Mary C. Neal is a surgeon. She had an NDE while her body was drowning in a kayaking accident in Chile. She detailed her experience in her first book, To Heaven and Back. In her second book, 7 Lessons from Heaven, she explores the implications of NDEs for our daily lives. Here’s a selection.
Mary Neal speaks of “God” in the context of her Christian faith. If this bothers you – which I can understand – feel free to replace this word with “Love”, “Light”, etc.
The journey from the bottom of a river to Heaven revealed something to me: God isn’t just real and present in our world. It’s much more beautiful than that. He knows each of us by name. God loves each of us as if we were the only person on earth. He wants for each of us a life far happier and more fulfilling than anything we can dare to imagine for ourselves.
We’re never alone. We are forever fully and eternally loved.
You can have absolute confidence in God’s love. Entrust your life entirely to Him, today and forever. If you do, it will radically change what you feel, think and believe. But above all, it will lead you to a life filled with joy.
Living in absolute trust is not just for people who have experienced an NDE. We can all live this way, and it will make a real difference to our daily lives.
Unconditional, infinite Love fills the universe.
During my NDE, I saw beings radiant, brilliant and overflowing with love. At that moment, I knew without a doubt that they had been sent by God to comfort, guide and protect me. In their presence, I felt completely and unconditionally loved by God. I was filled with inexpressible peace and joy. They made life on Earth seem pale and unattractive by comparison. I felt like I’d finally come home.
I felt a deep sense of universal understanding. At last, everything made sense. All I had to do was think of a question, no matter how complex, and I immediately understood the answer. Not only did I understand the answer, I understood the basis of the answer. I was able to observe the complexity of the universe, and yet I understood its truth.
I could see that everything is logical, interconnected and divinely ordered. Indeed, we are all linked, we form a single body. Above all, I understood that God wants us to live in joy.
Là où we see only failures, wounds and inadequacies, Love sees restoration and healing.érison.
God’s grace is his love in action: continual forgiveness, encouragement, mercy, compassion and kindness. We don’t have to earn this love; it’s given to us. If we accept this grace for ourselves, we can offer it to others, whatever their circumstances.
Circumstances take on their full meaning when seen à through the prism of Heaven.
We only have a partial view of our lives. When you can see from higher up, everything takes on a different meaning. During my NDE, I fully understood the divine order of the universe and our interconnectedness. Everything seemed logical, interwoven and magnificent.
The secret is to let ourselves be transformed by trust in God’s love and presence in the world. Even in times of struggle and sorrow, we can be sure that Love has the last word.
Many people at the very end of life have a glimpse of the world to come. This can take the form of a particular vision or, sometimes, visits from deceased loved ones or luminous beings. In all cases, these messages seek to reassure people at a time when they are most vulnerable. They tell them that they are deeply and forever loved by God.
There’s nothing to fear from death, because it’s not the end of our life.
Death is merely a threshold where we leave our physical selves behind and enter eternity.
The realization that death really isn’t the end radically changed my outlook on life. And I know this truth can do the same for you.
I’ve often been asked what Jesus, whom I saw during my NDE, looked like. My answer is both simple and complex. He looked like infinite goodness and compassion. That’s all there is to it.
I know that kindness and compassion are not words we use to describe visual attributes. But that’s really what He “looked like” to me at the time. Other words wouldn’t be enough to describe what I saw. He seemed to know intimately the pain and joy of this world, its beauty and ugliness. He absorbed it all and covered it with his love.
Love can’t be earned, it can’t be bought. It’s free to use.
You and I don’t have to “deserve” this Love. It is irrevocably given to us, whatever we do. All we have to do is open ourselves to this love, and let it fill us with joy and peace. God fills you and me with his love because God is love.
Choosing to forgive frees us from our burdens. It allows us to live fully and joyfully in infinite, unconditional love.
Refusing to forgive may seem legitimate. But the emotional weight of resentment will slowly crush us if we can’t let it go. This weight keeps us in bondage to our past. It gives past events the power to define us. It limits the space available within us for love.
When we choose to forgive, we choose to accept the depth of God’s love and grace for all human beings. And for ourselves. We recognize that there is good in the worst of us and bad in the best of us. We admit that we can’t see the whole complex tapestry of the universe.
Are NDEs due to an influx of DMT into our brains at the moment of death?
I don’t think so, for several reasons.
The strongest commonality in NDEs is the presence of intense, unconditional love emanating from recognizable, endearing beings. This contrasts with the elves, fairies and other extraterrestrials encountered by people who experience DMT.
Beyond encounters with extraterrestrials, DMT-related visual hallucinations generally involve seeing colors repeated endlessly in geometric patterns. This has nothing to do with the coherent descriptions of the NDErs.
Unlike NDErs, people who have experienced DMT have never received truthful information, i.e. information that coincides with real, but as yet unknown, events.
The memory of a DMT experience fades so quickly that advocates of the recreational use of DMT suggest that people who experience it should write an account of their experience as soon as they’ve “come down”. This may be one of the reasons why we don’t see many positive effects in the daily lives of people who have experienced DMT.
On the contrary, people who have experienced an NDE usually manifest profound and lasting changes, such as becoming more altruistic, less materialistic and more loving. What’s more, these changes intensify over time.
What are the élécommon features of IMEs?
Here are those most frequently mentioned.
A deep sense of well-being, infused with pure love.
The most important element of NDEs is undoubtedly the feeling of being loved and accepted by an infinite Source of love. I’ve spoken with a few people who have experienced an NDE during which they first experienced what they described as hell, with fear, anxiety and despair. Yet each of them claimed to have been finally lifted out of this reality by God’s love.
This feeling of being immersed in total and unlimited Love is the most profound, memorable and defining aspect of my entire NDE.
