Dead 3 Minutes - Learns His Purpose in NDE

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Since the dawn of time, man's deepest questions

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have revolved around the reality of an afterlife.

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Of course, there's never been a way to know until

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now. Witnesses of the world beyond, hope in a

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better existence, overwhelming, unconditional

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love, real people, real experiences and a glimpse

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into the eternities. This is Round Trip Death.

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Welcome, welcome to Round Trip Death, everybody.

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We're going to have a fun show today. We've got

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Richard Green on the podcast. And I just want

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to throw out a couple of things that we're going

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to be talking about first before we let Richard

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talk. Say hi, Richard. Hello there, everybody.

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We're going to be talking about some big questions,

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for example, the meaning of life. I mean, seriously,

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yeah, we're going to touch on that. I can't guarantee

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we have all the answers, but we'll be talking

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about that, about gratitude, about love, about

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fear, about, geez, just all kinds of things with

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someone who died and saw the other side for about

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three minutes. So it could be profound. Anyway,

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Richard, good morning again and welcome to the

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show. Good morning, Eric. Thank you for having

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me. I really appreciate being here. And you're

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in North Carolina, right? Yes, sir. I am. We've

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been here for about 10 years now. We are Boomerang

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parents. Our children had grown and they wound

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up settling in North Carolina and family is the

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center. piece of, I think, everybody's life.

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We have a very close family, so we move close

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so we can be near the grandkids. That's fantastic.

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Well, I'd love to get to know you a little bit

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more, for our listeners to get to know you a

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little bit more. That was a perfect start. Give

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us another one minute. Who's Richard? Richard

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is a recovering business leader, if you will.

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I retired about three different times. I had

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been a banker. I had been in not -for -profit

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agriculture. And most recently, I was the executive

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director of the North Carolina Craft Brewers

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Guild, got everybody through the pandemic. And

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that was a drop -the -mic moment. I felt it was

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time to finally and fully retire and spend time

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with the family. So life is just good. Wow. Most

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of us are jealous. Life is grand. I saw something

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the other day that said, you know, you only live

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once is wrong. Because you really only die once

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and you live every day. I was very fortunate

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to be able to die once and come back and be able

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to tell the story. But I don't think that that's

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common in our society. No, it's not common in

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any society for people to get to die twice or

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Some even three or four times, but there's a

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whole lot to be learned from it. Why don't we

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start there? Why don't we go to the beginning?

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We're gonna talk a lot about what you learned

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from this experience But take us back to the

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health problems that you were having and let's

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start there from the very beginning Sounds great,

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you know and the funny thing is I wasn't having

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any health problems that I knew about my NDE

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happened about 25 years ago. I was Still in the

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process of racing bicycles now, albeit it was

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in the master's division, I was on a training

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ride and riding on a flat tire on a very, very

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hot, humid Missouri day. And apparently I got

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dehydrated. The long and short was I felt awful.

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I got home. My wife said, you look awful. What's

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wrong? And I said, well, I feel like I have an

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elephant sitting on my chest. And she goes, oh,

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let's go to the hospital. And I'm a guy. I said,

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no, I just need a nap. So she called a friend

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of ours who was a doctor and told him the story

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of my bike ride and the bonk and all that other

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good stuff. And he said, well, I have two questions

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for you. And I said, go Bob, what are they? And

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he says, well, one, do you have a history of

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heart disease in your family? And unfortunately,

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I do. And then he said to me, he goes, well,

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that's interesting. And he says, well, Next question

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is, do you have a family? Which was true wake

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-up call for me. So I said, oh, OK, I get it.

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My wife and I packed up. We went to the hospital.

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And fortunately, we did. They initially didn't

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find anything wrong. They decided to do the various

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tests and wound up getting some stents. Well,

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after that process was over is when we don't

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know what happened. All I know is that I died

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and came back. Were you still in the hospital

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or were you at home when it happened? No, I was

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in the hospital after the procedure. They took

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me to, it was called telemetry. So it's not an

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ICU because it wasn't, you know, it was a cardio

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cath, so it wasn't that big of a deal, supposedly.

