Craig's Near-Death Experience
from Lessons from the Light by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., and Evelyn Elsaesser Valarino
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Since we as a class have had to deal recently with Jane's and Teddy's passing, and since
at this time of our lives we are losing other friends and family, I'd like to share with you
something that might make these leave-takings a bit easier for you. This is what
happened when a young man in his twenties found himself trapped in a river under a
waterfall and unable to free himself:
Craig's Life Review
"I could not believe that this is where my life would end. ...Scenes from my life began to
pass before my eyes at superhigh speeds. It seemed as if I was a passive observer in the
process, and it was as if someone else was running the projector. I was looking at my life
objectively for the first time ever. I saw the good as well as the bad. I realized that these
images were sort of a final chapter in my life, and that when the images stopped, I would
lose consciousness forever. ...I was astonished when I saw myself sitting in a baby's high
chair and picking up some food with my right hand and throwing it onto the floor. And
there was my mom, years younger, telling me that good boys do not throw their food on
the floor. I also saw myself at a lake on a summer vacation when I was about three or four
years old. My older brother and I had to swim with an air bubble on our backs to help us
float because neither of us were able to swim on our own yet. For some reason, I was
mad at him, and to demonstrate my anger, I threw his air bubble into the lake. He was
very upset and began to cry, and my father walked over and explained to me that it was
not nice of me to do what I did, and that I would have to row the boat out with him to get it,
and would have to apologize.... I was amazed at how many scenes I was seeing but had
long since forgotten.... It seemed that all the scenes had to do with experiences I had
either learned from or were traumatic for me in some way. The images continued at high
speeds, and I knew that time was about to run out, for the images were getting closer to
the present.... Then the images ceased... and there was only darkness."
...Craig says he began to relax a little and to surrender to the inevitable. He is aware,
however, of a tingling sensation, beginning in his feet and then spreading over his entire
body, which has the effect of making him feel increasingly relaxed. His body becomes
extremely quiet and his heart stops beating. He no longer feels the need for air and
comments that, paradoxically, he now does not feel uncomfortable in the least. There is a
pause, and then suddenly,
The Dark Void or Tunnel
"I felt myself moving through a dark void. It was like a tunnel, but it was so dark that it
could have been 5 feet in diameter or thousands of miles. I seemed to be picking up
speed and traveling in a perfectly straight line through the void. I felt as if wind was
blowing across my face. There was no actual wind, though; there were only sensations
that would be present if there were wind.
The Light
"I felt as if I were moving at the speed of light through the blackness, and far away in the
distance, I could see a small pinpoint of light that seemed to be growing larger. I somehow
knew that this was my destination. I sped along until it became a huge mass of beautiful
and brilliant white light. I stopped short right before reaching it, for I felt I was getting too
far away from the Earth to find my way back, and I guess I had a feeling that one could
equate with homesickness.
"As I sat there motionless, it seemed as if the light began to float toward me as if to take
up the slack that I had left between us. It was not long before it engulfed me, and I felt as
if I had become one with the light. It seemed to have knowledge of everything there is to
know, and it accepted me as part of it. I felt all-knowing for a few minutes.
Total Knowledge and Boundless Love
"Suddenly, everything seemed to make perfect sense. The whole world seemed to be in
total harmony. I remember thinking, 'Ahhh, so that's it. Everything is so crystal clear and
simple in so many ways.' I had never been able to see it from this point of view.
"Looking back at this point, I cannot explain the questions that were answered, or the
answers themselves. All I know is that they were on a much higher level of thought that
cannot be approached when limited by the physical nature of the mind.... Within the light, I
could still feel the boundaries of my form, but at the same time I felt as one with it. I felt
myself expand through the light over an area that seemed like miles, and then contract to
my former size, which at this point was like a two- or three-foot egg-shaped mass of
energy. I felt better than I had ever felt in my life. It was as if I were bathing in total love
and understanding, and basking in its radiance.... It gave me a sense of traveling a long
distance and finally making it home. I sensed that I had been here before, perhaps before
being born into the physical world.
Back at the River
"All of a sudden, I noticed a floating sensation, as if I were rising. I was shocked to find
that I was floating upwards into the open air above the river. I remember vividly the scene
of the water level passing before my eyes. Suddenly I could see and hear as never
before. The sound of the waterfall was so crisp and clear that it just cannot be explained
by words. Earlier that year, my right ear had been injured when somebody threw an M-80
into a bar where I was listening to a band, and it exploded right next to my head. But now I
could hear perfectly clearly, better than I ever had before. My sight was even more
beautiful. Sights that were close in distance were as clear as those far away, and this was
at the same moment, which astounded me. There was no blurriness in my vision
whatsoever. I felt as if I had been limited by my physical senses all these years, and that I
had been looking at a distorted picture of reality.
