Nothing Better Than Death
Insights from Sixty-two Profound Near-Death Experiences
 
 
by Kevin R. Williams
webmaster of www.near-death.com
 
 

Nothing Better Than Death: Insights from Sixty-Two Profound Near-Death Experiences


 
Copyright © 2007 by Kevin R. Williams. 


 
Library of Congress Card No:                      2002092764
ISBN:                    Hardcover                     1-4010-6412-4
                             Paperback                   1-4010-6411-6
                             E-book                         yet to file

 
All rights reserved. Feel free to distribute this free ebook as you will. The author requests that the contents not be altered in any way.


 
Printed in the United States of America
Edited by Glenn Williams

 
Published by:
Xlibris Corporation
436 Walnut St. 11th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106-9969
www.xlibris.com

 
To order hardcover or paperback copies of this book, visit this website:
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=15695
Or phone: (888) 795-4274; fax: (215) 923-4685 
 
 
****************************************************************************
 
In Memorandum

To my beloved Mother, Phyllis Scofield,
whose tragic death during the writing of this book,
taught me a lesson about life and death that I had never known before.
Although death brings overwhelming tears of joy to those who cross over,
it also brings overwhelming tears of sorrow to surviving family and friends.
This is true even for those who have, at the same time, 
overwhelming tears of joy knowing that there is 
nothing better on Earth than being dead.

 
***************************************************************************** 


Table of Contents
 
  
Forward ………………………………………………...................……………...  9
          Preface …………………………………………........…………………… 10
          Acknowledgments …………………………….…….…........……………. 11
          Introduction …………………………………………........….……………. 13 
I.  Testimonials …………………..…..……..........................….....…………….. 14 
          1.      May Eulitt …………………………………….........……….………...14
          2.      David Oakford …………………………........……….……………...18
          3.      Rene Turner ……………………………………........….………….. 29
          4.      Karen Schaeffer ………………………………..........………………32
          5.      Linda Stewart …………………………………….…............……… 36
          6.      Ricky Randolph ……………………………….….........…………… 39
          7.      Kerry Kirk  ……………………………………..…........…...……….. 45
          8.      Brian Krebs ……………………………...;.........…………………… 48
          9.      Joni Maggi …………………………………..…............…....………. 51 
II.   Near-Death Summaries ………………..…….....................…..........……..… 55 
III.  Research Conclusions ………………..……….................................…..…… 95 
           1.     Life Before Birth ……………………………...;….....…..........……... 95
           2.     Life ……………………………………...…………......;.....…………. 97
           3.     Humanity …………………………………………;............…………. 99
           4.     Religion ……………………………………….….....…......……….  101
           5.     Spirituality …………………………………….............…….……… 104
           6.     Future ……………………………………….....…….....……………109
           7.     Science ………………………………….....…….....……………….110
           8.     Death ……………………………………….....…….....…………….111
           9.     Life After Death ……………………………...;..….....………………116
          10.    God ………………………………………;…..........…..….....……... 120
          11.    Heaven ……………………………………..........…..……......……. 123
          12.    Hell ………………………………………..........…………........…….124
          13.    Reincarnation …………………….....…….....………….…...………126 
IV.  Questions and Answers …………...…...……..……............…....….........… 130 
           1.      Aren't NDEs merely the products of the dying brain? .......;........... 130 
           2.      Doesn't the only truly compelling proof of being out of
                    the body come from extreme remote viewing, where
                    the experiencer views things from great distances from
                    their body? ......................................................................................... 134
           3.      But, isn't self-awareness only a function of the brain? ...............…135
           4.      Doesn't the fact that NDEs are different suggest they 
                    are not true? ………………………………………….......….......…. 136 
           5.      Doesn't science make the existence of God unlikely? .................  144 
           6.      Doesn't life outside this physical universe seem unlikely, 
                    and wouldn't that rule out the possibility of a spiritual universe?.....144 
            7.     What are you hoping to learn from researching NDEs?................. 145 
            8.     What kinds of NDEs intrigue you the most? ………...................… 145 
            9.     How would you describe a typical NDE? …………........................ 146 
          10.    What aspects of the NDE catch your attention the most?................146 
          11.    Did the NDEs you researched take away your fear of death? …... 147 
          12.    Did you look at life differently after you first read some of
                    these NDEs? ...................................................................................... 147
          13.    What do you enjoy most about researching NDEs? …..................  148 
          14.    What do you think is the most important information you
                    learned from researching NDEs? ..................................................... 148
          15.    What do NDEs tell us about the future? ……………..............…...... 149 
          16.    What happens to those who commit suicide? …...............….…….  153  
V.  NDEs and Religion ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,……………………………...................…... 157 
           1.      NDEs are not unscriptural  …………………….............…....……… 158 
           2.      NDEs are not of the devil …………………………….....................…164 
           3.      NDEs and the Bible affirm God is unconditional love ….................. 173 
           4.      NDEs and the Bible affirm universal salvation ………..................… 177 
           5.      NDEs and the Bible affirm reincarnation ………..................…......... 194  
VI.  Appendix ………………………………………...…….…...................……….. 216 
          Life and Death Quotations …………………..…..............……...…,………. 216
          Notes …………………………………………………...............…....………. 223
          Bibliography …………………………………………..…….................…….  230   
          Recommended Websites ………………………..……....……….......…….  231 
          Recommended Videos ………………………………..…………….…...…. 232
          Near-death Support  Groups  ………………………..............…...….……… 237
          Art Credits …………………………………………….............….…...……… 242
          About the Author ……………………………………….........................…….  244


Forward
 
It all begins for us at birth. We are thrust from the womb onto the carousel of life, carried away in a blur of activities from childhood to adulthood and then to old age. Each of us have our dreams, our relationships and we go to school; we work and play, day after day, week after week, year after year. Life is certainly busy.
          
And yet we tend not to think about the fact of our inevitable death. It's kind of scary. It doesn't seem to make any sense that we will no longer exist as we know it. The fact is we will die and there is no way to avoid it. Like the child being born, we have no choice but to yield ourselves to the unknown. 
          
Like the seventy billion who have already passed this way through life, we will join their ranks at the rate of 130,000 a day. And in that same day, 400,000 new lives will be born. The cycle of life and death continues at an ever-increasing pace.
 
The fear of death has given rise to a host of speculations about an afterlife. Religions, philosophies and cults have multiplied over the millennia, all trying to answer our need for comfort about this seemingly absurd fate that awaits each of us. And now science has turned its gaze toward the matter of death. 
 
Beginning in the mid-1970s, noted researchers such as Raymond Moody, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Kenneth Ring, P.M.H. Atwater, Michael Sabom, and Melvin Morse, have brought the subject of NDEs to the popular front.  
 
In 1981 and again in 1991, George Gallup Jr. conducted a poll on close brushes with death. He was astonished to find out that some 8 to 12 million people in the United States have had an NDE. This is a population about the size of New York City. NDE researchers speculate that the figures may even be higher since the experiencer is often reluctant to talk about it. 

 
-- NORMAN VAN ROOY 
from his documentary, Shadows: Perceptions of Near-Death Experiences, Part 1 (1994) 
 

Preface
 
Socrates had this to say about death: 
 
"To fear death is nothing other than to think oneself wise when one is not. For it is to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may not even turn out to be the greatest blessings of human beings. And yet people fear it as if they knew for certain it is the greatest evil."  
          
Thousands of years later, NDEs are showing us that death is indeed the greatest blessing of human beings. According to a great number of people who have had an NDE, there is nothing better than death. One experiencer, Dianne Morrissey said, "If I lived a billion years more, in my body or yours, there's not a single experience on Earth that could ever be as good as being dead. Nothing." (1)  
          
Such insights into life after death are intriguing to say the least. After years of researching the NDE and gathering various accounts from books and visitors to my website (www.near-death.com), I have collected a few of the most profound of these insights to profile in this book.
        
I first learned of the NDE in the early 1970's after reading the groundbreaking book by Raymond Moody, Life After Life. His findings were a major factor in inspiring my own research into the NDE. Since then, I have read every major work concerning the phenomenon and many of the not so well known ones as well. As a result, I have developed a deep love for things concerning the NDE and the afterlife in general. Because of this deep love for these things, I am committed to bringing to the world the truths I have discovered about life after death. 
 
Many of these truths are universal. You will find these truths even speak to your heart and tell your mind of their truthfulness. Because many of these truths are universal, practical and of "common sense", I am confident they are in fact true. 
 
Before learning of the NDE, I became a fundamentalist Christian. This brand of Christianity is known for believing the NDE to be “of the devil.” As my knowledge of the NDE grew, I came to realize from what I researched the fact that God is not limited only to just those who profess the Christian faith. The NDE expanded my mind into understanding the vastness of God's love for all people, no matter what their religious or cultural persuasion. Since then, my heart has been burdened to reach Christians all over the world, to show them the truth of the NDE in order to increase their faith as well. The purpose of this book is not to promote religion, but to promote the great truths and spirituality found in the NDE. One of these truths is that God is not limited to any one religion or even religion at all. God cares only about a person's heart, not a person's religious affiliation or church membership. The NDE reveals that the way to heaven is through love because love is God. Love is not limited to only one religion or culture because love is universal. This truth is too immense and profound to be fully understood or embodied in any one religion.
 
I am not the source of these truths. I consider myself a person who has picked the most beautiful flowers from other people's gardens to create one of my own. Neither the gardeners nor I matter much, but it is the flowers themselves that matter most and the life force making them so lovely.
 
Read this book with an open mind and heart. The information in this book has the power to transform your life. You will find you do not need to have an NDE in order to be transformed by the NDE. Within these pages, you will find the truth of the NDE is already within yourself.
 

Acknowledgments
 
I first learned of spiritual concepts at a very early age from my grandparents Walter and Marie Williams, who taught us Sunday school lessons in the Nazarene Church. They planted the seed of love for the spiritual that has, over the decades, grown into a tree of life. I am deeply indebted to them and their love. They taught me at an early age the love of Jesus, which has never left me. Now, in their advanced age, it is I who am caring for them out of love. Without their early guidance, I am not sure where I would be today.
 
I want to acknowledge my father, who taught me the true meaning of being a Dad; my mother, who is now in heaven with her father and Jesus; my brothers and sisters, who taught me companionship from a very early age. I especially want to acknowledge my brother Glenn, who lead me to spirituality at a time I really needed it. An excellent writer and editor, he has supported my research by editing this book, for which I am truly grateful. Without his help, this book would have been extremely more difficult to produce. Although my siblings and I ultimately have embraced different religious philosophies, it is the love binding us together I cherish most. I thank them for the love and support they have given me.
 
I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Stephen Hoyer, who provided me the near-death experience of the late May Eulitt and also recommended to me Xlibris as a publisher. I must also acknowledge those NDE researchers who have had a tremendous influence on my life. As mentioned earlier, Dr. Raymond Moody's groundbreaking work, Life after Life, was responsible for me becoming interested in NDEs. Dr. Kenneth Ring has been a big help with his research and has graciously allowed me to use a large amount of his material for my website. I thank P.M.H. Atwater, whose work I greatly admire, for listing my website in her Complete Idiot's Guide to Near-Death Experiences -- a book I have deemed "Book of the Year" on my website. 
 
I would also like to thank all the experiencers who selflessly allowed me to profile their profound experiences. These include Linda Stewart, May Eulitt, David Oakford, Rene Turner, Karen Schaeffer, Ricky Randolph, Kerry Kirk, Brian Krebs and Joni Maggi. I am forever indebted to these individuals.
 
 
Introduction
 
The following is a brief synopsis of my understanding of reality based upon the higher knowledge I have researched in NDEs and their application toward my understanding of science, religion, metaphysics, and philosophy.
 
How we began: In the beginning, there was nothing but one universal, collective consciousness, which people refer to as "Spirit" or "God." Within this one Collective Consciousness are infinite points of consciousness. All things that ever existed in the past, and all things existing now in the present, and all things which will ever exist in the future, currently exists in an eternal spirit form as one of these infinite points of consciousness within the Collective Consciousness. Our spirit is a fractal of God. This means our spirit is both a part of the Whole and the Whole itself. Like a drop of water from the ocean, we are part of the ocean. Like a drop of water from the ocean, the very essence of the ocean is contained within us.
 
