked her out that she refused to have much to do with him for a year. I had no
sense that this was telepathic, but real, physically real, as if George’s mind was physically inside his wife’s
mind. He saw what she saw. He also saw what she thought.
"When I met Nino and both children, I asked Nino if I could talk to her about that incident at the
gravesite and her list of qualities of the men she was considering marrying. She described the incident for me
and that all of this was done in the privacy of her own mind. She only thought about the men and their
various qualities. The list was her own. When her suddenly, newly alive, formerly dead husband talked about
that personal moment at the gravesite, named the men she thought about, and then went on to 'read' the list
back to her that she made for each man, she was utterly shocked at his accuracy and how he could even do
this. This shock was felt as if an affront against her right to privacy, the intimate privacy of her own mind. I
asked if it was true that she would have little or nothing to do with him for a year. She said, yes, it was true.
She could not sleep in the same room with him. When I asked why, her answer was: 'I no longer had the
privacy of my own mind. This was very hard to take.'" (The Self Does Not Die, p.130-132)

Nino also confirmed what happened at the hospital, the first words he said after his tongue swelling went
down, of his friend’s wife having just given birth to a daughter, he told the doctors to get right up to the
maternity ward and X-ray that baby’s hip, that it had been broken by the attending nurse who had dropped
the baby. George was a doctor himself and he described the hip break in detail. The doctors rushed up to the
maternity ward, had the baby X-rayed and found the break exactly as described by George. They then
confronted the nurse with what they found and she admitted to dropping the baby. She was immediately
fired.

J. Dr. Pim van Lommel's case of verified out-of-body perception

In January of 2001, near-death experiences and near-death research earned greater scientific respect and
credibility when the findings of a particular NDE study were published. The distinguished British medical
journal The Lancet published an article by Dr. Pim van Lommel of the Rijnstate Hospital in the Netherlands
on the first large-scale study of NDEs which he conducted.
His study began in 1988 and lasted 13 years. It included 344 survivors of cardiac arrest from 10 Dutch
hospitals. Of these 344 survivors, 18 percent experienced an NDE. And because Lommel and his staff
conducted follow-up interviews with these patients over many years, they were able to rule out such factors as
anoxia, seizures, medication, etc. Lommel's findings confirmed prior research findings conducted by other
near-death researchers. It confirmed that NDEs are real and they cannot be explained by physiological or
psychological causes alone. Lommel also accepted the implication that consciousness survives death and that
consciousness is not completely dependent upon the brain.
Lommel noted that only 10 seconds after the heart stops beating, the electroencephalogram goes dead. At
this point, there is no activity in the brain cortex and the brain cannot manufacture visions. Within 10
minutes, brain stem activity ceases and irreparable brain damage can occur. However, Lommel notes that
some patients still reported being conscious at this point. One particular example cited by Lommel is a man
who came into the hospital already blue from a lack of oxygen. The hospital staff spent 90 minutes trying to
resuscitate him, using artificial respiration, heart massage and defibrillation, before they could move him to
intensive care where he was remained in a coma for a week with brain damage. But when the patient regained
consciousness, he was able to describe events that occurred around him while he was brain damaged and out
of his body. This veridical evidence comes from a coronary-care-unit nurse who reported the veridical out-of-
body experience of the comatose patient:
"During a night shift an ambulance brings in a 44-year-old cyanotic, comatose man into the coronary care
unit. He had been found about an hour before in a meadow by passers-by. After admission, he receives
artificial respiration without intubation, while heart massage and defibrillation are also applied. When we
wanted to intubate the patient, he turns out to have dentures in his mouth. I remove these upper dentures
and put them onto the crash car. Meanwhile, we continue extensive CPR. After about an hour and a half the
patient has sufficient heart rhythm and blood pressure, but he is still ventilated and intubated, and he is still
comatose. He is transferred to the intensive care unit to continue the necessary artificial respiration. Only
after more than a week do I meet again with the patient, who is by now back on the cardiac ward. I distribute
his medication. The moment he sees me he says:
"Oh, that nurse knows where my dentures are."
"I am very surprised. Then he elucidates:
"Yes, you were there when I was brought into hospital and you took my dentures out of my mouth and
put them onto that car, it had all these bottles on it and there was this sliding drawer underneath and there
you put my teeth."
"I was especially amazed because I remembered this happening while the man was in deep coma and in
the process of CPR. When I asked further, it appeared the man had seen himself lying in bed, that he had
perceived from above how nurses and doctors had been busy with CPR. He was also able to describe
correctly and in detail the small room in which he had been resuscitated as well as the appearance of those
present like myself. At the time that he observed the situation he had been very much afraid that we would
stop CPR and that he would die. And it is true that we had been very negative about the patient's prognosis
due to his very poor medical condition when admitted. The patient tells me that he desperately and
unsuccessfully tried to make it clear to us that he was still alive and that we should continue CPR. He is
deeply impressed by his experience and says he is no longer afraid of death. Four weeks later he left hospital
as a healthy man."

K. Miscellaneous NDE testimonies on out-of-body perception

Jane Seymour: The famous movie actress who starred in the television series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine
Woman," describes the following out-of-body experience during her NDE: "I literally left my body. I had this
feeling that I could see myself on the bed, with people grouped around me. I remember them all trying to
resuscitate me. I was above them, in the corner of the room looking down. I saw people putting needles in
me, trying to hold me down, doing things."
Vicki Umipeg: In Dr. Kenneth Ring's book, Mindsight, he documents his research concerning NDEs in
people born blind. One of his subjects, Vicki Umipeg, told Dr. Ring that she found herself floating above her
body in the emergency room of a hospital following an automobile accident and saw for the first time in her
life. She was aware of being up near the ceiling watching a male doctor and a female nurse working on her
body, which she viewed from her elevated position. Vicki has a clear recollection of how she came to the
realization that this was her own body below her: "I knew it was me ... I was pretty thin then. I was quite tall
and thin at that point. And I recognized at first that it was a body, but I didn't even know that it was mine
initially. Then I perceived that I was up on the ceiling, and I thought, 'Well, that's kind of weird. What am I
doing up here?' I thought, 'Well, this must be me. Am I dead? ...' I just briefly saw this body, and ... I knew
that it was mine because I wasn't in mine." In addition, she was able to note certain further identifying
features indicating that the body she was observing was certainly her own: "I think I was wearing the plain
gold band on my right ring finger and my father's wedding ring next to it. But my wedding ring I definitely
saw ... That was the one I noticed the most because it's most unusual. It has orange blossoms on the corners
of it."
Brad Steiger: The author of the NDE book One with the Light experienced the following event during his
NDE: On an August day in 1947, 11-year-old Brad Steiger nearly died of multiple skull fractures after being
caught in the metallic blades of a piece of machinery on his family's Iowa farm. He felt his "essential self"
drift away from his body. He watched his sister run for help and realized he was simultaneously in his father's
arms being carried from the field, and above him, observing.
Dannion Brinkley: In his book, Saved by the Light, Dannion Brinkley describes the following: "I began
to look around, to roll over in midair. Below me was my own body, thrown across the bed. My shoes were
smoking and the telephone was melted in my hand. I could see Sandy run into the room. She stood over the
bed and looked at me with a dazed expression, the kind you might find on the parent of a child found
floating face down in a swimming pool."
Kimberly Clark Sharp: In a paper published in the Journal of Near-Death Studies concerning veridical
NDE evidence, Dr. Ken Ring included perhaps the most famous case of veridical observation in NDE
research at that time. Kimberly Clark Sharp first documented the NDE of a woman named Maria in her
book, After The Light. "Maria was a migrant worker who, while visiting friends in Seattle, had a severe heart
attack. She was rushed to Harborview Hospital and placed in the coronary care unit. A few days later, she had
a cardiac arrest and an unusual out-of-body experience. At one point in this experience, she found herself
outside the hospital and spotted a single tennis shoe on the ledge of the north side of the third floor of the
building. Maria not only was able to indicate the whereabouts of this oddly situated object, but was able to
provide precise details concerning its appearance, such as that its little toe area was worn and one of its laces
was stuck underneath its heel. Upon hearing Maria's story, Clark, with some considerable degree of
skepticism and metaphysical misgiving, went to the location described to see whether any such shoe could be
found. Indeed it was, just where and precisely as Maria had described it, except that from the window
through which Clark was able to see it, the details of its appearance that Maria had specified could not be
discerned. Clark concluded, "The only way she could have had such a perspective was if she had been floating
right outside and at very close range to the tennis shoe. I retrieved the shoe and brought it back to Maria; it
was very concrete evidence for me." (Clark, 1984, p. 243).
Dr. Kenneth Ring: A study on veridical perception in NDEs was conducted by Dr. Kenneth Ring and
Madeline Lawrence. It included the 1985 account of Kathy Milne who was working as a nurse at Hartford
Hospital. Milne had already been interested in NDEs, and one day found herself talking to a woman who had
been resuscitated and who had an NDE. Following a telephone interview with Kenneth Ring on August 24,
1992, she described the following account in a letter: "She told me how she floated up over her body, viewed
the resuscitation effort for a short time and then felt herself being pulled up through several floors of the
hospital. She then found herself above the roof and realized she was looking at the skyline of Hartford. She
marveled at how interesting this view was and out of the corner of her eye she saw a red object. It turned out
to be a shoe ... [S]he thought about the shoe... and suddenly, she felt "sucked up" a blackened hole. The rest
of her NDE account was fairly typical, as I remember. "I was relating this to a [skeptical] resident who in a
mocking manner left. Apparently, he got a janitor to get him onto the roof. When I saw him later than day, he
had a red shoe and he became a believer, too."" (K. Milne, personal communication, October 19, 1992). After
Dr. Ring's initial interview with Milne, he made a point of inquiring whether she had ever heard of the case of
Maria's shoe [as described in the introduction above]. Not only was she unfamiliar with it, but she was utterly
amazed to hear of another story so similar to the one she had just recounted to Dr. Ring. It remains an
unanswered question as to how these isolated shoes arrived at their unlikely perches for later viewing by
astonished NDErs and their baffled investigators.
Dr. Joyce Harmon: In the summer of 1982, Dr. Joyce Harmon, a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) nurse
at Hartford Hospital, returned to work after a vacation. On that vacation she had purchased a new pair of
plaid shoelaces, which she happened to be wearing on her first day back at the hospital. That day, she was
involved in resuscitating a patient, a woman she didn't know, by giving her medicine. The resuscitation was
successful and the next day Harmon chanced to see the patient, whereupon they had a conversation, the gist
of which (not necessarily a verbatim account) is as follows: "The patient, upon seeing Harmon, volunteered,
'Oh, you're the one with the plaid shoelaces!'
"'What?' Harmon replied, astonished. She says she distinctly remembers feeling the hair on her neck rise.'
"'I saw them,' the woman continued. 'I was watching what was happening yesterday when I died. I was up
above.'" (J. Harmon, personal communication, August 28, 1992)
P.M.H. Atwater: The following is one of P.M.H. Atwater's case studies from her book Beyond the Light
which is not only veridical, it is highly suggestive of the survival of consciousness after death. Atwater has
stated that this testimonial has been verified by relatives of the experiencer involved. Here is the excerpt: "I
spoke of Margaret Fields Kean who nearly died in 1978 after being hospitalized for about three weeks with
severe phlebitis. A blood clot had passed to her heart and lungs and she became deathly ill. Then she was
given injections for nausea that, due to the blood thinners she had previously received, caused internal
hemorrhaging. Pandemonium reigned as she slipped away. While absent from her body, she witnessed the
scene below her, then heard and saw people in the waiting room down the hall - right through the walls - as
well as nurses at their station. She also knew their thoughts. Margaret went on to have a transcendent near-
death experience in which she instantly knew and understood many things; her future, and that she would
become a healer. This completely contradicted her vision of herself at that moment in her life, for she was
content being a super-mom farm wife who rode horses, taught Bible classes, led 4-H and Girl Scout groups,
gardened, canned, and baked bread. A healer? Ridiculous! Yet, when Margaret revived, she immediately began
to heal other patients in the room around her by 'reaching out' to them. Then, she 'projected' into the
isolation room of a white boy charred black by severe burns. She 'sat' next to him on the bed, introduced
herself, and proceeded to counsel him about his purpose in life. She told him it was okay if he chose to die as
God was loving and he had nothing to fear. Months later, while continuing her recovery and still in great
pain, Margaret was attending a horse show when a couple, hearing the loudspeaker announce her daughter's
name as a winner, sought her out. They were parents of the severely burned boy. Before he died, he had told
them about meeting Margaret and relayed all the wonderful truths she had told him about God and about life.
The parents were thrilled to have finally located her so they could say thanks for what she had done for their
son. The dying boy had identified her by name - even though the two had never physically seen each other or
verbally spoken in any manner, nor had any nurse known that the two had ever communicated, nor had it
been possible that Margaret ever could have known if the isolation room was even occupied much less who
might be there."
Dr. Kenneth Ring: Dr. Ring reported in a scholarly paper one of the most interesting case of verified out-
of-body perception. In the late 1970s, Sue Saunders was working at Hartford Hospital as a respiratory
therapist and had the following experience resuscitating a patient: "One day she was helping to resuscitate a
60-ish man in the emergency room whose electrocardiogram had gone flat. Medics were shocking him
repeatedly with no results. Saunders was trying to give him oxygen. In the middle of the resuscitation,
someone else took over for her and she left. A couple of days later, she encountered this patient in the ICU.
He spontaneously commented, 'You looked so much better in your yellow top.' She, like Harmon, was so
shocked at this remark that she got goose-bumps, for she had been wearing a yellow smock the previous day.
'Yeah,' the man continued, I saw you. You had something over your face and you were pushing air into me.
And I saw your yellow smock.."" (S. Saunders, personal communication, August 28, 1992). Saunders
confirmed that she had had something over her face - a mask - and that she had worn the yellow smock while
trying to give him oxygen, while he was unconscious and without a heartbeat. According to Dr. Ring, this
case attests to these three important observations:
(a) Patients who claim to have out-of-body experiences while near-death sometimes describe unusual
objects that they could not have known about by normal means.
(b) These objects can later be shown to have existed in the form and location indicated by the patients'
testimony.
(c) Hearing this testimony has a strong emotional and cognitive effect on the caregivers involved, either
strengthening their pre-existing belief in the authenticity of NDE accounts or occasioning a kind of on-the-
spot conversion. Source: Ring, Kenneth, Ph.D. & Lawrence, Madeline, R.N., Ph.D. "Further evidence for
veridical perception during near-death experiences", Journal of Near-Death Studies, 1993 11 (4)223-229.
Robert Pastorelli: "I was in excruciating pain. Then, in the next second, there was no pain. Suddenly I
realized I was out of my body. I was floating above myself, looking down at my unconscious body lying in the
hospital emergency room with my eyes closed. I could see tubes down my nose and throat. I knew I was
dying and I thought, 'Well, this must be death.' I even saw a priest giving me the last rites. But it was the most
peaceful feeling in the world. Then I saw my father starting to faint out of grief. Two nurses grabbed him and
sat him down in a chair across the room. When I looked down and saw my father's pain it had an effect on
me. I firmly believe that at that moment I made a decision to live, not die. The next thing I knew I was
waking up back in my body. Later, in the recovery room, when I was fully conscious, I told my father what
had happened, his fainting and all. He was astounded."
In P.M.H. Atwater's book, Children of the New Millennium, an interesting case of verified out-of-body
perception is documented about a woman named Lynn whose observations during her near-death experience
were later proven to be true, including the black and Asian doctors on the operating team. "The next thing I
knew I was floating around the ceiling looking down on my body. My chest was open wide and I could see
my internal organs. I remember thinking how odd it was that my organs were a beautiful pearl gray, not at all
like the bright red chucks in the horror flicks I loved to watch. I also noticed there was a black doctor and an
Oriental one on the operating team. The reason this stuck in my mind is that I was brought up in a very white
middle-class neighborhood, and I had seen black schoolteachers but never a black doctor. I'd met the
operating team the day before, but they were all white. Suddenly, I had to move on, so I floated into the
waiting room, where my parents were. My father had his head buried in my mother's lap. He was kneeling at
her feet, his arms wrapped around her waist, and he was sobbing. My mother was stroking his head,
whispering to him. This scene shocked me, as my father was not prone to showing emotions. Once I realize
they would be fine, I felt myself pulled into a horizontal tunnel."
David Goines: "I remember the fear of impact (getting hit), however, I have no recollection of the impact
or having my body become totally integrated with the bicycle, nor hurtling over sixty feet through the air and
landing in the canal. My next memory was quite a scene in the hospital emergency room. It was the most
unique experience of my earthly life. Unique, because I was observing my own body in the emergency room
and all the activity going on, except that I was not in my body. I was above it all - looking down. I was feeling
no pain. Everyone was very busy. I knew by their activity that I was in serious trouble. There was much
discussion about how to extract me from the tangled wreckage of my bike and/or whether they would need
to leave me in it until I was stabilized enough to try. I could see and hear everything. It was gruesome. It was
frightening. They finally decided they had me stable enough to get rid of the bike and they called for a
welding specialist to bring a torch to help cut me out of the bike. Thank God my body seemed to be
unconscious. All of this would have been quite enough for my young mind to endure - until one nurse, whom
I knew, said to another, 'Well - it certainly makes you wonder if it is worth saving this mess.' She nearly scared
me to death! At that moment, it was more than I could stand above and watch. I wanted to run away from
this scene. I needed to escape. Quickly, I turned, took one step through the wall so to speak and found myself
in total darkness."
David Oakford: "I called out to my friends and nobody came. I tried to unplug the stereo but that did not
work either. Every time I tried to touch the cord to unplug it I could not grasp it. It just kept on playing "LA
Woman" and the sound rattled my very being. I ran all over the house calling for my friends, yelling
repeatedly that the music was too loud but I was not heard. I pleaded for the music to be turned down. I tried
to go outside but I could not feel the doorknob. I could see the daylight outside but could not go outside. I
ended up hiding in the bathroom in an unsuccessful attempt to escape the noise. I looked in the mirror and
could not see myself. That frightened me greatly. I went back into the family room and saw my body sitting in
the chair. It looked like I was sleeping. I wondered how I could be looking at myself. I got a bit scared then
because I could see me from outside of me, from all different angles except from the inside angle I was used
to seeing myself. I was alone. I was confused and very scared. I tried to get back into my body but could not.
I could not touch the ground either. I was floating. I rose up into a spot above my body and kind of just hung
there. I could no longer move. I called out for help and nobody came. I tried to go out the door but like the
stereo I could not touch the doorknob."
Kimberly Clark Sharp: "I was going back. I knew it. I was already on the way. I was on a trajectory headed
straight for my body. That's when I saw my body for the first time, and when I realized I was no longer a part
of it. Until this moment, I'd only seen myself straight on, as we usually do, in mirrors and photographs. Now
I was jolted by the strange sight of me in profile from four feet away. I looked at my body, the body I knew
so well, and was surprised by my detachment. I felt the same sort of gratitude toward my body that I had for
my old winter coat when I put it away in the spring. It had served me well, but I no longer needed it. I had
absolutely no attachment to it. Whatever constituted the self I knew as me was no longer there. My essence,
my consciousness, my memories, my personality were outside, not in, that prison of flesh."
Dr. Liz Dale's research subject: "Immediately after the impact from falling forward onto the metal grating,
I felt myself floating up, out of my body, and hovering above my body and all the people who were watching
it, and who seemed paralyzed by shock and horror at what had happened. I think they pretty much assumed
that I was dead. I remember looking down and seeing my body three-dimensionally for the first time. And it
was such a shock, because we never see ourselves except in a one-dimensional mirror reflection, or a
photograph. But I felt no pain at all; I felt completely whole and free, and I thought, 'This is who I really am.'
I saw my physical body, all crumpled and bloody and lifeless; and this enormous wave of compassion washed
over me and I wanted to tell all of the bystanders that everything was going to be OK and not to be sad or
alarmed. Then suddenly I felt myself being pulled, literally at the speed of light, farther from the physical
earth, and I saw all of the people on the planet simultaneously in that one moment. I saw people in China and
Sweden and Uruguay; I saw people sleeping and dreaming; I saw people preparing food in their homes and in
restaurants; people traveling in all manner of transportation, to and from work and school and appointments;
I saw children playing together, and bankers and teachers and factory workers at their jobs. I saw mothers
giving birth to children, which was especially beautiful and moving to me."
Howard Storm: "For a time there was a sense of being unconscious or asleep. I'm not sure how long it
lasted, but I felt really strange, and I opened my eyes. To my surprise I was standing up next to the bed, and I
was looking at my body lying in the bed. My first reaction was, 'This is crazy! I can't be standing here looking
down at myself. That's not possible.' This wasn't what I expected, this wasn't right. Why was I still alive? I
wanted oblivion. Yet I was looking at a thing that was my body, and it just didn't have that much meaning to
me. Now knowing what was happening, I became upset. I started yelling and screaming at my wife, and she
just sat there like a stone. She didn't look at me, she didn't move and I kept screaming profanities to get her
to pay attention. Being confused, upset, and angry, I tried to get the attention of my room-mate, with the
same result. He didn't react. I wanted this to be a dream, and I kept saying to myself, 'This has got to be a
dream.' But I knew that it wasn't a dream. I became aware that strangely I felt more alert, more aware, more
alive than I had ever felt in my entire life. All my senses were extremely acute. Everything felt tingly and alive.
The floor was cool and my bare feet felt moist and clammy. This had to be real."
P.M.H. Atwater: "The pain ebbed by as I rose steadily upward, again stopping at the light fixture, only this
time in the living room. I looked down, recognizing the body on the floor as mine. There was no confusion
this time. My situation was clearly defined. Good God, I'm dead! Time and space ended for me after gazing
for what seemed endless minutes at my body. It made no movement. There was no breathing. No response.
When I was satisfied that it was dead, there came a joyous euphoria, like a prisoner being released from a long
jail sentence. I danced and danced around the light bulb, singing like a child. It was finally over. I was free."
Grace Bubulka: "I was then looking down from above the left foot area of my bed. The distance from my
bed was as though I was against the ceiling corner. I could see the backs of the staff to the left of my bed and
the faces of my doctors and the Filipino nurse. I was exasperated with them and with my futile attempt to
connect with them. I had no strong feelings about my body lying on the bed. It was almost unfamiliar to me."
Laurelynn Martin: "I awakened and found myself floating above my body, off to the right side, looking
down, watching the attempts of the medical team trying to revive the lifeless form below. I viewed the scene
with detachment. The surgical team was frantic. The color red was everywhere, splattered on their gowns,
splattered on the floor, and a bright pool of a flowing red substance, in the now wide open abdominal cavity.
At that moment, I didn't make the connection that the body being worked on was my own! It didn't matter
anyway. I was in a state of floating freedom, experiencing no pain and having a great time. I wanted to shout
to the distressed people below, "Hey, I'm okay. It's fantastic up here," but they were so intent on their work, I
didn't want to interrupt their efforts. I had traveled to another realm of total and absolute peace. With no
physical body my movement was unencumbered. Thought was the avenue for travel. I floated up through
blackness where there was no fear, no pain, no misunderstandings, but instead a sense of well-being. I was
enveloped by total bliss in an atmosphere of unconditional love and acceptance." (Laurelynn Martin)
Josiane Antonette: "Am I outside myself observing? I see my body and its pain. I look at my feet; they are
pale and lifeless. My legs cannot move. My face is white and drawn ... Now I'm on the hospital room ceiling
gazing down! Everything appears so small: I see my bed; my body looks small and colorless; the people
around the bed are tiny. Overwhelming grief and sorrow fill the room, and yet I feel completely disconnected
from the scene below me. I hover nearer and look at the strange form lying on the bed. I feel compassion
beyond words. I understand everything, but I have no feeling of attachment to anyone. I look at each person
standing at the bedside and feel tremendous love. I want to say to them, 'I'm all right. You don't have to
worry. I'm all right. Look at me! I'm fine!'"
Rev. Kenneth Hagin: "My heart stopped beating. This numbness spread to my feet, my ankles, my knees,
my hips, my stomach, my heart and I leaped out of my body. I did not lose consciousness; I leaped out of my
body like a diver would leap off a diving board into a swimming pool. I knew I was outside my body. I could
see my family in the room, but I couldn't contact them. I began to descend down, down, into a pit, like you'd
go down into a well, cavern or cave ... Then, like a suction from above, I floated up, head first, through the
darkness. Before I got to the top, I could see the light. I've been down in a well: it was like you were way
down in a well and could see the light up above. I came up on the porch of my grandpa's house. Then I went
through the wall not through the door, and not through the window through the wall, and seemed to leap
inside my body like a man would slip his foot inside his boot in the morning time. Before I leaped inside my
body, I could see my grandmother sitting on the edge of the bed holding me in her arms. When I got inside
my body, I could communicate with her. 'I felt myself slipping,' I said, 'Granny, I'm going again. You've been
a second mother to me when Momma was ill.' My heart stopped for a second time. I leaped out of my body
and began to descend: down, down, down ... And then I was pulled up, head first. I could see the lights of the
earth above me before I came up out of the pit. The only difference this time was that I came up at the foot
of the bed. For a second time I stood there. I could see my body lying there on the bed. I could see Grandma
as she sat there holding me in her arms." [Here Hagin says goodbye to his family] "I left a word for each one
of them, and my heart stopped the third time. I could feel the circulation as it cut off. Suddenly my toes went
numb. Faster than you can snap your fingers, my toes, feet, ankles, knees, hips, stomach and heart went dead
and I leaped out of my body and began to descend ..."" [Hagin then enters his body again and recovers from
his illness.] (Rev. Kenneth Hagin)
 Ricky Randolph: "I felt myself leaving my body. I was floating a few feet in the air above the river. I
looked on my body with mixed feelings. I was bleeding from my mouth, nose, ears, and saw a trickle of blood
underneath me on the boulder. As I was reflecting on the state of my body, I felt a pulling and began to rise
very fast. I was traveling at a high rate of speed upwards through the atmosphere." (Ricky Randolph)
Rexella Van Impe: The wife of television evangelist Dr. Jack Van Impe, Rexella, was injured in a car
accident in Brussels in 1982. She discovered herself outside of her body watching her husband crying as he
held her in his arms. The experience was told in their video, "Heaven: An Out-of-Body Adventure?" [This
videotape, produced in 1992, is available through JVI Ministries, POB 7004, Troy, MI, USA 48007.]
Chris Taylor: "On September 1993, I was at Papworth Hospital having my aortic valve replaced. I left my
body and watched the surgeon operating on me. He was a bit of a maverick and had a red and white check
head cover. He was listening to Meat Loaf's 'Bat out of hell' and invisible drumming to it. He splashed some
blood on one of the nurses. She got angry. I asked him about this and he confirmed it by stating that I could
not have seen this due to the screen around my face. On November 2001, I rushed back to Papworth with a
dissecting aorta which is usually fatal. My son had seen me have the attack and my profound pain. He was
scared and had tears streaming down his face. He made me promise that I would not die. I promised him. I
underwent 10 hours of emergency surgery at the end of which my heart failed to spontaneously restart. The
surgeon manually manipulated my heart for 26 minutes. At some stage in the procedure I left my body with a
whooshing sound. I then was floating toward a bright light. All around me was a gray cloud-type thick fog. It
had texture. The closer I approached the light I became aware of a fundamental sense of purity. I could feel
my pain falling away. I became aware of PURE LOVE, peace, tranquility. I could hear voices that were
welcoming me without speaking specific words; but, I understood that this was natural and normal. I also
knew that I was leaving the two people I love the most - my wife and son. I was then aware of my son to my
left sitting on a chair and sobbing into his hands. My wife walked up to him to comfort him. He said he was
scared and my wife assured him I was strong and would live. He calmly said, 'I'm not scared of Dad dying. I
know he will not die. He promised me and DAD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES. I then painfully
zipped back into my body. Imagine being cold and wet, longing for a warm shower. Imagine taking off those
cold wet clothes and getting into the shower. Now imagine getting back into the clothes. Got the message?
When I came to, 28 hours later, my wife was told I was in a coma and brain dead. I was so angry for days. I
was angry I had lived. That may sound weird but that is, in brief, my story. Two things: This experience has
left me feeling over powered spiritually. Secondly, I am a Police Inspector and not prone to flights of fancy."
(Chris Taylor)
Nadia McCaffrey: "I was out of my body. I floated there for awhile, and looked down at lifeless body on
the gurney. However, the real me had become a comfortable glowing shape. For a while, I watched on as the
nurses and doctors worked quickly to revive me. Then, I lost interest and my attention turned towards a long
dark tunnel."
Beverly Brodsky: "I found myself floating on the ceiling over the bed looking down at my unconscious
body. I barely had time to realize the glorious strangeness of the situation - that I was me but not in my body
- when I was joined by a radiant being bathed in a shimmering white glow."
Jan Price: "I remember being surprised as I observed the full heart arrest taking place. I suppose we never
really think of ourselves as dying, but obviously I had died because I wasn't in my body anymore."
Norman Paulsen: "There is my body lying at the foot of the telephone pole, covered with blankets.
Without sensation, I enter it again. My eyes open to see concerned faces looking down upon me."
Valvita Jones: "Feeling so peaceful and free, I started moving upward. I realized my body was below me,
and I vaguely remember observing efforts by the medical team to revive it. My main interest was that I was
above the room. I was not even in the room but in the first sky. I say first sky in the heavens, because it
seemed as though there were three heavens that I passed through."
Laura: "After this infinite moment had passed, there began a battle for my life between the angels in
heaven and the doctors on earth. Every time the doctors pounded on my chest, my spirit was sucked into my
body for a split second, only to be pulled back again by the angels. They held me by my feet, struggling to
keep me from coming back. Finally, the doctors pounded one last time. I heard an angel say, "They're
stronger than we are," and I was sucked back into my body, sat up, screamed, and passed out."
 Caroline Sharp: "It is now almost 34 years ago, but with amazing clarity, I can remember the emotions I
went through as I hovered above my body. It was a total euphoric happiness. Feeling totally unconcerned and
faintly amused, I watched the two nurses and doctor working to resuscitate my lifeless body. I could relate
with extreme clarity the actions they took in this procedure."
Mrs. Walters: "When I had my first child, I had the experience of being out of my body and hovering
above it attached to a thick cord. I could see myself on the bed and the doctor who was in a panic. I could
also see the nurse and the instruments on a trolley in the corner of the room. The only way I could have seen
the instrument was from the angle I was in. I would not have been able to see them from the bed. I
remember thinking it was wonderful to be free of that cumbersome body and not really caring what
happened to it."
Randy Gehling: "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. When I got a little higher, I saw that it had been Kurt's car that had hit me. I always told him that he
drove too fast in the neighborhood."
Jeanie Dicus: "I was floating above my body. I saw green shower caps. The people in the room all wore
those stupid caps. There were five or six caps and they were panicky. Their fear was so thick I could feel it. I
kept thinking, "Hey, I'm okay, don't worry," but they didn't get my message. This was a little frustrating. I
found myself in the right-hand corner of the room. I lifted my arm and stretched. I had been immobile for so
long. It felt like I had taken off a body girdle, and it was so delicious to get out of that cramped body."
Peter Sellers: "Well, I felt myself leave my body. I just floated out of my physical form and I saw them cart
my body away to the hospital. I went with it."
Elaine Durham: "When I got to the hospital, it was not as if I was on the gurney look up, but I was
moving, not necessarily walking, but I was at eye level along the right side of the gurney. And there was my
body on it, but I did not have any relationship at all to that body."
An accountant's NDE: "The next thing I remember was looking down on my body in the intensive care
unit. I don't know how I got in there, but they were working on me. There was this young doctor in a white
coat and two nurses and a black fellow in a white uniform and he was doing most of the work on me. This
black fellow was shoving down on my chest and someone else was breathing for me and they were yelling to
get this and that!' I learned later that this black fellow was a male nurse on the ward. I had never seen him
before. I even remember the black bow tie he was wearing. Next thing I remember was going through this
dark passage."
Helen: "I remember clearly floating up above myself, and looking down on my body. It was connected to
numerous machines. I could see the drip and the oxygen mask. I could see the doctors working to restart my
heart with electronic pads. I could see that my parents were there. It felt very peaceful, much better than
where I had been before. I was bathed in warmth and light, and the calm was almost tangible. I felt it was up
to me to decide where I wanted to be, up there or back in my body, but the peace was so overwhelming that I
knew I wanted to stay."
Carter Mills: A massive load of compressed cardboard Carter Mills was loading, slipped out of control,
slamming him against a steel pole. He remembers a sharp pain, collapsing, being in a black void, then finding
himself floating in a prone position twelve feet above his crumpled body. He saw and heard people running
around, yelling for an ambulance and saying, "Don't touch him, give him air." His body went from white to
blue; there was no breath. The sight filled him with awe. "I'm here, my body is there. How did this happen?"
Not understanding how he could suddenly be airborne, Carter attempted to reenter his body. Crawling
downward in swim-like strokes, he had almost reached his goal when a gentle but firm hand tugged his right
arm. When he looked up, there were two angels replete with robes, wings, bare feet, and streaming hair - no
color but opaque white - and no particular gender.
John Star: "Suddenly the world was calm and clear. I could see the shoreline, still in the distance and
noticed the sun shining overhead. It seemed brighter than usual. When I looked down, I got the surprise of
my life. There was my body, still swimming toward shore, moving as straight and smooth as a motor boat. I
watched for a while, indifferent to the plight of my body. I was far more concerned with trying to figure out
where I was."
 Michael: "And then something exited my chest. Its hard to describe exactly what it was or what it felt like
but it was a real presence, a definite feeling. Perhaps terms like "life force" or "energy" come closest to trying
to describe what it was, but it seemed to contain my personality as well. Again, its extremely difficult to
describe except that it was a real sensation of something immaterial leaving my physical body. This "force",
for lack of a better word, then positioned itself in the corner of the bathroom ceiling (the bathroom was in
darkness) and I stared down on my own motionless body, skinny and frail and apparently lifeless. This force
which seemed to contain something of me certainly an awareness that "I" was no longer in my body, then
moved at an amazing speed through somewhere black, like space in its vastness."
Ida Acosta: "I was drifting in and out of my body, from darkness into light, simultaneously. There were
sounds demanding that I leave my wonderful bliss to come back to life. Doctors calling my name. I looked
upon it all with a strange indifference. And I could see myself. I could hear a machine beeping. People were
slapping me, shaking me, tossing me around, sticking things into me, and I just didn't care. I was in bliss and I
really just wanted to die, because at that moment I realized there was no death. It was exactly like drifting into
the best sleep ever."
Rose A.: "On this one day I found that part of me had separated from my physical body and had risen
above my body to the ceiling. From above, I saw myself lying face down on the carpeting. Everything was so
clear mentally and there was no pain; I sensed that the physical body was that which felt pain, that which
would also hamper one's clarity of thinking. This other part of me, a spiritual me or a soul me, was so much
more at peace being outside of the physical me. I knew that if my mother had entered the bedroom at that
point, she would not have gotten a response from my physical body, but I would want her to know that
everything was all right with me."
Karen Floyd: "At this time, I had floated out of my body. I was floating just below the ceiling of the car
looking down at myself on the seat of the car. I remember thinking how strange it was that I was up here
when my body was still on the car seat! I could see my friend driving and looking back and talking to me. I
also noticed that I didn't feel bad anymore."
Sharon: "Sometime during the night I 'woke up' to find myself against the ceiling. I was literally floating
and I could see myself from the chest up. I remember feeling no discomfort, such as heat or cold, just a nice
peaceful feeling. While I was wondering why I was able to float against the ceiling, I looked down and saw
myself sleeping on my back. This was strange enough, but the strangest part was how I thought of myself on
the bed. I thought of myself in the third-person. I remember distinctly thinking, 'She is running out of air' and
'There is no oxygen in this room.' I did not think this in a state of panic, more like a peaceful concern for the
body. The next thing I knew, I was hurling toward my body."
Jerriann Massey: "Three times she fought her way through the murky water and surfaced to suck air, she
said. "The third time back under, I was out of my body. It was like when you are wearing pants way too tight
and you take them off. Now, you can relax and breathe. That's what it felt like."
Alise: "At the height of the pain I left my body. I saw my body on the bed and tried to communicate to
those tending to it but finally gave up and left out the roof of the hospital. I felt like a traitor as they were
working very hard on my body but I did not want it any more. I did not want to go back. So I left very
quickly and what was foremost in my mind was that I knew exactly where to go. There was no tunnel or light
or anything, I just knew where to go and went. Like going 'home'. Getting 'out' of my body was like going
through a magnetic field. Each magnet was attracted to the other and then to another and another until the
first was attracted to the last and then I was free. I knew I had just gone through the elements of the earth
that made up my physical body. This registered in my brain as pain but it wasn't pain exactly but the process
of going through the elements and overcoming gravity."
Martha A. St. Claire: As she began to drown, Martha remembers entering into a kind of dream-like state
she feels was the beginning of her near-death experience. She states, "All of a sudden, I was out of my body
watching myself being pulled along and thinking, 'This is really incredible. This is really quite amazing.'"
Mr. Thermal: "Before we got into the cars we had there, the lightning bolt came through a board in the
side of the barn and got me. I felt myself falling but it didn't hurt. Then I noticed I was above myself looking
down at me. My body was actually smoking. I watched one guy jump from the wagon he was on, to the
ground. On his way over to me, it seemed like it took him 10 minutes to land. Everyone was moving so slow.
I was speaking out loud. I could hear myself, but it seemed the others couldn't. I saw them gathering around
me trying to wake me up, but I was awake. I was above them. I tried to look at my hands but couldn't see
them. I knew they were there. I could feel them move. And I could feel my feet too, but again, my body was
on the ground right beneath me."
Elizabeth: "His smile was wide and bright, as he took hold of my left arm, and we began to drift
downward. It was comforting and safe to be with him, as we passed by stars in the night sky, drifting through
clouds. I eventually could see my town and the top of my house. We drifted through the roof, entering my
bedroom. At the ceiling, I noticed my daughter, still sleeping soundly. But then I noticed something else; I
noticed another body next to hers. When we reach the floor, I realized it was my own. I was completely
confused. He gently lifted me, placing me back into my body. I immediately jumped out of bed reaching for
him. But by now, his light was escaping through the window, until finally completely gone. I sat on the edge
of my bed, still engulfed with such joy. I took hold of my head, saying over and over again in my mind, I will
not forget, I will not forget."
John Powell: "He then brought me again to this earth. When I saw my body lying on the bed I did not
want to enter it again for I felt so happy out of it that I could not bear the thought of entering it again, but he
said, 'Enter,' and I had to obey."
Sherry Gideon: "The last thing that happened was when I watched my spirit descend back into my body. I
could suddenly see myself lying on my bed. I could feel a light coming through the window that was so
powerful beyond words. As I watched my spirit return to this body on the bed. I could hear the last words
spoken to me: "You must help the world to understand that they must give of themselves freely without
expecting and love is all there is!"
Bruce Budden: "I could see my body lying on the lawn and a few cars and people around the scene ... The
next thing I recall is almost like energizing over top of my physical body. I moved closer and was hovering a
foot or so over my body. I then slowly turned over and then started sinking down into my body. The
electrical energy of my spirit started flowing back into my physical body. As I was doing this, this almost
sense of transformation, the feeling of being in the pure spirit form started changing to the feelings of the
earthly realm. There was a great sense of heaviness, I felt the physical emotions starting to return, along with
the emotions of the human animal. The next thing I recall is opening my eyes and seeing the lights of the cars
around me and I looked around to find the light I was just in front of but I couldn't find it. Then it hit me,
damn, I'm back. At that point I passed out."
Vicki Moyer: "During my experience, I was standing in a beautiful garden and saw Jesus. He was sitting on
a stone bench. We both were dressed in biblical gown and wore sandals. Jesus let me see through a dimension
to where my body being operated on in surgery. I could see it. I remember how I felt. I felt like my body was
only a shell and that it was not the true me. I felt like this was me, my soul. I remember him letting me hear
my friends and love ones pray for me."
Dr. Habermas and Moreland's research: Dr. Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland documented two cases of
veridical perception in their book, Immortality, The Other Side of Death. The first case was a young girl
named Katie who nearly drowned in a pool. After being resuscitated in the emergency room, a CAT scan
showed she had massive brain swelling. She was attached to an artificial lung to keep her breathing and given
a ten percent chance of survival. Three days later, she completely recovered and told a remarkable story.
Though she had been profoundly comatose, with her eyes closed throughout her entire treatment, she gave
exact details regarding the physical features of her doctors, the hospital rooms in which she had been treated,
and the medical procedures her doctors employed to save her. Amazingly, she was also able to describe, in
minute detail, what her family was doing at home, awaiting news of her status, while she lie in the hospital!
Then, Katie said she met Jesus and the heavenly Father. Their second case involves a five-year-old boy named
Rick who suffered from meningitis. As Rick was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, he decided to stay
behind. He later reported seeing his father crying in the car while he drove the family to the hospital. Rick
then rushed to the hospital arriving before the ambulance. He saw hospital orderlies move a young girl out of
the room he would be occupying. Rick's memories were corroborated by his family, and were particularly
amazing due to the fact that he was comatose before he was taken in the ambulance and for several days
afterward.
Guenter Wagner: "Suddenly it dawned on me that I was out of my body. It must have happened the
moment this oozing stopped. I saw a body lying on the floor, which could only belong to me. I was shivering
and I quickly wanted to return to my body and its warmth when I heard someone say, 'Stop! Before going
back, see what it is like outside!' However, I did not pay any attention to the voice. Although I could not see
any physical body but my own, this voice was quite near. Then I heard it again, this time it was begging me
very earnestly, 'Please, do not go back, I beseech you. Why do you not want to discover your new faculties
first? You may still go back if you do not like them.' I hesitated. After all, this voice was right. Why shouldn't
I give it a try? On that the voice said quickly, 'Test your mind! If you do you will discover that you can think
in a way you have never experienced before.' The voice was right again. I could think very lucidly indeed, and
I was able to understand very quickly with a directness that did not leave a trace of doubt. Then I heard the
voice again, 'If you are willing to stay outside of your body, you will make a wonderful journey and you will
see many interesting things. However, you must decide quickly! So hurry up!' Eventually I began to consider
the whole situation. It was really up to me whether I wanted to return to my body and live the life on earth
with all its limitations and with all its joy or to stay outside in this condition of clear thinking. The voice again
urged me to hurry up and to tell him whether I had made up my mind. I gave in. I decided to stay outside and
I instantly realized that my body had to die, meaning total destruction by decay. I thought to myself, "How
sad for my mother!' As for me, I did not feel any regrets, because my body was now only a wrapper to me, a
burden of which I freed myself the moment I had decided to stay outside. Presently I realized that I was able
to move freely about in a way I had never experienced before. I was floating right through the walls of our
house (I saw my mother in front of the kitchen stove cooking a meal) and up into the sky. In the distance, I
saw a great shining ball, which was the sun. I felt irresistibly attracted to it by its brightness and I wanted to
go right into it. No sooner had I thought this when I hit something that catapulted me far out into blackness.
I tried once more, but it all happened again. I quickly learned that there had to be an invisible barrier that I
could only approach but not overcome. Then the Being of Light was gone. One of the other beings brought
me back to earth. I do not know how. I only heard, while being tucked back into my body, a snapping sound
like the sound that can be heard when you put the lid on top of a mess tin securing it with the catch."

