After Death Documentary Film: Unpacking the Mysteries of the Afterlife w/ Dr. Mary Neal

Join us on a profound exploration into the mysteries of the afterlife with "After Death," a feature film unraveling spiritual enigmas. In this episode, we confront the challenge of deciphering what awaits us beyond our physical existence. Imagine yourself kayaking in Chile, facing life-threatening waterfalls, a scenario that unfolds in the film. Today, we delve into the heart of this spiritual journey with Dr. Mary Neal, a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon whose personal encounter with life after death is featured in the movie.

Dr. Neal recounts her abbreviated near-death experience while kayaking in Chile, vividly describing the moment her boat became submerged. Embraced by a profound sense of God's love, she actively chose to surrender, leading to a transformative encounter with Christ.  In this episode we will discuss:

• The Nature of Near-Death Experiences
• Transformation & Responsibility
• A Shift in Identity & Priorities
• Trusting in God's Promises
• Living in the Present Moment
• Encouraging Critical Thinking
• Recognizing Miracles

In this captivating episode, Dr. Mary Neal takes us on a journey beyond the physical realm, inviting us to question, reflect, and embrace the transformative power of spiritual encounters. Don't miss the opportunity to explore the profound wisdom she gained from her near-death experience and its implications for our spiritual understanding. Tune in and embark on this enlightening exploration of life after death.

Movie Website: After Death
Book: To Heaven and Back
Book: 7 Lessons from Heaven
Go-To Bible: NIV Translation
Favorite App: Bible Gateway

If you loved this episode, you may like to listen to our podcast with Ian McCormack - https://www.coffeeandbibletime.com/podcast/episode/4b7ff551/season-3-ep-37-near-death-experience-testimony-with-guest-ian-mccormack

Transcript

Mentor Mama  

I'm Mentor Mama and welcome to this soul stirring exploration of a firsthand account of what happens after we die. Have you ever contemplated the profound mysteries that unfold after we depart from this earth? 

Well, today we are going to delve into the heart of this spiritual enigma with “After Death,” a feature film that unveils some of the mysteries that surround the afterlife. So, in discussing “After Death,” we confront the challenge of deciphering this sacred question, what awaits us beyond this physical existence?  And the quest to find this out is illuminated by the accounts of believers, guided by faith, and those touched by divine encounters. But how do we embark on this sacred journey ourselves? Well, the solution lies in embracing the wisdom of a real-life testimonial. And joining us for this discussion is Dr. Mary Neal, whose own personal experience with encountering life after death is featured in the film. We are so glad that Dr. Neal could join us today to share her experience, because avoiding this topic of exploration may leave us spiritually impoverished, missing the opportunity for a deeper connection with our Creator. So, without confronting the mystery of life after death through a Christian lens, we risk neglecting the spiritual truths that shape our eternal destiny. So we are not going to shy away from learning more about this topic.  

Imagine yourself in hearing Dr. Neal's testimony and learn more about the movie “After Death,” in this interview. Dr. Mary Neal is an analytical board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon whose spiritual skepticism was transformed when she had a profound near-death experience and gained profound insight into many of life's big questions. 

The remarkable story she shares is one of hope and great joy. She currently lives and works in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she and her family enjoy everything the outdoor world offers. Mary's story has been featured on the Dr. Oz show, the Oprah Winfrey show, NBC, Fox News, Huffington Post, Christianity Today, CNN USA Today, and others.   

So please welcome Dr. Mary Neal.   

Mary Neal 

Thank you, Ellen.   

Mentor Mama  

Oh, I am so excited to meet you because I just want to start out by saying that my husband and I went to the movie theater to see the movie “After Death,” based on a recommendation from his boss. And we both just absolutely loved it. We found it so fascinating. And it just corroborated so remarkably with another interview that I had done previously with a gentleman named Ian McCormick, who also had a near-death experience and is a survivor of that, and his story is so powerful as well. So I said we have to have someone on the show to talk about this documentary-style movie. So thank you so much for joining.   

Mary Neal  

Yeah. It's always a privilege. Absolutely.   

Mentor Mama  

Dr. Neal, why don't you just start out by telling us about your own personal near-death experience? 
 

