Barbara Harris Whitfield is the author of many published articles and five books, a thanatologist, workshop presenter, near-death experiencer and therapist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served on the board of directors for the Kundalini Research Network and also on the faculty of Rutgers University’s Summer School for Alcohol and Drug Studies for 12 years.
Twenty years ago, David Milarch, a northern Michigan nurseryman with a penchant for hard living, had a near-death experience. After this experience, angels let him know that the earth was in trouble. Its trees were dying, and without them, human life was in jeopardy. The solution, they told him, was to clone the champion trees of the world — the largest, the hardiest, the ones that had survived millennia and were most resilient to climate change — and create a kind of Noah’s ark of tree genetics. Without knowing if the message had any basis in science, or why he’d been chosen for this task, Milarch began his mission of cloning the world’s great trees. Many scientists and tree experts told him it couldn’t be done, but, twenty years later, his team has successfully cloned some of the world’s oldest trees — among them giant redwoods and sequoias. They have also grown seedlings from the oldest tree in the world, the bristlecone pine Methuselah…
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.”
In May of 1966, 16-year-old Reinee Pasarow of La Crescent, California, became unconscious following an allergic food reaction. During her near-death experience, Rene reports traveling back into time to witness the evolution and history of the human race. She learned how humanity is currently at a turning point and that it must deal with all the obstacles to unity before a new era of universal peace will come. She saw a future of our planet as a world populated with beings of light. Reinee has been interviewed by major television networks, including ABC, CNN and NBC. Her NDE testimony has been heard by people in 45 countries. After her NDE, Reinee went on to graduate from the University of California with a degree in economics. She exhibits the humanitarian aftereffects that many NDErs have. She is a successful business woman and has founded or directed several charitable organizations and projects. In addition, she travels and lectures extensively to make life on Earth more like the one she saw in heaven. Before her NDE, as a child, Reinee was very spiritual and became attracted to the Bahá’í faith. She continues to be a dedicated member of that faith. For many years Reinee has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis; but despite of her disability she has been very active.
Vicki Noratuk was born blind. Vicki describes what it was like to experience sight for the first time. Then she goes on to describe encounters with Jesus, moving through hellish and heavenly realms, and being told she couldn’t stay on the other side because she was to become a mother and teach unconditional love and forgiveness. Jesus, according to Vicki, also told her to tell others about him and her experience: “let them know of this day and tell them that I AM”…
Beverly Brodsky died twice — once as a child and once as an adult — and glimpsed what it is like on the other side of life. Her near-death experience has been published in six books, most notably in Dr. Kenneth Ring and Evelyn Elsaesser’s Lessons from the Light. Her childhood experience is recorded in PMH Atwater’s The New Children and the NDE. For two years, she was on the founding Board of Directors of a new non-profit, ACISTE (the American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences) and also an IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies) group leader for over 20 years. She is a minister in the LA Community Church of Religious Science. She has also worked as a systems and business analyst for the federal government for 28 years.
Betty (Jean) Eadie (born 1942) is a prominent American author of several books on near-death experiences (NDEs). Her best-known book is the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Embraced by the Light (1992). It describes her near-death experience. It is one of the most detailed near-death account on record. It was followed by two other works: The Awakening Heart (1996), also a best-seller, and The Ripple Effect (1999), published independently. Eadie was raised in Nebraska and on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Part Native American, she grew up in troubled family circumstances, dropped out of high school to care for a sister, then returned to complete it, and later pursued a college degree. She works today in counseling and hypnotherapy with volunteer work and speaks to gatherings about her experiences.
Born in 1950, Dannion Brinkley is the author of three international best selling books — Saved by the Light, At Peace in the Light, and Secrets of the Light. He is also a internationally known speaker who has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows. In 1994 his New York Times bestseller, Saved by the Light, was the highest rated made-for-television movie of all time by the Fox Network. Drawing on his three near-death experiences, Dannion speaks to diverse audiences worldwide on topics including Near-Death Experiences, Palliative and Hospice Care, and Complementary and Alternative Healing Practices. In 1997, Dannion co-founded The Twilight Brigade in Los Angeles with a small but dedicated team of experience hospice volunteers and trainers. Since then, more than 5,300 have taken the volunteer training. Dannion has also received dozens of awards for his achievements and volunteer service, including the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service, the VFW Women’s Auxiliary Cherished Heroes Award, the Courage and Valor Award from the National Foundation for Women Legislators and numerous VA Awards including the VA Special Secretary’s Award and the Heart of Hospice Award, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association’s highest honor.
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.
