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Welcome back to Coast to Coast AM. Connie Willis here with you. Love for you to join me outside of here at Blue Rock Talk Connie after Dark Connie Willis the podcast and when any lottery book. Yeah, and then let me know when you hit the jackbot. Okay, just learn more at Connie Willis dot com even if you sign up for my newsletter as well. And in the future I'll have mister doctor Jeffrey Long visiting me on
my show too, as that's always fun. So he is the largest near death experience study in history, is what he held, involving three thousand people, diverse backgrounds, religious traditions, including non believers. And he's going to be telling us a little bit deeper about some of these things in
a few minutes. But I have some more questions for you that I personally want to know because I know you were talking about at one point free will, where we have free will all the time, So talk about what you've learned about that, but also the second part of that is free will when it comes to coming back or not.
Yeah.
Absolutely, it's fascinating to me, Connie that over and over we have quotes in near death experiences where people have gotten very direct information during their near death experience about free will. And it's not just the near death experiences free will, it's free will for everybody worldwide. Near death experiences have shared and this is straight quotes from their experiences. I felt like it's all about free will, or the one law that will never change is the law of
free will, the one law that lasts. And then finally, another near death experienceer said, we are products of our own choices, are free will. So over and over literally by the scores we have people in getting this important information, very relevant for each and every one of us in our earthly life, and exciting too to have that kind of validation that the decisions we make, what we choose to do, really is re livately our own free will choice. So that's exciting.
Did when you're on the other side, have some people wanted to totally stay and they're like, no, you got more to do, and they're like fighting it. So to me that would be like, oh wait a minute, my free wills. I want to say, you.
Know, that's a great question. We had somebody heroically review the literally thousands of near death experiences on the website, and their goal was to explore what we see over and over again, and that being again while on the other side, near death experiencers at the end of their near death experience being told language like it's not your time. You have more to do, you have more work to do.
And interestingly, this study, the huge study that was recently completed, by the way, is you're the first in the world, you and all your listeners to hear the results of this study. Amazingly, worldwide, about ten to twelve percent of near death experiencers have at the end of their experience that kind of information. I mean, it's just amazing to me.
Here they're being told that while they could stay in that beautiful, unearthly, blissful, loving, realm earthly life seems to be so important that they're being sent back because they have more to do, because they have more life to live. And the interesting thing about this study, Connie, is that this was from all around the world, even in non Western countries. That same concept was universal wherever on the planet you are. And so as a result of that,
you know, we're back to that free will. We seem to not only have the free will to choose our what we do in our life, but there seems to be a direction from the other side. Now, I want to emphasize that when they're told to come back, you have more work to do. There's things left in your life. Language like that. Almost never are the near death experiencers told specifically what to do. They're not told to go build an arc. They're not told what.
Man, come on, what good or that I know tell us.
Really, in my study of near death experiences that that made me nuts. I'm going, well, come on, what are what's important? What are we supposed to do?
After?
You know, having this like you know, hundreds and hundreds of times with near death experience out of the four thousands that are on the website.
Alwake them? Did you?
I think they know what they're doing on the other side.
Okay, I get it.
So if we have free will, that that might potentially interfere for given direction or told what to do. So again, you know, sort of that exciting concept and you know, yet another significant line of reality of near death experiences, that critical spiritual concept that our lives are that meaningful, that we come back, that there's more to do on this earth. That it's important that our work isn't complete during a near death experience is fascinating.
You know, you may laugh at this or you may not. I don't know. I hope you laugh at this. But it's pretty serious too. But I was going, I was having a surgery and the anesthesiologist was talking to me ahead of time, and she introduced herself to me. And I don't know if that's normal or not. I yeah, I guess so. I guess so. But it was right before it happened. I know they usually meet you the day before or something like that. If I remember correctly,
maybe it's always different. But I met her. She was talking away. We were having a good time talking and I said little ome going, hey, do you think you can take me to the you know, right there at the light. I just want to go right to the light. I just want to step over and enough to get some psychic abilities and then come back. Just make sure I come back, but please, can you get me to the like? She did not like that at all. She thought it was crazy. But she didn't like that at all.
