‘True atheist’ explains what he saw ‘in heaven’ when he had near-death experience

Many questions seem unknowable to us humans.

Brilliant minds around the world have pondered on if life has any meaning or if we're alone in the universe.

But perhaps the most pressing question is the one of what happens after we die.

There are different schools of thought regarding this.

Some very much believe in an afterlife, whether that be a heaven and hell type situation or through reincarnation.

But some are strictly non-believers and think that we cease to exist once we step off the mortal coil.

One man was in the latter camp until he had a near death experience.

Jose Hernandez described himself as a 'true atheist', but one hospital trip changed his life.

YouTube/ShermanOaks

According to Hernandez, it all started with a routine change of electrical wires as part of his job as an engineer.

Speaking to YouTube channel Sherman Oaks, he said: "When I had my experience I was a true atheist.

"I am an engineer. I was up on a bucket truck running some electrical lines. We were running late.

"The guy that was with me, my partner, was more worried about electrocuting me up on top, so he was more worried looking up and he just kind of bumped into a tree.

"I hit the bucket and I broke all my ribs... on my right side and I was sent to an emergency room."

Once he arrived at hospital, he stopped breathing as nurses desperately tried to save his life.

He recalled: "I started thinking about God, saying, 'If you get me through this event, I will change'.

"And then I noticed this shadow, by the door. And it just stood there. Then I started thinking, 'You know what, I've had such a hard and difficult life, maybe it's OK to let go.'

"I kinda said it's OK to die. And the minute I said that, or thought that, the shadow just moved.

"In my mind I could see its hand reaching out to me, and it just touched my toe.

"And the minute it touched my toe I just felt this tremendous sense of relief, and relaxation, peace and love and calm. I was in bliss."

Pixabay

While he watched doctors perform CPR on him, Hernandez claimed the 'shadow' spoke to him.

He said: "Then I found myself being lifted into the corner of the room. And I was observing the effort by the CPR team that was trying to save my life.

"I heard the voice next to be say, 'Think of the your body as a car, and that car has life five million miles on it, and there's nothing we can do to fix it anymore. So you have to now say goodbye to your body.'

"And then the voice said to me, 'OK, it's time for us to move on.'"

He then 'fell' down a black hole and describes the experience of flying and seeing mountains, an 'amazing forest', 'wild herds of animals running'.

He was also assured he'd be able to see his children from heaven and was reunited with his feather.

Hernandez explained: "When I met my dad on the other side, I realised that sometimes we may not be able to say something here, [but] we’re gonna be able to say it somewhere else."

Near Death Experiences are very common occurrences for people who have to be revived, or are at 'death's door'.

The imagery many people describe - a light at the end of the tunnel - is often quoted as evidence that consciousness exists beyond the physical realm, although medical professionals have another explanation.

Writing in the Irish Times, Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry William Reville posits that NDEs probably show the activity of the dying brain as oxygen levels drop and carbon dioxide levels surge.

Reville states: "NDE reports of light at the end of a dark tunnel could simply reflect oxygen levels falling in the retina, starting at the periphery and moving inwards towards the centre, producing tunnel vision."