Vincent Tolman was just 25 when he fell into a coma after taking a diet pill he bought online.
The construction worker had taken a super-strong dose of GHB, a drug used in bodybuilding circles as an appetite suppressant, which caused him to have a violent seizure, vomit and fall to the ground while eating at a restaurant in 2003.
His heart stopped beating for several minutes. Tolman’s body was then hooked up to life support for three days, during which he claims his mind was guided through “what we call heaven,” where he learned three crucial lessons.
Tolman, who lives in Nevada, told DailyMail.com that the first was the power of authenticity, followed by the purpose of life and the importance of loving all beings.
“One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that we’ve got it all wrong here,” he said.
‘We have been convinced by all our traditions that we are all before the judge one way or another. But we are not here for some kind of lawsuit. We are here to learn and grow. That’s it, very simple.’
Vincent Tolman was just 25 when he took a then-legal GHB precursor that was 20 times the correct dose, causing him to have a seizure and vomit before he died in 2003.
Tolman was born in Texas but now lives in Las Vegas with his wife Andrea and their two children.
The experience he had nearly two decades ago completely freed him from the fear of death, Tolman said, noting that he looks forward to returning to heaven.
“When that day comes, I’m really looking forward to it,” he explained.
“Actually, a few years ago we were on a plane to Georgia, and there was quite a bit of turbulence.
“And when it happened, I looked at my daughter and said, ‘This could be it.’ Maybe this is it. Maybe we’ll go together.”
Even Tolman’s friends have noticed a change in him, saying the incident made him “completely different” from the 25-year-old they once knew.
And Tolman knows it all came down to the lessons he learned in the afterlife.
He said that during his journey through heaven, he was forced to embrace “principles” in order to move out of the heavenly realm – and the first was “authenticity.”
“The first step up the stairs for me was understanding that authenticity is the most powerful step for all of us,” Tolman said.
‘Otherwise we’re wasting our time here. Every moment we are not authentic is a moment wasted. That is why it is very important for us to be as authentic as possible.’
Tolman told DailyMail.com that he learned three lessons while in heaven. The first was the power of authenticity, followed by the purpose of life and the importance of loving all beings
“The purpose of life is that we are here to learn. There is no success or failure. It is our individual journey, but also our collective journey.’
He further explained that the final lesson was that we must embody love for all beings.
“When I say all beings, I mean all of creation, people, animals, plants,” Tolman continued.
‘All life, in all its forms. We have to learn to love even the scary part. And as we do, we begin to discover the shadow of heaven here.”
The revelations came about after Tolman and his friend took the supplements on January 18, 2003.
The men knew “something was wrong” and stumbled into a restaurant that morning to seek help.
While Tolman’s friend was able to get help, he lay dying in the restaurant’s bathroom before help arrived.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene to find the young construction worker’s body had already gone cold, but an eager EMT began bringing his body back to life — and that’s when Tolman saw something that changed his life.
Tolman was a construction worker that led to the experience that he said completely changed him
“The counselor said in his words he felt something telling him I wasn’t dead,” Tolman said.
“From my perspective, I witnessed everything from above, and I saw an energy hit him and said, ‘This one is not dead.’
‘That was enough for him. He opened that body bag to try to resuscitate and on the third attempt he managed to get the heart to come back and start beating.”
Tolman was rushed to the hospital and put on life support, but as his body lay lifeless in the emergency room, his mind went on a journey.
“It was just this super serene moment where everything came crashing down on me,” he said.
“I had what people talk about as a life review, where I saw every bad thing I’ve ever done, but then I started seeing every good thing I’ve ever done, and I started feeling this warm presence behind me.
“Then I turned around and saw this gentleman dressed all in white.”
Tolman said he met a guide in heaven. Years later, he saw this photo of his great-grandfather, who he believes was the man who guided him through the afterlife
At that moment, Tolman felt a flow of “warm, peaceful energy” and thought it was God.
But it wasn’t God, it was a man who said, ‘I am your guide, I am here to help you.’
The man in white gestured to Tolman and said he could go home or back in his body.
‘There was no way I wanted to go back to that body. I felt all this loving, peaceful energy coming from him,” Tolman said.
“And so I told him, ‘I want to go wherever that energy comes from.’
He followed the man, feeling energy being carried through his mind, to an area with buildings, grass, flowers, trees, water, and other people.
“I had no contact with them at all, except with my guide,” Tolman said.
‘I connected with the space. I connected with the grass and it’s strange to say, but I felt an enormous love, peace and serenity coming from the grass when I touched it with my feet.’
Tolman’s guide hugged him and a voice spoke a prayer.
The prayer was said by Tolman’s brother, which he found out years later, over his lifeless body in the hospital bed.
Tolman has since written a book about his experiences and works as a life coach
He remembered feeling “forced” back into his body and waking up.
“I had a really hard time picking up the pieces of what this was and making sense of life,” Tolman said.
A few years later, he was visiting a town in Wyoming when he saw a photo of an old man with a long white beard and a full head of hair.
Tolman said the image was the guide who met him in heaven, but was also his great-grandfather.