Brandon D

I was relaxing in a tent after getting off work. It had stormed that day, rained fairly hard, and was just letting up. There was a large tree over my tent. I didn't know it at the time, but the tree was dead. The weight of the rain water soaked into the tree, causing it to break. I heard crackling and looked out of the zipper door of the tent. I saw the tree falling toward me. I knew I didn't have time to get out of the tent, so I dived towards the back of the tent between the wall and the air mattress. I felt a very heavy smack at the back of my head with a force I could only describe as being hit by a train. I was pushed into the ground while I tried to break my fall with my arms. At this time, I knew would die. Yet, I struggled to breathe and could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. I was getting extremely hot and starting to panic. The next thing I know, I'm in an endless black expanse. I had a 360 degree view and could see my body in a sitting position. It was like I was on a cushion of air, relaxing in absolute peace and tranquility. On earth, I have tinnitus. Not only was it gone, but I didn't even think about tinnitus. I didn't think about the event that just happened. It was like I was so at peace, I didn't even have the desire to think about things. Nor did I feel any pressure to move on from the state. But eventually, I was surrounded by thousands of holograms like TV screens. They showed the various important moments in my life; private things I had done, and things I had done with others. I saw, felt, and heard events in first person, second person, and third person. When I was yelling at someone, it was like I was reliving that moment through my own eyes, ears, and mind. But I was also reliving it as if I were the person being yelled at. I could see the look on my face as I was angry and I could hear how condescending I was. I could also see it as an outside observer. I was mentally asked, 'What did you learn?’ And I learned that all the pain in my life were through my choice to be avoidant. I had been avoidant of risks, avoidant of thinking I was good enough and deserving of good things so I didn't try. I still had thoughts like 'I'm not good enough for this dream job, so I won't apply' and etc. Next, I was given an image. It reminded me of one of those maze toys where a silver ball has to be rolled around through a wooden maze while being mindful of the holes so you didn’t lose your ball. It was sort of like that except that there were orbs of light going around all over the place. Sometimes the orbs would cross each other, but they never caused interference. There were countless orbs. And they were zipping around really fast and would appear and disappear in different places. I interpreted that as the souls' journeys. That we play a part in each other's journey. I was then given a choice to stay or return back to my body. I knew that either choice was okay. I said, 'I caused a lot of pain. I wish to return so I could heal the pain I put onto others.' Instantly I was back in the body. My lungs burned from struggling to breathe, and I was drenched in sweat. I realized I had a spare phone in my back pocket. My hands were trapped under my ribcage, and the tree was on my back, but I managed to free them and reach for my phone. I called 911. Fire rescue took nine minutes to arrive. Breathing was excruciating, so I called my then-fiancée and had the paramedic speak to her. At the hospital, I finally felt safe enough to relax. I was exhausted. I saw my parents out of the corner of my eye but was too weak to speak or wave. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ICU, covered in tubes and wires. My then-fiancée’s father was there. That scared me, since he disliked me. He assured me he was visiting on her behalf. After the accident, people told me I had become angry, hostile, and negative. My nickname used to be "Superman," but now I wore a diaper and couldn’t walk properly. I didn’t recognize myself. Once I was medically and financially stable, I reflected deeply. I realized that the vision I described wasn’t the only insight I’d received. I developed what I call the Unified Library Hypothesis. It is an ambitious idea blending multiverse theory, time dilation, universe expansion, the Mandela Effect, the double-slit experiment paradox, and more. As I remembered my NDE, my anger faded. I began to see my life in a new light. And then it hit me: I think I came into this life to answer two questions. Can love defeat hate? Can courage defeat fear? Not just in isolated cases, but universally. I remembered being seven years old, learning about war for the first time and crying for days. I swore my purpose was to show the world a better way; one without hatred and violence. As for courage, well, I’m still in the closet as LGBTQ. During my NDE, I didn’t see angels, demons, humans, or animals. I didn’t even see myself as a physical form in that cushion of air. It was more like I was pure consciousness, communicating with one other formless entity.