I laid down in bed about 8:30pm or so and started to pray...I mean pray!  There is a natural process that arises when you NEED the Father and that is to confess your sins and get them addressed and settled together with God.  How can you possibly ask for help from someone if you have unsettled business with them?  Once that part of my prayers were completed, I asked for forgiveness of my sins and asked for healing from God or a sign that I am not alone in my trial.  I use the word ask...but in reality I can say that probably demanded an answer and that it was my turn to find Him.  I concluded by praying the Lord's Prayer over and over again.  It took on a whole new meaning and I understood exactly what it meant.  I fell asleep and did not wake up until the "event".  I use the word "wake up" loosely, "taken" may be better.

In the middle of a surprisingly sound sleep a very brilliant bright light woke me up.  The light took me and I was very conscious outside of my body in the spirit. The light took me and instantly found myself floating so peacefully in a vividly beautiful garden.  There trees and flowers there were very vivid in color.  I knew that this was my home and that I came from here and this is where I belonged.  I also immediately knew that God was with me and this place was void of any and all negatives.  It was PURE LOVE and KNOWLEDGE and it all came instantly!  I wanted to ask questions but I felt foolish because I already knew the answers.  I felt so human to even have entered the thought!

I did not want to leave and knew not even to ask if I could stay because I was to back...I just was so happy to experience my home again and I just enjoyed the peace, the joy, the love and the knowledge that flowed through me.  Truly, there are no words to explain this.  I then felt presence to the right of me...a communication of pure love.  I looked to right of me and saw two golden transparent globes floating next to me.  They loved me unconditionally and I loved them just as much and in the same way.  They communicated to me that I need to go back now and that I will never be without them.  They were my angels that were to watch over me in my life...and I will see them again when I return.

The light came again and I was awake in my body but not awake consciously as you think.  I was awake inside my body  unconnected to it. I immediately started thanking God for this vision and gift and prayed for my healing again.  Almost instantly my entire body flushed with intense cold chills.  Not like you would think on just the surface of the skin, but throughout.  I then woke up!  I began to cry hard from PURE JOY.  I had such happiness and joy that I was actually laughing ad crying at the same time.  I went to my knees and prayed to God thanking him for this gift again and the faith that everything would turn out alright.  I knew without any doubt that I was going to be alright if not completely healed.  Again, there are no words to describe the emotions and love I felt.

I went through surgery that day and returned home.  Two days later my doctor called with the pathology report.  He said that there was a mass (tumor) but he didn't know what the mass was and that he had never seen anything like it.  He searched for other opinion from doctors who study rare cancers. The mass was determined to be benign and of course had not spread.  Typically, these types of tumors were 95% malignant and radiation treatment was normal.  I have had no reoccurrence after eight years.

I will share what I learned as best I can and as simply as I can.  I learned that everyone of us are connected through the spirit.  The spirit is contained and restricted inside our physical bodies but over "there" we flow together with omnipresence of love and knowledge.  The physical world separates us here on earth and prevents us from exercising "true" love.  My spirit and soul is your spirit and soul.  Each are a slice of God contained inside these bodies and we really do love each other but the sinful world prevents it from flowing.  We have to overcome the barriers so as to allow love to flow.  I learned that every person's spirit or soul is so precious to God and we should do whatever is necessary to protect and love every soul here on earth.  The reason  is because over "there", or heaven, or what ever you want to call it is so wonderful and we should help each other get back "home" where we belong and where there is only love to enjoy. I look at people now as souls and not as humans.  I read someone else's account and she has exactly the same take on it as me.  I now have an "understanding".

Eight years have passed and my experience still is the most important thing that has ever happened to me.  I think about it almost every day and share it any one who wants or needs to hear it.  As I write this account of mine (for the first time mind you )I have cried several times.  I want to tell every one who reads this...I am not special or chosen, and I am certainly not more special to God more than any one else on this earth.  What I experienced is available to anyone who asks for it.  It may not be as a profound experience as mine but know that it's there...it's there...if you just ask!

Mark     

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Yes

There are no words invented to express the feelings and knowledge that I was blessed to receive.

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Yes

I was diagnosed with cancer.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           I was asleep here on earth and in the physical sense but I was perfectly conscious on the other side (the garden).  More aware and alive than I can say I have ever been here on earth.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No.  I realize most dreams come when you are asleep but this was not a dream.  I had complete control of my thoughts and nothing was random.  This was real but in a differnet medium of existance.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes

I didn't see myself.  The light took me to the garden and the light brought me back in an instant.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Love, knowledge, joy, peaceful, every good emotion at once.  No negative emotions could even think to exist here.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           No

LOCATION DESCRIPTION:  Did you recognize any familiar locations or any locations from familiar religious teachings or encounter any locations inhabited by incredible or amazing creatures?    Yes

A beautiful garden, vivid in color.

Did you see a light?           Yes

YES, a quick flash of bright light and instantly I was in the garden and then quick flash of bright light and was back in my body.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes

They appeared as floating transparent golden globes to the right of me.  There were two.  I felt I had know them forever.  Love was communicated and through that I knew I had to go back and could not stay.  As far as communication  nothing was verbal it was all just understood.

Did you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state? NoDid you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later? No

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Yes

Only my vision.  I could see perfectly, in fact better than perfect.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes

So much was given to me as far as knowledge or what I call my understanding in an instant. You have to understand that everything happens instantly and forever.  Words cannot explain.  Your question is limiting to worldly terms.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes

YES.  An understanding of what we are to God.  Refer to my narrative.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             No

Did you become aware of future events?       Uncertain

I knew I would be alright.

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes

It was understood throught my visit.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes

Refer to my narrative.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       Refer to my narrative.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes

I know this sounds strange, but I can't wait to return to the garden after my death.  "Death doesn't scare me any longer.  The day you die is more glorious than the day you are born."  I now know why.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes

Some can't understand.  Most are encouraged. I have become cautious of who I tell it too.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Love and a desire to share my understanding with others.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The experience of love and knowledge was the best and having to come back was the worst.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        No.

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes

Listen, this is so powerful and so amazing that the first thing I noticed when I wanted to tell others is that I am limited by language.  If only someone could read my mind then it might be comprehensible.

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    Your web site reflects a "mystical" or "humanism" tone.  I would prefer more of a preference towards God. ( I am sharing my "understanding" with you now.)  I hope you respect this as a gift from God and only a gift from God to all of us.