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.”
Mellen-Thomas Benedict passed away on March 31, 2017 (see below for details).
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Websites & Background Information
• Mellen-Thomas Benedict Website
• Light Health Research
• DreamSpa Light on Facebook
• Near-Death.com on Mellen-Thomas Benedict
• Scientific Inventions & Discoveries
• People v. Tru-Light Corporation – Final Judgement (pdf)
• Mellen-Thomas Benedict Videos (includes ability to download)
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Adora Deva, Who Is Charged With Handling The Estate Of Mellen-Thomas Benedict, Needs Your Help.
From P.M.H. Atwater’s August 2017 Newsletter
Here’s the scoop from Adora Deva:
“I am very sorry to say there is no money left in Mellen’s Estate to repay anyone who lost money on the pre-purchased Ultra Spa. He had good intentions to finish the project and was not able to do so. His estate is left in a negative with no money in the bank as well as a lien on estate from Purple Haze Press, the publisher that prevented him from telling his story and producing a book. Mellen suffered from depression with having his companies taken from him, then with PHP preventing him from telling his story, and then the accident when he broke his neck and received a concussion. He was never quite the same. It is truly sad for me, being the one who was his business and personal partner to watch Mellen suffer with shame for not being able to finish the Ultra Spa. I myself pre-sold some Light machines to my clients and friends and have to live with the pain of that. Again, I am truly sorry I am unable to refund anyone, as I am trying to come up with money to pay for a memorial to honor the good parts of Mellen that I remember.”
Here’s how you may help: Adora has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay bills and to help with the Memorial to Mellen-Thomas Benedict. In case you have forgotten, Mellen’s near-death experience is one of the most unusual of record; his incredible psychic abilities afterward were proven in medical tests; his understanding of light and how to heal with light led him to become an inventor of note. Unfortunately, his knowledge of business and financing turned out to be severely lacking, which left him unable to protect himself and his inventions from “legal” theft. Please help!
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Obituary – Mellen-Thomas Benedict
May 29, 2017
Mellen-Thomas Benedict was born March 2, 1949, in Fayetteville North Carolina, and passed away March 31, 2017. He left behind his brother Michael Benedict, Uncle Jerry Benedict and former partner of 10 years and dedicated friend Adora Deva, who is processing Mellen’s estate. He also leaves his friends and colleagues Celestine Star, Carolyn Byers, Bob Bell, Kim Kasdorf, J.R. Collier, Richard and Linda Van Donk, Darlene “Shay” Kohnke, Tom Batley, P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., and a loving community.
Mellen was a true renaissance man, an artist, musician and inventor. Family and friends knew him as a master stained glass artist. He even invented stained glass cutting scissors that would not fatigue his hands when working. These stained glass cutting scissors are used world-wide as the industry standard. In following his musical talents, Mellen spent time in his early years playing and writing songs for his band in Atlanta. He enjoyed music and playing his guitar until his passing.
Mellen was known world-wide as a luminary being, a scientist, visionary, speaker, spiritual leader, inventor, workshop leader and author of countless articles on the Near Death Experience (NDE). He offered his genius, sacred wisdom and authentic love to his family, friends and to the world. He enjoyed being on countless radio shows as well as producing several audio series, including White Buffalo Wisdom and Insights from the Other Side. Although he never produced a book, his story was published in many other people’s books on the NDE topic.
Being an inventor he always looked at the world with an eye for how he could make it better, asking, “What does the world need?” Some of Mellen’s light technology inventions include: The Starship, the Inlight Pro, and the Dream Spa. He created other inventions, some very successful others not, such as the Ultra Spa, which he was not yet able to offer to the public at the time he transitioned.
In his role as a film maker, Mellen-Thomas made several commercials and spent time working on the television series, Unsolved Mysteries. He also traveled several times to the Philippines, where he researched psychic surgery, working with powerful shamans to discover the hidden secrets of shamanism. It was during this time that he realized that the Chi energy used by Shamans could also be similarly harnessed with the energy of light. He was always capturing his experiences in photos and film, making many short movies of many of his travels and experiences. In 2012, he produced a film called The Spirit of Gaia, in which he details his views on the history of our Earth and its people, showing where we came from and where we are going.
In 1982, Mellen-Thomas Benedict was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Shortly thereafter he experienced death and miraculously lived to tell about it. He experienced one of the most transcendental NDE ever documented.
While on the other side, Benedict journeyed through various afterlife realms and was given access to Universal Intelligence by which he was allowed to absorb a tremendous amount of spiritual and scientific knowledge, including the nature of reincarnation. Benedict’s enthusiastic curiosity during his NDE took him far into the remote depths of existence, and beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang. He was shown in holographic detail the evolution of Mother Earth (“Gaia”) and experienced the cosmology of our soul’s connection with Gaia. He was given knowledge about humanity’s role in the Universe including a beautiful vision of our future for the next 400 years. Benedict’s ensuing lectures were based primarily on his informative journey in the spiritual realms.
Mellen went on to spend much of his later life lecturing on the scientific and spiritual nature of life. He spoke about the evolution of consciousness, reincarnation and the reality of a Universal Intelligence, which some call God, and became internationally known for this inspirational out of body journey.
He worked closely with P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D, researcher, author and speaker on Near-Death Experience. Following his 1982 NDE, she helped him bring his story to the world, introducing him to the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS). The two remained close colleagues and friends until his passing. Mellen deeply enjoyed sharing his amazing stories and would always captivate a crowd with his enthusiasm and sense of humor. He believed in leaving a legacy by making a difference in the world. In addition to his many patents, inventions, and lectures he also contributed acts of service. During the last few months of his life he volunteered for a local food bank which he found very rewarding.
Mellen will be remembered as a creative humanitarian and a magnetic and magical man. He will be missed by close friends and by the greater world community.