L. The out-of-body phenomenon of consciousness expansion

Many NDE testimonies involve the experiencer describing how their consciousness expanded until it fills
the entire universe - even beyond. This phenomenon has been described as literally becoming the universe by
near-death experiencers. This concept of a universal and transcendental consciousness agrees with the
metaphysical notion of how the universe exerts an influence upon us astrologically. I have found several
NDEs on my website that provide evidence of veridical consciousness expansion. What is interesting is how
this phenomenon supports a current theory of consciousness held by a prominent consciousness researcher
which will be explained after presenting these excerpts from NDE testimony of how consciousness expands
after death and allows for veridical observation outside of the body to take place.

(1) Near-death experiencers on consciousness expansion

Mellen-Thomas Benedict: "Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life.
I saw the earth fly away. The solar system, in all its splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light
speed, I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy,
and all of the Universe, is bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds. The good news
is that we are not alone in this Universe! As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the
galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy. The super clusters of galaxies with all
their ancient wisdom flew by. At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But then I realized
that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the
Universe!"
Virginia Rivers: "The stars seemed to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a tunnel around me. I began
to sense awareness, knowledge. The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge I received. My mind
felt like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition. The knowledge came in single words and
in whole idea blocks. I just seemed to be able to understand everything as it was being soaked up or absorbed.
I could feel my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to
belong. It was as if I had known already but forgotten or mislaid it, as if it were waiting here for me to pick it
up on my way by."
Thomas Sawyer: "And in your life review you'll be the universe and experience yourself in what you call
your lifetime and how it affects the universe."
Jayne Smith: "I was involved in this tremendous pouring forth of gratitude and joy and as that was going
inside me, this white light began to infiltrate my consciousness. It came into me. It seemed I went out into it.
I expanded into it as it came into my field of consciousness."
Josiane Antonette: "My presence fills the room. And now I feel my presence in every room in the
hospital. Even the tiniest space in the hospital is filled with this presence that is me. I sense myself beyond the
hospital, above the city, even encompassing earth. I am melting into the universe. I am everywhere at once."
Rudolf Steiner: "Stage by stage we expand into the planetary spheres, like light that has been contained
within a darkened glass, when finally uncovered and released goes out into the boundless universe. The moral
disposition we carry over with us allows or prevents us from moving on in a conscious manner. Seeing how
we expand toward the stars and planets after death, it's no wonder we look at the night sky in awe with
feelings of reverence and maybe even memories."
Margaret Tweddell: "I felt caught up in all of this to the very depths of my being. I felt myself expanding
and expanding until I thought, "I'm going to burst!" The moment I thought, "I'm going to burst!", I suddenly
found myself alone, back where this being had met me, and he had gone."

(2) NDE researchers on NDE consciousness expansion

Dr. Stanislav Grof's research: "I had my training as a psychiatrist, a physician and then as a Freudian
analyst. When I became interested in non-ordinary states and started serving powerful mystical experiences,
also having some myself, my first idea was that it (consciousness) has to be hard-wired in the brain. I spent
quite a bit of time trying to figure out how something like that is possible. Today, I came to the conclusion
that [consciousness] is not coming from the brain. In that sense, it supports what Aldous Huxley believed
after he had some powerful psychedelic experiences and was trying to link them to the brain. He came to the
conclusion that maybe the brain acts as a kind of reducing valve that actually protects us from too much
cosmic input. Dr. Grof states: "So, I don't see, for example, that experiences of archetypal realms, heavens,
paradises, experiences of archetypal beings, such as deities, demons from different cultures, that people
typically have in these states that they can be somehow explained as something that comes from the brain. I
don't think you can locate the source of consciousness. I am quite sure it is not in the brain not inside of the
skull. It actually, according to my experience, would lie beyond time and space, so it is not localizable. You
actually come to the source of consciousness when you dissolve any categories that imply separation,
individuality, time, space and so on. You just experience it as a presence. People who have these experiences
can either perceive that source or they can actually become the source, completely dissolved and experience
that source. But such categories as time and space, localization coordinates, are not relevant for that
experience. You actually have a sense that the concepts of time and space come from that place. They are
generated by that place; but, the cosmic source itself, the cosmic consciousness cannot be located certainly
not in the material world." (Dr. Stanislav Grof, from the NDE video, Life After Death, Episode 8,
Wellspring Media)
Dr. Peter Fenwick's NDE research: Fenwick is a neuropsychiatrist and the leading authority in Britain on
NDEs who has described how the NDEs are unique to any other state of consciousness. In the
documentary, "Into the Unknown: Strange But True," Dr. Fenwick explains: "In the NDE, you are
unconscious. One of the things we know about brain function in unconsciousness, is that you cannot create
images and if you do, you cannot remember them ... The brain isn't functioning. It's not there. It's destroyed.
It's abnormal. But, yet, it can produce these very clear experiences [NDEs] ... an unconscious state is when
the brain ceases to function. For example, if you faint, you fall to the floor, you don't know what's happening
and the brain isn't working. The memory systems are particularly sensitive to unconsciousness. So, you won't
remember anything. But, yet, after one of these experiences [NDEs], you come out with clear, lucid memories
... This is a real puzzle for science. I have not yet seen any good scientific explanation which can explain that
fact."
 Dr. Timothy Leary's Psychedelic research: "You must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a
limitless range of awareness for which we now have no words; that awareness can expand beyond the range
of your ego, your self, your familiar identity, beyond everything you have learned, beyond your notions of
space and time, beyond the differences which usually separate people from each other and from the world
around them."
Dr. Susan Blackmore: After hovering around New York, Susan Blackmore floated back to her room in
Oxford where she became very small and entered her body's toes. Then she grew very big, as big as a planet
at first, and then she filled the solar system and finally she became as large as the universe. Susan Blackmore
believes that consciousness and NDEs are only secretions of the brain - much like a hallucination. If she is
correct, then NDEs are nothing more than mass hallucinations. The problem with this idea is that
unconscious brains do not hallucinate. And even if unconscious brains could hallucinate, they would not be
able to retain unconscious memories.

4. The Void and the Near-Death Experience

Many near-death testimonies involve the experiencer entering a realm commonly known in NDE circles
as the "Void." This article discusses the nature of this realm to give the reader a good understanding of its
purpose and how to deal with it after death. The general consensus among near-death testimonies is that the
Void is a realm of complete and profound darkness - empty of everything except for the thought and
emotional patterns of those who enter it. The Void is a perfect place for experiencers to examine themselves,
contemplate their recent earth experience, and decide where they want to go next. For some experiencers, the
Void is a beautiful and heavenly realm because, in the absence of all else, they are able to perfectly see the
love and light within themselves. For other experiencers, the Void is a terrifying, confusing, horrible hell
because, in the absence of everything, they are temporarily unable to see the love and light within themselves.
For this reason, the Void also acts as a heavenly "Time Out" where the experiencer is forced to look within
themselves. There is no judgment in the Void except the possibility of self-judgment - a harsher form of self-
understanding. The Void has also been understood as a process of "ego death" where the "mask" of the
personality is dissolved to allow the individuality of the soul to be experienced in relation to the Whole that is
God. For these reasons and more, this article may be the most important article you may read in this book.

A. Summary of insights concerning the Void

Some near-death experiencers travel very quickly through the Void by means of the tunnel and on to
higher realms. Other experiencers, particularly those who have developed a strong attraction for some earthly
desire may instead enter a lower realm called the earthbound realm in a vain attempt to re-enter earth. But
many near-death experiencers, as you will see, enter the Void immediately after death. From there, they may
then enter the tunnel toward the light in the next heavenly realm. Other experiencers remain in the Void for
one reason or another until they are ready to leave it.
For some souls, the time spent in the Void may feel like only a moment. For others, it may seem like
eternity. This is because the nature of the Void is for contemplation. Once the soul is ready, the light appears
and the tunnel takes them into higher realms. For souls who either refuse the light or have spent a lifetime
ignoring the light within them, it may take what seems like an "eternity" before they are ready to move on.
The problem for some souls is they prefer darkness rather than the light for one reason or another. For some
of these souls, their only hope is reincarnation. This is because it is not possible for any soul to be confined in
the earthbound and Void realms forever. God is infinitely merciful and would never abandon anyone to their
own spiritual agony for too long; however, God allows souls to remain there only as long as it suits their
spiritual growth.
The Void is not punishment. It is the perfect place for all souls to see themselves and to purge themselves
from all illusions. For those souls who are too self-absorbed in their own misery to see the light, there are a
multitude of Beings of Light nearby to help them when they freely chose to seek them. The nature of love
and light is such that it cannot be forced upon people who don't want it. Choosing love and light over
darkness is the key to being freed from the Void. The moment the choice is made, the light and tunnel
appears and the soul is drawn into higher realms.

B. The nature of the Void

As mentioned earlier, nothing exists in the Void except your own thought and emotional patterns. Within
this dark emptiness, ego is stripped away
The following is P.M.H. Atwater's explanation of the nature of the Void: "My dining room below was
slowly but surely merging into another kind of space coming down from a source past my ceiling. These two
spaces or dimensions of space were merging into each other, but I was not moving. I did not change position
in any way. I was where I was, but the world around me was changing and shifting and becoming something
else. My dining room faded from sight as this new space became more visible and more real. It was like
nothing I had ever seen before. It encompassed me. The new space was both totally bright and totally dark at
the same time yet without shape, form, sound, color, mass, or movement. It was aglow but there was no light
source. It was dark but there was no darkness. Somehow within this strange environment was the presence of
all shapes, all forms, all sound, all color, all mass, and all movement. Everything that ever was, is, or will be
was there, yet there was nothing there at all. It was everything and it was nothing, yet within it was a feeling, a
pulse, a sensation of energy "winking" off and on -- a sparkling potential which "shimmered," just as Jell-O
does before it responds to touch. I called it "The Void" for lack of a better term or idea. It was comfortable
enough, so within its crammed nothingness I proceeded with my experiments (At this point, Atwater
experiments in the Void by creating images, such as a house, with her mind. She is then visited by deceased
relatives and Jesus. Afterward, she finds herself back in the Void). I was now alone in this non-place and
there was nothing. For the first time I looked upon myself to see what possible form or shape I might have,
and to my surprise and joy I had no shape or form at all. I was naught but a sparkle of pure consciousness,
the tiniest, most minuscule spark of light imaginable. And that is all I was. I was content that way, without
ego or identity, pure, whole, and uncomplicated. Within that nothingness I had become, I simply existed,
ecstatic in perfect bliss and peace, like perfection itself and perfect love. Everywhere around me were sparkles
like myself, billions and trillions of them, winking and blinking like on / off lights, pulsating from some
unknown source. I would have existed in that state of bliss forever had an irritation not made itself known,
like an old sore deep within me; then energy waves burst forth from that deep old sore, and with them came
the life of Phyllis, playing itself out from birth to death. (At this point, Atwater experiences a life review)

C. Love does not exist in the Void

The only love that exists in the Void is the love you bring into it. The Void itself has no love or light and
because of this, the only way to leave the Void and enter the higher realms is by choosing love. The moment
love is desired, the light appears as if summoned. Most near-death accounts describe very brief encounters
with the Void, if any at all. It is probably true that most people choose love over darkness, much like most
people choose to remain out of prison. God does not force anyone out of the Void. The way to heaven must
be earned through cultivating and bearing the fruits of love and light. This is the key to getting out of the
Void and into heaven. The following near-death accounts describe the loveless nature of the Void.
Rev. Howard Pittman: "While in second heaven - the Void - Howard Pittman felt an overwhelming
oppressive feeling and wondered what was causing it. He was told that it is because there is no love there."
Robert Monroe: "In the Void, your only source of stimulation will be your own thoughts."
An interesting thing that Mellen-Thomas Benedict learned while in the Void was that God was not there.
God is here on earth. That's what it is all about. Humanity's constant search for God outside of this world
doesn't need to happen. Everything is here. We are God's exploration of God through us. People are so busy
trying to become God that they ought to realize that we are already God and God is becoming us. That's
what it is really about.

D. Light does not exist in the Void

 Light and love is God. Because of this, God's influence in the Void is limited because darkness rules in the
Void. In the same manner, the influence of darkness (spiritual ignorance) on earth is limited because light
rules on earth. And light cannot be forced upon people. But once light/love is chosen by the soul, the soul's
stay in the Void is ended. The problem is that many souls have not realized divine love and light within
themselves while on earth. This makes it difficult to leave the Void.
The following description of the second stage after death by Emanuel Swedenborg is a remarkable
description of the Void: "Immediately following death, there is a period of self-discovery in which the social
masks worn on earth dissolve away and the true self is revealed. Each soul then shapes their own situation to
correspond with their real inner nature. The second stage after death is where people learn the inward things
that belong to their mind and their true selves. Everyone is directed into this stage after death because it is the
actual state of the spirit. If a soul was inwardly involved in goodness while in the physical world, they will
behave rationally and wisely at this stage. If a soul was inwardly involved in evil while in the physical world,
they will behave senselessly and crazily. Once their outward matters are taken away from them, their madness
is unveiled. People who are thinking about divine matters while they are active on earth are in touch with
angels of heaven. It is a life of love, a life of behaving honestly and fairly in every task that leads to a heavenly
life. This life is not hard."
The following is a description of the Void from the revelations of Edgar Cayce who referred to the Void
as outer darkness - a term that can be found in the Bible: "After death, we may enter a region that is Void of
love, life, and light, Void of everything. For some, this region is approximately their wish come true. Here
they are truly alone with themselves. For some souls, this is a pain that is unbearable. In the absence of truth,
love, gentleness, and kindness, some souls fill the Void with an irrational and unbelievable amount of pain
and fear. It is so dark in the realm of outer darkness that the darkness hurts and panic grips them without
knowing why. There are various degrees of darkness to this realm, and it is darker and denser at the center
than at its outer fringes. The closer we are to the outer edges, the more interaction there is with others in the
realm. The closer to the center, the darker and more painful is the solitude. Those who find themselves in
outer darkness cannot travel across this dimension. They must grow through the levels of this realm. After
death, one may find themselves in a particular degree of darkness that most closely corresponds to the degree
of the absence of love in one's life. Outer darkness is not a punishment. It is a region which operates lawfully
for the benefit of those who are there. This region is not a realm which was created for any soul to
experience, but one which came about as a consequence of the negative activity of souls in creation. So great
has been the desire for self, so monumental across time and space has been the selfishness of some of God's
creatures, that this realm is the creation or manifestation of their own collective activities. Outer darkness and
the reality with which it is associated were created and are held in place by collective self-interest.

E. Beings of light near the Void

Near-death accounts involve the experiencer observing Beings of Light near the Void ready to help, or
helping, souls in the Void. Souls in the Void are unaware that Beings of Light are all around them, until they
decide they need God's help.
Asher Elmekiess was in a place where darkness was everywhere. Yet there were sparkles all around like
little stars. It was a place of so much love, peace and joy. Asher did not want to move or come back from
there.
Margaret Tweddell: "There are souls called the shining ones who dedicate themselves to going into this
dark realm and bringing spiritual light. The souls who are dedicated to this work of rehabilitation are clothed
in protective garments so that they are not harmed or pierced by the dagger-like thoughts of hatred which
those in the dark realms are throwing out. The shining ones are not allowed to go and talk to these people,
but they stand nearby and call to them through thought - prayer, if you like. The moment the souls in this
dark area respond in a positive way, the ones who have come to help are able to bring them out into a less
dense, foggy world and eventually out into the realm of light."

F. Religious traditions and the Void

 The Void is known by many religious traditions by many different names. Some of them are: purgatory,
hell, outer darkness, prison, Gehennom, She'ol, pit, abyss, an-nar, and Preta-Loka. The following is a brief
description of some of these traditions.
Edgar Cayce scholar John Van Auken: "[During deep meditation] I lost all sense of individualness and
only after attempting to regain a sense of myself did I realize that I had lost individual consciousness ... It was
as if my consciousness turned off a gravitational force that somehow maintained selfness, allowing my mind
to slip into an infinite vacuum much like the difference between a contained planetary atmosphere and
infinite, airless outer space. I assume this is what the Eastern seekers mean by entering the Void."
Stuart Dean: "[During deep meditation] I immediately found myself in a beautiful place, right next to the
Light and Presence of God, where we are all living traces of His movement, yet still Him in essence. We are
ourselves, yet also Him. I could feel it! All unique, but still Him. We all were open both to God and to
connecting with each other, and there was nothing else except this! This was prior to inner and outer worlds,
prior to space and time, prior to existence itself! This is the place where there are no limits, where peace is not
yet disturbed, where surrender is natural, and where our life is wholly our relatedness to each other and to
God."
The Tibetan Buddhist Book of the Dead teaches that once awareness is freed from the body, it creates its
own reality as one would experience in a dream. The Clear Light of the Ultimate Reality appears and the
deceased must embrace this supreme experience not in a selfish and egoistic way but rather with love and
compassion for everyone. The deceased must then realize that his own self is one with this light in order to
attain Nirvana. If the deceased responds with fear, it is still not liberated and will descend into the second
phase [the Void] where peaceful deities appear. If liberation is not attained at this time, then the peaceful
deities turn into wrathful deities. It is important in this realm to recognize the Void-ness of all these beings as
a projection of their own mind.
The writers of the New Testament referred to the Void more than they did heaven. Here are just some of
these references: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear
that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)

G. Profound experiences of the Void

There are many very interesting near-death accounts that involve an extended experience in the Void.
From such accounts, much information concerning the Void can be gleaned. The following profound near-
death experiences with the Void are the best I have come across.
Guenter Wagner's Void experience is too long to summarize here. His Void experience is one of my
personal favorites. You can read about his experience here: https://www.near-
death.com/experiences/exceptional/guenter-wagner.html
Other excellent Void experiences come from: Mellen-Thomas Benedict, Nancy Evans Bush, and RaNelle
Wallace.
Other, less in depth, Void experiences come from: Don Brubaker, Rev. Kenneth Hagin, George
Rodonaia, Thomas Sawyer, and Angie Fenimore.
These NDEs can be found here: https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional.html

H. The reasons for the existence of the Void

(a) Self-reflection
Examining your inner spiritual nature is an important part of soul growth and there is no better place to
do this than in the Void. Those who have learned to ignore their inner spiritual nature have the most
difficulty in the Void because they have the most to learn. This is why it is important to examine your inner
spirituality on earth before you get to the Void. In fact, that is one of the important reasons we come to earth
in the first place.
 Lynnclaire Dennis entered a vacuum, a sacred space that was exceedingly real and where her grief
disappeared. The love within her saved her from oblivion. (Lynnclaire Dennis)
Edgar Cayce was quoted as saying the following about the Void: "All you may know of heaven or hell is
within your own self."
(b) Decision-making
The ultimate purpose of the Void is for us to look perfectly within ourselves. If a person looks deep
enough within themselves, they will find the light that can bring them from the darkness. The problem is that
many people choose not to do this for one reason or another. The following near-death accounts involve
making decisions in the Void.
(c) Purification
The suffering that souls experience in the Void serves a purpose for good. Many religious traditions teach
that God gives us suffering in order to create character, perseverance, and to cause us to rely more on God
and not in our own strength (or weakness). Suffering should never be viewed as a curse from God, but rather
a blessing in disguise. It is God's will for us to suffer in this world and in the Void in order to bring forth
goodness. In fact, this is the symbolism behind the cross of Jesus.
Betty Bethards learned that the Void is a realm of total darkness where we must confront the fears we
have built within our own minds. As soon as we are able to meet them directly, to face them, they dissipate. It
provides the opportunity for people to confront and move beyond the negativity they have created. Souls do
not enter the Void unless they need to experience it for their growth. Hell is a level of consciousness which
can be experienced in or out of the body. It is a lonely place where one is not allowed to be in
communication with anyone other than one's own negativity.
The type of near-death experience that Dr. PMH Atwater categorizes as the initial experience, involves
elements such as a loving nothingness, the living dark, a friendly voice, or a brief out-of-body episode.
Unpleasant or hell-like experiences involve inner cleansing and self-confrontation.
Sylvia Browne has this to say about the Void: "Upon death, most souls go through a heavenly process
before entering into heaven. Some souls, instead of experiencing the tunnel and bright light upon death, find
themselves in an abyss of empty, joyless, nothingness for a brief period of time."

I. How to escape from the Void

Escaping from the Void is very easy for some souls and difficult for others. Various near-death accounts
provide a wealth of information on how to escape from the Void. Here is a list of them:

(a) Love sets you free from the Void.

(b) The light sets you free from the Void.
(c) Your faith sets you free from the Void.
(d) Beings of Light set you free from the Void.
(e) Reincarnation sets you free from the Void.

The following information is a more detailed discussion of these ways to escape from the Void:

(a) Love sets you free from the Void

The Void is a spiritual dimension that exists within us. During our lives, we may fill this Void with many
things such as: love, hatred, happiness, sadness, knowledge, ignorance, family, just to name a few. And when
we die, we actually step into this spiritual dimension we have filled. Whatever we fill the Void within us with,
at death, we enter into it. Perhaps this is one good reason why the most important aspect of our missions in
life have to do with love. Realizing, filling and cultivating divine love within our Void and sharing this love
with others during our life will create a heavenly paradise that will be manifested in death. The following near-
death insights deal with love and its relationship to the Void.
 Brian Krebs: "After death, many people find themselves in the Void. The way out of the Void is simple.
You must think of love. Those who you love might show up to tell you to go back to your body or to think
of love. To recognize love as a reality is the key to getting out of the Void."
Lynnclaire Dennis' love redeemed her from oblivion. We only have to remember to make love real.
NDE expert Nora Spurgin: "Ignorance of the need to seek spiritual growth may keep some souls in the
Void for a long period of time."
RaNelle Wallace: "Those in the dark realm can progress, but their progress is limited. The key is love."
David Oakford: "To protect yourself from the unspiritual souls in the darkness, whether on earth or in
the Void, chose to focus on love."
Joni Maggi was in a dark outer space and feeling total bliss. It was there she learned that the universe is
upheld by love.

(b) Light sets you free from the Void

While some people describe leaving the Void through love, others describe leaving the Void through light.
They are both describing the same thing and the same God. One near-death experiencer put it so nicely,
"God is the light that loves."
Laurelynn Martin floated up through blackness where there existed no fear, no pain, and no
misunderstandings. There was also a sense of well-being. She was enveloped by total bliss in an atmosphere
of unconditional love and acceptance. The darkness was warm and soft, a blanket of velvety love, stretching
endlessly. The freedom of total peace was intensified beyond any ecstatic feeling she had ever felt on earth. In
the distance, a glorious white, golden light beckoned her forward.
Ray Meir was in a very dark, vast, peaceful area. It was much like floating through outer space and total
darkness. He felt extremely peaceful and very comfortable. Ahead he could see an extremely bright light
attracting him. He felt a great love emanating from the light and he moved toward the light much like a child
walking to its father.
Barbara Springer entered a black space where there existed no light; but she wasn't frightened at all. The
space was totally comfortable. Ahead of her she noticed a bright light.
Darlene Holman approached the blackness. Then see saw a light in the distance with souls around the
edge of it.
Carl G. Jung: "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of existence is to kindle a light in the darkness
of being."
Hal was in the darkness and could neither see nor feel himself nor anything else. He wondered if the
blackness was all there was and if he'd have to make do with his memories and imagination until they ran out.
He was absorbed in thought when a faint glimmer of light appeared; but it quickly vanished. He tried to
summon the light and another brief burst of light appeared. He wondered if he could attract its attention. The
light appeared again and the nearer it came, the brighter it was. In the light, he could dimly see himself. The
light grew very bright and he tried to look away. It was so bright that he feared its intensity. He yelled for it to
stop and the light replied, "I will not harm you."

(c) Faith sets you free from the Void

By reflecting on positive thoughts instead of negative thoughts, and feeling the love and light within
yourself, you will be able to progress from the Void. The following information demonstrates how faith can
set you free.
George Rodonaia was surrounded by a profound darkness which shocked and horrified him. He
wondered why he was in darkness and what he was supposed to do. He realized that because he could still
think, this meant he still existed. Then he reasoned that since he existed, he should think only positive
thoughts. He wondered how to define what is positive in the darkness. When he thought of light, he was
instantly in the light.
Betty Bethards: "As soon as we are able to confront our fears directly, to face them, they dissipate."
 Mrs. Walters tumbled in the blackness and felt frightened because she didn't know where she was going.
She thought, "I have to get back inside my body." Immediately, she was back inside her body without
knowing how.

(d) Beings of light set you free from the Void

Beings of Light are near and ready to help anyone in the Void out of their predicament. All it takes is but a
desire or a cry for help, no matter how large or small the desire. Some experiencers, such as Linda Stewart,
didn't belong in the Void at all and were automatically rescued from the Void. The following is a summary of
her rescue from the Void.
Linda Stewart was irresistibly drawn toward a vast, endless black Void or black hole. Gradually, she felt
herself sinking into it. It appeared that she would simply disappear into the dark nothingness. As her new
awareness waned, she yielded to the heaviness overtaking her as darkness filled her mind. Her vision became
obscured as she began to merge into the blackness. Offering no resistance, she released her hold on any
remaining shred of consciousness and personal identity. As she felt the last of herself disappearing into
nothingness, she was suddenly buffeted by a powerful, energetic force that swooped beneath and lifted her,
carrying her upward. She was barely conscious. Her only awareness was the sensation of rising. Vast distances
seemed to fly by her and the higher she rose, the more her head cleared. She felt peaceful and loved
immeasurably. She knew that she was in the arms of a Being who cherished her with perfect love. This Being
was Jesus and he carried her from the Void into a new reality.
David Oakford: "Higher beings know what to do to help a soul in the Void advance themselves if they so
choose to do so."

(e) Reincarnation sets you free from the Void

God never abandons anyone to the Void. Those who are either unwilling or ignorant about entering the
light may have only one choice and that is to return to earth through reincarnation. Again, this is not
punishment; it is a way for such souls to return to the earth-school for more lessons and learn how to
progress.
Arthur Yensen: "For some souls, the only hope out of the Void is through reincarnation."

5. The Tunnel and the Near-Death Experience

One theory used to explain the near-death phenomenon has nothing to do with death at all. It states that
NDEs are actually memories of birth. A baby being born leaves the womb to travel down a tunnel towards a
light, and what waits for it in the light is usually a great deal of love and warmth. What happens at the point of
death is only a stored memory of what happened when life began. Yet again there are a lot of points that
don't match: a baby being born does not exactly float at high speed down a tunnel, but is buffeted along with
difficulty by its mother's contractions. And how does this model explain the meeting with friends and
relatives who have died? The Being of Light is supposed to be the midwife or the doctor who rules the
delivery room - but many babies are born without a midwife or doctor present, or perhaps with many people
present. On a purely practical level, a baby's nervous system is not sufficiently developed to allow it to
assimilate and store memories of the birth process. Those who argue this theory say the feelings of peace and
bliss are a memory of the peace of the womb when all physical needs were met by the mother and there were
no stresses and strains. Why should this be any more likely than the feelings of peace and bliss are relief from
the pain of illness and injury at the point of death? However, being born is often not a pleasant experience for
babies which leaves them crying as if in agony. In contrast, NDEs are more often described as the most
pleasurable experience a person can have. The birth process is not pleasant. The following information will
show you how the NDE tunnel is an experience like none other.

A. Insights Into the NDE Tunnel Experience

 According to Dr. Raymond Moody, one of the nine elements that generally occur during NDEs is the
tunnel experience. This involves being drawn into darkness through a tunnel, at an extremely high speed, until
reaching a realm of radiant golden-white light. Also, although they sometimes report feeling scared, they do
not sense that they were on the way to hell or that they fell into it. Instead of a tunnel, some people report
rising suddenly into the heavens and seeing the earth and the celestial sphere as they would be seen by
astronauts in space. Once on the other side of the tunnel, or after they have risen into the heavens, the dying
meet people who glow with an inner light. Often, they find that friends and relatives who have already died
are there to greet them.
Jan Price did not go through a tunnel during her NDE and a spirit guide explained to her why this wasn't
so: "You have wondered why you did not enter through the tunnel you have heard so much about. It is true
that many experience their first awareness of this reality in that way, but when you separated from the body,
you were immediately aware of the Light. You have been here before for brief periods and knew the way, so
it was not necessary to travel through that corridor of mind known as the tunnel."
By analyzing a large number of NDE accounts on this website, a map of the various paths to heaven can
be created. Here are the paths I have found:
(a) The journey from the earth to the earthbound realm.
(b) The journey from the earth to the Void.
(c) The journey from the earth to the Void and then to heaven. (by means of the tunnel)
(d) The journey from the earth to heaven (by means of the tunnel.)
(e) The journey from the earth to the earthbound realm, then to the void, then to heaven.
(f) The journey from the earth to the Void, then through the tunnel to a heavenly receiving station in
heaven. (Kevin Williams)
In his book, Life At Death, Dr. Kenneth Ring analyzed the near-death experiences of 24 people who
attempted suicide. Among them, no one reported the tunnel phenomenon.
According to the author's own research, many near-death experiencers by attempted suicide have found
themselves in a gray or foggy area on the outer edges of the Void where such people reside until they make an
important decision. Because my analysis suggests the main way out of the Void is through the tunnel, then
this analysis from Dr. Ring supports my research conclusion that suicide experiencers have not gone through
the tunnel because they have not yet made the decision which would take them through the tunnel and into
higher spirit realms.
Sharon Wood: "In the tunnel connecting this world with the next, humans as well as animals travel
through the tunnel."
Brian Krebs: "The tunnel in the NDE is the pathway to God."
David Oakford: "The tunnel is a porthole to the place where all souls go if they choose."
In 45 Hindu near-death accounts, Pasrich and Stevenson found no evidence of a tunnel experience which
is frequently found in western accounts of the near-death experience. However, another near-death
researcher, Susan Blackmore, has reported accounts of a tunnel experience in her research of 8 Hindu near-
death experiencers.
Robert Monroe: "Going from a waking state or semi-waking state into an amorphous state is usually the
most dramatic kind of spiritual travel experience. In one type of amorphous transition, the traveler suddenly
senses a powerful vibration or sound and is caught up in that energy. This is sometimes accompanied by a
feeling of being drawn or propelled by this vibration at tremendous speed through a dark space. This
experience seems very similar to the descriptions of the tunnel associated with near-death experience.
Numerous people who came very close to death (no heartbeat or respiration) have near-death experiences
where they have described different types of sounds or vibrations which propelled them at seemingly great
speed through a dark tunnel or corridor."
Jerry Gross: "It's not quite the same, because when you astral project, you don't have to go through the
white light, or a tunnel. When you project, you usually go right where you would like to go, right away."
Dr. Raymond Moody: "The dark tunnel is described in many ways, such as being like a cave, a well, an
enclosure, a funnel, a vacuum, a void, a sewer, a valley, or a cylinder."
Dr. Ronald Siegel is the distinguished expert in psychopharmacolgy at UCLA. He is one of the leading
experts in the field of hallucinogens and an ardent skeptic of the consciousness survives death theory. Dr.
Siegel explains his theory of what causes the famous tunnel perspective in NDEs: "This is probably due to
the stimulation of the central nervous system that mimics the effects of light on the retina. It can also occur
when the electrical activity in the brain is altered in such a way that the threshold for perception of
phosphenes (electrical activity in the visual system) is lowered, and bright lights are seen in otherwise dark
surroundings. This point can create a tunnel perspective."
The author's own research shows the way to escape the void is to choose love and light over the darkness.
Once this happens, the light appears and the tunnel takes you toward the light and into heaven for further
instruction. One fact about the differing perceptions of the tunnel that people have can be demonstrated
when several witnesses observe the same event, such as an automobile accident, and the witnesses'
testimonies are not the same. One particular NDE example I have read illustrates the differing perceptions
that experiencers can have of the same event. This particular example involves the tunnel experience. Most
people describe their experience of traveling through the tunnel as a very beautiful and pleasant experience.
However, one particular person (I cannot remember the name or the source) went through the tunnel
kicking, screaming, and trying to grab the edges of the tunnel to prevent from going through it. This
particular person was completely horrified by the tunnel experience. This is also a good illustration of how
one man's heaven can be another man's hell. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

