There are two states for man–the state in this world, and the state in the next; there is also a third state–intermediate between these two, which can be likened to a dream . . . while in the intermediate state, he foresees both the evils and the blessings that will yet come to him, as these are determined by his conduct, good or bad, upon the earth.
I shall give you some typical expressions of ones who experience what you call “near death”. WE prefer “near life”. This will somewhat explain that third beingness a bit better than to simply describe it by definition.
“The next thing I remember is feeling myself being drawn through this dark tunnel at incredible speed, kind of like I was falling down this deep well, and as I fell, all my cares and troubles seemed to melt away. There was no pain at all; just a feeling of warmth, of peace and calm and solitude. As I was falling, I could hear this beautiful music all around me, like bells tinkling or choirs humming. It was as if my being or soul was pulsating or vibrating with this music.
“At the end of this tunnel was this beautiful bright light. It was small at first, but got bigger and brighter as I moved toward it. I was drawn to it, like a magnet. Suddenly this white light was all around me, enveloping me, surrounding me with warmth and love. But it was more than just light; it was a Being, a Divine Presence with a definite personality. While in Its presence I felt totally accepted, loved and secure.
“Then the Being asked me a question: What had I done with my life to show Him, and was I ready to die? Suddenly, I saw a panoramic view of my whole life–all the things I had ever thought or said or done were there in full color–like a cinema show, but more real. It was as if the Being was helping me to judge myself and my life.
“Then it was as if nine-tenths of my brain was opened up and I was privileged to see, hear and understand all knowledge; for a second, all the secrets of the ages and Universe, the meaning of Creation and life and death and its endless cycles were revealed to me.
“Next the Being showed me this beautiful place–it was like Heaven–with light and music everywhere. It was like a beautiful countryside or forest, and I was part of it with other people, too. No words can describe the beauty of this place or the love and warmth I felt being there.
“The Being asked me if I wanted to stay and I said, “Yes!” I never wanted to leave this place or His presence. But then He said to me that I couldn’t stay here yet; that I still had a mission to accomplish, things to do for Him, and that if I really loved Him, I would go back and finish these deeds for Him.
“Suddenly, I was back in that tunnel and everything went black again. When I next awoke, I realized that my soul was once again in the prison of the body.
“I no longer fear death because I know what to expect, and He’ll be there to greet me. But I have no wish to die immediately either, I still have work to do for Him, and the next time I go, I want to go with no regrets!” This person died in an unforeseen accident. The next illustration is one from a man who chose suicide:
” … That last drink gave me the ‘courage’ I needed.
“I stumbled out of the bar and into my car, and drove off down the highway toward the cliff. As I reached the cliff, I veered to the right and the car, with me in it, went sailing off into space. I felt the crash shake my whole body, and pain shot through my head, and I blacked out.
“The next thing I knew I was out of my body and trapped in some kind of awful limbo state. It was horrible! Everything from which I had been trying to escape–the loss of my job, the embarrassment, the drinking–all of it kept going on and on, again and again. It was like some kind of rerun. Every time I would go through the whole sequence of events, I would think, ‘Boy, I’m glad that’s over!’ and then it would start all over again, and I knew that I would be in this horrible place, this pathetic state of existence, for a long time–maybe forever!
“I immediately saw the mistake I had made and wished I hadn’t done it, but now there was nothing I could do about it because I couldn’t get out of this place and back into my body. All of my problems were still with me, but in even greater intensity! It was like I couldn’t think of anything else BUT my problems! I was confused and perplexed and felt like my brain had been ‘dulled’. I was depressed and couldn’t figure out what to do or where to go; it was hopeless; there seemed to be no way out!
“Then these ugly beings came toward me and dragged me deeper into this place. I felt like I was being tormented and bitten by snakes–the snakes of my passions were striking back at me!(*) The beings forced me to go with them and I suddenly found myself in a bar, watching other human beings drink. As they were drinking, these ‘demons’–I don’t know what other word to use–tried to possess their bodies! I tried to tell, the people in the bar to stop–stop what they were doing so that they wouldn’t end up like me, but they couldn’t hear me.
“Next these beings dragged me to a fiery pit–all bubbling and smoking. They forced me to look into it and there I saw the consequences of what I had done. My wife and kids were grieving for me, and then they were being thrown out of our house because they had no money to pay the mortgage.
“I screamed and cried to be forgiven for what I had done, and the Lord, in His great Mercy, heard my cry. Suddenly I found myself back in my body–in a great deal of pain, but back in my body. God had given me a second chance!”
(*): The Sioux emphasize that this event should not only be taken as an event in time, but as an eternal truth. Any man who is attached to the senses and to the things of the world, is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by snakes which represent his own passions.
HEAVEN OR HELL
The prior scenarios are composites taken from actual experiences of physical humans upon your placement at this time. They are factual life-after-death experiences. The events of the first narrative–a glimpse of a heavenly afterlife–are compiled from true accounts of individuals who have “died” in all earth monitoring sense, either through accidents or through natural causes, and who later came back to physical life, their souls being reunited with their bodies. The majority of these individuals were not great saints or overly spiritual; they were, on the whole, ordinary humans who were
basically “good” and loving, but not perfect or “God-Realized”. They had made plenty of mistakes in their lives, as have you all—as have WE all. And yet, their experiences in the afterlife were very pleasant, if not heavenly, and in general, profoundly affected the individual’s outlook on the meaning of life, love and God in a very positive way.
The events of the second narrative–a glimpse of a hellish afterlife–were taken from actual accounts of individuals who had either tried to commit suicide or had lived rather self-destructive, egotistical, and hateful lives; and who were given a second chance at life in order to change their ways. They too were, in general, greatly affected by their death experiences, and in many, if not most cases, changed the way they have been living; specifically, they became more loving and caring, and more mindful of others’ needs. They recognized that they had been living against God’s Law of Love and had been viewed as “rebels” against God on “the other side”.
WHY CONCERN YOURSELF WITH OTHERS’ EXPERIENCES?
You should be very concerned indeed, because within the next few years in your counting, as many as 90% of you living this day may very well be “dead” and therefore, experiencing one or the other of these “afterlives”! As you have seen, the choice really is yours as to which place or “world” you will experience—do you prefer Heaven or Hell? If you are loving and mindful of keeping God’s Laws, “Heaven” awaits you! If you are hateful and destructive, constantly breaking God’s Laws and destroying His Creations–“Hell” awaits you! So be it–the choice is always YOURS.
Truth Reset 
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