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4840
Simon Bown, Verified Near Death Experiences, Chapter 14: The Garden of What Is and What Could Be, Amber Cavanagh, pp. not specified, 2025
45
Moderate Evidence
9
Low Compatibility
Past/future lives, beings from other planets
This experience contains some biblical elements including the description of divine light ("light of God"), a paradise-like garden setting, encounters with deceased family members, and spirit guides who could be interpreted as angels. The instantaneous transportation to another realm and the expanded consciousness align with some biblical visions. The concept of seeing how actions create ripples affecting others reflects biblical principles of sowing and reaping. The miraculous recovery despite severe brain damage could be seen as divine intervention.
However, the experience contains highly problematic non-biblical elements. The explicit mention of "past and future lives from different time periods and planets" directly contradicts biblical teaching of one earthly life (Hebrews 9:27) and suggests both reincarnation and extraterrestrial existence. The concept of viewing one's "higher self" and family members' "higher selves" reflects New Age philosophy rather than biblical anthropology. The idea of having multiple lives across planets contradicts the biblical account of human creation and purpose. The absence of Christ, judgment, or biblical framework for salvation is concerning. The experience seems to blend New Age concepts with some Christian imagery but fundamentally contradicts core biblical doctrines about the nature of human existence and the afterlife.
Amber Cavanagh suffered a massive stroke on December 23, 2021, caused by a tear in her carotid artery. After waking at 4:45 AM paralyzed on one side, her husband Mike called 911. Paramedics initially dismissed her condition as intoxication, causing critical delays. At the hospital, scans confirmed a massive left-brain stroke with a secondary frontal lobe stroke. She had missed the window for TPA treatment due to the delay. During helicopter transport to a specialized hospital, Amber experienced cardiac arrest and clinical death.
During her NDE, Amber found herself instantly in a breathtaking otherworldly garden without traveling through a tunnel. Everything glowed with golden rainbow light that felt like the light of God. Colors exceeded Earth's spectrum, and she felt connected to everything - every tree, stone, and blade of grass hummed with its own energy. She appeared in a younger angelic body wearing a white off-shoulder dress. Knowledge flooded her mind showing how every thought, word and action created ripples affecting others. She saw her family's higher selves and a group of her past and future lives from different time periods and planets. Spirit guides presented her with a choice to stay or return, showing her husband's and children's futures without her, warning the first 18 months would be incredibly challenging if she returned. While out of body during the helicopter flight, Amber observed Mike shielding her eyes from sunlight with his hand. She witnessed her sisters in the car driving through the Malahat mountains with no cell service, sensing their bargaining prayers with God. She observed her seizure in the Victoria hospital ICU with Mike present. At home, she saw her children packing clothes - her daughter struggling to decide what to pack while reassuring her stressed younger brother. She also witnessed her family dog who had passed away, later confirmed when Mike told her about the death on December 29th. Amber survived against all odds despite an orange-sized hole in her brain and thumb-sized frontal lobe damage. Her recovery shocked doctors who said she shouldn't be able to talk, walk or eat. Every family member confirmed her observations were accurate, leaving them amazed by her experience. |