{"id":1993,"date":"2011-04-03T22:40:53","date_gmt":"2011-04-04T05:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/?p=1993"},"modified":"2012-04-25T13:18:16","modified_gmt":"2012-04-25T20:18:16","slug":"how-a-near-death-experience-changed-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/how-a-near-death-experience-changed-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"How A Near Death Experience Changed Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>For many of his 50-something years, a severely depressed Bill Smyth* was living his life as if it didn\u2019t matter. \u201cLooking back,\u201d he says, \u201cI don\u2019t know how I kept going.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2000, he and his then-wife lost a son\u00a0who was less than a year old.\u00a0 As happens with many marriages where the loss of a baby is involved, the marital union came undone.\u00a0 \u201cMy ex said she was miserable having me around. \u00a0She couldn\u2019t look at me without seeing a baby,\u201d said Bill.\u00a0\u201cIn order for her to be happy, we parted.\u00a0 We\u2019re still\u00a0good friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talking about his son\u2019s death still hurts, says Bill. \u00a0\u201cJoseph\u2019s little lungs hadn\u2019t developed. \u00a0A decision was made to take him off life\u00a0support.\u201d\u00a0 He pauses, his voice far away. \u00a0\u201cThe only time he smiled was right before he died. \u00a0Then, he just seemed to relax and let go.\u201d<\/p>\n

That observation was a striking forerunner of what was to follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Old Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs recently as\u00a0 a year ago, I was obsessed with death,\u201d says Bill. \u00a0The local graveyards were full of his loved ones. \u00a0\u201cPeople kept dying left and right. \u00a0I took to walking through gravesites just to calm myself. \u00a0There, nobody could hurt you and you couldn\u2019t get close to anyone.\u00a0 I wanted to be one of them. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t wait to die. I was in plenty of accidents and kept getting hurt.\u201d \u00a0It was as if Bill Smyth were tempting fate.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2010, Bill had a triple bypass.\u00a0 \u201cI certainly wasn\u2019t exercising or eating right,\u201d he said. \u201cAs manager for a major telecommunications firm, I was on the road all the time.\u00a0 I was running a team, going from one neighborhood to another. \u00a0I\u2019d grab a cheeseburger and work 12- or 13-hour days, then come home and do four or five hours of paper work at night.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d have to fix all the mistakes everybody made; count all the money; do a bank deposit. Depending on the town, there were sometimes four or five different bank deposits.\u00a0 It was a nightmare\u2026very stressful. \u00a0I was doing that for maybe three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The workaholic streak appeared the day after the baby died, says Bill, and lasted a decade. \u00a0\u201cI also started working two or three jobs. \u00a0I had no time for anybody. \u00a0It was just work, work, work. \u00a0After so much loss you get to the point where nothing matters,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cI wondered if God was torturing me, to see how much suffering a person could take. \u00a0I almost cursed God for letting me wake up most mornings. \u00a0\u2018Just take me in my sleep.\u2019 I would pray.<\/p>\n

I used to hate my job–I used to hate everything.\u00a0 And I wasn’t so close to my family.\u00a0 After the baby died I shut myself off from everybody. \u00a0I worked merely to survive.\u00a0 After work, the other guys would go out but I wouldn’t. I was a hermit. \u00a0I wanted to be left alone.<\/p>\n

A Wake-Up Call<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then one day I started having chest pains and I had the good sense to get myself to a hospital. \u00a0I caught the heart attack in time. \u00a0All three arteries were 95% blocked.\u00a0 The cholesterol was up real high and they couldn’t even calculate the triglycerides.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They told me: \u2018It’s a miracle you didn’t drop dead months ago.\u2019<\/p>\n

They put me through heart catheterization to see what caused the chest pains. \u00a0They saw I needed a triple bypass.\u00a0 When the doctors told me they were going to take my heart out of my chest and repair it and stick it back in, it was scary for a moment, but there was no panic.\u00a0 \u2018Whatever…\u2019\u00a0I thought.\u00a0 It’s like I was dead inside. \u00a0I wasn’t excited to live or die.\u00a0 That was the attitude I had going in.<\/p>\n

Something Magical<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I was losing consciousness, I felt something magical. I floated off and somebody must have caught me and done something to me. I heard familiar voices, and they weren\u2019t the doctors\u2019 or nurses\u2019 voices. It seemed as if they were of people I knew from years ago. People who loved and cared about me were around that operating table. I couldn\u2019t identify them. There was a jumble of voices.<\/p>\n