The origin of species and dawn of humanity:  Then, at some moment outside of time, came the desire for individuality and self-expression. This led to the creation of the cosmos and souls. The vehicle for our spirit is our soul. In the same way, the vehicle for our soul is our physical body. Our spirit is the eternal part of God. Our soul is a temporary vehicle for our spirit to experience individuality of existence between the physical realm and the spirit realm. The human body evolved from ape-men millions of years ago and it will continues to evolve until it is able do those things which fully evolved people from our past, such as Jesus and Buddha, have achieved. At some point millions of years ago, souls descended upon these ape-men and began influencing to come down out of the trees and eventually form societies. Then souls began inhabiting the bodies of these ape-men. Thus, the dawn of humanity arose on this planet.
 
Humans were created in the image of God:  Humans are three-dimensional beings: body, soul, spirit. The divine nature is as a manifestation of life, light, and love. The Bible mentions a trinity of personalities: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Bible also mentions a trinity of human-divine unity: Body of Christ, Mind of Christ, and Spirit of Christ. Science and metaphysics describe human awareness in terms of consciousness (mind), subconsciousness (soul), and the collective unconsciousness or superconsciousness (spirit).
 
What happens when we die:  After death, our soul body leaves our physical body. The physical body decays and is lost forever. As a soul, we can then experience in various soul realms as we did every night on Earth in our dreams. While in the soul realms, our soul body is the vehicle for our spirit. Our soul mind functions as our conscious awareness and our spirit mind plays the role of the subconscious mind. Ultimately, we will want to leave the soul realms and enter into the higher spirit realms. When that choice is made and the soul actually enters into the light, the soul merges fully with the light and soul body is shed much like the physical body was shed at death. The memories of the soul remain forever in the mind and the individual is now once again a pure spirit in the spirit realms. As a pure spirit, we exist once again in pure thought form in the mind of the one enormous and fantastic dream called "God."
 
Humanity is evolving in mind, body, and soul:  As human beings, we have been evolving on a biological level for millions of years. Between Earth lives, we spend "eternities" in spirit form in various spirit realms. We also return to these spirit realms every night during our dreams. The reason we choose to come to Earth for another relatively brief human experience is because we are also evolving at the soul level. Through the cycle of birth, death, life in the spirit realms, and rebirth into flesh, we are learning valuable lessons that only Earth lives can give. The goal for every human being is to evolve into perfection in a manner similar to that attained by Jesus, Buddha, and other great spiritual leaders. Ultimately, the day will come when the world will be filled with perfected human beings. It will be a time when humans will be able to live as long as they want and perform feats which today we would call "miraculous" - like walking on water. In such a state of perfected evolution, humans will have become "liberated" from this evolutionary cycle and will no longer be subjected to reincarnation. As taught in the mystical forms of the great world religions, liberation is attained by "becoming one" with all things and all people (i.e., "God") through the practice of unconditional love. This spiritual state of one-ness occurs when a person "awakens" their higher spirit-self and brings it into their conscious awareness. In Christianity, this liberation is referred to as spiritual resurrection or spiritual rebirth or being born again. In Buddhism, the state of liberation is known as Nirvana. In Hinduism, it is known as Moksha. In Gnosticism, this liberation occurs through attaining gnosis. All these concepts describe the same thing. It is the liberation of the spirit from the flesh. It is also the symbolism behind the crucifixion of Jesus.
 
Practicing love for one another is the way to heaven on Earth and heaven within:  Jesus taught people that the way to attain liberation is through the practice of unconditional love. Love brings about a one-ness between people and is necessary to attaining the higher dimensions of consciousness. Practicing unconditional love leads to the manifestation of the spirit within us and in our lives and brings our spirit into conscious awareness. It is an awakening of unconditional love within us and is the manifestation of our holy spirit within us. However, it is not enough to merely believe in love. Nor is it enough to merely know about love. To be spiritual beings living in a physical world, we must live love, manifest love, and become the embodiment of love. We do not get there by focusing only on the love and sacrifice of Christ nor through worshipping him.
 
The Christian life involves taking up our own cross and following in Jesus' footsteps by practicing unconditional love:  We can practice unconditional love by crucifying our self-centeredness through self-sacrifice and self-denial for the sake of serving others. "Crucifying the flesh" also means to put to death the desires of the lower self - the animalistic desires - to allow our higher self, our spirit, to come through.
 
The "beast" we are evolving away from: This lower nature within human beings is the unevolved animal nature within humanity that humans have been slowly shedding for millions of years through evolution and reincarnation. The nature of this unevolved beast within humanity is manifested as self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-centeredness, selfishness, self-importance, self-righteousness, self-delusion, self-condemnation, and the constant clamoring for self - ego (symbolically known as the "false god," the "devil," and the "beast.").
 
Discovering a higher reality and the supremacy of love:  It is the illusion of separation (i.e., that we are not, in fact, all part of one giant Whole), which is the source of many of the problems humanity has faced. This constant desire for self apart from the Whole must be overcome in order to become the spiritual beings we really are. We are actually spirit beings having a highly evolved human experience. Everything on the physical and soul level is slowly evolving toward perfect unity with the Whole. Here in the physical realm, we are "enrolled" in a "World-School" for a class called Introduction to Eternal Life 101 to learn how to live with and love the people around us forever. NDE research reveals an open secret about our lives on Earth. Life is a test. It is a gigantic examination that we will be graded on after death. There is no judgment except self-judgment and we should not even do that. There is no condemnation but self-condemnation and we should not do this either. The life review after death is for our educational benefit, enlightenment, and soul evolution. The life review is where we discover what we have been filling the void within us our entire life. The more we fill our void with love for others, the more we have evolved as soul. The love we have found within our void is what draws us into the light.
 
However, not everyone enters the light immediately after death. There are many reasons for this and they can be found within the NDE testimonies on this website. In general, it requires many human experiences (i.e., lifetimes) until our higher spiritual nature is brought into our consciousness awareness. In the end, no one is lost. There is no eternal damnation. Nobody completely "flunks out" of God's University of Higher Knowledge. God's love is "tough love" as well as unconditional not wanting anyone to be lost but to attain at the physical level what we are at the spirit level.
 
Life is about loving everyone and everything unconditionally forever as individuals and collectively as a Whole which is God.
 
 
Testimonials
 
Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. -- R. W. Raymond
 
1.  May Eulitt
 
The following is one of those very rare NDEs shared by several people at the same time. An excerpt is described in the words of May Eulitt to Stephen Hoyer, Ph.D. from their book entitled “Fireweaver.” (2) To read the full account, visit this web page.
 
May Eulitt, along with her cousin James and friend Rashad, were struck by lightning. The three of them find themselves in a large heavenly room where they realize they can communicate with each other telepathically. Then a warm, golden, and embracing light enters the room and the three of them enter into a beautiful valley. They observe a multitude of tiny bubbles drifting in the air which they learn represent souls. Because the three of them are of different religious backgrounds, the beautiful valley has a different interpretation between them. To May Eulitt, the beautiful valley represented heaven. James viewed the beautiful valley as the "Gulf of Souls". As a Buddhist, Rashad saw the beautiful valley as Nirvana. Then an angelic being came from the light whose identity was unique to each of the three. May Eulitt viewed this angelic being as a kind of Viking Valkyrie. To James, the angelic being was his late father. To Rashad, the angelic being was Buddha. Each of the three also received a different message. Ultimately, they were told that they had to return to their bodies which they do. (3)
 
2.  David Oakford
 
In the early summer of 1979, David Oakford was 20 years old and having problems dealing with his life situation. His childhood was not designed to enable him to properly deal with life in general. He had no self-esteem and everything he did to find peace within just did not work. He was pretty miserable and he felt lost and unloved. He turned to drugs and alcohol. He needed to find the peace within himself and he felt it calling him. It was at a party that David took an overdose of drugs and had an NDE. His NDE is one of the most profound you will ever read. The following is an excerpt from David Oakford's NDE. You can read his entire account in his book entitled “Soul Bared.”
 
I laid down to use the stability of the Earth in an effort to maintain a hold on reality. I knew I had to do that in order to be able to come back down.
 
The next thing I knew I was riding in my friend's car. I thought we went up north, crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and came back again. We rode past my childhood home and I saw my parents sitting on the porch.
 
I felt drawn to the trees. I could see and feel their strength. I saw their roots going deep into the ground. I mean I actually saw the tree roots physically reaching below the ground. I told my friends about the car ride after the experience and they told me the only place I went was to the chair they carried me to after I passed out on the porch.
 
I did wake up in the chair my friends say they put me in a bit later. When I woke up I could feel the organs in my body working, each one separately as well as all together. I could not see my friends anywhere. I could see in all the rooms of the house at the same time. The stereo was playing the Doors Absolutely Live album, except the volume was way too loud for me. Since I did not see any of my friends around I got up and tried to turn the music down, but could not. No matter what I did the music kept playing. I knew the stereo too. I had a real problem with the noise. It was tearing at me and I could not figure out why nor could I adjust the volume.
 
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. I was scared and alone and did not know what to do. I did not understand what was happening to me.
 
I asked God to help me. I did believe in God then, but I was kind of angry at him because of the crappy life I was experiencing. I reasoned if God were really the omnipotent and omniscient being I was taught he was he would not have let me experience the pain I had experienced throughout my life. I thought if there was a time I needed God, it was now! I was not disappointed with the result of my plea for help.
 
I looked over by the door to the outside and saw a beautiful being standing there. His feet did not touch the floor. His feet just blended into thin air. He looked both female and male and was young. I could not tell his/her sex. His hair was curly and he was about my height. He had this glow about him too. The glow was green close to him, then blue, then pure white in the upper areas. He said, "I am here to help you" but when he spoke his mouth did not move. I did not actually hear him speak with my ears. I felt what he was saying.
 
When I saw this being and he spoke to me, I was no longer afraid. I actually felt peace and comfort like I had never felt before. I felt the peace I was searching for throughout my entire life. The feeling was very familiar to me, like I had felt it before but not in this life.
 
This wonderful being called me by a name I do not remember. I told him he must have the wrong guy and the name he used for me was not my name. He laughed and said I was a great "master" and I had just forgotten who I was. I did not believe him, because I did not really know for sure what a "master" was then and if I were this great master I would not have had all the problems I had. I felt I was an evil being because that is what I was told in my life several times by many.
 
He told me his name, but I do not remember it. He told me he had been with me always and told me he knew I had a very hard life and he would help me understand why if I really wanted to. He told me he would help me remember who I am. He said he would understand if I did not believe him and offered to prove to me he knew everything about me.
 
He told me things I did when I as a child proving to me he was always with me. He told me about things I had only thought about. He told me I could go anywhere I wanted to go and he would show me how to do it if I wanted him to. He said that if I needed to come back and see my body I could. My body would be fine because I was still connected to it somehow.
 
When we spoke to each other we did so telepathically. The expression on his face was a happy one all the time.
 
I told him I would like to see the pyramids in Egypt as well as the southwest United States. He told me all I had to do was trust him, think about where I wanted to go, and we would go. I thought about the pyramids and we were there in an instant. I do not know why I chose the pyramids, the thought just popped into me so I went with that. While we were there he told me some things about the pyramids and Egypt I do not remember now. I really wish I could remember what he explained while we were there because I do know it was highly significant and had to do with humanity's future. The energy was the lowest in areas where there were man-made structures, the cities of the world. The energy I saw came from the human beings living in the cities. It was explained to me that humans are the basic producers of energy in cities because of their relatively low vibration level the energy is lower in general. I could see the higher sources of energy in the cities though. I was shown people who had higher energy levels and some of them actually talked to the being I was with. I saw dark souls during the time the being and I spent on Gaia. The dark souls were earthbound spirits who refuse to go to the light. They prey on the energies of humans still in human form and try to use those souls to prevent the evolution of spirit. I was told I was protected from these dark ones as long as I chose to focus on the love in me. The dark ones did not even try to affect us, in fact they gave us nasty looks and went away. I was told I would know these dark ones when I see them and I was told to tell them to go to the light. The light is a porthole to the place all souls go if they choose.
 
