Five things my near-death experience has taught me
The truth about the Spirit World and having the courage to live
I didn’t experience a life review, a tunnel, or a choice to go back. I floated blissfully, euphorically, above my discarded body, looking down as it was being worked on in surgery. I entered a bright room surrounded by ancestors, loved ones, and spirit guides for a telepathic conversation that happened in what felt like a minute. I awakened in my physical body twelve hours later, agonizingly alive.
In October 2004, I was twenty-two years old, giving birth to my first son, and had become ill several days before going into labor. I was eventually diagnosed with HELPS syndrome, a life-threatening pregnancy complication that is categorized by Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, and Low Platelets. The only cure for HELPS syndrome is to deliver the baby as soon as possible, but diagnosis is difficult. In the days it took to diagnose, I experienced major blood loss, seizures, and organ failure.
I wrote about my complicated feelings, PTSD, and healing journey in my book Uncovering Intuition in the chapter On Birth and Death. In this article today, I’d like to share more about what I’ve learned about the Spirit World. If you’d like to know more about the details of my experience, a lot is included in my book. Trauma survivors will understand that this article may be somewhat compartmentalized, as it takes a lot of effort to recount this experience, even twenty years later.
Each time I write about what I’ve experienced and learned feels incomplete, like I could never have the words to express how I have been shaped by this. I have insulated myself from the trauma, so it feels separate from me. Our brains are brilliant like that. But it is also a part of me, and my desire to share persists.
First, what is a near-death experience?
Different than an out-of-body experience or spiritual experience, a near-death experience is notably experienced by those who nearly die.
According to the National Library of Medicine, “No two are the same, but many include a perception of seeing and hearing apart from the physical body, passing into or through a tunnel, encountering a mystical light, intense and generally positive emotions, a review of part or all of their prior life experiences, encountering deceased loved ones, and a choice to return to their earthly life.”
For years, the harshness of my experience overshadowed the lightness. Nowadays, I mostly stay in the light of it and share what I’ve learned.
Five things my near-death experience has taught me:
The transition into the spirit world is blissful.
For me, dying felt like waking up early on a weekend morning as a teenager and realizing I could go back to sleep—the sweet, euphoric pull of deep rest. The feeling of leaving my body was exquisite. I’ve taken a lot of substances in my life, and none have come close to how it felt to be completely free of every pain and every worry and be buoyed by utter peace. Being in the spirit world brings the kind of calm that we can only imagine in human form.
I’ve sat across many grieving people over the years and share with those who ask that their loved ones, even though they may have felt pain in this life, are free from it on the other side. They may have suffered imaginable pain as humans, but there is an instant release as we pass to the spirit world. We do not take our physical pain, emotional suffering, or human problems.
The Spirit World loves us unconditionally.
Being in the presence of this love was transformative for me. In the small room I entered, I saw my loved ones and spirit guides radiating light. Imagine being in the presence of people who understand the reasons why you’ve done everything you’ve ever done and see your faults as a normal, neutral condition of being human. There is no judgment or uncertainty, just complete love and acceptance. Many people connect to this feeling of being in the presence of the Spirit World and their unconditional love, but it’s easy to have doubts. Seeing the reality of how loving the spirit world is has helped me to accept myself and let go of a lot of fear.
Our loved ones greet us when we pass.
This is information that often comes through in a mediumship reading. Our most loved ones, pets, and spirit guides (if they are familiar to us) will be the first to greet us when we pass into the spirit world. Our beloved pets often welcome us with the pure love and excitement they had for us on Earth. During my near-death experience, I was greeted by many loved ones, most notably my great-grandmother, whom I only knew as an older person with Alzheimer's. She appeared much younger than I remembered and was the picture of health and peace.
We can appear as we like and be in a world of our own making.
I’ve seen many times how spirit people appear in scenes of their own design. Whatever beauty our imagination can reflect can be created in the spirit world.
A friend who loved fishing wades in his favorite river, casting a line out while eagles fly above. A husband who always wanted to visit the Louvre strolls through galleries admiring each masterpiece.
Unready to fully enter the spirit world, I believe I chose a small light room to be surrounded by loved ones for my brief visit. Our comfort and understanding will also affect how we experience the Spirit World. Being surrounded by my spirit guides was familiar and comforting to me. We can all meet with and process our soul experiences with our spirit team when we pass, but we would not be greeted initially by anyone who is a stranger to us.
We have nothing to fear in the afterlife.
The greatest thing I’ve taken away from my NDE is not about death. Instead—it’s taught me how to live. Most of what we worry about in our lives will not matter to us as a soul. Consider that we will all one day wake up in the Spirit World, like waking up from a dream.
It will feel like we had such a short time here on earth. One of the first things we will consider is how we lived, if we faced our fears, and if we had the courage to live as our soul desired when we considered incarnation.
That perspective changes everything.
It’s made me realize that life, much like a dream where something is chasing you, is about turning and facing our fears and watching them dissolve. I still fear and hence avoid suffering, but I think of death as a rebirth, an ending that is also a beginning in our soul's journey.
May you have the courage to stay in your light and live from your soul.
May you know that another world exists within this one.
May you move through each precious moment with presence and intention.
With love,
Sheryl
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