Mary Neal  

Well, it's going to be a very, very abbreviated version because otherwise it would take several hours. But in a nutshell, my husband and I went down to South America, to Chile to go kayaking. And whitewater kayaking is something that we had done for decades. We kayaked all around the country and internationally. This was something we did. It wasn't a crazy sort of fly by the night kind of thing. 

And we had friends who are professional boaters. They own a rafting kayak company who had run trips to Chile for kayaking for decades. I mean, this was a well-worn path. And so when our youngest son was finally old enough that I felt we could leave town without our kids, which was of course a magical day, we decided to go down with them and kayak for a week, which we did and had a glorious time. And what was going to be our last day of kayaking anyway, we had decided to kayak a section of river that's well known for its waterfalls. And, you know, I don't mean crazy waterfalls. And I will tell you about the single thing in the movie After Death that makes me a little uncomfortable is the scene that they put in a waterfall because it was not that kind of a waterfall.  

These are drops of 15 to 20 feet, which for a kayaker are challenging and exhilarating, but they were well within our skill set and they're not crazy sorts of things. It's not like Niagara Falls or something. But actually my husband for the first and only time in his life woke up that day with back pain. So he did not go on the river with us. 

But I went with these, again, these professional friends of ours and several other American clients. And we went over the first couple of drops and it was fine. And we approached the first more significant drop and we had decided to go through sort of a smaller part of the drop, because we were still just kind of getting going for the day.  

And this was a river that's a little bit different than the rivers we have here. It was very high volume, fast current. There weren't really any slow areas, any eddies where you can kind of pull out and regroup. So I started down the river and another client had sort of bobbled her way past me and blocked the entrance to this sort of smaller, easier chute.  

And so my only option was to veer over and go over the main part of the waterfall, which I did. And as I crested the waterfall, I could see the bottom and I could see, you know, tremendous turbulence, tremendous hydraulics, no clean outflow. And I knew that, you know, it wasn't gonna be great, but what I assumed would happen would be that I would hit the bottom, be flipped upside down because of the turbulence, probably not be able to right myself, but then I would exit the boat, be, you know, tumbled around a little bit and spit out downstream. What happened instead was that I rocketed down and the front end of my boat became pinned or stuck in the rocks and the underwater features. And the boat and I were then completely submerged under eight to 10 feet of water. And everyone always wonders if I panicked, things like that, but I'm a spine surgeon. I don't know if I relish high stress situations, but I'm very comfortable with high stress situations and I'm not a panicky kind of person. So no, I didn't panic. I'm a very pragmatic, concrete sort of thinking person. And so, I said, huh, okay. I tried to free the boat. I tried to free me from the boat. I tried to do all those sorts of things, and very quickly realized that the weight of the water and the force of the current had the top half of my body absolutely plastered to the front deck of the boat and nothing I was doing was going to make a difference. And I also knew that I was too far from shore for anyone to come and rescue me, that kind of thing. And it's a funny thing because it would be very easy for me to say I gave in or gave over to God. I mean, people assume that it was a very passive thing, but I very actively knew that I had a choice and I actively asked for God's will to be done regardless of what the outcome was. Living, dying, didn't matter. And I can't explain the intensity of the active choice, but it wasn't a passive choice like, oh, hey, I have no other options, so I guess I'll go with plan B. This was a very active choice. And it was profound because, you know, we all, if you grew up in a Christian church, you say the Lord's Prayer and you ask for God's will to be done. But, you know, come on, none of us ever mean it. I mean, I was, you know, well-educated, self-reliant, etc., accomplished, and certainly didn't think I needed God in the picture.  

I mean, you know, it was nice and I took my kids to church, but it was sort of more as a, you know, to give them a moral foundation and that sort of thing. It wasn't because I thought I needed help, if that makes sense. And, you know, of course we always ask that God's will be done on our own timetable and all that kind of thing. But I gave all that up and very actively asked that God's will be done. And the moment I asked that I was immediately overcome with a very physical sensation of being held and comforted and reassured that everything was fine. My husband would be fine, my young children would be fine, regardless of whether I lived or died. And the first really profound aspect of this experience for me was the recognition that I was being held and comforted by Christ. I was a good person. You know, I bought into the concept of being honest and ethical and a woman of integrity and all that sort of thing.  

