|
 P.M.H.
Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. (Hon.)
is one of the original researchers of the near-death experience
phenomenon. Her first two books,
Coming Back to Life and
Beyond the Light, are considered the
Bibles of the near-death experience. In her book,
Children of the New Millennium, she presents the first serious look
at the near-death experiences of children.
What follows
are some of the childhood near-death experiences profiled in her book,
Children of the New Millennium reprinted by permission.
Brad Steiger's near-death
experience is an excerpt from his excellent book,
One with the Light. David Goines experience is an excerpt from his
website which, for some reason, no longer exists on the internet. I
suspect he is now in spirit.
Laura's NDE
(age three and a half)
My father, in a blind drunken rage, raped and sodomized and beat me to
death in the middle of the night. At the most extreme outpost of pain, I
cried out to God and in that moment I was torn from life.
As I died I
felt myself raised up by angels in robes of many colors. I did not know
where they were taking me as they flew, carrying me up higher and higher
in the sky. Finally, we reached a place where emptiness gave way to
form, and form took the shape of huge cloudlike masses on which other
angels seemed to be walking, although they too floated through the air.
The angels
carrying me lay me at the feet of a beautiful female angel whose
radiating love was more powerful than any of those around her. She said
to me in a voice whose sweetness and tone are unknown here on Earth,
"Tell me your story."
I said to
her, not in spoken words but in thoughts, "I will, but now I need to
rest."
My spirit had
no energy, even to answer this loving lady.
God in the
manifestation of infinite light appeared off to my left, and I was
engulfed in a form of all-powerful, all-nourishing love. That divine
being appeared as a massive column of golden light, with the suggestion
of a human shape inside. I both saw and felt his light, feeling as if I
were in a warm bath that completely healed and protected me. I never
wanted to leave. No conversation passed between us, but in those
infinite moments I acquired the knowledge that allowed me to go back to
Earth to complete my life.
After this
infinite moment had passed, there began a battle for my life between the
angels in heaven and the doctors on Earth. Every time the doctors
pounded on my chest, my spirit was sucked into my body for a split
second, only to be pulled back again by the angels. They held me by my
feet, struggling to keep me from coming back. Finally, the doctors
pounded one last time. I heard an angel say, "They're stronger than we
are," and I was sucked back into my body, sat up, screamed, and passed
out.
To this day,
I always have the feeling that I need to go back, that there was
something more I was meant to do there before returning. That feeling of
incompleteness keeps me half in the other world all the time.
Clara's NDE
(age ten) I was in the fifth grade when I became sick with extreme pain in my
lower right side. My teacher thought it was only a stomach ache and
ignored it. Two hours later I was rushed to the hospital. I was
terrified and begged to go home. I was fighting the ether mask when it
happened. One second I was awake, scared to death, the next second I was
falling straight down a dark hole as if in a well.
There were
loud sounds like buzzing and ringing and metal scraping together, then I
was up by the ceiling looking down on myself. I felt as though I was
spread out all over the room like vapor or a cloud. I watched as the
doctor had a square green machine wheeled into the room by a nurse, and
then worked on me using it. There were several nurses there.
Suddenly I
was standing alone in a room with large, heavy doors leading into other
rooms. Someone came to me. I didn't see him; I only heard his
voice. He led me up through what seemed like a tunnel. I seemed to be
walking, but my feet didn't touch a floor. Suddenly I heard what sounded
like a city-sized playground full of kids, laughing and playing. Hearing
them calmed me. Another man came to meet us. I didn't see him either. He
asked the one leading me who I was, then he went away. When he returned
he told the man with me that I had to go back, that they weren't ready
for me yet.
I was led up
a sidewalk to a large building with large doors. I walked inside and saw
people all around working and doing things. I was taken to a huge
iridescent white room and told to sit down on some steps that led up to
a large white chair, and wait there for someone who was to talk to me.
