Experience from “STORYWORTH 2: UFO or NDE?”

 ANNOUNCEMENTS

* I’m a “broken record” on this - but - the big 2025 IANDS Conference is in Chicago this year, August 27 to 31, held at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in Oak Brook, Illinois. Contact IANDS for more information. Yes, I’m going. So is my husband Terry. No speaking spot. Still happy to sign any of my previous books for you at the Conference Book Store. 

* You’ll love this “funny fact.” My new editor at Inner-Traditions/Bear & Co. contacted me last week, said she would work on my book in June and July, bring it out in May 2026. My book is ALIENS AND THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE. My new editor is a near-death experiencer who has had alien experiences. Yup.

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Experience from “STORYWORTH 2:  UFO or NDE?”

“For almost thirty years, I believed that I had been graciously been given a complimentary ride on a UFO!  In all that time, I told only my sister Karen about the incident.  Twice.  She had forgotten that I told her about it, so obviously, she didn’t believe it was real.  There was no one else that I would think about telling after that response.  Just as well.  It was probably only a lucid dream!

“Jason, my youngest son, has long been my confidant, the person to whom I can tell almost anything and know that I will be heard, and who expects that whatever I tell him is credible.  Finally, after many years, the urge to tell the story of my lucid dream or my UFO ride, whatever it was, became the subject in one of our many conversations.  I told it exactly as I remembered it.

“He and I were living in an apartment in the Cardiff area of northern Ontario, some 80 or so miles north of Peterborough.  I was attending a college course in Haliburton, a Social Service Workers Diploma Course.  I had no ambition to become a Social Service Worker, but had worked as secretary at the Women’s Resource Centre, and was anxious to have an income for two more years, as the course was paid for by Unemployment Insurance.  I graduated with Honours from the Course, and was properly ready to apply for a job at any welfare office in Ontario.

“The newspaper in Bancroft had published a few stories recounting UFO landings in the area, and I was intrigued by these tales.  Were they true?  Could I possibly see one if they were landing so close to my home at the time?  I had read all the literature that was available on the subject, and although I thought it would be a terrifying experience, I still wanted it to happen to me.  I really wanted to know if UFOs were real!  

“One night, I was sleeping peacefully in my bed in the bedroom next to Jason’s room, when I woke to find myself on a very modern-seeming ride.  I was standing on a metallic floor that was round, and just big enough to hold the three passengers that were aboard, and I was holding on to a pole like on a city bus or a subway car.  On each side of me was a woman who I perceived as a woman from Ancient Rome, in a long satiny gown, and with the longish hair in a stylish-do on the top of her head, standing in a place beside me where she could immediately steady me if I started to lean either way to the left or right side of the central pole.  We were speeding upwards, as they reassured me that I was safe and definitely not going to fall off the ride.   I remained calm at their reassurances, and although there seemed to be no spoken communication, I believed they were taking me onto a spacecraft.  In a very short time, they were guiding me into a black leather seat, like a dentist chair that had a safety arm that they locked.  Then they placed in front of me a huge book, open at a page in the centre of the book.  I immediately knew this was the Akashic Records I was seeing.  In fact, I knew it was my Akashic Record Page.  I was allowed to look at the page, but I was not allowed to see what was written there.  What I could see was the writing was completely uniform, with no punctuation, no capital letters, no unusual spaces between words.  I didn’t seem confused or unusually interested in what was written, but the structure of the sentences ran on so smoothly but that didn’t tell me much about about why I was there or what was the purpose, or how this related to the UFO literature.

“The next thing I knew, we were back on the pole-ride,  going back down.  I was about to go back into my body, and wake up, and I did exactly that!  There was a huge metallic kind of click, and I was back.  Immediately after the click, I felt a sensation of fear, and then said to myself, ‘No, I don’t want to be afraid, or I might not be allowed to do this again”!

“That was the story as I told it to Jason.

“As we critiqued the story, it was clear that the story did not make any sense as a UFO experience.  Was it real?  Was it a dream?  What was it all about?  If it was a  UFO experience, what was the purpose of showing me the Akashic Records?  Why show me the Records and not allow me to read them?  This adventure that had meant so much to me made absolutely no sense!  If it wasn’t a UFO experience, what was going on?  I felt that I had definitely had an out-of-body experience, and the click when I went back into my body was definitely part of the out-of-body-literature.

“Jason said ‘It sounds more like a near-death experience.”

“But I wasn’t sick or dying, how could I have a near-death experience?”

“That can happen with sleep apnea,” Jason replied.

Jason has sleep apnea and has been diagnosed with it.  I have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, but no studying has been done to determine what kind of sleep disorder it is.  Maybe it is sleep apnea.

“I do not intend to do a sleep study.  I will leave it all a mystery.

“I do believe there is a lot missing from the story.  Where did I hook up with the ride up to the Akashic Records?  Where was the communication where the co-riders told me it wasn’t my time and I had to go back?  Clearly, they sent me back, but I don’t remember any spoken words, or meeting the ride, or being taken back to it.

“I wasn’t allowed to read the Records, but maybe the fact that the page was full was the message that I hadn’t finished what I was supposed to do?

“Or maybe it was all just a Lucid Dream.”

 

……………………..

Or maybe I might add, you had a “near-death-like experience.”  Research has long shown that one does not have to be near-death to have a near-death-like experience.  I would encourage her and everyone else to read THE BIG BOOK OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES.  Yes, I wrote it, but gave the book to International Association of Near-Death Studies, so all royalties would go to them, not me.  Knowing the full story research shows helps all of us.  THE BIG BOOK should be in every hospital or doctor’s office, libraries across the world.  Knowing the full story of near-death experiences could help us all.  ~PMH

Who is Jesus Really According to NDEs

QUESTION

 “I’ve recently purchased your book “Dying to Know You,” and I’ve just started to read it  -because I’m really interested in the person of God found in near-death experiences.