I could see energy around the humans too, all different levels and colors. The being explained the human energy to me. He said the energy coming from humans is what spirits use to evaluate the spiritual condition of particular humans. He said the lighter and more brilliant the color the more advanced the spirit is. He said seeing the "aura" around a spirit is useful in determining how much a particular spirit needs to work on his development. He said the higher beings know where to go and what to do to help an earthbound soul so they may advance themselves if they so choose. He told me all souls have this energy, this is why I could see it on every human I saw. He said I was of the same energy type as he but my vibration is lower when I am in human form and in time my energy would raise to match his intensity provided I chose to take the initiative to consciously evolve my soul.
 
He told me there is much to this planet that spirits can see which humans do not see with their eyes because their vibrations are so low. He showed me life in the trees that I could see as a spirit but could not see in my human form.
 
He explained that beings of higher vibration do live on Earth but they are not human, they are part of Earth itself. He explained these beings were the caretakers of physical life on the planet. He said these beings take care of what we call nature. There are beings taking care of the plant life, the mineral life and the waterborne life. These lower echelon beings work together to ensure that all aspects of nature is protected and remains healthy. When the planet was evolving, these ethereal beings were the ones keeping the balance of nature.
 
He explained to me that the planet we call Earth really has a proper name. He told me the Earth is really called "Gaia". He said Gaia has its own energy and that Gaia is really a true living being. I asked if this energy could be seen and he said that we have to be away from Gaia to appreciate and see it. He said humans are the ones who can manipulate Gaia's energy through their choices. He said if humans choose to live in harmony with the energy on Gaia, it is good for Gaia. He said if humans abuse Gaia, they hurt Gaia by altering its energy structure. I was given an example of how humans have deforested the planet and reduced the energy available faster than it could be replenished. He said Gaia was very strong but has been weakened considerably since humans have chosen to use the resources in a manner inconsistent with the laws of the universe.
 
I asked him if we could go into space and see Gaia's energy and he said yes. He said there were no limits on where we could go. I concentrated my thought, trusted, and we then went into what is known as space.
 
Away from this planet I could see Gaia all at once. It was so beautiful. I could see the aura around Gaia. The aura affected me greatly. I felt a deep love for this beautiful place. I could hear Gaia move and was told the sound was the energy flowing in and out of Gaia. My special being told me that Gaia is the most unique planet because it is designed for humans to live on forever. It was created for spirit to play, learn, and grow. He said the balance of nature on Gaia allows spirit to be in human form when a spirit lives in harmony with nature.
 
Nature exists to compensate for the decreased vibration and was created for spirits to adapt enough to adjust and be in the physical human body while still having access to energy that will help them advance. He explained that humans were designed by God to live eternally on Gaia and are not supposed to "die". He said "dying" is a human created Earth term meaning little in the world of spirit. The reason humans supposedly die is that they have fallen away from the balance of nature and allow themselves to be affected by what they create that violates the natural laws of the universe. He said humans have fallen away from living in balance with nature. He said they must relearn about the harmonic balance if they want to survive as a race and live on Gaia forever. He said it was still possible for humans to learn about this harmony and it is the next overall goal of humans on Gaia. I was told humans would eventually realize they must restore the harmony but great damage will be inflicted before humans will fully realize what they have been doing to Gaia and work to reverse what they have done.
 
We traveled past all of the planets in our solar system. Near each planet I could hear the energy just like on Gaia. I saw the auras around each one of them too. I saw spirits on all of them as well. My friend told me all planets are places for spirits to live, learn and thus evolve. I saw great cities on each and every one of those planets. It was explained that other life in the universe is not readily seen because the beings were all of higher vibration and most spirits in human form have yet to attain the higher vibration required to see them.
 
The being told me each planet has a theme for learning and any of them can be chosen by a soul when we are between physical lives. He said we practice on the other planets to be ready to live on Gaia. He said Gaia is the ultimate experience for a soul. It is ultimate because our souls evolve faster here than anywhere else. It was said the lessons we need to learn are difficult to learn without having a physical form.
 
He explained how we pick a physical life on Gaia. He explained to me I picked the parents I was born to so I could learn what I needed to learn to grow enough to come back and do spirit work on Gaia after I attain a certain level of growth. He said I was being told all of these things so I could help souls come together and return Gaia to harmony.
 
He explained some things to me about God that I do not remember. They had to do with the universe and the size and structure of it. I do remember he said God is not to be seen for he is everywhere. He told me God loves Gaia deeply, much as a man loves his wife.
 
He talked about Jesus too. He told me Jesus was a master God sent to Earth to teach humans how to act toward each other and find their way back to the path of harmony with each other as well as with Gaia.
 
I was told Jesus is the being entrusted by God to ensure souls evolve. He said Jesus is of the highest in vibration than any other soul. He said God holds Jesus in the highest of favor because he was the best example of what humans need to do. I then got to see Jesus. I saw his light. Jesus' light was the purest I have ever seen. There was no need for words. There were only love feelings I cannot even begin to describe.
 
I was told that loving one another is what souls need to do in order for peace and harmony to be the standard on Gaia.
 
I was told there is a hierarchy in the universe dedicated to preserving the harmony of the universe. I was told humans are an integral part of this harmony and the free will we have is a part of souls allowing humans to provide service to the universe.
 
After he explained those things to me I was able to see our whole solar system all at once in full color. The planets were all in a line and I could see all of them from Pluto to the sun. I felt very blessed and very important. I was given this great gift and I did not really understand why. There I floated, a person who went out his way to inflict pain on other souls, yet I was never asked about what I had done. In fact I was given the honor of being given answers to questions most people wonder about all of their lives.
 
I thanked this loving being for explaining and showing me what he did. He told me there was more for him to show me if I was ready to experience it. I told him I was ready. I did not know why I was chosen but I was not about to question why. It just seemed small to me then.
 
We started to head back toward Gaia. We went to a place in the shadow of Gaia. 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 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 Gaia but more pure. Nature there was absolutely perfect. It was untainted by human manipulation. This place was just like Gaia only without the problems and negativity. I felt this was what is called heaven in Earth terms.
 
I saw spirits going to and from the Gaia 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 Gaia with guides and could see spirits returning to Gaia without guides. The being told me some of the spirits passing were the ones doing the work with humans on Gaia. I could make out the type of spirits doing the work and the spirits coming to the great city to become replenished to eventually go back to Gaia to experience and further evolve. I could feel the emotions of the ones coming back for replenishment. I could feel some of them were sad, beaten and scared, much like I felt before my being came to me.
 
My being took me into one of the larger buildings. Inside I saw many spirits working. They were doing things similar to jobs on Earth. When we walked by the spirits, they looked at me. I think they were checking me out because of the being I was with.
 
We went upstairs and I saw spirits that knew me. They greeted me and asked me how I was doing. They gave me advice that I do not remember. I thought I was going to be given a job there, but the being knew I thought that and told me there was something I needed to do first.
 
I was ecstatic. I was in heaven despite everything I had done during my life on Gaia. I was experiencing what most people only dream about. The love I felt there was the same love I felt when I saw Jesus. I had been searching on Gaia for what was really the same place I was in then. I was searching on Gaia for the feeling I had that very moment. I had found what I spent my whole life searching for. I was truly happy. I was home and I knew it. I was ready to stay and do whatever work I was given to do.
 
My being took me to another building that was special. It was bigger than the rest and had the greenest foliage I had ever seen growing on it, decorating it like a shrine. We went inside a set of double doors glowing with life. The inside was decorated with a wood paneling the being told me was "living" wood from the trees growing at this wonderful place. He led me to some big double doors and told me to wait on this bench while he went inside.
 
A bit later he came out of the room. He told me to go into the room and said he would wait for me and to not worry. He cautioned me to ensure I was truthful with the beings in the room. He said they were not judges, rather they were the ones who evaluated a soul's development based on a soul's history. He told me to remember who I was and to refrain from fear. I knew I had to leave this being sooner or later but I was glad he would wait for me. I was a little scared to leave him, but I felt I was protected and knew I would be protected here.
 
I went in and saw a group of several spirits seated at a table. The table was made of the glowing wood and was perfect in every way. The spirits around this table had the highest vibration I had seen so far with the exception of Jesus.
 
I looked at these beings and recognized them. I do not know where I recognized them from, but they all had a familiarity about them. They just looked at me.
 
All of a sudden, I saw my parents on Earth before I was born. I saw how they came to be together and watched them have my brother and sister before me. I saw their positive and negative sides and evaluated them according to what I knew I needed to do on Gaia. The beings asked me how and why I picked these particular parents and asked me to tell them. They said I knew how and why I picked them and asked me to tell them why. I do not know where it came from but I did tell them how and why and they agreed with me. I picked them to help them on their path as well as to achieve my learning.
 
I saw my soul go to my mother and go inside of her. I saw myself being born from an observer standpoint as well as having the actual experience. I proceeded to see my entire life from the observer point of view and from the points of view of those my actions affected. I felt the feelings they felt directly resulting from things I had done to them. I saw both the positive and the negative things I had done as they had truly happened; nothing was left out or presented inaccurately.
 
I experienced the harshness of being born again. I experienced leaving heaven and the transit to Gaia. I saw myself as a helpless infant who needed his mother for everything. I experienced my father's love as well as his anger. I experienced my mothers love, her fear and her anger as well. I saw all of the good and bad from my childhood years and re-experienced what I had done then. I felt all of my emotions and the emotions of the souls I had hurt as well as loved. From all of this I learned it matters deeply what choices I make on Gaia.
 
I learned just how powerful we humans are and how we can affect each other in positive and negative ways. It was amazing to see how my innocent actions had such a powerful effect on souls I had no idea I was affecting. The experience was one I will never forget. I experienced the whole spectrum of feelings of my life in a relatively short period of time as we humans see it. Where I was, time did not really exist.
 
I could see how I became what I had become on Gaia and why I became that way. Everything I did in my life affected the evolution of the souls around me. I saw the reasons for all of my actions and understood why I did what I had done. There was a place for all of my positive and negative actions. There was no action necessarily wrong, but there were actions I took that did not enhance positive growth. I was both a victim and a beneficiary of my actions. This was not a fun experience to go through. I could see how wonderful it could be if one chose to act to affect other souls positively most of the time.
 
Afterward, the beings in the room asked me questions about what I saw and how I felt about my life up to then. I knew I had to provide an honest assessment - I could not lie. I hesitated when they asked me whether I affected others more positively than negatively. I thought about lying.
 
These beings knew what I was thinking and I had to tell them I felt I could have done a better job on Gaia. I knew what I had come to Gaia to accomplish and was well on my way to doing that but I knew I was not finished yet. They agreed and told me that I still had many things to do and that I may want to go back and do them. I was told it was understood how difficult it would be for me but it was necessary for the universe for me to finish. They said it may be wise to go back and live my life how I had originally planned it. They said I had set lofty goals for my life on Gaia and the events in my life were achieving the goals I had set. They said I originally came to Gaia to learn and share with others using the gifts I have accumulated over several lifetimes. They said I am needed on Gaia to help souls bring themselves and Gaia back to harmony. They said I have great potential to affect other souls, to help them grow and Gaia is the best place to do that. I was told the events I had experienced thus far were preparing me to make a large contribution to the universe and my experiences were not to be considered personal attacks in any way. I did not want to accept it. I wanted to stay. I told them that. I told them I was tired and wanted to stay because life on Gaia is hard and unforgiving. I felt going back would be dangerous for the universe because I was not advanced enough in my spiritual evolution. They said that was precisely why it would be in my best interest to go back to Gaia. They said I was more advanced than I give myself credit for. They said it was possible for me to stay but I would need to finish my work on Gaia sooner or later. The type of work I was destined for can only be done on Gaia. I could stay if chose to but I would only be prolonging the completion of what I needed to do for this universe. They explained the fastest way to finish my work would be to go back to Gaia as soon as possible.
 
I was stunned to say the least. I resorted to bargaining but it was no use. I still did not like living on Gaia and did not really want to go back. These beings understood me but remained firm. I had a decision to make that was really the hardest decision I would ever make.
 
I did come back to Gaia and am now living the life I was (later in the experience) told I would live. Believe it or not, I ended up shelving this experience away, classifying it as a really vivid "trip". It was not until I evolved more that I realized the gift I was given.
 
I share this experience now because I feel it can, if so chosen, spur thought and foster choices affecting the planet in a positive way.
 