He came out a door at the other end of the steps, walked to the chair
above me, and sat down. He was dressed in a white, long-sleeved,
floor-length robe with a wide gold band around the mid-section. He wore
sandals. His dark brown hair was shoulder length; he had a long face,
broad chin, dark eyes with black around both eyelids, like eyeliner
pencil, but it wasn't. His skin was olive colored and his eyes were as
liquid love. He communicated by looking at me. No words had to be
spoken, as we could hear each other's thoughts. He told me what I had to
do in life and had me go to the other side of the room and look down
into something like a TV set so I could see my future. What I saw
made me very happy. This man, who I believe is Jesus Christ, said
that once I woke up in the hospital I would forget what I was supposed
to do in life.
"Nothing can
happen before its time," he cautioned.
As I was
leaving the room he said I must obey his commandments if I wanted to
come back.
When I
revived, a nurse was sitting beside my bed and she said, "Thank God you
finally woke up." I told the doctor that I had watched him work on me
and the color of the machine brought into the surgery room. He didn't
know what to say.
Cecil's NDE
(age eleven)
My brother and I went
swimming. He had a problem. I tried to get him out of the water, but in
his panic he pulled me under several times. We both drowned. He died and
I came back. I can remember it all like yesterday. Just as I could no
longer stay afloat, a strange sound like ringing in my ears started. A
peaceful feeling came over me. I felt my spirit come out of my body and
I went into a black void. That was a little frightening.
A long way off there was a pinprick of light. I moved toward it, slowly at
first, then faster and faster as if I were on top of a train
accelerating. Then I stopped and stepped fully into the light. I noticed
everything - sky, buildings, glass - emitted its own light and
everything was much more colorful than what we see here. A river
meandered around. On the other side was a city, and a road running
through it to another city, and another city and another and another.
Right in front of me but across the river were three men. They projected
themselves to me. They didn't walk or fly; they projected over. I didn't
recognize them, yet I knew one was Lynn Bibb.
(I was named after him. He died a matter of weeks before I was born.)
I knew these three men were looking out for me, like a welcoming
committee to escort me over the river to the first city. I had the
feeling that if I went with them, there would be no coming back, so I
hesitated.
The first city was like first grade. People stayed there until they were
ready to go to the next city - your eternal progression, from city to
city. Behind me and to the left was a strong light source, very
brilliant and filled with love. I knew it was a person. I called it God
for lack of a better term. I could not see it; I felt what seemed like a
male presence. He communicated to me, not so much in words but
telepathically, and he asked, "Why did you hesitate?"
I replied, "Well, I'm kind of young to die."
He chuckled. "We have babies die."
I said, "Well, there's some things I want to know first."
He replied, "What do you want to know?"
"What is death?" I asked.
He said, "Turn and look to one side."
As I did, I saw a bad car wreck. Several people had been killed. Out of
some of the bodies a spirit came up to progress on.
Some who did not believe it was possible stayed in their bodies and would
not emerge. I asked if they could be reached and he said, "Yes, some
more quickly than others and some maybe never." Death, then, is not
believing in anything.
I asked, "What is hell?"
He said, "Turn and look again."
I saw an old woman in a rocking chair determined to sit and rock and worry
about children and grandchildren and everything else. Hell is therefore
a lack of wisdom and not moving on, choosing not to go any further,
sitting there and doing nothing. Hell is not a place.
I asked if there was a Devil or Satan.
He said to me, "Would God allow that?" He continued, "If I made you God
for just a few seconds, what would you do first?"
I knew my first act would be to eliminate any Devil or Satan. I asked,
"How do I know right from wrong?"
He replied, "Right is helping and being kind. Wrong is not only hurting
someone but not helping when you can."
We walked as I asked about the universe and reasons for everything. All of
these things were shown to me. Then he wondered if I still wanted to
return to the physical world.
"I do want to return."
He asked, "Why?"
I said I would help my mother whom my father had left with four children
and one on the way. God kind of chuckled and asked me for the real
reason. I said I would leave the Earth a little better than I found it.
Then you may return with some of the knowledge of the things you have
learned, but the rest will be veiled for a time. Live in such a way that
you will not be going back when you return here again.
