Angie Fenimore, a 27-year-old wife and mother haunted by abuse in childhood and overwhelmed by despair, was in a desperate state of mind. On the 8th January 1991, Angie attempted to end her suffering by committing suicide. What ensued was a near-death experience that took her to “the brink of hell,” where an encounter with God and Jesus saved her and gave her a new understanding of the purpose of life.
Dr. George G. Ritchie, M.D. (born September 25, 1923; died October 29, 2007) held positions as president of the Richmond Academy of General Practice; chairman of the Department of Psychiatry of Towers Hospital; and founder and president of the Universal Youth Corps, Inc. for almost 20 years. In 1967, he entered private psychiatry practice in Richmond and in 1983, moved to Anniston, Alabama, to serve as head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center. He returned to Richmond in 1986 to continue in private practice until retirement in 1992. At the age of twenty, George Ritchie died in an army hospital and was pronounced dead twice by the doctor on duty. Nine minutes later he returned to life. Dr. Ritchie wrote of his near-death experience (NDE) in Return from Tomorrow, co-written with Elizabeth Sherrill, in 1978. In Return from Tomorrow, he tells of his out-of-body experience, his meeting with Jesus Christ, and his travel with Christ through different dimensions of time and space. Return from Tomorrow has been translated into nine languages. Ritchie’s story was the first contact Dr. Raymond Moody, PhD had with NDEs, during his undergraduate studies in philosophy at the University of Virginia. This led Moody to investigate over 150 cases of NDEs in his book Life After Life and two other books that followed.
Howard Storm (born October 26, 1946, in Flushing, New York) is a former atheist and art professor and chairman of the art department at the Northern Kentucky University. He is best known as the author of “My Descent Into Death” which details his near-death experience. Storm’s NDE is regarded as one of the most complete accounts of distressing near-death experiences ever recorded. It includes dramatic encounters with evil spirits, a trip to hell, a rescue by Jesus, and extensive conversations with Jesus and a group of angels. Storm’s NDE has been cited frequently in near-death studies literature. His book was originally published in 2000 and re-published as a hardback book in 2005. Storm has told his story to numerous audiences and appeared on NBC’s Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 48 Hours, Discovery Channel and Coast to Coast AM. Storm was so deeply affected by his near-death experience that he resigned from Northern Kentucky University and became a United Church of Christ minister.
In 1982, after suffering from terminal brain cancer, Mellen-Thomas Benedict “died.” His body was monitored for an hour and a half after he died and showed no vital signs. Miraculously he returned to his body with a complete remission of the disease. While on the other side Mellen journeyed through several realms of consciousness and beyond the light at the end of the tunnel. He was shown during his NDE, in holographic detail, Earth’s past and a beautiful vision of mankind’s future for the next 400 years. He experienced the cosmology of our soul’s connection to Mother Earth (Gaia), our role in the Universe, and was gifted with access to Universal Intelligence. NDE author/researcher Dr. Kenneth Ring says that Benedict’s NDE “is one of the most remarkable I have encountered in extensive research on near-death experiences.”
Before his near-death experience, Alon Anava, a Jewish man who grew up in Ra’anana, Israel, describes himself as rough, rude, mean, and not a nice person. After his near-death experience, Alon says he was transformed into someone who was nice, calm, courteous, and soft spoken. Whereas before he was a highly trained martial artist, now he attends Yeshiva studying every day, exploring the depths of Torah, refining and elevating himself on a daily basis. Alon also claims to have returned with the ability to connect to God in a way that allows him to connect with others and help them overcome their questions and concerns. During his free time, he shares his near-death experience and what he learned from it. Alon is also a photographer and web designer.
