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Every month, I facilitated a near-death discussion/support group as the FOI (Friends of the International Association for Near-Death Studies) Nashville. On Monday, 11 April 2005, we had a wonderful meeting at the Factory at Franklin, and our very special guest was Yvonne Perry, who presented her new book, More Than Meets the Eye ~ True Stories about Death, Dying & Afterlife! For those who don’t already know, Yvonne has recently published this magnificent new book and it couldn’t have come at a more significant moment. To say the very least, it has come at such an auspicious time—especially in light of all the media sensationalism centred on the late Terri Schiavo, who had been in a vegetative state for fifteen years!
This whole issue had me reeling, because—having been in a number of comas, and some of which were long—I never would want to have been tethered to my physical body by artificial means, especially if there was no hope of my returning to consciousness and being able to have a normal quality of life… I did lapse into a coma and ‘died’ of cancer, (please see page 29 of Yvonne’s book), but I’ve got a very different perspective on what it is to be in a comatose state as opposed to the observer who really can’t know or understand exactly what it is to be comatose. I was very conscious, but operating on a different plane, while my body was in a coma. It’s only because I had a mission to accomplish … that I was sent back to this plane. Yes, I can, indeed, think of nicer places to be…
It is because of all of this that everything in Yvonne’s book is so timely and relevant. And, even though I was so upset and disturbed by the issues concerning Terri Schiavo, I became ecstatic at what special opportunity this was, and is providing for the message, that Yvonne and others are conveying, to have special meaning now and carry a lot of weight. It is as if the Universe was encouraging Yvonne, myself and others to boldly go forth and speak the truth about life and death and the immortality of the soul. I’ve got a special ornament on my mantle with a lighthouse on it with the statement: “Send forth your light and your truth.” (Psalm 48:8)
That brings me back to another reason why 11th April is significant. That was the date that I returned to Nashville the previous year—having been called back to fulfil a special mission and, alas, I’ve given it the analogy of having been through an NDE (near-death experience) and being sent back. My main reason for being here is for this work that is centred on everything that Yvonne covers in her book. I’ve been a member of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) for several years now and have had a burning conviction to help educate people about what death is (and what it isn’t) and to do what I can to help bring peace of mind to them and to abolish all fear of death. I facilitate the monthly support group, offer private counselling sessions and help bring resources and people together.
Not only has Yvonne just published a new book that was beautifully written, another local author, Scott Degenhardt, has recently self-published his book entitled, Surviving Death. We’ve got another NDEr here in Nashville, Mark Anthony Wray, who’s written a book, The Temple Gate. How exciting it is to have these authors right here in Nashville, who have written books on this topic—a subject that’s been mostly hidden and shunned until recent years. I offer these books through my website, TowardTheLight.org as well as at the FOI meetings. I’ve also got an ‘encyclopaedia on NDEs’, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Near-Death Experiences, by PMH Atwater, who is a noted author, speaker, researcher on NDEs and an experiencer. She has written several books on the topic and has been a tremendous trailblazer and role-model for me, as I have more recently entered the speaking circuit and serving as an educator and counsellor on a topic that’s very poignant and somewhat controversial. PMH has been an invaluable friend to me and has encouraged me every step of the way.
Dealing with this topic and coming out into the open with it is no less radical than declaring that the earth is round and not flat—that we revolve around the sun and so on. It is radical to declare that life is eternal from a place of authority and not merely theorising it thus. It’s also radical to proclaim that consciousness exists outside the human brain and that the brain is merely the ‘receiver’ and not the broadcaster. (Some background in radio has helped me understand this on a deeper level!) It is radical to proclaim that all is One and only divine Love is real and all else is an illusion—speaking from convictions that only experience can bring!
To go through near-death and similar spiritually transformative experiences is to put us in a strategic place by which we move well beyond mere ‘theory’ and express ourselves from a place of true knowing and, yes, love. Indeed, it is time to send forth our light and our truth—come what may—as the Truth will set us free.
I hope you will read the books mentioned above and feel free to join our NDE SAIG meetings .
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