Untethered Consciousness

Stephen Weber: And then when
I came to the intersection

where I was to make
a right hand turn,

someone had opened up a
space for someone coming

in the opposite direction
to make a left hand turn,

and so just as I was going
into the intersection, the

truck made a left hand turn

and went smashing right
into the side of me.

Rod Bland: My guest today
is Steven Weber, who's one

of the global community
of people who have had

a near death experience.

And Steven is here today
to share his story.

Thanks for joining
on the show, Steven.

Stephen Weber: It's my honor.

I appreciate you taking
the time to speak with me.

Rod Bland: Yeah, no worries.

So it's my honor as well.

We were just speaking
about your accent.

It's the Long Island accent.

And now I'm familiar
with people that come

from Long Island.

I know what to, my ear
is tuned to it now.

Stephen Weber: Well,
Water, quarter, what

is and should is.

No ERs.

That's the way we talk.

Rod Bland: All right.

Why don't we just drop into
a little bit of your life

prior to your experience.

I'm interested in hearing a
little bit about how, perhaps

how you grew up and then
let's talk about your NDE.

Okay.

Stephen Weber: Sure.

I grew up on a small blue
collar town on Long Island.

It's about 50 miles or
so east of New York City.

And it was a rural community
that was becoming suburban.

And there was lots
of open trails.

And so when I was a young
kid, I had a paper route.

I bought a mini bike when
I was about 10 years old.

And ever since then, I've
been riding motorcycles,

mostly a Harley Davidson's
once I was old enough to

get a street bike and,
and I just loved it.

It was such a big
part of my life.

I love riding motorcycles.

I also am a computer person.

I'm an engineer.

And so I'm into technology.

And that was like my life is
that I work very hard with

my computers, but In a lot of
ways, I was an outlaw biker.

I I can't show you, but I
have tattoos all up and down

my arms, Harley Davidson's,
and and that was pretty much

my life for the longest time.

I was never a
spiritual person.

I grew up in a Catholic
Christian community.

The church was the center
of town and but I was more

or less a Christmas and
Easter Catholic, I would say.

And that was pretty much
it is that I focused

on having a good time.

I considered myself a
pleasure maximizing unit.

I had loved the rock and roll
and cold beer and pretty girls

and, all those terrible things
that you're not supposed to

be interested in these days.

That's what I was
interested in.

Until my life changed.

And when I take a look at
so many things that have

happened, like at one times
I thought once I had this

near death experience, this
spiritually transformative,

just wow experience.

I thought that was really the
focus of my life and so many

things that had gone on, but I
really began to learn is that

there's only a small part,
I believe, in a much, much

longer experience that really
taught me about forgiveness.

And about not only forgiveness
of other people, but of

yourself and about learning
and the very meaning of life.

And in the end of everything,
I would say that if there's

one lesson that I learned from
this experience and everything

associated is life is good.

And people are good, even
when very sad things happen.

And that's really what
I've walked away from

this experience with.

Rod Bland: I know there's
a couple of events that

occurred and I'm not going
to give anything away.

So tell us about the events
that led up to your NDE and

then what happened after that.

Stephen Weber: Sure,
I'll be glad to.

It's really important for
me to share this experience

because it's very clear
in a lot of ways can

bring peace to people.

Not only people who fear
or cons don't know what's

gonna happen next and
and have a fear of death

or even a fear of life.

Is that is that truly, It's
an inspirational experience.

So I would say that it all
started I guess back in 2005.

I live on Long Island
and Fire Island and the

Hamptons and all that.

It's all a beach community
and I would love to ride

my Harley Davidson all up
and down Ocean Parkway.

It's a really, it's
a hopping place.

I loved it.

And so it was 4th of July
weekend back in 2005.

And I was driving my Harley
Davidson down the parkway.

And I noticed that there
was someone driving right

next to me and it seemed
odd, I wasn't sure it was.

Out of place, but there was
a pickup truck not more than

about five yards away from me.

And and after a while, me
looking at it a few seconds,

it's just like forever.

I realized this truck
was going the wrong

way on the parkway.

I was going.

Northbound on the parkway and
he was going northbound, but

in the southbound lane and and
at first I wasn't sure what

was going on because there was
construction around and it's

just not something you expect.

It was very late at
night and I just didn't

know what was going on.

And just then, when I
finally realized that this

fella is going the wrong
way, The divider line

disappeared between us, and
he was right next to me.

And I realized I had
to get out of his way.

I just, if he realized that
he was going the wrong way,

he was going to cut right,
right into me, and I need

to get my thoughts together.

And so I pulled over two
lanes on the highway to get

as further away as I could.

And just right then,
he went underneath the

bridge and went headlong.

Head on collision right

into a limousine,

killed a little girl, a
little seven year old girl,

and killed a limo driver,

and it was a family coming
back from a wedding, and

they had done all the right
things they did, they hired

a limousine to bring them
back and forth so they could

have some drinks with their
families and not get in

this crazy situation, and
the allegation was that the

fellow who who caused the
accident and although it was

late at night, people were
immediately on scnene, because

it was a holiday weekend.

