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What 3 Near-Death Experiences Taught Me About Heaven, by Robert Kopecky

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Is it possible to venture into "the great beyond" without having to pay "the ultimate price" to get there? As a survivor of multiple Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), there is one big piece of advice I can give you about it: Try to avoid having multiple near-death experiences! The lessons you get from them about the afterlife are truly amazing, but the circumstances you go through to get there are definitely best avoided.

There are easier ways—take my word for it—that can lead you to discover that the place "beyond" you’re so curious about; it isn't so far away after all, especially if you look within—as with this example.

What do you see when you close your eyes? Try it right now for ten or twenty seconds: Close your eyes and really look into the darkness inside your eyelids and notice…it's not really complete darkness in there, is it? There's a kind of life unfolding inside of your eyelids—undulating waves of slightly effervescent energy—vibrations and pulsations, arising and receding. I know it all can be explained in a neurological way, but still, there is a lot going on in there—a lot of very mysterious stuff. Just stay there for a minute and take it in. Then, when you open your eyes and look around, see how the light energy floods in from everywhere, bouncing off of everything. There's that vivid, radiating life-energy penetrating every iota, every instant of our being—just as there always has been, and just as there always will be! That experience never changes. We have always—and will always—live in this miraculous, illuminative now. Those inward vibrations are the introductory inklings of the great beyond alive within us all. Those curious vibrating fields of energetic effervescence are a lot like the atmosphere alive in "Heaven"…and that is something I can tell you a little about.

In my new book, How to Get to Heaven (Without Really Dying): Wisdom From a Near Death Survivor, I take the opportunity to explore each of my NDEs, and to pass along to you all of the attitudes, atmospheres, sensations, and possibilities that define my experiences of the "heavenly" realm I visited, as well as the "normal" life experiences I've had of it ever since. You see, as a result of my accidental excursions into a couple completely different afterworlds, I've come back with this one big message: Heaven isn't a single, predictable place that you'll go to someday. Instead, it's a kind of custom-made, eternal state-of-being that can be reached and experienced everyday, through all of Life. You can get there from here, and in easier, more empowering ways than by having to experience any kind of physical death (so let's just hold off on that, for now). I'd be remiss without a respectful nod to the skeptics, because it goes without saying that I didn't actually die—or I wouldn't be here to talk about it. Obviously, no NDE survivor has actually died and stayed that way—a simple truth that justifies all the skepticism and conjecture surrounding the subject. But it's also pretty fascinating how NDEs are a growing worldwide phenomenon that transcend ages, races, and cultures, and describe an apparent continuation of our consciousness beyond (and I'd suggest within) this world to which we open our eyes every morning.

Despite any similarities about which you've heard, NDEs come in many different forms and motifs, and describe a kind of "custom-made afterlife," a kind of Heaven—or Hell—that all survivors report on. As you might expect, the bottom line for me (and almost all NDE survivors) is that I know life doesn't end here. It continues in an extra-dimensional fashion, but exactly how I'm not sure. Having had the three of them myself, I don't believe that NDEs are a visit to any definitive "next world" that many may wish for. I believe these experiences aren't so much a reliable description of what will come next after this life, but simply more evidence about how richly complex a thing that all of Life really is.

Even though each of my experiences was very different from the others, they all described my life; and though their main features were different, there was always that energetic, effervescent life alive in this miraculous now that didn't change from trip to trip to trip—in fact, that's what may have been the most important part of them all: The powerful sense of a total loving connection to everything. It's the common prerequisite for any "Heaven" we'll ever find.

Having the three trips under my belt, and having learned about many, many more in my travels, one unavoidable characteristic that all these experiences share in common is how perfectly their specifics fit each survivor's life. They almost always involve other critical spirits, places, and events that speak directly to each of us. We know how many NDE events adhere to a set of common motifs—as in my three experiences, I had an "out-of-body" perspective on my own death, a reassessment or "life review," and a forced "return back" into this life (against my will). Along with other scenarios commonly spoken of, such as "the light at the end of the tunnel," visiting an "Elysian" field and meeting up with your dearly departed, experiencing a view of the Earth from deep outer space, and others. Yet, even these similar passages are uniquely suited to us (in fact, they're even specific to the religion and culture of the experiencer).