A big warm feeling came over me, like a heat that radiated from my heart before they even cut. The people behind the voices were almost touching me.\u00a0 It was almost like the peace I used to feel when I was a kid and my mom, whom I lost two years ago, used to rock me and sing to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If anything had ever scared me, it was the act of death itself.\u00a0 But it’s not what I thought. God spares you the pain. You close your eyes and float away and people you love are waiting. \u00a0 The mattress swallowed me and I just sank. I was totally relaxed.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Time didn\u2019t factor into it, Bill said, but \u201cthey had me under so long that they thought I had gone into a coma.\u00a0 They put me out at noon and I didn’t come out of the anesthetic until 4:30 in the morning the next day. There was plenty of time for a tour on the Other Side\u2026and for teachings.\u201d<\/p>\n

I Wanted To Live<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Bill reflects on how it may have been a self-induced coma. \u201cMy life had been so stressful and so full of pain.\u00a0 I was in a moment of peace for the first time in my life. I must have been fighting it; not wanting to come out.<\/div>\n

When I woke up, I knew right away something had happened.\u00a0I almost felt like someone had shared the secrets of the universe.\u00a0 It was some sort of revelation but I can’t remember what.\u00a0 \u00a0I had a whole other attitude on life. \u00a0I decided, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I was going to make it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Do you know what it felt like, after I awoke in the hospital?\u00a0 It felt as if I had just come back from school. \u00a0I was really excited, like when you are looking forward to a great event in your life: a marriage; or you\u2019ve won the lottery and can’t wait for the lottery office to open on Monday.<\/p>\n

I felt an anticipation that something incredible was going to happen.\u00a0 I wracked my brain trying to remember. \u00a0Either your mind can’t hold it in or your guides take the memory because God wants you to enjoy what you\u2019ve got here, first.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t want you to worry. \u00a0Everything will be yours in time.<\/p>\n

I had my purpose!\u00a0 God had plans that I hadn’t fulfilled.\u00a0 \u2018I’m going to do something great,\u2019 I thought. \u00a0I finally know what it is.\u2019 I must have been told, \u2018You\u2019re not going to remember, but you will know what it is, when the time is right.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Completely Different Person<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new Bill emerged like a butterfly from a cocoon. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a completely different person.\u00a0 When I was put under I had a big old hole that was never filled, but I woke up feeling excited for the first time ever. \u00a0It\u2019s almost like I was half-empty and I came out full.\u00a0 I might have seen my son or it could have been that I know that I will see him again.<\/p>\n

Or maybe I spent time with my mom or my dad. \u00a0Who knows?\u00a0 All I know is that I felt complete for the first time. \u00a0I was in all kinds of pain and all hooked up and yet I felt whole.\u00a0 Rather than counting the days until I died, I woke up after surgery wanting to live as much as possible!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the nurse said that, for someone who had a tube jammed down my throat, was strapped to a table and had three tubes sticking out of his chest, and a catheter, I woke up so peaceful. \u00a0Most people pull against restraints, panicked.\u00a0 \u2018You’re the first one I’ve seen in a long time that just woke up as if you were taking a nap,\u2019 the nurse said.<\/p>\n

When most people would be horrified–there\u2019s a big ugly scar and I can’t eat the same way and most of my life changed–I was praising God for letting me come back.<\/p>\n

I Was the Last Guy They\u2019d Expect to Preach<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did people believe me when I spoke of my NDE? Well, people that know me believe me more than most. \u00a0But I would be the last guy they\u2019d expect to come out preaching, or saying I’d seen heaven.<\/p>\n

They expected me to come out and say: \u2018Nothing happened.\u00a0 I told you we were worm food.\u2019\u00a0 Instead, I came back full of life and joy and they looked at me like: \u2018Something happened to him.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

I not only speak differently, but my life has changed drastically.\u00a0 Everyone thought: \u2018He\u2019ll be back to himself in a day or so.\u2019\u00a0 But I haven’t gone back.\u00a0 Something happened.\u00a0 And I am stronger in that change, every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Road Back To Health<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the hospital, they get you up and walking within 30 minutes. \u00a0It feels like somebody is shooting you. \u00a0Every time you take a deep breath it hurts; plus your ribs are broken [a common occurrence during bypass surgery].<\/p>\n

I knew the only way I could get the tubes out was to show improvement.\u00a0 They told me 17 laps around the nursing station were equal to one mile. \u00a0One day I got up and did the 17 laps. \u00a0It about killed me.\u00a0 \u2018We\u2019ve never seen somebody walk that far that quick after surgery,\u2019 they said. \u00a0I was determined. \u00a0There was something I had to do. \u2018I can\u2019t be spending all my time inside the hospital,\u2019 I thought. \u2018Whatever God’s plan for me is, it won’t be inside the hospital.\u2019<\/p>\n