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Mellen-Thomas Benedict Shares His Extraordinary Near-Death Experience
Download a transcript of this audio recording here (pdf)
Excerpt:
I fell into what I can only describe as hell, and what a fall it was. It was as if I was sinking into a suffocating black hole, it was my personal hell. But there were millions of others all around me in their own hells suffering and grieving in every way imaginable. My pain and fear was amplified millions of times. I cannot and do not want to describe this any further than to say it was each individual’s version of eternal misery.
It seemed like I was in hell for eternity, when somehow I noticed that I could still see that speck of light way off in the distance. I also saw that every other hell around me had a speck of light, but no one was paying attention to it. We were all so consumed in our own fear, grief, loss, hopelessness, anger and on and on. There seemed to be no bottom or end to this pain. I felt cut off from and yet somehow intimately connected to all the suffering around me. Feeling cut off by my own pain was the darkest part of this hell for me. And yet all around me were millions of others, each caught up in their own private hell.
In the midst of all my suffering, I remembered that the light became brighter when I called to it. I cried out with all my soul, “Please help me! Please help me!” I now began to focus less on my pain and more on the light. The more I summoned my will to focus on the light, the brighter and more intense it became. It occurred to me that if there was any way out of this place, it was the light. I focused all of my energy, and that was no easy task, and called out to the light with every atom of my being, all without words, just emotion and energy.
Suddenly, everything stopped. There was a great silence in hell, mine and all the others. The intensity of the light continued to grow until I felt spears of light shooting through me, piercing my heart, hands and feet, then my head and eyes, giving me strength. Then, out of the light, a golden beam shaped like a halo came towards me. As it moved closer, I could see that it was a towering golden angel. I had always believed angels to exist only in fairytales, but there before me was the most beautiful angel. I felt so much love emulating from this being, I saw its golden face, powerful wings and shimmering skirt.
I didn’t know what to do, so I asked, “Are you the Angel of Death?”
“There is no death. There is only eternal life,” the angel answered.
“Who are you then? Can you save me, please?” I begged.
“I am your guardian angel, your higher self, your oversoul,” answered the angel, “I have been with you all of your life.”
Upon hearing these words, I became aware of another part of myself, a larger, higher part that I had only glimpsed as a child and in rare dreams throughout my life. I had not understood that this was the larger part of me, the oversoul, or the source of inspiration, my connection to the light. I cried, “Where am I? Am I in hell? Can you save me from this suffering, or must I stay here forever? What did I do to deserve this hell?”
Then I was enveloped in the angel’s shimmering golden skirt. From inside it, it seemed to be transparent. “Look again at your life,” the angel said.
I began to slowly spiral inside the angel’s skirt, seeing again my life’s demons, the shadows, the cold, sticky fire clawing at the skirt all around me. This time, however, I was protected in the skirt of the angel and could see the shadows without fear. The angel explained to me that I was trapped in my negative life issues, that they had consumed me, not just here but all during my life as well. Then I realized that hell is a state of consciousness, very real and existing in both life and what we call death. But consciousness survives death, and the individual takes their issues, positive and negative, with them to the other side.
“So below, so above, and so above, so below,” the angel said, and then, “No soul was ever created to suffer.”
“So why then have I suffered?” I asked.
“Ignorance and fear, fear of survival,” the angel answered, “Look.”
I was shown more aspects of my life in exquisite detail. I realized how ignorant I had been because I did not know how the pieces of life create a tapestry that can be woven, unwoven and rewoven by everything that we do, how every thread has a reason and a purpose. I had come into this world full of fear and anger. I saw my biological father’s life and experienced his rage, allowing me to understand why he was the way he was.
I could see my mother’s fear of survival in her adopted mother’s hands, and later in my father’s hands. This was her program, or life pattern. I also experienced my brother’s life, to whom I had transferred a great deal of fear and anger as it had been transferred to me from my parents. I could see why my grandmother had been so cruel to my mother and why the grandparents on both sides of the family had never felt close to their grandchildren, and so on and on. Every little aspect was playing out. I could see and feel how fear and ignorance dominates so many lives.
“Please, I’ve seen enough! Don’t make me watch this forever,” I pleaded. For the first time, I could begin to see why I was the person I had become. “Can I leave this place? I don’t want to be here anymore,” I asked. Suddenly, everything stopped and there rose a profound silence, except for an ever so slight hiss all around me. I waited it seemed forever for an answer.
“This is your life,” the angel whispered into my right ear, “What do you really want?”
“I want to leave here, please!” I replied.
“Then let go of your negative life issues.”
“What do you mean? How do I do it? I’ll do anything,” I said.
“Listen to me now. You have the power, you have always had the power to be free, awaiting inside you.”
“But how?” I asked.
“Forgive all your life issues, forgive everyone and everything in your life. Fear is the only hell,” said the angel, “Love your life, everyone and everything, and fear no more.”
At that very moment, I came face to face with my life and trusting in life as never before, I said and meant, “I love my life, all of it.” I surrendered, and what an incredible release that was. Loving my life freed me from my hell. I felt free and light, the first inklings of a love light, of being loved like never before.
“The time has come for you. You can leave. You always could,” the angel said, “Now, reach to me and come.”
I reached out emotionally for the angel. I could see millions of souls still trapped in their private hells. Most of them were totally consumed by the traumas they had suffered or created in their lives. A few, from what I could see, seemed to actually be enjoying hell. Some others seemed to be bored with the whole thing. But millions of souls were begging to be saved. I asked why these souls were unable to be free.
“They are already free,” answered the angel, “They hold themselves to negative patterns, memories, prejudices and fear. None of these negative qualities exist where you desire to be.”
I was protected by the angel and we moved at light speed through this realm of hell consciousness. I shouted to the others, “Call to the light! Call to the light! You can leave this place any time! Come on! Let’s leave hell together!” I kept yelling, “Call to the light! Call to the light! You can leave! You can leave!”
