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Introduction
Those frozen moments came to life again on that three-dimensional screen, in that strangely celestial place. When I finally awoke (about two hours later), I realized that every single eternal moment is a precious, discrete opportunity for discovery and self-realization. Every instant is a chance to be present for what could be one of the most important lessons our life can present us with, that our larger, eternal Life has to offer us. I realized that I needed to develop a kind of calm vigilance—to really listen to others and to consciously become a witness to my life— so that one of those moments (any moment) doesn’t pass unnoticed by the self-absorbed person I can be when I’m on auto-pilot; so that one of those critical Heaven-sent moments doesn’t slip by again, unappreciated by a typically clueless, semi-conscious version of myself. I came to understand that every moment can be—and potentially is—very, very important. I call this second lesson the lesson of presence.
3) The Lesson of Purpose
My third (and hopefully last) NDE was a harsher and harder experience in every way. The circumstances were painful, and the lesson I received felt like I was being given an unwanted mission—probably because of the place I was at in my life back then, where it seemed like the whole world was against me. At the time, I was living in a place you could almost consider to be a personal hell. I’d been assaulted by a thug in a public plaza and, after a brief, violent scuffle, was making my escape when I got ambushed from behind and knocked out cold with a blunt object––maybe a tire iron or such—by the rest of the gang, who proceeded to stomp and kick me for the worst part of an hour. Still, with some distant, dislocated sense of the brutality occurring to me, I found myself “on the other side” in a darkish, womblike place––protected and comfortable, but in no way light or cheery. There was a host of benevolent entities encircling me, and although I badly wanted to stay there––to be free of the painful material world I still felt remotely attached to––my