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And two nurses were working on me, getting me

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comfortable. And I told them that, you know,

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I feel really sick. I feel like I'm going to

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throw up. And he said, well, let's lay the bed

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back and you know, that should pass. Well, when

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they did that, it was like you turned off the

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light switch in the kitchen or you flip the main

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circuit breaker in the house. All of my mortal

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senses went away. I had no pain. I had no distress.

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I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything,

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taste, feel. It was all gone. But a completely

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different reality took its place. There aren't

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really words that can describe it. I know there

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are a lot of metaphors that people have used,

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analogies, you know, walking through the tunnel

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into the light. points of light. They're all

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true in trying to explain that experience, but

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they fall short of the bliss that is really going

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on. And it takes a little while to kind of grasp

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what's happening, if you will. So that was my

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initial sense. It was like, what happened? Because

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everything I knew was off, but yet I seemed to

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be traveling somewhere, something and surrounded

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by something. And what I've come to understand

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that to be is I was surrounded and part of the

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oneness of creation. It's the only way I have

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come to be able to describe this, this feeling

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of complete bliss and love that I was engulfed

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with for this three minutes, which I have to

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tell you. That three minutes seemed like a week.

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It was incredible, this journey that I went on.

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Well, give me more details. I'd love A, B, C,

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D, E, if it went chronologically. If not, just

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throw out details that you remember. Well, I

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don't know that I can think about it chronologically.

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I want to throw in one of those those Zen sayings.

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It's out there. You know, what is the sound of

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one hand clapping, right? So they let they laid

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the bed back The circuit breaker broke and I

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was like what just happened. I Distinctly remember

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going through this this thought process and then

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I distinctly remember this feeling of of traveling

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somewhere. It was very distinct and very real.

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And the whole time that this was happening, I

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felt like I was being embraced, if you will.

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I don't know any other word to describe that.

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And it seemed in those moments, for years, I

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had really struggled to describe what this was

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like, and that's where I finally came up with

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the oneness of creation. In that time and space

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there, I was surrounded by not the people, like

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my mother and father, not their faces, but their

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being, if you will, their souls. Everybody that

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I ever knew that had passed before me, I had

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felt them there as though we were all part of

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one thing, not necessarily as individuals. But

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I knew that they were there if that makes any

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sense. And then, you know, just as I'm starting

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to get this sense of, oh, my, you know, this

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is, you know, this is the other side. I came

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back and what was two nurses in in this room

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was now about six or seven people. And they had

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the AED paddles, they were greasing them up,

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and somebody had some gigantic hypodermic needle,

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and I looked at them, and I thought, whoa, whoa,

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and they said, well, welcome back. And quite

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frankly, for about five minutes, I felt like

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a million dollars. I mean, I felt like I could

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have run a marathon. And these people started

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to filter out of the room, and I'm trying to

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process, what the heck just happened to me here?

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And the head nurse... Said here I want to show

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you something and she went over to the EKG machine

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and she brought a stack of papers It was about

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three minutes worth that just more than you think

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in terms of the size of the paper And it was

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just one flat line So, you know for positive

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that you didn't just pass out because you actually

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saw the EKG Thank you. Yes. Yes. No, this was

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this was not a pass out This was a pass on. And

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for some reason, I mean, I don't know why or

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how I came back. I don't remember anybody saying,

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no, we're not ready for you yet. I don't remember

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anybody really talking to me in the sense that,

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you know, we're talking, but yet everything was

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present. Everything was wrapped into one thing.

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That's really hard to describe, but hopefully.