But, you know, I was no religious zealot. I mean, we talk about the fact that you don't earn God's love, but of course, none of us ever really believe that because we live in a world where love is conditional. But there I was, you know, I didn't deserve it. I didn't earn it, but I was being held and God's love was so purely poured into me and enveloping me.  

And I knew that it would be true for any person who asked. Any person who turns toward God is embraced. It's the prodigal son concept. I mean, not just given a feast, but so purely and completely loved. I mean, my experience could have stopped there and I would have been profoundly changed. But then we went through a life review and I have to tell you, at this point in my life, I had not personally known anyone who died. I had been exposed to death through patients and my medical training and that sort of thing, but I hadn't known anyone who died. So I never really thought about death. I certainly didn't have any preconceptions about what it would be or anything like that. I'd never really thought about it, a life review. I mean, I probably would have imagined the Hollywood version, you know, where you feel really good about some things and then some things, you know, maybe not. But this life review was nothing I could have imagined. It had everything to do with understanding and compassion and grace. It really didn't even have anything to do with forgiveness. Because what I discovered is that, you know, when you understand someone's backstory, including your own, it's not a matter of forgiveness. It's just all those destructive emotions of whatever, anger, bitterness, shame, guilt, remorse, they just disappear. Because when you understand what's going on, you just don't, I mean those destructive emotions just don't exist. I mean the classic example is, you know, someone cuts you off in traffic and you're going, ah, you jerk.  

But if you actually knew that person was on their way to the emergency room because their loved one was dying, well, you wouldn't be irritated. In fact, you'd help them move people out of the way. I mean, it was really just this profound experience of grace, truly what I think grace is. And then eventually I could feel my spirit kind of peeling away from my body. And eventually Jesus sort of released me to the heavens and I rose up and out of the river and was greeted by a group of some things, people, spirits, beings, you know those words mean different things to different people so I'm never really quite sure what to call them but I knew they were there for me. They were so overjoyed, absolutely overjoyed to welcome me and greet me and shower me with, again, this intense, pure, unconditional love that emanates from God. I mean, they were wearing these robes that were woven together with fibers of love. Love was everything. Love was all there was, really. And I knew that these people, again, whatever you want to call them, had been important in my life story, had known me as long as I've existed. I didn't recognize them, because as I said, I hadn't known anyone who died, but I knew that maybe it was a grandparent or a neighbor who died before I was born. I knew there were people who had been important in my life story, and they were just so overjoyed. It just, I mean, intense. And I had this overwhelming feeling of being home. 

You know, being where I really belong, where we all really belong. And it was so beautiful. I mean, just absolutely beautiful. And one of the things I love about near-death experiences and really every other profound spiritual experience is that they're simultaneously all the same and different. You know, we all talk about, for example, intense beauty. But the details are a little different, which to me speaks truth rather than a physiological process. If you break your arm, I can pretty much tell you what your experience is going to be. But with these, the differences reflect the differences in individuals. Here on earth, you and I may see beauty very differently. My husband and I see beauty very differently. Beauty that moves him has to do with music and that sort of stuff. Whereas for me, what really speaks beauty into my very heart and can make me cry is the intensity of color and the delicacy of flowers and the aromas of flowers, and that's what I experienced. I absolutely believe that God knows us completely. Every hair on our head knows our intellect, knows our personality, knows us and presents to us the experience that will speak to us, that will make us feel known. And so I saw colors that were nothing I've ever seen here on earth, flowers and the aromas. And there was a shift in time and dimension. I mean, really we exist here in this three-dimensional world with chronological time sequence, but God's world is different. There is no time. It's, I don't know, everything is in the present tense. I mean, there's no chronology. And so I was able to experience everything, see every color, all of this kind of all simultaneously, but independently. And I know that doesn't make sense really. I mean, it doesn't happen here. But it's like all of eternity is really contained in every moment. I don't know how to explain it. But anyway, so eventually they took me down this path of all these colors and flowers and toward this great dome structure that I knew was the point of no return. And I knew that was truly home.   