I woke up facedown in the mud of the river bottom and was 'lifted' to the
top. I threw up great amounts of water, then pulled myself out of the
river only to discover my brother had died.
David Goines'
NDE
(age thirteen)
This is the true story about an event that forever changed
David Goines' life and that has been the basis for the way
he has since lived. When he was thirteen years old, he was
riding his bike to school when he was hit by a concrete
mixing truck. His resulting near-death experience revealed
to him many of the secrets of the afterlife. Many questions
concerning "Why are we here?" and "What is the meaning of
life?" are answered here. At the end of his experience, he
was given a choice - a choice that is offered to all of us.
It is a choice we all must make when we die. |
| |
|
I remember
the fear of impact (getting hit), however, I have no
recollection of the impact or having my body become totally integrated
with the bicycle, nor hurtling over sixty feet through the air and
landing in the canal. My next memory was quite a scene in the hospital
emergency room. It was the most unique experience of my earthly life.
Unique, because I was observing my own body in the emergency room and
all the activity going on, except that I was not in my body. I was above
it all - looking down. I was feeling no pain.
Everyone was
very busy. I knew by their activity that I was in serious trouble. There
was much discussion about how to extract me from the tangled wreckage of
my bike and/or whether they would need to leave me in it until I was
stabilized enough to try. I could see and hear everything. It was
gruesome. It was frightening. They finally decided they had me stable
enough to get rid of the bike and they called for a welding specialist
to bring a torch to help cut me out of the bike. Thank God my body
seemed to be unconscious. All of this would have been quite enough for
my young mind to endure - until one nurse, whom I knew, said to another,
"Well - it certainly makes you wonder if it is worth saving this mess."
She nearly
scared me to death! At that moment, it was more than I could stand
above and watch. I wanted to run away from this scene. I needed to
escape. Quickly, I turned, took one step through the wall so to speak
and found myself in total darkness. I looked back - nothing but
darkness! Before I could barely think, "Now I've done it!" I apparently
took another step; and I was instantly in the most beautiful garden I
have ever seen. This garden was like a formal terrace which had been
carved out of a rough mountain, just a few feet below the peak.
Everything was white marble and evergreen. The air was so incredibly
light and clear and fresh and cool. It seemed like I was breathing pure
chilled oxygen. The garden was trimmed in evergreen shrubs, each a
perfect specimen; and the fragrance of evergreen lightly scented the
air. This place seemed so perfect in every detail. Directly in front of
me, just a few steps away, was a marble bench which seemed to invite me
to come, sit, and rest.
As I sat down
and breathed in the fresh wonderful air, I looked around. What a
wonderful place to rest. The floor was flat and smooth, polished to
perfection such that it looked seamless. This garden terrace was
surrounded by low marble pillars and a marble railing and looked like it
had been formed right out of the side of the mountain in one seamless
effort. I noticed the stark contrast between the formal perfection of
white marble and the surrounding mountain that was rough and ragged by
comparison.
It seemed
like only moments while I looked around this beautiful setting, when I
noticed a very warm, kindly, old gentleman sitting beside me on the
bench. I had not seen or heard him come - he was just there. A light
smile crossed his face, and I knew he was a friend. His face was warmly
wrinkled, but soft. His eyes were a soft blue and yet with a depth and
sparkle of wisdom. I looked away so as not to fall into his eyes; and as
I did, he spoke to me. His voice was firm, but soft and loving.
He said,
"Well, you've had a rough day," as if he knew all about it.
With a tired
sigh I said, "I sure have!"
No further
explanation seemed necessary as we both sat there. Then, I remembered
just how much trouble I really was in; and I looked back at him hoping
he would have an answer I could stand to hear.
I asked "Am I
dead?"
He smiled to
assure me and said, "No, you are not dead. Your body is in a lot of
trouble, but it is being well taken care of and you do not need to
worry."
I remember I
felt so relieved to be told that I was not dead. Life was not over. This
was not the end. All these things ran through my mind like a whirlwind
that stopped abruptly, and I was filled with a million questions as to
explain my current condition. I could not explain why I felt like I was
sitting here in this place feeling very much like I had a body and yet
knowing very much that I had left it behind.