If I learned anything from this experience it was that every choice I make is duly recorded, noted and will return later, when I leave here again. My goal is to save people the pain I felt in my review and hasten the evolution of humans on Gaia, helping Gaia as well as the universe.
 
I am one who had a near-death experience and was given a choice to return to this planet in a physical sense again. I chose to return out of love for this planet - a love so great I would give up the slot I have "back home." I did this also in order to help to heal the place through the sharing of what I was shown of the in between and through the choices I make, (hopefully loving and kind ones).
 
Without the free will to return I would not be here in the physical doing what I am doing. The physical pain, war, poverty, pestilence, horror, rape, murder, abandonment etc., etc., etc. which is here on this planet is the result of humans coming here and making their free choices in order to learn and evolve. Unfortunately learning does tend to create a mess at times and the physical pain etc. is a part of that mess. It makes sense to me that the same free choice concept is instrumental in cleaning up the mess.
 
I liken it to camping and choosing to clean up or not clean up the mess one makes. If you choose to clean up your mess, this helps the planet to stay as is because one does not contribute to the mess. If one does not clean up it adds to the mess. If one cleans up his or her own mess and then some, it contributes to healing the planet.
 
In my near-death experience I was also shown there are many souls in "heaven" who are more than willing to come to this place regardless of the state it is in. I was shown if I did not choose to return I would be in the schools existing in heaven, working toward the growth I need to accomplish regardless of the form I am in. That was an attractive choice to be sure except I had a problem with how long it would take me to grow enough to do what my soul wishes to do. (I have a burning desire to experience other places in other universes and to do that I need to grow more.) The prerequisite for that is ensuring my soul has the IQ for it.
 
It is my understanding that a soul can choose to remain in heaven and operate on the level he/she (whatever) is on to infinity, but I seek more because I know without doubt there is more.
 
At any rate, the idea remains that for this place to start feeling and looking like heaven is to create the love felt there here. I would like to see that on this planet and I know it can be done. If I need to, I will come back here all over again to make it happen. (4)
 
3.  Rene Turner
 
On February 1982 in Newcastle, Australia, Dr. Rene Turner left her optical instrument repair firm after a day's work. She got in her car and drove down the highway on her way home. As she came to a stoplight where a road crossed the highway, she slowed down to a stop. Here, her memory ends. 
 
Her partner, who was riding with her, reports, "As we approached the lights, they changed to green. As we went into the crossing, the car aquaplaned and hit a large power pole just after the intersection. Stuart, who was laying on the mattress in the back of the panel van, was thrown forward into the back of Rene's head, driving her into the steering wheel."
 
At the hospital, the professor of neurosurgery reported Rene's death to her parents and said they should be grateful because she would have been a vegetable had she survived. During this conversation, a young frightened nurse rushed into the office and blurted out, "She is alive! She sat up and spoke!" The professor chastised her for interrupting them and lectured her about how "dead bodies" can move and make noises. 
 
But the nurse was emphatic; "She sat up and said, 'Don't give me any more drugs!'" 
 
At this point, Rene's mother took the professor by his and Rene's father's elbow and marched them down the corridor. They found Rene in a back corridor where she had apparently been placed so the nurse could remove equipment prior to her transfer to the morgue. She was found in a deep coma and breathing. She remained that way for ten days.
 
The following is Rene Turner's NDE in her own words:
 
I don't know when the above events in my experience took place. I have no memory of the process of dying or leaving my body. I was moving headfirst through a dark maelstrom of what looked like black boiling clouds, feeling I was being beckoned to the sides, which frightened me. Ahead was a tiny dot of bright light steadily growing and brightened as I drew nearer. I became aware that I must be dead and was concerned for Mum and Dad and my sister, and somewhat upset with myself as I thought, "They will soon get over it," like it was, in passing, just a fleeting thought as I rushed greedily forward towards this light.
 
I arrived in an explosion of glorious light into a room with insubstantial walls, standing before a man about in his thirties, about six feet tall, reddish brown shoulder length hair and an incredibly neat, short beard and mustache. He wore a simple white robe. Light seemed to emanate from him and I felt he had great age and wisdom. He welcomed me with great love, tranquility, and peace (indescribable) - no words. I felt, "I can sit at your feet forever and be content," which struck me as a strange thing to think/say/feel. I became fascinated by the fabric of his robe and tried to figure out how light could be woven!
 
He stood beside me and directed me to look to my left, where I was replaying my life's less complementary moments. I relived those moments and felt not only what I had done but also the hurt I had caused. Some of the things I would have never imagined could have caused pain. I was surprised that some things I may have worried about, like shoplifting a chocolate as a child, were not there, whilst casual remarks which caused hurt unknown to me at the time were counted. When I became burdened with guilt, I was directed to other events that gave joy to others, although I felt unworthy. It seemed the balance was in my favor. I received great love.
 
I was led further into the room, which became a hall. There coming towards me was my grandfather. He looked younger than I remembered and was without his hare lip or cleft pallet, but undoubtedly my grandfather. We hugged. He spoke to me and welcomed me. I was moved to forgive him for dying when I was 14 and making me break my promise to become a doctor and find a cure for his heart condition. Until that moment, I had not realized I had been angry with him!
 
Granddad told me that grandma was coming soon and he was looking forward to her arrival. I inquired why she was coming soon as she had been traveling from her home in Manchester to New Zealand to Miami for continual summer for a number of years! Granddad told me she had cancer of the bowel and was coming soon. Granddad seemed to have no grasp of time when I pressed for how soon. (Grandma was diagnosed three months later and died in August. I had upset my mother by telling her about it when I regained consciousness). After Granddad and I had talked a while, he took me further into the room that became a hall again. We approached a group of people whom I started to recognize.
 
The person who first welcomed me came and placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me towards him. He said, "You must return. You have a task to perform." I wanted to argue. I wanted to stay. I glanced back at Granddad and was propelled quickly towards the entrance. At the threshold, all became blackness, nothing, no awareness.
 
I awoke from my coma slowly, over several days, half-dreamed memories of familiar voices and glimpses of faces. The clearest moments were several occasions where I would awake from deep sleep to find a nurse with a syringe and refuse any drugs. I had no idea why! I had three lots of surgery to repair my face, skull, and eye socket. I left the hospital with pain, double vision, Anosmia, and damage to eighth cranial nerve. It left me with nausea and a disturbed balance. I was for two years angry at G-d for sending me back in such torment with a task to do and with no clues or instructions, except for one thing. I was given a clear message I have no idea how to pass on. It is this: "It is time to live according to your beliefs, whatever they may be - to put your house in order because the end times are upon us!" This can't be my task. There was no booming voice or any way I knew the message got there. I am also unsure of the identity of the gatekeeper - no nametag and no introduction!
 
It took me five years as a zombie before I was able to rehabilitate myself. I have gainful employment, formed the Head Injury Society of New Zealand in 1987, and am paraded as the example of how well it is possible to recover from acquired brain damage. I still don't know my task - still have pain, Anosmia, Diplopia, etc.
 
The memory of the near-death experience is more real than what I did yesterday. (5)
 
4.  Karen Schaeffer
 
Karen Schaeffer experienced one of the most unique NDEs I have ever read. In it, she is shown the future, but is given the option of changing it. Here is her experience in her own words:
 
As a teenager, I had several psychic experiences often occurring in dreams. As I grew older and life more hectic, these experiences diminished - almost disappeared until the pregnancy of my first child.
 
Shortly after his birth I had the most horrific dream that I would be in a terrible car crash that would take my life. For months I was terrified and was extremely cautious and on the look out for that monster vehicle. By the time my son was 7 months old, I convinced myself it was only a dream... nothing of what was to come. I had a brand new teaching position, a baby, a home and my husband to take care of ... I had put too much energy into this thing. Then it happened.
 
I had left school right away that day. I wanted to pick up my son from his grandmother and hurry back to school to watch a baseball game. It was a picture perfect way to spend the afternoon with my son. As I was exiting the freeway with usual caution, I made a left hand turn on a light that had been green for some time. This was my lucky day I thought. Then in an instant I was gone.
 
Immediately I was in the most beautiful serene place I had ever been. My grandfather, another person whom I had known in a previous life, and a guardian were ready to help me with the transition. They told me of the accident, showed me the site. It was my time to come home they said.
 
The overwhelming love and happiness of that place was so inviting.
 
I could feel myself becoming lighter each moment. In a fit of fear and panic I began crying. No, I couldn't be dead. What would happen to my son? He was seven months old! He would never remember me. His father didn't even know how to take care of him. I didn't want him raised by his father's parents. No, no, no ... this was not the time to go. They were wrong.
 
In an embrace of love they calmed me by showing me that my son, my entire family would be okay after my death. My mother could lean on my grandmother. It would take time, but she would heal. My husband, hurt, sad, and lonely would also heal and eventually find love once again.
 
Death is part of the lessons we are to learn on Earth, and my death was an important lesson for those involved in my life. I was shown my funeral, taught how to be near those I loved and told I could eventually communicate with those whose spirits were open. I could accept this. They would be fine.
 
I was feeling lighter all the time. But wait... my son. I couldn't leave my son! Babies need their mommies. I needed to be his mommy. I couldn't let go. So much patience was shown to me - so much love.
 
My guides explained that the feelings I was having were still a connection to my human side. Once my Humanness wore off, I would feel light as air, utter happiness, and extreme love.
 
Words do not do the feelings justice. They worked to help me throw off my human weight. The feelings were so great and seemed to pull me in stronger and stronger; yet my connection to my son was so strong.
 
We wandered in this beautiful place for what seemed an eternity. We discussed my life. We discussed religion. We discussed secrets of the soul that as humans we must forget, lest we'd never be able to thrive on Earth. All the while I was in awe. Some things were just as I always dreamed an afterlife would be. Some things I was just plain wrong and I remember thinking, "Wow!" Where were my other loved ones? When could I see my other grandparents who had passed? In time - they were on a different plane. When my transition was complete I could choose to go to other levels when I was ready.
 
Every now and then thoughts of my son would make me heavy once again. I couldn't bear the thought of him growing up without a mother. I was told others would be a mother for me. First grandparents, and then they showed me Jake's life. He was the most beautiful boy, so happy, but with a touch of sadness that seemed to pierce his soul. This was his lesson to tackle. He knew coming into this life the main lessons he was to learn. It was meant to be. I saw a new mom for Jake when he was about 7 or 8. A beautiful woman, kind hearted who definitely cared for Jake, and treated him well, but she was to have her own child with my widowed husband and the love she showed for her own child was different and unequal to the love she showed for my child - her stepchild. This isn't what I dreamed for Jake. This couldn't be. I was happy for my husband. He was okay. He was happy. My son was a different story. Other lessons were learned in the constant-patient job of transitioning me to the other side. I had to let go. At times I became hysterical and then moments later I was calm and serene.
 
I saw a girl child who had been meant in Jake's place, but before conception, plans changed and there was a need for Jake's spirit to take her place. There was much upheaval that Jake could help mend (and he did).
 
At a time when I felt the closest to accepting my death, I experienced a resurgence of sorrow and pain, longing for my son, for my life. I couldn't let go of my human life. My guides tried their hardest. They never gave up. They never became discouraged. It is unbelievable the amount of patience and love they exuded. Finally, my hysteria was calmed by a higher spirit who seemed to envelop me in love. My guides were instructed to allow me to return. Despite their pleas to allow them more time, they were told that at this point, my spirit would not rest. It was best to let me return, to settle my spirit, learn further lessons. My pleading won my return for the time being. I understood that before my descent, my friends and family had lessons being postponed, but they would have to learn the lessons resulting from my death at some time later.
 
Arrangements were made for when, where, how my spirit would return and which lessons I was to have enriched or acquire new. Some lessons learned in my arrival on the other side would have to be forgotten, and it was not good for my soul to know when I was dying again or else as a human I would focus on only that, especially as the time neared.
 
The last things I remember were being taken back to the accident site, and just before my descent, I was told when my children were older it would be time to come home for good. I accepted it immediately, but then, wait! What qualifies as older? Does it mean only a few years older? Teenagers? Will I live to see them marry and have their own children? This was a difficult aspect to deal with immediately after the accident.
 