I describe where I was as heaven, God's world, I don't know what to call it. But it was almost like it was the anteroom. It was like the mud room, which was good enough, believe me. And we got to the threshold of this structure of sorts. And I was there for what felt like many, many hours. And during that time, had this complete understanding the divine order of the universe, how it all works, how there can really be a God who knows completely and fully each and every one of the billions of us on this planet, loves each one of us as though we're the only ones, and has a plan for each one of us and for the world that's one of hope. I mean, that's pretty incredible. And I would have stayed right there forever and been very content. But eventually I was told that it wasn't my time, that I had more work to do on earth and I had to go back to my body. And I mean, I already told you I'm a self-reliant person. I said, no, I'm okay. I can stay. You know, Jesus told me everything would be fine. So I can stay. But it was at that point then that the people who had taken me there gave me this kind of laundry list of work yet to be done. And I will say there's nothing on the list that I thought would be fun or, everything on this list was going to push me out of my comfort zone in one way or another. And the most challenging, of course, is being told about the coming and unexpected death of my oldest son, who at the time was only nine and healthy. I mean, no reason to think he wouldn't live to be an old man. When I asked the obvious question of, you know, why? I mean, why my son? I was immediately taken back to my life review in which I had also been shown again and again and again, the truth in God's promise that beauty does come of all things and reminded that it is always a matter of trust. You can trust the truth of God's promises, or I should say you can choose to trust the truth of God's promises or not. And that's a choice that we have to make minute by minute every day, every week of our entire life. And with that, then I was taken back to my body and reunited. And then there were, you know, several weeks of incredible miracles that happened after that. But I'll sort of end it at that point for the moment so we can get into some of the issues you want to talk about.   

Mentor Mama  

Yeah, it's mind boggling. And the, I guess, it was such a tremendous experience that you have, but it also comes, it feels like with a load, a responsibility, I mean, knowing information like that, and that was coming ahead.   

Mary Neal  

There's a lot to unpack.  

Well, I would tell you something that I find, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but you touched on something that I find really intriguing because one thing that many people ask is, okay, well, many people have sort of a clinical or subclinical death and are resuscitated. So why doesn't everyone come back with a near death experience? And on one hand, you can say, well, you know, it only occurs to 13% of people. I actually believe everyone who has been resuscitated has had a profound spiritual experience. I think the real issue is how many people come back and are allowed to remember it. Because, you know, it's a mixed bag, as you say.   

Mary Neal 

You know, everyone always says, Oh, I'd really like to have a profound spiritual experience. But the fact is, every person and I, you know, I've spoken with thousands of people who have had profound spiritual experiences at this point. And everyone says the same thing. It's a mixed bag. There are the obvious, you know, awe-inspiring, wonderful part of it. But there's also the heavy burden of responsibility. And what are you going to do it?  

What are you going to do with your experience? How are you going to use it to reflect God's light to the world? I mean, there's a lot there.   

Mentor Mama  

Mm-hmm. Yeah, you know, that was one thing I did want to ask you was, how did this whole encounter reshape your priorities, your daily life, your relationships?   

Mary Neal 

Oh my. Where do you even begin? Everything about what I am changed in the sense that prior to this experience, if someone said, Oh, you know, who are you? What are you? I would have said, Well, I'm a, you know, I'm a spine surgeon, I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm you know, all those sorts of things. But I know that my only identity, the only identity that I actually care about is first and foremost, I am a beloved child of God, period. And everything else, yes, it is a joy and a privilege to be a wife and mother and all those things, but those are all a distant second. But more importantly, when I was still on the threshold of this, sort of dome structure of sorts, and had this incredible understanding of how it all works. One of the things that I was shown and understood very clearly is how everything is incredibly and completely interconnected. How everything we do, everything we say, every human interaction matters. It actually matters. How we steward the earth, how we treat animals, how everything matters. And so in thinking about how my life and my priorities have changed, I mean, it's all changed and none of it's changed. As I said, I mean, I tried to be a good person before. It's not like I was a jerk and then I changed. But I know that everything matters. We're here on earth and it's this incredible privilege. You know, I'm not going to sit in my little room longing for heaven, longing to go back home to our real home. Being here is an incredible opportunity and an incredible adventure. And I'm going to use it to the best of my ability to learn and grow and reflect God's love to others because it matters. Every day matters. Every moment matters. And so, it's radically changed my perspective in that sense. Like things don't, you know, nothing much bothers me. I'm not, actually nothing bothers me. You know, as long as I know that in any given moment, I am doing what I believe God would have me be doing, then really nothing bothers me. One of the most profound transformations for me was shifting from a hope or maybe a faith that God's promises are true to an absolute trust. Because truly, if you trust God's promises then everything about daily life changes. Because if I trust that, and you can use whatever words you want, but if I trust that I am fully known and that through that knowledge, God doesn't, you know, He's not angry and bitter. I mean, if I trust in forgiveness, if I trust in grace, then I don't have to focus on my past.   

