The Gift of Near-Death Experiences

"Nothing can happen more beautiful than death." 

~Walt Whitman

So many of us fear death. It’s a constant looming and inevitable part of the human experience and it’s common to feel this way. The question has always been, how can we grow past this fear without actually dying! There is a tried and true answer: By studying near-death experiences. I personally know that if you stick with this groundbreaking research long enough, you’ll begin to understand that there is in fact, nothing at all to fear about dying. In fact, death is actually something to look forward to as it will be the greatest adventure you’ll ever take. 

Personally, I wasn’t always so keen on biting the dust. In fact, dying was the most horrifying event I felt could happen to a person. To leave this earth plane and lose everyone and everything I’d known while fading off to somewhere completely unknown felt wretchedly painful and scary. These days, I’m whistling a new tune. 

When my beautiful mother passed away in January of 2011, I imploded. My mind and nervous system broke down into pieces. I was so internally shattered that within just a week, I was suicidal.

Other than being devastated over the loss, I was convinced I needed to kill myself in order to “find” my mother and lead her to heaven. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d totally lost it.

With the help of an amazing therapist, the healing abilities of time itself, and the miracle that arrived in the form of Transcendental Meditation I retained my sanity. What did stick around was my obsession with what happens to us when we die. Since I didn’t have the option of dropping dead, II took a deep dive into the fascinating world of near-death experiences. This, my brothers and sisters, was a powerful game-changer. 

First, let’s turn to the Oxford Dictionary for the definition of a near-death experience: An unusual experience taking place on the brink of death and recounted by a person on recovery, typically an out-of-body experience or a vision of a tunnel of light. Except, the thing is, it’s not unusual. According to the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies 4-8% of the population has had a near-death experience. That’s truly a shit load of people dropping dead and bouncing back to talk about it. 

The similarities between people’s experiences are uncanny. Walking into the light, seeing loved ones that have passed before them, a visual review of their lives before their eyes, and in some cases a full-blown conversation with the big cheese, God. These humans always return radically transformed. I mean, if that sort of thing doesn’t change your life, then nothing will.

There is unwaveringly strong truth in death. A Sharp clarity. A deep love for those around you. An intense piercing of the veil that leads to expansive universal knowledge that wasn’t available to you prior to facing your own mortality.

It’s a shame that most people have to wait until the moment of their last breath to “see” God. That profound ability is actually available to us in the here and now, but I’m getting off-topic.

The gentle peace that I’ve received from studying near-death experiences is still the gift that keeps on giving. Since my mother’s death, I’ve had eight family members, including my brother, pass away. With each death, I’ve grown stronger. Falling back on the knowledge I’ve gained from talking to those that have passed and returned to tell the world about it, coupled with my own experiences and faith has given me a stronger set of legs that no longer allow me to collapse when someone I love exits stage left. In fact, I feel at this point in my journey, I am more than capable of actually helping people cross over.

Much of this strength has come from the integration of all the stories I’ve taken in from near-death experiencers. To me, they feel like angels walking this earth alongside us, reporting their findings of God, angels, light and love from the other side. Near-death experiences are not only a pathway to radical transformation for the person having the experience, but also can transform the layperson’s total understanding of death. If you are confused about what happens when we drop kick the body, do yourself a favor and crack open a book on NDE’s, for your viewing pleasure,  binge watch YouTube videos on the subject and if you really want some big time info, attend an IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) conference. The guest speakers will leave you thinking, “On my God, everything I thought I knew was wrong” (link to my podcast) about death. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to taking a dirt nap!