The separation of body and mind, which helps us realize that we are much more than our bodies.
NDEs usually begin with the feeling of moving effortlessly through space, whether it’s infinite darkness or brilliance, a tunnel or a path. This space often links the past to the present and future, without any real notion of time.
People feel separated from their physical bodies, but are often able to see their bodies and are aware of events taking place around them. What’s more, they are often able to accurately describe the details of what was said and done while they were “dead”, or pass on information they wouldn’t have known before.
Don’t be afraid of death!
Love dominates the whole experience and totally erases the fear of death, even if it was sudden or traumatic.
A review of life.
Most people experience some form of life review during their NDE.
An expérience of the experienceéelle que la réalité.
People who experience an NDE have emotions, consciousness and perceptions of heightened depth and intensity.
When describing their NDE, people always say the same thing I do: the images, sounds, sensations and emotions are hyper-intense and “truer than real”. Almost everyone talks about its indescribable beauty. I saw more colors than there are in a rainbow, with an intensity that surpassed anything I’ve ever experienced here on Earth.
Communication is always crystal-clear, even when telepathic. Personally, the word telepathy has always sounded strange to me and I hesitate to use it. But a better word for what’s going on escapes me. Even if celestial communication does not use the mouth, as is the case on Earth, it is perfectly understood. It’s almost like a breath of pure energy, enveloped in love, transmitted from one being to another.
Reunions with friends and relatives.
Although I didn’t take the time to ask myself whether the people I met knew me, I had the distinct feeling that they had always known and loved me.
Many others report finding deceased relatives, friends or guides who are brilliantly radiant and welcoming. These may be people the experiencer knew were dead, people he or she didn’t yet know were dead, or family members he or she didn’t know before.
Whatever the circumstances of the deceased’s life, or the circumstances of their death, their heavenly spirit appears as whole, healthy, joyful and dynamic.
A point of no return.
Many people are approaching a kind of barrier beyond which there is no return from death. On or before reaching this barrier, the dying person is told that it’s not his time, or that he’s not ready. He then returns to his body, even if he rarely feels like it.
The certainty of having livedésomething of immeasurable importance.
Most of us think we’ve learned something about the purpose of life. Most people who have had an NDE feel they have entered a spiritual world. They have sometimes seen a city of lights and almost always encountered a presence of infinite love.
A perfect, precise memory.
No matter how much time has passed, people remember the experience reliably and accurately, with details that don’t change. When we talk about it, it’s as if we’re describing what happened while reliving it in the present.
A profound change of perspective.
Most people who have had an NDE lose all fear of death and come back certain that there is life after death. Even those who died atheists come back knowing that there is a Being we can call God. Lifestyles and fundamental beliefs are changing. Materialists become altruists, alcoholics stop drinking and strict religious dogmas tend to give way to Love. Most of us come back determined to make a difference in the world. What’s more, we appreciate the present moment much more.
In the world to come, there is no pain, no sorrow, no suffering.
It’s a world where relationships are reconciled and appeased, and where we are aware of our interconnectedness with all that exists.
Can our deceased see us here on earth?
I think the answer is yes. The experience I had – being simultaneously aware of what was happening in Heaven and what was happening behind me on earth – opened my eyes to the possibility that spirits really do pass through our world.
What’s more, after listening to hundreds of people tell me their own stories of NDEs and spiritual encounters, I’ve concluded that the spirits of our deceased loved ones are not completely cut off from our earthly existence. I believe they are aware of us and the events of our lives. They’re our biggest supporters, and they’re able to pass into our world from time to time. I’ve heard too many stories about this to ignore the possibility.
You may be wonderingê: so what? What’s the difference?éWhat difference does it make to me?
I deeply believe that NDEs are destined to change the way you and I live today.
That’s why I say that my journey to the gates of heaven is not really “my” story, but only mine to share.
And the same goes for you. You know now that death is not the end and that love will have the last word, forever. There is life after death, and this truth can change the way we live.
I came back from heaven realizing that Love wants me to go through each day with the certainty that a power greater than my failures is at work in my life, in your life and in our world today.
Make Love your goal and your compass, and you’ll find the joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances.
The confidence you’ll feel when you fully trust God to guide you will transform your life almost miraculously. Anxiety and worry will be put aside. You’ll be able to express your best-hidden talents. Like me, you’ll discover the immense value of your life.
Love is always at work in the fabric of our lives. He uses everything we do, even the ugliest, to create something wonderful. Even if we can’t see it yet, the end result is a beauty we could never have imagined.
My joy is still there.
It’s based on the certainty that there is a real, loving God present in the world, who knows each of us individually, loves us deeply and wants the best for our lives. It’s based on the knowledge that every situation and experience on Earth is temporary. And that every situation and experience prepares us in some way for our future.
The promise applies to you too, right now.
If you examine every account of an NDE or spiritual experience at large, you’ll see this promise: if heaven and the supernatural are so close now, and if God is so real, so good and so loving to me now, then surely I can live more fully and more joyfully… now.
Make no mistake, this is an extremely serious matter. Today, I know without a doubt that this world is separated from the other by the thinnest of veils, and that both worlds belong to the Light.
Love is stronger than death.
I know now that you and I are already living next to, or even inside eternity, and that one day the veil separating it from our world will disappear. Then we’ll see that love is victorious.
The spiritual world is real and death is not the end. God knows us and loves us. He is present in our world and wants us to live in joy.
The promises of NDE stories are for everyone. They are designed to transform our present lives in very concrete ways.
Is it possible to bring about this transformation without experiencing an NDE? Certainly, yes. You can wake up to the reality of this living, active love in your day, right now.
To find out more about Mary Neal: https: //www.drmaryneal.com/
See also the article on Jeffery Olsen’s EMI