“But what I’m wondering about is, who is Jesus really according to NDEs? Is he just a molded figure by the Being of Light so that the Christians who pass through might feel more comfortable in their process of dying? Is he really God or a part of God? Was he just a good man or did he exist at all? Thanks.”....Marius

ANSWER

Many people are visited during their near-death experience by Jesus. I was one of them (during my second NDE). There is no doubt in my case and in most of the other cases I have investigated, that the being who came to you you instantly knew was Jesus. No doubt. You just knew. Yet, as a researcher, I must say that if you have the experiencer draw the Christ-like figure who came, you cannot tell any of the drawings apart - regardless of the person’s background or country of origin. There is even an interesting anomaly in my next book due out this September (The Forever Angels). Three child experiencers, now mature adults and looking back over their life to assess meaning, said they knew instantly it was Jesus. . . even though they were raised in Voodoo cultures and never heard that name before and were unfamiliar with Christianity! You have to ask yourself. . . how could they know the name, how could they know the figure and what he represents? Yet they did. They didn’t know the Bible but they knew Jesus.

 If you read various encyclopedia passages quoted from material kept in the Vatican, you get an entirely different view and history of the man we today call Jesus. I talk about some of this early history in Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story (toward the back of the book). The early Bibles did not carry the same story of Jesus that today’s Bibles do. All of this underwent a huge change in the 3rd Century. The Catholic Church added passages to the Bible that were not originally there, but met their needs during periods of history when they manipulated followers. The more you study the early church as well as the beginnings of other faiths, the more you wonder about “the truth of what we’ve been told.” Whether or not you agree with “the beginnings” of any faith, the fact is a loving being of light came to many, and those many sometimes call the figure Jesus.

Does seeing Jesus during a near-death experience make it easier to die? Not necessarily. More experiencers see a being of light or an angel or predeceased relatives than see Jesus. Just having a near-death experience, irrespective of imagery, changes your perspective about almost everything. The pattern of aftereffects validate the experience in ways few people realize. It’s the aftereffects that have the biggest effect, not just the experience.

I hope this observation helps you. Blessing, PMH

Going to Where You Resonate

QUESTION 

“I’m in a deep and painful spiritual crisis. Two years ago I discovered the concept of near-death experiences, which opened me up to this wonderful body of knowledge that said we had nothing to fear about the afterlife, as long as we lived with love above all else, towards all others and ourselves. While it sounds more awesome than anything else I’ve ever heard, last year my friend committed suicide, and it’s made me question everything. The more I try to figure out what’s going on in this world, the less I understand, and the more fearful I become. I haven’t had one moment’s peace in my mind for weeks, neither when I’m awake nor asleep. As a chaplain and near-death experiencer, I thought you might understand my troubles better than most. There are Christians out there who say that experiences like yours, experiences which say that a person does not have to be a fundamentalist Christian, or a Christian at all, to get into heaven, that there’s no eternal hell, that concepts like reincarnation, spirit guides, and extraterrestrials are true, yet are elaborate tricks by Satan to deceive us so that when we die Jesus will throw us into hell forever.

“At first I dismissed these notions, but as the weeks passed, they grew in the back of my mind, and now my fears force me to wonder, what if it’s true? What if there really is a devil? What if NDES, talking with mediums, after-death communications, and other paranormal phenomena are tricks by Satan? How would I know? Worse, what if they’re not tricks but I think they are, and Jesus or an angel appears to me and I think it’s a demonic deception? I’d be calling something of God, evil! But how could I tell the difference, when it’s written that Satan disguises himself as a being of light and can perform miracles? Not even looking at the other world religions, there are over two dozen versions of the Bible and tens of thousands of Christian denominations, each church with their own interpretation of the Bible to show only they know the true way to heaven and following any other branch leads straight to eternal damnation.

“After 2,000 years, how could anyone possibly know? What kind of master is the creator of the universe? Does He really delight in hearing screams of eternally-tormented souls because justice demands it, as I have seen some Christians write? Does He really allow a dark and evil force to tempt us at every possible moment? How can we possibly be expected to know what is true and what is false about anything when the Old Testament forbids us from listening to our hearts and consulting spirits, and the New Testament warns us to be suspicious of people who subtract or add from the gospels? Why would Jesus come to a time and place with such bad record-keeping, knowing the potential existed that as the years went on, his teachings would be abused and confused, and his followers would spiral out of control?

“Is the Bible truly without error, eternal, and unchanging, as I have seen some Christians write? Am I supposed to read it literally, or as a metaphor, or am I supposed to believe some verses at face value and read between the lines of others? How could anyone possibly know what to do with which verse? I feel like I’ve swallowed a terrible poison which has rooted itself in my gut. I fear that when I die, God and Jesus will turn out to be a jealous, vengeful god who will throw me into the fires of hell for all eternity because I didn’t follow the Bible exactly as He wanted me to. But maybe when I die, Jesus and God will be infinitely understanding and loving even if I made mistakes, like the Jesus many NDErs encounter - but what if I die tomorrow and think that what I’m seeing is a trick of the devil? Wouldn’t God have anticipated this issues and know how to convince me that things were as I saw them?

“I often get so lost in my confusion I become paralyzed with fear and anger, many times to the point of weeping. Sometimes I feel the only solution available is to slip into madness. I desperately crave divine guidance and comfort, but it seems that God has either abandoned me or come to hate me, and that leaves me feeling so awfully alone in the world. What are your thoughts?” ….Nate

ANSWER 

Obviously, Nate, you’ve never read any of my books. Whether mine or others, you need to do some really deep reading for your very personal questions. Yes, I understand your conundrum, but I also understand that there is no one way to answer your questions and certainly not in a brief e-mail. Still, allow me this…..

