{"id":65259,"date":"2018-09-16T19:08:54","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T01:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=65259"},"modified":"2018-09-16T19:08:54","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T01:08:54","slug":"the-clarity-and-insight-i-had-in-that-state-are-simply-indescribable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/09\/the-clarity-and-insight-i-had-in-that-state-are-simply-indescribable.html","title":{"rendered":"“The clarity and insight I had in that state are simply indescribable.”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At home in the cosmos (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A bit more from\u00a0Pim van Lommel, Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience<\/em>\u00a0(New York: HarperCollins, 2010). \u00a0In this case, two near-death experience accounts:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was immersed in a feeling of total love. \u00a0It was crystal clear to me why I\u2019d had cancer. \u00a0Why I had come into this world in the first place. \u00a0What role each of my family members played in my life, where we all were within the grand scheme of things, and in general what life is all about. \u00a0The clarity and insight I had in that state are simply indescribable. \u00a0Words seem to diminish the experience \u2014 I was in a place where I understood that there\u2019s so much more than we can fathom in our three-dimensional world. \u00a0I realized that this was a great gift and that I was always surrounded by loving spiritual beings of light.<\/strong> \u00a0(34)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That very same moment, in a split second, I gained access to a wealth of knowledge, a complete knowing and understanding. \u00a0All knowledge. \u00a0Universal knowledge. \u00a0I understood the origins of the cosmos, how the universe works, and why people do what they do. \u00a0Their positive actions, but also why they hurt one another, deliberately or not. \u00a0Wars and natural disasters, everything has a purpose, a reason. \u00a0It all makes sense. \u00a0I understood the past, the present, and the future. \u00a0I saw evolution. \u00a0Everything and everyone evolves and develops together. \u00a0I saw and understood \u2014 without any judgment \u2014 the connection, the coherence, the logical and sometimes major consequences of every single act. \u00a0I mean at every level and down to the smallest detail. . . . \u00a0The way all kinds of mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment, gadgets, and engines work. \u00a0Everything. \u00a0I knew and understood all about mathematics, electronics, physics, DNA, atoms, quantum mechanics, and quantum physics. . . . \u00a0I also saw where evolution is headed, what its ultimate goal is. \u00a0I realized that this grand scheme not only includes me, but everything and everybody, every human being, every soul, every animal, every cell, the earth and every other planet, the universe, the cosmos, the Light. \u00a0Everything is connected and everything is one. \u00a0\u201cI see!\u201d I thought happily. \u00a0\u201cI get it. \u00a0It\u2019s all so simple. \u00a0So obvious. \u00a0It all makes sense. . . .\u201d \u00a0No, I wasn\u2019t allowed to bring back the knowledge itself. \u00a0Why, I don\u2019t know. . . . \u00a0Perhaps we\u2019re not supposed to have such universal knowledge in the here and now, in our physical form? \u00a0Perhaps we\u2019re here to learn? \u00a0Perhaps there\u2019s another reason?<\/strong> \u00a0(34-35)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It seems to me pretty obvious that the Latter-day Saint concept of the \u201cveil of mortality\u201d is relevant here \u2014 and that, once back in the world of spirits from which came, we would very likely know, which is to say remember, many things that we have forgotten (and therefore don\u2019t know) here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some stimulating science reading for you:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCosmic \u2018hotspots\u2019 may be relics of a universe that existed before ours:\u00a0Controversial theory holds that the Big Bang was simply one of many.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIs time running out for Opportunity? \u00a0The skies of Perseverance Valley are clearing, but the aging rover remains silent.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Is Why Most Scientists Think Planet Nine Doesn\u2019t Exist\u201d
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And a bit of \u201csort of\u201d science news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRemote solar observatory remains closed after mysterious evacuation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 A bit more from\u00a0Pim van Lommel, Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience\u00a0(New York: HarperCollins, 2010). \u00a0In this case, two near-death experience accounts: \u00a0 I was immersed in a feeling of total love. \u00a0It was crystal clear to me why I\u2019d had cancer. \u00a0Why I had come into this world in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"The clarity and insight I had in that state are simply indescribable."<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    A bit more from\u00a0Pim van Lommel, Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience\u00a0(New York: HarperCollins, 2010). \u00a0In\" \/>\n<meta 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