I had a life with my son again. I had to spend it right for I had no idea how much longer I had left.
 
I was told I was lucky to survive. A large utility truck ran a red light and hit the driver's side of my tiny compact car. Despite wearing a seatbelt the doctors say I would not have survived if it were not for the airbags to open, something that is not supposed to happen in a side impact.
 
The first year after the accident was an attempt to live the best I could, the happiest I could. I was suffering however from severe pain from a fractured shoulder bone, broken ribs, and two hip fractures. I was told the pain should disappear in six months to a year at the worst. Three years later, the pain has not gone away. The second year however seemed to be the worst. I became so suicidal. All I wanted to do was to return to this place, this life so awesome, so love-filled, and so joyous. My son, and later my daughter were the only things that made me go on. I was here for them. Today, only three years later I have accepted my return to Earth, long to return to my after-life home, and struggle to find peace and happiness until my time here comes to its final end. (6)
 
5.  Linda Stewart
 
Linda's journey to understand God began in the rugged environment of a Texas childhood filled with "rattlesnakes, tornadoes, and hellfireanddamnation." Her early concept of God was molded by the pervasive, extremist religious community of the Bible Belt, exemplified by the Southern Baptist religion practiced by her parents. The wrathful, vengeful God as taught by her religion instilled in Linda a deep fear of God, death and the afterlife.
 
Her lifelong search for a loving God and release from the paralyzing fear of death culminated in a brief journey to Heaven after a debilitating illness. The NDE transformed Linda, showing her that God is only a loving God, who does not judge and punish. She came to understand the Oneness of all existence; this understanding has permeated her life with peace and the unfaltering knowledge of God's goodness. Linda now spends her time counseling, lecturing and making television appearances. She has written a book entitled, Entertaining Angels Unawares , which is in the hands of an agent who is seeking a publisher.
 
When I finally gave up my will to live, relinquishing my life unto death was sublimely easy after my long illness and loss of everything that had made life worthwhile for me. The decision to leave this world hung suspended in an extended moment of absolute quiet. Passionless, I watched my spirit leave my body as a feeling of "otherness" engulfed me. I felt a strange detachment from my physical body and the life I had created. I was no longer connected to a pitiful, suffering mass of flesh. I was not that body and yet, I still existed but in a new state of being. Gone was the wrenching pain that accompanied my every waking moment. The strain of expanding my lungs to gasp for air had disappeared. Fatigue, which had weighted my life for years, had lifted. Depression no longer drained my mind of hope. Sight and sounds did not sear my head with pain, leaving me emotionally bereft. And yet, I still existed. I felt weightless and calm.
 
Although I knew I was not in the lifeless body lying on my bed, and that the eyes and brain I had previously identified as mine were in that inanimate object with which I no longer identified, I was still aware of sight and thoughts and sensations. I observed my new reality with tranquility. Slowly I looked around and below me I saw a vast, endless blackness. Like a void or black hole, I was irresistibly drawn toward the darkness. Gradually, I felt myself sinking toward it. I thought, without fear or any emotional reaction, "Isn't that strange?" I had been so afraid I was going to be judged and sent to either heaven or hell. But it appeared I would simply disappear into the dark nothingness. As even my new awareness waned, I yielded to the heaviness overtaking me as darkness filled my mind. My vision became obscured as I began to merge into the blackness.
 
Offering no resistance, I released my hold on any remaining shred of consciousness and personal identity. At the very moment I felt the last of me disappearing into nothingness. A powerful, energetic force swooping beneath me, lifting me, and carrying me upward suddenly buffeted me.
 
Barely conscious, my only awareness was a sensation of rising. I seemed to be traveling upward at an unimaginable speed. A clean sensation of wind rushed over my face and body with tremendous force and yet there was no discomfort. Vast distances seemed to fly by me. The higher I rose, the more my head cleared. I became aware of a deep sense of peace and warmth permeating my senses. Confused, because the energy enveloping me had a definite presence, I tried to see what was happening and who was carrying me. Who or what cared so deeply for me? I felt peaceful and loved immeasurably. I knew I was in the arms of a being who cherished me with perfect love and carried me from the dark void into a new reality.
 
As my mind cleared, scoured of the remnants of mortal, past associations, I was finally able to open my being fully to spirit and my vision cleared.
 
With the eyes of my soul body, I looked to see what held me in such love and I beheld a radiant, spirit being, so magnificent and full of love, I knew I would never again feel the sense of loss. I have no way of explaining how, but I knew the Spirit was Christ. It was not a belief, perception or understanding, but my recognition of Christ came from my new perspective of spirit.
 
I did not see the Spirit as I had seen Jesus of Nazareth depicted in paintings, but the innate knowing of my heart remembered and acknowledged Christ. The radiant Spirit was Christ, the manifestation and expression of pure love. Because of my Christian education, I knew no other name to call what I felt as I looked at him. Others might have called him Buddha, or Yahweh, or Great Spirit in the Sky, but the naming did not matter, only the recognition of absolute love and truth was important. Safe in the gentle yet powerful embrace of his love, I rested, secure that everything was okay, exactly as it was supposed to be.
 
Ascending ever farther, I lifted my eyes to see a great light in the vast distance. With Christ as my guide, I rapidly approached the light. Ecstasy filled my soul as I looked at the radiance, many-fold brighter than a sun.
 
The light was everywhere and everything, the brightest I had ever seen and dazzling beyond description. Brilliant enough to blind or burn; yet I was not harmed.
 
The light moved over and through me, washing every hidden place of my heart, removing all hurt and fear, transforming my very being into a song of joy. I had thought the love I felt from Christ was complete, yet, the light toward which we were soaring was the fulfillment of my search, the loving Source of all that exists, the God of truth and unconditional love, the origin of creation.
 
My understanding of love was forever changed. The majesty and glory of that vision was an ineffable moment defining forever more, the direction of my new truth. I was home and I wanted nothing more than to remain in the light of God. Christ had delivered me into the light and I stood in the presence of God. I was filled with complete knowing: The light was love and love was God. Waves of consummate love emanating from the light obliterated every burden I carried and every thought keeping me from knowing God. I was made aware of my purity. With new clarity, I realized I had been walking through life ghostlike, wrapped in a shroud of fear, huddled against illusions. I stood like a lover, open to the liquid flow of golden light filling my empty shell to overflowing.
 
There was no limit to the outpouring as I came to the rapturous awareness of the infinite nature of God's love. There was no place that God did not exist and I was within God. I am an inseparable part of the light. The truth, of who I am, indeed, who we all are, is perfect love as a creation of God. All of God's creation is one creation and I am one with creation. God and I are one, Creator and created.
 
I had spent a lifetime of fear of judgment and now, standing with God, I had been known completely and found faultless. I knew God regarded me as perfect. God loved me because love is the totality of God. God loves without limit. Finally it all made sense. God could only love me because God is only love, nothing other than love. The only reality is God; there cannot be another and GOD IS LOVE.
 
I had reached my true home. I turned to Christ and said, "This is beautiful. I am home. This is where I want to be. I want to stay." And Christ answered, "You can stay for a little while and then you must return." (7)
 
6.  Ricky Randolph
 
In December 1982, Ricky Randolph, a Georgia Department of Corrections Correctional Officer, was involved in a hunting accident and had an NDE. Since then, he has had many psychic experiences that were verified by family and friends. Ordained as a Baptist minister at age 17, his life, even in childhood, was filled with psychic events. The following is his unique NDE in his own words. It can be described as unique for a very good reason and that reason is miraculous. As the saying goes: "Miracles happen."
 
I was looking forward to this morning, as I had planned a hunting trip on the ninety-eight acre farm, bordering the Chattahoochee River, my family and I lived on. I arrived home and gathered my gear trying to get as early a start as I could. My wife had already left for work as most people do who have normal working hours. I usually called her when I was going hunting but being in a hurry on this particular morning I didn't. I had about a two mile hike to my tree stand and arrived there around 10:15 am. My stand was about 20 feet high on the front side facing a thick patch of pines. The backside faced the river below and dropped off to huge boulders in the river below. I tied off my rifle to be pulled up after my climb to the top and began my upward ascent. I reached the top and positioned myself to pull my rifle up. Then without warning I heard a snap! I would later return to this site many times to reflect on my life. On one visit with a friend I measured the distance from the top of the stand down to the boulder I landed on - eighty feet!
 
As I began my fall to the river below I could see the river coming up fast I knew this was the end for me and though it was just seconds before impact, it was as though I was in slow motion.
 
So many thoughts raced through my mind. My wife, my daughter, my family, and no one knows where I am. Would I ever be found? 
 
Then, darkness! How long this darkness lasted I don't know. Then something wonderful happened. 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 upward through the atmosphere.
 
As I left the atmosphere, I looked back and could see the Earth. Such a beautiful sight. It was so brilliantly lit. As I looked ahead I could see the planets. I thought to myself this cannot be. Where is Jesus? I was never told anything like this could or would happen when I died. Faster, and faster the speed was increasing. I saw other star systems and galaxies as I raced onward. I entered what seemed to be a hole of some sort. It was long and dark. However around me I saw streaks of light made up of every color in the spectrum. I saw a faint light growing brighter and brighter in the distance up ahead. As I entered the light I felt it all through my being. I was not afraid anymore. 
 
Then all of a sudden I was standing before a massive set of steps. They led up to what seemed to be a bridge or walk of some kind. In the distance I saw a sight so magnificent and astounding - city made up of what seemed to be glass or crystal.
 
The lights were of many colors radiating 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 looking to be about thirty feet or so in height and width. It shined as if it was polished. As I stood there wandering, the doors began to open. I took a step back and looked inside. I could see what appeared to be people walking about on the inside, much like they do in a mall here on Earth. These people though were dressed very different. For one thing, they all seemed to be dressed in some sort of robes with hoods. I entered through the doors in amazement at what I was seeing! The inside was massive. It seemed to be square in shape, with a balcony all around leading down to different levels. I walked up and looked downward over the balcony. It seemed to go on forever.
 
As I looked up I saw many passing by me, yet no one seemed to notice me. Then as one was approaching me he suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his head and I could see his face. He appeared to be human in every respect but one. His eyes. No pupils! Yet they seemed to change colors in colors of blue! His hair was snow white. I wanted to speak but before I could he turned and pointed to a long hallway. Though we never spoke I knew I was to go down this hallway. Then as if nothing had ever happened, he continued on. I knew I had to as well. 
 
Something was beckoning me forward. I walked a long walk down to the end of this hallway. I did not turn to the right or the left. I knew, somehow, my questions were about to be answered. Again I saw before me a massive double door. It seemed to be of some type of metal - whether gold or not I could not tell.
 
Suddenly the doors opened. I heard a voice, though not as we speak, but from inside of me it seemed, to say, "Enter." I did as I was told and the doors shut suddenly behind me. I was afraid for the first time. Total darkness. Total silence! 
 
Then after a space of time the length of which I could not determine, a bright light began to glow in the room. Brighter and brighter it became. It was somewhat above me and in front of me. I tried to look but was almost blinded from it. I held my hands up in front of me and could make out the appearance of a figure setting on some type of seat.
 
Then without warning it happened.
 
"What have you done with your life?" The voice penetrated my very being. I had no answer.
 
Then to my right I saw what seemed to be like a movie, and I was in it. I saw my mother giving me birth, my childhood and friends. I saw everything from my youth up. I saw everything I had ever done before my eyes. 
 
As my life played out before my very eyes I tried to think of good things I had done. I was raised in church and had been very active in church functions, yet as I pondered on this, I saw a man in his car that had run out of gas.  
 
I had stopped and given him a lift to a local store about a year ago. I had bought him some gas as he had no money and helped him get on his way. I thought to my self, why am I seeing this? The voice was loud and clear.
 
"You took no thought to help this soul and asked nothing in return. These actions are the essence of good."
 
I saw all the people I had hurt as well and was shown how my actions had set in motion the actions of others. I was stunned! I had never thought of my life having an effect on the actions that friends, family, and others I had met would take. I saw the results of all I had done. I was not pleased at all.
 
I looked on until the events came to an end. Indeed I had done so little with my life. I had been selfish and cruel in so many ways. I was truly sorry I had done so little. Then again loud and clear I heard the voice speak again, "You must return."
 