Again I
looked at him, and his face looked so understanding I knew he had the
answers even before I asked the question. It was like we could read each
others thoughts - even before words were spoken - and I'm not sure but
what a lot of our communication did take place this way, mind to mind.
Then a kind of panic set in.
I demanded of
him: "How am I here, in this place, when I know that my body is back
there in the hospital?" And "Where is this place? How do I see this
place and you, if I'm not with my body? How can I be two places at
once?" I began to feel very upset. "What are you?" I demanded!
His voice
calmed me immediately. He said, "You are in a very special place. You
are safe."
He went on to
explain that, though my body was in the hospital, it was my physical
body and that each of us has also our spiritual body and our mental
body.
He said, "It
is your mental and spiritual body that is here. It is with your mental
and spiritual eyes that you see this place. Likewise, it is through your
mental and spiritual body senses that you perceive everything in and
about this place. This place is in your mind's eye, your imagination; it
is as it is because this is exactly what you need it to be. Your
physical crisis and mental need caused it to be just as you perceive it.
I am here too without a physical body. You see me as I see myself in my
own mind's eye. A mental picture (a thought) from my mind to
your mind's eye. I am as you see me because this is the way that I
perceived that you needed me to be. Who I am or my name is not
important. I am here for you on behalf of your heavenly Father's love
for you and to remind you from where you came."
My first
thought was - The hospital?
He smiled a
smile of wisdom and patience beyond wisdom itself and said lovingly,
"No, I mean your Father's house."
It was then
at that moment that I realized that I knew everything that he was saying
was true and that I had known this consciously before I was born to this
Earth to have a physical body. I remembered that I was also a spiritual
and mental body (being), and it all made perfect sense. I even
remembered coming through the veil to find and choose my physical body.
I was mildly puzzled that I could have even forgotten such things - when
he reminded me that to have/experience a physical life - it was
necessary to at least for a while, forget a little of our prior
knowledge so that we might more fully experience the physical things, be
physically challenged, make choices of free agency, and yes, even make
mistakes so that we could learn from them in ways that only a physical
life could impart.
If we
retained all of our prior knowledge, we might not bother to experience
the physical life for its fulfillment - we might decide to skip the pain
and thus miss the pleasure. I also remembered the promise I had made to
my heavenly Father upon accepting the opportunity, challenges and
responsibility of a physical life. To make the most of this opportunity
for myself and for him. To return to my Father's house with the
knowledge and experience gained such that likewise, my Father
(Creator) could be enhanced by the experience. It was upon this
basis that I realized why we need to experience a separation of our
total reality when we take a physical body. That is because in order for
us to appreciate, benefit, and learn all we can from our physical life,
we must seemingly have to re-discover what we knew before - now in
physical ways. Likewise, through this physical life we must discover how
to return to our heavenly Father. By the good that we do to each other
here, by the ways we improve our minds, and by the ways that we learn to
cope with a physical body and physical life, do we earn our right of
safe passage back to our Father's house; and in so doing, do we likewise
magnify and glorify (honor) our Father. It is our Father's love
that sends us on the journey and it is our love for him that will allow
us to go back home to his loving arms again.
As soon as I
had remembered all that I needed to know, my loving, special friend
disappeared.
This was a
wonderful place; it was everything I needed it to be. I not only
remembered and could see from where I came, I could also see and
remember where I was going, the many things that I was supposed to do. I
knew when I chose this life that it would be challenging. I knew that I
would be responsible for finding a physical life mate and that,
together, we would accept the responsibility of providing new physical
life so that others of God's children (creation) could likewise
share in a physical experience for themselves. I knew that I would be
responsible for choosing between good and evil so that my life would
serve to glorify my heavenly Father upon my return to him.
