I had a near-death experience after devastating car crash – here’s what happens as you cross the pearly gates

A Michigan woman could have died tragically in a horrific car accident, but instead she had a near-death experience that changed her life.

Willow Caelan, 34, of Michigan, was seriously involved in a collision with a truck, which pushed her into oncoming traffic and damaged her car so badly that passersby thought she was dead.

An ‘unexplained force’ saved her and while unconscious she entered a peaceful state where ‘nothing mattered anymore’ and she believes she has caught a glimpse of the afterlife.

She felt like she was made up of pure consciousness outside of her own body and that she was connected to the ‘greater universe’.

A truck hit her, pushing her 40 yards into the oncoming road in Michigan.

Ms Caelan had just left her new job when she was hit from behind by a truck, throwing her 35 metres into oncoming traffic.

She was knocked unconscious at the moment of impact. Her car was so destroyed that passers-by probably thought she was dead, until she regained consciousness and called for help.

But while she was unconscious, she said she “felt like I was just consciousness and love, not a human being with a body.

‘It was almost like I was floating in a void trying to connect with God or some form of the greater universe.

‘I couldn’t see or hear anything, but I remember it being dark, comforting and warm. It was incredibly relaxing.

She added: ‘I finally had peace – I didn’t worry or question anything anymore – it was like heaven.’

This experience changed her life and the way she lived it.

Her mannerisms and speech softened. Colors became brighter. She became more purposeful and had a renewed passion for life.

She said, “I soon realized that I had been given a unique awareness of life… I wanted to experience everything. It became clear to me that we never know how long we really have here.”

Ms. Caelan also made a career change and became a Reiki master and spiritual coach to help others ‘discover their soul’.

She added: ‘The experience has allowed me to see the beauty of life and our physical reality. We don’t have to stay stuck in what we’ve experienced as our definition of ourselves, because we have opportunities every day to recreate who we choose to be.

‘I feel so much more connected to my soul.’

Ms. Caelan changed careers and became a Reiki master and spiritual coach to help others ‘discover their soul.’

It is estimated that five to ten percent of Americans have a near-death experience, including between ten and 23 percent of cardiac arrest survivors.

Most people describe them with glowing words: their experiences brought them closer to their higher powers and gave them a new life, they lost their fear of death, gained a greater sense of self-worth and became more compassionate towards others.

Dr. Jeffrey Long, a cancer expert based in Kentucky, is one of the world’s leading researchers on near-death experiences.

He has collected more than 5,000 stories in over 30 languages ​​from people of different religions and cultural backgrounds, and has set up an online database where people can describe their own experiences with mortality.

One user of the database, Harry, said: ‘The bright spots closest to me were my parents, grandparents and relatives who had died before me. And further away were my close friends who were in touch with me. And with them were the people who had influenced me and who I had influenced.’

Another, named Star, wrote: ‘A pure, brilliant light enveloped me and I was no longer in physical body. But I still existed? I had no eyes to see, but I looked at everything around me. I was in the center of a vast void, but the void was not empty. It was completely filled with the presence of the living God.’

Based on decades of research, Dr. Long has concluded that approximately 45 percent of near-death experiences involve a sense of out-of-bodyness, where the person’s consciousness is disconnected from their physical being.

About three-quarters of those who experienced this reported that they wanted to stay in the afterlife because of the immense love and joy that came over them. More than half reported seeing a “heavenly” realm, and about a quarter were shrouded in light or mist.