At the end stage of cancer, Anita Moorjani’s organs had completely shut down. She weighed 80 pounds, lost all ability to move and eventually fell into a coma. She had tumors the size of lemons throughout her lymphatic system, from the base of her skull to below her abdomen. Her brain was filled with fluid, as were her lungs. Her skin developed lesions that were weeping with toxins. The doctors were sure she wouldn’t make it through the night.
This is what she experienced – in her own words:
“In the near-death state, I was more acutely aware of all that was going on than I’ve ever been in a normal physical state. I wasn’t using my five biological senses, yet I was keenly taking everything in, much more than if I’d been using my physical organs. It was as though another, completely different type of perception kicked in, and more than just perceive, I seemed to also encompass everything that was happening, as though I was slowly merging with it all.
I knew when people came in to see me, who they were and what they were doing, although my physical eyes were closed. The sharpness of my perception was more intense than if I’d been using my physical senses. I seemed to just know and understand everything – not only what was going on around me, but also what everyone was feeling, as though I were able to see and feel through each person.
I was extremely aware of every detail, but I couldn’t physically feel anything – except a release and a level of freedom I’d never known before. I felt no emotional attachment to my lifeless body as it lay there on the hospital bed. It didn’t feel as though it were mine. I felt free, liberated and magnificent. Every pain, ache, sadness, and sorrow was gone.
I began to feel weightless and to become aware that I was able to be anywhere at any time… and this didn’t seem unusual. It felt normal, as though this were the real way to perceive things.
I started to notice how I was continuing to expand to fill every space, until there was no separation between me and everything else. I encompassed – no, became – everything and everyone.
I was fully aware of every word of the conversation that was taking place between my family and the doctors, although it was physically some distance away, outside my room. I saw the frightened expression on my husband’s face and could feel his fear. It was as though, in that instant, I became him.
Simultaneously I became aware that my brother was thousands of miles away on an airplane, coming to see me. I saw him and his worried look.
Each time my emotions took over the situation and I felt myself being drawn into the drama of the physical realm, I discovered myself starting to expand again, and I felt a release from all attachment.
I continued to be fully aware of every detail of every procedure that was being administered to me, while to the outside world I appeared to be in a coma.
I felt a sense of freedom and liberation that I’d never experienced in my physical life before. I can only describe this as the combination of joy mixed with a generous sprinkling of jubilation and happiness. A superb and glorious unconditional love surrounded me, wrapping me tight as I continued to let go.
I didn’t feel as though I’d physically gone somewhere else – it was more as though I’d awakened. Perhaps I’d finally been roused from a bad dream. My consciousness was finally realizing its true magnificence and in doing so, it was expanding beyond my body and this physical world, until it encompassed not only this existence, but continued to expand into another realm that was beyond time and space, and at the same time included it. Love, joy, ecstasy and awe poured into me, through me, and engulfed me. I was swallowed up and enveloped in more love than I ever knew existed. I felt more free and alive than I ever had. As I described, I suddenly knew things that weren’t physically possible, such as the conversations between medical staff and my family that were taking place far away from my hospital bed.
The overwhelming sensations were in a realm of their own, and words don’t exist to describe them. The feeling of complete, pure, unconditional love was unlike anything I’d known before.
To my amazement, I became aware of the presence of my father, who’d died ten years earlier. There were no words, but I clearly understood. And then I recognized the essence of my best friend, Soni, who’d died three years prior. I felt what I can only describe as excitement as their presence enveloped me like a warm embrace, and I was comforted. I was also aware of other beings around me. I didn’t recognize them, but I knew they loved me very much. It was tremendously comforting for me to reconnect with Soni’s essence. I felt nothing but unconditional love, both from her and for her. And then, just as I experienced that, it was as though my essence merged with Soni’s and I became her. I understood that she was here, there, and everywhere. She was able to be in all places at all times for all her loved ones.
Although I was no longer using my five physical senses, I had unlimited perception, as if a new sense had become available, one that was more heightened than any of our usual faculties. I had 360-degree peripheral vision with total awareness of my surroundings. And as amazing as it all sounds, it still felt almost normal. Being in a body now felt confining. Time felt different in that realm, too, and I felt all moments at once.
My awareness in that expanded realm was indescribable, despite my best efforts to explain it. The clarity was amazing. And then I was overwhelmed by the realization that God isn’t a being, but a state of being… and I was now that state of being!
In that state of clarity, I also realized that I’m not who I’d always thought I was: Here I am without my body, race, culture, religion, or beliefs… yet I continue to exist. I certainly don’t feel reduced or smaller in any way. On the contrary, I haven’t ever been this huge, this powerful, or this all-encompassing.
I felt eternal, as if I’d always existed and always would without beginning or end.
I was transformed in unimagenable clarity as I realized that this magnificent essence was really me. It was the truth of my being. The understanding was so clear: I was looking into a new paradigm of self, becoming the crystalline light of my own awareness. Nothing interfered with the flow, glory, and amazing beauty of what was taking place.
I realized that the entire universe is alive and infused with consciousness, encompassing all of life and nature. We’re all facets of that Unity – we’re all One.
Even though I hadn’t always been close to my father while I was growing up, all I could feel emanating from him now was glorious, unconditional, pure love. The cultural pressures he’d put on me during life had all dropped away, because they were all only part of physical existence. None of that matters after death; those values didn’t carry through into the afterlife. It truly felt amazing, as though I’d finally come home! Our communication wasn’t verbal, but a complete melding of mutual comprehension. It wasn’t just that I understood my father – it was as though I became him.
Not to mention that the state of unconditional love was just so blissful, I couldn’t bear the thought of returning. I wanted to stay where I was forever and ever. The unconditional love and acceptance was incredible, and I wanted to cross the threshold in order to continue to experience it for eternity.
It was though I was enveloped in the oneness, the pure essence of every living being, without their pains, dramas, and egos. I understood that at the core, our essence is made of pure love. We are pure love – every single one of us.
As though to confirm my realization, I became aware of both my father and Soni communicating to me: Now that you know the truth of who you really are, go back and live your life fearlessly!”
After her NDE Anitas condition improved so rapidly that she could be released from the hospital within weeks… without a trace of cancer in her body.