Let’s begin at the beginning. Near-death studies cover the gamut of the phenomenon, the good and bad, the joy and the confusion, the heavenly and the hellish. If you’re only read experiencer books, then you will have a very slanted view. There is now emerging what is called “the religion of the resuscitated.” It is true there is complete forgiveness, love, and understanding, for all of us. Yet others contradict that, those who had a more hellish or frightening experience - and some do, both adults and children. We are challenged by that - two versions - two extremes.

What I noticed is that in dying you go to wherever you resonate. We each have a deep energy vibration, a resonance. The frequency of that vibration determines where you go. On the Other Side, it is almost like a “layer cake,” that is to say there are many levels. Some are heavy and dense, darker, and some are light and bright, almost weightless. We call the dense levels “hell” and the lighter levels “heaven.” Yet this arrangement of levels (I counted 11 heavens and 11 hells - but - who really knows), has no top and it has no bottom. You will never rot in some kind of hell, any more than you will play a harp forever in any kind of heaven. There is movement in this construct, and that movement is choice. Apparently we stay wherever we wind-up only as long as it takes us to wake up to who we really are, Sons and Daughters of the Most High, and act accordingly. What better way to “even the scales” than this? When I take a good look at what seems to be the way things really are, I am almost overcome with how fair this is, how incredibly, wonderfully fair.

Among the things we can learn from the near-death phenomenon is how important meditation is and prayer, and that we can help one another to make this world a better place. Our thoughts, what we believe, change as we change, expand as we grow in consciousness. Yes, horrors abound, but realize we are living in the time of the Great Shifting. This event only happens once in every 25,920 years. Are things changing? Yes, and radically. The world we once knew is literally dissolving right before our eyes, and a new world, a new way of doing things is emerging. How things will turn out, we won’t know for about another thirty years or so. I look at what’s happening in the Arab countries (and for Muslims everywhere) and what I see is that Father Abraham’s sons are finally having to face each other, forcefully, to realize that only forgiveness and reconciliation will make a difference, will heal old wounds. Sometimes things have to completely break down before light comes in and transforms what was there. That’s what happened to me when I died three times in three months in 1977. It took that type of blow, the utter ending of the way I was living and thinking, to turn me around and help me to grow and expand and rediscover my life, my world. It was a time for me of utter destruction that led to the miracle of resurrection.

I could go on and on, but there’s not enough time in one day for me to accomplish all that I should. Sorry. What I recommend for you right now are several things. Read two books as soon as you can: Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of The Story and Dying to Know You: Proof of God in the Near-Death Experience. I wrote both of them. Then contact the Centers for Spiritual Living. These are the churches that came into being and grew because of the work of Ernest Holmes. He long passed away, but he was an incredible thinker and doer, and he gave us the book Science of Mind. Their first year class on “spiritual mind treatments” (affirmative prayer) is well worth taking. No, you don’t have to join the church to take the class. I took it after I died. A wise move. Made a huge difference in my understanding of the world and of me. You can attend classes online by accessing www.csl.org/onlineclasses. The central contact website is www.csl.org. Their phone number is (720) 496-1370. Just get some information, look it over and see how you feel about it. If that doesn’t work for you, take up mindfulness training. Wonderful stuff.

Know that you are loved, Nate. You have nothing to fear but fear itself. 

Many blessings, PMH

NDE's and Astrological Charts

QUESTION

"Within the past three years I have learned that I had two life events one may call near-death experiences. The second NDE was probably the one that should have ended everything but that was in 1988 and here I am today.

"Does one's astrological chart change when they come back to life? This thought has really bothered me and I am hoping that you can clear it up. My concrete thinking suggest that the person now has a new horoscope, since they have returned back to life different: day, hour, and location. Maybe you can sort this one out. And with this idea, then the person's numerology report  -  does it also change?

"I had one of those NDE experiences without the bright lights, tunnel of light, did not meet anyone on the other side, and basically came back to earth in a very tired state. I was quite depressed after the NDE in 1988, and that was the only time I thought about suicide. Life has changed so much since then. I would really appreciate some clarity about what I asked you. Hopefully it will put the nagging question to an end.". . . Diana

ANSWER

I have done no research about redrawing one's astrological chart after a near-death experience. So, I cannot give any kind of answer that carries weight. I can say that some experiencers are absolutely convinced that their chart changed, and they now use a new chart drawn up afterward. Since I had three such experiences in three months, I toyed with this myself. Here's what I found in my case, using my third near-death experience as the main date to focus on:

• 1. Preparing a chart of the near-death experience itself and comparing it to my birth chart did help me to understand what was going on, possibly why, and what I could learn from the whole episode. This gave me a better sense of newness in light of understanding what could very well be the purpose of that newness.
• 2. My original birth chart still remained the underlying current of energy running throughout my life, and it continued to prove helpful to me as the main roadmap I should use. The chart of my last NDE functioned more as a nodal access to the change that happened, rather than becoming a new birth chart.

Since the vast majority of near-death experiencers have no concept of the actual moment of death or shift, nor is there any reason why they should, drawing up a new birth chart is riff with problems and difficulties. You could easily wind up kidding yourself, even if a psychic helped you or a channeler gave you the information. Doing this bothers me.

A new chart I did prepare did not replace my original. After I looked at the new one, I threw it away. Doing charts of the actual episodes (estimating times), and then comparing that with my original birth cart proved to be extremely useful, enlightening, and very helpful. The impact of each event, along with the sum of the three, was quite clear.