I did not want to return though. I was content to stay and longed to stay even after the things I had seen and heard. "I have so many questions," I replied, "things I need to know and don't understand."
 
"You must return and help others to change by changing your life. Physicians will want to perform surgery on you. Do not let this happen. If you do you will never walk again. One who brings answers to the questions you have will visit you. When I call you will come again. You will recover from all that has happened if you do these things. Look and see what lies ahead."
 
I turned and saw the Earth in turmoil. Wars and death, terrible sights! Cities fell and new ones were built. I saw the United States and a volcano exploding covering many cities in darkness. I looked on and saw the collapse of our government, as we know it. People killing for food and water, horrible sights. I saw what seemed to be a giant explosion in the Earth's atmosphere and much land was destroyed. I looked on and saw a new type of people, younger and of a peaceful nature. The cities were few that were left, but these people seemed to be content.
 
"It is time for you to go," I heard again. But I wanted to see more.
 
Then the doors opened and I felt myself almost be carried down the hallway. I passed through the doors of the city and felt myself shooting through this hole I had came through. Faster I went, unable to stop.
 
I entered the atmosphere of Earth and saw the river below. I saw my body still lying there motionless. 
 
Then it was like an electric shock so tremendous I felt my body jump. I opened my eyes and saw the trees above and the skyline. Then, Oh God, the pain. I was struggling for every breath, choking on my own blood.
 
I managed to roll onto my stomach. The pain was all I could bear. I looked at the sky and saw the sun was lower than I remembered. I looked at my watch. It was 5:30. My only thoughts were how could I get help. I noticed my rifle was not far from me, still attached to the rope I had tied around my waist. I began pulling it toward me. I managed to grab hold of the barrel and pulled it up to me. I fired a shot about every ten minutes hoping someone would come.
 
It was getting late and I knew I would not make it much longer, so I began crawling on my stomach, pulling myself with the stock of my rifle. I managed to crawl up a trail running down to the river. As I crawled and crawled, the pain was so great I passed out many times. Through thick brush and briar patches I crawled. I wanted to give up I was so tired and in so much pain. I knew though I had to make it at least to where I could be found - I hoped.
 
I looked out in front of me and saw the road I lived on through the trees. I could hear sounds in the distance.
 
"Yes, thank you, God," I thought to myself.
 
I finally found myself at the road and began a feeble cry for help. I was too exhausted though and just lay there in the road.
 
My father-in-law was returning from work and found me lying in the road.
 
"It's all right," I heard him say, "help is on the way." 
 
That was the last I remembered until I saw the lights inside the ER. A doctor stood at my feet. 
 
"Can you feel this?" he said.
 
"Feel what?" I asked. He had been sticking my feet and legs. I was paralyzed.
 
"We cannot help you here, son," he said. "We are sending you by ambulance to a hospital that can handle your injuries."
 
Whether from the pain or medication, I was out like a light.
 
The next afternoon, I awoke to find two doctors standing at the foot of my hospital bed. They introduced themselves as my attending physicians and proceeded to explain to me that I must undergo surgery at once. The bones in my back that were broken were putting pressure on my spinal nerve causing paralysis. Then I heard the warning I had heard before. 
 
"Do not let them perform surgery, or you will never walk again."
 
I understood completely, but knew they would not. I told them I must see my wife and daughter first. 
 
My wife arrived with my daughter shortly after the doctor's visit. I told her what they had said. She advised me that I must realize they were doing what was necessary to help me. I did not know how to tell her what I had experienced. I tried to tell her it was my belief I should not be operated on. Although she disagreed, she honored my wishes.
 
When the doctors returned and I told them of my decision, they were very upset! I listened to lecture after lecture.
 
"OK," one of them said, "if you never want to walk again, that's up to you." Then they left. 
 
That night I lay upon my bed and wept sorely. Was I insane? What was I doing?
 
A light began to fill my room. "You will be well," I heard a voice say. Then it was gone. I composed myself and dosed off to sleep.
 
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. 
 
Then one morning I felt a tingling in my feet! I was over come with joy. I told the nurse I wanted to get up and walk. She stared at me and said, "We'll see, we'll see." I knew I was healed without a doubt. The nurse put a call into my doctor and the next morning he stopped by.
 
"So you think you can walk?" he said.
 
"Yes," I replied.
 
 "Well, we will see."
 
A few hours later, I was taken down to the Physical Therapy room. They carried me down and raised me up to a vertical position. The nurse helped me in front of a set of parallel bars. I gripped the bars and placed my feet firmly on the floor. One step. Two steps.
 
"My God, he's walking!" the nurse said to the nurse who had brought me down. The next few days were hard. I took many trips to Physical Therapy and had numerous x-rays done per my doctor's orders. My wife and family were all amazed, yet I knew. I had been told. The rest had to be true as well. 
 
My doctor was more amazed when he found no bones pressing on my spinal nerve! I use his quote: "This is not normal! It seems a higher power has done for you what we were going to try and correct with surgery. I have never seen anything like this before."
 
Since that day, my life has changed and I have been able to help others in ways I never dreamed. I wanted to share this with all, as it is what has led me onward in my quest for Truth. (8)
 
 7.  Kerry Kirk
 
The NDE reveals that God is not concerned with a person's sexual orientation, but is concerned about a person's heart. The next NDE involves a lesbian who learns this very fact while having an NDE.
 
The following happened to me during the summer of 1981. I was nineteen at the time. It was a time in my life when I had pretty much decided there could be no God, no great being in control of the world around me. If there were he wasn't doing a very good job. I didn't realize it at the time, but once I had made this "decision," I started going downhill. I became selfish. That is, self-centered, but not very self concerned.
 
I should mention that I had been having episodes of tachycardia for several years. I was never diagnosed (up to that point) with any kind of heart defect. Had I been asked I would have denied any problems with my heart. I thought it was very normal to get light headed and almost pass out during periods when my heart would race. Duh!
 
One evening I was in the back seat of a car traveling to San Francisco from Los Angeles. All of a sudden my heart began to race and the nausea hit. Next everything started spinning and I could see lots of colors. Then I had a sense of blackness come over me. Like a dark damp cloud. I was terrified. I have never been so scared. In my fear I said, "Jesus."
 
Immediately I witnessed a fight. It seemed there was a battle between a being in white/light and this blackness. Immediately following, the light overtook the darkness.
 
I found myself on my face in worship in front of this being of light. I felt a warm feeling. The most intense love filled me. It was an energy that penetrated every fiber of my being. I had never felt such a complete and total love. It was that unconditional love I hear many people talk about.
 
I know there was conversation between us but I can not remember what was said. I feel like it was a time of healing for me - kind of a regeneration if you will.
 
In the next instant, I was floating above the car moving down the highway looking at myself in the back seat. I knew it was I sitting there, and yet I was up here. I wasn't afraid or confused. Everything was as it should be.
 
There was someone there to my left. I don't think it was the same being I had just been with. He (I had a sense it was a he) seemed to be in a white robe or something. Funny, I never really looked at him. His identity didn't seem to be important. I think he was there to guide me. I didn't make myself go, it was more like he took me or led me.
 
We began moving through space. I was aware of this because the stars and planets were passing very quickly. It was very exciting, I felt so free.
 
The order of the next [series of episodes] I am unsure of. I know each was a distinct episode, but it is hard for me to put them in an order or time frame.
 
The next thing I knew there was a white "room." I can't say it had walls but it seemed to be somewhat enclosed. Maybe its boundaries extended to the edge of the light that filled it and that is why I call it a room. There was a man in a white robe behind a podium with a book on it. I knew it was the book of life from the Bible. I remember thinking, "Uh oh, that stuff was for real." I suddenly realized that the "God" I had been presented wasn't anything like the reality. I saw it doesn't matter if you call him God, Allah, Great Spirit or whatever, He is the same thing.
 
The different religions just have different ways of explaining the same Creator. I also realized that little voice inside us prompting us to do good things comes from this Creator, it is that light of love inside each of us. I don't remember specifically being told this; more like I just knew it.
 
I came to a place, maybe a room, maybe a space. I was shown my life. If it was my entire life, I do not remember all of it. The only part I remember now was just the last week or so. Since I had given up on God. I saw how selfish I had been. I felt the pain I had caused one person in particular and it bothered me very much. The things I had the most guilt for was hurting other people, lying, not being sensitive to their feelings, just being selfish. The fact I was a lesbian didn't even seem to matter then. That was surprising to me, given what I had been brought up to believe.
 
There was another room or area. It seems like there were others there, I sensed some were female, some male, but I can't say I recognized anyone.
 
I was shown a diagram. I could see it represented choices. A choice leading to other choices which then lead to other choices. Basically, actions have consequences.
 
I began receiving "all knowledge," or at least that is what it felt like. They were there teaching me. This didn't come to me as words like you and I speak. It was more as complete thoughts. When I think, it is generally in words and pictures, this is how I received the information. As complete words and pictures in my mind. As I could form a question in my mind I had the answer. Not just the answer to that question, but the why and how and the answer to every other question the answer would bring up. EVERYTHING in the entire universe fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. EVERYTHING MADE SENSE. I remember thinking, "I have to remember this."
 
I looked over to the right and in the distance I could see a beautiful valley with lots of people. There was someone looking out over all of it I felt it was Jesus. I then looked down and saw a line. My foot (Yes, I did have a spiritual "body" as did the others I encountered) was stepping over the line to go to be with the others. Then I was told, "If you cross that line you can't go back; it would mean you would have to die." Funny as it may sound, up to that point I didn't realize I would have to die or was about to die. It never occurred to me. I didn't realize I was separate from my body even though I had seen it in the car. I felt complete. I remember laughing and thinking this isn't how I pictured death.
 
I said I wanted to stay. I was then told the people I was with (in the car) as well as my mother would not understand and it would hurt them deeply. I understood.
 
At some point I was shown a map and was told to leave and go to Virginia.
 
The angels were singing and it seems like I could see the clouds all lit up (it was nighttime).
 
The next thing I knew I as sitting in the back of the car. I could hear the most beautiful music.
 
I didn't tell anyone what had happened to me for a long time. I felt out of place the next several days. I wanted to go back. I knew instinctively that I could not do anything to bring it about though. I tried and tried to remember everything I learned when I was filled with knowledge but it isn't there. (9)
 
8.  Brian Krebs
 
Some people have reported having an NDE while experiencing an alien abduction. The most famous case of this kind comes from Betty Andreasson and is documented in Raymond Fowler's book, The Andreasson Affair.(10) Other experiencers have seen alien-type beings during their NDE. There appears to be a connection between these aliens and the beings of light reported in so many NDEs. The following NDE is from Brian Krebs and describes just such an encounter.
 
I had my first near-death experience when I was a child, perhaps two or three. This would be about 1953. It involved me drowning. My memories of it were of seeing my body below me. I remember seeing a bright, warm, loving orb above me. I panicked Dad and Mom below. I didn't know it was anything to talk about and no one would have believed me. It never was a thing I felt I had to relate.
 
Then in 1971... I had been knifed with a stiletto that severed an artery above my liver. I remember looking up and seeing a light. I then looked down at my body and then I was confronted by at least two beings. They were human in appearance and they seemed to float in midair. I realized I was far above my body and not in any earthly space. The beings tried to keep me from going to the light. I don't know why, they just seemed terrified and didn't want me to go. But I did. I shot up like an arrow through what can only be described as a tunnel.
 
I saw the tunnel as a peripheral blur of stars and I saw a loving light before me. Then I stopped. I was there with this orb of glowing love and understanding. It didn't seem foreign to me. It was not frightening. It was totally assuring and there was no feeling of anything but my awe and the love and knowledge and wisdom this orb projected. In size, it would be not like looking at the sun, but looking at the Earth when you are on it. It was immense and total, and its power was love.
 
I felt a presence next to me, a man, and he asked if I was ready for my life review. I said yes. All of this not a verbal thing, but just a knowledge. Then I saw something like an HO scale train set below, a city. I went to this city and I went through my life. I went through every moment and every feeling. I was not afraid as I was still in the light. I talked with the man about my life. But I do not remember any specifics.
 
I then remember standing, as it where, in the light of the Orb of love. I felt the goodness and love and knowledge of it. My mind was in a state of deep, deep, concentration of thought.
 