And you know, many did call to the light, many souls did leave hell together, sort of a group exodus. I can tell you the whole thing caused quite a ruckus in hell that day. I would meet some of these souls later after my return to life, we recognize each other every time. I sailed with the angel out of hell and through several other realms, like varying degrees of light and dark, finally leaving the darkness behind…
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Near-Death Experiencer Mellen-Thomas Benedict: “Oh Beautiful Human!”
Excerpt:
“The Next question I asked was why would You create humanity? Why would humanity be created when they are such dark and evil beings?
“And at that moment, The Light turned into a mandala, like a big, round stained glass window that was alive and I was breathed into the center of it. In that center it was like I could look into every human soul, including my own. And I could see no evil, at all. No darkness in any human that has ever lived. And that may shock you. It shocked me. But I was there in the nexus, the mandala of human souls. There was something in us all and in all of nature and all of Gaia that’s incorruptible, no matter what you’ve ever done — it’s incorruptible. And that is that Source in you that is perfect, that is there already. And in that moment, I heard The Light say, ‘Oh Beautiful Human.’ It was a blessing. And in that moment, I fell in love with humanity again. And I think that’s when my cancer was cured.”
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Near-Death Experiencer Mellen-Thomas Benedict: ‘Spirit Of Gaia’ Promotional Video
For information about this seminar, go here.
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A Mellen-Thomas Benedict Interview On Coast-To-Coast AM With George Noory
April 2, 2009
Excerpts:
“In one of my visits with the Light I was told that the near-death experience… would become more and more popular and it would have an affect on the entire world when a critical mass was hit and all these people have died and come back and are telling you that there is a lot more going on than we think.”
“The other side is not all it is cracked up to be. There’s a lot you can’t do on the other side. There’s a perfect combination though. A body without spirit is a wasteland and a spirit without a body is a wasteland. And we are the perfect matrix of body and spirit. With body and spirit, you can have it all.”
“Everyone has direct access. Everyone is directly connected to The Source that we all are. There are many ways to get there. There are many ways to experience this. It is as natural as breathing, as natural as sunlight. What we have to realize is that we all have that direct connection. Some can do it through meditation. Some through song and dance. There is a million ways to do it. And no one is ever cut off, or ever will be cut off from The Source that we come from. To really focus it we must — and this is a lesson I had to learn — you must come into a space where you love your life and then everything can flow…”
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Joyce Keller Interviews Near-Death Experiencer Mellen-Thomas Benedict
Excerpts:
“I did, on the other side, ask about the future of the world and was shown the history of prophecy. I was also shown that all the prophecies about the end of the world end in most of our lifetimes… and it’s going to be a paradigm shift because we are going to get past all this end of the world stuff. In fact, you give me any date the world is going to end and I’ll bet the farm on it — that it won’t end.”
“If something ever happened to me again, I would give faith healers and healers the first chance; I would give a miracle the first chance… If someone was all wired up and everything, I would bring a whole bunch of healers in the room, some manifestors, and let them have a go at it. I traveled the world studying these things and I’ve seen people healed of the most amazing things by holy water, holy places, holy men, holy women, and holy moly. I would give a miracle the first chance… the universe is one giant miracle and you are a part of that!”
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The Near-Death Experience of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
By Mellen-Thomas Benedict
Original Link One (Mellen-Thomas Benedict’s Website)
Original Link Two (Near-Death.com)
The Road to Death
In 1982 I died from terminal cancer. The condition I had was inoperable, and any kind of chemotherapy they could give me would just have made me more of a vegetable. I was given six to eight months to live. I had been an information freak in the 1970’s, and I had become increasingly despondent over the nuclear crisis, the ecology crisis, and so forth. So, since I did not have a spiritual basis, I began to believe that nature had made a mistake, and that we were probably a cancerous organism on the planet. I saw no way that we could get out from all the problems we had created for ourselves and the planet. I perceived all humans as cancer, and that is what I got. That is what killed me. Be careful what your world view is. It can feed back on you, especially if it is a negative world view. I had a seriously negative one. That is what led me into my death. I tried all sorts of alternative healing methods, but nothing helped.
So I determined that this was really just between me and God. I had never really faced God before, or even dealt with God. I was not into any kind of spirituality at the time, but I began a journey into learning about spirituality and alternative healing. I set out to do all the reading I could and bone up on the subject, because I did not want to be surprised on the other side. So I started reading on various religions and philosophies. They were all very interesting, and gave hope that there was something on the other side.
On the other hand, as a self-employed stained-glass artist at the time, I had no medical insurance whatsoever. So my life savings went overnight in testing. Then I was facing the medical profession without any kind of insurance. I did not want to have my family dragged down financially, so I determined to handle this myself. There was not constant pain, but there were black-outs. I got so that I would not dare to drive, and eventually I ended up in hospice care. I had my own personal hospice caretaker. I was very blessed by this angel who went through the last part of this with me. I lasted about eighteen months. I did not want to take a lot of drugs, since I wanted to be as conscious as possible. Then I experienced such pain that I had nothing but pain in my consciousness, luckily only for a few days at a time.
I remember waking up one morning at home about 4:30 am, and I just knew that this was it. This was the day I was going to die. So I called a few friends and said goodbye. I woke up my hospice caretaker and told her. I had a private agreement with her that she would leave my dead body alone for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember is the beginning of a typical near-death experience. Suddenly I was fully aware and I was standing up, but my body was in the bed. There was this darkness around me.
Being out of my body was even more vivid than ordinary experience. It was so vivid that I could see every room in the house, I could see the top of the house, I could see around the house, I could see under the house.
The Light of God
There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother’s or father’s arms.
As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.
So as I was moving toward the light I said, “Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go.”
To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are indeed in control of your near-death experience. You are not on a roller coaster ride. So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the light. The light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs.
I asked the light, “What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation.”
I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not.