It's the same basic logic with numerology. Your birth name remains your main roadmap, no matter how long you live or how many times your name changes. Any change sets up a new pattern that shows how you are using what you came in with now, but it doesn't change what's original. That imprint is forever your main patterning.

Take the movie star John Wayne. We knew him as John Wayne and that name was helpful to him, made a huge difference in how he was seen, yet his birth name remained his overseeing guide and event planner. All of his marriages, loves, children, excesses, health problems, and eventual death  -  ALL SHOW UP QUITE PLAINLY IN THE PATTERN OF HIS ORIGINAL NAME, NOT HIS CHANGED NAME. John Wayne was a persona he took on, the part he played, but Marion Robert Morrison was the man himself, how he lived, and how he died. In any religious tradition, once you go through a transformation of consciousness or reach a certain age, you get a new name. That sets up a new pattern for you  -  of how you can alter what you came in with. The original name, though, holds the original pattern, and that remains valid. I can't help but feel that one's date of birth (the birth chart) is similar to the naming process in the sense of patterning and what we can learn from changes to that pattern.

I'm certain there are many who will argue with me about this, but I stand on experience and the patterns I have noticed throughout decades of research and living. 

Blessings, PMH

Seeing Tunnels in NDEs, Returning Loved Ones, and Does God Exist?

QUESTION

"I am reading your book Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of the Story and am enjoying it very much. Though I do have a problem with something you wrote. You said tunnels people say they have seen "don't match the pop." I take offense to this. I had an NDE and there WAS a tunnel. It is not something I could describe well, but it was there. I would love to know what you have to say about this."

Nameless, posted to Facebook.

ANSWER

In the first scientific survey conducted by Gallup Poll in 1982, they found only 9% of the people claiming to have had a near-death experience, reported a tunnel. Such reportings remained few in number until after the media sensationalized Raymond Moody's first book, Life After Life. Suddenly, people spoke about tunnels, lots of them. I was attending a near-death experiencer group meeting after that and personally witnessed experiencers changing the term of what they went through, to "tunnel." No, I do not think anyone lied. What I think has happened over the years since, and because of continued media attention, is that we now have a word (tunnel) to use when were not sure what it was we saw or traveled through during our episode. Words, after all, are a huge challenge for all of us. What do you call things when the language we speak doesn't cover or describe what we encountered? Tunnels? Yes, interesting word, and now affixed to the near-death phenomenon whether it truly fits or not.

During my 33 years of researching the phenomenon, less that a..." of the people I had sessions with reported a tunnel. Children seldom do. In other countries, experiencers almost never relate to such a term at all. The idea of tunnels applies more to cases in America, some in Canada, and Western Europe, a few in Australia, and that's about it. You can trace the popularity of tunnels mostly to those countries where Moody's book became a best seller. Not entirely, but to a large extent.

None of this means that tunnels are not experienced. Obviously, you had one. Many people do - but not as many as popular notions might imply. I do not consider tunnels a signature feature because of this; rather, one component of many experiencers might have. The main components, repeated around the world regardless of age, religion, sex, or culture are: richly detailed out-of-body experiences (often verified with third-party testimonials), an incredibly bright and knowing light (that knows your name and can converse with you), and a greeter of some kind (usually a loved one who has died or a pet, possibly an angel, religious figure, or light being, sometimes a living individual there to comfort you - once that is done he or she disappears, replaced by figures more typical of near-death states). There are others, but these three are the most reported globally.

I recommend that you read The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences for a more well-rounded presentation of the different aspects of the near-death phenomenon worldwide and the research that has thus far been done. In that book, by the way, is a drawing of a tunnel made by an experiencer who went through one.

Blessings, PMH

QUESTION

"I came across your name from Dr. Eben Alexander's website. I'm really curious. In the mid-eighties, my grandmother had died. My sister and I visited my parents one weekend and my mother was telling us about these visits from my grandmother. Both of us just let it go. At 2:00 am, the phone rang twice, and there were these two white silhouettes at the woodpile at the end of the yard. I had never seen that before and neither did had my sister. My sister claimed it was all our imagination. My mother died in March of 2012. Family members have felt and seen her and dad's presence in their homes. The only thing I had was the following.

"In July of 2013, I was sitting in my living room and there was a silhouette shaped as a human being that went right across my window. My neighbor's mother died in April of 2013, and death was a topic of discussion that came up a lot. So, I'm wondering if that influenced my consciousness. In your mind, does GOD really exist or is this all a figment of our imagination? I'd like to think it isn't. But, with all the terrible things that happen in this world, I often wonder if nature and GOD are the same and we have no control over anything? Nature has an agenda for everybody. I would like your perspective. Thank you." 

Lynda

ANSWER

Lynda, you really need to do some reading. Start with these two books of mine: Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of The Story and We Live Forever: The Real Truth About Death. They will help you.

In the meantime, know a little about me. I am one of the original researchers in the field of near-death studies, having begun my work in 1978 and have written 10 books on my findings. I was one of the researchers called in on Eben's case. The reason for all my work for so many years? I had three near-death experiences in three months in 1977, and a voice which spoke to me during my third episode gave me my mission. . . this work. My sense is that voice was of God.

Now, back to you. The telephone is one of the ways the dead can reach us. This happens fairly often. Sometimes no one is there when you answer the phone; sometimes the loved one speaks. It takes a great deal of energy for someone on the Other Side to contact people on this side. That energy is not always easy to muster. What you have described in your various experiences is a rather typical type of event and response. Those apparitions were real, what you saw was real, evidence to back this up is legion - scientific evidence. Skeptics claim no such evidence exists. They are wrong. There is more than enough research done in this area of the paranormal to more than establish the validity and reality of spirit communications and life of some kind after death.