B. Brief Encounters With the NDE Tunnel

Anne Horne: "As I looked up, there was a tunnel - a light - an opening. It was glowing. Around that
opening were many people milling around."
While Gregory Warmack was in a coma in the hospital when he became aware of something "in the back
of me, like a beam of light, brighter than the sun, brighter than any light I had ever seen." He traveled
through a tunnel and felt that he was traveling back in time.
Clara: "Suddenly I was standing alone in a room with large, heavy doors leading into other rooms.
Someone came to me. I didn't see him; I only heard his voice. He led me up through what seemed like a
tunnel. I seemed to be walking, but my feet didn't touch a floor."
Paul Carr: "I was spinning sideways somehow through this tunnel. At first it was very dark, then it
seemed like there was these streaks. I was falling but I wasn't. I was traveling. That's maybe more the word.
There was this big white light at the end of it. I kind of came out into this."
Nadia McCaffrey: "For a while, I watched on as the nurses and doctors worked quickly to revive me.
Then, I lost interest and my attention turned towards a long dark tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a very
bright light and I floated to the opening. Once inside, I moved with what seemed to be an extraordinary and
effortless speed, and finally reached the light."
Mellen-Thomas Benedict: "I asked to see the rest of the universe; beyond our solar system, beyond all
human illusion. The light then told me that I could go with the Stream. I did, and was carried through the
light at the end of the tunnel. I felt and heard a series of very soft sonic booms. What a rush!"
Beth Hammond: "I remember closing my eyes. I am in this long dark tunnel. It is so cold and so dark. I
have never been in a place so cold as this tunnel. I was traveling at the speed of light. As I neared the end of
the tunnel, I saw the most brilliant yellow light coming toward me. I was beginning to feel warm. The nearer
the light got, the warmer I felt."
Caroline Sharp: "Then I began to float upwards and I realized I was having to make a decision. It was
almost a physical two-way pull. There seemed to be no ceiling above me, just a black hole into which I was
being compelled by a very strong force. It seemed as if I was to make a decision as to which way I would
choose to go - up into the tunnel or back into my body."
Betty Eadie: "I saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The black mass around me began to take on more
of the shape of a tunnel, and I felt myself traveling through it at an even greater speed, rushing toward the
light. I was instinctively attracted to it, although again, I felt that others might not. As I approached it, I
noticed the figure of a man standing in it, with the light radiating all around him."
Ian McCormack: "I asked God how could I possibly return back down the tunnel and back into my
hospital bed. He spoke and said, 'Son, tilt your head, now feel the liquid drain from your eye. Now open your
eye and see.' And I was immediately back in my physical body."
 Sylvia Browne: "Upon death, most people go through a heavenly process before entering into heaven.
Evil people, instead of experiencing the tunnel and bright light upon death, are sent through what Sylvia calls
the left door and enter into an abyss of empty, joyless, nothingness for a brief period of time ... Most people,
who go through the heavenly process, go through a tunnel and towards the light of God."
Lisa Marie: Right then, Lisa said she felt herself being sucked away into a tunnel at a fast pace. Then she
was flying so fast through this dark tunnel. She then stopped midstream in it and was in this dark tunnel. She
never saw a light at all. She heard this voice say to her, "If I let you go back what will you do with your life?"
She responded back to this voice, "I will dedicate my life to you." She knew this overpowering, loving
presence was GOD himself asking her this question. She never saw him - only heard him. He then showed
her pictures of her future helping others and other things like a movie screen showing her future. Then she
felt this swoosh back through the tunnel and back into her body.
In 1982, while a Fellow for the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Melvin Morse was working in a clinic in
Pocatello, Idaho. He was called to revive a young girl who nearly died in a community swimming pool. She
had had no heart beat for 19 minutes, yet completely recovered. She was able to recount many details of her
own resuscitation, and then said that she was taken down a brick lined tunnel to a heavenly place. When Dr.
Morse showed his obvious skepticism, she patted him shyly on the hand and said, "Don't worry, Dr. Morse,
heaven is fun!."
Marilyn Gibson: "Suddenly, I found myself in another dimension. A glowing golden tunnel appeared in
front of me. Far, far into the tunnel, almost as if at its distant opening, stood a man dressed in a splendid
golden robe ... The Master continued his invitation, but he was so far away. I wanted to fly to him. I knew
that this was possible; it was simply a matter of making the decision ... Exiting my body would be an easy
choice. I would float through this glorious tunnel and seek the answers the Master had to offer. Yet, just as I
slipped into the tunnel something pulled me back. While I was surrendering to the marvelous force that had
come to claim me, the hospital staff had worked to pull me out of my coma with massive doses of cortisone.
I remember nothing after the tunnel experience until three days later."
Helen: "Then I remember a very powerful force pulling me towards a serene, very beautiful realm, a
higher realm. I traveled very slowly along a tunnel toward a bright light, and I could feel an overwhelming
sense of warmth and peace and whiteness. I wanted to walk into the whiteness, which was so tranquil and
happy. It was like stepping into a vacuum, there was nothing tangible, no scenery to look at, but a tremendous
feeling of being somewhere, like nirvana. I felt okay, as though this was where I was meant to be, as if I had
arrived home, and I was at ease with myself for the first time in a long time."
Enigma: "Then I found myself in what appeared to be a large tunnel with a small white light at the other
end. I was moving toward this light pretty fast. I was surrounded by a feeling of absolute peace and what I
can only describe as unconditional love. It felt wonderful to be there. As I moved towards the light, I was
aware of two presences near to me. They were telling me by thought alone that it was not my time. I had to
go back. We were communicating just by thoughts back and forth to each other. I knew these presences
knew me, but I did not know them. I had never met them before. Then I was moving quickly back down
through the tunnel and into my body."
Barbara Springer: "I started to move toward the light. The way I moved, the physics, was completely
different than it is here on earth. It was something I had never felt before and never felt since. It was a whole
different sensation of motion. I obviously wasn't walking or skipping or crawling. I was not floating. I was
flowing. I was flowing toward the light. I was accelerating and I knew I was accelerating, but then again, I
didn't really feel the acceleration. I just knew I was accelerating toward the light. Again, the physics was
different - the physics of motion of time, space, travel. It was completely different in that tunnel, than it is
here on earth. I came out into the light and when I came out into the light, I realized that I was in heaven."
Beverly Brodsky: "I then remember traveling a long distance upward toward the light. I believe that I was
moving very fast, but this entire realm seemed to be outside of time. Finally, I reached my destination. It was
only when I emerged from the other end that I realized that I was no longer accompanied by the being who
had brought me there. But I wasn't alone. There, before me, was the living presence of the light ... My mind
was naked; in fact, I became pure mind. The ethereal body which I had traveled in through the tunnel seemed
to be no more."
 Janet: "I then felt myself moving off very fast, exceedingly fast, into what seemed like outer space. I
always felt that it was the fact of going so fast that gave me the sense of being in a tunnel. And I was going
toward a very bright light. As I was traveling along, I could see different-colored lights, and then I got
stopped, just stopped before I got to the light."
Ned Dougherty: "As a massive field of energy began to form in the sky directly in front of me, I heard a
loud, grinding mechanical noise as the mass of energy shaped itself into a cylinder funneling upwards. It
seemed as if the darkness of the sky turned into liquid as the mass of energy curled like an ocean wave and
formed a perfect tunnel that stretched into the heavens. As I stared into the large and imposing tunnel of
energy, a shimmering, luminescent-blue field of energy began to float down the tunnel toward me. As it
rapidly approached, I watched the luminescent-blue field mass into a form and begin to materialize into an
image of a human being. As the image composed itself, I found myself face to face with an old friend."
RaNelle Wallace: "A dot of light appeared far off in front of me. It was just a pinpoint, a tiny speck in the
distance, but its brilliance distinguished it from all other lights around me and I instinctively pressed towards
it. Emanating from it was a love and hope and peace that my soul hungered for. I wanted, I needed this
brilliant, radiant light. The black tube took the shape of a tunnel now, opening up as I neared its end. The
light burst forth before me, filling everything with brightness, and I was coming upon it impossibly fast. 'Oh,
my gosh,' I thought, 'It's brighter than the sun. It'll blind me! It'll kill me!'"
Dannion Brinkley: "A tunnel was forming, opening like the eye of a hurricane and coming toward me. I
actually didn't move at all; the tunnel came to me. There was the sound of chimes as the tunnel spiraled
toward and then around me. Soon there was nothing to be seen - no crying Sandy, no ambulance attendants
trying to jump-start my dead body, no desperate chatter with the hospital over the radio - only a tunnel that
engulfed me completely and the intensely beautiful sound of seven chimes ringing in rhythmic succession. I
looked ahead into the darkness. There was a light up there, and I began to move toward it as quickly as
possible. I was moving without legs at a high rate of speed. Ahead the light became brighter and brighter until
it overtook the darkness and left me standing in a paradise of brilliant light."
Randy Gehling 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.'"
Randy asked her what her name was. "We don't have names in the manner that you mean," she said, "but if it
makes you feel better to call me something, you may call me, Areo (ah-ree-o)." The tunnel did not prove to
be such a terrible ordeal after all. Randy and Areo seemed to whoosh through it quickly.
Lynn: "Suddenly, I had to move on, so I floated into the waiting room, where my parents were. My father
had his head buried in my mother's lap. He was kneeling at her feet, his arms wrapped around her waist, and
he was sobbing. My mother was stroking his head, whispering to him. This scene shocked me, as my father
was not prone to showing emotions. Once I realize they would be fine, I felt myself pulled into a horizontal
tunnel. The ride through the tunnel was like nothing else. I remember thinking, 'So this is death.' The tunnel
was dark, and every once in a while, something that looking like lightning would flash across my path. These
flashes were brilliant in color and didn't scare me. At the end of the tunnel was a bright light. From the light
came two dogs of mine. One was a collie named Mimi who had died three years previously from an infection,
and the other was a box named Sam who had died two years before after being hit by a car."

C. Extraordinary NDE Tunnel Experiences

Thomas Sawyer's NDE Tunnel Experience: "In this capacity, though, I was looking at absolute
nothingness or darkness but my eyes were not straining. I had the desire to look around inquisitively. What is
this place? Where am I? Well, again instantaneously, this darkness took the shape of a tunnel. It was perfectly
level; however slightly ambiguous in that it was straight before me and it was cloud-like. It was very vast, as
opposed to small and confining, and was anywhere from a thousand feet to a thousand miles wide. That
didn't matter to me but I want to give you some reference point. I was very comfortable and inquisitive. It
was cylindrical. If you took a tornado and stretched it out straight, it would be similar to that, without the
houses and the doors floating around inside. It absolutely extended to infinity. This measurement of infinity
was the first empirical knowledge that I had within my near-death experience. Simultaneously with the
awareness of this tunnel, I had a feeling of forward motion; it was very comfortable, it was very usual.
Moving through this tunnel there was an acceleration. There was not any wind vibration, nor any noise. There
was no motion sickness or anything like that. It was like floating within a vacuum. I saw that I was increasing
speed, but there were no g-forces of the kind you would naturally experience in accelerating movement. I
went faster and faster through the tunnel. The next empirical knowledge I had was that I had attained at least
the speed of light or conceivably faster. Whisking through the tunnel at this speed, I had the depth
perception, the visual perception of the tunnel whisking past me (or I through the tunnel). The next thing is
that way, way off in the distance to infinity there appeared this little speck of light. That light was very special;
it was the first identifiable object that I was able to focus on, to realize that it was nothing like what I'd seen
before. It was extremely bright. This speck of light was brighter than something that would immediately blind
you. It was brighter than a million billion carbon arcs, or welder's torches, anything you can possibly compare
it to. It was the brightest thing I'd ever seen in my life. There was a tremendous eager anticipation because
this was the first thing that wasn't blurry or ambiguous. The appearance of this light way off at the end of the
tunnel brought me a sense of great love and a feeling of camaraderie. That was something extraordinary,
greater than anything that I'd experienced during my thirty-three years of life. It was utter beauty.
"The light was way off in the distance and got larger as I got closer to it. I was eager to get closer to the
light. I was still Thomas Sawyer, with all of my personality and characteristics, yet here I was, separate from
the light by just a spatial measurement of visual connotation. Now being at the end of the tunnel and standing
before the light, it seemed that it covered the entire vista before me. It was more beautiful than I've tried to
describe, because I could use all the superlatives, and then I'd have to say: but it was more. I had never
experienced anything that divine. It was white, possibly, blue-white, but certainly white. It was paradoxically
absolutely everything. It included Thomas Sawyer. It included the tunnel that was behind me. It included the
entire universe that I was ever aware of. It was absolutely, positively, everything. It was also absolutely the
most beautiful thing that I've ever seen, that I've ever been near or experienced. The light I am describing is
whatever most people would describe as God. That's the description. It meant the same to me as the word
God. It was in fact the light of Jesus Christ. From the onset of this rather super-conscious state of the
darkness of the tunnel, there was something that was totally missing, and that was what we call time. There's
no such thing as time in heaven! The chronology of my accident is as I told you: there was the darkness, I was
moving through the tunnel, and there was a light at the end of the tunnel. There was then a confrontation
with the light at the end of the tunnel whatever more. That's the chronology in that order ... I know that I
experienced a total life review, but I have never been able to fit it properly into any of that basic chronology.
It had to have happened from the center of the tunnel or the movement within the tunnel, prior to what I call
the confrontation with the light ... What happened when I went through the tunnel? Did I see the face of
Jesus Christ? Yes, I did. But the most important thing that I have been able to say is probably the aspect of
total knowledge ... At first it just seemed like a foggy grayness about me. As the speed of my upward and
outward movement increased, the enclosing fog seemed to have a bright ending at the distance. I remember
at the early moments of moving ahead through this enclosure a brightness to my left where I could see
through the cloud-like tunnel. Beyond the walls of my tunnel was a shimmering, glowing light ...My tunnel
structure thinned along the sides but the light ahead was beckoning me. I was intensely attracted to reaching
the light. As the sides of the tunnel became clearer, the light ahead became brighter and closer as my speed
increased."
Rev. Howard Pittman's NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly we came to a most beautiful place. I know
that I've already reported how terrible that second heaven was, so you can imagine how surprising it was to
find anything beautiful over there. God would not allow me to retain the memory of why this place was so
beautiful. I do remember that it was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. This place looked like a tunnel, a
roadway, a valley or some sort of highway. It had a most brilliant light all its own and was completely
surrounded with an invisible shield. I knew that the invisible shield was the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Walking in this tunnel, or along that roadway, or valley, or whatever, was what appeared to be human beings.
I asked my escort who they were. He told me, 'They are saints going home.' These were the departed spirits
of Christians who had died on earth and they were going home. Each of these saints was accompanied by at
least one guardian angel and some had a whole host of angels with them. I wondered why some saints were
accompanied by only one angel and others had many. I was watching as the saints passed through the way
that all saints must take to go home. Here it was, the passageway from earth to the third heaven. Instead of
allowing me to enter, the angel stationed me before the gates, slightly to one side. He instructed me to stay
there and watch as the saints were permitted to enter into heaven. As the saints were allowed into heaven, I
noticed a strange thing. They were permitted to enter only one at a time. No two were permitted to enter
those gates at the same time. I wondered about this but it was never explained to me. When the last of the
fifty saints had entered into the third heaven, I started to enter but my escort stopped me. He told me that if I
entered, I could not come out and that I would have to stay there until the Father brought me back. The
angels told me that all who enter the third heaven must remain there until brought back to this physical world
by Christ himself. Then the angel said I could not enter unless I stayed."
Dr. Dianne Morrissey's NDE Tunnel Experience: "As soon as I saw that the silver cord was attached to
my physical body, my spirit body was thrust into a dark tunnel. I moved through it with great speed, traveling
faster than I could have imagined possible. Although the tunnel was filled with an all-consuming darkness, I
felt peaceful and unafraid ... When I came to the end of the darkness, I stepped into a new dimension. Here, I
could sense the presence of a loving spirit, sent - I knew - to God to greet me. Then, I was back at the site of
my physical body. Back and forth I traveled through the tunnel, several times in succession, moving from the
Other Side to my electrocuted physical body and back again. Each time I emerged from the tunnel, I was met
by a radiant angelic being who stood before me, smiling. The being had no wings, and I sense it was female.
She was everything I'd ever dreamed an angel would be. As she moved toward me, I walked to meet her ...
Suddenly, my spirit body was back in tunnel. Again, when I emerged from the tunnel, the angelic being was
waiting for me ... I was suddenly thrust forward through the tunnel, and when I looked down, I was aghast to
see my physical body below me ... What mattered to me was the light. I wanted the light. I was again thrust
forward through the tunnel. The angelic being was still there, waiting for me to truly decide about my life,
waiting for me to decide about death, waiting for me to decide about my future ... For some reason, however,
the angelic being sent me into the tunnel again, back and forth through many tunnels. I wondered why. I still
wanted to 'touch,' but I wanted the light - both desires tugging at my spirit ... I finally found myself back in
my house ... Suddenly, I was rushing through the tunnel again. When I emerged, I was up near the ceiling in
the den, looking down at my physical body below me. Then, without warning, I was thrust swiftly back into
my body."
Virginia Rivers' NDE Tunnel Experience: From Dr. Kenneth Ring's wonderful book, Lessons From The
Light: "Immediately the blackness began to erupt into a myriad of stars and I felt as if I were at the center of
the universe with a complete panoramic view in all directions. The next instant I began to feel a forward surge
of movement. The stars seemed to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a tunnel around me. I began to
sense awareness, knowledge. The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge I received. My mind
felt like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition. The knowledge came in single words and
in whole idea blocks. I just seemed to be able to understand everything as it was being soaked up or absorbed.
I could feel my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to
belong. It was as if I had known already but forgotten or mislaid it, as if it were waiting here for me to pick it
up on my way by. I kept growing with knowledge, evolving, expanding and thirsting for more. It was
amazing, like being a child again and experiencing something brand new and beautiful, a wonderful new
playground. As each second passed, there was more to learn, answers to questions, meanings and definitions,
philosophies and reasons, histories, mysteries, and so much more, all pouring into my mind. I remember
thinking, 'I knew that, I know I did. Where has it all been?' The stars began to change shapes before my eyes.
They began to dance and deliberately draw themselves into intricate designs and colors which I had never
seen before. They moved and swayed to a kind of rhythm or music with a quality and beauty I had never
heard and yet ... remembered. A melody that humans could not possibly have composed, yet was so totally
familiar and in complete harmony with the very core of my being. As if it were the rhythm of my existence,
the reason for my being. The extravagance of imagery and coloration pulsed in splendid unison with the
magnificent ensemble. I felt completely at peace, tranquilized by the vision and the melodic drone. I could
have stayed in this place for eternity with this pulse of love and beauty beating throughout my soul. The love
poured into me from all corners of the universe. I was still being propelled forward at what seemed great
speed. Yet I was able to observe all that I passed as if I were standing still. Each passing second, I was
absorbing more and more knowledge. No one spoke to me, nor did I hear voices in my head. The knowledge
just seemed to BE and with each new awareness came a familiarity. A tiny pin point of light appeared far in
front of me at the other end of my kaleidoscopic tunnel. The light grew larger and larger as I was soaring
closer and closer to it, until finally I had arrived at my destination."
Pam Reynolds' NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a sensation like being pulled, but not against your
will. I was going on my own accord because I wanted to go. I have different metaphors to try to explain this.
It was like the Wizard of Oz - being taken up in a tornado vortex, only you're not spinning around like you've
got vertigo. You're very focused and you have a place to go. The feeling was like going up in an elevator real
fast. And there was a sensation, but it wasn't a bodily, physical sensation. It was like a tunnel but it wasn't a
tunnel. At some point very early in the tunnel vortex I became aware of my grandmother calling me. But I
didn't hear her call me with my ears ... It was a clearer hearing than with my ears. I trust that sense more than
I trust my own ears. The feeling was that she wanted me to come to her, so I continued with no fear down
the shaft. It's a dark shaft that I went through, and at the very end there was this very little tiny pinpoint of
light that kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The light was incredibly bright, like sitting in the middle
of a light bulb ... My grandmother didn't take me back through the tunnel, or even send me back or ask me to
go. She just looked up at me. I expected to go with her, but it was communicated to me that she just didn't
think she would do that. My uncle said he would do it. He's the one who took me back through the end of
the tunnel. Everything was fine. I did want to go ... It was communicated to me that it was like jumping into a
swimming pool. No problem, just jump right into the swimming pool. I didn't want to, but I guess I was late
or something because he [the uncle] pushed me. I felt a definite repelling and at the same time a pulling from
the body. The body was pulling and the tunnel was pushing ...It was like diving into a pool of ice water ... It
hurt!"
Plato's NDE Account of the Solder Named Er and His Tunnel Experience: "When his soul went forth
from his body he journeyed with a great company and that they came to a mysterious region where there
were two openings side by side in the earth, and above and over against them in the heaven two others, and
that judges were sitting between these, and that after every judgment they bade the righteous journey to the
right and upward through the heaven with tokens attached to them in front of the judgment passed upon
them, and the unjust to take the road to the left and downward, they too wearing behind signs of all that had
befallen them, and that when he himself drew near they told him that he must be the messenger to humanity
to tell them of that other world, and they charged him to give ear and to observe everything in the place ...
From the other tunnels came souls preparing for reincarnation on earth. From above came souls happily
reporting delights and visions of a beauty beyond words. From below came souls lamenting and wailing over
a thousand years of dreadful sufferings, where people were repaid manifold for any earthly suffering they had
caused."
Diego Valencia's NDE Tunnel Experience: "Suddenly, my mind was allowed to rest in a quiet place in
order to further ascend through a translucent tunnel with a light that seemed rather a yellowish opacity. Then
I saw many beings, some ascending, and some descending. Two of them were known to me on the earth
realm and I had not seen them for more than 20 years. I also met people unknown to me then, whom I met
many years later in their bodies on the earth realm. I asked one of the two persons I did know, what he was
doing there, and he told me he had had a very serious health problem, and almost died, but the health
problem had already been solved by the doctors. This is the reason he was going back to his body.
Nevertheless, another friend who was a friend of my family for many years, was leaving the earth realm in a
definite way, so was I told. Then came some guides to take the friend who had been ill, back to earth through
a tubular shape in descent. I also observed other tubular shapes through which other souls were ascending,
and among them, the lady known to me and my family whose body had died. I inquired if the lady could go
back but they said her time was over and that she had definitely left her body. I felt the energy of the lady
perturbed, because she was confused since she did not know she was dead, but I avoided meeting her. In that
moment my guides smiled. A different lap started in which the path was transparent, silent and compliant. I
felt the pleasure of having my conscience in total calm, together with the tender but distant company of the
guides and other entities which I could not see. Suddenly I saw another path where all the dead members of
my family appeared, among them my father."
 Robert Coleman's NDE Tunnel Experience: "I was being propelled across a vast distance. I dare not look
straight ahead, but I remember looking at the wall flashing past me as I sped along some kind of tunnel.
Then, at the other end of this journey, I felt a most beautifully reassuring sense of calm. I looked down at
myself in my new form. I had taken on a golden glow. I did not need to walk. I floated. Everything about me
was love, goodness and warmth. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been given access to the total knowledge of the
universe. I stared at a huge dark wheel containing stars and other celestial bodies that slowly revolved. A deep
voice spoke slowly, but I could not make out what it was saying. I was at some kind of entrance ... I had to
promise solemnly not to try to return. I agreed. Once more, I stood in front of the great dark disk again. As
the stars and shapes slowly revolved, a deep voice said slowly, 'Your time has not yet come.' I felt all the
wisdom that I had suddenly gained was being forced out from me. I knew I could not take this knowledge
back with me, but was concerned that I might lose what limited intelligence I already had before I died. Then,
once again I was in the long tunnel, feeling the wind against my cheek as I looked away and saw the long wall
rushing past me."
The author's own research shows that the great dark disk may be the entrance to the tunnel. Other
experiencers have seen the tunnel in the same kind of thing in their NDEs.
Reinee Pasarow's NDE Tunnel Experience: "At this point I became aware that there was a light calling me
from somewhere else and I entered what people speak of as the tunnel. I will speak of it as that although I did
not quite perceive it as a tunnel. It was a transition place where I became aware of other beings who seemed
to be rather disoriented, rather confused and lost and some of these beings were moving through to their
home. I simply wanted to go home. I moved through this place and I became aware that I was not moving
like we move physically. When we move physically we have an intent, we have a goal, and we move step by
step to that goal. But what moved me through this place was love. It was the love of God and the love all
things sacred and all things beautiful and all things just. I could go on and on and on but this was what
propelled me on. It was my connection and my affection for God. As I came to the end of this place, I
wondered if I would be alone, and just like that I was with my uncle ..." [After her life review, the Being of
Light told her, "It was not time for her to enter that world." She then described returning to her physical
body.] "I was catapulted back down what I perceived to be a tunnel. This time it was down a rainbow tunnel
of light, sound and vibrational frequency of love. With a terribly hard crash, I became aware of the scene I
had left earlier - the fire trucks, and now an ambulance. There were men who were picking up my body and
loading it into the ambulance. I was in a state of complete grief. I felt that I had become Eve and was cast out
of the garden of Eden. As I was descending down this tunnel, my heart was already attached to my home
beyond. I was begging not to leave. I crashed down into this realm of existence and was suddenly confused
by time and space ... I was being propelled across a vast distance. I dare not look straight ahead, but I
remember looking at the wall flashing past me as I sped along some kind of tunnel. Then, at the other end of
this journey, I felt a most beautifully reassuring sense of calm.
Lou Famoso's NDE Tunnel Experience: "I entered what I thought looked like the Holland tunnel
without the cars and traffic and the ability to see what looked like light at its end. It was dark but not black.
The path was slightly illuminated from what I thought to be the sunlight shining from the other end. As I was
being drawn toward the lighted end of the tunnel, I carefully looked around, even squinting to see into the
darker recesses. I passed what I thought to be very religious men doing what they would do when praying to
their GODS. They were all dressed in their finest garbs, robes, togas, head dresses, loin cloths and the like.
Most of them were off to the sides of the tunnel, but one of them, that I seemed to float right over, looked
oriental with a long grayish Fu Man Chu, sitting there in the middle of the tunnel with his hands clasped and
his feet crossed ... When I floated past the monk just below me, I thought he could actually see me because it
appeared like he began to smile a smile of passage. All the other religious men were mumbling sounds of
prayer and were moving their arms about as if making gestures of a blessing. I wasn't sure if they were
blessing me or the tunnel. I noticed none of them were actually standing or sitting in the tunnel but appeared
to be levitated. I wanted to stop and speak with some of them, maybe ask a few questions like who they were
and how long have they been here, but I was being whisked away toward the light. I saw wisps of smoke I
believed to be incense. It came from all portions of the great tunnel from one end to the other. I could see
and smell, but I had yet to have the sensation of touch since my feet were never touching the tunnels floor. I
seemed to be traveling squarely in the center as I drifted toward the end. The closer I got to the end of the
tunnel, the brighter things got, and as I neared the end, it was like coming face to face with a huge canvas that
was just recently blazed in the brightest white of whites. An empty canvas, ready to be painted upon and I
awaited that painting ... The being told me that should I ever have questions of the heart or mind, he will
answer them if I only look within myself, for that is where he will dwell. From this time forward I need only
think it to be so, and it will be so, for I would forever know the truth ... I asked how I would know and
before I received an answer, I was being whisked away through that darkened tunnel like a dust bunny in a
vacuum, with about as much control as a runaway freight train. A loving voice was telling me I must go back
today.
Gilles Bedard's NDE Tunnel Experience: "In the blink of an eye, my vision expanded and I went into a
place like a cosmos where there were 12 people standing in a half-circle. They were all pure white lights and
they had no faces. Beyond them was a tunnel. I wasn't afraid. I somehow knew these people although they
weren't family or people I could recognize. It was as if they were waiting for me. I asked them what was
happening, and they told me, 'You are not going to die. You are going back to earth. You have something to
do.' I asked them what it was, and as soon as I asked it was as if I knew the answer. They said I would know
what I had to do when the time came. At that moment, I could sense the future and I realized I had the
choice to do what I wanted to do. I felt pure peace. What I remembered most is the music I heard when I
was out of my body. It was fascinating. It was hard to tell how long the experience lasted. It could have been
five seconds or half an hour. When I came back into my body, it felt very small. But it was OK. I felt calm,
very warm. When I came to, around 5 a.m., I felt ready for a party. It was as if nothing had happened to me. I
didn't remember the experience at that time. But a month after I left the hospital, I had another one. During
the night, I had a sensation of falling into a tunnel. Going into it, I knew I was about to die, but just before
arriving at the end of the tunnel, I woke up. It was not a dream. It was real. And it was then that I
remembered the earlier experience."
Don Brubaker's NDE Tunnel Experience: "There was a sudden whoosh, and I saw a large glowing red
ball approaching me, almost like the light on the front of a train. In that instant, as the red ball rushed toward
me, I knew terror like never before. As it approached, I realized that it was really a large, eerie red eye. It
stopped when it got close to me, and then began traveling alongside me through the tunnel. I could hardly
stand to look at it, its gaze was so piercing. It felt like it was looking right into my mind, into my very soul.
Still I was plunging into the depths of this horrible tunnel. I glanced at the walls of the tunnel, walls of deep
black whirring past me like video footage on fast forward. Yes, I was still there, still falling millions of miles
into some terrible pit. And yet, there I was, lying deathlike on a hospital bed. I could see myself there, and it
panicked me all the more. The eye - suddenly I realized that I was seeing the hospital room through the red
eye. It was absurd to me that I hadn't realized this before - and yet I could hardly process my thoughts. It was
all too bizarre. Panic started building in my mind as it began to dawn on me where I was, suspended in this
dank tube. As the red eye glowered at me, the thoughts began to arrange themselves, coalescing slowly.
Suddenly, the idea was undeniable. I was in hell. The realization swept over me like an ocean wave,
unstoppable though I tried desperately to dismiss it. Hell! I didn't even believe in hell! And here I was? This
was it? I had only the briefest moment to react to the thought when a deep, comfortable voice echoed
through the tunnel."
Lynnclaire Dennis' NDE Tunnel Experience: "It was then that I saw the tunnel and knew with absolute
assurance that I was on my way home, certain that the home I had long yearned for was in the light at the
other end of this passageway. As I was standing alone with my grandmother, she told me that I must make
this part of the journey alone. Filled with peace, I knew I would see her again on the other side. I was ready,
and without hesitation took my first step into the corridor that led toward the light, crossing an intersection
that connected now with forever ... Once I was inside the tunnel it was as if someone at the other end was
calling my name, drawing me forward. I knew that this passageway was taking me to the top of the mountain,
leading me home into the light. I was overjoyed to be going to the summit, as all my life I had wanted to
climb to the top of Mt. Rainier. I had never made the attempt, believing that I would try and fail, or that I
would die trying. I moved effortless into the passage. Soon I knew I would be able to fly. Fly? The light was
getting brighter and warmer as I moved through the tunnel. The MUSIC, the celestial symphony, continued
to fill the air with a psalm of Oneness, played on unseen instruments of peace. I arrived at the pinnacle and,
standing at the entrance to the light, took a single step, leaving my right footprint imbedded in Eternity. I
entered a sacred space a place where I knew I had returned to my most essential nature, where I felt wholly
and consciously united with all things and Source, where a soothing balm of peace was poured on my spirit
by an unseen hand, an emollient so rich in love that to this day I cannot fully absorb or comprehend it."

4. Edgar Cayce's Extraordinary NDE Tunnel Experiences

Edgar Cayce (pronounced "Kay-see") was a man who, over the span of his lifetime (1877-1945), had more
out-of-body journeys into the afterlife than anyone ever documented. Cayce learned that when he was put in
a special form of self-hypnotic trance, he could leave his body and journey into the afterlife realms. Cayce
made over 14,000 otherworldly journeys in his life and the information he gained from these journeys has
astounded people all over the world.
Edgar Cayce's NDE Tunnel Experiences: "I see myself as a tiny dot out of my physical body, which lies
inert before me. I find myself oppressed by darkness and there is a feeling of terrific loneliness. Suddenly, I
am conscious of a white beam of light, knowing that I must follow it or be lost. As I move along this path of
light I gradually become conscious of various levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first levels
there are vague, horrible shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on, there begins to
appear on either side misshapen forms of human beings with some part of the body magnified. Again there is
change and I become conscious of gray-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually, these become lighter in
color. Then the direction changes and these forms move upward and the color of the robes grows rapidly
lighter. Next, there begins to appear on either side vague outlines of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is
motionless. As I pass on, there is more light and movement in what appear to be normal cities and towns.
With the growth of movement, I become conscious of sounds, at first indistinct rumblings, then music,
laughter, and singing of birds. There is more and more light, the colors become very beautiful, and there is
the sound of wonderful music. The houses are left behind; ahead there is only a blending of sound and color.
Quite suddenly I come upon a Hall of Records. It is a hall without walls, without ceiling, but I am conscious
of seeing an old man who hands me a large book, a record of the individual for whom I seek information."
On another occasion, Cayce's tunnel experience was described this way: Cayce felt himself to be a bubble
traveling through water to arrive at the place where he always got the information.
On yet another occasion, Cayce's tunnel experience was described this way: "Cayce went up and up
through a very large column, passing by all the horrible things without coming in contact personally with
them, and came out where there was the house of records. Cayce stated that as he ascended the column, there
would be beings on either side of him calling out to him for help or trying to get his attention. Cayce knew
that any deviation from the column and the beam of light would mean he would not be able to return to his
body. It, the column, wound around on a wheel like the Rotarians have. Cayce mentioned that he felt very
secure traveling that way."
The Author's Analysis of Cayce's NDE Tunnel Experiences: Edgar Cayce did not experience clinical or
brain death, but he was able to control his mind to travel consciously through the identical process of the
near-death state. This can be done by anyone, according to Cayce, if the "proper attunement" is made. Cayce
also mentions that this is done by everyone when they fall asleep and enter the realm of dreams, only it is
done subconsciously not consciously. The same is true for death. Cayce's experience reveals more aspects
about the nature of the tunnel so often described in near-death experiences and more about the structure of
the afterlife. One of the afterlife levels that Cayce observed while in the tunnel appears to be like our own
except it is motionless. In my opinion, this motionless afterlife level is our physical universe. While Cayce
journeys through the tunnel and the eternal now, time on earth stands still. This principle can even be found
in Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. The afterlife level Cayce sees where human beings appear with
some body part magnified has been described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and other religious traditions
as being hell. It is a place where a particular desire has been overemphasized while in physical life. The level
where hooded monk-like beings appear has also been described by many other near-death experiencers such
as Dr. George Ritchie and Betty Eadie. Cayce was able to describe very accurately some of the various levels
of the afterlife that appear in near-death accounts.

D. Skeptic Susan Blackmore on the NDE Tunnel

 One of the most dedicated skeptical researchers of near-death experiences is Susan Blackmore, a senior
lecturer in psychology at the University of the West of England, a parapsychologist, and Zen Buddhist. She is
also one of the few researchers who have actually had an OBE. During her first year at Oxford, Blackmore
had an OBE after several hours on the Ouija board while stoned on hashish. The experience also occurred
during a period of her life when sleep deprivation was common for her. She describes herself as having been
in "a fairly peculiar state of mind" when she had the OBE. Despite her experience, she continues to believe it
was all merely part of her hallucination experience. As a former heavy marijuana and hashish user, I can tell
you that Blackmore's OBE is not an example of marijuana or hashish intoxication. Rather, it is more like an
OBE triggered by a more "harder" hallucinogen such as LSD or ketamine. The following is a brief
description of Susan Blackmore's OBE / NDE-like experience, and responses from a critic I received by
email which I thought to be interesting. You can read Blackmore's full OBE account here.
Susan Blackmore's OBE Tunnel Experience: Susan Blackmore traveled down a tunnel of trees toward a
light, floated on the ceiling and observed her body below, saw a silver cord connecting her floating astral
body, floated out of a building in England and crossed the ocean to New York. After hovering around New
York, Blackmore floated back to her room in England where she became very small and entered her body's
toes. Then she grew very big, as big as a planet at first, and then she filled the solar system and finally she
became as large as the universe. Despite her experience, Blackmore believes the tunnel is caused by oxygen
starvation, which causes certain cells in the brain, inhibitory cells, to die first, the excitable ones taking longer.
(Susan Blackmore)
The following is a critique of Susan Blackmore's own out-of-body experience triggered by marijuana
toxicity:
Susan Blackmore: "Under conditions of extreme tiredness and smoking hashish I had an NDE-type
experience complete with the tunnel and light, out-of-body travels, expansion and contraction of size,
timelessness, a mystical experience and the decision to return..."
Critic: Blackmore uses her drug-induced experiences as the basis for her conclusions. I shall argue that
Blackmore's confusion on the subject of NDEs is the result of her own drug-induced confusion -- which is
not an uncommon occurrence.
Susan Blackmore: [Concerning NDErs passing through a tunnel of mental energy] "There are many
serious problems with such a theory. If the other worlds are a part of this world then they cannot really
account for the afterlife."
Critic: Such a conclusion proves false when we consider the reports of NDErs. They not only see ethereal
energy patterns, they see this world, the world of operating rooms and other mundane settings.
Susan Blackmore: "Something should be seen leaving the body and going into the tunnel. The tunnel
itself would be present in physical space and we should be able to measure it or in some way detect its
presence."
Critic: Yes, and that's why those skilled at observing the subtle energy that surrounds the spirit are able to
perceive such things.
Susan Blackmore: "Still we should not reject such theories out of hand just because they seem senseless.
It is better to apply some criteria to them and see how they fare. Is this theory specific? No, not at all. The
tunnels described are all different in precise form and this theory can say nothing about what forms they
should or should not take."
Critic: Blackmore again looks at content, not underlying phenomena. The structure of specific tunnels is
not in question, as has been stated, they are mental constructs, mental or ethereal energy patterns. As such
they take many malleable forms. Blackmore fails to understand such mental energy is NOT confined to a
brain, but rather is patterned energy that makes up a mind, not a brain.
Perhaps the last word should go to NDEr Dr. George Ritchie how said, "Death is nothing more than a
doorway, something you walk through."

6. The City of Light and the Near-Death Experience

 Fifty of the near-death experiences I profile on this website which I gathered statistics on, 17% of them
experienced a city of light. These cities of light have been described by various experiencers using such
adjectives as: golden, beautiful, unearthly, fairy tale-like, indescribable, beyond anything that can be described,
so superior to anything on Earth, colorful, brilliant, heavenly, endless, crystalline, grand, paradise, and galaxy-
like.

A. Descriptions of the City of Light

These cities of light are said by experiencers to represent an entire world, made of light and love, radiate
with multi-colored lights, with transcendental music, filled with light beings, made of glass, built of the purest
light, multi-dimensional, built by God, whose light of the city is God, the city of God, resembling New
Jerusalem, the heavenly city in the Book of Revelation.
Within the city of lights, experiencers have seen glowing crystal cathedrals, domes, towers like European
castles, and houses like never seen on Earth.
This city of light experienced by some Christian experiencers has been identified to be the New Jerusalem,
a heavenly city described in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. According to Revelation, this city comes
down from heaven to the Earth sometime in the future. Because the Book of Revelation is highly symbolic, it
might be that this city described in the Bible is also symbolic.
A golden city with towers and domes:
Randy Gehling: "Just a little ways off I could see a bridge with someone standing on it. Beyond the
bridge, I saw a golden city with towers like European castles. The whole city seemed to be shining with light
that shot up into the sky like a giant searchlight. I could see that some of the domes of the city were red,
others were gold, and a few were blue. The gates and walls of the city seemed to be made of bright blue, red,
and violet lights."
A city of crystal cathedrals:
Dannion Brinkley: "Like wingless birds, we swept into a city of cathedrals. These cathedrals were made
entirely of a crystalline substance that glowed with a light that shone powerfully from within. I was awestruck.
This place had a power that seemed to pulsate through the air. I knew that I was in a place of learning. I
wasn't there to witness my life or to see what value it had, I was there to be instructed."
A beautiful unearthly city:
Jesus took Emanuel Tuwagirairmana back to heaven and showed him a beautiful city. Emanuel said this
was a very beautiful city with houses he has never seen anywhere in the world. There was a lake there and he
was told he could not go across it.
A beautiful fairy tale city:
Sherry Gideon: "I remember the scene was shown to me in a fairy tale city and setting - somewhat like I
had always wished for in my life while alive. It was so beautiful."
A city that represents a world:
Jayne Smith: "As I found myself at the top of the hill, I saw that over on the horizon and just a little bit
lower on the horizon, there was a city. I realized in some way that this was more than just a city, that what I
was seeing actually represented a world. I wondered, "Was that the world I just came from or the one I am
going to?"
A multi-colored crystal city:
Ricky Randolph: "In the distance I saw a sight so magnificent and astounding - a city made up of what
seemed to be glass or crystal! The lights were of many colors that radiated from it. Never have I ever seen
such a sight! I began walking toward the city in a daze of unbelief! So many questions raced through my mind.
I had to know where I was. What was happening to me? I reached the front of the city and saw a double door
that looked to be about thirty feet or so in height and width!"
Souls are seen being prepared for the city of light:
According to NDE researcher Craig Lundahl: "Those living on the higher realms of the city radiate the
brightest light, being so resplendent that their glory must be cloaked so others of lower degree can look upon
them. Visiting the higher levels is possible, but the spirits of lower realms must be prepared or covered so
they can stand in the presence of greater glory ... Some new arrivals are taken to a place of orientation where
they rest, adjust to their new condition, and prepare to take their place in the city of light."

B. Dr. George Ritchie's City of Light experience

George Ritchie saw an endless, brilliant, city of light and love: "And then I saw, infinitely far off, far too
distant to be visible with any kind of sight I knew of - a city. A glowing, seemingly endless city, bright enough
to be seen over all the unimaginable distance between. The brightness seemed to shine from the very walls
and streets of this place, and from beings which I could now discern moving about within it. In fact, the city
and everything in it seemed to be made of light, even as the figure at my side was made of light.
"At this time, I had not yet read the Book of Revelation. I could only gape in awe at this faraway spectacle,
wondering how bright each building, each inhabitant, must be to be seen over so many light-years of distance.
Could these radiant beings, I wondered, amazed, be those who had indeed kept Jesus the focus of their lives?
Was I seeing at last ones who had looked for him in everything? Looked so well and so closely that they had
been changed into his very likeness? Even as I asked the question, two of the bright figures seemed to detach
themselves from the city and start toward us, hurling themselves across that infinity with the speed of light.
"Now this was surprising because this was the first realm in which the inhabitants could see the Christ and
me. Even more amazing, they exuded light almost as brilliant as the Christmas the two beings approached us,
I could also feel the love flowing from them toward us. The complete joy they showed at seeing the Christ
was unmistakable.
"Seeing these beings and feeling the joy, peace and happiness which swelled up from them made me feel
that here was the place of all places, the top realm of all realms. The beings who inhabited it were full of love.
This, I was and am convinced, is heaven. As marvelous as I thought the previous realm was, after glimpsing
this new realm we were seeing, I began to understand for the first time what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians
13 when he wrote: "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have a faith that can remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
"I do not infer that the wonderful souls of the fourth realm did not have love because they did but not to
the degree that the souls of this realm had reached.
"But as fast as they came toward us, we drew away. Desperately I cried out to him not to leave me, to
make me ready for that shining city, not to abandon me in this dark and narrow place."

