Chris Batts' near-death experience
The tumultuousness of Chris’ life began very early in infancy, when his mother left him crying in a dumpster. He was eventually found, but was bounced from one home to another as a young child, and he often went to bed hungry. He felt depressed and alone, and he started having suicidal thoughts at the age of 8. A decade later, he jumped out of a moving car, and suffered multiple traumatic injuries that ultimately required ICU hospitalization.
Shortly after his suicidal leap, Chris saw his own body in the third person, lying on the ground near death, yet simultaneously felt the utmost divine presence and more love than he has ever before experienced. He found himself in a world where communication could be instantaneous and what he called ‘telepathic,’ without a necessity for words or language. Although he hadn’t believed in angels growing up, he saw beings of radiant light, and felt an immense, unconditional love that is also described by so many others who have also had near-death experiences.
He described this divine presence as ‘God’ or ‘Source,’ but he doesn’t ultimately feel that the name given to this entity is itself important. He remembered feeling that, in his state at the time, he didn’t deserve to be with this divine presence, and that he needed to go back to his human form to work on getting more ‘perfect’ before he would feel ready.
(Author’s commentary: this appears to bear an uncanny resonance with the idea of cultivating and purifying ourselves as the purpose of a human life.)
The radiant beings who met Chris helped him understand that he needed to go back to his human vessel, as he still had so much to do for so many people. After his return, he feels no longer afraid of death. He feels more spiritual and understands that ‘this life is not it.’ He now appreciates the natural world like never before. Where he would previously become angry at others, he now understands them more easily, and wonders if they perhaps are going through pains similar to what he had gone through earlier in his life. He now feels grateful for everything, and works on bettering himself every day.
Chris leaves us with a few sustaining realizations from his experience:
- Many people, in their quest for inner peace, try to find it through the acquisition of material things. He notes, however, that this materialism seems backward, as one can have all the money in the world, yet still be devoid of inner peace.
- There are so many ways to meditate; meditation does not require any particular form or technique. Chris says that he can meditate while he walks or listens to music—or while doing neither.
- God (or ‘the Source’) has no favorites, and holds an unconditional love for every being on this Earth. Humans may do things that are cause for disappointment and require correction, but this love is constant and unyielding, should we choose to recognize it.
- Our souls are here on Earth to experience. We are here to learn from whatever life may throw at us, be it sadness, heartbreak, anger, or any other calamity—yet we are still the same soul and must ‘go back home’ when our journey here is complete.
Some questions for pondering
- Compare our lives with Chris’ life. Do we cherish our lives as they are?
- What transformed Chris? How did that transformation occur?
- It may seem like we have to die or almost die before we truly experience the love of God. Your thoughts?
- What is Love? Are there different levels of love? How can you reconcile the ‘Source’ in Chris’ experience saying both “I love you just the way you are” and “I don’t like that…”
- If God has no favorites and loves us all the same, unconditionally, why are some of us born into lives of great suffering while others have lives full of love and all forms of blessings?
- Chris made a massive change from being suicidal to wanting to help others and dramatically increased his overall wisdom. Can all of this be due to a hallucination caused by brain trauma?
- Chris recalled God saying, “I will go to the end of the world so everyone is with me.” If this is true, why is God apparently so “subtle” in His efforts for most people?
- What is inner peace? Have we found our inner peace?
- Some of Chris’ messages to a suicidal person: “The world is huge. You’re important, because if you weren’t you wouldn’t be here. You are enough and you are loved.” Your thoughts?