As the light revealed itself to me, I became aware that what I was really seeing was our Higher Self matrix. The only thing I can tell you is that it turned into a matrix, a mandala of human souls, and what I saw was that what we call our Higher Self in each of us is a matrix. It’s also a conduit to the Source; each one of us comes directly, as a direct experience from the Source. We all have a Higher Self, or an oversoul part of our being. It revealed itself to me in its truest energy form. The only way I can really describe it is that the being of the Higher Self is more like a conduit. It did not look like that, but it is a direct connection to the Source that each and every one of us has. We are directly connected to the Source.
So the light was showing me the Higher Self matrix. And it became very clear to me that all the Higher Selves are connected as one being, all humans are connected as one being, we are actually the same being, different aspects of the same being. It was not committed to one particular religion. So that is what was being fed back to me. And I saw this mandala of human souls. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I just went into it and, it was just overwhelming. It was like all the love you’ve every wanted, and it was the kind of love that cures, heals, regenerates.
As I asked the light to keep explaining, I understood what the Higher Self matrix is. We have a grid around the planet where all the Higher Selves are connected. This is like a great company, a next subtle level of energy around us, the spirit level, you might say.
Then, after a couple of minutes, I asked for more clarification. I really wanted to know what the universe is about, and I was ready to go at that time.
I said, “I am ready, take me.”
The River of Life
Then the light turned into the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen: a mandala of human souls on this planet.
Now I came to this with my negative view of what has happened on the planet. So as I asked the light to keep clarifying for me, I saw in this magnificent mandala how beautiful we all are in our essence, our core. We are the most beautiful creations. The human soul, the human matrix that we all make together is absolutely fantastic, elegant, exotic, everything. I just cannot say enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in that instant.
I said, “Oh, God, I did not know how beautiful we are.”
At any level, high or low, in whatever shape you are in, you are the most beautiful creation, you are.
I was astonished to find that there was no evil in any soul.
I said, “How can this be?”
The answer was that no soul was inherently evil. The terrible things that happened to people might make them do evil things, but their souls were not evil. What all people seek, what sustains them, is love, the light told me. What distorts people is a lack of love.
The revelations coming from the light seemed to go on and on, then I asked the light, “Does this mean that humankind will be saved?”
Then, like a trumpet blast with a shower of spiraling lights, the Great Light spoke, saying:
“Remember this and never forget; you save, redeem and heal yourself. You always have. You always will. You were created with the power to do so from before the beginning of the world.”
In that instant I realized even more. I realized that WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAVED, and we saved ourselves because we were designed to self-correct like the rest of God’s universe. This is what the second coming is about.
I thanked the light of God with all my heart. The best thing I could come up with was these simple words of totally appreciation: “Oh dear God, dear Universe, dear Great Self, I love my life.”
The light seemed to breathe me in even more deeply. It was as if the light was completely absorbing me. The love light is, to this day, indescribable. I entered into another realm, more profound than the last, and became aware of something more, much more. It was an enormous stream of light, vast and full, deep in the heart of life. I asked what this was.
The light responded, “This is the RIVER OF LIFE. Drink of this manna water to your heart’s content.”
So I did. I took one big drink and then another. To drink of life Itself! I was in ecstasy.
Then the light said, “You have a desire.” The light knew all about me, everything past, present and future.
“Yes!” I whispered.
I asked to see the rest of the universe; beyond our solar system, beyond all human illusion. The light then told me that I could go with the Stream. I did, and was carried through the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt and heard a series of very soft sonic booms. What a rush!
Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of life. I saw the Earth fly away. The solar system, in all its splendor, whizzed by and disappeared. At faster than light speed, I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy, and all of the universe, is bursting with many different varieties of LIFE. I saw many worlds. The good news is that we are not alone in this universe!
As I rode this stream of consciousness through the center of the galaxy, the stream was expanding in awesome fractal waves of energy. The super clusters of galaxies with all their ancient wisdom flew by. At first I thought I was going somewhere; actually traveling. But then I realized that, as the stream was expanding, my own consciousness was also expanding to take in everything in the universe! All creation passed by me. It was an unimaginable wonder! I truly was a wonder child; a babe in Wonderland!
It seemed as if all the creations in the universe soared by me and vanished in a speck of light. Almost immediately, a second light appeared. It came from all sides, and was so different; a light made up of more than every frequency in the universe.
The Void
I felt and heard several velvety sonic booms again. My consciousness, or being, was expanding to interface with the entire holographic universe and more.
As I passed into the second light, the awareness came to me that I had just transcended the truth. Those are the best words I have for it, but I will try to explain. As I passed into the second light, I expanded beyond the first light. I found myself in a profound stillness, beyond all silence. I could see or perceive FOREVER, beyond infinity. I was in the void. I was in pre-creation, before the Big Bang. I had crossed over the beginning of time – the first word – the first vibration. I was in the eye of creation. I felt as if I was touching the face of God. It was not a religious feeling. Simply I was at one with absolute life and consciousness.
When I say that I could see or perceive forever, I mean that I could experience all of creation generating itself. It was without beginning and without end. That’s a mind-expanding thought, isn’t it? Scientists perceive the Big Bang as a single event which created the universe. I saw that the Big Bang is only one of an infinite number of Big Bangs creating universes endlessly and simultaneously. The only images that even come close in human terms would be those created by supercomputers using fractal geometry equations.
The ancients knew of this. They said Godhead periodically created new universes by breathing out, and de-creating other universes by breathing in. These epochs were called yugas. Modern science called this the Big Bang. I was in absolute, pure consciousness. I could see or perceive all the Big Bangs or yugas creating and de-creating themselves. Instantly I entered into them all simultaneously. I saw that each and every little piece of creation has the power to create. It is very difficult to try to explain this. I am still speechless about this.
It took me years after I returned to assimilate any words at all for the void experience. I can tell you this now; the void is less than nothing, yet more than everything that is! The void is absolute zero; chaos forming all possibilities. It is absolute consciousness; much more than even universal intelligence.