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giving you a sense. I think the oneness of creation

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kind of covers that. Yeah, you don't have to

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see everything to be able to feel it and know

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that it's there, right? No, you don't. It engulfs

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you. You become part of it. You know, it's a

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little background. My degree is in the history

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of thought. I had always wondered, even though

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I became a businessman and did finance and all

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those other things, I always wondered, why are

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we here? What are the biggest questions that

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we have? What is my purpose? Thousands and thousands

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of books have been written about it, and I don't

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know that anybody has a clear answer, so I decided

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to study it and figure out how to think. I don't

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know that I really know how to think or not,

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but I had this experience and what it demonstrated

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to me was in this singularity of creation. We

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are all one thing and that one thing Unites us

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and so I guess I look at it in our in our mortal

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life is it if we can think of the word spirit

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or consciousness and soul as two distinct things

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Where our spirit or consciousness is our is our

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living being it's the way we act. It's when we

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love it's when we fear It is our being here Yet

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her soul is that spark of life that is creation.

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And I think that in those moments when I was

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clinically dead, those two things united. And

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that left me with a, not a sense, it answered

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my question. You know, the old song is this all

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there is my friend and let's keep dancing. Well,

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there is a... There is a oneness there that I'm

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a part of, that you're a part of, that everybody

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is a piece of. And quite frankly, I think if

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everybody could spend two or three minutes clinically

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dead, come back, we would not have any of the

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issues of hate and fear that we have today. It

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just wouldn't exist. So I'm guessing that your

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fear of death left after that? You know, I didn't

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know, I've never really been afraid of death.

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I've never thought about, oh my god, this is

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the end. When I use fear, let me put it in a

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different context for you, okay? I think that

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as humans, we have two primary emotions. We certainly

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have lots and lots of emotions in varying degrees,

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but I think the two primary emotions that drive

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us are love and fear. And fear, Is that piece

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inside of us it says we can't do something or

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i don't i'm ugly or i'm not capable those are

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our internal fears. And then there are external

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fears where i'm afraid of what i don't know you

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know that person might hurt me where the situation

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might hurt me. Most cases that kind of fight

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or flight fear it keeps us alive i mean it's

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instinctual we need it. But oftentimes people

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use. that fear to divide us from our humanity,

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from our soul. That is what got answered for

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me. I mean, it's inevitable we're all going to

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die. You know, we just don't know when that's

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going to be. And it's OK. You know, we have a

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life. And if we can live that life honestly,

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if we can live that life with compassion, curiosity,

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gratitude, humility and kindness, Then I think

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it's better for everybody because we can't control

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what happens. You know, we everything we do we

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react I mean we we can control our posture, you

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know, let me sit up straight and we can control

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our attitude Most of the time because we react

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to everything my experience my NDE Confirmed

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to me that This oneness of humanity that we're

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all in this together is real. It's not something

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separate. And what that experience did was it

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took away those insecurities that I had internally.

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Am I doing the right thing? How should I act?

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That's the fear that went away. If I could just

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interject a few thoughts that I have here on

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this topic. The topic of oneness I think is one

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of the hardest for people to understand and to

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wrap their mind around that haven't had an experience

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like yours. And so let me use an example. I once

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met someone that had the opportunity to be an

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astronaut and to go up in the shuttle and take

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a trip around the earth quite a few times for

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a few days and came back and he talked about

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the oneness. He said, From up there, we're all

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part of this earth and this humanity. If everybody

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could see that perspective, just like you said,

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there would be no war. There would be no hate.

00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:36.750
There would be no all this kind of stuff. I don't

00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:39.730
know a better way to explain it than that. Everybody's

00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:41.850
going to have to figure that one out on their

00:16:41.850 --> 00:16:44.789
own, I think. Let me, and then one other thing

00:16:44.789 --> 00:16:47.450
that I wanted to touch on. and you're talking

00:16:47.450 --> 00:16:51.409
about fear a lot, and we've talked a lot on this

00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:57.610
show about love versus fear, and we tend to think

00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:01.809
that the opposite of love is hate, and by definition,

00:17:02.129 --> 00:17:05.289
yes, it is, but also the opposite of love is

00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:08.910
fear, and I think hate fits under fear. Hate

00:17:08.910 --> 00:17:11.789
usually comes because we're afraid of something,

00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:17.000
of somebody for some reason. And I know that

00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:22.720
the frequency and the feelings of fear and love

00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:27.180
can't really exist in the same place. While you

00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:30.359
were in your three minutes, wherever you were,

00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:33.579
did you have any, you mentioned bliss, and we'll

00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:36.759
talk about that in a minute, did you have any

00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:43.380
feeling of fear or hate or love? Great question.