C. David Oakford's City of Light experience

A heavenly city in the clouds where souls leave to come to Earth and where souls go for after death for
rejuvenation: David Oakford uses the name "Gaia", the real name of this planet. For ease of reading, I have
replaced his references of Gaia with Earth.
"We started to head back toward Earth. We went to a place in the shadow of Earth. It was a great city in
the clouds. The city had these beautiful white buildings as far as I could see. I saw spirits living there all of
which had vibration but no real physical body. These inhabitants went to and from the buildings - going to
work and play too. I saw a place where spirits went to get what I thought was water. There were no vehicles
there. Spirits seemed to get around the same way my being and I got around, by flying.
"The city had no boundaries that I could see. This was a place full of life of all kinds. There was nature
there, many pure plants, trees, and water just like on Earth but more pure. Nature there was absolutely
perfect. It was untainted by human manipulation. This place was just like Earth only without the problems
and negativity. I felt that this was what is called heaven in Earth terms.
"I saw spirits going to and from Earth and the city. I could tell the development of the spirits going to and
from by the energy they emanated. I could see that animals came to and from Earth just like humans do. I
could see many spirits leave Earth with guides and could see spirits returning to Earth without guides. The
being told me that some of the spirits passing were the ones that were doing the work with humans on Earth
. I could make out the type of spirits that were doing the work and the spirits that were coming to the great
city to become replenished to eventually go back to Earth to experience and further evolve. I could feel the
emotions of the ones coming back for replenishment. I could feel that some of them were sad, beaten and
scared, much like I felt before my being came to me."

D. A multi-dimensional City of Light

A. Jan Price's multi-dimensional city of increasing glory: "Taking form before my eyes was the skyline of a
great city. I could see three different dimensions of it simultaneously. The first had a dinginess pervading the
atmosphere. There was a gloominess, and everything was gray, even the inhabitants, though I sensed that
somewhere beneath the discoloration pulsed life and beauty. It brought to mind the lowest levels of existence
in the world from which I'd come. Evil walked the squalid streets with malevolent bearing. No one here was
up to, or expected, any good.
"The second dimension was of the same panorama, but brighter and more colorful, and had a familiarity.
Hope lived amid despair. There were neighborhoods with neat houses holding reasonably contented folk;
shabby rows of dwellings housed those more discontented. Expansive lawns separated palatial homes from
those of less grandeur. Within each sector was happiness and horror, love and hate, joy and sorrow -the
dualities of life on a less that harmonious plane. It was a life accepted by many in the land I'd left behind as
the only way life could be. Some knew better, more than just a few, and the hope that lived amid despair
would at some time blossom into a better way of life.
"Last in the trinity was a city of light, like unto John's holy city in the Book of Revelation. I saw the same
skyline as before, but this time it was pure gold - with colors like precious gems, transparent glass, crystal
clear. All who walked through the city brought glory and honor into it. Harmony and order prevailed, and the
residents lived joyfully, creating that which brought forth beauty and fulfillment- a place of perfect peace, the
peace that passes understanding."

E. Dr. Craig Lundahl's City of Light research

Dr. Craig Lundahl is one of the pioneers in NDE research. Together with Dr. Harold A. Widdison, their
research is documented in their classic NDE book entitled, The Eternal Journey. This book divulges
mesmerizing eyewitness descriptions of the hereafter's city of light. Information they gleaned from
experiencers suggests that the afterlife has two major divisions. The first division has been named cities of
light by Dr. Raymond Moody, Betty Eadie, Dr. Melvin Morse, and others. The other division has been
variously labeled a realm of bewildered spirits by Moody, a place devoid of love by Dr. George Ritchie, a
place of earthbound/lingering spirits by Eadie, and the sphere of wasted, elusive, and misused opportunities
by Joy Snell. Here are some examples from their book:

(1) Heavenly cities of increasing glory:

"In a moment we were at the gates of a beautiful city. A porter opened it and we passed in. They city was
grand and beautiful beyond anything that I can describe. It was clothed in the purest light, brilliant but not
glaring or unpleasant. The people, men and women, in their employments and surroundings seemed
contented and happy. I knew those I met without being told who they were. My guide would not permit me
to pause much by the way, but rather hurried me on through this place to another still higher but connected
with it. It was still more beautiful and glorious than anything I had before seen. To me its extent and
magnificence were incomprehensible."
This man visited three unique places, a place where people were yet to reach their assigned place, a city of
light, and a second city of even greater grandeur beyond the previous city of light. He pleaded with his guide
to remain and was told he was "permitted only to visit these heavenly cities, for I had not filled my mission in
yonder world; therefore, I must return and take my body."

(2) More Heavenly Cities of Increasing Glory

 John Powell had a similar experience when, in his words: "A personage came and said, 'Come!' My spirit
left my body and went with my guide who took me to the next planet. Here I beheld the inhabitants. The
houses and trees were beautiful to behold. I was so amazed and delighted that I requested my guide to permit
me to stay and dwell there, for all things were far superior and in advance of this world that I had come from.
"He answered, 'No,' and said, 'Come.'
"He then took me to the next kingdom which so exceeded the first in beauty and glory that I was again
amazed and requested permission to stay. I cannot command language to describe the beauty of the
inhabitants and scenery, but my guide said, 'No, come!'
"He then took me to the next kingdom which was far more beautiful in glory and order than the former
two. The beautiful flowers, trees, gardens, people who were dressed in pure white, and so pure that I was
overwhelmed with joy and most earnestly implored my guide to allow me to stay, but he said, 'You cannot go
any further, for this is next to the throne of God.'"

(3) Even more heavenly cities of increasing glory:

"Herr Pettersson was also permitted to visit the spirit world and discovered, much to his surprise, that
even the worst in heaven exceeded the best on Earth. To Herr Pettersson the world of spirits resembled the
material world. There were many countries, or kingdoms. There were cities and villages, temples and palaces,
flowers and animals of great beauty and variety. The people were very busy. Some were preaching on street
corners and in assembly halls and all had great congregations. But no matter what level or city a person
qualifies for, each city is so superior to any on Earth that it is indescribable, and each succeeding realm is
indescribably better than that immediately below it. It seems that the assignment to a specific city is
contingent on the actions and attitudes of the individual while on Earth. The key that opens the gate to a
specific city of light is the ability to dwell in the light of that city, and this evidently depends on behaviors
during Earth life."

(4) Edgar Cayce's tunnel experience with levels representing increasing glory: "I am conscious of a white
beam of light, knowing that I must follow it or be lost. As I move along this path of light, I gradually become
conscious of various levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first levels there are vague, horrible
shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on, there begins to appear on either side
misshapen forms of human beings with some part of the body magnified. Again, there is change and I
become conscious of gray-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually, these become lighter in color.
"Then the direction changes and these forms move upward and the color of the robes grows rapidly
lighter. Next, there begins to appear on either side vague outlines of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is
motionless. As I pass on, there is more light and movement in what appear to be normal cities and towns.
With the growth of movement, I become conscious of sounds, at first indistinct rumblings, then music,
laughter, and singing of birds. There is more and more light, the colors become very beautiful, and there is
the sound of wonderful music. The houses are left behind; ahead there is only a blending of sound and color.
Quite suddenly I come upon a Hall of Records. It is a hall without walls, without ceiling, but I am conscious
of seeing an old man who hands me a large book, a record of the individual for whom I seek information."

F. Cities of colorful light and beautiful music

Cities of light with beautiful music:

Lingza Chokyi: "In the bardo of becoming, as well as many other kinds of visions, the mental body will
see visions and signs of different realms. A small percentage of those who have survived a near-death
experience report visions of inner worlds, paradises, and cities of light with transcendental music."
Cities of colorful light:
Cecil: "A long way off there was a pinprick of light. I moved toward it, slowly at first, then faster and
faster as if I were on top of a train accelerating. Then I stopped and stepped fully into the light. I noticed
everything - sky, buildings, glass - emitted its own light and everything was much more colorful than what we
see here. A river meandered around. On the other side was a city, and a road running through it to another
city, and another city and another and another ... The first city was like first grade. People stayed there until
they were ready to go to the next city - your eternal progression, from city to city."
Cities built of light:
Dr. Craig Lundahl NDE research: "Darryl, [a] man who was electrocuted when his home was struck by
lightning, found himself moving toward lights. As he drew closer to the lights, he realized they were cities and
that the cities were built of light."
Golden cities:
Dr. Craig Lundahl NDE research: "Others have reported seeing children playing in big golden cities and
seeing busy people in cities, from which it is possible to infer there is more than one city in the spirit world."

G. A City of Light resembling a galaxy

A galaxy-like city of lights:

Mellen-Thomas Benedict: "In its total energy configuration, the galaxy looked like a fantastic city of
lights."
A galaxy of light beings:
Howard Storm: "We started going faster and faster, out of the darkness. Embraced by the light, feeling
wonderful and crying, I saw off in the distance something that looked like the picture of a galaxy, except that
it was larger and there were more stars than I had seen on Earth. There was a great center of brilliance. In the
center there was an enormously bright concentration. Outside the center countless millions of spheres of light
were flying about entering and leaving what was a great being-ness at the center. It was off in the distance ...
Everywhere around us were countless radiant beings, like stars in the sky, coming and going. It was like a
super magnified view of a galaxy super packed with stars. And in the giant radiance of the center they were
packed so densely together that individuals could not be identified. Their selves were in such harmony with
the Creator that they were really just one."

H. Emanuel Swedenborg's "heavenly communities"

According to Emanuel Swedenborg, souls visit various heavenly cities to determine their residence: "So
they are taught by their friends about the state of eternal life, and are taken around to different places, into
different communities. Some are taken to cities, some to gardens and parks; but most are taken to splendid
places because this sort of place delights the outward nature they are still involved in. Then they are
intermittently led into thoughts they had during their physical life about the soul's state after death, heaven,
and hell, until they also come to resent their former utter ignorance of things like this, and resent the Church's
ignorance of such matters"
Swedenborg's writings about the cities of light: "Two hundred years ago Emanuel Swedenborg was
writing about the same common elements found in NDEs. In his writings he frequently mentions the feelings
of ineffability and also the peace and joy. He speaks of a light which he calls the Sun of Heaven. He tells us
stories of those who meet their friends or relatives who had died before them. He speaks of the review of the
person's life, the cities of light, and the realm of frustrated spirits. He even speaks about the out-of-body
experience before there was any public knowledge of such a thing."
Swedenborg's discussion of how a soul's destination to a particular heavenly community is determined:
"Taken all together, they [our desires] make up a kind of kingdom. Thus, they are in fact organized within
a person, even though people are completely unaware of their organization. To some extent, however, this is
made known to people in the other life where they have an outreach of thought and affection that depends
on this organization. This is an outreach into the heavenly communities if the strongest desire is made up of
desires of heaven, but an outreach into hellish communities if the strongest desire is made up of desires of
hell.
"This has been made clear to me by observed experiences over and over again. The whole of heaven is
divided into communities on the basis of differences in the good that comes from desire. Every single spirit
who is raised into heaven and becomes an angel is taken to the community where his or her desire is, and
once there they are where they belong, so to speak- as though they were at home, where they were born. An
angel senses this, and makes close friends with others like themselves.
"When they leave and go to another community, there is a certain constant resistance. This is the effect of
their longing to return to those who are like themselves, which means to their own strongest desire. This is
how close friendships are formed in heaven. The same holds true in hell, where people also form friendships
on the basis of desires which are opposed to heavenly ones.
"Paths are visible in the spiritual world. Some lead to heaven, some to hell; one to one community, one to
another. Good spirits travel only along paths that lead to heaven, to the community which is involved in the
particular good that comes from their own desire. They do not see paths leading in other directions. Evil
spirits follow only paths that lead to hell, to the particular community there which is involved in the evil that
comes from their own desire. They do not see paths leading in other directions; and even if they do, they do
not want to follow them.
"All souls arrive at the type of community where their spirits were in the physical world. In fact, every
person is bonded to a particular heavenly or hellish community-an evil person to a hellish one, a good person
to a heavenly one. A person is guided there step-by-step and eventually gains entrance.
"When evil people are involved in the state of their more inward elements, they are turned by stages
toward their own community. Eventually they are turned straight toward it before this state is completed.
And once this state is completed, they hurl themselves into the hell where there are people like themselves.
"The separation of the good from the evil happens in various ways. Broadly, it happens by taking the evil
ones around to those communities they were in touch with through their good thoughts and affections during
their first state. In this way, they are taken to those communities which were persuaded by their outward
appearance that they were not evil. Normally, they are taken on an extensive circuit, and everywhere they are
exposed as they really are to good souls. On seeing them, the good souls turn away, and as they turn away, the
evil souls who are being taken around also turn their faces away from the good ones and turn toward the
region of hellish communities, which is their destination."

I. The Biblical "heavenly city"

The Bible describes a heavenly city built by God:

Hebrews 11:10: "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is
God."
The Bible describes people choosing the city of God instead of reincarnation:
Hebrews 11:13-16: "If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."
The Bible describes the heavenly city as an eternal city:
Hebrews 13:14: "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to
come."
The Book of Revelation describes the New Jerusalem - the city of God:
Revelation 3:12: "I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new
Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God."
The Bible describes the city of God coming to Earth:
Revelation 21:2-3: "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself
will be with them and be their God."
A crystal city of light:
Revelation 21:10-11: "...the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with
the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal."
The Bible describes the light in the city is God:
Revelation 21:22-27: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light,
and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the Earth will bring their
splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of
the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is
shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

7. The Life Review and the Near-Death Experience

Kimberly Clark Sharp once shared an interesting near-death account of the life review of a woman who
saw an event in her life as a child. The lesson the woman learned from her life review is that our actions
which seem unimportant can be more important than we can imagine on the other side. When the woman
was a little girl, she saw a tiny flower growing almost impossibly out of a crack in the sidewalk. She bent down
and cupped the flower and gave it her full unconditional love and attention. When the girl became a woman
and had an NDE, during her life review she discovered that it was this incident with the flower that was the
most important event of her entire life. The reason was because it was the moment where she expressed her
love in a greater, purer, and unconditional manner. This example of a life review by Kimberly Clark Sharp is
one of my favorite examples because it shows in a dramatic way a principle that appears in many life reviews.
The principle is that the actions we think are unimportant may turn out to be the most important act we have
ever done in our life. Unconditional and spontaneous acts of love are the greatest acts we can perform - even
if it is directed at a tiny flower.

A. Comments from NDE researchers about the life review

Dr. Raymond Moody: "The Being of Light presents the dying with a panoramic review of everything they
have ever done. That is, they relive every act they have ever done to other people and come away feeling that
love is the most important thing in life."
IANDS.org FAQ: "A life review, seeing and re-experiencing major and trivial events of one's life,
sometimes from the perspective of the other people involved, and coming to some conclusion about the
adequacy of that life and what changes are needed."
P.M.H. Atwater: "One of the common aspects found in NDEs is the life review. It can be described in
terms that are similar to seeing a movie, in segments, or a reliving."
Dr. Craig Lundahl: "There is evidence that a type of judgment occurs at the time of death. This judgment
involves a review of a person's life and results in their placement in the spirit world. Sometime after the
judgment the person is assigned (in many cases this assignment is self-imposed) to a specific place or level in
the other world - a place where his or her spirit feels most at ease."

B. The purpose of the life review

There are many reasons for the life review and all of them are very important. The life review has been
described by many to be the single most enlightening experience they have ever had. Here are some of the
purposes of the life review according to experiencers profiled on this website:
(1) The life review is for educating us about life and death.
(2) The life review is for educating us about ourselves: why we are the way we are; what were our motives
behind our actions; how did our lives impact others; how we could have done better; and what we can do to
correct aspects to ourselves which are not compatible with life on the Other Side. We learn these things in
order to become a better person.
(3) The life review is for evaluating our soul development for the purpose of attaining soul growth.
(4) The life review is for evaluating our progress in completing our mission.
(5) The life review is for evaluating our lives to determine our next step toward our progression in the
light.

C. The mechanics of the life review

 The method of reviewing your life has been described in many different ways. Why there are different
methods for this process is anyone's guess. The theory I have about everything that happens after death is
that we either get what we want, get what we expect, get what we need, or some combination of this. The
important thing is that life review experiences have more in common than they have differences. Life reviews
have been described as:
(1) Viewing a movie of your entire life.
(2) Viewing a movie of important segments of your life.
(3) Viewing a video of knowledge concerning your entire life.
(4) Viewing a panoramic view of your entire life.
(5) Viewing a vivid, three-dimensional color display of your entire life.
(6) Viewing hundreds of television screens with each screen showing a home movie of one event in your
life.
(7) Viewing a three-dimensional hologram of your life in full color, sound, and scent.
(8) Viewing scenes of your life in little bursts.
(9) Viewing scenes of your life flitting from scene to scene.
(10) Viewing scenes of your life at a tremendous speed.
(11) Viewing scenes of your life in fast-forward.
(12) Viewing scenes of your life in a way that can be slowed down or paused in order to focus on a
particular detail of your life.
(13) Reliving your entire life with scenes of your life projected around you.
(14) Having a feeling like a dam has burst in your mind and every memory has flowed out.
(15) Having a religious figure or higher being initiating the life review.
(16) Having the life review occur when getting in close proximity to the Being of Light.
(17) Having a higher being reading from a Book of Life (for Christian experiencers).
(18) Having a higher being reading from the Akashic Records (for Hindu experiencers).
(19)) Having a life review before a Council of Elders who are seated at a table.
(20) Having a life review take place in a domed room with square screens up and down the walls and on
the ceiling.
(21) Having a life review take place in a amphitheater the size of a sports stadium filled with light beings
who will observe your review.

D. The characteristics of the life review

The life review is an amazing experience having many interesting characteristics - not all of which are
found in every life review. The following is a list of some of those characteristics.
(1) Instantly becoming everyone you came in contact with in your entire life (feeling their emotions,
thinking their thoughts, living their experiences, learning their motives behind their actions).
(2) Reliving every detail of every second of your life, every emotion, and every thought simultaneously.
(3) Re-living the way you dealt with others and how others dealt with you.
(4) Viewing a few special deeds in your life.
(5) Replaying a part of your life review to focus on a particular event for instruction.
(6) Viewing past lives and/or your future.
(7) Feeling a strong sense of responsibility.
(8) Feeling a sense of judgment or self-judgment (often these feelings transform from judgment to self-
judgment).
(9) The review is a fact-finding process rather than a fault-finding process.
(10) Your motives for everything will be as visible as your actions.
(11) The negative events you expected to see did not show up because you had a change of heart.

E. The being of light in the life review

 While in the presence of the Being of Light during a life review, it is impossible to lie to yourself or to
others or to the Light. In the Light, there is no place for secrets to hide. But it is not God who judges us after
we die. The purpose for the life review is strictly for education, enlightenment and spiritual growth. In the
presence of the Being of Light, some people may judge or condemn or punish themselves. There is no
judgment except the judgment we might level at ourselves and even this we shouldn't do. God's standard is
pure love and our lives will be compared to this standard in the light of God. Pure love is serving God and
others without having self-centered motives for doing so. The life review is the perfect experience for the
Being of Light to reveal to people how they have measured up to this standard and their mission in life. The
following is a list of characteristics of the Being of Light during life reviews. Sometimes the Being of Light is
accompanied with other light beings and for this reason the so-called "Being of Light" will be referred to as
"they."
(1) They can fill you with a love that is beyond description.
(2) They can eliminate any negativity you may feel from viewing your life review.
(3) They may ask questions concerning your life and how you felt about it.
(4) They may rejoice when love is displayed in your life.
(5) The entire heavenly hosts may thank you in unison for your deeds done out of love. The entire
heavenly hosts may thank you in unison for your deeds done out of love.
(6) They may applaud you and let you know that God approved of your acts of unselfishness and caring.
(7) They may suffer and/or feel sorrow for you about something you did.
(8) They can pause the review for a while if you are upset to strengthen you with love.
(9) They witness everything you did in secret.
(10) They take into consideration various aspects about your life when it comes to evaluating your life;
such as, how you were raised, what you were taught, the pain inflicted upon you, and the opportunities
missed or not received.

F. Questions and responses from the being of light

The Being of Light often asks the experiencer a question or a series of questions to elicit a response that is
then projected in the three-dimensional form of the life review. Sometimes this Being and/or other light
beings respond to the experiencer's life review. The following is a list of some of those questions and
responses.
(1) Any question the Beings of Light ask will be answered during your review.
(2) They ask questions to elicit a response from you.
(3) They already know the answers to the questions they ask you.
(4) "What have you done with your life?"
(5) "How much did you love during his life?"
(6) "Did you love others as you are being loved now? Totally? Unconditionally?"
(7) "How much love did you give others?"
(8) "How much love did you receive from others?"
(9) "What did you do with the precious gift of life?"
(10) "Why did you choose the particular parents you have?"
(11) Responding to an event in your life, whether good or bad, the Being of Light might say: "You are
doing wonderfully."
(12) "We are here to support you."
(13) "Continue to do good work, and we will help you."
(14) "You are part of us, and we are part of you."
(15) "We stand ready to come to your aid when you need us, and you will."
(16) "Call us. Beckon us. We will flock to you when the time comes!"

G. Insights about our deeds that are reviewed

 The life review reveals how God is concerned about deeds - not creeds. This fact becomes crystal clear
during a person's life review. Many experiencers have expressed the astounding realization of how life on
earth is one gigantic "test" for which our deeds will be graded during our life review. Here is a list of other
insights concerning our deeds in relation to our life review.
(1) Deeds which we might consider to be unimportant may turn out to be more important than we can
possibly imagine on the Other Side.
(2) Deeds which we might consider to be important may turn out to be insignificant on the Other Side.
(3) Deeds which we might consider to be "very good" may not be considered as such on the Other Side if
the deeds were done solely for self.
(4) Deeds which we may have given "no second thought about" might amaze us when we learn how much
they meant to God and the Other Side.
(5) Deeds which are considered most valuable on the Other Side are those which express love in a greater,
purer and unconditional manner.
(6) Deeds which are considered to be "greatest" on the Other Side are usually those which are not done
with great fanfare, but are small acts of kindness toward others.
(7) Deeds which are considered "greatest" on the Other Side are often the little things we do out of
kindness and love because they are more spontaneous and reveal our true motive behind the deeds. Such
deeds demonstrate in a better way who we really are.
(8) Deeds can carry repercussions which affect many lives and many lifetimes.
(9) There are no "wrong" deeds. There are only deeds which either do or do not enhance positive spiritual
growth.
(10) We are very powerful spirit beings. Even our "little" deeds can have a powerful effect on others even
though we are completely unaware of it.
(11) All of our deeds have an effect on the evolution of our soul and the evolution of the souls of those
around us.
(12) The choices we make in life matters deeply.
(13) We receive what we give out.
(14) It is practically impossible to forgive others if we cannot forgive ourselves.
(15) Howard Storm was given the following insights after his life review when he was afraid of returning
to earth life because he feared he would make the same mistakes again: "Mistakes are an acceptable part of
being human. We are here to make all the mistakes we want because it is through our mistakes that we learn.
As long as we try to do what we know to be right, we will be on the right path. If we make a mistake, we
should fully recognize it as a mistake, then put it behind us and simply try not to make the same mistake
again. The important thing is to try our best, keep our standards of goodness and truth, and not compromise
them to win people's approval. God loves us just the way we are, mistakes and all. When we make a mistake,
we should ask for forgiveness. After that, it would be an insult if we don't accept that we are forgiven. We
shouldn't continue going around with a sense of guilt, and we should try not to repeat our mistakes. We
should learn from our mistakes. God wants us to do what we want to do. That means making choices - and
there isn't necessarily any right choice. There is a spectrum of possibilities, and we should make the best
choice from those possibilities. If we do that, we will receive help from the Other Side."

H. Insights of love from the life review

The overwhelming consensus among experiencers is that love is supreme. Love is where we came from.
Love is where we will return. Love is what life is all about because love is God. Life on earth is like being in
school - our lessons in life are mostly about love. Thus, during the life review experiencers are often given
profound insights about love which they are allowed to bring back to share with the rest of us. Here are some
of those insights:
(1) A simple smile has the power to start a chain reaction of love that can spread throughout the entire
world and alter the course of history.
(2) Who you are is the love that you share; and that love is God.
 (3) The simple secret to improving humanity is this: know that the love you give to others is equal to the
love you will have when you die.
(4) Pure love is God's measuring stick that is used to measure all of our actions.
(5) Love is the message we receive from our life review.
(6) Loving others unconditionally as we love ourselves is the most important thing we do in life.
(7) We must love ourselves unconditionally before we are able to love others in the same way.
(8) Loving others is really the only thing that matters in life and love is joy.

I. Other insights learned from the life review

Love is the most important aspect of life on the Other Side. Love is also the most important aspect of
earth life although there seems to be so little of it here compared to the Other Side. Along with insights of
love, life reviews offer insights on virtually an unlimited amount of knowledge. Here are some of them:
(1) Life is like a "gigantic test" which we will grade ourselves on during our life review.
(2) Life reviews teach us who we really are. We are powerful spiritual beings.
(3) Life reviews can show us how and why we were the way we were in life.
(4) Everything about you and your life will make more sense after a life review.
(5) From our earthly perspective, it seems like we are living behind a "curtain of secrecy" where we can do
things without anyone knowing about it. But in reality, we are "on display" for the Other Side throughout our
entire lives. All of our actions which are done "in secret" are known on the Other Side. At death, this
illusionary "curtain" is lifted and "the floodlights" shine on us.
(6) Life is very important because how we have lived our life largely determines how far we can go into
the light.
(7) Some of the opportunities we are given in life are orchestrated by Higher Powers.
(8) The more we learn in life, the more the doors of opportunity will be opened to us later.
(9) There really are no mistakes in life because all of our experiences are ways for us to learn and grow.
(10) We need negative experiences as well as positive experiences in life in order to learn.
(11) Every negative experience allows us to obtain a greater understanding about ourselves so that we can
make better choices.
(12) Before we can know joy, we must know sorrow.
(13) God's overriding desire is to purify us no matter how much suffering it takes to achieve it.
(14) We come to earth to make mistakes and have a human experience.
(15) Life is a golden opportunity to live a spiritual life in a world of darkness.
(16) All events in our lives are significant. Even those events which we may consider to be insignificant
can bring us great enlightenment.
(17) We already know everything that we will learn from our life review. We have just forgotten it.
(18) After having a life review, an experiencer may feel accountable for everything they do for the rest of
their life.
(19) We should learn to understand ourselves from the perspective of many lifetimes of evolution and
soul growth. It may take many lifetimes for the negative karmic debts we owe others to be dissolved.
(20) Our life will be wonderful if we choose to always have a positive effect on others.

J. Various examples of life reviews

Carter Mills saw himself when he was a child and killed a mother bird with a sling shot. At the time, he
was so proud of that shot; but during his life review, he felt the pain that the mother bird's babies went
through when they starved to death.
Reinee Pasarow 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.
 After his review, Hal felt there is something missing. Because of this, the Being of Light takes him to a
heavenly library where he was allowed to learn more about his life. He was shown a document that appeared
to be about the size of a business card and described his entire life. Because the Being of Light did not want
to interfere with Hal's free will, he was not allowed to see all of it.
Sherry Gideon was shown her future as if in a movie. She was told that she was a healer sent to earth to
pave the way for others to live. She will also open healing centers for women and children. She was also
shown a future event where she would help a man who helped her during the difficult times of her life. She
was shown why we are all here in the world. It is to have a human experience. She was told that if it was
religion, we would all be hoping the religion we chose was the right one. She was told that we are not here to
kill each other, but help each other rise to a higher level of love.
Grace Bubulka re-experienced an event in her life when she was a child in class. Her teacher had set three
special cards on a table which were to be awarded for a spelling bee they were to have. When everyone left
for recess, Grace stole one of the cards. Later, she felt sick with guilt and put the card back when no one was
there. Grace's re-experience of this event made her remember everything about that situation. What really
impressed her was her awareness at that time of how very wrong that action was. Although she made amends
for it then, she felt her teacher's dismay at having the card missing. Grace realized that other children saw
only two cards on the desk for the spelling bee, not three. What she realized perfectly was that her actions
carried repercussions that affect many others.
When Ned Dougherty's life review began, he was overwhelmed by the process and the feelings of love
directed at him from the audience. As events of his life were displayed, the audience would cheer for him and
convey their love for him. They were saying things such as, "You are doing wonderfully. We are here to
support you. Continue to do good work, and we will help you. You are part of us, and we are part of you. We
stand ready to come to your aid when you need us, and you will. Call us. Beckon us. We will flock to you
when the time comes!" Ned became confused by all the attention. There wasn't anything wonderful about the
way he had conducted his life. He wondered how he can be doing wonderfully when he tried to murder
someone that very night. Ned was then spiritually rescued from the negative thoughts he was having. He was
told that he mustn't think such negative thoughts there. He was told that only positive thoughts will be heard
there. Nobody can hear his negative thoughts. He must be positive to perform his mission.
RaNelle Wallace was shown how a friend of hers was given to her from God to guide and help her. But
RaNelle saw instead how her own mistakes and uncaring attitude ultimately mislead her friend and propelled
her into new mistakes and grief. Next, RaNelle saw another episode in her life when she was asked by a
church leader to visit a particular woman to check up on her occasionally to see if she needed help. Because
the woman was filled with such negativity and bitterness, RaNelle never went to see her. She didn't think she
could handle her attitude. Now, she saw that the opportunity to help her had been orchestrated by Higher
Powers and that she was just the person the woman needed at the time. Now, RaNelle felt the woman's
sadness and disappointment because she did not complete this mission. It was a responsibility that would
have been a benefit to RaNelle as well.
Dr. Dianne Morrissey's life review experience: As Dianne's life review continued, she was shown two very
special deeds she had performed in her life. As these scenes were displayed before her, every emotion she had
originally felt returned in full force. She also felt as if God and the angels were honoring her for performing
these deeds. Love and joy surrounded and ran through her. She felt as though she was being hugged by God.
The first deed she witnessed was when she helped a woman pushing her stalled automobile. Afterward,
Dianne left in a hurry because she was afraid of getting a ticket. In Dianne's haste, she didn't give the woman
a chance to thank her. While reviewing this scene, Dianne was filled with indescribable feelings of love, which
seemed to be directed at her from the angels. The second deed she witnessed was a scene she'd forgotten
about. She saw herself as a teenager working in a convalescent hospital. She helped feed an elderly woman
when no one else wanted to do so. She had grown fond of the old woman despite the old woman's unsavory
behavior. When this deed was displayed in her life review, she felt as if every loving spirit in God's kingdom
was thanking her in unison. She was amazed that such an act could have meant so much to God - and to her.
She felt humbled and very honored. She communicated with the light beings telepathically. As she viewed the
scenes of her life, she felt as if she were absorbing many books all at once with perfect clarity.
 Thomas Sawyer's life review insights: "I wish that I could tell you how it really felt and what the life review
is like, but I'll never be able to do it accurately. I'm hoping to give you just a slight inkling of what is available
to each and every one of you. Will you be totally devastated by the crap you've brought into other people's
lives? Or will you be equally enlightened and uplifted by the love and joy that you have shared in other
people's lives? Well, guess what? It pretty much averages itself out. You will be responsible for yourself,
judging and reliving what you have done to everything and everybody in very far-reaching ways. Very small,
seemingly inconsequential things such as the day when I, nine years old, walked through Seneca Park and
loved the appearance of a tree. In my life review I could experience a bit of what the tree experienced in my
loving it, two little photons of love and adoration. It was somewhat like the leaves acknowledging my
presence. Can a tree experience that? Yes, it can. Don't go kicking trees anymore! You do have that effect on
plants. You do have an effect on animals. You do have an effect on the universe. And in your life review
you'll be the universe and experience yourself in what you call your lifetime and how it affects the universe. In
your life review you'll be yourself absolutely, in every aspect of time, in every event, in the over-all scheme of
things in your lifetime. Your life. The little bugs on your eyelids that some of you don't even know exist.
That's an interrelationship, you with yourself and these little entities that are living and surviving on your
eyelids. When you waved a loving goodbye to a good friend the other day, did you affect the clouds up
above? Did you actually affect them? Do a butterfly’s wings in China affect the weather here? You better
believe it does? You can learn all of that in a life review! As this takes place, you have total knowledge. You
have the ability to be a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a psychoanalyst, and much more. You are your own
spiritual teacher, maybe for the first and only time in your life. You are simultaneously the student and the
teacher in a relationship. My life review was part of this experience also. It was absolutely, positively,
everything basically from the first breath of life right through the accident. It was everything. During this life
review I experienced what I can only describe as "in the eyes of Jesus Christ." Meaning, I watched and
observed this entire event as if I were in the eyes of Jesus Christ. Which means unconditionally."
Howard Storm's life review experience: Howard's entire life review was a lesson during which they were
trying to teach him. During some events, they slowed the review down to zoom in on it. All of the things that
he worked to achieve, the recognition that he had worked for in elementary school, in high school, in college,
and in his career, meant nothing in this setting. Howard could feel the light beings' feelings of sorrow and
suffering, or joy, as his life's review unfolded. They didn't judge him, but he could feel judgment. He could
sense all those things they were indifferent to. For example, they didn't consider his high school shot-put
record. They just didn't feel anything towards it, nor towards other things which he had taken so much pride
in. What they responded to was how he had interacted with other people. His entire review would have been
emotionally destructive if it hadn't been for the love he felt from the light beings. Anytime he got upset
during his life review, they would turn it off for a while and just love him with a tangible love that can be felt
through his entire being. Because his life review would keep tearing him down, he would feel their love every
time. Despite all this, seeing his selfishness and hypocrisy made him nauseated. But through it all was their
love. When his life review was finally over, they asked Howard if he had any questions. Sometimes they
would replay the part of his life review in order to answer his questions.
Dannion Brinkley's life review insights: "When you have a panoramic life review, you literally relive your
life, in 360 degrees panorama. You see everything that's ever happened. You even see how many leaves were
on the tree when you were six years old playing in the dirt in the front yard. You literally re-live it. Next you
watch your life from a second person's point of view. In this life we're taught to be sympathetic toward
others. But from the second person's point of view, you'll feel empathy, not sympathy. After that, you literally
will become every person that you've ever encountered. You will feel what it feels like to be that person and
you will feel the direct results of your interaction between you and that person. You know the story of the
Book of Judgment? Guess what? When you have your panoramic life review, you are the judger ... You do the
judging. If you doubt me, believe this: you are the toughest judge you will ever have."
Laurelynn Martin's life review experience: During her life review, she relived an event when she was five
years old and teased another girl to the point of tears. Laurelynn then felt exactly what the other girl was
feeling. Laurelynn realized how the girl needed love, nurturing and forgiveness. Laurelynn then felt a love for
this child that was so deep and tender, it was like the love between a mother and child. She realized that by
hurting another person, she was only hurting herself. It was an experience oneness with everyone. Another
event she relived was similar to the previous one. As a child she made fun of a scrawny, malnourished
asthmatic kid who eventually died from a cerebral aneurysm. The kid once wrote a love letter to her which
she rejected. In her life review, she experienced his pain of being rejected. At the same time, she felt a
tremendous amount of love for this boy and herself. Her life review connected her with him in a way that
went beyond the physical. It was a connection that was felt at the level of the soul. She saw how the boy had
a vibrant, bright light burning inside of him. She felt the strength of his spirit and vitality. It was an
inconceivable moment especially knowing how much he physically suffered when he was alive.
David Oakford's life review experience: David's life review began by witnessing the initial circumstances
that occurred before being born that resulted in him being the person he was. The spirit beings asked David
how and why he picked these particular parents. David didn't know where it came from but he told them
what they wanted to know. They agreed with him. David picked his parents to help them on their path as well
as to achieve his own learning. David re-experienced his own birth and how he left heaven to become a
helpless infant. He experienced his parent's love and their anger. He saw all the good and bad episodes of his
life. He felt all of his emotions and the emotions of others he had hurt as well as loved. From all of this he
learned that it matters deeply what choices we make on earth. When his life review was over, the spirit beings
in the room asked him questions concerning what he saw and how he felt about his life up to then. He knew
that he had to provide an honest assessment and that it was impossible to lie. He hesitated when they asked
him whether he affected others more positively than negatively. He thought about lying. Instead he told them
that he could have done a better job, but he was not finished with his mission. Because of this, David told
them he wanted to back and finish his mission. They spirit beings agreed.
Christian Andreason's life review experience: "I saw four translucent screens appear (and form a kind of
gigantic box around me). It was through this method that I was shown my life review. (Or rather I should say
my LIVES IN REVIEW!) Without ever having to turn my head, I saw my past, my present, my future and
there was even a screen that displayed a tremendous amount of scientific data, numbers and universal codes. I
saw the beginning of my known existence as a Soul and saw that I had existed spiritually long before this
incarnation -- where I am now a male human known as Christian Andreason! In Heaven, I undeniably saw
that I had lived an innumerable amount of lives. Yet, what I saw went way beyond our comprehension of
what we think reincarnation is. So, I am not exactly speaking of being born again and again on this planet
alone. I saw that it is a big Universe out there and God has it all organized perfectly. Each of us is sent where
we can obtain the best growth according to our Divine purpose."
Betty Eadie's life review experience: "I was led to a room, which was exquisitely built and appointed. I
entered and saw a group of men seated around the long side of a kidney-shaped table. I was led to stand in
front of them within the indented portion of the table. One thing struck me almost immediately; there were
twelve men here - men - but no women. The men radiated love for me, and I felt instantly at peace with
them. They leaned together to consult with each other. Then one of them spoke to me. He said that I had
died prematurely and must return to earth. I felt them saying it was important that I return to earth, that I had
a mission to fulfill, but I resisted it in my heart. This was my home, and I felt that nothing they could say
would ever convince me to leave it. The men conferred again and asked me if I wanted to review my life. The
request felt almost like a command. I hesitated; no one wants their mortal past to be reviewed in this place of
purity and love. They told me that it was important for me to see it, so I agreed. A light appeared to one side,
and I felt the Savior's love beside me.
"I stepped to my left to watch the review. It occurred in the place where I had been standing. My life
appeared before me in the form of what we might consider extremely well-defined holograms, but at
tremendous speed. I was astonished that I could understand so much information at such a speed. My
comprehension included much more than what I remember happening during each event of my life. I not
only re-experienced my own emotions at each moment, but also what others around me had felt. I
experienced their thoughts and feelings about me. There were times when things became clear to me in a new
way. 'Yes,' I would say to myself. 'Oh, yes. Now I see. Well, who would have guessed? But, of course, it
makes sense.' Then I saw the disappointment that I had caused others, and I cringed as their feelings of
disappointment filled me, compounded by my own guilt. I understood all the suffering I had caused, and I
felt it. I began to tremble. I saw how much grief my bad temper had cased, and I suffered this grief. I saw my
selfishness, and my heart cried for relief. How had I been so uncaring? Then in the midst of my pain, I felt
the love of the council come over me. They watched my life with understanding and mercy. Everything about
me was taken into consideration, how I was raised, the things I had been taught, the pain give me by others,
the opportunities I had received or not received. And I realized that the council was not judging me. I was
judging myself. Their love and mercy were absolute. Their respect for me could never be lessened. I was
especially grateful for their love as the next phase of my review passed before me.
"I was shown the ripple effect, as they described it. I saw how I had often wronged people and how they
had often turned to others and committed a similar wrong. This chain continued from victim to victim, like a
circle of dominoes, until it came back to the start - to me, the offender. The ripples went out, and they came
back. I had offended far more people than I knew, and my pain multiplied and became unbearable. The
Savior stepped toward me, full of concern and love. His spirit gave me strength, and he said that I was
judging myself too critically. 'You're being too harsh on yourself,' he said.
"Then he showed me the reversed side of the ripple effect. I saw myself perform an act of kindness, just a
simple act of unselfishness, and I saw the ripples go out again. The friend I had been kind to was kind in turn
to one of her friends, and the chain repeated itself. I saw love and happiness increase in others' lives because
of that one simple act on my part. I saw their happiness grow and affect their lives in positive ways, some
significantly. My pain was replaced with joy. I felt the love they felt, and I felt their joy, and this from one
simple act of kindness. A powerful thought hit me, and I repeated it over and over in my mind: Love is really
the only thing that matters. Love is joy! I recalled the scripture that said, 'I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly' (John 10:10), and my soul was filled with this abundant joy. It all
seemed so simple. If we're kind, we'll have joy. And the question suddenly came out of me, 'Why didn't I
know this before?' Jesus or one of the men responded, and the answer was ingrained in me. It sank into the
deepest part of my soul, changing my outlook on trials and opposition forever, 'You needed the negative as
well as the positive experiences on earth. Before you can feel joy, you must know sorrow.' All of my
experiences now took on new meaning. I realized that no real mistakes had been made in my life. Each
experience was a tool for me to grow by. Every unhappy experience had allowed me to obtain greater
understanding about myself, until I learned to avoid those experiences.
"So the review quickly changed from a negative experience to a very positive one. My perspective of
myself was changed, and I saw my sins and shortcomings in a multi-dimensional light. Yes, they were
grievous to me and others, but they were tools for me to learn by, to correct my thinking and behavior. I
understood that forgiven sins are blotted out. It is as if they are overlaid by new understanding, by a new
direction in life.
"My review was over, and the men sat in stillness, radiating their absolute love for me. The Savior was
there in his light, smiling, pleased with my progress. The men then conferred again and turned back to me.
'You have not completed your mission on earth,' they said. 'You must go back. But, we will not compel you;
the choice is yours.' Without hesitation, I said, 'No, no. I can't go back. I belong here. This is my home.' I
stood firm, knowing that nothing could ever make me choose to leave.'
"One of the men spoke, also firmly. 'Your work is not complete. It is best that you return.' I was not going
back. I had learned as a child how to win a fight, and now I employed all those skills. I threw myself down
and began crying. 'I won't go back,' I wailed, 'and nobody is going to make me! I'm staying right here where I
belong. I'm through with earth!'
"Jesus stood not far from me, off to my right, still glowing in his brilliant light. He came forward now, and
I felt his concern. But mixed with his concern was a sense of amusement. He still delighted in me,
understanding my moods, and I sensed his empathy for my desire to stay. I arose, and he said to the council,
'Let us show her what her mission involves.'
"Then turning back to me he said, 'Your mission will be made known to you so that you might make a
clearer decision. But after this, you must decide. If you return to your life on earth, your mission and much of
what you have been shown will be removed from your memory.' Reluctantly I agreed and was shown my
mission. Afterward, I knew that I had to come back. Although I would hate to leave that glorious world of
light and love for one of hardship and uncertainty, the necessity of my mission compelled me to return."