But I was serious.
Oh that's fascinating. Thanks for Sherry. Hey, I did laugh that's good. When they talked to anesthesiologists, just don't call them gas passers. Oh but yeah, that would be interesting. I mean, you know, and I'm sure she didn't like that at all, but he.
Didn't talk to me anymore. Yeah, she get me a dirty looking walked.
On right away there calling.
Me, But I was totally serious. In fact, that's my question. The next question to use. How many people come back and you've noticed that they do have some sort of psychic abilities.
Oh, we see that quite commonly. In fact, it's a survey question that we've asked our literally thousands of near death experiences, that being, did you have any psychic prepair, noormal gifts after your near death experience? And well over half of the people surveyed say yes, yes we did. And it's all over the board. They can be increasingly intuitive, they can be increasingly you know, a whole array of psychic phenomena. I have been described as part of that what we.
Call a dinner over there while we're talking, are you cooking dinner? Over There's that? What's going on?
You know what?
My two dogs came running aware that are here. We got a German shepherd and a Dutch shepherd and they decided to come visit me. So, hey, we were talking earlier about pets in the afterlife, so just to reinforce that, here's two dogs, but they're still very alive and acting that.
I love that. I'm sorry, it's radio. When you hear those little things, you got to know, what is that? What's going on over there? What's happening?
Well, the dog came down saw me and actually was kind enough to bring a ball.
Oh well, there, you got to throw it, Go ahead and throw it. I am sure. So it's interesting the people you said, what's the percentage that you all found.
Out that, Yeah, it's well over half. People have these psychic this variety of psychic phenomena, and again fascinating, can certainly be a significant change in their life afterwards.
And that's the people that recognize it and admit to it. So there could be more and maybe they didn't recognize it yet even.
You know, you know, and that's a really good point. I think the change is maybe gradual sometimes will fact, often it takes years after their near death experience to fully integrate those major changes that occur, and so they could have a slow progression of being increasingly psychic over years even and just not recognize it because gee, they their psychic ability today seems about like the way it was yesterday or.
A week ago.
And yet other people with them will say, hey, you're more intuitive. It's almost like Jesus looks like we share a brain. You know what I'm going to say. You know when the phone's going to ring. You have that sort of intuitive psychic sixth sense that you didn't have before, and you can hear that sometimes, if not from the near death experience, there's the people close to them in their lives.
I think it's amazing when people can like play Beethoven or something on the piano all of a sudden, like where'd this come from?
I don't know.
I'm sixty eight, I don't know what's going on.
Absolutely very famous near death experience they're coming back with. I mean, there's just seemingly no end. Those changes can be after the near death experience, but so often very profound. Right we had a very prominent near death experience, or came back and was an accomplished piano player and had no interest in that before. Youve just one more example of those kind of amazing psychic If you will changes that occurred after an experience.
Well, when they're told to go back you got more to do? Does that look more like like, you know, you say free will? But then is it fate? Is it destiny? You know, because if you've got more to do, was that your free will to still do that or not? But you're being taken back to do that? So free will, fate? Destiny?
What would the other thoughts be? Or is it also Hey, I was here before, and before I decided to come back to earth again, I decided I was going to do five things and I haven't done those five things yet.
Yeah, bingo, it's what you just said at the end there. I think it's what's going on. Near death experiences don't point, at least in general, to a fixed fate. In other words, there seems to be the ability, through free will, through the meaning and purpose of our earthly lives, that we can choose, that we can decide what we want to do, and then you live either for good or for ail
those choices we make in our life. But over and over, there's a huge amount of evidence from near death experiences that we actually existed as very conscious entities in that unearthly heavenly round prior to coming here on earth earthly life. At that point in time, as near death experiences over
and over described, consciousness is greatly accelerated. Were if you will, much smarter, much more conscious, much more aware in that if you will spiritual consciousness prior to coming to earth, and in that consciousness we are able to decide, well number one, to come to our earthly life and live an earthly life here. But number two often perhaps some ideas about in general what that earthly life might be.