00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:50.599
I had no fear, and I agree with you. Hate is

00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:54.180
a subset of fear. Self -loathing is a subset

00:17:54.180 --> 00:18:01.220
of fear. The lack of curiosity, isolation is

00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:08.619
a subset of fear. None of that existed in my

00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:13.279
three -minute experience. What I did experience

00:18:13.549 --> 00:18:17.470
I was enfolded in... I used the word bliss. I

00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:21.170
could easily use the word love. You know, if

00:18:21.170 --> 00:18:24.569
I were speaking in a religious sense, I would

00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:27.990
say that I felt the hand of God on my heart.

00:18:28.309 --> 00:18:33.430
I felt the divine. All of that, it fits. I deliberately

00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:37.109
use secular terms because sometimes religious

00:18:37.109 --> 00:18:40.710
concepts can set people off in different directions.

00:18:40.809 --> 00:18:43.480
And I think that there's... What I experienced

00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:48.339
was a unity and that unity was what we would

00:18:48.339 --> 00:18:52.579
describe as love. There was no fear. It was just

00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:57.519
this is the understanding of all things are connected

00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:02.700
to one another in a way that we will as human

00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:05.339
beings and mortal living things we will never

00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:08.519
understand until we can step like your astronaut

00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:11.240
till we can step far enough away. A metaphor

00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.980
that I've used for people is, I stole it from

00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:16.799
Alan Watts, actually. Brilliant philosopher.

00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:21.140
He was trying to understand the singularity of

00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:26.400
creation. From our distance is like looking at

00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.579
a black cat behind a white picket fence at about

00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:34.099
six inches. You see a white stripe and you see

00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:37.460
a black stripe. But yet, if you can step a block

00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:41.819
away, you see a little white picket fence and

00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:47.019
a black cat behind it. That's what this experience

00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:53.160
was for me. It was that, oh, this is it. This

00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:57.039
is what love is. This is what being connected

00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:02.180
is. And it just put that exclamation point on

00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:06.259
it for me that any doubt that I had was gone.

00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:09.240
Just so people can figure out how to relate to

00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:13.859
this feeling a little bit. In this life, have

00:20:13.859 --> 00:20:16.000
there been any times that you've at least had

00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.539
a little glimpse or a little feeling that was

00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.000
similar to this bliss and this love that you

00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:26.099
felt there? Oh, yeah. Both before and after.

00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:29.980
All the time. For those of you who are parents

00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:33.819
or grandparents, the first time you see your

00:20:33.819 --> 00:20:36.630
child. and they open their eyes and they look

00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:41.509
at you. It's that awe that comes from that. Sometimes

00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:44.589
it's places. It happened to me at Mesa Verde.

00:20:44.829 --> 00:20:47.650
We got out of the car and we started to walk

00:20:47.650 --> 00:20:51.150
towards the ruins of the cliff dwellings. And

00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:54.829
I was overwhelmed with awe, just like, oh my

00:20:54.829 --> 00:21:00.130
God. The last total eclipse that happened to

00:21:00.130 --> 00:21:05.599
me as well, it was just the power and totality

00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:10.039
of creation was just put there for me. I just

00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:13.200
think if you quiet your mind and you look like

00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.140
the birth of your child, your mind is quiet.

00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:18.299
You're just looking at that hope and possibility.