Ian McCormack’s story began in 1980, when he left New Zealand at the age of 24 for “The Big O.E”, a New Zealand tradition of young people traveling to get some “Overseas Experience.” He sought the “meaning to life” and was particularly interested in enlightenment from eastern religious teachings. Despite this interest, he became convinced through his travels that there was no life after death and this present life was all there was to live for. Later he would describe himself as a “gambling atheist” during this time. After backpacking and surfing through Asia and Africa, Ian ended up on the Island of Mauritius off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. He struck up a friendship with some local Creole fishermen and went night diving to catch fish. On one particular night, while diving, Ian was stung by five Box Jellyfish, specifically the deadly variety of Box Jellyfish called the Sea Wasp – Chironex fleckeri. Paralyzed and dying, Ian was rushed to a hospital. While there, Ian states he experienced visions of heaven and hell, and felt Jesus empowering him to live so he might tell his story to others. According to Ian’s testimony, he came back to life on a slab in the morgue a full 15-20 minutes after he had been declared dead by the doctors. He was paralyzed from the neck down, but he prayed to be healed and walked out of the hospital the next day. After his experience, Ian describes how he thought he was the only one in the world who knew God. He began reading a Bible and says he was amazed to find everything he had experienced detailed within its pages. He became a missionary and ministered to indigenous tribes in southeast Asia where he met his future wife and fellow missionary, Jane. After they were married, they worked in New Zealand revivals until they felt called to start a church in England. Since then, he has traveled the world, sharing his testimony with churches, theaters and small groups. Ian’s testimony has been translated into a dozen languages and video interviews are available on YouTube and Google Video. Ian stresses constantly that his story is not to be sold; his story and book have been released without copyright, allowing anyone to download and print it. A feature length film based on Ian’s experience is in pre-production titled The Perfect Wave.
Dr. Rajiv Parti, founder of the Pain Management Institute of California and Chief of Anesthesiology at Bakersfield’s Heart Hospital, specialized in cardiac anesthesiology. On Christmas Eve of 2010, after two years of battling chronic pelvic pain, incontinence, and impotency due to surgical complications from prostate cancer, Dr. Parti was taken to the Emergency Room at UCLA. Suffering from sepsis (a life-threatening infection) and in excruciating pain, Dr. Parti had an out-of-body experience. Floating ten feet above his body, Dr. Parti watched his medical team as they struggled to save him. While part of his consciousness remained in the operating room in Los Angeles, another part of his consciousness journeyed to India where he watched family members prepare a meal. From there he visited hell, experienced a life review, met deceased loved ones, travelled through a “time tunnel,” and visited Heaven where he met a Being of Light (whom he regarded as God) and two guardian angels. During the experience, Rajiv was told that he was going to be alright, but that when he returned to his body, his life purpose would be changed forever: he would leave behind his materialistic lifestyle, stop practicing anesthesiology, and become a healer.
When Dr. Parti’s consciousness returned to his body, his mental, behavioral and psychological priorities changed dramatically. In the weeks that followed, Dr. Parti abandoned his career, and with the support of his wife and children, downsized his family home from a 10,000 square foot mansion to a modest home. He traded in his Hummer and Mercedes for a Toyota hybrid and now spends his time volunteering for community projects and teaching that chronic pain, addiction, and depression are “diseases of the soul.” In a radical departure from his conventional medical training, Dr. Parti now advocates a consciousness-based approach to healing.
Duane’s near-death experience took place in the spring of 1981when he was 41 years old. Before his experience, he describes himself as an agnostic who held no spiritual beliefs. He believed “it would all be over” when he died and looked forward “to the oblivion.” After his NDE, Duane came to believe:
“There is nothing to fear in death. It’s just the beginning of a new adventure; another chance to express yourself differently with souls you have loved and cherished over many lifetimes and many realms. Now, I imagine death as being an E-Ticket to the ultimate theme park, and I am the one who selects which park to experience. I also select the rides while I’m there. The rides can be as scary or peaceful and loving. It’s always my choice. If you don’t like the ride you’re on, get off and find one that is more to your liking the next time around. After all, when God created humans in his likeness, he promised an eternity of joy and happiness. Since eternity is such a long time, and has no beginning or end, it covers all time everywhere…”
Nancy Evans Bush has a BA in English is from the University at Albany-SUNY, and a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from St. Joseph College in Connecticut, with additional graduate study at Trinity College and the University of Connecticut. She has three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Nancy is a past-president of The International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc. (IANDS) and because of her own distressing near-death experience, has been their go-to researcher on distressing NDEs for 30 years…
Jeremy Kagan is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and television producer. In June of 2013, Kagan published a book about his near-death experience which took place during a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. After leaving his body, Kagan reports entering a personal hell, escaping, and then exploring various spiritual realities. Among other things, Kagan reports becoming aware of everything he had ever perceived, actual or imagined. His personal story, or life review, eventually morphed into the story of humankind , which he felt he had created: “Everything I had seen and heard — all the events I have known about, all the media I had watched, every movie, TV show, book, image, human I had met or seen or heard about — all of them — I had made them all up! Everything known on my path as this particular human being had been of my making. My imagining. And all the creations made by others — even the very existence of others — all of this had originated in my mind.”
Some of the most inspiring, informative, and deeply compelling near-death experiences (and related phenomena) ever recorded.