I don't have to feel regret and shame and remorse and guilt. I also don't have to have feelings of anger or bitterness because I know intellectually, I know that if I knew everyone else's story, I would feel nothing but some version of love for them. I'd feel compassion, I'd feel empathy, I'd feel something, not anger, hatred, bitterness, et cetera. So, my past is gone. My past doesn't put a ball and chain on me. It doesn't limit who I am today. Certainly, doesn't limit who I can be tomorrow. It doesn't limit who God knows me to be. I mean, no matter how far away a person thinks they are, they're not. All they have to do is look toward God and they will be surrounded by God's love. You know, I don't have to be anxious about tomorrow. You know, what's the worst that’s going to happen? I'm going to die, okay. That's not so bad. But I don't have to be worried about that. If I trust that God has a plan for my life and for the world, that's one of hope. I don't have to be caught up in all the anxiety about, oh my gosh, you know, what's happening here or there. I don't have to worry about that stuff. I mean, it's just not mine to worry about. It's like that old saying of, tomorrow has enough problems of its own. So I, you know what I'm talking about, right? And so what I find that allows me to do is allows me to be fully present today, in this moment, because I'm free from all of those past emotions. I'm free from anxiety and worry. I mean, I still plan, you know, obviously I had to put you on my calendar and plan for this. But I hang onto my plans very, very loosely because I trust that if my own plans don't come to fruition, it's because God has something else, probably better, but something else in mind. And as long as I continue focusing on what I believe God would have me be doing, then that's the best I can do. And I find that joy is in the moment. 

You know, I absolutely believe with all my heart that we are meant to live joy-filled lives.

But most of us get caught up in all this other stuff that robs us of that joy. I mean, we just kind of get overwhelmed by it all. But if you can start to shed that, and I think we all can shed that through trust, then you can exist now in this moment. I mean, God told Moses, I am. He spoke in the present tense. It's not yesterday, it's not tomorrow, it's present tense. And if we can accept that, I think that's where joy is found. And it's a joy that can transcend our challenges and struggles and really change our perspective. I mean, I don't like challenges. I don't like struggles. I mean, like, you know, be reasonable here. I don't want any. But if you trust that beauty will come of it, then even in the midst of challenges and struggles and loss, you can still feel incredible gratitude and joy. So that was a very long answer to your question, but it's a transformation that is part of every breath. Hoping or having faith is a very different thing, I believe, than making a choice, collecting enough evidence to choose to trust. Because, I mean, you and I both had plenty of friends who have a quote, strong faith, and then they face something, a death of a loved one or their own imminent death or something, and then their faith is either shaken or they lose their faith. Well, you know, my contention is it's because it was based on the external. They never made the transformation to truly trusting.    

Mentor Mama  

You speak such words of hope and encouragement. It's incredible. You know, one thing that you said that caught my attention was, and it reminds me of this other book that I read, was what's one thing that you can't do in heaven, and that was evangelize. That's like to share your faith. And I can imagine, you know, do you feel a different calling to do that? Obviously, I would think now than previously.   

