I was filled with God's knowledge, and in that precious
aspect of his Beingness, I was one with him. But my journey of discovery was
just beginning.
Near Death Experience
Somehow an unexpected peace descended upon me. I found myself floating on
the ceiling over the bed looking down at my unconscious body. I barely had
time to realize the glorious strangeness of the situation - that I was me
but not in my body - when I was joined by a radiant being bathed in a
shimmering white glow. Like myself, this being flew but had no wings. I felt
a reverent awe when I turned to him; this was no ordinary angel or spirit,
but he had been sent to deliver me. Such love and gentleness emanated from
his being that I felt that I was in the presence of the Messiah.
Whoever he was, his presence deepened my serenity and awakened a feeling of
joy as I recognized my companion. Gently he took my hand and we flew right
through the window. I felt no surprise at my ability to do this. In this
wondrous presence, everything was as it should be.
Beneath
us lay the beautiful Pacific Ocean ... But my attention was now directed
upward, where there was a large opening leading to a circular path. Although
it seemed to be deep and far to the end, a white light shone through and
poured out into the gloom to the other side where the opening beckoned. It
was the most brilliant light I had ever seen, although I didn't realize how
much of its glory was veiled from the outside. The path was angled upward,
obliquely, to the right. Now still hand in hand with the angel, I was led
into the opening of the small, dark passageway.
I then remember traveling a long distance upward toward the light. I believe
that I was moving very fast, but this entire realm seemed to be outside of
time. Finally, I reached my destination. It was only when I emerged from the
other end that I realized that I was no longer accompanied by the being who
had brought me there. But I wasn't alone. There, before me, was the living
presence of the light. Within it I sensed an all-pervading intelligence,
wisdom, compassion, love, and truth. There was neither form nor sex to this
perfect being. It, which I shall in the future call he, in keeping without
our commonly accepted syntax, contained everything, as white light contains
all the colors of a rainbow when penetrating a prism. And deep within me
came an instant and wondrous recognition: I, even I, was facing God.
I immediately lashed out at him with all the questions I had ever wondered
about; all the injustices I had seen in the physical world. I don't know if
I did this deliberately, but I discovered that God knows all your thoughts
immediately and responds telepathically. My mind was naked; in fact, I
became pure mind. The ethereal body which I had traveled in through the
tunnel seemed to be no more; it was just my personal intelligence
confronting that Universal Mind, which clothed itself in a glorious, living
light that was more felt that seen, since no eye could absorb its splendor.
I don't recall the exact content of our discussion; in the process of
return, the insights that came so clearly and fully in Heaven were not
brought back with me to Earth. I'm sure that I asked the question that had
been plaguing me since childhood about the sufferings of my people. I do
remember this: There was a reason for everything that happened, no matter
how awful it appeared in the physical realm. And within myself, as I was
given the answer, my own awakening mind now responded in the same manner:
"Of course," I would think, "I already know that. How could I ever have
forgotten!"
Indeed, it appears that all that happens is for a purpose, and that purpose
is already known to our eternal self.
In time the questions ceased, because I suddenly was filled with all the
Being's wisdom. I was given more than just the answers to my questions; all
knowledge unfolded to me, like the instant blossoming of an infinite number
of flowers all at once. I was filled with God's knowledge, and in that
precious aspect of his Beingness, I was one with him. But my journey of
discovery was just beginning.
Now I was treated to an extraordinary voyage through the universe. Instantly
we traveled to the center of stars being born, supernovas exploding, and
many other glorious celestial events for which I have no name. The
impression I have now of this trip is that it felt like the universe is all
one grand object woven from the same fabric. Space and time are illusions
that hold us to our physical realm; out there all is present simultaneously.
I was a passenger on a divine spaceship in which the Creator showed me the
fullness and beauty of all of his Creation.
The last thing that I saw before all external vision ended was a glorious
fire - the core and center of a marvelous star. Perhaps this was a symbol
for the blessing that was now to come to me. Everything faded except for a
richly full void in which That and I encompassed All that is. Here, I
experienced, in ineffable magnificence, communion with the light being. Now
I was filled with not just all knowledge, but also with all love. It was as
if the light were poured in and through me. I was God's object of adoration;
and from his/our love I drew life and joy beyond imagining. My being was
transformed; my delusions, sins, and guilt were forgiven and purged without
asking; and now I was love, primal being, and bliss. And, in some sense, I
remain there, for Eternity. Such a union cannot be broken. It always was,
is, and shall be.
Suddenly, not knowing how or why, I returned to my broken body. But
miraculously, I brought back the love and the joy. I was filled with an
ecstasy beyond my wildest dreams. Here, in my body, the pain had all been
removed. I was still enthralled by a boundless delight. For the next two
months, I remained in this state, oblivious to any pain.
I felt now as if I had been made anew. I saw wondrous meanings everywhere;
everything was alive and full of energy and intelligence.
Although it's been 20 years since my heavenly voyage, I have never forgotten
it. Nor have I, in the face of ridicule and disbelief, ever doubted its
reality. Nothing that intense and life-changing could possibly have been a
dream or hallucination. To the contrary, I consider the rest of my life to
be a passing fantasy, a brief dream, that will end when I again awaken in
the permanent presence of that giver of life and bliss.
One most extraordinary aspect of
NDE's is that the underlying pattern seems unaffected by a person's culture or
belief system, religion, race, education, or any other known variable, although
the way in which the NDE is described varies according to the person's
background and vocabulary. There is no evidence that the type of experience is
related to whether the person is conventionally religious or not, or has lived a
"good" or "bad" life according to his/her society's standards (although an NDE
often strongly affects how life is lived after the experience).
Quotes
Dr. Raymond Moody--Thanatologist, psychiatrist and author of many books,
including the ground-breaking book, Life After Life.
I have absolutely no fear of death. From my near-death research and my
personal experiences, death is, in my judgment, simply a transition into
another kind of reality.
Betty J. Eadie--Near-death returnee, transformational speaker and author of
the best-seller Embraced By the Light.
None of this was really new to my spirit. It was a recalling of what
I've always known--how we come up from earth to heaven, how we select our
parents, how we select our life situations, how we are here on earth to
learn to love.
Dannion Brinkley--Near-death returnee, transformational speaker and author of
the bestseller Saved By The Light.
Once we begin to really understand that we are not from here, we are
from there, that we all chose to come here and were chosen to come here,
that we were somebody and something long before we came here, only then do
we comprehend that we are not poor, pitiful, stupid human beings. We are all
great, awesome, powerful and mighty spiritual beings. What then really
becomes important is realizing the true purpose of our lives.