And so that seems to be if you will, agreements or made before we would come to our earthly life, or you know, it might be something that is important
for our individual spiritual growth. On the other side, we have certain things to experience, and while while we're not directed as to what to do in our earthly life, we certainly have some guiding principles, the reality of an afterlife, the reality we hear over and over the importance of love, and certainly, as we've been discussing the concept the free will.
Jeff, it's so nice to talk to someone that's got a PhD that works as as you do the education, and you'll talk about past lives regression, near death, what's on the other side, psychic abilities? I could talk to Like I have a neighbor. I believe he's an antithesiologist's assistant. I am absolutely sure if I said something to him about this, he would just turn a walk away. That's you know, it is it is. I know, I know professors that will they will hide it if they even
think something, but they walk away. And I met a doctor at lunch. At one point, I'm just eating lunch. She's sitting next to me. We start talking and she she went to Yale and and she was just talking about what all she knew, And I said, at one point, and finally I said, do you want to know what I do? Because she talked the whole time about herself and I'm listening. I'm good. But as soon as I told her, she asked for the check, and she was ready to leave, and she kept telling me to do
my homework. And before she left, before she hit the doors, I walked over to her and I said, hey, before you leave, do your homework on what I'm telling you.
Oh, absolutely, that really makes the difference, you know. It was so sad. I mean, gosh, Connie Litsen to what we're talking about here. I mean, this is absolutely amazing, strong, powerful evidence that we don't really die, that there's life after death, that there's a wonderful after life for all of us. I mean, amazing evidence, amazingly powerfully positive messages. You think people would at least want to check it out, and I think, yeah, your yeah, I mean, good gosh.
But the good news is shows like you do what you know, Connie, your outreached in the world in a wide variety of ways through your podcast and everything. It's making a difference. Good And there's a major survey done by what's called Pew Form and in twenty twenty one, a survey they did about what people thought about the afterlife had the amazing statistic that seventy two percent of Americans actually believed that near death experiences were an actual
soul departing from the physical body. We're getting the word out, people are listening, people are understanding, and are literally the significant majority of people in America now believe that near death experiences are real. So, you know, shows like this it's making a difference.
So I got to ask you this, do what do you what do you know that's on the other side. Are you like angels, aliens? Are you open to all that kind of thing?
Well, that's what again, Having studied four thousand near death experiences, I've seen all that people you know, angel have been described. They typically, at least the great majority, don't have wings. They're sort of not like a sort of classic appearance, and yet they are in a very real sense. What's important about angels, They're profoundly loving, They're there for the
other person. There can be dialogues, interactions, so very dramatic and very beautiful descriptions of encountering beings on the other side, which many near death experiencers call angels. So that's certainly an important part of near death experiences.
Do you I'm not sure of your background when it comes to spirit spirituality or religious or do you see any like in the Bible? Are you seeing like, oh my gosh, what we saw here fits this, what we saw here fits that, anything like.
That, absolutely, over and over, first and foremost, I respect everybody's spiritual path, whatever it might be. And I've seen a lot of different people on different walks of life, but we're all i think going in the same direction. Actually, one near death experience or asked on the other side, meant what he described as God, and asked about religions, and was shown a mountain where people were climbing up the mountain, but they were climbing up different sides of
the mountain. And the point that was trying to be made to this person during their near death experiences, we're all on the same spiritual path. We're all going toward that top of the mountain, even if we're not aware of other people. But at the end, we're all the same, We're up at the top. There's the same destination of our journey, that spiritual home. So I'm very interested, certainly
in the Bible. And actually I was asked to write a foreword for a major sort of religious publication called Guideposts, and I actually wrote about love in near death experiences and throughout the Bible, many many beautiful quotes about love, many many beautiful quotes about love for people that had near death experiences. So again, it's always kind of a ah moment when you realize just how it all seems to fit together, whatever the journey we have or whatever our belief system is.
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