Where is the void? I know. The void is inside and outside everything. You, right now even while you live, are always inside and outside the void simultaneously. You don’t have to go anywhere or die to get there. The void is the vacuum or nothingness between all physical manifestations. The SPACE between atoms and their components. Modern science has begun to study this space between everything. They call it zero-point. Whenever they try to measure it, their instruments go off the scale, or to infinity, so to speak. They have no way, as of yet, to measure infinity accurately. There is more of the zero space in your own body and the universe than anything else!
What mystics call the void is not a void. It is so full of energy, a different kind of energy that has created everything that we are. Everything since the Big Bang is vibration, from the first word, which is the first vibration.
The Biblical “I am” really has a question mark after it: “I am? What am I?”
So creation is God exploring God’s Self through every way imaginable, in an ongoing, infinite exploration through every one of us. Through every piece of hair on your head, through every leaf on every tree, through every atom, God is exploring God’s Self, the great “I am”. I began to see that everything that is, is the Self, literally, your Self, my Self. Everything is the great Self. That is why God knows even when a leaf falls. That is possible because wherever you are is the center of the universe. Wherever any atom is, that is the center of the universe. There is God in that, and God in the void.
As I was exploring the void and all the yugas or creations, I was completely out of time and space as we know it. In this expanded state, I discovered that creation is about absolute pure consciousness, or God, coming into the experience of life as we know it. The void itself is devoid of experience. It is pre-life, before the first vibration. Godhead is about more than life and death. Therefore there is even more than life and death to experience in the universe!
I was in the void and I was aware of everything that had ever been created. It was like I was looking out of God’s eyes. I had become God. Suddenly I wasn’t me anymore. The only thing I can say, I was looking out of God’s eyes. And suddenly I knew why every atom was, and I could see everything.
The interesting point was that I went into the void, I came back with this understanding that God is not there. God is here. That’s what it is all about. So this constant search of the human race to go out and find God … God gave everything to us, everything is here – this is where it’s at. And what we are into now is God’s exploration of God through us. People are so busy trying to become God that they ought to realize that we are already God and God is becoming us. That’s what it is really about.
When I realized this, I was finished with the void, and wanted to return to this creation, or yuga. It just seemed like the natural thing to do.
Then I suddenly came back through the second light, or the Big Bang, hearing several more velvet booms. I rode the stream of consciousness back through all of creation, and what a ride it was! The superclusters of galaxies came through me with even more insights. I passed through the center of our galaxy, which is a black hole. Black holes are the great processors or recyclers of the universe. Do you know what is on the other side of a black hole? We are; our galaxy; which has been reprocessed from another universe.
In its total energy configuration, the galaxy looked like a fantastic city of lights. All energy this side of the Big Bang is light. Every sub-atom, atom, star, planet, even consciousness itself is made of light and has a frequency and/or particle. Light is living stuff. Everything is made of light, even stones. So everything is alive. Everything is made from the light of God; everything is very intelligent.
The Light of Love
As I rode the stream on and on, I could eventually see a huge light coming. I knew it was the first light; the Higher Self light matrix of our solar system. Then the entire solar system appeared in the light, accompanied by one of those velvet booms.
I saw that the solar system we live in is our larger, local body. This is our local body and we are much bigger than we imagine. I saw that the solar system is our body. I am a part of this, and the Earth is this great created being that we are, and we are the part of it that knows that it is. But we are only that part of it. We are not everything, but we are that part of it that knows that it is.
I could see all the energy that this solar system generates, and it is an incredible light show! I could hear the music of the spheres. Our solar system, as do all celestial bodies, generates a unique matrix of light, sound and vibratory energies. Advanced civilizations from other star systems can spot life as we know it in the universe by the vibratory or energy matrix imprint. It is child’s play. The Earth’s wonder child (human beings) make an abundance of sound right now, like children playing in the backyard of the universe.
I rode the stream directly into the center of the light. I felt embraced by the light as it took me in with its breath again, followed by another soft sonic boom.
I was in this great light of love with the stream of life flowing through me. I have to say again, it is the most loving, non-judgmental light. It is the ideal parent for this wonder child.
“What now?” I wondered.
The light explained to me that there is no death; we are immortal beings. We have already been alive forever! I realized that we are part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly. I was never told that I had to come back. I just knew that I would. It was only natural, from what I had seen.
I don’t know how long I was with the light, in human time. But there came a moment when I realized that all my questions had been answered and my return was near. When I say that all my questions were answered on the other side, I mean to say just that. All my questions have been answered. Every human has a different life and set of questions to explore. Some of our questions are universal, but each of us is exploring this thing we call life in our own unique way. So is every other form of life, from mountains to every leaf on every tree.
And that is very important to the rest of us in this universe. Because it all contributes to the Big Picture, the fullness of life. We are literally God exploring God’s Self in an infinite Dance of Life. Your uniqueness enhances all of life.
Return to Earth
I began my return to the life cycle, it never crossed my mind, nor was I told, that I would return to the same body. It just did not matter. I had complete trust in the light and the life process. As the stream merged with the great light, I asked never to forget the revelations and the feelings of what I had learned on the other side.
There was a “Yes.” It felt like a kiss to my soul.
Then I was taken back through the light into the vibratory realm again. The whole process reversed, with even more information being given to me. I came back home, and I was given lessons on the mechanics of reincarnation. I was given answers to all those little questions I had:
“How does this work? How does that work?” I knew that I would be reincarnated.
The Earth is a great processor of energy, and individual consciousness evolves out of that into each one of us. I thought of myself as a human for the first time, and I was happy to be that. From what I have seen, I would be happy to be an atom in this universe. An atom. So to be the human part of God … this is the most fantastic blessing. It is a blessing beyond our wildest estimation of what blessing can be. For each and every one of us to be the human part of this experience is awesome, and magnificent. Each and every one of us, no matter where we are, screwed up or not, is a blessing to the planet, right where we are.
