I Had A Hellish Experience
What Researchers Found
The Story
Brian was a 33-year-old musician and former preacher's kid in 1993. He struggled with alcohol abuse and a distorted view of God from his strict religious upbringing. This led to a deep spiritual crisis during alcohol treatment. He felt his life was ending in despair. Brian experienced a dark near-death event. Overwhelming noise like static filled his room, and total darkness surrounded him. He felt trapped in a hopeless void, like hell, with no escape or joy. He crawled out of bed, knelt, and prayed to God for help. Silence followed. A voice told him to see Wayne, the hotel owner. Brian sat with Wayne, who read from the Bible. Words jumped out, describing Brian's past struggles, current state, and future path. After the experience, Brian quit drinking on February 22, 1993, and never relapsed. He gained a new understanding of God as loving. He trained in Reiki to heal others, sharing energy and hope. He makes daily amends for past harms and finds purpose in helping people escape darkness through his story and IANDS community.
“could hear the voice of God I knew who he was it was the still Small Voice and”
This account lacks any veridical perception claims, describing instead an internal spiritual crisis during severe alcohol withdrawal with no impossible sensory access or verifiable external details. The experience involves subjective darkness and noise resolved by prayer, followed by normal interaction with the hotel owner, without specific, unpredictable elements or verification attempts.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
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These accounts were gathered because death may not be the end. Thousands of people have experienced something beyond — and come back to tell us about it.
What Researchers Found
This account lacks any veridical perception claims, describing instead an internal spiritual crisis during severe alcohol withdrawal with no impossible sensory access or verifiable external details. The experience involves subjective darkness and noise resolved by prayer, followed by normal interaction with the hotel owner, without specific, unpredictable elements or verification attempts.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.