My NDEs seemed to be just what I needed at the time of each of my "deaths." They were as simple or as elaborate as they needed to be to move me closer into alignment with a greater reality—into a place in my life where I could experience those attitudes, atmospheres, and potential, that state-of-being that I associate with Heaven. That was the powerfully unavoidable sensation that each experience had in common: the enveloping aspect of this miraculous now that each event gave me. In each experience, I was enfolded within a penetrating field of intelligence—an experience of the continuing connection and expansion into what I call the field of "Divine Consciousness."

I lost track of everything material—I don't even remember having a body, or knowing exactly where I was, but the truth that I've brought back with more empowering urgency than any other detail of "the afterlife" is that I never stopped experiencing an all-encompassing Consciousness (which you’ll notice I now capitalize, indicating it as a force of Divinity). Like many NDE survivors, I realized a complete merging into a greater field of intuitive, omniscient intelligence, accompanied by an indescribable non-physical sensation of loving wholeness and belonging-to. It's this continuation into a greater, unified "mind," and expansion into a magical, spiritual dimension—full of every possibility that you can possibly imagine—that now informs my understanding of every life I'll ever live.

It's an experience that I've discovered can (nearly…) be experienced in this crazy human form, and that can be fostered in my everyday-to-day life in this crazy human world. It's an experience of Life that in a variety of very interesting ways, I'd like to share with you.

God bless those overly scientific, "materialist" skeptics, many of whom base their doubts in current explorations of neuroscience. I believe that they're absolutely right in their assertion that NDEs are abstract perceptual phenomenon resulting from the brain not being completely dead. After all, this is a pretty abstract Universe (floating around out here in outer space is already miraculous enough, isn't it?). Like me, I don't think any NDE survivor would ever insist that their brain had completely died—we'd simply acknowledge that we went on "thinking" and "seeing" in what we remember as the afterlife. I think it's simply because (despite even the physiological "death" of our human brains) our mind does not die; instead, it's incorporated into a greater mind. We're folded into an expansive, organizing, Consciousness-based intelligence—a kind of loving matrix of limitless potential experience.

And here's the really good news: That very same experience is definitely available here and now—it's just more of a challenge because we're in these doggone bodies all the time. We don't have to escape them per se, but we do have to elude their materialistic tendencies, so there are what I call "rungs on the ladder to Heaven" that we can make use of—principles to live by that allow us to actually witness Heaven-on-Earth. There's meditation and mindfulness, and teachings from amazing ancient texts that are direct doorways to the kind of Paradise that we may only imagine as being "extra-dimensional." And there are perceptions and practices that can actually help us to restore whatever parts of that Garden we may feel we've lost, or even to create an entirely new one!

But it is true, in couple ways, that you'll have to let go of this world, to let go of "who you're supposed to be," if you want to explore those extra-dimensions. If you want to find out exactly how you can get to Heaven…without really dying, that is.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. All rights reserved.

I recently lost my father in a very sudden and shocking manner, for he was fit as a fiddle with no ailment whatsoever. A day after his burial, I dreamed that my husband (God forbid!) went off somewhere and also died. In the dream, I was crying and wondering what would happen to my two little boys. Just then, my father came into the dream and consoled me. When I woke up, I felt sick. My head was heavy and it took me a while to realize that this was just a dream, that my husband was alive. This was not the first time I dreamed of his death. The first time was a couple of years ago, when I dreamed that he died in a car accident and an ambulance came to our house. Please help me understand why I'm having these dreams. Since my father's death I have become so scared. I love my husband very much and just can't imagine life without him. Do you think these dreams are trying to tell me something? They are deeply upsetting. Can you help?