I used to be passive.\u00a0 The old me would have walked to the hall and back to the bed.\u00a0 I was amazed at how fast I was\u00a0recovering. \u00a0I shocked a lot of people.\u00a0 I was pushing myself.\u00a0 I’d never been one to push\u00a0myself to\u00a0go for a\u00a0goal–other than work. All of a sudden here I am battling to get my life back.<\/p>\n

I wanted to be out of there and enjoying my life. \u00a0Somebody showed me something while I was gone.\u00a0 It totally put something inside me that changed my whole way of looking at the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I ended up going to work three to four weeks before they wanted me to. \u00a0I begged the doctor to sign the paper that let me do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since then, Bill says, \u201cI leave more time for my fianc\u00e9, Anna, and more time for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill feels God put Anna on his path. \u201cShe was the one that God wanted me to find, if I had just waited. I still have mutual friends with my ex, who gave Anna a good reference; I guess because I took care of her when she was sick. Now it was Anna\u2019s turn to take care of me. I\u2019ve never before had someone put their own needs aside and put mine first as she does.<\/p>\n

I used to find excuses not to go home. \u00a0Now I can’t wait to see Anna. \u00a0I make the money as quickly as I can so I can get back to her. \u00a0I never experienced anything like that.\u00a0This kind of deep, unconditional love.\u00a0 Anna brings things out in me that I didn’t know I had. She makes me a better person just being near her. \u00a0I didn’t know someone like that existed. \u00a0She\u2019s the \u201creal deal\u201d. God’s gift for a lifetime of pain, and for not ending my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anna won’t let me drink soda now and fixes me healthy dinners.\u00a0 She forces me to go to the gym twice a day. \u00a0In the morning we\u2019re on the treadmill an hour. At night, there\u2019s another hour on the treadmill. \u00a0I made her a promise that I’ll give her another 40 years. She told me: \u2018No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere.\u2019 She knows I get straight commission.\u00a0 We were penniless, at one point, and other women would have taken off.\u00a0 But she said: \u2018I’ll live in cardboard box with you if I have to.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

His work life is different, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI see my job now as taking people who don\u2019t have work and helping them. It’s a blessing for them and for me. \u00a0But I don’t take the job as seriously. \u00a0I don’t go out of my way to volunteer for extra projects. \u00a0I used to have other managers calling me up at 1 or 2 in the morning and have a conference call.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Go Out and Touch Somebody Else<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lots of people notice the change. \u00a0I\u2019m a lot calmer. \u00a0I don’t stress out and freak out over the job anymore. \u00a0My temper is gone.\u00a0 I used to have a flare-up. \u2018Leave me alone for five minutes,\u2019 I used to say. \u00a0I don’t anymore. \u00a0I found patience.\u00a0 I spend time with the family. I realize how important all of life is.<\/p>\n

I set limits. \u00a0I only work certain hours and I go straight home to Anna.\u00a0 I\u2019m not doing paperwork and conference calls at all hours. \u00a0If they want to get a hold of me, they can talk to me while I’m at work.\u00a0 It\u2019s a 110 degree turnaround.<\/p>\n

Before, when forming a team, I couldn\u2019t find anybody who would pass a drug test or did not have a felony. \u00a0Now I\u2019m recruiting people like my newest employee, Patricia, who\u2019s excited about her job.\u00a0 One of the things I tell my people in training is that, if you can go out there and touch somebody else, it can make your whole day so much better. \u00a0One of the new thoughts that I have now is that our goal is to try to be a blessing to somebody everyday. \u00a0Even if a customer is not going to buy from you, stop and help them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you see an old lady struggling with her groceries, assist her. \u00a0It’ll come back to you. She might have ten friends who want to buy (but that\u2019s not why you should help her). \u00a0I used to be a miserable boss.\u00a0 But now I realize that people don’t care how much you know, because they know how much you care.<\/p>\n

I put a lot more of my personal feelings into my new team. \u00a0I know them more as people. I know what’s going on in their lives.\u00a0 I say: \u2018You tell me what kind of money you need and I’ll do what I can to help.\u2019\u00a0 It\u2019s about changing people’s lives.\u00a0 For example, Patricia, the new recruit, is grateful for the opportunity to work. \u00a0She\u2019s all pumped up and I just know that her life is about to change for the better.<\/p>\n

A lot of the people I\u2019ll be working with were looking for a job for a year.\u00a0 Now it’s not about numbers. \u00a0It’s about: Whose life can I help change?\u00a0 Can I make it better?<\/p>\n

