Reflections on 3 Near Death Experiences
Becoming expansion
I recently shared about my three Near Death Experiences on the Magic is Real podcast, and on The Answer podcast. As I shared my experiences with Shannon and with Daniel, I got fresh insights, and as we finished recording each of the episodes, I felt that we were just starting the conversation, because the deeper journey for me was in the integration of those experiences into my life. That integration brought me profound transformation for which I feel super grateful.
You can listen to the details of my NDE’s in the podcast episodes I mentioned above, but here’s a quick overview of what happened:
2002, Amazonian jungle in Ecuador. I got malaria, had hallucinations for a week, and started to die. I saw loved ones showing up as black & white photos as I said goodbye. Had the felt experience of becoming an expansive field, and felt like one with everything.
2007, Portugal while on a van trip from Morocco to the UK. I had a massive car accident with our van rolling around on a highway after losing the roof. I was braindead for a few moments, saw 2 loved ones who had passed. One of them pushed me back. Experienced the return to the body as a painful limitation.
2017, Northern Ethiopia. I was strangled by a stranger on the street. Remained conscious during the attack, then started dying when I didn’t have enough air. A strength coming from I don’t know where helped me save my life.
In the two podcasts noted earlier, I explain more of what each of these experiences brought to my life, but here’s a brief summary.
Realizing that there’s much more to life. Facing my mortality. Connecting with the power of nature. The shock of moving from an intense experience in an indigenous culture to come back home to Western culture where I felt there wasn’t any space to explore the experience I had had. Deeply trusting life.
Going deeper into the exploration of death. Understanding choice and consequence. Feeling togetherness with loved ones who had passed away. Going from feeling that I was somehow in this body, to connecting much more clearly with the total expansion of me. Coming back to a body that felt too small. Dealing with the confusion of not knowing if I had died. Determination to change things in my life. Propelling me to do intense inner work.
Empowering agency in saving my life. Coming face to face with violence. Feeling familiarity in the start of the death process. Understanding deeper sides to the importance of my choices, the urgency to break patterns and do different things that I also wanted to do. Feeling gratitude for being able to put my gifts in the world and share myself in connection with others. Slowly starting to let go of my old passion for high-risk situations. Calling my attention to the joy of safety. Full awakening to the joy of being here now.
These experiences have shaped my life. Coming so close to death has helped me live my life much better. It helped me connect with a deeper side of existence. If you’ve had NDE’s yourself, or know people who’ve had them, you know that it changes us. You cannot erase the direct experience of being on the other side. You cannot go on with the same notion of who you are. Life itself gains so much more depth and meaning.
A few things I learned through my 3 NDE’s:
I can die at any moment. Every lived moment is so very special.
Each time I see someone, it may be the last time I see them. What I do or don’t do & say matters.
Dedicating my time in life to worldly, 3D level achievements is superfluous.
The really important things are the most simple things.
People I love who have passed away look over my transition.
What’s on the other side is loving, it probably is all Love.
Going on to the other side I really don’t take anything physical with me.
I am not just my body.
The true expansion that I am is always present.
Coming back to physical form doesn’t take away my expansion-being.
Most of the things that worry my physical reality, are not very important.
Having the possibility to be alive and share my gifts, put them in service of people, and of life, is a privilege and a true joy.
Doing my inner work diligently really pays off. More than anything else.
Stargazing feels so familiar because something in the expansion of who I really am is spaciously mirrored in the sky.
Some prompts for self reflection:
An experience I’ve had that made me feel like there is more to life was…
Some clues that point to me not being just my body are…
When I think about what life really is, what comes up for me is…
When I bring in the certainty that I will die at some point, and the uncertainty of how soon that may happen, then I feel there are a few things I would like to change in the way I live. Such as…
Scanning through my lived experiences, a few things that point to my expansive nature are…
Breathing in and out, relaxing after all this reflection, I ponder, Who am I? Who am I really?
If you’d like to share about your personal Near Death Experiences, or insights on inner expansion, I’d love to hear it! Just send me an email at hello@ritatojal.com or DM me on Instagram!
It’s not always easy to incorporate a Near Death Experience. They often take us somewhere that was previously unknown, and they force us to question life as we knew it. Psychotherapy is an amazing way to integrate our Near Death Experiences. And it is equally great as a way to deepen your understanding of who you are. I will be so glad to help you on that journey!!