00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:21.160
I think that's probably the most common example,

00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:26.539
but I think if people stop and breathe and just

00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:31.059
be, they'll feel that in those special and quiet

00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:35.509
places and times. When you were in Mesa Verde,

00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:40.670
did you find yourself whispering? Yes, I did.

00:21:40.809 --> 00:21:43.269
Same thing when we were in Gettysburg, too, when

00:21:43.269 --> 00:21:48.869
we did a big family vacation. I'll use the word

00:21:48.869 --> 00:21:52.289
mystical. There are mystical places where there

00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:56.210
is a lot of power that is concentrated. I don't

00:21:56.210 --> 00:22:00.089
know how or why that is. I know I've studied

00:22:00.089 --> 00:22:04.420
a lot of Native American thought. and many indigenous

00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:08.740
tribes, their concept of life is not based on

00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:12.660
time like our Western mind is, rather it's based

00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:17.259
on space. And there are holy places where you

00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:21.660
can connect with that oneness of creation. I

00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:24.220
don't know what's right or what's not. I know

00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:27.740
that as humans, we just struggle to find this

00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:32.099
purpose and meaning. And when you are given the

00:22:32.099 --> 00:22:34.680
opportunity, whether it hits you over the head

00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.839
like it did me, or whether it's more subtle and

00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:40.019
you're able to get it from meditation, it's there

00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:43.099
and it's real. Okay, I appreciate all of that.

00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:46.660
I'm curious, after this happened, who did you

00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:51.519
tell about it? Oh, pretty much a pre -buddy that

00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.059
I could, you know, talk to and say, oh my god,

00:22:54.099 --> 00:22:56.299
this happened. I don't know what happened, but

00:22:56.299 --> 00:23:00.109
this happened. And literally I spent you know

00:23:00.109 --> 00:23:04.329
more than two decades just working in my own

00:23:04.329 --> 00:23:08.150
head to try to how do you explain this and not

00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:10.869
because oh this was a cool thing that happened

00:23:10.869 --> 00:23:14.450
to me but more because you know what there's

00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:17.650
there's a message one of my co -workers when

00:23:17.650 --> 00:23:20.450
this had happened he asked me well what what

00:23:20.450 --> 00:23:22.829
are you going to do with this now that this happened

00:23:22.829 --> 00:23:24.890
how are you going to change your life what are

00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:27.250
you going to do with this and i thought about

00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:29.779
that a lot I don't know that I changed my whole

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:33.700
life a lot, in that I always thought that, you

00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:35.759
know, honesty is the best policy and you have

00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:38.140
to be accountable. I've always attempted to be

00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:40.859
the best human being I could be at any given

00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:43.980
point in time. But I struggle, what do you do

00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:49.240
with this? And over the years, as life has ebbed

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:51.799
and flowed, it's come to me at this point in

00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:54.059
time where it's like, you know what, there's

00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:56.980
an important message here. And I think it's important

00:23:56.980 --> 00:24:00.309
to talk about it. especially in these times where

00:24:00.309 --> 00:24:03.549
everything is so divisive. Everybody, I think,

00:24:03.569 --> 00:24:08.730
needs a reminder to slow down a minute and think.

00:24:09.009 --> 00:24:11.049
You know, when you put your socks on this morning,

00:24:11.150 --> 00:24:13.269
Eric, you did left foot, right foot or right

00:24:13.269 --> 00:24:15.349
foot, left foot, one or the other. I don't have

00:24:15.349 --> 00:24:20.410
socks on today. Sorry. All right. Mess up my

00:24:20.410 --> 00:24:22.809
analogy. Why don't you? I've got pants on. It's

00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:25.549
the same thing. Just giving you a hard time.

00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:28.500
That's it, you know, but what we're hungry we

00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:31.059
want food, you know, when it's when it's cold

00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:34.339
and wet we want shelter and warmth Yeah, and

00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:37.119
when we're sad and lonely, we want somebody to

00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:39.759
love us and hug us You know, we all want our

00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.680
children to do better than we did. That's humanity

00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:47.160
and I Think many times we forget that we get

00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:51.460
caught up in our own World we get caught up in

00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:53.839
this is happening and that's happening. I think

00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:57.440
humans are naturally Gossips were social creatures.

