During their near-death experiences, many people[1] have relived their lives in the presence of a “being of light”. The question was: “What have you done with your life?” More precisely, the question seemed to be: “did you act out of love?” or: “how did you love?”
This life review has shed light on the motivation behind their actions, without any possible concealment. Experiencers say they felt unveiled? It was as if all the masks and labels behind which they had hidden their lives had been removed.
They often insist on the precision of this life review. It was as if every thought, word and deed of theirs came back before them. What’s more, they could see the consequences of their words and actions on the people concerned. The good it may have done them, or the suffering they may have experienced.
Truth, but no judgment
Experiencers all insist that there was no judgment emanating from the “being of light”. If there was any judgment, it was that of the people themselves on their own lives. It was a moment of total truth, sometimes very painful for the person experiencing it. But this truth was laid out on a canvas of love, kindness and unconditional acceptance.
“There was no one to condemn me but me. The Light didn’t judge me at all. It was all love and understanding.”[2]
“It was a learning process, not a courtroom.The only judge in the case was me.”[3]
This is an element of NDE that often provokes incomprehension or criticism on the part of those who hear them. The idea of judgment and retribution is so deeply rooted in our cultures and psychologies that we find it hard to let go.
An absence sometimes difficult to accept
We often have a double feeling, more or less conscious:
- If there’s no judgment, what’s the point of doing everything possible to act “justly”? This opens the door to anarchy and the law of the jungle!
- So people I don’t like because I think they behave “badly” won’t be punished? It’s not fair… And I try so hard to behave properly, or at least better than them…
On the first point: on the contrary, the experiencers come back better and determined to love as they felt loved. Raymond Moody explains: “those who return from this experience feel an immense and urgent desire to change their way of living. They want to devote much more time and energy to helping others, and to rejoicing in the love they receive and give.”[4]
A revolution
The second point calls for a real turnaround. We’re no longer driven by the idea of an evaluation, a ranking of “good people” and others, with a more or less conscious fear of punishment. When we realize that the Universe is made up of unconditional love, and that we are loved unconditionally, we can’t help but love in turn.
What’s more, if I make someone suffer, it’s out of fear, because I’m suffering myself, or because I’m unaware of the consequences of my actions. None of this calls for sanctions. Only love and a clearer conscience are the right answers. That’s what’s going to make me change profoundly.
An experimenter dramatically illustrates the power of this love and awareness of the consequences of our actions. He worked for a Mafia family. During his NDE, he experienced from the inside all the suffering he had inflicted on so many people and their families. This realization totally changed him. She has completely changed her outlook on the world and on life. Miraculously, his former bosses let him go, probably thinking he’d gone mad and was therefore harmless. Today, he works for a charity. He explains that he wants to “make up for what he has done”.
Absence of judgment is not absence of consequences
Another nuance may be useful: absence of judgment is not absence of consequences. As one woman put it: “What mattered most was not what I had done in my physical life, but who I was, who I was inside. My soul was more important than any physical act I had performed. In other words, it only mattered who I really was in my soul at that moment.
Which is not to say that all my physical life experiences hadn’t significantly contributed to shaping the person I was. In fact, they had actually contributed to it. And the influence of physical actions on the soul cannot be overlooked. We might think we can harm others, or think bad thoughts about others without consequences. That it doesn’t matter as long as you remain a beautiful personality. This is not true. It does change the soul, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
This testimony tells us that our actions contribute to influencing the Being we are. They may or may not allow him to grow in love and wisdom. And it’s very likely that this has consequences for what we’ll be like in the next world: our potential will be more or less developed.
What about reincarnation?
If we believe in reincarnation, we’ll also say that our actions and their consequences strongly influence our spiritual evolution and therefore the number and nature of our reincarnations.
And there are also testimonies of souls who turn away from the Light for fear of judgment. As a result, they cannot enter into bliss. Some say that they remain in this state until they understand that all they have to do to enter is turn towards the Light.
We find it hard to conceive of a world that functions in a radically different way from our own. Nor can we understand all its dimensions and implications right now. However, it is certain that the testimonies of NDE invite us to leave behind the world of judgment, of ourselves and of others, and enter the world of unconditional love, for ourselves and for others. It’s the best way to live happier and build a better world.
[1 ] Around 20% of people who experience an NDE describe this life review, according to Christophe Fauré’s “This Life and Beyond”.
[2] idem
[3] idem
[4] Raymond Moody in “New lights on life after life”.
