Dr. Mary Helen Hensley’s near-death experience (NDE) following a car accident profoundly reshaped her perspectives on life, death, and spirituality thereafter. The experience served as a fundamental catalyst for a dramatic shift in her understanding of reality.
Regarding death, the NDE immediately dissolved Hensley’s deep-rooted childhood fear that death meant ceasing to exist. During her experience, she felt a sense of familiarity and peace, recognizing that she was not becoming a helpless victim but an active participant in her own passing. She saw a light and heard the “Music of the Spheres” after a bizarre buzzing noise. This direct experience beyond her physical body provided her with a certainty of continued existence after death, transforming her perception of death from an ending to a transition. Even in the immediate aftermath, while physically injured and in shock, she knew she was going to survive because she had already “died”. Later, she processed the news of a loved one’s death with excitement for what awaited him, devoid of her previous sadness or fear.
Her perspective on life was also fundamentally altered. Upon returning, Hensley felt a “tremendous responsibility to always strive to do the right thing”. Witnessing her life review, guided by spiritual beings, she saw how even tiny gestures could have significant impacts and became acutely aware of the importance of kindness and compassion. She returned with a “new zest for living” and a recommitment to her earthly life, recognizing that she “wasn’t finished yet”. The NDE revealed that life on Earth is a learning experience, akin to going to school, with opportunities for growth and expansion through reincarnation. She understood that individuals have a choice regarding when they leave this life through “portals of exit”. The accident itself became a “serendipitous ‘accident'” that set her on a new course of understanding her lifelong paranormal experiences and her future path. She recognised that life is not a set path but something we can actively shape with the guidance of spirit.
In terms of spirituality, the NDE provided Hensley with firsthand knowledge of the spiritual realm. She encountered “spiritual cheerleaders” who guided her through her life review and remembered making the decision in Spirit to return to serve. The experience affirmed her childhood awareness of spirits and visions. She learned about reincarnation directly, which had not been part of her belief system before. The guidance she received during her NDE and in subsequent experiences through “the voice” and “The Counsel” shaped her understanding of a supportive and loving Multiverse. These guides, representatives of “the Love, the Light, the Creative Force behind All That Is”, offered constant support. Her NDE reinforced the idea that we judge ourselves, not a deity. It also laid the foundation for her future work as a metaphysical healer, a gift that was foretold during her time out of her body. She came to see her life’s work as fulfilling a contract agreed upon before her current incarnation.