Mary Neal  

Well, I think the answer, of course, is yes. But I also think that different people are called to evangelize in different ways. And I know that for me personally, and whether it's my personality, my baseline personality or my baseline skepticism and my feeling that we're all the same. I mean, my passion is really not to, you know, sort of beat people over the head. I mean, my passion really is just to provoke people to think, because I do believe we are created in God's image, and we are given the ability to think analytically, and I think that's a gift. You know, I think that we're expected to use our brain and to think about things and to dig in. I mean, I know that for me, for example, I never expect or hope or want anyone to take me at face value. I mean, I don't take other people at face value. What I hope is just to provoke, to provoke thinking and maybe shift someone's perspective just a little bit. Because I think that, you know, it's so easy to get dug into what your opinion is. And then pretty soon you realize that actually you don't even know why you hold that opinion. You don't even know why you believe what you say you believe. And my form of evangelism is really to say, okay, you know what, do the work yourself.  

Don't believe me, don't believe your pastor, your preacher, your priest, don't believe anyone else. Actually, do the work yourself. Because I absolutely know that God is real and present and working in every person's life no matter who you are, no matter whether you believe it or not, whether you want God's presence or not. That's a whole other conversation.  

But I absolutely know that God is present and working in every person's life. And so what I encourage people to do is say, fine, you know what, yes, reading the Bible is great. Yes, going, you know, reading books, going to movies, talking to other people, that's all really, really good. But even more important for transformation is to say, okay, let me challenge that opinion of mine or let me challenge that belief and let me look in my own life. Let me look backward in my life and try to see if I can find God's presence because I don't think God's there. You know, I mean for some reason we all tend to think that miracles for example happened in biblical times but they don't happen now. Well, I can assure you not everything's a miracle but miracles happen. Miracles happen in every person's life. But you have to usually look retrospectively to see them, or you have to prospectively start writing down all those things that you think, oh, that's weird. Huh, wow, strange. You start writing all those things down, and then in a year or two, you look back and go, oh, wow. Because every person has things in their life that statistically are so improbable that it can't be anything but a miracle.   

Mentor Mama  

Hmm.   

Mary Neal  

So that's my way of evangelizing is really to try to, try to reflect God's love, but then really try to just present different perspectives and try to shift a worldview to say, huh, maybe there really is a God, let me look at this. And that may be based on my world. I mean, I'm surrounded by scientists. You know?   

Mentor Mama  

Sure. Yes. And you know what, that was kind of how I wanted to ask you one question about sort of the whole science, you know, as a doctor, how has your medical background influenced, you know, your understanding of this whole near-death experience? And I was really intrigued as well in the movie about how they kind of explored, you know, what happens with the brain. But tell us from your own perspective.   

Mary Neal  

Yeah, I will tell you that when I was sent back, I mean, I was in terrible shape. You know, I had multiple broken bones. You know, I couldn't walk. I was in the hospital, ICU for a month or so. I was in the hospital for even longer. I mean, it was, I don't know, probably six or eight months before I was walking and sort of functional. That was a long process. And when I came back, I really, I mean, I spent my many months of rehab trying to find a different explanation. You know, I really didn't want mine to have been a spiritual experience because I knew that if I could find a medical or physiological explanation, which now of course I just call them excuses, but if I could find anything else, then I would be able to discount everything I've been told, including what I've been told about my son's coming death. And so, I went back and I looked at the original research on every possible explanation anyone's ever given for near-death experiences. I didn't even know what a near-death experience was when this happened. I'd never even heard that term, actually. And I will not very graciously admit that at that time in my life, if someone had talked about this stuff, I would have just, not outwardly, but inwardly, I would have been rolling my eyes and just think, oh, whatever. I mean, that's a little woo woo. I mean, like this, I was not, definitely not really open to the concept. But when I came back, I really tried to disprove my own account because I certainly wouldn't believe it had I not loved it. And after going through everything, ultimately had to conclude that it had been a true and spiritual account. And one of the things that I came to realize in that process is that we're all given this false dichotomy of choice. We're sort of not overtly, but we're sort of told that you can choose either or you can either believe in science or you can believe in God or you can choose faith. And, you know, science is real. I mean, science is real. 

But here's what people seem to miss, is that science and faith, or science and spirituality and spiritual truth, have always coexisted very easily because they address different things. Science will always be the way through which we try to figure out how everything works. I mean, might one day we actually understand what triggers a near-death experience? Yeah. Physiologically, we might, we haven't yet, but perhaps. But spiritual truth will always be the way by which we talk about meaning and purpose and the whys. Like science can tell you how something happens, but only spiritual truth can tell you why it happened. And so, they coexist very easily.   