K. Biblical support for the life review

 The Bible supports the NDE phenomenon of seeing your entire life reviewed after death - every thought,
word and deed:
Matthew 12:36-37: "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every
careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be
condemned."
Luke 12:2-3: "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made
known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear
in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."
The Bible supports the NDE life review of there being no judgment from God:

John 5:22: "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son."
John 12:47-48: "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For
I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not
accept my words, that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day."
The only judgment existing after death is self-judgment at which time we enter the light of God where all
is made known. Having your true inner self revealed (realizing that you are a part of God) can be hell for
those who have been motivated mostly by negative forces in life. Having your true inner self revealed can be
heaven for those who have been motivated mostly by positive forces in life. Everyone's true inner nature is a
part of God. Those who enter the afterlife realize their true inner nature. Those who lived a life against their
inner self will find difficulties. This is self-realization and self-judgment.
John 3:19-21: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear
that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
The verse above describes people dwelling in the dark to escape from having the light of God reveal their
inner divine nature and life of ignorance, both of which are exposed to everyone in the heavenly realms.
Near-death experiencers have affirmed that so-called evil is, in reality, ignorance (darkness). In the Bible,
light is always a reference to God and knowledge of God. Those people who lived a life of darkness
(ignorance) will find an incompatibility with their true nature (divinity). This self-realization can truly be a hell
for such people. This realization is self-realization and self-judgment. Below are verses that suggest self-
judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:5: "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts."
1 John 3:18-20: "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we
know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts
condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
1 John 3:21-22: "If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him
anything we ask"
The verse below describes how God's light can shine in the darkness of our hearts even before we die:
2 Corinthians 4:6: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
Both Edgar Cayce and Emanuel Swedenborg revealed from their NDE journeys how, after death, all
humans literally become angels. One particular passage of scripture can be interpreted to describe how the
self-judgment that we, as angels, undergo:
1 Corinthians 6:2-3: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the
world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know we will judge angels?"
The word "angels" is sometimes used in the Bible to apply to humans. Here are some of them:
Matthew 18:10: "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones [children]. For I tell you that
their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
Acts 12:13-15: "Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the
door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and
exclaimed, 'Peter is at the door!' 'You're out of your mind,' they told her. When she kept insisting that it was
so, they said, 'It must be his angel.'"
Matthew 22:30: "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like
the angels in heaven."
Hebrews 13:2: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels
without knowing it."
 CHAPTER 3:
PSYCHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE

Psychologist Chris French has grouped theories explaining NDEs into three broad classifications that "are
not distinct and independent, but instead show considerable overlap." French classifies them as
transcendental theories, psychological theories, and physiological theories. French summarizes the
transcendental theories by saying "the most popular interpretation is that the NDE is exactly what it appears
to be to the person having the experience" which is also the consensus among millions of experiencers. And
according to psychiatrist Bruce Greyson, some NDE phenomena cannot be easily explained with our current
knowledge of psychological models and human physiological theories. For example, it is not medically
explainable how unconscious clinically dead cardiac patients accurately describe detailed actual verified events
and conversations sometimes far removed from their body -- even many miles away. Read Greyson's
wonderful article on this subject. French summarizes the main psychological explanations to include the
depersonalization model, the expectancy model, and the dissociation models. The depersonalization model
suggests the NDE is a form of depersonalization -- an often disturbing view of detachment from reality
within the self. The expectancy model suggests the NDE is just a construct of the mind in response to the
extreme stress of being near-death. The dissociation model suggests the NDE is a form of dissociation -- an
extreme response mechanism of self-withdrawal to protect individuals from extremely stressful events. There
is also the birth model (championed by Carl Sagan, along with reincarnation) suggesting that NDEs are a
form of reliving the pain and trauma of being born. Then there are the wide range of physiological theories of
the NDE including those based upon cerebral hypoxia (a lack of oxygen in the brain); anoxia (a severe form
of hypoxia); and hypercapnia (abnormal levels of carbon dioxide); the effect of endorphins and other
neurotransmitters; abnormal activity in the temporal lobes; or neurobiological factors such as those put forth
by psychologist Susan Blackmore and her "dying brain theory." However, all psychological and physiological
models of NDEs have been falsified and refuted in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of
Near-Death Studies (also here). The following articles describe these theories and how the transcendental
theory of the NDE is the only logical theory among them all.

1. Carl G. Jung's Near-Death Experience

In a hospital in Switzerland in 1944, the world-renowned psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, had a heart attack and
then a near-death experience. His vivid encounter with the light, plus the intensely meaningful insights led
Jung to conclude that his experience came from something real and eternal. Jung's experience is unique in
that he saw the Earth from a vantage point of about a thousand miles above it. His incredibly accurate view
of the Earth from outer space was described about two decades before astronauts in space first described it.
Subsequently, as he reflected on life after death, Jung recalled the meditating Hindu from his near-death
experience and read it as a parable of the archetypal Higher Self, the God-image within. Carl Jung, who
founded analytical psychology, centered on the archetypes of the collective unconscious. The following is an
excerpt from his autobiography entitled Memories, Dreams, Reflections describing his near-death experience.
The beginning of 1944 I broke my foot, and this misadventure was followed by a heart attack. In a state of
unconsciousness, I experienced deliriums and visions which must have begun when I hung on the edge of
death and was being given oxygen and camphor injections. The images were so tremendous that I myself
concluded that I was close to death. My nurse afterward told me: "It was as if you were surrounded by a
bright glow."
That was a phenomenon she had sometimes observed in the dying, she added. I had reached the
outermost limit, and do not know whether I was in a dream or an ecstasy. At any rate, extremely strange
things began to happen to me.
It seemed to me that I was high up in space. Far below I saw the globe of the Earth, bathed in a gloriously
blue light. I saw the deep blue sea and the continents. Far below my feet lay Ceylon, and in the distance
ahead of me the subcontinent of India. My field of vision did not include the whole Earth, but its global
shape was plainly distinguishable and its outlines shone with a silvery gleam through that wonderful blue light.
In many places the globe seemed colored, or spotted dark green like oxidized silver. Far away to the left lay a
broad expanse - the reddish-yellow desert of Arabia; it was as though the silver of the Earth had there
assumed a reddish-gold hue. Then came the Red Sea, and far, far back - as if in the upper left of a map - I
could just make out a bit of the Mediterranean. My gaze was directed chiefly toward that. Everything else
appeared indistinct. I could also see the snow-covered Himalayas, but in that direction it was foggy or cloudy.
I did not look to the right at all. I knew that I was on the point of departing from the Earth.
Later I discovered how high in space one would have to be to have so extensive a view - approximately a
thousand miles! The sight of the Earth from this height was the most glorious thing I had ever seen.
After contemplating it for a while, I turned around. I had been standing with my back to the Indian
Ocean, as it were, and my face to the north. Then it seemed to me that I made a turn to the south. Something
new entered my field of vision. A short distance away I saw in space a tremendous dark block of stone, like a
meteorite. It was about the size of my house, or even bigger. It was floating in space, and I myself was
floating in space.
I had seen similar stones on the coast of the Gulf of Bengal. They were blocks of tawny granite, and some
of them had been hollowed out into temples. My stone was one such gigantic dark block. An entrance led
into a small antechamber. To the right of the entrance, a black Hindu sat silently in lotus posture upon a
stone bench. He wore a white gown, and I knew that he expected me. Two steps led up to this antechamber,
and inside, on the left, was the gate to the temple. Innumerable tiny niches, each with a saucer-like concavity
filled with coconut oil and small burning wicks, surrounded the door with a wreath of bright flames. I had
once actually seen this when I visited the Temple of the Holy Tooth at Kandy in Ceylon; the gate had been
framed by several rows of burning oil lamps of this sort.
As I approached the steps leading up to the entrance into the rock, a strange thing happened: I had the
feeling that everything was being sloughed away; everything I aimed at or wished for or thought, the whole
phantasmagoria of earthly existence, fell away or was stripped from me - an extremely painful process.
Nevertheless, something remained; it was as if I now carried along with me everything I had ever experienced
or done, everything that had happened around me. I might also say: it was with me, and I was it. I consisted
of all that, so to speak. I consisted of my own history and I felt with great certainty: this is what I am. I am
this bundle of what has been and what has been accomplished.
This experience gave me a feeling of extreme poverty, but at the same time of great fullness. There was no
longer anything I wanted or desired. I existed in an objective form; I was what I had been and lived. At first
the sense of annihilation predominated, of having been stripped or pillaged; but suddenly that became of no
consequence.
Everything seemed to be past; what remained was a "fait accompli," without any reference back to what
had been. There was no longer any regret that something had dropped away or been taken away. On the
contrary: I had everything that I was, and that was everything.
Something else engaged my attention: as I approached the temple, I had the certainty that I was about to
enter an illuminated room and would meet there all those people to whom I belong in reality. There I would
at last understand - this too was a certainty - what historical nexus I or my life fitted into. I would know what
had been before me, why I had come into being, and where my life was flowing. My life as I lived it had often
seemed to me like a story that has no beginning and end. I had the feeling that I was a historical fragment, an
excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing. My life seemed to have been snipped out of
a long chain of events, and many questions had remained unanswered. Why had it taken this course? Why
had I brought these particular assumptions with me? What had I made of them? What will follow? I felt sure
that I would receive an answer to all the questions as soon as I entered the rock temple. There I would meet
the people who knew the answer to my question about what had been before and what would come after.
While I was thinking over these matters, something happened that caught my attention. From below,
from the direction of Europe, an image floated up. It was my doctor, or rather, his likeness - framed by a
golden chain or a golden laurel wreath. I knew at once: "Aha, this is my doctor, of course, the one who has
been treating me. But now he is coming in his primal form, as a "basileus of Kos." [1] In life he was an avatar
of this basileus, the temporal embodiment of the primal form, which has existed from the beginning. Now he
is appearing in that primal form.
[1] Basileus was the king (i.e. "basileus") of Kos - a small Greek island on the Aegean Sea. The island of
Kos was famous in antiquity as the site of the temple of Asklepios, and was the birthplace of Hippocrates.
Presumably I too was in my primal form, though this was something I did not observe but simply took for
granted. As he stood before me, a mute exchange of thought took place between us. The doctor had been
delegated by the Earth to deliver a message to me, to tell me that there was a protest against my going away. I
had no right to leave the Earth and must return. The moment I heard that, the vision ceased.
I was profoundly disappointed, for now it all seemed to have been for nothing. The painful process of
defoliation had been in vain, and I was not to be allowed to enter the temple, to join the people in whose
company I belonged.
In reality, a good three weeks were still to pass before I could truly make up my mind to live again. I could
not eat because all food repelled me. The view of city and mountains from my sickbed seemed to me like a
painted curtain with black holes in it, or a tattered sheet of newspaper full of photographs that meant
nothing. Disappointed, I thought, "Now I must return to 'the box system' again."
For it seemed to me as if behind the horizon of the cosmos a three-dimensional world had been artificially
built up, in which each person sat by himself in a little box. And now I should have to convince myself all
over again that this was important! Life and the whole world struck me as a prison, and it bothered me
beyond measure that I should again be finding all that quite in order. I had been so glad to shed it all, and
now it had come about that I - along with everyone else - would again be hung up in a box by a thread.
While I floated in space, I had been weightless, and there had been nothing tugging at me. And now all
that was to be a thing of the past! I felt violent resistance to my doctor because he had brought me back to
life. At the same time, I was worried about him. "His life is in danger, for heaven’s sake! He has appeared to
me in his primal form! When anybody attains this form, it means he is going to die, for already he belongs to
the 'greater company'!"
Suddenly the terrifying thought came to me that Dr. H. would have to die in my stead. I tried my best to
talk to him about it, but he did not understand me. Then I became angry with him: "Why does he always
pretend he doesn’t know he is a basileus of Kos? And that he has already assumed his primal form? He wants
to make me believe that he doesn’t know!"
That irritated me. My wife reproved me for being so unfriendly to him. She was right; but at the time I
was angry with him for stubbornly refusing to speak of all that had passed between us in my vision: "Damn it
all, he ought to watch his step. He has no right to be so reckless! I want to tell him to take care of himself."
I was firmly convinced that his life was in jeopardy. In actual fact I was his last patient. On April 4, 1944
(4/4/44), I still remember the exact date I was allowed to sit up on the edge of my bed for the first time since
the beginning of my illness, and on this same day Dr. H. took to his bed and did not leave it again. I heard
that he was having intermittent attacks of fever. Soon afterward he died of septicemia. He was a good doctor;
there was something of the genius about him. Otherwise he would not have appeared to me as a prince of
Kos.
During those weeks I lived in a strange rhythm. By day I was usually depressed. I felt weak and wretched,
and scarcely dared to stir. Gloomily, I thought: "Now I must go back to this drab world."
Toward evening I would fall asleep, and my sleep would last until about midnight. Then I would come to
myself and lie awake for about an hour, but in an utterly transformed state. It was as if I were in an ecstasy. I
felt as though I were floating in space, as though I were safe in the womb of the universe in a tremendous
void, but filled with the highest possible feeling of happiness. "This is eternal bliss," I thought. "This cannot
be described; it is far too wonderful!"
 Everything around me seemed enchanted. At this hour of the night the nurse brought me some food she
had warmed for only then was I able to take any, and I ate with appetite. For a time, it seemed to me that she
was an old Jewish woman, much older than she actually was, and that she was preparing ritual kosher dishes
for me. When I looked at her, she seemed to have a blue halo around her head. I myself was, so it seemed, in
the Pardes Rimmonim, the garden of pomegranates, [2] and the wedding of Tiferet with Malchut was taking
place. Or else I was Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai, whose wedding in the afterlife was being celebrated. It was the
mystic marriage as it appears in the Cabbalistic tradition. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. I could only
think continually: "Now this is the garden of pomegranates! Now this is the marriage of Malchuth with
Tifereth!" [2]
[2] Pardes Rimmonim is the title of an old Cabbalistic tract by Moses Cordovero (sixteenth century). In
Cabbalistic doctrine Malchuth and Tifereth are two of the ten spheres of divine manifestation in which God
emerges from his hidden state. They represent the female and male principles within the Godhead.
I do not know exactly what part I played in it. At bottom it was I myself: I was the marriage. And my
beatitude was that of a blissful wedding.
Gradually the garden of pomegranates faded away and changed. There followed the Marriage of the
Lamb, in a Jerusalem festively bedecked. I cannot describe what it was like in detail. These were ineffable
states of joy. Angels were present, and light. I myself was the "Marriage of the Lamb."
That, too, vanished, and there came a new image, the last vision. I walked up a wide valley to the end,
where a gentle chain of hills began. The valley ended in a classical amphitheater. It was magnificently situated
in the green landscape. And there, in this theater, the hierosgamos was being celebrated. Men and women
dancers came onstage, and upon a flower-decked couch All-father Zeus and Hera consummated the mystic
marriage, as it is described in the Iliad.
All these experiences were glorious. Night after night I floated in a state of purest bliss: "thronged round
with images of all creation (from "Faust," Part Two.)"
Gradually, the motifs mingled and paled. Usually the visions lasted for about an hour; then I would fall
asleep again. By the time morning drew near, I would feel: "Now gray morning is coming again; now comes
the gray world with its boxes! What idiocy, what hideous nonsense! Those inner states were so fantastically
beautiful that by comparison this world appeared downright ridiculous."
As I approached closer to life again, they grew fainter, and scarcely three weeks after the first vision they
ceased altogether.
It is impossible to convey the beauty and intensity of emotion during those visions. They were the most
tremendous things I have ever experienced. And what a contrast the day was: I was tormented and on edge;
everything irritated me; everything was too material, too crude and clumsy, terribly limited both spatially and
spiritually. It was all an imprisonment, for reasons impossible to divine, and yet it had a kind of hypnotic
power, a cogency, as if it were reality itself, for all that I had clearly perceived its emptiness. Although my
belief in the world returned to me, I have never since entirely freed myself of the impression that ... this life is
a segment of existence which is enacted in a three-dimensional box-like universe especially set up for it.
There is something else I quite distinctly remember. At the beginning, when I was having the vision of the
garden of pomegranates, I asked the nurse to forgive me if she were harmed: "There was such sanctity in the
room," I said, "that it might be harmful to her."
Of course, she did not understand me. For me the presence of sanctity had a magical atmosphere; I feared
it might be unendurable to others. I understood then why one speaks of the odor of sanctity, of the "sweet
smell" of the Holy Ghost. This was it. There was a pneuma of inexpressible sanctity in the room, whose
manifestation was the mysterium coniunctionis.
I would never have imagined that any such experience was possible. It was not a product of imagination.
The visions and experiences were utterly real; there was nothing subjective about them; they all had a quality
of absolute objectivity.
We shy away from the word "eternal," but I can describe the experience only as the ecstasy of a non-
temporal state in which present, past, and future are one. Everything that happens in time had been brought
together into a concrete whole. Nothing was distributed over time; nothing could be measured by temporal
concepts. The experience might best be defined as a state of feeling, but one which cannot be produced by
imagination. How can I imagine that I exist simultaneously the day before yesterday, today, and the day after
tomorrow? There would be things which would not yet have begun, other things which would be indubitably
present, and others again which would already be finished and yet all this would be one. The only thing that
feeling could grasp would be a sum, an iridescent whole, containing all at once expectation of a beginning,
surprise at what is now happening, and satisfaction or disappointment with the result of what has happened.
One is interwoven into an indescribable whole and yet observes it with complete objectivity.
I experienced this objectivity once again later on. That was after the death of my wife. I saw her in a
dream which was like a vision. She stood at some distance from me, looking at me squarely. She was in her
prime, perhaps about thirty, and wearing the dress which had been made for her many years before by my
cousin the medium. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever worn. Her expression was neither
joyful nor sad, but, rather, objectively wise and understanding, without the slightest emotional reaction, as
though she were beyond the mist of affects. I knew that it was not she, but a portrait she had made or
commissioned for me. It contained the beginning of our relationship, the events of fifty-three years of
marriage, and the end of her life also. Face to face with such wholeness one remains speechless, for it can
scarcely be comprehended.
The objectivity which I experienced in this dream and in the visions is part of a completed individuation.
It signifies detachment from valuations and from what we call emotional ties. In general, emotional ties are
very important to human beings. But they still contain projections, and it is essential to withdraw these
projections in order to attain to oneself and to objectivity. Emotional relationships are relationships of desire,
tainted by coercion and constraint; something is expected from the other person, and that makes him and
ourselves unfree. Objective cognition lies hidden behind the attraction of the emotional relationship; it seems
to be the central secret. Only through objective cognition is the real conjunction possible.
After the illness a fruitful period of work began for me. A good many of my principal works were written
only then. The insight I had had, or the vision of the end of all things, gave me the courage to undertake new
formulations. I no longer attempted to put across my own opinion, but surrendered myself to the current of
my thoughts. Thus, one problem after the other revealed itself to me and took shape.
Something else, too, came to me from my illness. I might formulate it as an affirmation of things as they
are: an unconditional "yes" to that which is, without subjective protests acceptance of the conditions of
existence as I see them and understand them, acceptance of my own nature, as I happen to be. At the
beginning of the illness I had the feeling that there was something wrong with my attitude, and that I was to
some extent responsible for the mishap. But when one follows the path of individuation, when one lives
one’s own life, one must take mistakes into the bargain; life would not be complete without them. There is no
guarantee not for a single moment that we will not fall into error or stumble into deadly peril. We may think
there is a sure road. But that would be the road of death. Then nothing happens any longer at any rate, not
the right things. Anyone who takes the sure road is as good as dead.
It was only after the illness that I understood how important it is to affirm one’s own destiny. In this way
we forge an ego that does not break down when incomprehensible things happen; an ego that endures, that
endures the truth, and that is capable of coping with the world and with fate. Then, to experience defeat is
also to experience victory. Nothing is disturbed neither inwardly nor outwardly, for one’s own continuity has
withstood the current of life and of time. But that can come to pass only when one does not meddle
inquisitively with the workings of fate.
I have also realized that one must accept the thoughts that go on within oneself of their own accord as
part of one’s reality. The categories of true and false are, of course, always present; but because they are not
binding, they take second place. The presence of thoughts is more important than our subjective judgment of
them. But neither must these judgments be suppressed, for they also are existent thoughts which are part of
our wholeness.

A. Commentary on Jung's NDE

Carl Jung’s experience is a typical transcendental NDE which shares many characteristics with multitudes
of other NDEs such as experiencing: (1) an ultra-real and ultra-vivid realm which is impossible to forget, (2)
multiple realms of existence, (3) the Void, (4) observations of the Earth from outer s: pace, (5) a heavenly
temple, (6) an encounter with the Light, (7) an encounter with Jesus during his experience of the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb, (8) lessons concerning the human ego, (9) a timeless realm, (10) heavenly music, (11)
feelings of intense peace and ecstasy, (12) the receiving of higher knowledge, (13) mental telepathy, (14) a life
review, (15) an understanding of the mechanics of reincarnation, (16) meeting the "primal form" (i.e. higher
self) of people still living on Earth, (17) visions of the future, and (18) an inability to adequately describe the
experience.
Jung’s experience is remarkably similar to Dr. Eben Alexander III, a neurosurgeon whose near-death
experience is profiled in his book, "Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife." As Jung
reflected on life after death, he recalled the meditating Hindu from his near-death experience and interpreted
it as a parable of the archetypal Higher Self, the God-image within. No matter what you call it, a higher self
within or God ... once touched, it does lead to insights and the belief that something lies just beyond our
realm here on Earth.
A quote by Carl Jung about the afterlife is: "The unconscious psyche believes in life after death."
 CHAPTER 4:
PARAPSYCHOLOGY EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE

Parapsychology is a field of study concerned with the scientific investigation of anomalous, paranormal
and psychic phenomena which includes but is not limited to: (1) Telepathy: the transfer of information on
thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses; (2) Precognition: the
perception of information about future places or events before they occur; (3) Mediumship: the practice of
certain people, known as mediums, who purportedly mediate communication between spirits of the dead and
living human beings; (4) Clairvoyance: obtaining information about places or events at remote locations, by
means unknown to current science; (5) Psychokinesis: the ability of the mind to influence matter, time, space,
or energy by means unknown to current science; (6) Near-death experiences; (7) Reincarnation; (8)
Apparitional experiences: a phenomena often attributed to ghosts and encountered in places a deceased
individual is thought to have frequented, or in association with the person's former belongings; and (9)
Remote Viewing: a psychic phenomenon where a trained person attempts in a meditative state to visualize the
topography of a distant scene. The major scholarly peer-reviewed journals dealing with parapsychology
include the (a) Journal of Parapsychology, (b) Journal of Near-Death Studies, (c) Journal of Consciousness
Studies, (d) Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, (e) Journal of Scientific Exploration, (f )
Neuroquantology, (g) Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, and (h) Journal for Transpersonal
Psychology. The Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Dean Radin, Ph.D., maintains a selected
list of peer-reviewed journal articles about scientific evidence supporting psi (psychic) phenomena, most
published in the 21st century.

1. Psychics and Near-Death Experience Afterlife Revelations

One of the possible aftereffects of having a near-death experience (NDE) is becoming psychic. One of
the most well-known experiencers who became psychic after having an NDE is Dannion Brinkley. A
lightning bolt struck Dannion while he was on the telephone, sending at least 180,000 volts of electricity
through his body. Miraculously, Dannion returned to life nearly 28 minutes after he had been declared dead.
During his NDE, he was shown 117 visions of the future, including the election of Ronald Reagan, the
collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War in 1991. Dr. Raymond Moody, the "father of the NDE"
verified that Dannion did indeed predict events before they happened. Dannion also realized that his NDE
marked the beginning of his psychic abilities. In an attempt to verify Dannion's psychic abilities, the popular
TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" asked renowned parapsychologist Dr. William Roll to conduct a series of
tests. Dannion gave readings for eight people he had never met before. According to Dr. Roll, Dannion
picked out several details about the lives of the individuals that he could not have known. Dr. Roll described
Dannion as one of the more remarkable psychics he has ever worked with. Dannion was also asked to
consult on a brutal murder case. On August 12, 1993, in Big Fork, Montana, John and Nancy Bosco had been
shot to death, execution style, as they slept. The police investigation turned up absolutely no leads. Two
months later, John's mother Toni met with Dannion. Dannion described the killer as a slight-built young man
with black hair who knew John and the layout of the house. Dannion said that the man was in a college
somewhere in the West, but predicted that he would be arrested in the very early part of December.
Incredibly, Dannion was correct on all counts; 18-year-old Joseph "Shadow" Clark was arrested in December,
and later convicted. Just as Dannion predicted, Clark had lived in the murder house, had known the Boscos,
and was attending college in the West. Dannion had apparently solved the case through the power of his
mind. Other NDErs such as Paul Elder, Joseph McMoneagle and David Morehouse attain remote viewing
skills which attracted the attention of top secret U.S. government officials. Other NDErs such as Peter
Anthony have been employed by law enforcement as a psychic detective; spiritual mediums such as Susanne
Wilson; psychic diagnosticians such as Dr. Yvonne Kason; astral projection experts such as Dr. Dianne
Morrissey; earthquake sensitives such as Elaine Durham; and EVP experts such as Gabbie Chase.

2. Psychic Betty Bethards' Near-Death Experience

The late Betty Bethards (1933--2002) was widely known as a spiritual healer, meditation teacher, psychic
and mystic. She helped many people find meaning in the cycles and stages of life, including the transition
called death. She was well-known in metaphysical circles as a very wonderful and spiritual person who was
blessed with a special ability. One of her more unusual claims to fame was that Elvis Presley died while
reading Betty's book Sex and Psychic Energy in the bathroom. Concerning her own near-death experience,
Betty explains, "After my first death experience, I lost all fear of dying. I realized that life and death are part
of a continuum of being. Then I began to find real meaning of my life here on Earth. Death is nothing more
than leaving the body, just like we do every night in the dream state. We all leave the body at night. If you jerk
as you are falling asleep, it's a bad take-off. If you dream you are falling, it's a bad landing coming in. If you
awaken but can't move your body, you haven't fully merged with it yet. Just take a few deep breaths, relax and
you'll be fine." The following pages are excerpts reprinted by permission from Betty Bethards from her book,
There is No Death, in which she gives her description of what happens when we die. Other books by Betty
are The Dream Book, Seven Steps to Developing Your Intuitive Powers, From My Heart to Yours, Be Your
Own Guru, and Techniques for Health and Wholeness.

A. Betty Bethards' Near-Death Experience

My first experience with death challenged all my old beliefs about the nature of reality and why we are
here in the first place. I learned that if we are ever to come to terms with the meaning of our lives here on
Earth, we must understand the meaning of death. Only then can we see it with a total perspective, fitting all
the pieces of the puzzle together. Otherwise, nothing makes much sense.
I returned home one night from a bridge game with a burning sensation in my chest and went right to
bed. An hour later I awoke to find myself hovering over the bed about two feet above my body. A voice said
to me, "You're going to be very sick with pneumonia. Get to a doctor. [After two doctor visits which did not
help her, she ran a temperature of 103 to 105 degrees and was on the road to death.]
Suddenly I was twenty feet across the room. Everything I considered "Betty" to be - memory, personality,
senses - was looking back at that shell on the couch. I thought, "Gee, she's sick. I don't want to go back."
Then a very gentle voice said from behind me, "You don't have to go back, but this is death if you choose
to stay."
I had a body which appeared the same, was wearing the same clothes, and was raised about two feet off
the floor. I wasn't frightened at all, but felt wonderfully enveloped in peace. I knew then how Jerry had
appeared to me ten years earlier. It was as if I could see things clearly, and knew that there was no such thing
as death. I realized then that one never dies, but changes vibrations, and goes on living and learning on other
levels.
I really didn't want to go back. But then I started seeing pictures of my four children flash before me. It
was a tricky way to get me to make up my mind to return to the Earth plane and finish what I was supposed
to do. I was fine with seeing each child, knowing they could take care of themselves without me, until I saw
my eighteen-month old son. I knew he still needed me, and at that point I made my decision. I had to go
back.
As soon as I thought this, the voice said to me again, "Unless you take an antibiotic within the next
twenty-four hours, you will no longer have a choice of whether you wish to remain on the Earth plane."
It was after this experience that I knew there was no death and that it wasn't the way I had been taught to
believe. I didn't know how it was, but I was determined to find out. I had to wait two years before the
teachings began coming to me.
 [Within this period of time, Betty became more and more psychic until she was able to communicate with
her spirit guides.]

B. Not the Same For Everyone

When the soul has been exposed to the opportunities it chose for a particular lifetime, it is allowed a
release from the physical body. The soul knows when the time for release has come. Death is easy - life is
hard work.

Death is not the same for everyone. It depends upon how you have prepared yourself during that
incarnation, how old a soul you are, how evolved your awareness, and what lessons you chose to learn
through the death experience. You may have chosen to learn courage and to build strength through a physical
death with suffering. People who die slow deaths from such things as cancer or strokes are often givers who
have never learned how to receive. Their souls may choose a slow death in order to allow others to give to
them. But you can learn your lesson and move beyond the need for pain and suffering in dying. You may, in
fact, have chosen a fast and easy death. Either way it is not a punishment, but a process of growth for both
you and those around you. It allows you and others to work through difficult situations with kindness and
compassion.

C. Seeing the Invisible

When you approach the time of death, often you're able to see relatives who have crossed over standing
around you. The etheric body slips easily in and out of the physical, and many times a person near-death talks
to beings who are invisible to others. Doctors for the most part think you are hallucinating, but you're not.
Whether death comes rapidly or slowly, your loved ones know ahead of time when you are coming, and are
there, prepared and waiting, happy that you have been released.

D. The Tunnel and the Light

First, you may experience your whole life flashing in front of you much as a drowning person reports this
experience. Next, you will go through what appears to be a dark tunnel or dark tube which has a very bright
light at the end. Most entities are just drawn to the light without anyone saying, "Go to the light." It's a past
soul memory of having left the body many times, and knowing what to do.
This light is from higher astral levels, and you follow it to the one you have earned. However you have
lived your life on the Earth side determines how high you can go into the light on the other side. There is
nothing to fear. You leave your body every night as you enter the sleep state. There is no difference. You
cannot be harmed. Fears are within, and this is why you must work to release yourself from fears on the
Earth plane, because you will carry these same fears over to the next dimension. As above, so below!

E. Hanging Around the Living

Some people may want to hang around their old surroundings on Earth rather than go on to discover for
themselves the beauty and wisdom which is offered to them on the other side. This may take a long time, but
they are coaxed along slowly. Nothing is forced on a soul, neither attitudes nor understandings. This is why
we are always counseled here on Earth never to force our beliefs on another person until one is ready to hear
them. The free choice of every individual should be acknowledged.

F. Seeing Loved Ones and Teachers

When you die you are greeted by loved ones first so that you may understand what has happened. There is
a big celebration, like a birthday party, heralding your arrival. Family and friends who have gone on before
you are there to celebrate your arrival.
 There is always good at the time of your cross-over. Even people who have lived lives of selfishness will
know and understand the rejoicing. Whatever you have sown you are going to reap in terms of structuring
your experiences and lessons which continue on the other side. But the first few days of cross-over (as you
know time on the Earth plane) you are allowed to be with your teachers, and those who have loved you in the
past. You are able to see those you left behind and to hear their thoughts and words. The first six weeks we
stay very close to our loved ones on the Earth plane.
You are given glimpses of things you expected to see in order to bring you comfort. You may briefly see a
teacher you worshipped in your lifetime: Jesus, Buddha, or another guru, according to your expectations.
After the first seventy-two hours, however, you are gently brought out of many of your illusions and shown
that you have not landed in an ultimate paradise with gold paved streets. Of course, you could choose to
create these for yourself on this plane, but once you truly understand you would most likely choose to be
around that with which you felt most comfortable.
If you don't believe in God or an afterlife, you will probably be kept in a sleep state for the first two to
three-day period. You will wake up in a beautiful meadow or some other calm and peaceful place where you
can reconcile the transition from the death state to the continuous life. You are given teachings in the hope
that you do not refuse to believe that you are dead.
On the other side you see things with a clearer, more objective nature, but you are not given total
knowledge because you would not understand it or be ready to use it, any more than while you are here on
Earth. We are given knowledge only as we are ready to receive it, whether we are in or out of the body.

G. After the Homecoming

After the first six weeks the soul meets with what may be called a loving board of directors. It is
composed of teachers and other higher beings who have walked with you. These beings help you review your
past life, to begin to look at what was learned and not learned, and what you wish to work on or do from this
point. No one judges you, and this is important to keep in mind. You are the one that judges yourself and
decides what is best for continued growth.
You will be given teachings, training, and anything you need to help you prepare yourself for your next
incarnation. But this is not given immediately. You can choose your own pace and need not be hurried
through the realms of the next realms. It may take centuries for your soul to know what is best for your
development once you return again to a physical body. It may take a great deal of reflection before you
determine a purpose and direction for your next sojourn on Earth. Because we reincarnate in groups, we
usually wait 80 to 120 years before we come back.
Also, as part of your training, you are allowed to watch people on the Earth plane to see how they handle
situations when they reincarnate. Very few people in a physical body realize that their behavior is a teaching
ground for those who are out of the body.

H. Reviewing Past Lives

As you are ready, and as you choose, you will be shown your past lives. If you do not believe in
reincarnation it may take a long time before you are able to deal with this. Eventually, you must learn to
understand yourself in a continuity of growth over many lifetimes. You must recognize all the strengths you
have built and all the karmic ties you have created which must be dissolved.
By the time you are given the privilege of reviewing all past lives and integrating the knowledge learned,
you will have reached a state of total objectivity. You will feel no remorse or condemnation, but will see it as
merely a review of why situations occurred and had to be worked through.
The record of your life is very private. Only those who have walked with you as teachers are allowed to
see what is called your akashic (or life) record. If during your lifetime you ask that a psychic tune into this
record, he or she will only be given a minimal amount of information from it which is particularly relevant to
your immediate problems or concerns.
You, too, can tune into this record through meditation and get insight and clarity on the problems you are
dealing with. Your own attunement is much more accurate than asking a psychic or someone else to tell you
about yourself. This builds up a dependency. We may need clarity or help at times, but should never develop
a dependency on others. Our whole purpose is to gain strength and learn how to make our own decisions.

I. Religious Beliefs

Your religious beliefs have little to do with what you experience in the transition from one realm to
another, except that you would be allowed to see briefly the teacher or guru that you followed. Regardless of
cultural or religious beliefs, you will have the same basic experience at death (just as mystics of all great
traditions attune to the same universal energy). What counts is what comes from the heart, not what one
professes to believe. It means nothing whether or not one was baptized, for example, or whether one has
various other rites administered. How ridiculous to rely on meaningless words!
The true meaning of baptism is an initiation of the spirit, an opening awareness to the God consciousness.
People receive this inner baptism when they are spiritually prepared.
You will not suddenly be sitting at the feet of a man with a long white beard called God. God is within,
whether you are in or out of the body. Your awareness of the God force will not be greater on the other side.
If you insist upon searching for God, you will do this for a while until you get the idea that you are following
an illusion. We must go through at least four more realms beyond the astral before we could even begin to
understand the energy of the God force. God is love in all religions, so the more we live love the closer we
are to God.

J. The Idea of Purgatory

Catholics understand purgatory as a place or level of consciousness one goes for further understanding. It
is an intermediary state that gives one the opportunity to develop further clarity. At first it is like being in fog,
just as many people walk around on the Earth plane in a fog. They don't have the clarity to understand how
they are setting their lives.
If there has been much negativity during an incarnation, or a suicide, one must spend some time
contemplating what has happened.
It is a holding place where souls who are confused, who do not want to let go of their earthly attachments,
or who choose not to grow will remain until such time as they allow themselves to be released to flow once
more into the light.
Purgatory is a place of your own making. We see souls who are punishing themselves here on the Earth
plane. This continues after death just the same as it would if they were still in the physical body. Many people
must suffer in order to feel worth. When they finally learn this is a negative number they are running, they can
move on.