"As I floated there about six feet above the water, I gazed downward toward the falls. I
knew that my physical body was eight feet below the surface of the water, but it did not
seem to bother me.... Now, separated from my physical body, I found that I could survive
without all the pain and suffering of physical existence. I had never thought of it as pain
and suffering when I was in my physical body, but now, after experiencing such total bliss
and harmony, it seemed like everything prior to this was like being in some sort of cage.
A Perfect Body
"I felt like I was an energy form that could never be destroyed. I thought of all the
handicapped people in the world who could not see, could not hear, and those who had
lost limbs or were paralyzed. I realized that when they die, these physical limitations would
be cast aside, and they would feel whole again.... It was such a reassuring feeling to know
that all of these people would be set free from their handicapped conditions someday.
"I gazed down the river and could see Don (the friend with whom Craig had gone tubing)
clutching a rock as he looked back at the falls with his mouth hanging open in shock. I
yelled to him, 'Don, I'm up here. I'm OK, look, up here.' He did not respond. There seemed
to be no way for me to communicate with him and I quickly gave up.
At this juncture in Craig's journey back from the light, he has some further curious
experiences, although similar ones have also been occasionally reported by other NDErs.
He finds that his bodiless essence now has the power to enter into and experience
elements of nature, such as trees and rocks, and amuses himself with these strange
sensations....
Thinking and Going
"I felt better than I had ever felt in my life. I felt like I could go anywhere in the universe in
an instant. I remember thinking about my family, and suddenly finding my energy at home
in my backyard, floating above the back porch and looking into the house through the
kitchen window. There was a bird sitting on the window ledge, and I was so amazed that I
could move so close to it without its flying away. I saw a shadow of someone walking
through the kitchen, but I cannot be sure of who it was. Next I found myself floating on a
street corner of a busy city. It was exactly like a scene I had seen while visiting San
Francisco. After each of these excursions I found myself back once again floating above
the sand next to the river.
The Chastising Voice
"I was at the height of my euphoria and looking for something new to experiment with
when a voice thundered through my head. It said, 'What do you think you are doing?
You're not supposed to die yet! ....you must understand that it was not supposed to
happen this way. You promised that you would never give up until every ounce of energy
was used. You remember that wrestling match in high school when you were pinned, and
afterward were disappointed in yourself because you felt you had given up? You just
gave up. I am a little disappointed that you did not try harder to escape.'
"I thought about it, remembered the incident vividly, and the voice was absolutely right. I
had given up rather quickly, and certainly had not used all of my energy to escape, but I
explained that I saw no possible way out. I said, 'And besides, it's too late now anyway, my
body must be filled with water by now.'
Seeing Relatives from the Past
"At this point, I began to see a figure of a man, partially transparent, and old in
appearance. When I realized that this is who I had been communicating with, I also
noticed five other faces to his left. [Further exhortations come from these others and then]
I realized that these spirits or souls seemed to know me very well, and seemed like some
sort of blood relatives from my past, but I didn't recognize them.
"If you die today..."
"The main voice then explained to me that it was not too late to return and suddenly I saw
a thin orange line appear across a black background. It was horizontal, and seemed to
stretch to infinity on either side of a small area that was red and thicker than the rest of
the band. The voice said, 'This red area is your life.' Then a vertical black line cut through
the red area about a quarter of a way of its length. It then said, 'If you die today, this is
where your life will end, but if you choose to live, you can see that you have the potential
to live another three-quarters beyond what you have experienced so far.'
"The entity then showed me scenes of what would happen if I chose to die. I saw my family
in tears, I saw images of police cars, an ambulance, scuba divers, and people from
neighboring houses along the shore trying to get a view of what was happening. I also
saw an image of Don explaining to the police what had happened. These images were
rather unsettling, for I did not want to put my family and friends through that kind of
torment. Then, the voice asked me what I liked about life. I told him I loved music. He
asked if I had done everything with my music that I had wanted to. I answered that I
hadn't, and told him that I had always dreamed of being an opening act for somebody
famous. I then said that I would have liked to open up for someone from the Woodstock
Festival, like Arlo Guthrie, for instance.
Learn Love and Cooperation, and Gather Knowledge
"The voice saw how I gave Arlo Guthrie a sort of hero image and explained to me that he
was no different from the rest of us on Earth, and that if you want something bad enough
it can be yours---as long as you realize that once you get it, you may find that it was not
what you were looking for in the first place. It seemed to say if only people could see
the importance of love and cooperation instead of competitiveness, the world
could be a better place to live. It told me to use my senses to their maximum
potential, and to gather as much knowledge as I could through them.
We Are Immortal
I thought about the time line again, and how it continued past the point where my life
would end, and how it stretched far before the beginning of my human existence. If there
was nothing before and after my life, I wondered why I saw the orange line stretching to
infinity in both directions, and not simply the red area that was designated as my life in
this world. It seemed to be telling me that I existed in some form before this lifetime, and
that I would continue to exist after it ended. The voice then said, 'This place will always be
here waiting for you, and if you want to stay now, I will accept you, but I will be sort of
disappointed if you do not take this opportunity to go back---the choice is yours.'
