Contents
There and Back Again
My Lively Dance with Death
Living Between the Worlds
So Far from Home
What You Seek, Seeks You
Lets Synchronize Our Watches
No More Excuses
Another Life Bites the Dust
Varying Degrees of Heaven
The Fertile Void
The Fourfold Path to Power
And Now, the Rest of the Story
The Power in Love
The Power in Choice
The Power in Belief
The Power in Prayer
The Seven Lessons from Heaven
Lesson One
Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four
Lesson Five
Lesson Six
Lesson Seven
The Panoramic Life Review
If Its True, What Shall We Do?
On September 17, 1975, my life was forever changed. I was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning. I never saw it coming, and I died without a belief in any particular God or an opinion about the afterlife. I was twenty-five years old and wide open to just about anything. So, thats exactly what I encountered nextthe wide, wide world of the afterlife! In the Kingdom of Heaven I was shown the glory of God as well as the magnificence of humankind. After spending twenty-eight minutes on the other side, I was sent back to spread the good word: there is no such thing as death.
In 1994, a publisher approached me in regards to publishing a book about my adventures in Heaven. At first I saw no reason to do that since I couldnt understand why anyone would want to read it. I wasnt a celebrity or anybody in the public eye. I was just a simple country boy with a great after-dinner story to tell; I hardly thought it had the makings of a best-selling book. Well, did I ever turn out to be wrong! With the tremendous help of my coauthor, Paul Perry, Saved by the Light spent a breathtaking twenty-six weeks on the New York Times best seller list. About the eighth or ninth week on the list, it dawned on me that people really were interested in learning more about life after death.
A year later, Harper Collins published our second book. This time, At Peace in the Light sold over six hundred thousand copies. The focus of this book was an in-depth look at the Boxes of Knowledge I had been shown during my first near-death experience. On that day in Heaven, over one hundred visions of the future were downloaded into my brain for safe keeping. I saw famine, war, and environmental destruction. I saw man-made disease, chip implantation, and manipulations leading to an astronomical rise in the price of gas. But I also saw the future of medicine moving into noninvasive light therapiesthe kind that were to be implemented, for stress reduction, in the centers I was sent back to build.
It had been my plan to follow up quickly with a third book for my fan base, but I had a few problems along the way. First, I was stopped in my tracks by a major health issue that led to brain surgery. I confronted this head-on (pardon the pun) in 1997. Once I recovered, my entire mindset had shifted. The book Id planned to write just wasnt appealing anymore. Id had another near-death experience during brain surgery, and it contained information I was incredibly hesitant to share. Suffice it to say, it was far from the glory-filled extravaganza Id enjoyed so much in 1975. However, the need to share my knowledge haunted me for years. As the twentieth century handed the baton to a brand new millennium, my wife, Kathryn, enthusiastically encouraged me to make known the secrets Id learned in the light. I finally agreed to do it on one condition: if she would be my coauthor. I knew that with her skill as a writer and my flair for oratory, we could produce an excellent volume. And, in 2004, thats precisely what we did. The Secrets of the Light: Seven Spiritual Strategies to Empower Your LifeHere and in the Hereafter was self-published by our company, Heart Light Productions, with all of the proceeds donated to our nonprofit organization, the Twilight Brigade, for training hospice volunteers.
Kathryn and I were pleased with the wonderful reception our book received. After selling out our first run, I decided to approach Harper One to see if, by chance, they might be interested in publishing it for me on the second round. Lo and behold, Editorial Director Michael Maudlin decided to take the bait. God love him. But, for me and Kathryn, the real work was just about to begin.
In going back over what wed written three years earlier, we saw that there had been a lot of changes in the world and we had gleaned a vast amount of insight through experience. Most of all, there seems to be a new wave cresting over humanitys sea of perception exactly at the point of religion versus spirituality. In just under two thousand years, our holy outlook has gone from pagan to pious and back again to a more natural and loving spirituality. The faithful have journeyed from sacred sexuality in an oak grove to strict ecclesiastic control over every mundane detail of our lives. Then, in the 1960s, we brought back a renewed sense of free love and a more personal relationship with divinity. The lessons I learned in Heaven validate the need for a new understanding of our spiritual nature. As spiritual beings in the middle of a human experience, we have to reassess our eternal priorities. Forever is not nearly as long as you think it isits a whole lot longer. When we put the infinite into perspective, it becomes possible to grasp the amount of work that needs to be accomplished by each soul in the course of one lifetime. Since we are made in Gods image, it will be necessary for all of us to continue to grow and expand, learn and mature, create and re-create ad infinitum.
This updated version of Secrets of the Light is designed to help in doing just that. It is a gift of love from Kathryn and me to the world. We sincerely hope the celestial lessons written upon these pages will create a deepening of love and understanding in the heart of eternal truth. The universe is systematically designed to assist us in the fulfillment of our personal desires. It just wants us to be happy. Based on my heavenly education, we offer practical instruction for the daily application of spiritual principles intended to empower and impassion your lifehere and in the Hereafter.