So I went through the reincarnation process expecting to be a baby somewhere. But I was given a lesson on how individual identity and consciousness evolve. So I reincarnated back into this body.
I was so surprised when I opened my eyes. I do not know why, because I understood it, but it was still such a surprise to be back in this body, back in my room with someone looking over me crying her eyes out. It was my hospice caretaker. She had given up an hour and a half after finding me dead. She was sure I was dead; all the signs of death were there – I was getting stiff. We do not know how long I was dead, but we do know that it was an hour and a half since I was found. She honored my wish to have my newly dead body left alone for a few hours as much as she could. We had an amplified stethoscope and many ways of checking out the vital functions of the body to see what was happening. She can verify that I really was dead.
It was not a near-death experience. I experienced death itself for at least an hour and a half. She found me dead and checked the stethoscope, blood pressure and heart rate monitor for an hour and a half. Then I awakened and saw the light outside. I tried to get up to go to it, but I fell out of the bed. She heard a loud “clunk”, ran in and found me on the floor.
When I recovered, I was very surprised and yet very awed about what had happened to me. At first all the memory of the trip that I have now was not there. I kept slipping out of this world and kept asking, “Am I alive?” This world seemed more like a dream than that one.
Within three days, I was feeling normal again, clearer, yet different than I had ever felt in my life. My memory of the journey came back later. I could see nothing wrong with any human being I had ever seen. Before that I was really judgmental. I thought a lot of people were really screwed up, in fact I thought that everybody was screwed up but me. But I got clear on all that.
About three months later a friend said I should get tested, so I went and got the scans and so forth. I really felt good, so I was afraid of getting bad news.
I remember the doctor at the clinic looking at the before and after scans, saying, “Well, there is nothing here now.”
I said, “Really, it must be a miracle?”
He said, “No, these things happen, they are called spontaneous remission.”
He acted very unimpressed. But here was a miracle, and I was impressed, even if no one else was.
Lessons Learned
The mystery of life has very little to do with intelligence. The universe is not an intellectual process at all. The intellect is helpful; it is brilliant, but right now that is all we process with, instead of our hearts and the wiser part of ourselves.
The center of the Earth is this great transmuter of energy, just as you see in pictures of our Earth’s magnetic field. That’s our cycle, pulling reincarnated souls back in and through it again. A sign that you are reaching human level is that you are beginning to evolve an individual consciousness. The animals have a group soul, and they reincarnate in group souls. A deer is pretty much going to be a deer forever. But just being born a human, whether deformed or genius, shows that you are on the path to developing an individual consciousness. That is in itself part of the group consciousness called humanity.
I saw that races are personality clusters. Nations like France, Germany and China each have their own personality. Cities have personalities, their local group souls that attract certain people. Families have group souls. Individual identity is evolving like branches of a fractal; the group soul explores in our individuality. The different questions that each of us has are very, very important. This is how Godhead is exploring God’s Self – through you. So ask your questions, do your searching. You will find your Self and you will find God in that Self, because it is only the Self.
More than that, I began to see that each one of us humans are soul mates. We are part of the same soul fractaling out in many creative directions, but still the same. Now I look at every human being that I ever see, and I see a soul mate, my soul mate, the one I have always been looking for. Beyond that, the greatest soul mate that you will ever have is yourself. We are each both male and female. We experience this in the womb and we experience this in reincarnation states. If you are looking for that ultimate soul mate outside of yourself, you may never find it; it is not there. Just as God is not “there.” God is here. Don’t look “out there” for God. Look here for God. Look through your Self. Start having the greatest love affair you ever had … with your Self. You will love everything out of that.
I had a descent into what you might call hell, and it was very surprising. I did not see Satan or evil. My descent into hell was a descent into each person’s customized human misery, ignorance, and darkness of not-knowing. It seemed like a miserable eternity. But each of the millions of souls around me had a little star of light always available. But no one seemed to pay attention to it. They were so consumed with their own grief, trauma and misery. But, after what seemed an eternity, I started calling out to that light, like a child calling to a parent for help. Then the light opened up and formed a tunnel that came right to me an insulated me from all that fear and pain. That is what hell really is.
So what we are doing is learning to hold hands, to come together. The doors of hell are open now. We are going to link up, hold hands, and walk out of hell together.
The light came to me and turned into a huge golden angel. I said, “Are you the angel of death?”
It expressed to me that it was my oversoul, my Higher Self matrix, a super-ancient part of ourselves. Then I was taken to the light.
Soon our science will quantify spirit. Isn’t that going to be wonderful? We are coming up with devices now that are sensitive to subtle energy or spirit energy. Physicists use these atomic colliders to smash atoms to see what they are made of. They have got it down to quarks and charm, and all that. Well, one day they are going to come down to the little thing that holds it all together, and they are going to have to call that … God. With atomic colliders they are not only seeing what is in here, but they are creating particles. Thank God most of them are short-lived milliseconds and nanoseconds. We are just beginning to understand that we are creating too, as we go along.
As I saw forever, I came to a realm in which there is a point where we pass all knowledge and begin creating the next fractal, the next level. We have that power to create as we explore. And that is God expanding itself through us.
Since my return I have experienced the light spontaneously, and I have learned how to get to that space almost any time in my meditation. Each one of you can do this. You do not have to die to do this. It is within your equipment; you are wired for it already.
The body is the most magnificent light being there is. The body is a universe of incredible light. Spirit is not pushing us to dissolve this body. That is not what is happening. Stop trying to become God; God is becoming you. Here.
The mind is like a child running around the universe, demanding this and thinking it created the world. But I ask the mind, “What did your mother have to do with this?”
That is the next level of spiritual awareness. Oh! My mother! All of a sudden you give up the ego, because you are not the only soul in the universe.
What Is Heaven?
One of my questions to the light was, “What is heaven?”
I was given a tour of all the heavens that have been created: the Nirvanas, the Happy Hunting Grounds, all of them. I went through them. These are thought form creations that we have created. We don’t really go to heaven; we are reprocessed. But whatever we created, we leave a part of ourselves there. It is real, but it is not all of the soul.