K. The Meaning of Hell

What about the reality of a place called hell? Hell is a level of consciousness which can be experienced in
or out of the body. It is a lonely place where one is not allowed to be in communication with anything other
than one's own negativity.
Souls do not enter this level unless they need to experience it for their growth. Many people who commit
suicide will have to go through this hell of their own making in order to become aware that this is not what
they are striving for. The soul must learn that it does not have the right to take its own life, that it cannot kill,
it cannot hurt other people; nor can it judge others for we have no knowledge of what they came back to do
and learn.
Many people at one time or another have experienced this plane. Alcoholics going through the DTs and
people on drugs, may also see it. It is a plane of total darkness where we must confront the fears we have
built within our own minds. Understand that fears have no reality unless we choose to give them reality. As
soon as we are able to meet them directly, to face them, they dissipate. This lower level is not for one's
punishment, but rather to provide the opportunity to confront and move beyond the negativity created by
oneself.
 The hell fire mentioned in many traditions is symbolic of the "kundalini" energy (Holy Spirit, God energy,
or Creative energy) that dwells within the seven energy centers or chakras within man. Fire is symbolic of the
cleansing and purification of the soul.
The struggle between higher and lower self or what some call God and the Devil causes growth, until
finally the negativity or the destructive elements are completely overcome.

L. Laws More Protective

Through questions and answers I have received information about what it is actually like to be on the
other side. First, my channel has pointed out that the laws are much more protective. We need no longer be
exposed to both good and evil, for we have already experienced that. We see the bad only if we choose to.
Those who are living in harmony will not be imposed upon by the ignorant, but can visit the lower planes to
help another if they choose to do so.
For example, if you loved someone who is on a lower vibration than you are, you are allowed to visit
anytime you choose by simply lowering your rate of vibration. This may help the entity greatly by encouraging
self-love and growth. However, the entity will need to incarnate again on the Earth plane to test out these
new lessons, because it is the Earth experience that determines your stage of evolution.

M. Marriage and Unions

There are unions of souls on the other side, and marriage as such is optional. If couples prefer to remain
together, they may do so, as long as their interests and growth are taking them in the same direction. If they
choose to go in different directions, there are no hurt feelings. There is no possessiveness or demands. You
are free to go your own way, in your own time, at your own choosing.
Married couples will be reunited after death, and may choose to stay together if they want to, provided
they are on the same level of vibration. This is free will. If you have been married three or four times, you will
find that you will want to be with the one whom you truly love. It could even be someone from another
incarnation. You will be with those you love, and there is a total merger which is a much higher experience
and a deeper love bond than anything you can know on the Earth plane.
This total merger is like stepping inside one another's auras, a total blending of energies. It's a way of
expressing love and sharing. What you know on Earth as a sexual relationship takes the form of a higher
merger of souls. There is no need for sexual organs on the other side unless you choose to have them. For
this merger of energies is far superior to the physical mechanics of the sexual experience. This merger is not
limited to husbands and wives, but may be experienced by any two souls who are loving and caring.
 CHAPTER 5:
PHILOSOPHICAL EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE

The philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology, nature, and relationship of
the mind to the body (specifically the brain) which has substantial application to near-death experience
(NDE) studies. Within the philosophy of mind, there currently exists a philosophical paradigm "problem" of
the mind and brain called the "mind-body problem." It includes the so-called "hard problem of
consciousness" which is an attempt to quantify subjective experience such as personal beliefs, desires and
emotions separately from objective experience -- objects and events which everyone collectively can
experience and observe. The notion of quantifying subjective experience apart from objective experiences in
the modern era was first introduced by philosopher David Chalmers (on the left) in his groundbreaking book,
The Conscious Mind. The two central schools of thought on the mind-brain problem are "dualism" and
"monism." Dualism found its application into Western philosophy by 17th century philosopher René
Descartes (on the right). "Substance dualists" like Descartes argue for the existence in the universe of two
fundamentally different kinds of substance: physical matter (such as the brain) and the non-physical (mind or
consciousness) with two kinds of properties adhering in those respective substances. "Property dualists"
argue that the world is composed of just one kind of substance -- the physical kind -- which exists in two
distinct kinds of properties: physical properties and mental properties. In other words, property dualism is the
view that subjective mental properties come from certain physical substances within brains. Both substance
and property dualism support the philosophy of mind concerning a transcendent consciousness which can
survive after the death of the brain and body -- namely through quantum mechanical means (see the Orch-
OR philosophy of consciousness). Monism argues that the mind is part of the brain, and that they are not
ontologically distinct substances. "Physicalists" argue that only physical substances exist; that the mind is the
brain; and that all mental function can be explained purely in terms of the physical processes. For this reason,
physicalists believe NDEs to be purely a physical hallucination brought on by brain anomalies. They believe
this despite the fact that brain anomalies have been refuted in numerous peer-reviewed studies (see the links
below) as the cause of NDEs. "Idealists," such as the 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, developed a
monistic philosophy, which was supported by Albert Einstein, and which argued that consciousness exists
everywhere (i.e., panentheism). Idealists argue that everything in the universe has a form of conscious (or a
simulation) created by the mind and/or a higher-level form of consciousness. The following articles deal with
these issues and how it is philosophically possible for the human mind to survive death. Specifically, through
some of these articles, you will learn how the "holonomic brain" functions as an audio/visual receiver and
quantum computer to allow quantum consciousness to transcend the quantum brain and the quantum
universe to survive bodily death (such as during NDEs) in a philosophical form of quantum immortality.

1. Skepticism and Near-Death Experiences

Skepticism plays an important role in the scientific method in discovering what is true and what is false in
the world around us. Methodological skepticism, as popularized by René Descartes, is an agnostic position of
neither accepting nor rejecting a particular hypothesis until proven either true or false using the scientific
method. Today there are many so-called "skeptics" who claim to be true skeptics but are actually
pseudoskeptics. A pseudoskeptic is someone who takes a position that a particular hypothesis is either true or
false without providing the scientific evidence to support it. Often, such pseudoskeptics are "professional
debunkers" and/or "media skeptics" - many of whom are stage magicians who are not actively engaged in
scientific research. One such professional "media skeptic" is the Amazing Randi who is famous (or infamous)
for making claims without doing the necessary research nor providing empirical evidence to support them.
For example, concerning the near-death experience (NDE) phenomenon, pseudoskeptics claim
consciousness is forever destroyed after irreversible death. They make this claim without the scientific
evidence to support it and despite a growing "mountain" of evidence suggesting otherwise. On the other
hand, true skeptics raise important questions which need to be investigated and addressed by NDE
researchers. The following articles address some of these questions and are answered by some of the top
researchers in near-death studies.

A. NDEs Should Be Demonstrated Empirically

SKEPTIC'S QUESTION: "Can we deny that something is going on, given the countless reports of near-
death experiences, that some transpersonal reality exists? The NDE appears to happen in the Sylvian Fissure.
If people really are out of their bodies and traveling remotely, why can't this be demonstrated empirically?
The answer, if autoscopy is actually happening, is that it can empirically be demonstrated."
DR. KENNETH RING: "There have been many attempts - none of them conclusive - to demonstrate
that there is a literal out-of-the body experience that something actually separates from the physical body.
Much of this research is found in the literature in parapsychology, particularly in the Journal of the American
Society for Psychical Research (some of the research of Karlis Osis). Good summaries of these studies can,
however, be found in books dealing with out-of-body experiences, such as Janet Mitchell's Out-of-Body
Experiences (McFarland, 1981). Of course, as you know, a good many such reports from the NDE literature
are summarized in my own book, Lessons from the Light, Chapter 2 (Moment Point Press)."
DR. ROBERT JORDAN: "If a person believes in the traditional dualistic and religious notion that the
soul is separate and distinct from the physical body, then out-of-body experiences can be explained by a non-
physical reality that does not lend itself to scientific experimentation of explanation. Such a phenomenon
could not be investigated scientifically because science measures physical phenomena. Of course, it is possible
that there is some kind of physical manifestation of the out-of-body soul that either has not been yet
measured because the appropriate scientific measures have not been applied to measuring it. (Has any
scientist actually used existing scientific instruments to measure physical signs of the soul departing the
body?) Alternately, from a scientist's perspective perhaps we don't yet even know of some physical forms of
energy that correspond to the soul. Given the present astounding state of flux of the science of physics, I
think that the second alternative is certainly possible.
"If the soul's travel beyond the body is purely nonphysical, and it may well be true that it is, then we
cannot decide such issues with scientific research. Even if many of the sensory phenomena associated with
NDEs can be correlated with or explained by physical phenomena, the possibility that they occur in a
dimension of nonphysical phenomena cannot be ruled out."
DR. P.M.H. ATWATER: "You need only refer to The Complete Idiot's Guide to NDEs, or my Brain
Shift/Spirit Shift Model, for material that will prove helpful. The Sylvan Fissure, temporal lobes, limbic
system, and other unique sections of the brain are highly charged during near-death states. There is no
research at present, though, that links any of them to causal factors. Nor do any such claims address the
entire phenomenon - only parts of it. In fact, there is no one explanation given by any scientist or researcher
that explains near-death states. There already have been verified cases highly suggestive of out-of-body states,
some which simply cannot be denied. However, the type of repeatable scientific proof you refer to will not
occur until researchers devise a test that applies to the subject. For instance, the digital single line board
currently in use that has a nonsense message flitting across it is a waste of electricity. If you study near-death
cases you will see why. Experiencers only pay attention to objects in the emotional field around them or
whatever appeals to them emotionally. As long as you try to intellectualize experiencer response, you will miss
the proof you want."
DR. SUSAN BLACKMORE (NDE Skeptic): "We cannot deny that something is going on. Undoubtedly
people all over the world and for many millennia have had similar experiences. This does not, however, allow
us to conclude that there is some transpersonal reality. We need to approach the experiences with an open
mind and try to find out just what causes them to be similar. Maybe it is because all our brains are similar in
structure and organization. Maybe it is because there really is some other world to which people go. This is
what the research is all about."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: Support for the possibility of survival after death comes from the current
string theory interpretation of the holographic principle of quantum physics. This principle defines our
universe as existing as a hologram where all the quantum information perceived in three dimensions is stored.
First proposed by the eminent physicist David Bohm (author of Bohmian mechanics and co-author of the
holonomic brain theory along with Karl Pribram), a holographic universe can theoretically encode every
quantized moment of our existence and experiences from the universe. Rather than a constant flow of
experience, mental states can be broken up in intervals or time-quanta of 0.042 seconds, each of which make
up one moment of neural substrate. Each state consists of a certain amount of quantum information which
can theoretically be stored on a hard drive for example; and there is much progress ongoing in this
technology. This holographic model of reality allows for phenomena considered "paranormal" such as near-
death experiences, other phenomena involving life after death, and mental telepathy for example. The
universe as a single hologram also solves the mystery of quantum entanglement which Albert Einstein called
"spooky actions from a distance."
Also, the materialist model of conventional science is based on the old paradigm of Newtonian classical
mechanics and is fundamentally flawed. Conventional materialist concepts of reality have been falsified such
as: (1) locality, (2) causality, (3) continuity, (4) determinism, and (5) certainty in the last century by the modern
science of quantum electrodynamics. At the core of materialism, the fundamental component of existence --
the nature of consciousness -- is intentionally ignored even though the pioneers of quantum mechanics
demonstrated and believed consciousness has a definite role in creating reality. Mainstream materialist
theories of consciousness use classical mechanics in assuming consciousness emerged and is produced from
"goo". So they focus particularly on complex computation at synapses in the brain allowing communication
between neurons. But because quantum vibrations have been discovered in microtubules in the brain, a
theory known as Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR), developed by the eminent physicist Sir Roger
Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, M.D., allows for a person's quantum mind to exist in the
multiverse, has garnered significant support. At death, the quantum information processed inside these
microtubules doesn't disappear. Instead, it is retained in the fine structure of the universe and on the edge of
the event horizon of the singularity from which our universe projected; thereby allowing the information to
be retrieved after death.
There is also much evidence suggesting NDEs are actual afterlife experiences. Here is a list of some of the
best evidence:
(1) People have NDEs while they are brain dead.
(2) Out-of-body perception during NDEs has been verified by independent sources.
(3) People born blind can see for the first time in their lives during an NDE.
(4) NDEs cannot be explained by brain chemistry alone.
(5) Some people were dead for several days then revived.
(6) NDEs have produced visions of the future which later became true.
(7) People having NDEs have brought back scientific discoveries, some are scientific breakthroughs.
(8) The so-called "dying brain" theory of NDEs has major flaws and has been falsified.
(9) The vast majority of people having NDEs are convinced they saw an afterlife.
(10) People can experience other people's NDEs.
(11) NDEs have been proven to be different from hallucinations.
(12) NDEs change people in ways that hallucinations and dreams cannot.
(13) Studies show that people's memories of their NDEs are more real than normal memories.

You can read the rest of the 40+ other evidence supporting NDEs and the afterlife on the author's
website at www.near-death.com.
In conclusion, there is a new scientific paradigm emerging in quantum physics and medical technology
which is yielding new discoveries concerning consciousness and the possibility of its survival after death.
Skeptics and materialists rely mostly on the old paradigm, Newtonian physics to explain consciousness and
the old explanation is becoming obsolete. New medical technology is bringing people back from death and
providing research to validate out-of-body perception in NDErs.
Will science prove conclusively that consciousness survives death? Unless research laboratories become
open to the idea of voluntary "flatline" experiments on a large scale to study veridical perception and long-
term survival after clinical or brain death, I don't see it. Until then, I consider myself to be the first to be on
the list of volunteers.

B. NDEs are Scientifically Falsifiable

SKEPTIC'S QUESTION: "One of the characteristics of a near-death experience is being out of body.
This, mercifully, is scientifically falsifiable. Whether or not someone is out of their body can be experimentally
determined. There are no ifs about it. It's either a fact, or it's not. Studies may already be underway to try to
falsify it - I don't yet know. But if not, rest assured that they will be."
DR. KENNETH RING: "Much the same answer could be given here, but from the NDE literature, the
work of Michael Sabom in Recollections of Death (Harper and Row, 1982) is especially relevant. Also my
work on NDEs in the blind, as reported in my book, Mindsight (William James Center for Consciousness
Studies, 1999), and summarized in Lessons From the Light (Chapter 3) could be cited in this connection.
DR. ROBERT JORDAN: "If I am understanding [the question] correctly, I disagree ... that the
phenomena of Soul awareness occurring in reality outside of the body is falsifiable. I don't believe that it is
falsifiable if the phenomena is nonphysical. This possibility would throw the whole issue back into the arena
of theology and individuals' personal beliefs."
DR. P.M.H. ATWATER: "Again, you must consider the emotional field of the experiencer, rather than
the mental one, if you want verifiable evidence."
DR. SUSAN BLACKMORE (NDE Skeptic): "There have been numerous tests of whether anything
actually leaves the body in an OBE. I document them up to 1982 in my book Beyond the Body and also in
Dying to Live. Sadly, this is not such an easy matter as your questioner seems to imply. There are many
methodological difficulties in designing such experiments. In the end my own conclusion is that experiments
have provided no evidence at all that something leaves the body. However, anecdotes continue to appear
suggesting it does. None of these, so far, seems convincing to me. I think we will ultimately understand how
out-of-body experiences come about by understanding how our brain perceives the world in other states of
consciousness too - in other words by understanding ordinary consciousness better."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC. Dr. Jeffrey Long (www.nderf.org) explained how NDEs cannot be explained
by brain chemistry alone, how medical evidence fails to explain them away, and why there is only one
plausible explanation - that people have survived death and traveled to another dimension. Dr. Long makes
his case using nine lines of evidence including how NDE provide evidence of verified out-of-body
perceptons. They are the following:
(1) CRYSTAL-CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS. The level of conscious alertness during NDEs is usually
greater than that experienced in everyday life - even though NDEs generally occur when a person is
unconscious or clinically dead. This high level of consciousness while physically unconscious is medically
unexplained. Additionally, the elements in NDEs generally follow the same consistent and logical order in all
age groups and around the world, which refutes the possibility that NDEs have any relation to dreams or
hallucinations.
(2) REALISTIC OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES (OBEs): Out-of-body experiences are one of the
most common elements of NDEs. Events witnessed and heard by NDErs while in an out-of-body state are
almost always realistic. When the NDEr or others later seek to verify what was witnessed or heard during the
NDE, their OBE observations are almost always confirmed as completely accurate.
(3) HEIGHTENED SENSES. Not only are heightened senses reported by most who have NDEs,
normal or supernormal vision has occurred in those with significantly impaired vision, and even legal
blindness. Several people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual NDEs. This is
medically unexplainable.
(4) CONSCIOUSNESS DURING ANESTHESIA. Many NDEs occur while the NDEr is under general
anesthesia - at a time when any conscious experience should be impossible. While some skeptics claim these
NDEs may be the result of too little anesthesia, this ignores the fact that some NDEs result from anesthesia
overdose. Additionally, descriptions of a NDEs differ greatly from those people who experiences "anesthetic
awareness." The content of NDEs occurring under general anesthesia is essentially indistinguishable from
NDEs that do not occur under general anesthesia. This is stronger evidence that NDEs occur independent
from the functioning of the material brain.
(5) PERFECT PLAYBACK. Life reviews in NDEs include real events which previously occurred in the
lives of the NDEr - even if the events were forgotten or happened before they were old enough to
remember.
(6) FAMILY REUNIONS. During an NDE, the experiencer may encounter people who are virtually
always deceased and are usually relatives of the NDEr. Sometimes they include relatives who died before the
NDEr was even born. If NDEs are merely the product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly
include far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.
(7) CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCES. The NDEs of children, including very young children who are too
young to have developed concepts of death, religion, or NDEs, are essentially identical to those of older
children and adults. This refutes the possibility that the content of NDEs is produced by preexisting beliefs
or cultural conditioning.
(8) WORLDWIDE CONSISTENCY. NDEs appear remarkably consistent around the world, and across
many different religions and cultures. NDEs from non-Western countries are incredibly similar to those
occurring in people in Western countries.
(9) AFTEREFFECTS. It is common for people to experience major life changes after having NDEs.
These aftereffects are often powerful, lasting, life-enhancing, and the changes generally follow a consistent
pattern. NDErs themselves are practically universal in their belief that their experience of the afterlife was
real. The following are more scientific evidence supporting NDEs and the Afterlife Hypothesis.

C. The Only Real Proof is OBE Veridical Perception

SKEPTIC'S QUESTION: "Something amazing happens during a near-death experience. There are still
profound questions, like, why doesn't everyone who comes close to death have an NDE? And, is the NDE
the brain's final fantasy? Autoscopy (being out of body, looking down) is the SOLE trait of the NDE
amenable to empirical validation. But even here, we must be careful. I must categorically reject out of hand
anything that an experiencer says describing his environment, what people have said, what they were wearing,
and so on. This isn't enough! What I personally insist on is an accounting of what's happening elsewhere, in a
physical place far removed from the physical body of the experiencer. After all, one cannot rule out that
sensory pathways are still active in the brain of the experiencer, accounting for their ability to hear and see
and smell some things from their immediate physical environment. The only truly compelling proof of being
out of body comes from very remote viewing."
DR. KENNETH RING: "These are cogent objections, but there are in the literature on both remote
viewing and NDEs many cases of the sort ... where people appear to know things at a distance. (That is,
demonstrate clairvoyance). I also consider some of these same objections in my book, Lessons From The
Light, and Sabom treats them as well in the book of his I previously mentioned. As for why some people
have NDEs whereas others don't, I explored this question in depth in my book, The Omega Project (Quill,
1993)."
DR. JEFFERY LONG: "A number of experiencers describe out-of-body experiences (OBEs). These
experiences frequently include visualization of their body from a vantage point outside their body. Much less
commonly reported are visualizations of earthly events geographically far removed from their body. Michael
Sabom, M.D, conducted an excellent study of OBE among experiencers. Dr. Sabom identified a group of
thirty-two patients who had a cardiac arrest, experienced an NDE, and visualized their own resuscitation
efforts during the OBE stage of their NDE.
"He found a group of twenty-three patients who had a cardiac arrest and did not have an NDE. Both
groups were asked to describe their resuscitation. The NDE group was uniformly accurate, including
correctly recalling readings on medical machines outside their potential line of vision. Twenty of the twenty-
three patients who did not have an NDE were highly inaccurate in describing their resuscitation. This is
verifiable and potentially reproducible validation of the OBE component of the NDE. Other researchers
should attempt to replicate this important study. Anecdotal accounts continue to surface of experiencers with
OBE experiences involving visualization far geographically removed from their body. Formal study of these
accounts would be an important future area of research.
DR. ROBERT JORDAN: "The fact that some people who come close to physical death recall NDEs
and others don't could have several explanations that are either physical or nonphysical. Perhaps they are
amnesic of the experience. Perhaps the physical process of the brain ceasing to function occurs too quickly or
in the wrong sequence for a memory of the experience to be retained."
DR. P.M.H. ATWATER: "As long as you discount verifiable evidence that could not have been accessed
through the regular senses and was indeed obtained remotely, you bias your own demands and outcomes.
However, if you want to explore scientific proof of remote viewing, I suggest you contact Joe McMoneagle
through his website. Joe just returned from Japan where, live and on television, he successfully demonstrated
the validity of scientific remote viewing. Joe, by the way, is an experiencer."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: I know of one event that came very close to providing scientific proof of
autoscopy. The only reason it did not qualify as scientific proof is because the proper controls weren't used at
the time it occurred. Dr. Charles Tart was experimenting with a subject who would have spontaneous out-of-
body experiences. A remote five-digit number was placed out of view of the subject. She had an out-of-body
experience and successfully read the five-digit number. The subject was then able to return to her body and
successfully tell Dr. Tart what the number is. This provides strong circumstantial evidence that consciousness
can transcend the physical body.
Also, there is the NDE veridical perception case of Pam Reynold. In 1991, at the age of 35, Reynolds
underwent a rare operation to remove a giant basilar artery aneurysm in her brain that threatened her life. The
size and location of the aneurysm, however, precluded its safe removal using the standard neuro-surgical
techniques. She was referred to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Robert F. Spetzler, of the Barrow Neurological Institute
in Phoenix, Arizona, who had pioneered a daring surgical procedure known as deep hypothermic cardiac
arrest. It allowed Pam's aneurysm to be excised with a reasonable chance of success. This operation,
nicknamed "standstill" by the doctors who perform it, required that Pam's body temperature be lowered to 60
degrees, her heartbeat and breathing stopped, her brain waves flattened, and the blood drained from her
head. In everyday terms, she was put to death. After removing the aneurysm, she was restored to life. During
the time that Pam was in standstill, she experienced an NDE. Her remarkably detailed veridical (i.e., verified)
out-of-body observations during her surgery were later verified to be true. Her case is considered to be one of
the strongest cases of veridical evidence in NDE research because of her ability to describe the unique
surgical instruments, the surgical procedures used on her, and her ability to describe in detail these events
while she was clinically brain dead
Dr. Stanislav Grof, another consciousness researcher, theorizes that consciousness may not even be
localized in the brain as so many scientists assume. He theorizes the brain may be merely acting as a reducing
valve for which our five senses can process the vast amount of information that bombard our senses and
influences our consciousness.
It may be asking too much of researchers to gather data that proves, beyond any doubt, that
consciousness survives death. Science may never develop the tools necessary to quantify many aspects of the
NDE. However, there is currently available a mountain of circumstantial evidence suggesting that
consciousness does indeed survive death. Nevertheless, here are some articles providing evidence of out-of-
body veridical perception evidence

D. Journal of Near-Death Studies Articles on Evidence From Veridical OBE Perception in NDEs

(1) Kenneth Ring et al. "Further Evidence for Veridical Perception During NDEs" JNDS Vol. 11, No. 4
(1993)
(2) Titus Rivas et al. "A NDE with Veridical Perception Described by a Famous Heart Surgeon and
Confirmed by his Assistant Surgeon" JNDS Vol. 31, No. 3 (2013)
 (3) Penny Sartori et al. "A Prospectively Studied NDE with Corroborated OBE Perceptions and
Unexplained Healing" JNDS Vol. 25, No. 2 (2006)
(4) Janice Holden. "Visual Perception During Naturalistic Near-Death OBEs" JNDS Vol. 7, No. 2 (1988)
(5) Janice Holden et al. "Near-Death Veridicality Research in the Hospital Setting: Problems and Promise"
JNDS Vol. 9, No. 1 (1990)
(6) Michael Potts. "The Evidential Value of NDEs for Belief in Life After Death" JNDS Vol. 20, No. 4
(2002)
(7) Janice Holden et al. "Out-of-Body Experiences: All in the Brain?" JNDS Vol. 25, No. 2 (2006)
(8) Robert & Suzanne Mays. "The Phenomenology of the Self-Conscious Mind" JNDS Vol. 27, No. 1
(2008)

E. Other Journal Articles on Evidence From Veridical OBE Perception in NDEs

(1) David Rousseau. "The Implications of NDEs for Research into the Survival of Consciousness" JSE
Vol. 26, No. 1 (pp. 43-80) (2012)
(2) Bruce Greyson. "Seeing Dead People Not Known to Have Died: 'Peak in Darien' Experiences"
Anthropology and Humanism Vol. 25, No. 2 (2010) (pp. 159-171)
(3) Pim van Lommel. "NDE, Consciousness, and the Brain" World Futures Vol. 62 (2006)
(4) Michael Nahm et al. "Terminal Lucidity: A Review and a Case Collection" Arch. Gerontol. Geriarr.
(2011)
(5) Enrico Facco et al. "NDEs Between Science and Prejudice" Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Vol. 6,
No. 6 (2012) (pp. 1-7)

F. Articles Refuting Skeptics Keith Augustine's and Gerald Woerlee's Arguments

(1) "Veridical OBE Perception in Near-Death Experiences" - by Kevin Williams (Near-Death.com)

(2) "Rebutting Keith Augustine's Objections to the Near-Death Experience" - by Leo MacDonald
(ParanormalandLifeAfterDeath.blogspot.com)
(3) "NDEs / OBEs: An In-depth Examination of Veridical Evidence" - by Eteponge
(Eteponge.blogspot.com)
(4) "NDEs: Brain Physiology or Transcendental Consciousness? Or Both?" - by Kevin Williams (Near-
Death.com)
(5) "NDEs and Their Enemies" - by Michael Prescott (MichaelPrescott.typepad.com)
(6) "Who Will Watch the Watchers" - by Michael Prescott (MichaelPrescott.typepad.com)

G. Other Articles on Evidence From Veridical OBE Perception in NDEs

(1) "NDEs as Evidence for Survival of Bodily Death" - by Bruce Greyson (SurvivalAfterDeath.info)
(2) "A Critique of Susan Blackmore's Dying Brain Hypothesis" - by Greg Stone (Near-Death.com)
(3) "The Survivalist's Interpretation of Recent Studies Into NDEs" - by Titus Rivas (Near-Death.com)
(4) "About the Continuity of Our Consciousness" - by Pim Von Lommel (IANDS.org)
(5) "Medical Evidence for NDEs: A Reply to Shermer" - by Pim van Lommel (Skepticalinvestigations.org)
(6) "Dr. Charles Tart's OBE Research" (Autoscopic Evidence) - by Charles Tart (Near-Death.com)
(7) "Debunking PseudoSkeptical Arguments of Paranormal Debunkers" - by Winston Wu
(DebunkingSkeptics.com)

H. Self-Awareness Is Just a Brain Function

SKEPTIC'S QUESTION: "If the 'I' does, in fact, survive bodily death, I'd like to know where the 'I' goes
under general anesthesia. Where does it go during sleep (for those of us who don't recall dreams)? Where
does the 'I' go in someone who is in a coma? And is the 'I' still the same, fundamental spirit, for lack of a
better term, if a stroke transforms the personality into something totally different from what it was like before
that stroke? What I'm trying to do is to separate the 'I' from the brain - if it's in fact possible to do so. Unless
it's possible to do so, then clearly the 'I' is annihilated at bodily death.
"I work in a lab where we study human learning and memory using functional MRI, and I spend a lot of
time studying the brain and trying to make sense of the various pathways and chemical processes at work.
The more that I've learned, the more that I've come to believe that who we are - the 'I' - is an emergent
property of the brain. It's unique and unexpected, but at the same time, it couldn't exist without the highly
connectionistic pillars of the brain.
"If you ablate area 17 of the occipital lobe, you lose vision. Ablate Broca's area, and you take out speech.
If you ablate the temporal lobes, you take out morality. Ablate the frontal lobe, and you radically transform
personality, volition, and so on. What devastates this whole issue is that we know that the 'I' is a function of
the physiology and neurochemistry of the brain, so when the brain dies, what can possibly be left, aside from
oblivion?
"I was deeply alarmed to realize that damage to the frontal cortex could produce a serial killer like Jeffrey
Dahmer. C.S. Lewis might as well have been on drugs when he said that each human has a sense of morality
which is God-given. Nonsense. Morality is conditioned into the human organism, localized to the temporal
lobe (along with religious concepts and abstractions), and mediated by the frontal cortex of the brain. I was
even more troubled to reflect on the story of Phineas Cage, who in a rail accident had a piece of metal pierce
his brain, and it caused profound (negative) personality changes."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: "So if I ablate pieces of my television set, then I can distort the picture or
stop the sound. But that doesn't mean the television set is the actual source of the images it displays which we
know it's not."
DR. KENNETH RING: "These are philosophical or metaphysical questions, and they can't be answered
definitively through empirical research. However, on these questions, I have found the writings of Paul
Brunton very helpful - he wrote many books in the 30s, 40s and 50s, and they are still available. These,
however, are deep and thorny questions, and a great many philosophical perspectives are already extant from
which to explore them. Research of the NDE, however, certainly suggests, but can never prove, that there is
an 'I' that is independent of the brain, but whether it continues to survive intact after death is a debatable
matter."
DR. JEFFERY LONG: "One concern of NDE skeptics is the concept of a dual physical and spiritual life
presence, with the spiritual presence surviving bodily death. The physical presence is easily discernable, while
the spiritual presence is generally not easily discernable. It is very helpful to personally have an NDE or
NDE-like experience to address such concerns. For virtually all near-death experiencers, an NDE cures NDE
disbelief. However, only approximately 4% of the United States adult population have a personal history of
NDEs. Others find they are opened to the possibility of a dual physical/spiritual life presence through other
spiritually transformative life events.
"These life experiences may include, but are not limited to, markedly serendipitous events, other personal
paranormal experiences, and acceptance of other people's accounts of their spiritually transformative
experiences. I personally believe that if such spiritually transformative experiences are sincerely sought, they
are likely to be encountered. NDE research is somewhat unique due to the subjective nature of the
experience. This subjectivity precludes certain conventional scientific methods of studying NDEs, such as
replicating NDEs or studying physical changes associated with the experience.
"This inability to study NDEs via certain accepted methods of conventional scientific verification results
in the need for some element of faith to accept the reality of NDEs. I think this necessary element of faith is
a problem for many people in accepting the reality and significance of NDEs. Mitigating against this concern
is the fact that NDEs are relatively common. Millions of people have had NDEs. NDEs are quite varied, but
the consistency of the NDE elements (OBE experience, tunnel, light, meeting other beings, etc.) is striking.
There is no plausible biological explanation of NDEs. There is no other human experience so dramatic,
shared by so many people, and so relatively consistent in its elements. The preceding suggests faith in the
validity of NDE accounts is the most reasonable conclusion from the evidence."
DR. ROBERT JORDAN: "On the issue of general anesthesia, some individuals under general anesthesia
are able to report details of events occurring in the operating room such as what music was playing and what
the operating room personnel said - often to the embarrassment of those present. If nothing can be recalled
by the individual under general anesthesia, this cannot be interpreted to mean that the 'I' goes away. It may
simply mean that the person's ability to pay attention and to remember has been short-circuited. I work with
alcoholics who black out and remember nothing of their experience during the black out. Apparently, when a
person under acute intoxication blacks out, the neural pathways in the hippocampus and elsewhere, which are
fundamental to retaining memories, are not functioning. Nevertheless, they are able to act and think (too
much!) like themselves during that period about which they later have no recollection.
"My understanding of the psychophysiological research on dreaming is that everyone dreams whether they
remember the dream or not. Often, people who report that they don't dream, recall dreams quite vividly if
they are awakened during REM sleep.
"Where does the 'I' go when we have no recollection of the 'I?' This is a question with many possible
answers. One possible explanation is that the 'I' disappears into the non-'I'-ness, which I believe is the deeper
reality.
"I think scientists, if we possess any sense of humility, must acknowledge that science cannot provide us
with Ultimate Truth, only little hints of understanding about how the Universe operates. Scientists are
appropriately taught that today's comprehensive theory is merely tomorrow's special case of an even more
comprehensive theory. Personally, I feel that I have learned more about what is really true by meditating and
thereby emptying my mind of concepts, rather than by creating theories or doing experiments."
DR. PMH ATWATER: "Neither near-death research, nor any other type of scientific inquiry, can address
this question. I suggest you turn to spiritual or religious sources for clues. Actually, what you seek is not
contained within the providence of the mind, but only through the heart."
DR. STANISLAV GROF: From the NDE video, Life After Death, Episode 8, Wellspring Media, Dr.
Stanislav Grof had this to say about consciousness:
"I had my training as a psychiatrist, a physician and then as a Freudian analyst. When I became interested
in non-ordinary states and started serving powerful mystical experiences, also having some myself, my first
idea was that it (consciousness) has to be hard-wired in the brain. I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure
out how something like that is possible.
"Today, I came to the conclusion that it is not coming from the brain. In that sense, it supports what
Aldous Huxley believed after he had some powerful psychedelic experiences and was trying to link them to
the brain. He came to the conclusion that maybe the brain acts as a kind of reducing valve that actually
protects us from too much cosmic input. So, I don't see, for example, that experiences of archetypal realms,
heavens, paradises, experiences of archetypal beings, such as deities, demons from different cultures, that
people typically have in these states that they can be somehow explained as something that comes from the
brain. I don't think you can locate the source of consciousness. I am quite sure it is not in the brain not inside
of the skull.
"It actually, according to my experience, would lie beyond time and space, so it is not localizable. You
actually come to the source of consciousness when you dissolve any categories that imply separation,
individuality, time, space and so on. You just experience it as a presence.
"People who have these experiences can either perceive that source or they can actually become the
source, completely dissolved and experience that source. But such categories as time and space, localization
coordinates, are not relevant for that experience. You actually have a sense that the concepts of time and
space come from that place. They are generated by that place; but, the cosmic source itself, the cosmic
consciousness cannot be located certainly not in the material world."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: From what Grof said in the previous paragraph, changes to the reducing
valve function of the brain alters the way it reduces the cosmic input to produce personality. According to
Grof, consciousness itself is not changed by such things as drugs and NDEs. It is personality that is changed
because personality is the product of the reducing valve feature of the brain. As Grof theorizes,
consciousness may not even be produced by the brain, only altered. Interestingly enough, reports of NDEs
involve the experiencer feeling as if they are expanding into the universe after death. This suggests that the
brain actually restricts consciousness to produce a personality. After brain death, consciousness becomes
unrestricted and the personality becomes pure consciousness.
Many near-death experiences involve the experiencer's consciousness expanding until it fills the entire
universe - even beyond. This experience has been described as literally becoming the universe by near-death
experiencers. This aspect found in NDEs agrees with the astrological concept of the universe being an
influence on our afterlife sojourns. Here are some examples from NDEs to demonstrate this:
Mellen-Thomas Benedict: "Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life.
I saw the Earth fly away. The solar system, in all its splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light
speed, I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy,
and all of the Universe, is bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds. The good news
is that we are not alone in this Universe! As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the
galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy. The super clusters of galaxies with all
their ancient wisdom flew by. At first, I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But then I realized
that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the
Universe!"
Virginia Rivers: "The stars seemed to fly past me so rapidly that they formed a tunnel around me. I began
to sense awareness, knowledge. The farther forward I was propelled the more knowledge I received. My mind
felt like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition. The knowledge came in single words and
in whole idea blocks. I just seemed to be able to understand everything as it was being soaked up or absorbed.
I could feel my mind expanding and absorbing and each new piece of information somehow seemed to
belong. It was as if I had known already but forgotten or mislaid it, as if it were waiting here for me to pick it
up on my way by."
Thomas Sawyer: "And in your life review you'll be the universe and experience yourself in what you call
your lifetime and how it affects the universe."
Jayne Smith: "I was involved in this tremendous pouring forth of gratitude and joy and as that was going
inside me, this white light began to infiltrate my consciousness. It came into me. It seemed I went out into it.
I expanded into it as it came into my field of consciousness."
Josiane Antonette: "I am love; I am understanding; I am compassion! My presence fills the room. And
now I feel my presence in every room in the hospital. Even the tiniest space in the hospital is filled with this
presence that is me. I sense myself beyond the hospital, above the city, even encompassing Earth. I am
melting into the universe. I am everywhere at once."
Dr. Timothy Leary: "You must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a limitless range of
awareness for which we now have no words; that awareness can expand beyond the range of your ego, your
self, your familiar identity, beyond everything you have learned, beyond your notions of space and time,
beyond the differences which usually separate people from each other and from the world around them."
Rudolf Steiner: "So you see, stage by stage we expand into the planetary spheres, like light that has been
contained within a darkened glass, when finally uncovered and released goes out into the boundless universe.
The moral disposition we carry over with us allows or prevents us from moving on in a conscious manner.
Seeing how we expand toward the stars and planets after death, it's no wonder we look at the night sky in awe
with feelings of reverence and maybe even memories. After death, we expand into heavenly planetary realms.
Our inward spirituality allows us or prevents us from moving on in a conscious manner. After this experience
with the planetary realms, we fall asleep and the cosmic forces act directly upon us preparing us for the next
earthly experience. Our cosmic rest regenerates us and prepares us for the time when the desire to reincarnate
starts to work on us. When that happens, we begin the process of going back through the planetary realms
picking up what we will need from each in order to fulfill our purpose in the next Earth life."
Margaret Tweddell: "I felt caught up in all of this to the very depths of my being. I felt myself expanding
and expanding until I thought, 'I'm going to burst!' The moment I thought, 'I'm going to burst!', I suddenly
found myself alone, back where this being had met me, and he had gone."
Dr. Susan Blackmore: After hovering around New York, Blackmore floated back to her room in Oxford
where she became very small and entered her body's toes. Then she grew very big, as big as a planet at first,
and then she filled the solar system and finally she became as large as the universe."
Dr. Blackmore believes her NDE was only a product of her brain much like a hallucination. If she is
correct, then NDEs are nothing more than a mass hallucination. The problem with this is that dead brains do
not hallucinate. And even if they did, the brain cannot retain such unconscious memories.
The paragraphs above suggest to me that personality is likely a function of the brain and dies along with
brain death. But consciousness itself, unrestricted by the brain, is everywhere and nowhere in particular.
 Skeptics often rely on reductionism to prove that altered brain function produces NDEs. But they may
only be defining the trigger in the brain that allows consciousness to expand to produce an NDE. Using an
analogy, we can reduce a television set to its basic components: circuits, tube, transistors and wires. But we
are unable to quantify the television signals of the program, such as I Love Lucy as opposed to Jay Leno, by
examining the individual components themselves. The television signals of the program are not restricted to
the television set. They are located everywhere in the airwaves as well. When a television is turned on (the
brain is functioning), the components of the television processes the signal (the brain alters consciousness)
and creates a derivation of the signal, a television program (personality).
Scientific evidence demonstrates that certain drugs can produce hallucinations in the brain. Some
scientists theorize that the same process in the brain that produces hallucinations also produces NDEs. But,
Dr. Peter Fenwick, a neuropsychiatrist and the leading authority in Britain on NDEs, disagrees with this
theory. In the documentary, Into the Unknown: Strange But True, Dr. Fenwick explains:
"The difficulty with those theories is that when you create these wonderful states by taking drugs, you're
conscious. In the NDE, you are unconscious. One of the things we know about brain function in
unconsciousness, is that you cannot create images and if you do, you cannot remember them."
Dr. Fenwick describes the unconscious state of the NDE: "The brain isn't functioning. It's not there. It's
destroyed. It's abnormal. But, yet, it can produce these very clear experiences ... an unconscious state is when
the brain ceases to function. For example, if you faint, you fall to the floor, you don't know what's happening
and the brain isn't working. The memory systems are particularly sensitive to unconsciousness. So, you won't
remember anything. But, yet, after one of these experiences (an NDE), you come out with clear, lucid
memories ... This is a real puzzle for science. I have not yet seen any good scientific explanation which can
explain that fact."
So it appears that we may never know exactly what an NDE is and what produces them, until science can
define exactly what consciousness is. We may have a long way to go to learn this.
DR. SUSAN BLACKMORE: "I think it is possible, in principle, to separate the 'I' from the brain. The
brain is a physical object. The 'I' is a construction - a story that a brain tells, a fantasy that it weaves - an
illusion of a real self who has consciousness and free will. This fantasy is constructed all the time we are
awake and our brain is functioning normally. We are trapped in this fantasy world that seems to separate us
from everything else. Under anesthetic and near death this false sense disintegrates because the brain can no
longer build the story, but usually it comes back again. When we die, the story stops for good - except in the
minds of other people who knew us."
DR. WILDER PENFIELD: "The brain has not explained the mind fully."

