Allison Orton

The following is an excerpt from Allison Orton's near-life experience.

Almost leaving the planet before the age of nine probably brought me to the greatest near-life experience I may ever have while here on Earth. Yes, right along with the well-known tunnel and almost leaving the planet before the age of nine, probably brought me to the greatest near-life white light. I experienced the vast, expansive, all permeating energy.

The ever growing loss of self into the allness of what really is was the most profound awareness of my experience. Its encompassing presence of equanimity and calm, as I returned to that place in my thought and heart, is totally freeing. 

Let me digress and explain how I arrived at this place. Being the only girl in a very male dominated, from my perspective, family of four children, I had become quite the tom-boy. Observing my mother and her life of total servitude and relative non-gratification, I was already forming strong ideas of what I would not be! Being the least bit frail or vulnerable in any situation was a no-option place for me. High exploration, dares, and little regard for common sense was my modus operandi. I was convinced I could do anything I wanted or needed to do.

One day, a girl friend and I were exploring an old garage which belonged to another house at the end of a common driveway to my house. We decided to climb up on its roof. One side of the roof dropped down to a green meadow with fruit trees in it. It had about a four foot drop to the meadow. The roof then ascended to a sharp apex. The other side stopped short after about six feet of composition shingles leading to the fourteen foot plunge onto the asphalt driveway.

My girlfriend jumped off the roof onto the meadow and yelled, "Come on, lets go to my house." 

I climbed down on the meadow side of the roof and decided not to chance the jump, having already broken each of my wrists in previous adventures. So, back up the steep facet I climbed. The other side of the roof, the six foot side, had a tree with sprawling branches near it that almost seemed to stretch to the edge of the roof. I got as close to the edge as I dared to size up the possibility of getting back down to tierra firma. The possibility began to appear quite dubious. 

Turning around, I headed back up to the apex of the roof. I crawled on my hands and knees because at this point I was beginning to freeze up in fear - the short side being precipitously steep. 

On my hands and knees now, crawling up to the pinnacle, I began to slip on the old composition shingles. I could feel the prickle of their rough surface pressing into the palms and fingertips of my hands. The stifling odor entering my nostrils began to shut down my ability of breathing through my nose. 

By now, totally tensed up. Clinging to the roof, I started slowly slipping down this short side of the roof on the aged shingles. I somehow managed to stop myself just as I reached the edge of the roof with my backside still facing the driveway and still on my hands and knees. I slowly steadied myself. I knew now that there would be no option of getting over to the other side again. In the uncompromising space, I cautiously stood up, turned toward the tree, hoping to reach one of its sprawling branches. Just as I sprung, I thought a silent prayer and released my will to the greater powers that be.

In less than an instant, I found myself on the asphalt. I attempted to lift my head but to no avail - my arms also with no response. Everything around me became very removed, hazy, and distant. A spiral going around and around in diminishing sized and concentric circles overwhelmed me. Then, I was no longer there. 

I was drawn toward light. I was in the midst of total acceptance and ease. I was fully in overwhelming energy and calm. There were no others and I was not conscious of a separate me. I was just aware of being in an energy field of openness with all, part of me and about me. 

My awareness then changed. I looked down and saw the sight of a young girl lying on the asphalt below. I was above, looking down upon her. Her arms were under her torso with hands flat on the ground, palms down, but her body was on top of them. She was motionless. I knew she was me. I viewed the lifeless body with detached awareness. I could faintly hear the sound of a siren. In a hazy view, I saw men approach me, pick me up and put me in some white vehicle. I saw my mom's car approach the driveway. Then, I dissolved into oblivion.

The following days in the hospital (eleven of them) were spent in a state of no consciousness called coma. The ten years to follow that, beginning with two and a half more weeks of drifting in and out of consciousness, were difficult. I seem to recollect that I was deciding whether I wanted to return or not. 

My immediate life for the next ten years ended up being a trial of patience. Many opinions and decisions by doctors were made at that time of how I was going to be if I survived at all. I must have made a huge shift of choice at that time. I chose to return to the planet and do whatever there was to do. However, the following ten to eleven years were filled with negative conditioning, pain, and trial I would not wish on anyone.