Mentor Mama  

Mmm.   

Mary Neal  

And I think that anyone who focuses on one at the exclusion of the other is shortchanging themselves.   

Mentor Mama  

Yeah, that's a really great point. I find that God has a sense of humor in the sense that he would pick you, a skeptic. But that's what's so beautiful about your testimony is you change.   

Mary Neal  

I'll tell you the other part. I mean, God actually has a sense of humor because even though I'd never really thought much about death, the only thing I will say is that throughout my life, you know how every so often, I don't know, maybe kids or something would say, oh, I don't care how I die as long as whatever. Some people say as long as I don't get hit by a car, as long as I, whatever, I don't want cancer. My thing was always, I don't care how I die, as long as I don't drown. Because, and I'm a water person. I mean, I grew up swimming, I mean, I'm a water person. But I always thought that drowning would be the most terrifying, horrible way to die. And so I will say, when I was underwater, the irony was not lost on me. Because at one point I remember thinking, are you kidding? Of all the things, like, what? I'm drowning? And the remarkable thing was, you know, it was wonderful. I mean, I never had fear or panic or any of that. I never felt alive and then dead. I never felt conscious and then unconscious. I felt alive and then more alive, conscious and then more conscious, which is the exact opposite of anything I would have assumed.   

Mentor Mama  

Yeah, and many of the other people in the film also indicated that as well. Incredible. I wanted to just ask you one thing, and I know we're going to run out of time here, but in your experience in working with this movie, and you said you've talked with so many other people and they didn't experience what you did. When I say they experienced the dark side or the evil spirits part of it. Is that something that has resonated with you as well after hearing other people tell their testimonies?   

Mary Neal  

Well, I've heard, as I told you, I personally have heard thousands of people's stories. And definitely there are some people who had negative or hell type experiences. And the thing that's remarkable to me about them is that every single one of those people was pulled out of that experience by God's love. And every single one of those people, all they had to do was for a nanosecond, think about God, think about Jesus. All they had to do was make a choice, really, to turn toward God. Basically, I don't talk about what I didn't experience, what I don't know. And for most of spiritual truth, we don't really understand it.   

Mentor Mama  

Yeah.   

Mary Neal  

And people pontificate, but they don't know. People can say whatever they want, but if you don't really know, then you don't really know and shouldn't really talk about it. I think that the people I know who had a frightening experience would readily admit that they put themselves there. And so I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what to make of it. Didn't have anything to do with anything I personally experienced. 

Mentor Mama 
Yeah, yeah. Well, if you're listening to this interview, I sure hope you'll check out the movie “After Death,” because there is just a broad range of different type of experiences in the documentary.   

Mary Neal  

There are, and that's what I think is so wonderful about profound spiritual experiences, whether it's a near death or after death, or whether it's a deathbed visitation. I touch on that a little bit in my first book, “To Heaven and Back,” and then also a lot of these questions I talk about in my, “Seven Lessons from Heaven.” I get into them in a little bit more depth. The wonderful thing is that even though after death touches on, I don't know, maybe five or six stories, the fact is near-death experiences occur universally across cultures, across socioeconomic divisions, across faiths. If someone shows up that is identified as a divine being, it's Jesus. 75% of atheists encounter someone that they identify as Jesus. I mean, God is present in the whole world. Not just in Christian America, God is present in the whole world. We are all absolutely beloved children of God, every one of us. And it's heartbreaking to me to see people in your own neighborhood and your own community and your own church group and your country, the world. It's not about division. I mean, one of the things that you will hear every single person say in the movie, “After Death,” is that it is all about love. It is love first and foremost. 

Mentor Mama  

I think that's a beautiful way to kind of wrap this up. And if you want to know more, you can definitely go see the movie. Do you want to let them know where they can go to find out more information about the movie?  

Mary Neal  

It's put out by Angel Studios, and so you can go to Angel Studios forward slash life after, and there you can see the trailer, you can see where it's playing, and you can get a little bit more information.   

