What happens after we die remains one of nature's great unknowable mysteries. For some, the end is just that, but for others, with religion as a strong guiding force, death is merely the transition from one state of consciousness to another.
One man asserts that a near-death experience changed his entire viewpoint on life and death, as despite being a self-proclaimed 'true atheist' beforehand, he claims to have seen heaven after nearly dying in hospital.
American Jose Hernandez recounted his life-changing experience during a recent interview with YouTube channel Shaman Oaks.
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According to Hernandez, it all started with a routine change of electrical wires as part of his job as an engineer.
Hernandez told Shaman Oaks: "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.
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"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."
After being transferred to the hospital, he then describes stopping breathing, and the moment doctors and nurses rushed into his room to try and save him.
He added: "I started thinking about god, saying, 'if you get me through this event I will change'."
It is at this point Hernandez claims to have noticed spirits, as his 'real self' battled for survival.
He explained: "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 okay to let go.'
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"I kinda said it's okay 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."
According to Hernandez, he then watched doctors do CPR on his body in an attempt to save his life, all while 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.
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"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 'okay it's time for us to move on.'"
After 'falling' down a black hole, the artist goes on to reveal that he was reunited with his late father - in what he thought to be heaven.
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He added: “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.”
NDE's 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."
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Topics: Viral, World News, YouTube, US News