I saw the Christian heaven. We expect it to be a beautiful place, and you stand in front of the throne, worshipping forever. I tried it. It is boring! This is all we are going to do? It is childlike. I do not mean to offend anyone. Some heavens are very interesting, and some are very boring. I found the ancient ones to be more interesting, like the Native American ones, the Happy Hunting Grounds. The Egyptians have fantastic ones. It goes on and on. There are so many of them. In each of them there is a fractal that is your particular interpretation, unless you are part of the group soul that believes in only the God of a particular religion. Then you are very close, in the same ball park together. But even then, each is a little bit different. That is a part of yourself that you leave there. Death is about life, not about heaven.
I asked God, “What is the best religion on the planet? Which one is right?”
And Godhead said, with great love:
“I don’t care.”
That was incredible grace. What that meant was that we are the caring beings here.
The Ultimate Godhead of all the stars tells us:
“It does not matter what religion you are.”
They come and they go, they change. Buddhism has not been here forever, Catholicism has not been here forever, and they are all about to become more enlightened. More light is coming into all systems now. There is going to be a reformation in spirituality that is going to be just as dramatic as the Protestant Reformation. There will be lots of people fighting about it, one religion against the next, believing that only they are right.
Everyone thinks they own God, the religions and philosophies, especially the religions, because they form big organizations around their philosophy. When Godhead said, “I don’t care,” I immediately understood that it is for us to care about. It is important, because we are the caring beings. It matters to us and that is where it is important. What you have is the energy equation in spirituality. Ultimate Godhead does not care if you are Protestant, Buddhist, or whatever. It is all a blooming facet of the whole. I wish that all religions would realize it and let each other be. It is not the end of each religion, but we are talking about the same God. Live and let live. Each has a different view. And it all adds up to the Big Picture; it is all important.
I went over to the other side with a lot of fears about toxic waste, nuclear missiles, the population explosion, the rainforest. I came back loving every single problem. I love nuclear waste. I love the mushroom cloud; this is the holiest mandala that we have manifested to date, as an archetype. It, more than any religion or philosophy on Earth, brought us together all of a sudden, to a new level of consciousness. Knowing that maybe we can blow up the planet fifty times, or 500 times, we finally realize that maybe we are all here together now. For a period they had to keep setting off more bombs to get it in to us. Then we started saying, “We do not need this any more.”
Now we are actually in a safer world than we have ever been in, and it is going to get safer. So I came back loving toxic waste, because it brought us together. These things are so big. As Peter Russell might say, these problems are now “soul size.” Do we have soul size answers? YES!
The clearing of the rain forest will slow down, and in fifty years there will be more trees on the planet than in a long time. If you are into ecology, go for it; you are that part of the system that is becoming aware. Go for it with all your might, but do not be depressed. It is part of a larger thing.
Earth is in the process of domesticating itself. It is never again going to be as wild a place as it once was. There will be great wild places, reserves where nature thrives. Gardening and reserves will be the thing in the future. Population increase is getting very close to the optimal range of energy to cause a shift in consciousness. That shift in consciousness will change politics, money, energy.
What happens when we dream? We are multi-dimensional beings. We can access that through lucid dreaming. In fact, this universe is God’s dream. One of the things that I saw is that we humans are a speck on a planet that is a speck in a galaxy that is a speck. Those are giant systems out there, and we are in sort of an average system. But human beings are already legendary throughout the cosmos of consciousness. The little bitty human being of Earth/Gaia is legendary. One of the things that we are legendary for is dreaming. We are legendary dreamers. In fact, the whole cosmos has been looking for the meaning of life, the meaning of it all. And it was the little dreamer who came up with the best answer ever. We dreamed it up. So dreams are important.
After dying and coming back, I really respect life and death. In our DNA experiments we may have opened the door to a great secret. Soon we will be able to live as long as we want to live in this body. After living 150 years or so, there will be an intuitive soul sense that you will want to change channels. Living forever in one body is not as creative as reincarnation, as transferring energy in this fantastic vortex of energy that we are in. We are actually going to see the wisdom of life and death, and enjoy it.
As it is now, we have already been alive forever. This body that you are in, has been alive forever. It comes from an unending stream of life, going back to the Big Bang and beyond. This body gives life to the next life, in dense and subtle energy. This body has been alive forever already.
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Special Announcement About The Near-Death Experience Of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
By P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D.
Atwater’s E-Newsletter
June 25, 2011
During my first session in 1982 with Mellen-Thomas Benedict about his near-death experience, he used phrases and words to describe it that he now wants clarified.
A particular paragraph from his story that appeared in print on page 77 of the original edition of my book, Beyond the Light, follows:
“In 1982 Benedict was diagnosed as having inoperable cancer. He had retired from the frenzy of filmdom by then and was operating his own stained-glass studio. As his condition worsened, he spent more and more time with his art. One morning he awakened knowing he would die the next day, and he did. As the typical heaven-like scenario began to unfold, Benedict recognized what was happening ‘as it was happening.’ The process was familiar to him because he had read many books about the near-death phenomenon previously. Just as he reached the light at the end of the tunnel, he shouted ‘Stop a minute. This is my death and I want to think about this!’ By consciously intervening, Benedict willfully changed his near-death scenario into an exploration of realms beyond imagining, and a complete overview of history from the Big Bang to four hundred years into the future.”