In God real? I have no doubt that this is so, but maybe not as described in the Bible or the Qur'an. God is neither man nor woman, but an intelligence, an "isness," above and beyond what most of us can comprehend. So is the reason we are alive, our job while here, and what life seems to be about. I have a book coming out in 2014 that may "fill in the blanks" for you. It is entitled Dying to Know You: Proof of God in the Near-Death Experience. Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter on www.pmhatwater.com to be appraised of the latest in this and other related fields.

Blessings, PMH

The Dynamic of Heaven and Hell, and Study Groups

QUESTION

"Dr. Atwater, what happens to people who commit the ultimate crimes? Is there eternal damnation in the afterlife?. . . Dominic"

ANSWER

No one can say for certain how all of this works on the other side. I know from my research that the majority of those who had hellish or uncomfortable cases were those people who seemed to be sterling figures in their communities, or, at least not the kind of people one would think had a "dark past." Conversely, many of the criminal types, even hard core, that I had sessions with experienced rather beautiful scenarios. . . most often, though, with a really tough life review. Truly, life reviews can be far more horrific or difficult to handle than a hellish episode. When you experience what the other person went through, live through their pain and what happened to their families because of what you did, hey, that's hell.

I can offer you this. Of the thousands of cases I have covered/experiencers I've had sessions with, the dynamic of heaven and hell seems more like a "layer-cake" of levels on the other side, separated by degrees of vibratory frequency. Resonance is the factor. By that I mean, after death you move or are attracted to that level that matches your own rate of vibratory energy. Like attracts like. Still, there seems to be no top or bottom to the system. Rather, it appears as if open-ended. As such, choice and change reign. In other words, you cannot stay in hell forever any more than you than you can play harps on a cloud in heaven forever. As an open-ended system, an active dynamic based on choice and change, this system seems incredibly beautiful to me and is far more fair than anything anyone could possibly imagine. God/Allah/Deity seems far bigger than our little minds and far more dynamic in providing opportunities for us that move in accordance with our highest good and the highest good of all concerned. Not our will. The Greater Will. Blessings, PMH

QUESTION

"I just love your book. All that you talk about in this book applies to me, as I believe I have experienced more than one NDE. It is so accurate and yet not understood by doctors. I recently had some very vivid dreams associated with a 'burn-out' condition. Psychiatrists locked me up for 35 days in a psych. ward, when I knew I was sane. If only these doctors had read your book. I am an author and wish to refer to one character (based on my experiences) in my latest book referring to certain behaviours/insights written in your book - to refute suggestions that I am schizophrenic. I have been told that I will have to take antipsychotic medicine for life, which I dispute, but cannot argue validly about. My friends believe the doctors and tell me that I have to accept the doctor's views that I am seriously mentally unwell. This is utter bunkum and leads me to row with my friends who are well-meaning. Your book is, therefore, sensational in justifying my wild imaginations, etc. and supports my view that the previous psychotic episodes were in fact premonitions/prophecies about not only the future of the world on Earth, but also about likely changes in the Universe itself.

"I also believe that God (universal intelligence) has a good and a dark side as you suggest in your dedication. . . Thomas"

ANSWER

What would really help you here is to get involved with study groups of the type of phenomena you seem to be experiencing. Go to my website at www.pmhatwater.com, and into the Marketplace. You want to look up the A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment) and the Monroe Institute. Both are wondrously sane and practical, yet offer lively programs for exploring spiritually and dimensions beyond our own. The A.R.E. sponsors Study Groups internationally. Inquire. If you can, you might plan a trip to the A.R.E. They are located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and offer conferences, health-care facilities, and a host of classes and varied opportunities to explore not only your own life but what may be a universal reality that is beneficial to know about and interact with. The Monroe Institute is especially geared for this, for helping you have a direct experience beyond the norm that may be helpful to you. They have well-trained teachers and directors to assist in whatever you would like to explore.

If you could get into Study Group work in your own area, this would enable you to spend more time with people who have had similar experiences to your own. Hearing the experiences of others, learning about ways to handle the extraordinary, may be exactly what you need to better understand yourself and live in a productive and healthy way. You can even learn to "split dimensions" as I do daily. I keep myself grounded, balance my checkbook, meet my deadlines, hug my husband, cook our meals, and have a great deal of fun doing all of this. I also take part in helping to educate our medical community. You could do all of this and more. And, by exposing yourself to peer-reviewed published papers that underscore the "differences" healthy people can exhibit, especially those who have had a near-death experience or a spiritual breakthrough, you can not only help yourself but you can have a direct effect in the education and upliftment of the medical and psychiatric community. Many blessings, PMH

Hellish NDEs and Herbal vs.Pharmaceutical Drugs

QUESTION

"I am taking a break from my research to write you. I fell into an area of my research that is confusing me. I wonder if I took a wrong turn. There is a group of NDErs who are claiming that hell is eternal and there is no way out. Now, I have been doing research for about four years. This is not the norm from what I have been reading. But I do know this, I have read that no more spirits will be allowed to reincarnate out of hell. Could it be that the spirits that have not grown to the light will have to wait for a later time in order to reincarnate? The 1,000 years the Bible speaks of? One person said that when she got to heaven she said to the spirit - 'But what about my sins?' Thus the spirit said there is no sin. This is very confusing to me. For the first time after my NDE I feel afraid again like I did before my NDE and research. Please help and thank you."....Qricket

ANSWER

Whoa! You are allowing yourself to be swayed by a few cases. The strength of what can be learned from near-death states lies with the strength of the many. When you've investigated thousands of them as I have, you recognize a larger pattern than individual interpretations. When you look at the larger view, here is a capsule of what can be seen:

1. Hellish cases are just as real as heavenly ones.

2. There appears to be multiple layers (levels) on The Other Side, like a layer-cake of energy folds separated by vibratory degrees of resonance (frequency).

