Life After Life (Part 2 of 7) – Near-Death Experience

Some physicians and scientists have attempted to discount the near-death experience (NDE) phenomenon as misfiring synapses of the brain during trauma. However, I believe that as more and more evidence is becoming available, the near-death experience will be opened up as a genuine spiritual phenomenon.

In 1999 I was hit by a car and severely injured. I was 19 years old at the time, and had absolutely no interest in spirituality of any kind. I grew up in a very religious household, and noticed how damaging religious ideology could be on both society and the microcosm of families and tribal units. In many ways I was angry with systems that promoted any kind of dogmatic spirituality, and discounted any kind of spiritual experience.

I believe NDErs really do bring back a piece of the afterlife. When NDErs share their remarkable experiences, I believe a piece of the afterlife, in some mysterious way, becomes available to us all ~ Jeffrey Long

I am not certain that I was an atheist, but I was certainly an adamant agnostic, who believed that if there was a God or spiritual reality it was distant – it was not interested in interaction with this world. My personal NDE drastically changed my perception of what I believed to be real.

I did not necessarily have the typical near-death experience. Some of my experiences were indeed “normal,” compared to what I have read and heard from others, but there were other dynamics that seemed different. It is my personal opinion that the spiritual awakening that we have when we move on, or when we have a near-death experience, are unique to our own personal experience, as well as our unique life path.

One common experience that I did have in my NDE was watching the medical team, as if I was floating above them. In my case, however, it was not the doctors but the emergency medical technicians (EMT)that I could see, as they were rushing me in the ambulance to the hospital.

I was hovering outside my body, above the ambulance, after the incident occurred. The first thing I remember from the experience is witnessing the urgency with which the EMT had made sure that my neck and back were properly stabilized before moving me. During this experience I did not have a sense of movement, however, rather that I was stationary and watching a vivid movie taking place below me.

Next, I felt my consciousness expanding so much so that it felt as though I was the ambulance, the EMTs, and the patient. I could feel their sense of urgency to stop the bleeding and focusing their attention on my head wounds. Then my consciousness expanded even beyond that, where it was no longer limited by space or time. I could see my entire past, every moment as if it all took place at one time. I could also see the whole of the universe – a multitude of galaxies and life.

The most profound part of this experience was the love I felt for all of it, and how brilliant and beautiful it was. My NDE led me to a place where I sensed complete unity, love, and peace. I remember thinking that I had died, but it wasn’t like ‘thinking.’ Even before I could articulate the question in my mind I knew the answer – I was not going to die, and I was going to go back.

Since that near-death experience, it has completely changed me. I’m not judgmental anymore. I don’t live in fear anymore. I don’t hate myself anymore. I don’t beat myself up anymore because I know from my own experience… God is life. It has completely changed my way of looking at the world ~ Clark Brolly

After this occurred, I remember thinking that my vast consciousness could never fit back into my tiny little body, but as I thought this I returned and was in a tremendous amount of pain. The visions that I had that day seemed to fade almost immediately, as if I had awoken from a dream, but the shift that took place from that moment on lines up with what many people who have had near-death experiences share.

My attention and focus shifted from materialism and social status to love, reconciliation, and healing. This experience was also the catalyst to many other spiritual and psychic experiences. Visits with heaven, the angels, and spirit guides started becoming more common, and it was clear that one of my purposes on this planet was to convey messages in a psychic capacity. I did not necessarily jump right in, but it took many years of development, and I never considered becoming a professional psychic, but the path continually opened up in that direction and led me to where I am today.

I do not believe individuals need a NDE to have a profound spiritual experience, and my spiritual life did not instantly change because of the near-death experience.  What the experience did was create a hunger inside me for what is possible and available to us as humans. Spiritual development takes time and attention, but it is available to all of us.

The key to true spirituality is that it is about learning how to love. Not only others, but also ourselves. To recognize that there is a kingdom that is greater, that transcends this time-space reality, and the essence of that kingdom is the force of eternal love. All else is illusion.

You may argue,“But James, my experiences of fear, pain, resentment and the like feel very real,” and this is true.  Illusion can be very powerful, but the ultimate creative source of all things is love. The experiences of fear and the fruits of fear is simply the absence of our Source, which is love. It is the vacuum that through seeking we can fill with a pleasant and peaceful existence.