00:24:57.539 --> 00:25:01.299
So yeah, and and what travels quicker bad news

00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:04.779
So, you know what time for a kindness revolution.

00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.940
Let's uh spread some good news. I love it And

00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:11.740
to go with what you just said about this is happening

00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:14.980
and that's happening We often are self -centered

00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:18.140
enough to go. This is happening to me and that's

00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:21.440
happening to me That's why we need to get out

00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.779
of ourselves Think about others and do for others

00:25:24.910 --> 00:25:27.190
When you and I were talking the other day, the

00:25:27.190 --> 00:25:29.529
word gratitude came up a lot. I wrote it down

00:25:29.529 --> 00:25:33.170
in my notes. How does that fit in with what you

00:25:33.170 --> 00:25:35.849
learned? I said a little bit earlier. I think

00:25:35.849 --> 00:25:40.750
that the foundation of our lives is honesty.

00:25:40.809 --> 00:25:42.509
We have to be honest with others. We have to

00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:46.490
be honest with ourselves. But built on that foundation

00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:52.869
is compassion, curiosity, gratitude, humility,

00:25:52.990 --> 00:25:57.650
and kindness. Gratitude, you know, stuff happens

00:25:57.650 --> 00:26:01.130
all the time. You know, we're in the big pond

00:26:01.130 --> 00:26:04.230
of life, everybody's throwing rocks in it, and

00:26:04.230 --> 00:26:07.490
we're going to get hit with ripples. It's important,

00:26:07.490 --> 00:26:10.569
I think, to take the view, again, quiet yourself

00:26:10.569 --> 00:26:13.410
and look at what, while there may be a lot of

00:26:13.410 --> 00:26:16.250
bad things happening, there is so much to be

00:26:16.250 --> 00:26:20.539
grateful for. And when you can turn that this

00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:23.299
is happening to me as you as you had said or

00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:25.740
these you know this is happening in the world

00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:31.980
and you say you know I am grateful for and I

00:26:31.980 --> 00:26:34.400
do that every morning I have spent about a half

00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.440
an hour stretching and meditating and and part

00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.839
of part of that half hour is a practice of gratitude

00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:45.569
I'm grateful that I have the life that I have.

00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:48.450
I'm grateful that my children have grown and

00:26:48.450 --> 00:26:50.769
brought me wonderful grandchildren and that we're

00:26:50.769 --> 00:26:54.089
close as a family. I'm grateful that I have had

00:26:54.089 --> 00:26:56.670
the opportunities that I've had. I'm grateful

00:26:56.670 --> 00:26:59.750
I get to interact with so many different people

00:26:59.750 --> 00:27:04.390
and spread the same word. There's always something

00:27:04.390 --> 00:27:08.470
there to be grateful for. Even if you're having

00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:12.180
a lousy day, you know it's like okay i'm grateful

00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:14.460
because there's something i can learn from this

00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:20.240
it can fix your lousy day too absolutely absolutely

00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:24.900
i think those five pillars compassion which is

00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:28.039
you know trying to walk in somebody else's shoes

00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:32.339
curiosity having the the fortitude and the open

00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:35.680
mind to say wait there's something bigger better

00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.710
different than what I'm thinking in my world.

00:27:38.910 --> 00:27:42.170
Let me be open and hear it. Gratitude, we just

00:27:42.170 --> 00:27:47.130
talked about. Humility is, again, getting out

00:27:47.130 --> 00:27:49.130
of yourself and just saying, OK, we're going

00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:51.730
to do this together. Because quite frankly, we

00:27:51.730 --> 00:27:57.289
are a gigantic team. There's an old Nigerian

00:27:57.289 --> 00:27:59.890
proverb that says, if you want to go fast, go

00:27:59.890 --> 00:28:03.269
alone. If you want to go far, go together. We're

00:28:03.269 --> 00:28:07.079
wired to go together. So in order to do that,

00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:10.539
it's not, look at me, go, go, go. It's like,

00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:12.559
well, let's do this. And that's being humble.