3. When you die, you move to wherever you fit within these folds - what moves you is resonance.

4. There is no evidence to suggest that you stay wherever it is that you wind up, as there appears to be no top or bottom. It is an open-ended system.

5. Open-ended systems are driven by choice. This indicates that through choice, through change, through desire and effort, one can grow. There is no such thing as rotting in hell forever, or playing a harp in heaven forever. With no top or bottom, the system is far more dynamic and fair and wondrous than what anyone might imagine. . . showing, at least to me, that forgiveness is real.

Please, if you're going to talk about near-death states, study the field better than you have. God/Allah/The Divine is far bigger and better than we assign credit to. Allow your mind to open up more and to spread. Blessings, PMH

QUESTION

"I read two of your novels in the past week, and I am eager to read your entire collection. It gives me so much pleasure and comfort reading your novels. Two questions for you. Firstly, why do you think so many NDErs return and reject medicine? That is, why do they often choose herbal over regular prescribed pharmaceutical medicine? It's on my mind as I have Lyme's disease and have been on antibiotics for almost four years. I'm weighing up going herbal myself. secondly, do you have any plans to visit Australia one day? I'd love to attend one of your seminars. Take care.".....Bridey

ANSWER

Bridey, I have never written a novel in my life, so I'm not quite certain what you are referring to. I am a researcher, a field-worker in real time, thus all my observations and analysis are based on the findings I have made and confirmed or what I can reference from the work of others. You read my books to find out what is, not what could be.

Having said that, I can comment on pharmaceuticals. The pattern of aftereffects for near-death experiencers is both physiological and psychological. That means your body is changed as well as your mind. Physiologically, most of the changes have to do with the brain/mind assembly (which includes brain structure and function), and with the nervous and digestive systems, and skin sensitivity. Generally speaking, it takes less of something for full effects. Most of us, then, either use children's doses of pharmaceuticals, or switch to more natural means - like homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, herbs, various other therapies, and work with osteopaths or naturopaths, rather than standard allopathic doctors (the M.D.'s you are used to). For instance, my primary physician is now an osteopath, who is well-trained in homeopathy. Good combination. Sometimes pharmaceuticals and surgery are necessary. Just work with your physician (see my website and the Home Page  www.pmhatwater.com), or refer to either of my books The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences and/or Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of The Story. Lyme's disease is very tricky. Very few doctors know how to treat it. There are certain drugs that are effective Do your homework and look around. Check success rates from what is offered. You may want to do this quickly - as Lyme's can result in lifelong health problems if it's not treated in a way that makes a difference. Again, investigate this and then decide. Work on the prayer level too. Call on God for guidance. That guidance, that strength, is always available to you.

When am I coming to Australia? When any group or individuals sponsor me, and get me there. I really want to come. Was ready to sign a contrast to that effect several years ago. Looked as if I was finally going to Australia when all of a sudden the man "disappeared." If you know of any groups or people who would be interested in what I have to offer, have them get together and bring me over. Have passport, will travel. 

Blessings, PMH

Race and Near-Death Experience

QUESTION

​“I have been searching the Internet trying to find information about black people having NDEs, but have had very little luck. I could only find 2 cases on YouTube that have featured a black person who had an NDE. I have been interested in the NDE phenomenon for about the past 25 years, but I have very, very rarely seen any cases involving a black person having an NDE (I am estimating less than 10 times over those 25 years). I then got into a discussion at an NDE forum about the very few accounts of black near-death experiences ( http://tinyurl.com/3motnds ). The discussion starts at the 2nd post from the top. The discussion continues intermittently throughout the thread from that point on. By the way, my name is “JS” at that forum.) I did a search on the Internet and managed to find an article you had written that stated 20% of all NDEs are from black people.

​“My question is. . . why is it so very, very difficult to find an account of a black person that has had an NDE?

​“Using your figure of 20% of all adult NDEs are from black people, that should mean that about 2 out of every 10 should be of black people. However, in all the books, movies, TV specials, and talk shows that I have watched over the past 25 years, I have not seen anywhere close to that figure (2 out of 10) of NDEs regarding black people. Please don’t take this as a complaint against your research, because it is not a complaint. I am just trying to figure out why I have not been able to find anywhere near 20% of black people having an NDE.

​“I would be interested in your opinion about this, and also any info you have about how you conducted your research about the racial makeup of near-death experiences.”....Randy

ANSWER

​The 20% applies only to my research base, not overall, although it easily could. In my books I have consistently covered cases of Black people who had near-death experiences. Seldom did I identify them as being Black, nor have I identified my Oriental cases as Yellow; Mexican/South American as Brown, Native American as Red, or anyone as White. I gave first names mostly as my identifier, and sometimes where they lived. That’s it. Go back to the story of Haisley Long in Beyond the Light (pages 93/94 in the original edition of the book). Haisley is an African Canadian. In the book, The New Children and Near-Death Experiences, Tonecia Maxine McMillan is an African American, so is Nathan Kyles III (although I did say he was Black because of the racial prejudice I believe was involved in aspects of his case), as well as Virgil Rinquest. There are others, although by now I have forgotten their names.

​I have steered away from anything to do with race, as you can see, because I wanted my work to address the human story, all of us, as the people we are. I have also tried to steer clear of social issues, although a few were unavoidable in dealing with the aftereffects. This deletion of race/ethnicity may or may not have been a wise choice. I cannot judge that. I was puzzled, though, from the beginnings of my work, why I almost never heard of Blacks in any other researcher’s studies. This never made any sense to me and I can offer you nothing as a reason why. I do know that a few years ago there was a small study done of only Black experiencers. You might check with the office of IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies), as they may be able to locate it for you (services@iHands.org).