I then went to twelve beings of greater knowledge. They were in front of me and stood in a row. They were not human. They had no feelings of anything like judgment or authority, but seemed strong in themselves. They seemed taller than I did and they wore silver white robes. They had white skin, large heads and large eyes. I do not remember them having a mouth. Above them was a spirit. It was like a star as we see one from Earth, but in size it appeared the same size as the heads of the beings. The spirit went to my left and hovered above the first being. I remember it was like a video of knowledge springing from the being's hands, which were held in front of them.
 
Each being had something to relate. They opened the knowledge they had when the spirit moved above them. The last told me what I could do if I came back and the significance of it. I only remember seeing young man with his head back in pain as if his neck was injured. I said, "Oh! Aaron! My son!" They said, "No, not that son." And I realized whom they meant. (In 1978, my only other child was born a son).
 
Then I made the decision to come back to Earth. And I remember it was such a hard decision. It was so difficult because everything there was so beautiful and there was so, so, much love. I had the feeling of freewill, yet a feeling of duty was present - of obligation. And the second I realized that I shot back into my body. 
 
After two near-death experiences and having studied many NDEs, I am convinced there is order to the experience.
 
I do get angry when people come to conclusions about the near-death experience because they think it is not orderly and therefore find it to be a part of our imaginative minds. For the ones that have not heard this, here goes:
 
Rule 1:  At any given microsecond, you may return to your body. You have a trauma of some kind making you leave your body. You might feel a vibration. You might feel nothing, except that you are suddenly out of your body.
 
Rule 2:   Nobody remembers every single detail and the meaning to it while having an NDE.
 
So, now you are out of your body you may look down and see your body. You may take off for another room or zip back into your body. You may go into the void. This is the home of many a grim story. See, after death you may end up quite stuck in this void. It lacks one thing: love. It is the hell the Pope just figured out. It is not being of love, not recognizing it. Those who are stuck there may frighten you by just being or by intentional gestures to frighten you. They are stuck and they are confused and they will put the "HELL" in hell.
 
Rule 3:   Beyond this point your soul must be convinced your body is dead.
 
See, sometimes things happen which doesn't cause death. I mean we all ultimately live to tell of NDEs, but we must be convinced the body business is behind us to go further.
 
So, there you are outside the body. Now those who love you might show up. They do so for a couple reasons. One, they may want you to stay, that is, go back to your body. Or they may want you to think of love. I just love the way George Rodonaia said it. While describing the void, he said that he thought, "I am, and if I am, why for not can I be happy?" And he was. Then he thought, "If I am, and I can be happy, why for not then can I feel love?" And he did. You see, the way out of the void is simple. You must think of love.

Now if you are a Christian and you think of Jesus and you see Jesus as love, then you will be thinking of love and to think of love. To recognize it as a reality, that is the key to getting out of the void. Now, you are in the void and you think of love and you are love and you will see love, just a speck, but you will concentrate on it and then you will connect with it. This connection is called the tunnel. It is a pathway to the Creator.
 
I recently heard someone talking about taking some sugar and some water and mixing them together. The sugar would disappear and the water would become sugar water. But in time the water would evaporate and the sugar would remain as sugar and the water would turn to vapor. The point was that the sugar had the memory of the water and the water the memory of the sugar. As I thought this out, I tried to think how to explain it better. Being of a scientific background, I thought, "Okay, let's put the sugar and water together in a test tube. Let's mix them. Then to speed things up, let's add heat, which makes vibrations and causes the water to turn to vapor. But wait. Let's put a rubber stopper in the test tube and a glass tube leading to another test tube. That would allow the water to reestablish itself as water in the other tube." You see, then you have water with a memory of the sugar and the sugar with the memory of the water. You also have a very good model to explain how to get out of the void. As the tube concentrates the water, so the tunnel concentrates the spirit.
 
Now, many things can happen in the tunnel. Say for instance you get depressed and you gobble down too many pills. You would choke if not for the washing of booze you gave them. You might end up in the tunnel off to the side where you are requested to think. So you sit there thinking. Some other soul would pass right on by that, not notice, or may notice. Things, earthy problems can be worked out there, out of the void and in the tunnel. Ultimately though, if you don't return to your body, you zip right past all this and end up at a point that you may refer later to the end of the tunnel. It may be though that you are in one of the rooms of the tunnel or zones. There you see a garden, a river, a gate, and someone will appear to help you decide whether you should go on or think a while or talk or be reassured enough to return to your body. But, go through the gate or over the river past the decision to go back or stay and think, and you end up at the end of the tunnel. There at the end of the tunnel is the Creator.
 
Rule 4:  If you make it to the end of the tunnel you will feel more love and acceptance and wisdom and knowledge and understanding than you ever have. And you will remember it. And you will not leave it out of your description of your experience. There you are and there is love - overwhelming, pure, beautiful love. Now let's not forget Rule 1, that you may at any time zip right back into your body! You should begin now to see why there are so may "different" descriptions of the NDE: because a person may go only to a given point and the description of what they saw will be limited to that level.
 
So, now you are there in front of the Creator, and you might well see your Higher Self. You will then go through a life review. You do this in the light of the love of the Creator. In this love, you see all you have done wrong and right and the effects of it and you are unafraid because the Creator's love is there. There is nothing but the truth. That accomplished, you may (Rule 1) zip back into your body. You may then do whatever you think you need to and those descriptions vary. One consistent theme is that you have spirits to help you. I, as Dannion Brinkley did, had twelve "spirits" giving forth information about the past, the present and the future. They may help you decide to stay or go back to Earth. Once the decision is made, zipppppp, you're back. (11)
 
9.  Joni Maggi
 
One does not have to be near death to experience an NDE. NDEs are induced through such methods as extreme stress, deep meditation, drug hallucinations and right temporal lobe brain stimulation. The next NDE comes from Joni Maggi. It occurred while she was in an altered state of consciousness.
 
Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine you are face to face with the sun! What an extraordinary feeling! I thought to myself, "How can I be face to face with the sun and not feel the burning heat?" This first thought shocked and puzzled me - to be thinking in the way I would normally think.
 
It was literally so bright I could not sustain the gaze, so I turned away. At that moment I noticed a silver cord, attached around the navel area going down, down, down to a person I saw lying on my bed. It was I! I had a curious non-interest in it.
 
Suddenly, I was in dark outer space, floating as it were on my back, in what I can only describe as total "bliss" (one of a few words, which I'll explain later, I had never understood before that point!) I'm not sure how long this ecstatic feeling lasted but it was what I suppose is called Cosmic Consciousness or cosmic bliss. I knew the Universe is upheld by love (though if you ask me now I would not be able to explain that!) I knew the planets are alive and conscious. I knew they would never bump into each other on purpose or cause any damage - there was no violence but rather a total harmony in their existence.
 
I then looked down and could see the Earth – far, far away and down in this dark sky. I knew it was a place of violence, a realm shrouded in darkness and difficulties so to speak.
 
At one point I saw what I could only describe as a group of beings - perhaps beings of light would describe them best. I then zoomed over to them - literally willed myself over to them (Swoosh!) and was there instantaneously.
 
They were seated (?) in an oval circle and there seemed to be a leader of some sort at the head of the group. First of all, I felt the most overwhelming love coming from them! It cannot be compared to anything here on Earth. For one, I felt it was an inclusive group - rather than an exclusive one. (Here on Earth we seem to have trouble letting new people into groups but there it was as if all of them at the same time were welcoming me!) I heard them - in my mind - say, "Welcome Home! You have been on such a long journey!" I had the feeling they were sharing life experiences and learning from each other, as if in a sort of classroom.
 
I didn't have time to find out, because at this point I said to the leader, again telepathically, "I cannot stay! I have to bring up my son!" with real sense of urgency. (At the time my son was 4 years old and I knew somehow I had the absolute obligation to bring him up and take care of him. Years later, when I thought of this, I understood we live in a "moral" Universe.)
 
I immediately started coming down again. And as I was coming down, I saw - as if written on the entire dark sky this message:
 
"There is nothing worth worrying about! Not even death!" And again I knew - or understood in an instant - that death is exactly like falling asleep.
 
What happens is you let go of daily consciousness and slip into another. Or for that matter, like waking up - you let go of sleeping consciousness and find yourself in our recognized reality. It was an incredible feeling of peace to know there is no death!
 
All of a sudden, I was awake and I literally ran to my table to write everything down because I knew the "veils" (another new word for me) were going to fall and I would forget or lose the feeling of the experience. I had the feeling a shaft of light had come down through the top of my head. The top of my head was literally tender!
 
The third word I came to know was ""grace" (which up to that point I thought meant the prayer Christians say at the dinner table). I had been an atheist - or agnostic - up until my experience but after that, though the veils did fall down again, I have spent the last 20 years, trying to recapture that feeling, that absolute knowing. I feel closer and closer to it all the time now.
 
I felt I had been "given a gift"" of tremendous value! I could not, and can not to this day understand how that works or what that means. I only know I had been in a state of emotional crisis - I was living at the time in South America and undergoing a painful separation from my husband so I found myself alone, depressed and with a very young child. I had also been asking myself the question, "What one thought gives peace?" for a very long time. Somehow, I feel that my earnest and extremely deep need to find an answer to the ups and downs of life was answered in that unspeakably profound experience.
 
This is the first time I am sharing my experience so openly with others because my family and friends of course at the time did not believe me or understand me. Plus the fact I myself had lost contact with the light and only years later did I start to remember it and piece it together again coherently. Now, it is probably the most important thing I can do - to remember it and to share it with others. If it hadn't been for the experience I probably would not have pursued the spiritual path with such relentless passion as I understand there is a spiritual need which cannot be filled by any other thing than... how shall I call it? The spirit.
 
I also know it was real! Actually, I could say it was the only real thing that has ever happened to me. At this point I cherish sharing my experience with others and hope to learn afresh from their experiences to continue to get a wider and wider appreciation and understanding of this phenomenon.
 
I still have many unanswered questions: Why was I "blessed" with this experience? (I think it was because without it I never would have been able to go on, but even so, who "gave" it to me or how did I receive it?) Why are other people not given the same experience, though some search for it so longingly? And it has only whetted my appetite to know more - everything! Everything about our life purposes, life after death, etc.! Unfortunately I cannot, as I mentioned, retrieve the feeling of it and sometimes I still forget and find myself in darkness and pain. But just remembering it and sharing it helps me - and who knows, maybe others - to know more and more about it, especially now that these phenomena are coming more and more to light! (12)
 
Summaries
 
“Normally we do not like to think about death. We would rather think about life. Why reflect on death? When you start preparing for death you soon realize that you must look into your life... now... and come to face the truth of your self. Death is like a mirror in which the true meaning of life is reflected.” - Sogyal Rinpoche
                
NDEs vary from person to person based on many factors: religious bias, cultural background, historical time period, etc. They also vary as to depth of experience. Some people only experience the out-of-body phase of the experience, while others go well beyond. What follows are brief summaries of the rest of the NDEs that are a part of my research. Such a format helps when doing comparisons between experiences. Each summary is given in the present tense to give the feeling of the NDE as it is happening.
 
Josiane Antonette 
 
Born in France and trained as a nurse, Josiane had an NDE in 1966. Afterwards, she became aware of her ability to "communicate with the other side." For over 30 years, she worked with the dying and the living, in hospitals as a chaplain, universities as a teacher, as a spiritual counselor, healer and ceremonial leader. Her understanding of living, dying and the spiritual realms has touched many people. In her book, Whispers of the Soul, she describes her NDE. She is also the author of another book entitled Matters of Spirit and she is the founder of The Bernadette Foundation.
 
Josiane leaves her body and sees her life pass before her eyes as in a movie. She momentarily reenters her body and sees restless spirits around her who seem lost. Suddenly, light beings appear and she is surrounded with love. She receives a vision of the Earth appearing lifeless and gloomy on one side. On the other side, the Earth appears sunny and full of life. She watches as the darkness takes over the whole Earth. A voice tells her this is the world in the absence of light, love and free will. The darkness of the world is then replaced with light and beauty. She sees the solar system united by a transparent web of unparalleled brilliance. The voice tells her to never forget what she has seen. She becomes filled with an overwhelming love as she merges with the light. 
 