What Would I Tell Someone In My Shoes?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The secret to life isn\u2019t surviving, but touching as many people as you can while you’re here.\u00a0 The other day while I took Patricia around, she made her first sale.\u00a0 She just connected with a lady coming off a bad divorce, like her. They were hugging and crying and Patricia even offered to drive her to church or anywhere she needed to go, because this poor lady doesn\u2019t have a car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To see the excitement and hear her exclaim:\u00a0 \u2018Wow, I can make money at this!\u2019 was great.\u00a0 I felt as if she was one of my kids, taking her first step.<\/p>\n

So you see how it works? It\u2019s like a chain. I was supposed<\/em> to find Patricia and hire her to find this lady, because they were supposed to meet. He puts people across our path.\u00a0 We are all part of a master plan.\u00a0 There are lives to be touched and people to be saved and people that need someone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I see the things God\u2019s doing in people\u2019s lives. I tell myself that I know, going in, something good is going to happen\u2026and it does.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s incredible how one person can touch so many others.\u00a0 You do something nice and eventually it will trickle down to someone across the world and lead to a whole brighter planet. \u00a0Everybody’s connected.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What would I tell someone who was in my shoes? I\u2019d say: \u2018Stop being depressed.\u00a0 You will be with your people eventually. \u00a0By being depressed, you take away from the people watching over you.\u00a0 They don\u2019t want you to be depressed and miserable. Be happy now\u2026and then be happy when your time comes to join them.\u00a0 Depressed, you get farther and farther away from God. \u00a0If you want to see your loved ones, you don\u2019t want to end up in darkness. \u00a0You won’t be where they are, if you do. \u00a0Get over the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Me?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill has a theory as to why this happened to him. \u00a0\u201cBefore, I couldn’t see God in the world, but now I see Him everywhere. \u00a0I probably\u00a0had to have a heart attack to convince myself.\u00a0 My heavenly guides must have thought: \u2018He’s one of those people who need to see it to believe it.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

I had a different idea of heaven.\u00a0 I was told by some religious fanatic that God takes away our memory of people that we love, when we die. \u00a0I know that isn’t the case. \u00a0I got a glimpse of heaven. \u00a0That might have been the purpose for my heart problem.\u00a0 \u2018You can say you have faith\u2019, my guides were probably saying, \u2018but now you know it exists. Now you go and live your life with some joy and happiness, and you will not turn into worm food.\u00a0\u00a0You have an incredible journey after this one’s over.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I started going to church, which I haven’t done in years–since the baby died. \u00a0I wake up feeing good as opposed to feeling cursed. \u00a0It\u2019s almost like I left hell and got to come back to heaven (here on earth).\u00a0 The sun’s a lot brighter.\u00a0 I notice things I used to take for granted.\u00a0 Now I take walks on the beach, communing with God.\u00a0 I sniff the air. \u00a0I look at the little shells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m breathing a lot easier as my arteries aren’t clogged up. \u00a0It\u2019s amazing to still be here and not the way I was before.\u00a0 I don’t know how I managed to hang around. \u00a0I was such a miserable human being. \u00a0I was probably one of the most depressed people I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

It still hurts when I think of those that have gone before–but I can deal with it now. \u00a0I had a hard time believing there was something else. Now I know for a fact that there is. Everything has changed. \u00a0I laugh when I think that I used to cross the street saying: \u2018Maybe someone will run me over.\u2019 \u00a0Now I spring out of bed, happy to be here, thinking: \u2018I wonder what kind of miracles I\u2019m going to encounter today.\u2019<\/p>\n

*Bill\u2019s full name has been changed to protect him and his family\u2019s confidentiality. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Eva R. Marienchild Bio:<\/h3>\n

Eva R. Marienchild writes about all matters spiritual, health, legal and scientific. She has been collecting information on alternative health and on healing yourself for over a decade, and is a Better Living Life Coach. Eva has studied and translated NDE\u2019s and turns to her celestial guides for growth and empowerment. Her site is http:\/\/happyhealthbilingual.posterous.com\/<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Future Love Story,” Eva’s inspirational adventure tale,\u00a0can be found here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to Stories<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many of his 50-something years, a severely depressed Bill Smyth* was living his life as if it didn\u2019t matter. \u201cLooking back,\u201d he says, \u201cI don\u2019t know how I kept going.\u201d\u00a0 In 2000, he and his then-wife lost a son\u00a0who was less than a year old.\u00a0 As happens with many marriages where the loss of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,50,32,16,22],"tags":[123,149,17,10],"class_list":["post-1993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-enlightenment","category-nde","category-self-improvement","category-spiritual","category-thriving-2","tag-enlightenment","tag-nde","tag-spiritual-2","tag-thriving"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":25763,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}