Mellen-Thomas notes that he is not so much a reader as an experiencer in life, a doer, an inventor, who is fascinated by how things can change for the better and what we can do to ensure this. He states that he never had read a single book about near-death states before his experience, and never meant to imply that he did. He spent less and less time working as his condition worsened, because he was sick and in a deep depression. His memory of that fateful morning was that he died at sunrise. During his near-death experience, just as he reached the Light at the end of the tunnel, he asked the Light: “Can I think about this for a minute?” It was never a “willful” decision on his part. “I was in the presence of Grace and just asked the right question. The Light seemed to be interactive and interested in this fresh new question from a human being.” What he recognized then, while his episode was actually occurring, was that he was an active participant in it. Two hours later his hospice caretaker discovered him and helped him revive. What happened to Mellen-Thomas changes the importance of his narrative. It implies that near-death states may indeed be interactive within the consciousness of the one having it. There is some research, mine and others, to support this implication.
I want you all to know about this discrepancy between what I have in print and what Mellen-Thomas now claims. Yes, I have full backup with his signature to everything I originally wrote. Still, I want to acknowledge how, overtime, any of us can alter what we previously said, once we have a better way to convey what we really meant. This is especially true with near-death experiencers! None of us have the language we need to verbalize what happened to us. The near-death phenomenon is beyond words.
The case of Mellen-Thomas Benedict is genuine. How he chooses to describe it today makes it even more interesting.
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Credibility of NDE Testimony
PMH Atwater Answers A Question About The Credibility Of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
pmhatwater.blogspot.com
November 16, 2013
QUESTION
“First of all, I would like to just thank you for immensely rich work in the field of NDE research and what your books and other writings (on your blog) have meant to me. I live and work as a psychologist near Montreal, Quebec; and in January 2011, I ‘discovered’ NDEs and NDE research through a spiritual quest. This has definitely changed my life and perspective.
“Since then, I’ve devoured dozens and dozens of NDE testimony and research books, joined IANDS, and have been also catching up on a lot of other spiritual “paranormal” topics (ADCs, deathbed visions, children’s past life memories). I’ve read four of your books (Coming Back to Life, Beyond the Light, The New Children and Near-Death Experiences, We Live Forever), which have all been very meaningful and informative to me; and have three others queued up on my reading list. I also attended a talk you gave in Montreal this July at the IIIHS/ SSF conference (which is in my backyard but did not know it even existed!). I was too shy to come and greet and say thank you.
“My question regarding Mellen-Thomas Benedict is because I post as Ninshub on Alex Tsakiris’ Skeptiko forum (I am one of the ‘proponents’ obviously, not a skeptic). I’ve known about his experience, and I know you have mentioned it oftentimes in your blog in regards to different important aspects it highlights. Recently I’ve heard some people cast doubts as to the credibility of Benedict’s NDE testimony and story about recovering from terminal brain cancer, by alleging various moral flaws in his character and business dealings/a lawsuit. I was wondering if you would be inclined, given that you’re so central in the field and I’ve presumed must have met him often or heard him talk, to share any thoughts about this: whether he is the genuine article basically. I assume it is the former, but any of your words on the matter would be highly valued. (I have not had the privilege to hear him speak in person myself.) If you prefer not to share, I respect your decision and if you do, please tell me whether you would allow me or not to share them with the forum. In any event, I’m only glad to take this opportunity to contact you and share my appreciation of your work and commitment. We Live Forever is my favorite book of yours so far! God/Source bless you.”
— Ian
ANSWER
Ian, as a professional, you MUST read The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences. There is a specific chapter in the book for medical people. Also read Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of The Story, as it is a summary of three decades of my work, plus another decade spent back in Idaho, before the near-death experiences that turned my life around. You could scroll through my website and gain even more information, check my blogs, and subscribe to my free monthly newsletter (you do this on my website at www.pmhatwater.com). I do everything I can to make reasonable and sound information easily available.
Mellen-Thomas Benedict was part of my original research base. My husband and I personally journeyed to his home (then in Fayetteville, North Carolina), and spent a great deal of time with him, some with his mother and then girl friend. I’ve followed his work ever since – his creations and his mistakes, the lawsuits against him, and the difficulty he has had taking his inventions (most of them coming from his near-death experience), testing them, manufacturing them, and then selling them to the public or to medical institutions. I can say point-blank that his near-death episode is genuine. I have viewed the before and after X-rays of his brain. The tumor was clearly there before he died; it disappeared after he revived. His is certainly not the only such case – of instantaneous healing after a near-death experience. There have been many. Some far more dramatic than his. He was one of those who was given to understand, during his near-death state, how to invent certain items and design systems (both mechanical and cultural). In that sense, his case differs from the average, as his passion now addresses the human family and how to improve things and systems on our planet. Yes, there are personal elements to his experience, so personal he has great difficulty discussing them. That may change in the future, depending on his readiness and willingness to share more deeply.
When you read about or consider near-death experiences, you must also realize that there are aftereffects. . . a pattern of physiological and psychological changes that for the vast majority, child or adult, become lifelong. This is what throws professionals like yourself when trying to deal with them or engage in any type of counseling or guidance. That means what we’re talking about here is the near-death phenomenon that consists of both an experience and a pattern of aftereffects. You cannot separate one from the other and be honest or know what you are talking about. It takes a minimum of seven to ten years to integrate one of these experiences. No short cuts. It really does take that long – longer for child experiencers (20 to 30 years), as they do not connect the “dots” between what happened to them growing up, how they differed, with their childhood episode. There are so few professionals as yourself who even know about this, much less are trained to handle it or even take appropriate action with such a client or patient.
Having said this, I want to go back to Mellen-Thomas. I believe his ventures into the business world were innocent, sincere, and honest. Those who came forward to develop and market his products may have been less so. He endured clash after clash. Hence, the rumor-mill has run wild about his dealings. The controversy is over now. His chosen path hence forward is presenting multimedia shows and skype workshops that focus on today’s facts (like over-population) and what he learned about this on “the Other Side.” Since he was a gifted multimedia professional before he died, I suspect anything he does along that line will be superb. Whatever mistakes he made in the past have been more than corrected and repaired. People are quick to forget how advanced his healing lights are, and what a gifted and unbelievable inventor he still is. I hope someday he returns to systems work, as well. We need his genius.
— Blessings, PMH