She returns to her hospital room where her lifeless body is. There she meets her deceased cousin along with other beings of light. As they leave, Josiane begs to go with them. Her cousin tells her she has work left to do here on Earth. With this, she enters her physical body. (13)
 
Mellen-Thomas Benedict
 
Mellen-Thomas was an artist dying of cancer. In 1982, he succumbed and had an NDE. He was dead for over an hour and a half. During that time, he rose up out of his body and went into the light. Concerning his NDE, Dr. Kenneth Ring noted, "His story is one of the most remarkable I have encountered in my extensive research on near-death experiences."
 
Mellen-Thomas leaves his body and discovers he has 360-degree vision and consciousness. He travels toward a brilliant light, but halts his experience to ask questions. He sees the brilliant light transform into several avatars such as Jesus, Buddha and Krishna. 
 
The light also transforms into a mandala of every soul from Earth. Mellen-Thomas refers to this as our "Higher Self matrix." He sees the Earth surrounded by a grid-like structure connecting every human being to this "Higher Self matrix." His consciousness expands to fill the universe all the way to the Big Bang and beyond. 
 
In the void between an infinite number of Big Bangs and universes, he becomes aware of the fact he perceives all things through God's perspective. He experiences the full consciousness of God in infinite knowledge. Here, all his questions are answered. He experiences all the levels of heaven and hell. The process of consciousness expansion reverses and his consciousness deflates to its original condition. He expects to be reincarnated as a baby, but is surprised to find himself back in his own physical body. (14)
 
Dannion Brinkley
 
In 1975, Dannion was talking on the phone during a thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning hit the phone line, sending thousands of volts of electricity into his head and down his body. His heart stopped, and he died, but in the process, he had an NDE. When he revived in the morgue after twenty-eight minutes of death, he had an incredible story to tell. He was told of events that would shake the world before the year 2000 - including the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Persian Gulf War. Of the 117 revelations that he recalls, 95 have already come to pass. His book, Saved by the Light, describes his NDE and his revelations of the future.
 
Dannion leaves his physical body and watches as a friend tries to revive it. He is sucked through a tunnel and into a paradise of brilliant light. A being of incredible love and light appears and Dannion experiences a life review. He is taken to a "city of cathedrals" where twelve beings of light appear. Each of the twelve beings represents a human personality type similar to the zodiac. One at a time, they each present to Dannion a kind of video screen foretelling some future event. He is drawn into each of these screens to actually experience the future event. Afterward, he returns to his physical body. (16)
 
Beverly Brodsky
 
Raised in a conservative Jewish family in Philadelphia, Beverly went through her teens as an atheist. Since learning of the Holocaust at age eight, she had turned angrily against any early belief in God. How could God exist and permit such a thing to occur? In 1970, her questions were answered when a motorcycle accident led to an NDE. Her NDE is found in a book by Dr. Kenneth Ring entitled Lessons from the Light. Dr. Ring describes her NDE as "possibly the most moving in my entire collection."
 
She leaves her body and floats over her bed. She is met by a radiant being of light she believes to be the Messiah or an angel. Holding hands, they fly through the window and out over the Pacific Ocean. 
 
They travel through a tunnel forming in the sky toward an incredibly bright light she identifies as God. She has a very intense discussion with God and learns some important answers to questions plaguing her mind. She also begins to remember knowledge she once had before being born into the world. 
 
As soon as all her questions were answered, she becomes one with all knowledge and God. She tours the universe and all its wonders. She is filled, not just with all knowledge, but with all the love of God. She experiences ecstasy beyond her wildest dreams. She then returns to her physical body. (17)
 
Don Brubaker
 
Happily married with three children and a busy broadcasting career, Don rarely thought about life after death. After his heart attack and NDE, all of that changed. Don was clinically dead for 45 minutes during which he experienced the glory of heaven and the fire of hell. His book, Absent from the Body, describes his afterlife journey. His NDE is unique because he actually travels back in time to experience one of history's greatest moments.
 
He leaves his body and travels through a tunnel. A large, eerie red eye peers at him and he realizes it to be his own. While in the tunnel, he is stricken with panic and believes he is in hell. A voice, he identifies to be God's, tells him not to fear. He has been chosen to write about what he is experiencing. He is told he must testify about the reality of hell. 
 
Afterward, he is drawn into a vast, flaming "oven" filled with other people. They laugh as they realize the flames are not painful. Suddenly, he is alone in the dark with God communicating to him. In an instant, he is aware of everyone in his life whom he was ever angry with.
 
Afterward, he floats in a glorious deep blue sky. Christ appears shining a tremendous amount of light. Christ gives him a choice of staying or returning to the physical world. Thoughts of his family cause him to choose to return. Before he returns, he is taken back in time to witness the crucifixion of Christ. (18)
 
Grace Bubulka
 
Over twelve years ago, Grace was a nurse experiencing an NDE that changed her life. It wasn't until ten years after her NDE that she felt comfortable telling others about it. Now Grace shares her NDE with others through seminars and lectures. Her book, Beyond this Reality, describes her profound experience with the afterlife.
 
She hovers above her body and watches as doctors try to save her life. She travels through a tunnel toward a bright light and notices she is a speck of light traveling with an infinite number of other specks toward the light. She enters into the light and merges with it. In the light, she becomes ecstatic. An infinite sense of all knowing comes to her while in the light. The light reminds her of her obligation to her children and she knows she will have to go back. She has a life review witnessed by everyone in the light. Afterwards, she returns to her physical body. (19)
 
Edgar Cayce
 
The book entitled There Is A River, describes the true story of a devout Christian and Sunday school teacher, Cayce (1877-1945) was a man who had out-of-body experiences amazingly resembling NDEs. 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. He is also considered to be the father of holistic medicine by JAMA, the prestigious medical journal. He was a wonder to the medical community because of his ability to diagnose and specify a treatment for gravely ill people often hundreds of miles away through his out-of-body experiences. He gave roughly 14,000 hypnotic readings in his lifetime which are kept at the Association for Research and Enlightenment. Each reading involved going into a trance resulting in an out-of-body experience.
 
Once the hypnotic suggestion is made, he leaves his physical body and travels through a tunnel with a brilliant light at the end. The sides of the tunnel reveal to him the various afterlife levels appearing to wind around in a wheel formation. The first level of the tunnel is inhabited by horrible looking beings similar to what one would see in a nightmare. Higher up on the next level, misshapen forms of human beings appear with some part of their body magnified. 
 
As he travels through the tunnel, beings on either side of the tunnel call out to him for help, trying to get his attention. He knows that any deviation from traveling through the tunnel toward the light would mean he would not be able to return to his body and he would die. 
 
Farther up the tunnel, he sees gray-hooded beings moving downward. Up higher on the next level, more gray-hooded beings appear except they are moving upward. The color of their robes get lighter and lighter as he moves up. The next higher level resembles the physical world with houses, trees, etc., except everything is motionless. As he rises higher through the tunnel, there appears more light and more motion in what appears to be normal cities. Rising higher, he sees more light, more beautiful colors, more laughter, and beautiful music. In the higher levels, there are no houses and such, only a blending of sound and color. 
 
Suddenly, he comes upon the "Hall of Records," an enormous building without walls or a ceiling. Here an old man hands him a large book containing the records of the individual he is giving a reading for. According to Cayce, this record is the person's so-called "Book of Life" which every person is constantly filling by thinking, speaking and doing. When he completes a reading, he would then return to his physical body. (20)
 
Cecil
 
P.M.H. Atwater is one of the most respected researchers of the NDE phenomenon. In her latest book, Children of the New Millennium, she presents the first serious look at the NDEs of children. One of these children was an eleven-year old named Cecil. He and his brother were swimming when they had a problem.  He tried to get his brother out of the water, but in a panic was pulled under several times and they drowned.  His brother died; but Cecil had an NDE.
 
He leaves his body and travels toward a brilliant light. He travels into cities made entirely of light. Each city represents a kind of cosmic grade in school where people progress. Three men appear as a welcoming committee to escort him to the first city. He hesitates to go because he knows there is no turning back. The brilliant light of God appears and a voice asks Cecil why he hesitated. Cecil answers he is too young to die and has a lot of questions. He asks what death is. The light shows him a car accident where some people are killed. Some do not leave their bodies because they do not believe in life after death. Cecil asks what hell is. The light shows him an old woman worrying about her children and everything. Cecil asks if there is a Satan and the light tells him no. Cecil asks how he can know right from wrong. The light replied, "Right is helping and being kind. Wrong is not only hurting someone, but not helping when you can." The light asks Cecil why he wants to return. Ultimately, Cecil discovers the real reason he wants to return is to "leave the Earth a little better than he found it." (21)
 
Linga Chokyi
 
A curious phenomenon, little known in the West, but familiar to Tibetans, is the "delok".  In Tibet, "delok" means "returned from death," and traditionally deloks are people who seemingly "die" as a result of an illness, and travel in the “bardo” (one of many Tibetan Buddhist afterlife states).  They visit the hell realms, where they witness the judgment of the dead and the suffering of hell, and sometimes they go to paradises and Buddha realms.  The delok is sent back to their bodies with a message from the Lord of Death for the living, urging them to spiritual practice and a beneficial way of life. They spend the rest of their lives recounting their experiences to others in order to draw them toward the path of wisdom. During the sixteenth century, one of the most famous delok was named Lingza Chokyi. Dawa Drolma is the author of the book entitled Delog: Journey to Realms Beyond Death which is the source for the information about Linga Chokyi. 
 
She finds herself outside of her body but fails to realize she has died. She sees her corpse but thinks it is a dead pig lying on her bed and wearing her clothes. She frantically tries to talk to her family, but no one hears or sees her. Her weeping children cause her tremendous pain, but she feels joy when the death rituals are being performed on her behalf. 
 
After a while, she hears her deceased father calling her and begins to follow him. She arrives in the first afterlife level (bardo) and sees a bridge leading to the hell realms. Here, the Lord of Death counts the good and evil actions of the dead. She sees a great man (a yogin) enter the hell realms in order to liberate people. She is told there is an error concerning her name and family and it is not yet her time to die. She returns to her body. (22)
 
Clara
 
Another child of P.M.H. Atwater's study of childhood NDEs is a fifth grader named Clara. She became sick with extreme pain in her lower right side and was rushed to the hospital.  It was there that she had her NDE. P.M.H. Atwater has also released a new book on childhood NDEs entitled The New Children and Near Death Experiences.
 
Clara leaves her physical body and watches doctors working on it. Someone leads her through a tunnel where she hears a playground full of laughing children playing. Another person approaches telling them they are not yet ready for her. 
 
She is taken to a large building where others are working. She is led to meet Christ who tells her telepathically what she must do. Jesus has her look into a television-like device to see her future. What she sees makes her very happy. Jesus tells her she will forget what she witnessed in the device when she returns. It happens exactly as she was told. (23)
 
Lynnclaire Dennis
 
In 1987 while hot-air ballooning in the Swiss Alps, Lynnclaire died due to a lack of oxygen when her balloon reached too high of an altitude. During her NDE, she came into contact with what she calls "the Pattern", a mandala she describes as "primarily a matrix of personal and global healing." Seeing the Pattern, she knew she 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. Her book, The Pattern, documents her experience.
 
Lynnclaire finds herself in a beautiful valley. She wonders if she is in heaven. She sees her lifetime as it existed without the bounds of time. She hears beautiful music and begins to dance joyously. Her deceased grandmother appears and she realizes they are in a place of infinite love. 
 
They enter a meadow that becomes an amphitheater. On stage, every person greets her who played a part in her life and who has already died, including her miscarried baby. They all share a message of love. The last person who appears on the stage is unknown to her, yet this person is someone who speaks directly to her soul. This special person, whom she identifies as "the Presence," tells her she will be a catalyst for change and love. Everyone leaves the stage and she enters a sacred place before the light. She is embraced by "the Presence." 
 
She then finds herself climbing a mountain toward the light and realizes she is in the space between two worlds and is going home. A tunnel appears that takes her to the top of the mountain. At the end of the tunnel, she sees what she calls "the Pattern," which is God. As she prepares to take the next step to merge into the light, she is pulled back by her husband who is frantically giving her physical body CPR. (24)
 
Jeanie Dicus
 
In 1974, Jeanie's heart went into fibrillation and sh