Mentor Mama  

Okay, awesome. Well, we will make sure we put links in there. I'm going to put a link to your two books, a link to the film, a link to this other interview that I did. You'll be able to find all that in the show notes. Well, before we go, I just want to ask you real quickly a couple of our favorite Bible study tool questions. What Bible is your go-to Bible? What translation is it?   

Mary Neal  

Well, that's actually a difficult question because as you well know, Bible translations are all over the place and know, there are ones that try to translate word for word, others that translate thought for thought, others that paraphrase it. And none of them are original, right? Because Jesus didn't write it down and he didn't even have punctuation.  

So I read every translation with just a little bit of question mark. And so typically, if I'm reading, I will read the thought for thought. Like I read the NIV because I think that is a reasonable start. And then I typically, I read, I have physical copies of the NIV and the ESV which is a literal translation. And I kind of have those as physical copies that I use, but I will tell you that I'm an electronic person. And so I typically read electronically. And so then I can have three or four or five versions. I'll have my, the go-to are the two, the NIV and the English Standard Version. And if it's then something that I have a question about or I think, huh, like, I don't really understand that, then I'll be able to read three or four or five different versions. So I love it. Because I think that all the versions, you know what, it's like denominations. They speak to different people differently. And I absolutely believe that God meets us where we are. And I'm all for all the denominations. I'm all for all of the versions because I know that God can make you hear what he wants you to hear. It doesn't matter what you're reading. I mean, just even in speaking, I can't tell you how many times I finished speaking and someone comes up and says, oh my gosh, it really hit me when you said X, Y, and Z. And of course I smile, but I'm thinking, I never said that. 

But I believe that they heard that because the Holy Spirit, you know, if you're reading or listening without asking for the Holy Spirit to help you, then I think, you know, it's a problem anyway. So that's a long answer to the Bible religion.   

Mentor Mama  

Yeah. Oh my gosh, that really is a good reminder for everyone to ask the Holy Spirit. Okay, do you have any favorite journaling supplies or anything you like to use?   

Mary Neal  

Yep. Again, I'm an electronic person. So I use notes. I mean, I think that I'm not a good journaler because I'm, I don't know, I can't sit down at a prescribed time and write. I've never had in my whole life. But I use the little notes app on my phone. And throughout a day, if something inspires me or I want to look up something, I'll write it down if I'm in church. You know, I'm always a little nervous because I don't want people to think I'm texting during church. But you know, if something is said that inspires me or motivates me, I'll write that down. So I use notes a lot because I can then also go back and search. And I also, you know, I typically read my Bible on my Bible app. You know, I love that. I use it for, you know, daily messages and, you know, reading plans. I use Bible Gateway a lot if I'm trying to research or understand something, just because again, you can pull up and it’s there.  

Mentor Mama 

That was going to be my next question. What was your favorite app or website?  

Mary Neal 

Yes, Bible Gateway. I has just about I think any version of the Bible you want. You can also go back and look at original. I don't think they have Aramaic, but you can look at Greek and Hebrew and that kind of thing. So I use that a lot, but then in terms of reading, no, it's the same thing. If I'm in church, again, I'm sometimes a little self-conscious, but I don't really care. But I always pull up this Bible app and it's awesome.   

Mary Neal  

Yeah, no, I just think it's so great because you can on those apps, you know, you can highlight, you can make notes to yourself, you can share a tech, you know, share a verse, if something moves you. I mean, I love them. I've, you know, technology has its limitations, of course. But I love technology.  

Mentor Mama  

Yeah, I do too. Dr. Neal, thank you so much for being here today to share your experience with us.   

Mary Neal  

Wow, it is really such a privilege. Thank you and thank you for the work you're doing.   

Mentor Mama  

Oh, well, for God's glory, right? How awesome it is to hold him in our hearts. For our listeners, be sure and grab some friends, family, and go see this movie. Take someone who's skeptical. I think it would be a great conversation starter. It's just very eye-opening and really makes you examine the possibilities from every angle what happens after death. So we will include a link below to where you can purchase your tickets. So, thank you again, Dr. Neal. Thank you for listening, everyone. We love you all and appreciate your listening. Have a blessed day.