​It would be good if a larger study was done of Blacks only (no matter the country) and published in book form for public distribution (maybe an e-book). I can see where this would fill a void that needs filling. I suspect what is holding any such study back is financial support. Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, who wrote the incredibly powerful book Cosmic Consciousness (back in the late 1800s and early 1900s) was puzzled as to why intense spiritual transformations (similar to some NDEs) never happened to Blacks. I believe he never found any because of where and how he was looking. I can assure you Black people have just as many NDEs as do those of any other race, but such cases are harder to find.......because most Blacks will not talk about them!!! Fortunately, many did talk to me and for that I am grateful. PMH

 

NDE Interpretations and Reaching Back to Source

QUESTION

        “In the cardiac situation, a person is dead until/unless he is resuscitated.  Some who are resuscitated have had spiritual experiences; some have no memory of such.  One interpretation of this fact is that everyone cannot remember, although having had an actual experience.  Another interpretation is that not everyone who dies has such an experience.  What is your interpretation?”....Larry

ANSWER

        Both can be and often are true.  We have no way of knowing as researchers why some people have near-death experiences and others do not.  The global figure for the general population is between 4 to 5%.  In the clinical or emergency setting, the figure is between 12 to 21%.  That means a significant number of people do not have them.  The way you can tell if a person did have such an experience but just doesn’t remember having had it, however, is the aftereffects.  The pattern of physiological and psychological aftereffects holds true for both children and adults.  It’s the aftereffects that validate the experience, not the other way around.  And the aftereffects emerge based on the intensity of the episode.  In my research base, 79% were significantly impacted by what happened to them - changes were lifelong.  The other 21% claimed no such changes (aftereffects) occurred.  These people said their experience was more like a fleeting dream, nothing to it.  In those cases where I could have sessions with significant others of these experiencers, those folks winked at me and said the individual really had changed and was indeed showing some of the aftereffects pattern.  This fact pointed out that few experiencers realize the extent to which they have changed.  They don’t recognize it.  Neither did I.  It took years before I looked back and saw how much I had changed - people were telling me - but I didn’t believe them.  Blessings, PMH

QUESTION

        “Hello, I’m fairly new to the stories of people who have strayed just a little beyond the realm of consciousness we refer to as life.  Although I have never had a near-death experience, I strongly believe in the existence of an afterlife and spiritual world.  In my life, besides my earthly endeavors, I feel I have a strong need to find the source to which near-death experiences often refer.  I know I have it within myself, and I strive to commune with it, but it always seems just beyond reach - though I can sense its beauty, power, and eternity.  My question is whether one can reach that place within the soul while still alive?  At times I’ve experienced hints of it through meditation and (I almost hesitate to admit) psylocybic mushrooms.  Of course one hears of Jesus, Buddha, Paramahansa Yogananda, and the rest, but I fear that my path will be forever thwarted by my unstable life, my constant worry about finances, and a general lack of peace within my own mind.  It seems it would take no less than death (not intentional death) to unleash the bonds which prevent me from moving into that place.  It is my intuition that tells me that it would benefit myself and even humanity around me if only I had the strength and conviction to reach it.  I am blessed that I happened to see your interview from what looks like a long ago on YouTube.  It would be my luck to meet you in person someday.  I would appreciate any advice you would have for me in the meantime deeply.  And of course I send my thanks to you for inspiring words.”.....Darwin

ANSWER

        The way my husband put it one day, answers your question best.  We were having a discussion about enlightenment, reaching that state of higher mind and then being able to integrate the experience in a useful way in one’s life.  My husband reached his through the martial arts (he at one time was a karate monk), and me by dying.  I pounded on the table and said to him:  “It’s not fair.  You got there the easy way.  I had to die to get there.  I had to suffer, and there was all that pain and blood.”  He patted my head as if I were a puppy dog, and said:  “I have a theory about that.  Only those people who need to be knocked around get it the way you did.  The rest of us don’t need to go through that.”  I threw a pillow at him.  Chuckle.

        But he’s right.  In a way almost unfathomable, we get what we need in life and in the manner that best suits us.  For those as stubborn as a concrete wall, it takes a tragedy or perhaps a series of blows in life that either wake us up or turn us around.  For the rest, just the desire to be a better person does the job, or maybe a lifetime of prayer and meditation.  And meditation certainly is an effective and wonderful way to begin one’s inner journey and to ensure both protection and completion.  I meditate and pray every morning.  That’s a must for me.  No amount of interruptions interfere with that.

        There are many paths to the God of Our Being, and, that’s where you go, deep within and through your heart of hearts.  We all know the path; it’s just that most of us have forgotten it.  What spiritual/religious commitment does is help us to remember what we already know.  Unity Church  offers some great classes in this.  So does Science of Mind (also known as the United Centers of Spiritual Living or Church of Religious Science).  Even just an A.R.E. Study Group is great.  A.R.E. stands for the Association for Research and Enlightenment (based on the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce).  Google for addresses in your area as all of these are global.  there are a number of books out that offer tips for the inner journey and how-tos, so many, in fact, that I no longer remember their titles.