I. Nothing Useful Comes From NDEs

SKEPTIC'S ARGUMENT: "Another problem is that no one who has returned has ever brought back
anything useful, such as, for instance, the formula for the compound curing AIDS. All we have is "the
purpose of life is to love, and to acquire as much knowledge as possible" stories. That's nice, but I personally
think that a cure for AIDS would be infinitely more expressive of God's love for humankind than catchy
near-death experience books such as Betty Eadie's."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: Skeptics may argue that nobody brings back anything useful from a near-
death experience such as a scientific discovery. The skeptic's argument might resemble something like this: "If
people are actually receiving unlimited knowledge during an NDE, then why don't they bring back with them
the cure for AIDS to help humanity? While it's nice that they have discovered humanity's purpose in this
world is learning to love others, it would be infinitely more expressive of God's love for humanity if someone
would bring back the cure for AIDS?
Our skeptic presents a very good argument and it's one that researchers have an answer for. What follows
is a discussion of the scientific discoveries brought back by near-death experiencers as told by several near-
death researchers. A complete list of scientific advances from NDEs is available on my NDE and Science
research conclusions.
Yes, people do receive higher knowledge and information about cures for diseases such as cancer and
AIDS while they are in the light of the NDE. Here are some descriptions:
 Virginia Rivers: "The farther forward a person is propelled through the tunnel, the more knowledge can
be received. The mind can feel like a sponge, growing and expanding in size with each addition. This
knowledge may come in single words and in whole idea blocks. Everything can be understood as it is being
soaked up or absorbed. The mind expands and absorbs as each new piece of information comes in. It is
receiving knowledge that was already known but forgotten or mislaid, as if it were waiting to be picked up on
the way by."
Kimberly Clark Sharp: "The light gave me knowledge, though I heard no words. We did not communicate
in English or in any other language. This was discourse clearer and easier than the clumsy medium of
language. It was something like understanding math or music - nonverbal knowledge, but knowledge no less
profound. I was learning the answers to the eternal questions of life - questions so old we laugh them off as
clichés. "Why are we here?" To learn. "What's the purpose of our life?" To love. I felt as if I was re-
remembering things I had once known but somehow forgotten, and it seemed incredible that I had not
figured out these things before now."
The main problem preventing many people from bringing back some of this higher knowledge attained
during an NDE is that it's difficult to retain every memory of their NDE, assuming it can be remembered at
all. This general inability of people being unable to retain every memory from an NDE is similar to our
general inability to remember every memory of a dream we have after we wake up. However, this is not to say
that higher knowledge and scientific discoveries are not attained during NDEs or dreams.
Some people have returned from an NDE and have been able to successfully diagnose and heal people -
even bring back useful scientific information - due to the after-effects attributed to their NDEs.
One example of this is documented in Tom Harpur's documentary, Life After Death. Harpur interviews a
doctor whose name is Dr. Yvonne Kason who was almost killed in a plane crash into a lake which resulted in
an NDE. After she recovered, she began to have strange visions in her mind that she couldn't explain. One of
these visions concerned a friend of hers. When Dr. Kason thought of her friend, she would see a vision in
her mind of a "brain covered with pus." Dr. Kason knew that this was an excellent symbolic vision referring
to the deadly disease meningitis. The problem was that her friend was perfectly healthy at the time, exhibited
absolutely no signs of meningitis, and there was no reason to suspect she had it. Dr. Kason begged her friend
to get tested for meningitis. After an amount of reluctance, her friend got tested. Surprisingly, the test was
positive. As a result of Dr. Kason's NDE, her friend was able to get treated for meningitis at its early stage
before it had time to become deadly. Dr. Kason continues to have such visions. She now realizes that, as a
result of her NDE, that is now psychic. Her story affirms that useful things are indeed brought back from
NDEs.
Another interesting case is that of Edgar Cayce (pronounced "Kay-see") (1877-1945), a devout Christian
who had regular NDEs and brought back medical cures and information on future events that ultimately
came true. In 1910, the New York Times carried two pages of headlines and pictures in which he was
declared the "World's Most Mysterious Man." In 1954, the University of Chicago accepted a Ph.D. thesis
based on a study of his life and work. Cayce is also considered to be the father of holistic medicine by JAMA,
the prestigious medical journal. I have a complete list of the world events which Cayce successfully foretold
before they occurred.
Cayce was a wonder to the medical community because of his ability to diagnose and specify a treatment
for gravely ill people from hundreds of miles away while out of his body. It is also documented that while in
his out-of-body state, Cayce successful predicted the 1929 stock-market crash more than six months before it
occurred, the Great Depression, outbreak of the First and Second World Wars, Japan's sneak attack on Pearl
Harbor, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, the independence of India, the creation of the State of Israel fifteen
years before the event, the deaths of two American presidents, the existence of an unknown Jewish sect called
the Essenes eleven years before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found (which was verified through archeological
excavations after his death.), invention of the laser in 1958, and his own death before his two sons returned
home from overseas. For many decades now, the Edgar Cayce Foundation has been around to research the
vast amount of information he received.
Edgar Cayce is much more than just an example of how one can bring back medical cures, historical facts,
and even bring back information from the future while outside of their body.
 DR. P.M.H. ATWATER: "Not true! A fellow in, I believe it was Sweden, went on to copyright over a
hundred inventions that have made a significant difference in society. Mellen-Thomas Benedict invented a
glasscutter that alleviates much hand fatigue in accordance to directions he received in his experience. In fact,
Mellen-Thomas participated in a number of medical research projects, and because of the information he
gave the researchers, they were able to advance their work significantly. He is now doing DNA research and
working on instruments that can help physicians use certain frequencies of light in healing. These are just a
few of many.
"In my own case, I was told in my third NDE to do the research I do - my directions were specific and
detailed. Look at what has resulted! Hardly trivial, I'd say. The reason you seldom hear of people like me and
Mellen-Thomas and the fellow from Sweden is that we don't make spectacles of ourselves. We just do our
work.
"Also, please refer to my last three books. All of them have a section devoted to historical figures who had
an NDE and who went on to make a significant impact on the world - people like Abraham Lincoln, Mozart,
Einstein, Winston Churchill, Queen Elisabeth the First, and Edward de Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford - who
may well be the real Shakespeare. I would invite you to look beyond the so-called popular books on NDEs,
and do some real digging. You may be surprised at what you find! Please just read my books. I am specific
and give references. The answers to most of your questions are addressed.
"Since you mentioned it, I have thought of a number of experiencers who went on to do great things
afterward: Donna DeSoto and her Sav-Baby Organization, Dannion Brinkley and his Compassion In Action
volunteer service for the dying, Carol Parrish-Harra and the Sparrow Hawk Village she built and the Sancta
Sophia Seminary she founded, Nadia McCaffrey and the Natural Death Centers she is starting to construct
and staff, George Ritchie and his Youth Corps, and so forth. The line is a long one, no one knows how long
for most experiencers seldom seek the limelight." (P.M.H. Atwater)
DR. KENNETH RING: "This question made me laugh because the questioner clearly thinks that the
light, or whatever the intelligence is that is behind the NDE, would truly be helpful to humanity if it gave us
practical answers to the burning questions of our day. This is like saying, if you are psychic, then how about
telling me the winning lottery number? In fact, the light gives us very practical answers - love, especially of the
unconditional kind, is probably the thing that could make the world a far, far better place. It wouldn't end
suffering - there will always be suffering - but it would help us enormously to deal with the problems of
living. We have brains to help us solve our practical problems - what we need and what we get from the light
is something altogether different. It is dangerous, not to say presumptuous, to try to tell God (or the light or
Whatever) what we humans could most use. I could probably write on this question for several pages, if I had
time, but a close reading of the NDE literature will show what the real value of these experiences is, and it is
not finding a cure to AIDS, etc. Nevertheless, it is clearly not even true that no experiencer ever brings back
such answers. I give a few examples in my book, Lessons from the Light.
"For example, the case of Ralph Duncan, who brought back a cure for a certain kind of cancer, and then
there is the case of Mellen-Thomas Benedict who brought back a great deal of very practical information
about biophotonics and other methods of light-based healing, and is currently marketing some of his devices,
after millions of dollars have been invested in his company. So, practical answers that can definitely benefit
humanity can sometimes be obtained during NDEs, but, to me, that misses the point."
[Author's note: I looked up the reference that Dr. Ring gives from his book, Lessons from the Light. It
does show some very interesting examples of how NDErs learn and even experience cures for diseases such
as cancer.]
The following are examples, from Dr. Ring's research, of NDErs bringing back scientific discoveries:
"One quite remarkable instance was shared with me by Howard Mikel, Professor Emeritus of Religious
Studies at Wichita State University in Kansas, who investigated this case very thoroughly and can authenticate
it. The story, in brief, involved a patient by the name of Ralph Duncan, who in the mid-1970s was dying of
leukemia. He apparently was told he had only a short time to live and was prepared to die. But while
hospitalized, he had an NDE, and during it, he encountered a luminous being, whom he took to be Jesus
(though Ralph observed that it did not look anything like the traditional images of him), and whose eyes were
'shooting fire.' In any event, there was then a telepathic communication from this being in the form of three
shot phrases, which were: 'That's enough, it's dead, it's gone.' These words, Ralph said, were still ringing in his
ears as he returned to his body.
"Afterward, puzzling about all this, he was mystified about the significance of the phrase, 'that's enough.'
But, he continues, 'I do know what he meant when he said, 'It's dead.' To me it meant that the germ was
dead. I no longer have leukemia." To my mind, however, the entire set phrases coheres meaningfully in the
context of this healing. For instance, when the being, his eyes 'shooting fire,' says, 'That's enough,' it means in
effect, 'I've zapped you with enough voltage for this to cure you.' And then, 'it's dead, it's gone.'
"The last I heard about this case, in 1989, Ralph was still hale and living near Boulder, Colorado.
"A somewhat similar case was described by Margot Grey. Five days after abdominal surgery, an English
patient underwent complications and his wife as told her husband was dying. At that time, however, he was
having an NDE, and during it he saw:
Margot Grey's NDE research: "...an entity clothed in a colored cloak [of] indescribably beautiful colors,
and brightness most intense. This something stood at the right-hand side of my head, two hands were lightly
placed on my body, slowly moved down to my feet, and up the left side, pausing at my head, and then was
gone. I have no recollection of anything until [the] next day. From then I made a very rapid recovery and was
soon back with my family."
"Again, we seem to have a healing performed within the general context of a light-filled scene.
"Not long ago, some further cases of this kind were shared with me by my friend, Steve, who you might
remember was himself the recipient of an apparently other-worldly stabilizing treatment rendered by a female
light being when Steve experienced a respiratory arrest during surgery (see pp. 37-38 for the full account).
Significantly, Steve recently told me that, as in the case of Ralph Duncan, this being had 'intense blue eyes
that shined like they were on fire.' And as he felt this energy radiating into him, she communicated
telepathically to Steve with these thoughts:
"You're not breathing regularly. There is some concern that your respiration might stop. I'm here to
stabilize it, and make sure the problem doesn't go any further. You are very valuable, and no one is willing to
take any chances with your life."
"In some ways an even more dramatic case that Steve related to me involved a diabetic Mexican woman
who speaks no English (Steve is fluent in Spanish) and who, Steve ascertained, was completely unfamiliar
with NDEs before her own experience. Here is her story:
Prior to her experience, she had lost the ability to see. Diabetes had taken away her retina, and her heart
wasn't supplying enough circulation to her brain to allow her to speak. She was in very poor shape. They
prepared her for surgery.
Open-heart surgery on a diabetic woman of sixty-seven is full of risk. The doctors went outside to discuss
their strategy. While they were conferring, she saw the wall open up and a brilliant light pour out. A bearded
man in white stepped up beside her. He was made of white light.
"You're not ready to follow me yet ... you're not prepared. I'm going to give you back your eyesight. You'll
need it to finish your life. And I'm going to heal the heart valve, so you can speak again. You still have a few
more things to do. Your grandchildren need you to teach them."
"According to the woman's account, he placed his hand on her chest, and her eyesight returned. [Later]
she sat in a wheel chair, serene, full of confidence, and smiling. Her legs were gone, but her eyes were clear,
and she was happy in a calm way. Her cardiologist later told her:
"Something has happened to change you body. We don't have an explanation for it. I personally ascribe it
to be the will of God. You can go home now. We did nothing." (Ring, 225-226)"
Dr. Melvin Morse discusses the NDE of a man who developed over 100 patents in molecular chemistry
based on the information he received from his NDE:
DR. MELVIN MORSE: "I recently discussed these issues with theoretical physicists at the National
Institute of Discovery Science. This is a consciousness think tank of national renown scholars in their
individual fields. They explained to me that science states that reality is made of tiny nuclear particles, so tiny
that it is unclear if they are actually matter or simply patterns of energy. All of the fundamental particles in
this universe have at least two counterparts which have been documented as being 'real'.
 "These particles last for only a fraction of a second in this reality, yet they comprise the elemental building
blocks of reality. In theory, there are at least three possible universes comprised of the three basic sets of
subatomic particles.
"Furthermore, again in theory, there is one possible universe which is called the Omega Point, in which
there is no time or space, and all possible universes coexist. This is why physicists such as Niels Bohr said,
"Anyone who has not been shocked by quantum physics has not understood it.
"Olaf Swenson may have seen such a timeless spaceless Omega Point when he nearly died of a botched
tonsillectomy at age 14. He states:
"Suddenly I rolled into a ball and smashed into another reality. The forces that brought me through the
barrier were terrific. I was on the other side. I realized that the boundary between life and death is a strange
creation of our own mind, very real (from the side of the living), and yet insignificant."
"Olaf felt he was floating in a universe with no boundaries.
"I had total comprehension of everything. I stood at the annihilation point, a bright orange light. As I felt
my mind transported back to my body, I thought, please let me remember this new theory of relativity."
DR. JEFFREY LONG: "Another concern of NDE skeptics is that experiencers do not return with
information or ideas with immediate widespread use, such as a cure for cancer or verifiable new scientific
understandings. There have been anecdotal reports suggesting the contrary, but in my experience,
experiencers generally do not return with such information. Failure to receive a specific hoped for gift is not a
valid criticism of NDEs. The gift experiencers do return with is generally varied and spiritual in nature, often
including the concept of love and a lack of fear of death. The gift to experiencers of better understanding
love and their purpose on Earth is a very important gift, suggesting these understandings are among the most
important things we can accomplish.
"NDE studies provide a tantalizing glimpse of what this other reality is, and provides some clues to
humankind's deepest questions of who we really are and our relationship with a greater reality. It is entirely
reasonable to accept the NDE in the way the experiencers themselves almost uniformly perceive the
experience: an encounter with another dimension of reality.
"Science demands verifiable evidence which can be reproduced again and again under experimental
situations. Dr. Jim Whinnery, of the Naval Warfare Center, thought he was simply studying the effects of G
forces on fighter pilots. He had no idea he would revolutionize the field of consciousness studies by
providing experimental proof that NDEs are real.
"The pilots were placed in huge centrifuges and spun at tremendous speeds. After they lost consciousness,
after they went into seizures, after they lost all muscle tone, when the blood stopped flowing in their brains,
only then would they suddenly have a return to conscious awareness. They had "dreamlets" as Dr. Whinnery
calls them. These dreamlets are similar to NDEs. They often involved a sense of separation from the physical
body. A typical dreamlet involved a pilot leaving his physical body and traveling to a sandy beach, where he
looked directly up at the sun. The pilot remarked that death is very pleasant."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: In conclusion, experiencers are given gifts of healing abilities, knowledge that
advances science, but even more important, information about universal love and life after death capable of
transforming this planet into a peaceful and loving paradise."

J. The Existence of God is Unlikely

SKEPTIC'S ARGUMENT: "By looking at human behavior as objectively as I can, from an

anthropological perspective, all paths lead me to support the hypothesis that God is the combination of
projection and transference of a given culture's (and individual's) ideals and ideal relationships onto an unseen
(yet psychically, very real) entity. Borrowing from analytic psychology, what I believe happens is the creation
(or greater potentiation) of a complex, charged emotional contents with attendant thoughts and images,
continually reinforced through normal operant techniques through institutions such as churches and their
various rituals.
"My latest thinking on the topic of God is that it's hard to look at the DNA sequence for a particular trait
(speaking as a software engineer), and not say, 'You know, that looks a lot like machine code! And that, in
turn, presupposes a programmer, a Creator!' At the same time, this is far removed from the idea of a
personal, loving, Christian God who cares about us individually and will somehow rescue us from
extermination at death.
"Don't get me wrong: I very much hope that there is a loving God, but in light of what I know of
neuroscience, it seems unlikely. It seems much more likely that we are the miraculous products of natural
selection. I also believe that religion is very much man-made, and that if God does exist, he appears to be
utterly and absolutely silent, having nothing to do with humankind, other than in man's dreams, hopes, and
fantasies (though these are products of man's minds). I don't say any of this to be disrespectful, and I'm
painfully aware of how emotional an issue religion is, but I say it in the spirit of honest exploration."
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: Testimonies from those having near-death experiences probably support
much, if not all, of what you are saying. Mankind certainly did create religion and the idea of god(s); and the
idea of a "Master DNA programmer God" does seem much more like an impersonal concept compared to
the Christian notion of a wrathful/loving God.
The only realistic answer to the question, "What is God?" is that "God" is only an idea representing
whatever people want it to mean. Many Christians believe God is a divine Father. Hindus believe God
(Brahman) to be life manifesting itself everywhere with no exceptions. Cave men may have believed God to
be the sun. To tribal cults, God may be a stone statue. Certainly, people throughout history believed things
that seem utterly ridiculous to our enlightened minds today. 'God,' as a concept, has so many different
meanings to so many different people throughout history that it is really useless to talk about the idea of a
God until empirical evidence for such a Supreme Being or Consciousness can be discovered.
However, NDE experiencers have much to say about their encounter with a light so vast and personal
that words are inadequate to describe it. A consensus among NDErs seems to be that this light represents all
knowledge, all consciousness and all creation which is so pervasive and yet so subtle, it borders on pantheism
- minus any impersonal aspect. In quantifying the nature of his light, I have read many NDE testimonies
where experiencers use descriptive words such as Love, Life, Light, the All, the Source, the Force, the
Oneness, Divine Consciousness, the Master-Vibration, etc. But according to many of these same
experiencers, even these descriptions are woefully inadequate. One experiencer preferred to describe this light
as "the Light that Loves." Another experiencer, Chuck Griswold, stated in the NDE documentary entitled
Shadows, "Life is love is God. If you add any more to this definition then you are not making it any better."
When NDE experiencers say that life itself is "God," they usually mean everything is a part of this light or
'God' or simply that everything is "God." Given all these definitions, we might as well claim that all of reality
is this "God" - nothing excluded. For this reason, we should probably just assign the term 'God' to the toy
box - because of all the 'baggage' associated with it and simply say there is no 'Grand Old Man' sitting on a
Throne ruling everything. It is possible that there is only one Ultimate Reality incorporating everything and
this may be what people throughout the ages have been worshipping as 'divinity.'
Also, religious faith implies the possibility of doubt. Knowledge implies certainty due to scientific
methods. This is why knowledge will always be greater than faith; and why scientific support for the existence
of God is always stronger than faith in dogma. Kurt Godel, the foremost mathematical logician of the 20th
century, offered a theorem and a proof that atheism is not logical. If you visit the atheist Keith Augustine's
website, Infidels.org, on the home page you will find the following statement:
"Naturalism is 'the hypothesis that the natural world is a closed system, which means that nothing that is
not part of the natural world affects it.' Thus, 'naturalism implies that there are no supernatural entities' -
including God." -- Quote from Keith Augustine's website
However, Kurt Godel's Incompleteness Theorem shows that no consistent formal system can prove its
own consistency. See this Wikipedia article for the mathematical logic. In plain language, it proves that all
closed systems depend upon something outside the system. So according to Godel's Incompleteness
Theorem, the quote on the Infidels website cannot be correct. If the natural world is a closed, logical system,
then it has an outside cause. Thus, according to Godel's theorem, atheism violates the laws of reason and
logic. Godel's Incompleteness Theorem definitively proves that current scientific models can never fill its
own gaps. We have no choice but to look outside of current scientific models for answers concerning illogical
statements such as, "A God does not exist in the natural world."
The incompleteness of the universe's own consistency regarding its existence isn't proof that the God of
any particular religion exists; but it is proof that in order to construct a rational, scientific model of the
universe, a new scientific model that includes an outside, all-powerful Cause is not just 100% logical - it's
necessary. Kurt Godel also developed an Ontological Proof of God's existence which has been proven by
German computer scientists in 2013. However, Godel's theorems and proof cannot be applied to prove the
existence of Santa Claus, nor to prove the existence of a Flying Spaghetti Monster flatulating the universe into
existence.
Dr. Juleon Schins, professor of Chemical Engineering at Delft University of Technology, declared that
Godel's theorem and Alan Turing's thesis: "...firmly establish the existence of something that is unlimited and
absolute, fully rational and independent of human mind. What would be more convincing pointer to God?"
Dr. Antoine Suarez, of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies Center for Quantum Philosophy, in turn
states that, because of Godel's theorems, we are "scientifically" led to the conclusion that it is reasonable to
reckon with God.
Then there is the logical argument from the Christian philosopher C.S. Lewis whose former belief in an
unjust universe led him away from atheism to theism: "My argument against God was that the universe
seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked
unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If
the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of
the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because
man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by
saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed
too - for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen
to please my fancies. Thus, in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist - in other words, that the
whole of reality was senseless - I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality - namely my idea of
justice - was full of sense. Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no
meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe
and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without
meaning." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1952)
So Lewis concluded that if the universe is meaningless, we would never have discovered it to be
meaningless. And because the burden of proof lies with those who illogically claim the world is meaningless,
and not upon those who disprove the claim by giving it meaning, shows the claim of a meaningless universe
is false. The same is true of a Godless universe.
Near-death experiences also support the existence of God. On Wikipedia, other logical arguments for the
existence of God can be found.

K. People Don't Actually Survive Death

SKEPTIC'S ARGUMENT: "With great trepidation, I allowed myself the thought that the resurrection of
Christ didn't accord with science. Death, by definition, is a permanent and irreversible biological state. Later,
that quiet tremor became a defiant reality testing rallying cry, as I boldly said: 'I believe that Jesus Christ was
killed, period.'"
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: "Unless Jesus was beamed up by a UFO, I came to a similar conclusion
myself about the resurrection of Christ in that he probably did not rise physically in bodily form from the
grave. All the visitations of Jesus after his death described in the Bible can be interpreted as being the
phenomenon known today as after-death communications (ADCs). As a very liberal Christian, I don't see any
need to believe in resurrection (or any religious dogma for that matter) to live a spiritual life of loving other
people. In fact, the concept of resurrection did not originate with Christianity or Judaism but by the ancient
Persians. This fact usually comes as a big surprise to Christians when they learn about this.
However, I do disagree that there exists conclusive, scientific evidence proving either way of the existence
or non-existence of an afterlife - especially when there is a mountain of circumstantial evidence, albeit mostly
anecdotal, suggesting the possibility of the survival of consciousness after death.
From modern research of after-death communications, it is apparent that multitudes of people throughout
history have reported experiences of some form of visitation by deceased loved ones. These are often very
subtle experiences spontaneously occurring in a variety of ways including: suddenly hearing a voice, smelling a
fragrance, having a lucid dream, experiencing synchronicity, or even full-blown apparitions of the deceased.
My entire family experienced this phenomenon when my mother was killed in a tragic car accident. So
because of my own experiences and related research, it is apparent to me that the appearances of Jesus to his
disciples after his death were ADCs all along. This doesn't mean Jesus didn't actually communicate with his
disciples in some way after his death. It only suggests there is a modern interpretation of these matters. Even
so, I see no advantage in knowing whether Jesus' body died permanently, or resurrected, or reincarnated. It
has no special advantage to me in my endeavor to live a spiritual life."

L. Life Outside of the Universe is Unlikely

SKEPTIC'S ARGUMENT: "The picture looks bleak so far for our survival. If the spiritual universe is
completely outside of the material universe, then it has no true bearing on the physical universe, and if this is
the case, then there might as well be no god. God's existence is only useful if it somehow interacts with us, in
the physical universe; after all, all of our thoughts are determined by molecular motion in the brain. Prayer is
initiated in the brain. A response, if it's valid, must obviously move matter through space-time. Therefore, we
have this thorny problem: if we believe that there is a spiritual universe, how does it interact with the physical
universe, of which we are a part?"
KEVIN WILLIAMS, B.SC.: "In my opinion, one of the best evidence supporting the Afterlife
Hypothesis and NDEs comes from quantum mechanics (QM) as it relates to the survival of quantum
consciousness. QM does not rule out the possibility of an "afterlife" universe or "afterlife" dimension (a
multiverse, a multidimensional universe) or the survival of brain function after death (quantum immortality).
Through quantum decoherence and quantum superposition, the idea of parallel universes offers the
possibility for the existence of a communicating parallel universe acting as a person's afterlife universe when
death occurs. As derived from the Many-WORLDS interpretation of QM, and its extending concept of
Many-MINDS interpretation of QM, it is theoretically possible for a living person to exist in superposition in
a parallel universe (including their mental states and electrical discharges occurring throughout their brain and
nervous system). Many-Worlds views reality as a many-branched tree where every possible quantum outcome
is realized including the possibility of branches to universes that doesn't lead to a living person's death.
Theoretically, this makes it possible for a living person to continue living in a parallel universe when the
person dies in this current universe."
 CHAPTER 6:
REINCARNATION EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIKFE

1. Reincarnation and the Near-Death Experience

Reincarnation is considered by some to be the greatest "unknown" scientific discovery of modern times.
In the last chapter of Dr. Ian Stevenson's book entitled Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1967), he
provides exhaustive scientific reasoning which concludes that reincarnation is the only viable explanation that
fits the facts of his study. He considers every possible alternative explanation for his twenty cases of young
children who were spontaneously able to describe a previous lifetime as soon as they learned to talk. He was
able to rule out alternative explanations using one or more of his cases. Later research also bolstered his
findings in favor of the reality of reincarnation. His study is also reproducible for any skeptic who doubts the
validity of his study to repeat it for themselves. I believe it is only a matter of time before these findings are
realized by the scientific community to be one of the great scientific discoveries of all time.
Many people would be very surprised at the tremendous amount of references to reincarnation in the
Bible. The most compelling references in the Bible come from the teachings of Jesus concerning John the
Baptist and his former life as Elijah the prophet. Here are some of the strongest Bible verses proving this
fact:
Malachi 4:5: "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord
comes."
Matthew 11:11-15: "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than
John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been
raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the
Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear."
Matthew 17:10-13: "The disciples asked him, 'Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must
come first?' Jesus replied, 'To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already
come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son
of Man is going to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about
John the Baptist."
Luke 1:17: "And he (John the Baptist) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Jesus is also seen in near-death accounts giving people the choice to reincarnate.
There is a misconception that many people have about reincarnation. Some assume that after death,
people immediately reincarnate without inhabiting various spirit realms in between earth lives. Near-death
experience accounts affirm that we do not immediately reincarnate after death. The reason is because time
does not exist in the spirit realms.
Near-death experiencers often cannot describe the length of their journey in terms of earthly time. A
single experience may seem like an eternity and, at the same time, it may also feel like it was only a moment.
This is because the spirit realms are completely outside of time. It is for this reason that we can literally spend
an eternity in the spirit realms before we decide whether we want to reincarnate to earth or not.

A. Reincarnation is not eternal

 Thomas Sawyer: "One of the purposes of the life review is to make an informed choice between
remaining in spirit and returning to flesh. Should we choose to merge completely with the light of God, we
will never again be able to choose, on our own decision, to return to physical life. The decision to merge in
the light is the best decision."
Cecil: "We are to live on earth in such a way that we will not need to return to earth after death."
Edgar Cayce: "In time, we who are trapped in the cycle of birth and rebirth can once again come to know
our original state and purpose, and regain our celestial birthright as a companion to God. In time we can
again come to realize that the conditions in our current life are the result of our free actions and choices from
past lives."
Thomas Sawyer: "If a person dies and merges completely into the light, another reincarnation is
improbable. However, it is more usual for people to have earthly attachments and not merge completely with
the light. Such souls may have characteristics of their personality, which they do not want merged with the
light."
Edgar Cayce: "The law of karma demands that we meet every bit of our karmic debts. However, an even
greater law exists, the law of forgiveness. If we wrong someone and that person forgives us, when the day
comes that we approach God, we realize our memories which are incompatible with God, but forgiveness
removes the barrier of separation. The law is so precise (what one gives one receives; no exceptions) that if
we begin forgiving others, we begin to receive forgiveness upon ourselves. Unless, of course, we refuse to
forgive ourselves."
Edgar Cayce: "Our attraction to worldly desires can hinder the free expression of our souls and only when
they are no longer a hindrance can our earth incarnations be finished. The free expression of our souls
happens when our wills become compatible with the thoughts of God. At this time, our conscious spiritual
identity with God will merge with our soul consciousness (subconscious mind). This is when the soul merges
with the light of God. The return of the soul is the return of the thought that God imagined and is becoming
aware of being a part of all God and everything."
Ruth Montgomery: "Some souls desire to return again and again to the physical state without spending
enough time in spirit to evaluate and plan their next incarnation in the flesh. Any habit-forming pleasure, and
they are endless, traps them into the cycle of rebirth over and over, until their appetites are finally put aside
while they are in the flesh. The lust for money, lust for power, lust for sex, and other habits such as an
unnatural craving for alcohol, drugs, tobacco, or any habit they are unable to break loose from, can keep souls
earthbound. Some are so overly fond of the bodies they left behind that they are hardly able to wait for an
opportunity to reincarnate and set to work indulging their new bodies. These souls will not be able to advance
spiritually until they learn to give less thought to appetites of the flesh."

B. Reincarnation is instruction

(1) Kevin Williams' theory of reincarnation

The purpose of reincarnation is education - particularly, learning the eternal lessons of love. Using the
analogy of a school, my theory of reincarnation is described below. I describe stages of reincarnation and with
each stage I use a "school analogy" to help clarify it. I consider this description of the mechanics of
reincarnations as "the curriculum for the world-school we are currently enrolled in and the academic degree
we are trying to graduate with":
(a) We are born into this world with the mission to learn lessons of love for the purpose of becoming
forever at-one with everyone and everything (God).
Analogy: We begin a new grade in school with the goal of graduating and receiving a degree.
(b) During our lives, we are subjected to severe hardships for the purpose of soul growth.
Analogy: During the school year, we must subject ourselves to difficult homework in order to learn.
(c) After death we have a life review to decide if we have earned the right to advance to a higher heavenly
position. If we have earned that right, we can assume that position at any opportunity we desire. In the
meanwhile, we can spend an eternity with family and friends then reincarnate to lower realms to help others
progress if we desire.
Analogy: When the school year is over, we then find out if we have earned the right to enroll in the next
grade or whether we must repeat the grade. Either way, we then spend a long summer vacation at home on
with family and friends before beginning another school year.
(d) Some people have made such tremendous mistakes in life that, after death, they set themselves back
some degree from progressing and need to re-experience a lower afterlife realm before reincarnating for
another earth life.
Analogy: Some students flunk out so badly that they have to spend some time in detention and be sent
back a grade.
(e) Because our ultimate goal is to be forever at-one with all things at a conscious level (the divine
consciousness), we inherently desire more soul growth until we attain this goal. This goal is attained by
leaving the realm we currently reside in (Death is the way people leave the physical realm - other realms have
other ways.) and entering another realm we have earned the right to enter for the purpose of further soul
growth.
Analogy: Because our ultimate goal is to graduate, get a degree, and become co-partners in the God R Us
Corporation, we leave home to go to school to earn our degree. Based on whether we have passed the grade
from the previous school year, we enroll into a higher grade in school or return to the same grade from the
previous year.
(f) People in the lower realms will be given opportunities to reincarnate to higher realms, including the
physical realm, as many times as it takes for them to learn the lessons necessary to earn and advance to a
higher position.

Analogy: Students who flunked out of school the previous year will be allowed to repeat the grade until
they pass it.
(g) It will take a lot of love and effort, but eventually everyone will be reunited - the Godhood will be
restored as it was in the very beginning - a good time will be had by all - perhaps another Big Bang will
happen. But until everyone attains at-onement, we will enter and leave realms for our own soul growth and to
help others in their own soul journey to God.
Analogy: It will take a lot of studying and hard work, but eventually all students will graduate, get their
degree, and join the firm. But after we graduate, if we choose first to become a teacher before accepting our
position as a permanent co-partner in the firm, we choose to help other students (perhaps our loved ones)
graduate as well. (Kevin Williams)

C. Factors influencing reincarnation

According to Amber Wells' NDE reincarnation research the factors influencing reincarnation are:
(a) Individual choice (free will)
(b) Karmic patterns or ties to other souls
(c) Learning or enlightenment
Amber Wells' NDE research: "Life itself is a series of learnings. The lessons are universal, the two most
important being truth and forgiveness."
Amber Wells' NDE research: "The chief purpose of reincarnation is education. To this end we are born
again and again on earth, not because of any external pressure, but because we, as souls, desire to grow."
Amber Wells' NDE research: "It (reincarnation) is a universal process, and prevails not only in the human
kingdom but also throughout the whole of nature. Whenever we find a living form, the consciousness of that
form is also evolving, using temporarily for that purpose the physical form in order that it may gain physical
experience. In each incarnation we have a different physical body, a different name, and may have different
souls acting as parents, but these changes do not in the slightest imperil our individuality ... Reincarnation is
not an endless process, and when we have learned the lessons taught in the World-School we return no more
to physical incarnation unless we come back of our own accord to act as Teachers of humanity or as Helpers
in the glorious plan of evolution."
 Amber Wells' NDE research: "The spirit needs to embody itself in matter to experience it and learn.
There are karmic patterns to learn lessons and to work spirit in matter."
Arthur Yensen: "The only way to bypass bad karma is to develop so much unselfish love that paying for
bad karma will serve no purpose - much like a college student challenging a course he already knows."
Arthur Yensen: "If we do enough good works we will eventually run out of bad karma and only good
things will happen to us, and vice versa. The goal of karma is to force us to learn life's lessons whether we
want to or not."
David Oakford: "If we do not wish to reincarnate to the physical state to learn our lessons, there are
schools in the spirit where we can learn them. However, learning our lessons in the physical state is the fastest
way to learn them."
Edgar Cayce: "We have lived and died many times. The reason we don't remember our former lives is
because our vast soul memories are not transferred to our baby brains at birth. All we know in this life is what
we have learned, most of which is a partial memory of things we learned in past lifetimes. At the beginning of
each lifetime, we are cleared of all past prejudices, learning blocks and wrong teachings, and are ready for a
fresh start - just like a new term in school - and, like school, when we have learned enough of life's lessons,
we graduate and don't have to come back to this earth anymore, except as volunteers to teach stragglers."
Edgar Cayce: "All of our karma has to be met. And yet, no one is given more than it can bear to carry.
We are given the time we need to turn away from selfish ways and return home like the prodigal son.
Reincarnation is not a way to avoid responsibility. It is a way to allow us enough time to correct our
mistakes."
Betty Bethards: "After death, when we are ready, we can choose to view our past lives for the purpose of
instruction.
Dr. Frank Oski: "Life is a cycle of improvements and humans are not perfect yet. Most people have this
secret revealed to them when they die."
Sylvia Browne: "At some point, our desire to advance will lead us to reincarnate. Our guides help us
decide an incarnation that will help to achieve our goals. After a period of farewell with family and friends, we
can meet with a great spiritual teacher (such as Jesus, Buddha, etc.) to give us strength. After this, we descend
into the womb to be born again. We leave paradise not just for our own advancement, but to bring paradise
to earth and God will light our path throughout our time on earth and bring us safely home afterward."

D. Reincarnation is karma

Reincarnation and karma together explains divine justice and why some people are born into favorable
conditions or are born into unfavorable conditions. Personality traits are also carried over from past lives.
(1) Edgar Cayce: Whatever we think, that thought makes an impression on the Universal Consciousness.
Nothing is lost or done in secret. Everything is done within the Universal Consciousness, and the Whole is
affected by it (as well as all others within the Whole). Reactions to past thoughts and actions become our
destiny and karma. Our destiny is simply the rebounding effects of previous choices remembered by the soul.
(2) The Hindu Upanishads: "A man acts according to the desires to which he clings. After death he goes
to the next world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and, after reaping there the harvest
of those deeds, he returns again to this world of action. Thus, he who has desire continues subject to rebirth.
He who lacks discrimination, whose mind is unsteady and whose heart is impure, never reaches the goal, but
is born again and again. But he who has discrimination, whose mind is steady and whose heart is pure,
reaches the goal and, having reached it, is born no more."

E. Some people reincarnate from hell realms

A Hindu NDEr: "Hell is a spiritual condition that some people are allowed to experience whose goal is to
purge aspects of their personality so that they can participate once again in the cycle of reincarnation."
Arthur Yensen: "Without physical bodies, feelings of hate and fear are intensified as souls [in hell] vainly
try to hide from their enemies. Their only hope is to reincarnate. Then unfortunately when they do, they may
forget all about their torment in hell and again lead lives of greed and tyranny. This miserable cycle can
continue forever unless they find salvation in one of their lifetimes. Such people really need a savior, since
they are not able to help themselves. I'm sure Christ incarnated to help them because he said, 'I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'"
Sylvia Browne: "After death, people who accrued severe negative karma will enter a hellish realm for a
short period. After they have reflected upon their actions, they will be allowed to reincarnate."