00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:15.619
And then, of course, the underlying to all of

00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:18.779
that is kindness. When you're in the grocery

00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:21.400
store and everybody has their little name tag

00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.079
and somebody's checking you out, call them by

00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:27.579
their name. Just simple little things like that

00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:31.819
that just make life go so much smoother. Is there

00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:35.720
more to this for, as you told me, you've learned

00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:38.759
more about the purpose of life. I think you've

00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:41.299
already covered a lot of it. Is there any more

00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:45.180
that you want to fill in? You know, in all honesty,

00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:48.140
I think that that foundation that we just talked

00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:51.640
about is really the key. I think the difficult

00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:54.740
part for all of us, you know, I'll go back to

00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:56.940
that fear and love conversation we had a little

00:28:56.940 --> 00:29:01.259
bit earlier. I think the difficult part For all

00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:04.880
of us is to step outside of ourselves to remind

00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:07.859
ourselves that We are part of everything and

00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:11.599
what we do and what we how we react impacts so

00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:15.519
many other people So so step back. That's a practice.

00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.690
We need to develop those habits I'm still working

00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:20.990
on developing those habits every day. I still

00:29:20.990 --> 00:29:24.269
get annoyed and angry at the guy who's driving

00:29:24.269 --> 00:29:26.609
like a knucklehead because I never drive like

00:29:26.609 --> 00:29:28.490
a knucklehead. It's always the other person.

00:29:28.809 --> 00:29:32.750
We're perfect drivers. Absolutely. Exactly. Exactly.

00:29:33.269 --> 00:29:37.750
I think that's that is that reminder the NDE

00:29:37.750 --> 00:29:42.130
for me put an exclamation mark on that and allows

00:29:42.130 --> 00:29:46.750
me when I have my doubts, which everybody does,

00:29:47.150 --> 00:29:51.269
I come back to that and it helps center me. That's

00:29:51.269 --> 00:29:54.569
why I do that practice in the morning, because

00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:57.069
I'm old, I need to stretch, but I'm going to

00:29:57.069 --> 00:29:59.670
use that time to say, okay, how are we going

00:29:59.670 --> 00:30:01.650
to make this day better? What are we going to

00:30:01.650 --> 00:30:05.430
do? And continue that mantra in my head. And

00:30:05.430 --> 00:30:08.349
that's, I'd recommend that to anybody and everybody.

00:30:09.089 --> 00:30:11.970
I think as you put it, this NDE didn't change

00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:14.670
you that much. I think it's because you were

00:30:14.670 --> 00:30:17.700
already a really good person. Well, thank you.

00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:20.680
It didn't need to it just like you said it just

00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:25.359
put an asterix on it Yeah, it's I grew up in

00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:29.940
I came of age in the in the middle late 60s early

00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:37.400
70s. It was arguably even more chaotic and crazy

00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:40.200
time than we have today. There were political

00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:43.160
assassinations in our country. We had cities

00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:48.059
on fire. We were fighting in a war that seemed

00:30:48.059 --> 00:30:53.740
and was senseless. And yet, I'm growing up with,

00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:57.119
you know, parents who taught me love is the answer.

00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:02.430
You know, our music told us that. And I had a

00:31:02.430 --> 00:31:04.809
really hard time reconciling, although that's

00:31:04.809 --> 00:31:06.549
like, quite frankly, that's why I studied the

00:31:06.549 --> 00:31:09.009
history of thought. I had a hard time reconciling

00:31:09.009 --> 00:31:12.089
that because it's always better to be good. That

00:31:12.089 --> 00:31:14.329
path, being honest, yeah, you may get in the

00:31:14.329 --> 00:31:17.029
trouble, you know, over doing something wrong,

00:31:17.130 --> 00:31:19.670
but we're going to do something wrong. If I lie

00:31:19.670 --> 00:31:21.890
about it, it's going to get a whole lot worse.