        The longing to reach back to Source is within all of us.  and that longing is wiggling around within you right now, or you would not have written to me.  Read my latest book, Near-Death Experiences:  The Rest of The Story.  I am certain you will find information in that book that will apply to you, help you to better understand yourself and the process of the inner journey.  Bon Voyage!  Blessings, PMH

Post-NDE: Seeing Energy and a Future Memory

Instead of a regular Question/Answer format this time, I am carrying an update from Tannis Prouten of Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Tannis was part of my original research base. Her case is in several of my books, one of them The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences. I think you will find what has been happening to her since very interesting. Her story may be a lot like yours, in fact, as many of us have gone through similar phases in our aftereffects journey. Happy Thanksgiving, PMH

Tannis Prouten

I feel a need to tell you what has been happening with me since I sent you my story many years ago. I tried to send a message a few weeks ago but I think I messed it up, and it did not get to you, so here it goes.

Since my NDE many years ago, I have had some very unusual experiences, some of which I don’t always know the meaning of....they are....

On a daily basis seeing living energy.....most often robin’s egg blue and on a couple of occasions violet and more rarely the gold/white light I call the God light. The energy can be as small as a piece of confetti or a spray of these pieces of energy and much larger. On one occasion, I saw it expanding. Not long after my consciousness becomes aware of it, it disappears. I was reading a book one day and it suddenly came alive with a wonderful golden light. I knew every word in the book was pure TRUTH. I read this book more rapidly than normally possible - in heightened consciousness.

Seeing very fine wisps of energy (almost like cigarette smoke but finer) coming up from my computer key board on two occasions. I thought maybe something was wrong with my keyboard but no! One day I was writing on a lap tray when I caught sight of a small cloud of this mist off to the left side of my tray. On another occasion, one day at work while writing, a large cloud of the same mist appeared all across my desk. It was extremely fine, grey mist. I don’t know the meaning of this.

I saw a living, vivid, emerald green energy circulating in the mid-section of a lady’s body. It turned out she had had a health issue in this part of her body but was on the mend.

Also, on a holiday in the U. S. years ago, we made a day trip across the border to Mexico. I didn’t want to eat or drink anything until we crossed back into the U. S. to San Ysedro. We went to Macdonalds there for a bit to eat. Upon entering the Macdonalds, I instantly felt an awful, heavy but frenetic, dark, cold foreboding feeling. I could not wait to get out of there! It turned out a massacre was to occur there within the next few months which made the news. Many were killed by a gunman and the Macdonalds was torn down. A memorial park was created there. I believe I was experiencing the fear of the massacre prior to it happening. I didn’t know at that time what was to take place in the future.

One day at a meeting, I looked up at a friend and instantly had the knowing that he was going to die, which he did not long after. At the time, he was not ill, and we never discussed his health.

I was in a group meeting where a lady was having trouble trying to express her distress over a matter. Within a blink of an eye (so rapid I almost missed it), I saw a laser-like beam of energy shoot from the mid-section of her body across to mine. This energy conveyed information from her to me. I instantly was able to feed back to her what she was trying to express to us. She gasped and said that was exactly what she was trying to say.

I have the experience of “merging” with someone who was talking to me in a class at night school. I was able to help him clarify what he was trying to tell me after this.

I had the experience of viewing the essence of a man at work as he stood before me. It was like this reality moved back and his essence came forward for me to read, then moved back, and his “normal” state came forward again. I then knew who this man really was - not what he presented.

On and on it goes. Why and what to do about it, if anything, are the questions I ask myself. I sometimes feel God presents these things on a need to know basis.

I am now reading Pim’s book, Consciousness Beyond Life. I totally agree with him on consciousness being located outside of the body. In my NDE I became aware of this dimension which appeared as an infinite, flowing, field of living, golden energy which contains all knowledge/wisdom and from which all things are created/manifested - through the imprint of thought and the power of intent. I call on this dimension for help in my daily life. It is available to everyone as God offers us free choice to manifest good/bad. It is ours to learn from, so be very careful!

I WISH IANDS WOULD HAVE A CONFERENCE IN VANCOUVER/SEATTLE AND HAVE PIM AS A GUEST SPEAKER. WE NEED TO AWAKEN MORE PEOPLE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, ETC., OUT WEST. My doctor does not seem to be receptive at all if I dare mention the words, “Near-Death Experience.” He probably thinks I am deluded! It is pretty lonely living “out of the box.”

Years after my NDE, I became conscious of no time or space. . . everything exists in the ETERNAL NOW. It seems things I learned/experienced in my NDE and may have forgotten when I returned to this world, filter out bit by bit over the years. I know so much more happened than I can remember. There are “shadow memories.” When I wrote my story for you (as you requested at the Salt Lake Conference), I only wrote about the things I CLEARLY remembered from my NDE, out of integrity, but like I just said, I know more happened. I think while there, I travelled to other places. I do remember moving rapidly through “space” to my right during my experience. This was a different experience from the initial experience of moving rapidly through space TO THE LIGHT.

Thank you for your time. It is wonderful to “talk” to someone who understands. PMH, you are God’s detective on earth.

_________________________________________________________________

A brief note to Tannis, that robin egg blue you were describing is the color of orgone energy - life energy. Wilhelm Reich did a great deal of work with orgone energy, including finding a way to “accumulate” it for healing. I was part of a group back in Idaho that experimented with making our own orgone accumulator following his instructions. We must of made a mistake, because the accumulator blew up in our faces. Rays of a silver blue shot out everywhere, like radiation.

Back in “those days” I was experimenting with all kind of things, including doing lab work.

I might add, while I’m at it, that emerald green is the color of healing. You mentioned the woman’s mid-section was that color, and that she had had health problems but was now healing. The color tells you that.

Most near-death experiencers come to be able to see and work with energy after their experience. It would behoove you to take some classes on this, read a few books, and experiment yourself. Having the experience, being introduced to the energy/spirit world is not enough. The next step is learning/training/being educated. We need that - to learn more. Knowing is fine, but there’s always more.................Many blessings, PMH