F. The nature of reincarnation

Edgar Cayce: "We prepare for future lifetimes during the life we live now."
Amber Wells' NDE research: "We progress at our own rate to reach the light. If we do things that take us
away from the light, then we are perpetuating our time here."
Apostle Paul, Apocalypse of Paul: "For the soul who wishes to ascend to the highest heaven, reincarnation
is to be avoided."
Jan Price: "A woman of breathtaking beauty (Jan's Higher Self) appeared as I watched in awe, and even
after the full materialization from pure light to visible, substantial form was complete, nothing was static ...
'Look into my eyes,' she said with a gentle but commanding smile. As I did, I felt myself being absorbed ...
The eyes I stared into were mine, the eyes of my soul ... As though looking into a kaleidoscope, I saw myriad
lifetimes and experiences. Oh, the wonder of me."
David Oakford: "Because of our free will, we are able to inflict pain and suffering on others. When we
die, we realize the mess we left behind from our previous life and we may decide to return to clean it up. By
doing this, we don't contribute to the combined mess that exists on earth by others."

G. Reincarnation is a process

"The process that determines the number of destinies a soul can chose from before reincarnating to earth
is an astrological process based on the nine planets of our solar system that are physical representations of
afterlife realms. This is the fundamental concept behind astrology: the position of the planets influences the
destiny of the soul reincarnating to earth. However, free will is much greater than these influences. The
planets only influence - they do not compel." (Edgar Cayce)
Plato, the philosopher: "There is a heavenly process which connects souls with bodies to be
reincarnated."
Mellen-Thomas Benedict: "The center of the earth is this great transmuter of energy, just as you see in
pictures of our earth's magnetic field. That's our cycle, pulling reincarnated souls back in and through it again.
A sign that you are reaching human level is that you are beginning to evolve an individual consciousness. The
animals have a group soul, and they reincarnate in group souls. A deer is pretty much going to be a deer
forever. But just being born a human, whether deformed or genius, shows that you are on the path to
developing an individual consciousness."
Thomas Sawyer: "Reincarnation is not a linear thing. One of the problems in defining it is that there is no
analogy to it. It is outside of time, yet we can't help but think of it in terms of the past and the future, and this
incarnation. The whole story is so big and so involved."
Edgar Cayce: "As our souls draw closer to God, our souls become aware that some of our memories are
not compatible with God, and since its ultimate purpose for being is companionship with God, our souls
seek out opportunities to resolve these incompatible memories."
Arthur Yensen: "Between lives, with the great knowledge of our Higher Selves, we choose the next life
we are going to live and how much karma we are going to meet and settle. For example, if we abused animals
or people in one life, our Higher Selves would probably urge us to reincarnate into a situation where we
would get abused to make us realize the misery we caused others."
Thomas Sawyer: "Once we enter into the light and blend with God, we become God. Light can be
divided into parts with each part remaining to be the Whole. Each part is wholly God. We are all a part of the
light of God. When merging with the light, we cease to exist as a personality but every bit of our personality is
available for reincarnation."
 Amber Wells' NDE research: "The inner quality is there, the inner self remains, but the external aspect
that may have seemed very strong is dissolved. Individuality isn't the same there. We are the same as
everybody and everybody is us. Our spirit is always ours. We are not the personality that we were on earth. In
the other realm we are everything, light is everything."
Thomas Sawyer: "Reincarnation involves returning to earth with aspects of our previous personalities and
even aspects of other soul's personalities as a new personality. The soul doesn't evolve, the personality does."
Edgar Cayce: "Reincarnation happens not only on earth, but reincarnation happens in afterlife realms as
well. Between earth lives, we dwell in afterlife realms before deciding whether or not to reincarnate to earth.
If a soul reincarnates to earth from an afterlife realm, the soul will manifest the influence of that realm
through its physical representation of one of the planets in our solar system. All the planets in our solar
system are physical representations of afterlife realms. Because of this, the planets exert an astrological
influence on us. It is through these planetary astrological influences that we learn our lessons and are tested
on earth."
Dr. Ian Stevenson: "Homosexuality is a natural human trait that is the result of a person of a particular
gender reincarnating as a person of the opposite gender. Such people must adjust to their new gender and
sexuality at an early age. Former girls who are reborn as boys may wish to dress as girls or prefer to play with
girls rather than boys. Former boys who are reborn as girls may wish to dress as boys or prefer to play with
boys rather than girls. Former men who are reborn as women will be attracted to women and will therefore
be lesbian. Former women who are reborn as men will be attracted to men and will therefore be gay."
Kevin Williams: "Dr. Stevenson's research supports the scientific evidence that homosexuality is a natural
human genetic trait and not a lifestyle or personal choice."

H. Reincarnation insights from NDEs

"It is a matter of personal knowledge from what the being with whom I spoke during my near-death
experience told me about my older son, that he had had 14 incarnations in female physical bodies previous to
the life he has just had." (Amber Wells NDE research)
The following is a conversation between Jesus and Jeanie Dicus during her NDE: "He kind of grinned, I
guess I was amusing him, and he answered, 'You want to be reincarnated?' 'Hey, give me a break,' I yelled
(only I made no sound). 'I just died. Don't I get a chance to rest?' 'Take it easy, hold on, it's alright. You can
change your mind at any time.' I gasped, 'I don't even believe in you and now you want me to reincarnate.
Help!'"
Christian Andreason: "I saw four translucent screens appear (and form a kind of gigantic box around me).
It was through this method that I was shown my life review. (Or rather I should say my LIVES IN
REVIEW!) Without ever having to turn my head, I saw my past, my present, my future and there was even a
screen that displayed a tremendous amount of scientific data, numbers and universal codes. I saw the
beginning of my known existence as a Soul and saw that I had existed Spiritually long before this incarnation
-- where I am now a male human known as Christian Andreason! In Heaven, I undeniably saw that I had
lived an innumerable amount of lives. Yet, what I saw went way beyond our comprehension of what we think
reincarnation is. So, I am not exactly speaking of being born again and again on this planet alone. I saw that it
is a big Universe out there and God has it all organized perfectly. Each of us is sent where we can obtain the
best growth according to our Divine purpose."
Amber Wells' NDE research: "My whole life went before me of things I have done and haven't done, but
not just of this one lifetime, but of all the lifetimes. I know for a fact there is reincarnation. This is an
absolute. I was shown all those lives and how I had overcome some of the things I had done in other lives.
There were still some things to be corrected."
Karen Brannon: "He said, 'Do you want to stay or go back?' I was very aware that this decision would be
if I would stay in the heavenly realms or return to my life as Karen on planet earth. All of my being wanted to
stay there in bliss, but ever since I was six, I knew that reincarnation is the natural fact of life, and now, I had
the knowingness that if I chose to stay, I would have to reincarnate to earth again later. At the time, that was
unacceptable to me. I didn't understand then that earth is a boot camp and school for soul's spiritual
education, and as such, it's tough. Nevertheless, I knew that I had to return and finish whatever mission I had
to do here."
Plato, the philosopher: "From the other tunnels came souls preparing for reincarnation on earth. From
above came souls happily reporting delights and visions of a beauty beyond words. From below came souls
lamenting and wailing over a thousand years of dreadful sufferings, where people were repaid manifold for
any earthly suffering they had caused."
Amber Wells' NDE research: "I had a lot of questions, and I wanted to know what they (the light beings)
were doing why are you just kind of milling around here? And someone stepped forward ... it wasn't just one
... I got information from a number of them ... that they were all waiting for reincarnation."
David Oakford: "They said that I originally came to Gaia to learn and share with others using the gifts
that I have accumulated over several lifetimes."
Sandra Rogers: Sandra committed suicide and had a near-death experience. The light gave her access to
unlimited knowledge. She was told that she could remain in the light, provided she later reincarnate to re-
experience and overcome all that brought her to the point of suicide. Or, she could be revived to live out the
rest of her life and overcome her problems here and now. She chose to be revived.
Edgar Cayce: A woman once consulted Edgar Cayce to decide whether or not to undergo a very high-risk
surgery. After inducing an out-of-body experience, Cayce went through the tunnel and visited the Hall of
Records where he read her record in the Book of Life. Cayce advised the woman to have the surgery because
it would be a success. Cayce explained that the surgeons who were to perform the surgery were once
Inquisitors in a past life who tortured and killed her because of her religious beliefs. Cayce explained that by
allowing these surgeons to heal her, she would be allowing them to pay a karmic debt they owed her. She
underwent the surgery and it was a success just as Cayce foretold.
Edgar Cayce: Jesus had many incarnations on earth and we can experience full knowledge of all of them
after death.
 CHAPTER 7:
RELIGIOUS EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE

1. Christian Doctrines and the Near-Death Experience

Someone once asked me the following question: "You mentioned how you learned from near-death
testimony how we don't go to heaven by believing in Jesus; but rather, we grow to heaven through emulating
Jesus by loving everyone unconditionally. How has your knowledge of NDEs changed your belief in
Christian doctrines such as the trinity, resurrection, the work of Jesus, and others."
My answer is NDE testimony has expanded my understanding of practically all Christian doctrines. Where
controversial doctrines were once in question, NDE testimony gave me the answers. The following are my
answers to questions related to Christian doctrines in light of my understanding of NDEs.

A. List of NDE Answers to Christian Questions

(1) God

The Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:16) and God is light (1 John 1:5). And the Apostle Paul
quoted Greek philosopher poets to show that God is also life in Acts 17:26-28:
"From one man he (God) made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked
out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek
him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 'For in him we live
and move and have our being.' [1] As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" [2] (Acts
17:26-28).
Notice in the above Bible verse how the Apostle Paul references the Greek philosopher poet Epimenides
[1], who lived in the 7th or 6th century BC, and the Greek poet Aratus [2] who lived in between the 2nd and
3rd centuries BC, concerning the Greek philosophy of everything existing as a part of God. And because all
physical matter can be reducible to light particles according to particle physics, science also supports
everything in the universe consisting of light particles. Another supporting Bible verse declares God to be
"eternal" life (1 John 5:20). And according to the Bible, God is literally the "life force" holding all things
together as declared in Colossians 1:15-17 -- a reference to the awesome power of the atom. So according to
the Bible, God exists as a Biblical "trinity" of love (the "Father", the "Mind" of Christ), and life (the "Son",
the "Body" of Christ), and light (the Holy Spirit, the "Spirit" of Christ). God is literally the "Force" of life
holding all light particles in the universe together in love. So this realization of God existing everywhere in
everything -- and that all humans are all a part of God -- agrees with the Bible and the consensus among
people having NDEs. These Bible verses also agree with NDE testimonies, and another Bible verse
(Numbers 23:19), which shows that God does not exist in the form of a man sitting on a throne. God is the
light of love shining from one degree to another within the life of everyone, including such great wisdom
teachers as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, Moses, etc. One particular near-death experiencer gave a good
analogy of their experience of God in heaven -- air is to the physical world, what God is to the spirit world. In
the higher realms of light, it has been said the presence of God is obvious to everyone. Read more about
NDEs and my research conclusions concerning God.

(2) Evolution
 Scientific, metaphysical, religious and NDE evidence suggests both evolution and creationism are true.
The universe was created by God through the process of evolution billions of years ago. Although a literal
interpretation of Genesis suggests the universe is no older than 7,000 years, the scientific evidence shows the
universe is around 14 billion years old. The light from the stars we see in the night sky took millions and
millions of years to reach our eyeballs. If this was not true, you would not be able to see them. This fact alone
proves the universe is much older than 7,000 years. The Bible also declares how one day to God is but a
thousand years and vice versa (2 Peter 3:8). However, a spiritual interpretation of Genesis can incorporate the
scientific evidence because the universe is a greater revelation of God than Genesis. The universe itself is a
greater declaration of God's handiwork than the entire Bible. And there is a mountain of scientific evidence
supporting the theory of evolution. You can read more about human origins based upon a famous NDE
experiencer.

(3) Humanity

So, our bodies evolved from the earth. Our minds evolved with the stars according to Biblical astrology.
And our spirits evolved from God. This is the mystery of God within human beings. While in the physical
world, we are evolving into perfect human beings in body, mind, and spirit. Jesus said, "you are gods" (John
10:30-36) declaring the divinity within himself and every human being. When making this declaration, Jesus
was referencing to Psalm 82:1-6 how we too are "gods" and "sons" (i.e., children) of God just like Jesus. Read
more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning humanity.

(4) Garden of Eden

A literal interpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden tells a bizarre tale of how "evil" and "sin"
entered into this world, and how humanity fell from God's grace: A talking snake tricked a woman, who was
created from a man's rib, into eating magical fruit.
A literal interpretation of Genesis 2 through Genesis 3 shows just how ridiculous are assuming the Bible
should always be literally interpreted. Such a ridiculous literal interpretation of creation supposedly unleashed
the horrible satanic legions of apocalyptic abomination of desecration, and the damnation of souls from the
dark abyss, and into the hearts of all humanity bringing unspeakable evil, death, oblivion, holocaust, and
Armageddon.
However, if we give this ridiculous story a spiritual interpretation, as one would do with a parable or
dream, then we are able to see Genesis as being an archetypal account of humanity's fall from the spiritual
world to the physical world. The "Garden of Eden" represents our heavenly origin. The snake in Genesis
representing wisdom (knowing both good and evil); and the snake in other religions represents spiritual
wisdom. The "forbidden fruit" possibly is a symbol representing our free will. Our "banishment from Eden"
represents how some souls left the divine origins of heaven to explore their free will and physical reality. A
large group of early Christians believed this was the real story behind Genesis. Read more about my research
conclusions concerning the fallibility of a literal interpretation of the Bible.

(5) Adam and Eve

A literal interpretation of Genesis suggests Adam was the first human on earth. Eve, supposedly created
from the rib of Adam, was the first woman on earth. But this story doesn't account for the millions of years
of human evolution discovered by science. Edgar Cayce, who experienced NDEs for over forty years, was
given the complete account of Adam and Eve:
"Human beings evolved from homo erectus to homo sapiens. Homo sapiens did not become human
beings until souls who left their divine origins in heaven began to possess homo erectus bodies. This is the
actual interpretation of the Biblical story of 'sons of God' mating with the "daughters of men."
The story of Adam and Eve is the story of how ape-men became human. Once souls began possessing the
bodies of these ape-men, they came out of the trees, developed communities, learned to cultivate and created
religions. The first man, Adam, was the first homo sapien to become the first "son of God" and the first to
receive the fullness of divine consciousness. Edgar Cayce revealed Adam was the first incarnation of the
"Christ" soul. The "Christ" soul was a higher spiritual being chosen to supervise the evolution of humanity.
Cayce revealed Jesus, as a human being, was not the only incarnation of the Christ soul; he was the final
incarnation of the Christ soul. This is why the Bible reveals Jesus to be the first and last Adam (1 Corinthians
15:45 and Romans 5:14). Read more about Edgar Cayce's NDE testimony on the past lives of Jesus.

(6) Original Sin

The doctrine of original sin came from a literal interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve. It suggests
the sin of Adam led to spiritual and physical death of all humanity. Only a divine savior can reverse it.
The notion of God punishing children for the sins of their fathers is incredibly unjust and Christians need
to face up to this. Suppose your friend committed a murder. It would be an incredible travesty of justice if
your friend's son was executed because of his father's sin - especially if your friend gets off scot-free. Read
more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning religion.

(7) Evil

The Bible describes evil as being like a "plague" of the human soul. Many Christians believe this evil is a
universal force opposing God and is the source all sin. The phrase "The Devil made me do it" is a similar
concept believed by Christians. But NDE testimonies reveal evil is best understood to be an ignorance of
spiritual realities. In other words, what many Christians know to be sin is best understood as being mistakes
from which we learn valuable lessons.
It must be admitted by all Christians: "evil" and "sin" are permitted to exist only because of the
sovereignty of God. Otherwise, God would have destroyed it the moment it appeared. People having NDEs
learn God permits human beings to make mistakes for the purpose of spiritual instruction and enlightenment.
For example, Hitler was a very "evil" man: he was a "very ignorant" man when it came to spiritual realities. So
there is no universal force than made Hitler "evil." Hitler made himself into a very, very ignorant person.
Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning Hitler.

(8) Satan

The Bible refers to an entity known to be the originator of "evil". According to the Bible, this entity was
one of the greatest creations of God but fell from grace. It is believed this entity, called "Satan", is an
omnipresent force leading a rebellion against God by tempting people into sin. It is believed this entity is
responsible for the fall of humanity from the grace of God. However, many near-death experiencers have
learned such an entity does not exist. What Christians believe to be "Satan" is actually known by NDE
experiencers as being their own personal flaws of self-centeredness, self-gratification, self-glorification, self-
consciousness, self-righteousness, self-interest and the preoccupation with SELF. Read more about NDEs
and my research conclusions concerning Satan.

(9) Angels and Demons

The Bible describes angels as being a hierarchy of spirit entities who aid humanity in fulfilling the work of
God. Demons are a hierarchy of lower spirit beings warring against God and man.
There is much evidence from NDEs, after-death visitations, deathbed visions, out-of-body experiences,
dreams, etc. of the existence of a hierarchy of angels. Some of these angels are actually the spirits of human
beings. The Biblical describes how people entertaining strangers may be entertaining angels without knowing
it (Hebrews 13:2). Other angels appear with great authority and emit a tremendous amount of light and love.
The Bible and NDEs reveals entities who can best be described as horrible. People having NDEs have
described spirit entities with grotesque bodies having such features as rotting flesh, melting faces, a dark
countenance with very unpleasant personalities. It is generally assumed by NDE experiencers that these
entities were once human beings. These beings can be encountered in the hell realms. Earthbound human
souls haunting the living have been mistaken for "demons". However, God has not abandoned these souls
according to many NDEs. Rather, their condition is a temporary one caused by their refusal to enter into the
Light because of the fear their "darkness" will be revealed (John 3:19-21). God has a plan for every one of
these miserable souls to attain liberation. Eventually, all souls will eventually see the light and progress higher.
Like the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, God allows such souls to have the spiritual "time-out" they desire as
long as necessary. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning angelic guides.

(10) Heaven and Hell

Traditional Christianity holds to the existence of only three realms: hell, the physical realm, and heaven.
NDE testimonies generally agree with this; although they have described the existence of many hell realms
and many heaven realms. The Bible describes the existence of a "third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). I have
read enough NDE testimonies to conclude the physical realm we currently inhabit is a realm somewhere in
the middle of the hierarchy of afterlife realms. In other words, we are actually living in the afterlife right now
and our physical universe is but one of these realms in the hierarchy. So, we are moving up the "ladder of
success", you might say, in God's heavenly "corporation" to become permanent citizens once again in the
highest heaven. The highest heaven is the eventual destiny of every human being. It is where we originated
from - our true home - and where we all will eventually return.

(11) God's Law

The "law of God" in the Bible is based on the concept of "an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth." This is
the natural law of cause and effect; what goes up must come down; do unto others and the same will be done
to you; live by the sword and you will die by the sword; you reap what you sow; every action has an equal and
opposite reaction; the law of karma, etc... This is the law of nature and the law of the physical realm. While
the effects of this law can be seen everywhere, there exists an even greater law revealed from higher sources.
It is the law of love - forgiveness and grace. When someone strikes you in the face, you should not strike
back. This will stop the vicious cycle of hurt in its tracks. It means loving even your enemies. It means
unconditional love. The best way to undo "bad karma" is through love and forgiveness. Like love, forgiveness
is a divine trait because God forgives everyone. Actually, NDE testimonies reveal there is really nothing for
God to forgive us for. God allows us to make mistakes for higher reasons. God is love (1 John 4:16) and love
keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians.13:4-5). In fact, love removes a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).
Therefore, the law of God is love (Romans 13:10). The commandment of God is love (John 15:12). Love is
the very gospel of God (John 3:16). Jesus taught how the way to eternal life is through love (Luke 10:25-28).
Everyone who loves is "born of God" and knows God (1 John 4:7). We know we are "saved" if we love
others (1 John 3:14). Love is the sign of being a disciple of Christ (John 13:35). Without love we are nothing
(1 Corinthians 13:2). Without love we gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). So faith alone without works of love
is dead (James 2:17). The Kingdom of heaven can be found within ourselves (Luke 17:20).

(12) Virgin Birth

I believe it matters very little whether or not a person believes in the virgin birth of Jesus or not. Modern
Bible scholarship has revealed the verse in Isaiah describing a "virgin" giving birth to a Messiah is actually
better translated as "young woman". Personally, I don't believe it matters in the scheme of things whether
Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. If she was a virgin, then her pregnancy was a miracle. If not,
then it wasn't a miracle. Either way, Jesus had a human side to him either way. Read more about one
particular near-death experiencer interpreted the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth.

(13) Jesus
 The Bible describes special people whom exhibited super-human abilities. One of them was Jesus. The
influence of the life of Jesus upon the world cannot be overstated. Jesus also appears frequently in NDEs.
The Bible describes Adam to be the first "son of God." The Apostle Paul compares to Jesus to Adam when
he refers to Jesus being the "last Adam" who undoes the error of the "first Adam".
In the Hebrew Bible, a character named Melchezidek is described as someone who was never born and
who has never died. Paul describes Jesus as being a priest in the order of this Melchezidek. Enoch was
another special person because God took him to heaven without suffering death (possibly an NDE). The
story of Joseph is about a man who was thrown into a pit and left for dead by his brothers. From this pit, he
eventually rose to become an Egyptian prince. Joseph was blessed with the power of dream interpretation
and prophecy. It is clear from the Bible these were very special people. If the gospels are true, then Jesus
certainly displayed powers no one else ever had. However, Jesus did say we could perform the same miracles
as he if we believed (John 14:12). Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning Jesus.

(14) Christ

The word "Christ" means "anointed one" and is a reference to the Hebrew Messiah. The New Testament
declares Jesus to be the Hebrew Messiah. The origin of the concept of the Messiah can be found in Genesis
where God informs Satan of a descendant of Eve who will destroy him and - in the process - Satan will harm
this descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15). This descendant of Eve will be known as the Messiah.
The Bible describes several people who help to fulfill this prophecy of the Messiah. As previously
mentioned, several such people in the Bible includes Adam, Enoch, Melchezidek, Joseph and Jesus. These
people display many characteristics similar to each other and Jesus.
The Bible reveals how reincarnation was widely believed in Biblical days. There is strong evidence of Jesus
teaching reincarnation in the Bible. Christians who believe in reincarnation can see how these special people
in the Bible could be the reincarnation of the same soul. Several Christian groups living around the time of
Christ believed in reincarnation as well. The man who had more documented NDEs in history, Edgar Cayce,
affirmed this to be the case as well.
In essence, the Bible is the story of this special soul called "the Christ" and his ministry throughout the
recorded history of the world. From this revelation, one can believe in the humanity of Jesus, as flesh and
blood, whose soul attained "Christhood" (i.e., at-onement with God) as the "anointed one" who reincarnated
at times to enlighten the world.

(15) Trinity

According to the Bible, humans were created in the image of God. According to many religious traditions
and NDEs, a human consists of a physical body, a mental body and a spirit body. Therefore, the human body
is actually a trinity of bodies: mind, body and spirit. The Bible describes God as a trinity of "bodies": life,
light, and love. Jesus described his relationship with God as: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Using this information, we can now understand the relationship between God, Jesus and humanity. The
Bible refers to humans as being part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), having the Mind of Christ (1
Corinthians 2:16), and having the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). This explains why Jesus defended his divine
nature by making a "blasphemous" remark to the religious leaders in John 10:30-36 where he quoted Psalm
82:6. The verse in Psalm states, "You are gods; you are sons of the Most High." Jesus was almost killed for
quoting this verse. It clearly states the divine nature within all human beings.
This concept of the trinity I have described is another revelation from Edgar Cayce who described this
trinity in terms of the body (conscious mind), the soul (subconscious mind), and the spirit (superconscious
mind). According to Cayce, each aspect of our being corresponds to various afterlife realms. The body
belongs to the physical realm; the soul belongs to the astral realm (the realm of dreams and near-death
experiences), and the spirit belongs to the spirit realm (the higher realms of pure consciousness).

(16) Bible Miracles

 The most intriguing miracles in the Bible are those performed by Jesus. Jesus turned water into wine,
raised people from the dead, walked on water, healed many people of incurable diseases, transfigured into a
Being of Light, feed a multitude of people, quieted a storm, foretold his own death and rose from the dead.
Because so many NDE testimonies identify Jesus to be a "Being of Light", this is strong evidence of a
historical Jesus and not a mythical Jesus. NDE experiencers have received information of the truthfulness of
the Bible when it is interpreted spiritually. Because of this, I see no reason to disbelieve these miraculous
claims - especially in light of the miracles reported in modern times such as psychic phenomenon, healings,
near-death experiences, etc. Read more about NDEs and the miracles of Jesus here.

(17) Resurrection

The consensus among Christians is "resurrection" is the miraculous power of God in raising corpses out
of their graves and transforming them into immortal bodies. The gospels describe Jesus resurrecting Lazarus
from the dead and Jesus himself resurrecting from the dead.
The concept of a "final resurrection" originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism which is also
the source for apocalyptic end of days and the concept of Satan and demons. During the Babylonian exile of
the Jews, these concepts from Zoroastrianism were incorporated into the Hebrew religion. In the days of
Jesus, the religious sect called the Sadducees rejected all Persian concepts because they believed them to be
"foreign" doctrines. For this reason, the Sadducees rejected the concept of resurrection and maintained the
traditional Hebrew doctrine of Sh'eol, the place where all the dead go.
The Pharisees, according to Flavius Josephus, believed "resurrection" meant reincarnation. It is also clear
the traditional Zoroastrian concept of resurrection was also believed in those days. Paul was a Pharisee who
embraced the Zoroastrian concept of resurrection (i.e., reincarnation).
In the 1940's, two of the greatest archeological discoveries occurred - the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag
Hammadi library of Gnostic Christian writings. Among modern Biblical scholars who examined these early
works, a controversy and cover-up centered occurred which dealt with the concept of resurrection found in
the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic Christians. These early writings affirm the concept of resurrection
actually meant reincarnation in those days.
In the Bible, Jesus describes two different kinds of "resurrection". One kind is a physical "resurrection"
identical to reincarnation. The other kind refers to spiritual "resurrection" - a regeneration or becoming "born
again." Lazarus is described in the Bible as being "resurrected" physically from the dead. The same happened
to Jesus. Although there is no reason to doubt these events, affirming them does not discredit reincarnation.
It is possible Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death in the same way people have after-death visitations
today. This means the resurrection of Jesus does not necessarily need to be interpreted as a physical
resurrection. Jesus' resurrection appearances could have likely been after-death communications (ADCs).
Read more about this topic in this article.

(18) Gospel

Jesus came to bring the "gospel" which literally means "good news". Jesus gave the meaning behind the
gospel when a scribe asked Jesus what it took to attain eternal life. Jesus affirmed the key to eternal life was
loving your neighbor and loving God with all your heart (Luke 10:25-28). Eternal life simply means never
having to die anymore. By reading the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings of Jesus, his emphasis on
unconditional love becomes clear. Because God is love, it is easy to believe the gospel is also about love. Jesus
did not come to teach a new religion. Jesus taught people unconditional love. It was the "heart" of his
message because love is God.

(19) Salvation

Many Christians believe only those who believe in Jesus are saved from hell. I believe this is based on a
misinterpretation of the teachings of Jesus. After all, even demons believe in Jesus.
 The Bible describes two different types of salvation. One type of salvation is defined by Paul. It is
salvation by faith alone. The other type of salvation was defined by James, the brother of Jesus. James taught
salvation by performing good works of faith. Jesus clearly emphasized good works - especially loving others.
When Nicodemus asked Jesus what he meant by "born again", Jesus replied "whosoever believes in him will
have eternal life." What does Jesus mean by "believes in him?" Does it mean those who believe in his name
have eternal life? Or does it mean those who believe Jesus is their savior have eternal life? Or does it mean
those who know certain things about Jesus have eternal life? None of these are correct. In Luke 10:25-28,
Jesus describes what it takes to have eternal life - loving others and God. So, we see salvation through good
works - not faith alone (James 2:24). Everyone who loves has been born again knows God (1 John 4:7-8).

(20) Last Judgment

Throughout the Bible, references to the "judgment" of God are given. Although God may be called the
"Great Judge", this does not necessarily mean the Great Judge does, in fact, judge people. Even the Bible says
God does not judge people (John 5:22). Nor does Jesus judge anyone (John 8:15 and John 12:47-48). The
Bible suggests people are "self-judged" (John 12:47-48). Much of the doctrine of a "Judge of Wrath" comes
from the symbolism of the parables of Jesus and the Book of Revelation - both of which are not to be taken
literally. NDE testimonies support the idea of people judge themselves - God does not. Read more about the
NDEs and my research conclusions concerning the life review.

(21) Damnation

The image on the left is a depiction of the fundamentalist's view of damnation. In this case, it is a
depiction of Jesus casting a Hindu teenager into hell for never having made a pledge of allegiance to His
Lordship. This concept of "eternal damnation" comes mostly from the symbolism of the parables of Jesus
and the Book of Revelation which were never meant to be understood literally. Near-death experiencers
affirm hell is a place for purification and instruction, not eternal damnation. Common sense should tell
people a God of infinite love and mercy would never allow even one soul to be eternally tortured in hell.
Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions about hell. Also, read the history of how the Christian
doctrine of hell became an eternal hell.

(22) Bible

Several near-death experiencers were told by Jesus the Bible is true but it has to be read spiritually, not
literally. A literal interpretation of the Bible yields a multitude of errors and contradictions. It is also a mistake
to limit all revelations of God to just the Bible as many Christians do.
The Bible, as it exists today, is the product of the Catholic Church when a relatively few bishops and
clergymen decided what would be in the Bible and what would not. The Book of Enoch was a book
considered to be holy scripture by the Jews during the days of Jesus. In fact, a quote from the Book of Enoch
can be found in the Bible - Jude 1:14-15 to be exact:
"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: 'See, the Lord is coming with thousands
upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they
have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.'" (Jude
1:14-15)
However, the Church rejected the Book of Enoch as heresy. But even the Book of John was suspected of
being heretical and almost received the same fate as the Book of Enoch.
During the early Church age, there were many gospels and many writings floating around. The few
clergymen of the Church had to decide what is inspired and what is not. It was completely a bureaucratic
process.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi scriptures show how many books were considered to be holy
scripture in the days of Jesus. This suggests the modern Bible is not the complete work of God.
 Many NDE testimonies involve a direct experience in heaven with the light of God. This cannot be said
of all the experiences in the Bible. This begs the question: "Are near-death experiences a greater revelation of
God than the Bible?" This is a question people have to answer for themselves. Read more about NDEs and
my research conclusions concerning religion.

(23) Church

Many Christians make the mistake of defining the "church" to be a building where people go to worship
God. However, Jesus' definition of the "church" is the people who are members of God's kingdom. Since
Christians generally believe Jesus is the Savior of the whole world, this suggests the whole world is made up
of members of God's kingdom. This agrees with NDE testimonies affirming universal salvation.

(24) Prayer

During Betty Eadie's NDE, she was actually shown how the prayers of people on earth create spiritual
"beams of light" shooting out from the earth and into outer space toward heaven. She saw how group prayer
creates an even larger and stronger beam of light to God. She saw how a mother's prayer for her children also
produces a much stronger beam of light. She saw how insincere prayers - or prayers of repetition - create very
weak beams of light falling short of the boundaries of earth and never reach heaven.
Kahlil Gibran, the famous Christian mystic and poet, had an interesting way of defining prayer. He said,
"God listens not to your words save when he utters them through your lips." I believe the poet is referring to
how God is within us and when we pray to God, we must go within.
One controversy for some Christians today is children not being allowed to pray in public school.
Although kids should and need to pray - especially when there is such an epidemic of drugs, gangs, and
venereal diseases in our public schools - I believe it might be harmful to allow prayers in public schools. It
leads to the question of "what kind of religious prayer should kids in school say? Some religions believe
prayers should be performed in a kneeling position facing East. Some religions teach people to pray to more
than one God. Some religions don't even involve prayer. So who is to decide what kind of prayer to give?
What if the majority of kids in a class wanted to say a Buddhist prayer with Christians in the same room?
Because of this, I think it is best to keep religious rituals and public prayers out of school and into churches
where they belong. Besides, Jesus taught against public prayer. He taught how prayers should be done in the
quiet of your own room where nobody but God can see you.

(25) Once Saved Always Saved

Orthodox Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and Martin Luther, traditionally held to the
belief of once a person is saved by Jesus, they are forever saved by Jesus. On the other hand, modern
Christianity in general holds to the belief of once you are saved by Jesus, you can still fall from God through
sin and become eternally lost. On the other hand, one particular NDE experiencer, Mellen-Thomas Benedict,
was given a revelation from God: humanity was already "saved". This is because NDEs affirm there is no
eternal damnation and God gives everyone as many opportunities it takes to grow toward the light.

(26) Predestination

Orthodox Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and Martin Luther, traditionally hold to a
doctrine of "election" which is a Biblical term used to describe how God is absolutely sovereign in deciding
whom to save and whom to damn. This is based upon Biblical references describing how God chose, before
the universe was created, an "elect" group of people out of fallen humanity whom God would save from
eternal damnation. Other Christians believe God gives everyone the opportunity to be saved because all
humans have a free will not enslaved to Satan. Calvinists deny free will except for the freedom given to us by
Jesus. However, I have discovered NDEs affirm both predestination and free will to be correct. God chose
to have every soul be "saved" from self-destruction. Everyone has the free will and ability to return to God.
The key to understanding this is all paths lead back to God. In other words, we choose our destiny. Our free
will is predestined to ultimately bring us closer to God.

(27) Second Coming

I believe the evidence shows Jesus as having many incarnations in this world. The idea of a "second"
coming is really a misnomer. It would be better to say Jesus will return in the same manner he has already
returned a number of times throughout history. This also means Jesus will enter the world the same way he
did the last time - through birth (or more correctly "rebirth"). Based on a number of prophecies - both
Biblical and NDE - I believe Jesus may have already been born again into this world for the final time. It
these prophecies are correct, then Jesus is now an adult and he is ready to help lead humanity once again to
seek the Kingdom of heaven within.

(28) Abortion

The controversy of abortion revolves around the question: "when is a human zygote or fetus an actual
human being?" Some people believe in "zygotic personhood" - the belief of life beginning at conception.
Some people believe life begins at birth. I prefer to believe the psychic revelation from Edgar Cayce on this
subject. The soul/spirit enters the body during a time period from six months before birth and up to an hour
after birth. The Bible describes God giving man the "breath of life" making him a living being. One particular
woman had an NDE from having an abortion and God had absolutely no condemnation against her. In
essence, God didn't care about it and didn't even mention it.
As long as babies are not aborted near the time of birth, I see no reason to prevent a woman from
aborting a fetus. In fact, contrary to what many Christians believe, the Bible actually approves of abortion.
According to Numbers 5:20-22, when a woman becomes pregnant by a man who is not her husband, God
gave Moses "water that brings a curse" which the pregnant woman must be made to drink to induce a
miscarriage. Also, the prophet Hosea prayed to God to have the fetuses of his enemies miscarry (Hosea 9:14-
16). Hosea's prayers were answered by God. From this, one can conclude abortion to be Biblical and legal.
However, it is not Biblical or legal to bomb abortion clinics and kill people. If life begins at conception, then
what about all the natural abortions millions of women menstruate every year? Is menstruation murder? You
can see how silly such a question is.

(29) Death Penalty

Suppose a murder/rapist tortured, raped and murdered your daughter (God forbid). The anger and desire
for retribution would be incredible for many people. NDE testimonies describe how the souls of murderers
and rapists create their own in hell after death. Many such experiences reveal how people in hell are allowed
to reincarnate when they finally repent of their actions.
Concerning the punishment of murderers, which is better: having murders killed immediately by capital
punishment and sending them to hell? Or is it better to have murderers "rot in prison" for the rest of their
life and then face a possible hell. For some of the more horrific murderers, death certainly seems too good
for them. But it may be best to have murderers live the rest of their lives in prison to reflect upon their
actions and face a lifetime of "prison justice" by other prisoners. Perhaps we should have compassion for
these unfortunately ignorant murderers. "Rotting in prison" may actually be the more humane route of
justice. It gives them the opportunity to be rehabilitated for when they must face God when they die.
I believe many Christians support the death penalty because the Bible suggests God supports it. Their
argument is: "if God did not believe in the death penalty, Jesus would have been given 10 to 20 years in
prison with time of for good behavior". But, in my opinion, Jesus' death penalty of crucifixion was cruel and
unusual punishment.
 REFERENCES

I. Exceptional Near-Death Experiences - https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional.html

1. David Goines' Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional/david-

goines.html

2. Dianne Morrissey's Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/experiences/exceptional/dianne-morrissey.html

3. Larry Hagman's Near-Death Experiences - https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional/larry-

hagman.html

4. Lou Famoso's Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional/lou-

famoso.html

II. Scientific Evidence Supporting Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife - https://www.near-
death.com/afterlife-evidence.html

1. Near-Death Experience Research Conclusions - https://www.near-death.com/science/research-

conclusions.html

2. Out-of Body Experiences and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/science/research/out-of-body-experiences.html

3. The Void and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/science/research/void.html

4. The Tunnel and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/science/research/tunnel.html

5. The City of Light and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/science/research/city-

of-light.html

6. The Life Review and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/science/research/life-

review.html

III. Psychological Evidence of the Afterlife - https://www.near-death.com/psychology.html

1. Carl G. Jung's Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-death.com/experiences/exceptional/carl-
jung.html

IV. Parapsychology Evidence of the Afterlife - https://www.near-death.com/parapsychology.html

1. Psychics and Near-Death Experience Afterlife Revelations - https://www.near-

death.com/parapsychology/psychics.html

2. Psychic Betty Bethards' Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/experiences/exceptional/betty-bethards.html

V. Philosophical Evidence of the Afterlife - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy.html

1. Skepticism and Near-Death Experiences - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism.html

2. NDEs Should Be Demonstrated Empirically - https://www.near-

death.com/philosophy/skepticism/ndes-should-be-demonstrated-empirically.html

3. NDEs are Scientifically Falsifiable - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/ndes-are-

scientifically-falsifiable.html

4. The Only Real Proof is OBE Veridical Perception - https://www.near-

death.com/philosophy/skepticism/the-only-real-proof-is-obe-veridical-perception.html

5. Self-Awareness Is Just a Brain Function - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/self-

awareness-is-just-a-brain-function.html

6. Nothing Useful Comes From NDEs - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/nothing-

useful-comes-from-ndes.html

7. The Existence of God is Unlikely - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/the-existence-of-

god-is-unlikely.html

8. People Don't Actually Survive Death - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/people-dont-

actually-survive-death.html

9. Life Outside of the Universe is Unlikely - https://www.near-death.com/philosophy/skepticism/life-

outside-the-universe-is-unlikely.html

VI. Reincarnation Evidence of the Afterlife - https://www.near-death.com/reincarnation.html

1. Reincarnation and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/science/research/reincarnation.html

VII. Religious Evidence of the Afterlife - https://www.near-death.com/religion.html

1. Christian Doctrines and the Near-Death Experience - https://www.near-

death.com/religion/bible/christian-doctrines-and-the-nde.html
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin R. Williams is a computer programmer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He
is the webmaster of the website "Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife" at www.near-death.com. The
website is one the most comprehensive website on the internet about near-death experiences. He is an active
member of IANDS, the International Association for Near-Death Studies. His interests also include
metaphysics, early Christian history, and comparative religions.
Kevin Williams believes his mission in life is to bring information about the NDE to the Internet and
beyond. He states, "My mission is to magnify the truth and to shine a light in this world of darkness. I seek to
end the ignorance and fear of death and to plant seeds of more spiritual love and light within my fellow
human beings. I wish everyone could find the enormous love and the great light I have discovered in
meditating on the profound truths revealed in the NDE. This is my mission in this life and my love."
Williams currently lives near Sacramento, California, where he continues to write and maintain his website.