00:31:22.349 --> 00:31:26.210
So let's just try to do the right thing. My parents

00:31:26.210 --> 00:31:28.750
instilled that in me. I tried to instill that

00:31:28.750 --> 00:31:32.460
in my kids. They heard from me. ad nauseum, you

00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:34.539
know, what's done in the dark comes out in the

00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:39.279
light. But it seemed to work. And thanks for

00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:42.500
mentioning music. Didn't the Beatles say all

00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:47.920
we need is love? Yes, indeed. As a matter of

00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:52.079
fact, I've used that line many times. All right.

00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:55.720
Hey, before I let you go. I did want to mention

00:31:55.720 --> 00:31:59.200
you've got a book out, Finding the Eye of the

00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:02.460
Storm. I can't wait to read it. Is there anything

00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:05.359
you want to mention about that? Yeah, thank you.

00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.839
In trying to describe what had happened, I spent

00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:12.180
a lot of time thinking, and then I said, well,

00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:14.180
you know what, I need to put this down on paper.

00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:18.079
So some of the things that we've talked about

00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:23.690
are in that book, as are what I have done. for

00:32:23.690 --> 00:32:28.910
me as habits to help me stay balanced and centered.

00:32:29.170 --> 00:32:32.390
It's worked for me. I'm offering this book to

00:32:32.390 --> 00:32:35.970
your listeners at a discount as well. There's

00:32:35.970 --> 00:32:38.069
a link I think that we're going to be putting

00:32:38.069 --> 00:32:40.549
out there. We'll stick a link in the show notes.

00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:45.140
I'm not sure the date that this podcast is going

00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:48.259
to come out. It's going to be right around Christmas

00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:51.519
before or after, even if it's after. Yeah, I

00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:53.859
think it'd make a cool gift for somebody. So

00:32:53.859 --> 00:32:56.319
thanks for the deal on that. I'm going to give

00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:59.059
you the very last word. Okay, you've already

00:32:59.059 --> 00:33:02.160
left us with 10 messages of hope and I appreciate

00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:06.480
it so much. One last one. Go for it. One last

00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.920
one. Now you really put me on the spot here.

00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:13.700
I think the last word I'm going to leave you

00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:18.859
is that we're all okay. In our souls, we are

00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:22.259
all okay. Yeah, there are some of us, our spirits

00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:26.920
are broken, but they can be fixed. Just remember,

00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:31.940
love does carry the day and our fears when we

00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:36.680
approach them with curiosity, humility, and kindness

00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:40.180
when we approach other people that way. It shrinks

00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:42.960
our fears. People who are out there trolling

00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:46.420
it, they lose control over you when you focus

00:33:46.420 --> 00:33:49.380
your life on love. Beautifully said, Richard

00:33:49.380 --> 00:33:52.339
Green. Appreciate you being with me today. Eric,

00:33:52.420 --> 00:33:55.980
thank you so much for this opportunity and everybody

00:33:55.980 --> 00:34:00.220
have a wonderful holiday. Thanks again for listening

00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:02.680
and sharing this podcast. Don't forget to hit

00:34:02.680 --> 00:34:05.519
the follow or subscribe button and sign up for

00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:08.389
our newsletter at RoundTripDesk .com. If you

00:34:08.389 --> 00:34:10.929
want to share your near -death experience, or

00:34:10.929 --> 00:34:12.889
if you have questions or comments about the show,

00:34:13.389 --> 00:34:16.469
send an email to eric at roundtripdeath .com.

00:34:16.829 --> 00:34:18.969
Until then, I wish you everything good that you're

00:34:18.969 --> 00:34:21.389
looking for in this life and the next.