As I
continued to ponder and re-affirm these things, I felt very refreshed
and again more conscious of my garden place. I turned and noticed a
small winding path leading up to the crest of this rugged mountain. I
had not noticed this path before, but it was there now and it beckoned
me. I got up from my marble bench and began making my way up the steep
access of the path. It was difficult and my footing was very unsure. As
I reached the top, I looked down upon a beautiful meadow on the other
side. It was so tempting. There were flowers of every description and
color. A beautiful brook flowed playfully through the meadow, and I made
my way through the lush grass to be by its side. The brook was only a
few inches deep. The water flowed quickly. I picked up some pebbles and
tossed them one by one into the water. I was about to turn away and
leave when I looked on the other side of the stream and saw a beautiful
white light much like sunbeams. From this beautiful light a figure
appeared. It was clothed in white robes and white light such that I
could scarcely tell the difference. I could not make out a face - but I
clearly saw hands. These hands stretched out to me and a voice said:
"Will you come unto me?"
Without
hesitation I stepped into the water, then I paused. I was shaking all
over. Then I remembered that I had a life to learn and experience. I
turned; and as I stepped out of the water, I said "No, I still have many
things which I must do."
I made my way
quickly, running as fast as I could back up to the top of the hill and
back down that winding path, nearly falling several times. As soon as my
feet touched the floor of my beautiful marble garden, I was consciously
back in my physical body, awake, and suddenly in more physical pain than
I ever thought possible. My body was in five-way traction, and I was
barely touching the bed. Everything hurt.
My first
conscious thought was, "Big mistake - boy, I've done it now! I've
screwed up big time! That white figure was Jesus and I told him, "No!"
I don't know
whether I cried more from the physical pain I was in or the spiritual
and mental torment I was having over this decision. Later through prayer
and meditation, I have been comforted. I now understand and have so
often reflected that through this experience I was being offered a
choice. A choice which I, and each of us, have the right to make. My
heavenly Father has such a profound love for me and all of his children,
for that matter, that I was offered through his son Jesus the
opportunity to come back to him right then.
His love is
so great for his children that he was and is willing to sacrifice his
potential for glory. Fortunately for me, I have the opportunity on his
behalf to experience a physical life; and hopefully in doing so, I will
ultimately magnify and glorify my heavenly Father and more so than if I
had accepted grace and forgone this opportunity.
I did not
realize that my garden experience had lasted for twenty-one days, until
I was told by my doctors and nurses that I had been in a coma all that
time. It was from this experience that I was able to draw enough
strength and energy to rehabilitate my body, learn to walk again, and do
all the things that I have been able to do so far in my life.
I am telling
you this story, one, because I needed to tell it; two, because, perhaps
you needed to hear it; and, three, because it allows me a credible basis
for sharing with you much of the magic that can enhance a physical life.
Brad Steiger's
NDE
(age eleven)
 Brad
Steiger is a famous author of paranormal books such as
Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places,
Dog Miracles: Inspirational and Heroic True Stories, and
Angels Around the World. On an August day in 1947, 11-year-old Brad
Steiger nearly died of multiple skull fractures after being caught in
the metallic blades of a piece of machinery on his family's Iowa farm.
He felt his "essential self" drift away from his body. He watched his
sister run for help and realized he was simultaneously in his father's
arms being carried from the field, and above himself, observing.
While "out"
of his body he was shown a geometric design of colors and seemed to see
the patterns inherent in all of life. He came back to his body just as
the surgeons were about to operate.
Although he
did not understand it, he felt he had been shown a plan of the universe,
and that he had a mission "to testify to others that the human spirit is
eternal and that we are not alone in the cosmic scheme of things."
Children report being taken on a tour of heaven, seeing angels, colorful
geometric patterns, and dead relatives and pets. One 9-year-old boy,
after 36 hours in a life-threatening fever, reported seeing his sister
during a tour of heaven. It was she who told him he had to come back to
life. His father assured him he couldn't have seen her there as she was
safely away at college. The following morning they found out that the
daughter had died the night before in a car crash.
One of her professors at the Chicago Theological Seminary once told of a
girl who was dying and reported seeing her brother right in front of her
in the hospital, telling her it was "OK."
When told of
this after her death her parents were stunned. They had never told her
she had had a brother who died years before she was born.
|