Back to the Body
"All of a sudden I realized that it was almost going to be a personal insult to this figure if I
did not choose to return to my present life. It was as if he was telling me that an Earthly
existence could be so wonderful if looked at through the right frame of mind. It did not
take me long to realize that, deep inside, I really wanted to go back and live my life to the
fullest. Even though this place made me feel so good, I felt that I could come back here
someday, and that there was no rush. I said, 'Okay,' and before I could get the words, 'I'm
ready,' I shot back into my body like a lightning bolt."
In an instant, Craig becomes aware of the heaviness of his body and his physical pain,
but at the same time feels a tremendous influx of energy that allows him almost to
disregard the pain. Finding that he now was possessed of "the strength of three men," he
fights resolutely to free himself from his underwater predicament and, of course, he
prevails and manages to swim back to the shore, where he collapses on the beach,
utterly exhausted. .... "Even the pain in my lungs felt good."
The Aftermath
"This experience changed my life in many ways. For one, I am no longer the least bit
afraid to die. I know that I would not want to suffer, but I know that the actual dying
process is nothing like what I thought it would be, and that it was probably the most
beautiful and peaceful experience I have ever had. I realize now that our time here is
relatively short, and it makes me want to live my life to the fullest. I found that
among the few things that people can take with them when they die, love is probably the
most important. The only things left after one leaves his or her body are energy,
love, personality, and knowledge. It seems like such a waste of precious time to
become caught up in materialistic modes of thinking. When I hear birds chirping, it sounds
so beautiful and makes me feel so good inside. I notice trees and plants and other living
things more than I ever had before. I guess I seem to get my happiness more from the
little things in life than from things with great monetary value. Life in general seems more
intricate and amazing than ever before. I feel that our bodies are the greatest gift of
all, and I find that most people take them for granted. Most people do not stop to
realize how lucky we are to be alive. I know that I have been given a second chance in life,
and every day is so much more precious to me. Words cannot describe the feeling I get
when I wake up in the morning and the sun is shining in through the window, and it is the
beginning of a new day with all sorts of opportunities to experience new things, and to
learn from them. I know now that an existence after this lifetime awaits all of us, and that
death is not the end, but simply a new beginning."
In Craig's case, however, there was a surprise waiting for him and an eerie confirmation of
something he had been told by the voice during his NDE. In a coda to his account, Craig
relates this story:
"One ironic occurrence after this experience. Three years after this experience, I decided
I wanted to learn how to play the flute. After only a few months, I realized that I could touch
people in the deepest parts of their souls with my playing; sometimes, they would even
cry. I found that it was my way to reach out to many people at a time. Two years after first
picking up the flute, I was playing in a bar, and a man came up to me and asked me if I
would like to be the opening act for Arlo Guthrie at the Shaboo Inn [at the time, a local
club]. I said, "Sure!," as a rush of excitement and the memory of what occurred during my
near-death experience ran through my mind. I had my major dream in life come true. After
performing, I had a tear in my eye as I looked back at the stage and said to myself,
"Maybe the voice was right. Maybe this wasn't what I was looking for after all. Maybe what
I really wanted deep down inside was to feel needed and loved, and to be able to touch
the hearts of many."
About the Author, Kenneth Ring:
In 1975 Raymond Moody, a philosophy Ph.D. studying medicine, published a book of the
experiences of people who had been diagnosed as dead or who had been very near
death, but who had returned to life. He was amazed that these people had had very
similar experiences. He coined the term "NDE" for these "near-death experiences."
Kenneth Ring, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut, was one of the first
researchers to study this phenomenon. He has written several books about the NDE as
his research progressed, but the culmination of them all is Lessons from the Light, which
sets out not only the experiences of those who had NDEs, but the effects on their lives
afterward, and what they learned that life should be about. This book is fascinating!
About Craig
Dr. Ring taught a course on the NDE at the University of Connecticut, and Craig was one
of his students. Craig was a bit older than most of the undergraduates, being in his late
twenties. He revealed about midway through the class that he had had an NDE. At Dr.
Ring's request, he wrote up his experience, and it is included in Ring's book. Craig had
been "rafting" in an inner tube and was pulled over a sharp drop of 4 feet or so. The
river's current was very strong, and there were rocks below. He said, "I was propelled
headfirst into the falls where the force of the water tore me from the tube with sudden
impact and brutal force and sent me crashing to the bottom. I was pinned there by its
never ending supply of overwhelming force." He then found himself trapped, face down in
the sand, and could move only his hands, but there was nothing for him to grasp to get
any leverage. Quickly, he realized that there was no hope.....
Get the book and read more about Craig and other NDE experiencers. You will be
inspired!