Sumaira

Susyn:

Dreams can be unsettling, especially when they portray the loss of a loved one. It's important to remember that our dreams are one way we process our deepest fears; they allow us to live out our worst nightmares in our subconscious instead of facing those events in real life.

Your father's sudden death left a huge hole in your heart and in your life. It's not uncommon to develop fears of losing your husband or other loved ones when something like this happens, for it heightens your awareness of death and makes you much more aware of how precious and short life can be.

Both your father and husband play important roles in your life, so losing one or the other is sure to affect you on every level of your being. The dreams you are experiencing are not prophetic; they do not imply that your husband will pass soon or in an unexpected way. Your subconscious is not warning you about the future; it's using these dreams to help you process some overwhelming fears.

There are a few things you can do to feel more empowered and less fearful. You can start a daily meditation designed to send protection to your husband as well as your sons. Asking Spirit to watch over them when you can't will help to disable your fear and diffuse your sense of powerlessness.

You can provide your husband and sons with protective stones to wear or carry. Quartz crystal, turquoise and lapis lazuli are great choices for creating a protective energy field around your family. You should also wear one of these stones and place one under your pillow to counteract these upsetting dreams.

I would like to mention that the dream in which your father came to visit and comfort you was actually a visit from him. It was so moving and realistic that you weren't sure if it was real or a dream. You also had a strong physical reaction. These are signs that this was a spiritual experience quite different from the other dreams you describe.

You can ask your father to visit you in your dreams and request that he give you other signs of his presence. As he recovers from his transition and grows stronger on the other side, you'll be able to interact with him on a regular basis, which should make your grieving process go much faster.

Your fatherís sudden passing has reminded you of how precious each day is because our loved ones can be gone in an instant. This awareness can be put to good use by treasuring the time you spend with your husband and sons, and shifting your perspective when things become trying or frustrating with them. As you move forward with this, your ability to practice unconditional love will grow, and your fear of losing your loved ones will diminish.

*****

Mata Maya:

I'm glad you asked about this, for what you describe is a common pattern of experience: Your father dying unexpectedly threw your whole being into something of a spiritual crisis, and now you are struggling to work through your beliefs and feelings about death.

You wrote that ever since your father's demise, you have been very scared. This fear is what is behind these dreams. Since you've been unable to find the understanding you need to be at peace in your waking life, your subconscious mind is working overtime to help you to process this traumatic experience and move toward a higher level of relationship to it and death in general.

Whenever we carry the fear of something happening that we believe would utterly destroy us emotionally, our subconscious minds will lead us back to that issue in various ways so that we can begin to get a handle on it.

Back when my children were babies, I was overcome with intense fear of something happening to them. Before that time, I had been more curious than fearful of death, so this was most unsettling. I would constantly worry about what could go wrong, and in so doing, I visualized some terrible things in my head.

Worriers believe on some level that by thinking of everything, they will be able to control what happens. Of course, none of us can really control destiny, so eventually, we must begin to make peace with all that is beyond our influence. These dreams are showing you that you have a lot of work to do in terms of making peace with the inevitability of death, developing a sound spiritual belief system, and cultivating faith in a higher plan.

Believe it or not, there are people who are at peace with death because their faith in a higher plan is even stronger than their love of this life and the temporary forms their various soul friends are taking this lifetime. Just the other day, I was talking to a woman about the need for us all to seize the day, and she just shrugged and said, Whatever comes after this life will be just as good ñ probably better!

Your father's death has pushed a big spiritual button for you. These dreams are asking you to consider how you would handle it if someone even dearer to you were to die. They are calling you to study spiritual teachings related to death so that you can begin to weave together a belief system that resonates with your soul and helps you face life's uncertainties with equanimity.

With this in mind, I encourage you to begin reading the fascinating research available on subjects like near-death experiences, reincarnation and afterlife communication, for the more you know and understand, the more at peace you'll be.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.