And once I saw that, I went
home, I went when you're on a

motorcycle, you want to stay
away from traffic accidents.

There's a lot of debris
on the road and people are

looking at the accident.

They aren't looking
at anything else.

You just don't want
to get run over.

It's a very serious situation.

I've been.

Riding for decades, hundreds
of thousands of miles

on my motorcycles, on my
Arleys, I've been around.

And so I know that was
a dangerous situation.

So I so I drove home and
that was the end of it.

I just went on with my life.

I often thought about it.

But but those types of
things, as tragic as it was,

it they happen all the time.

And it was in the
newspaper the next day,

and they were asking for
witnesses to come forward.

But I didn't come forward
because that, I felt that

there wasn't a lot to the
imagination of the allegations

where the gentleman was
drinking, he was driving

the wrong way, he hit the
limousine, he killed these

beautiful people and can't
undo it, but it seemed

very straightforward to me.

And that was the end
of it for about a year.

And then a year later, some
friends of mine called me

up and said, Steve, you
got to look at the paper.

And and so I, I'm
a computer person.

I, I didn't pay
attention to local news.

I was more like big
news, like world news.

Are we going to blow
ourselves up today?

Like that kind of news.

I really wasn't that
knowledgeable about

local happenings.

So I went out and got the
paper, and on the front

page, there was a trial
going on for this fellow.

And he was being charged
with second degree

murder, not manslaughter.

He was being charged with
second degree murder,

and it was like the first
time in the United States

that was going to happen.

And and after hemming and
hawing it for a while as I

came forward, I really did.

And it was a very difficult
thing for me to do.

I was a business person.

I owned my own business
with my brother.

And it was just a
difficult thing.

I really didn't want
to do it, but I knew

I had to come forward.

I came forward and I
testified at that trial.

I was on the stand for two

days.

The defense attorney was
a very, I don't know.

I don't want to
mischaracterize him

he, in my opinion, he
wasn't professional.

And he was just trying to
throw things up against

the wall and seeing
if things would stick

and I thought that it was
very apparent the fellow

was driving the wrong way.

The allegations he
was drinking it seemed

very straightforward.

And and they convicted that
fellow and they sentenced

him to 16 years in prison.

And and I had very mixed
feelings about that because

I understood the pain and
suffering of the family,

losing a little seven
year old daughter and they

were injured themselves,
profoundly injured.

But I saw the kid,
and he was a kid.

He was just a kid who
made a stupid mistake.

And for the grace of God,
it wasn't me, because

I wasn't any angel.

And I felt I had very
mixed feelings about it.

And the family was very angry.

They thought the judge
should have been harsher

with the defendant.

And they were very
bitter about it.

And I understood that, but it
stuck with me for quite some

time, just their reaction.

And I felt for
them, I really did.

But I also felt for the
defendant, in the sense

like, just a stupid kid
doing a stupid mistake

that he can't take back.

And that was it.

And it changed my life.

I couldn't go back to work
with my brother anymore

after having that experience.

And so I sold out, I sold
my interest in my computer

company to my brother.

And I became a full time dad.

I had two children at
the time and I did not, I

didn't want to miss out.

I saw what that family had
gone through and I wasn't

going to miss out a moment.

And so I did some small
consulting on the side from

my home computer consulting.

And I took care of my kids.

I was Mr.

Dad.

I even ran for the school
board and I was elected

to a school board.

And that was a challenge.

I was just so wrapped
up in just being the

best parent I could.

It was my life and it
was something I thought

I was really good at.

I really did.

I was definitely
an alt personality.

I was a biker.

I liked having fun.

Work hard, play hard, but
I was committed father.

I really was.

And that's the way it went for
a while until one afternoon.

It was Sunday afternoon.

I decided to take my Harley
Davidson out to the Hamptons.

The Hamptons here on
Long Island is like the

hot spot where all the
rich and famous go, but

I wasn't going for that.

There's this little hole
in the wall barbecue shop

that I would go to and
I'd get some ribs there.

You could drive past this
place a million times

and not even notice it.

But I just happened to notice
it because I, I know certain

things, being a biker and
driving all over the place you

know, the good spots to eat.

So I had driven out
there and had some ribs.

It was a Sunday afternoon.

Then on my way back.

The road was backed
up for miles.

I mean for miles and miles,
the cars were not moving.

You expect beach traffic, but
it was really the spring time.

It wasn't that warm out.

There must have been
some road construction or

emergency road repair or
something which caused it.

But I saw people were
driving on the shoulder of

the road to get up to the
next turn to make a right

hand turn to get out of the
mess and find another way.

And after sitting
there for a while,

I decided to do that, just
that, is I drove on the

shoulder, and then when I
came to the intersection

where I was to make a right
hand turn, someone had opened

up a space for someone coming
in the opposite direction

to make a left hand turn,
and so just as I was going

into the intersection,
the truck, it was a truck,

made a left hand turn
and went smashing right

into the side of me.

Yeah, it crushed my
whole left hand side,

everything I'll go into
that a little bit, but

the lights went out.

I had no idea
what had happened.

Rod Bland: So you saw the
truck and that was, it was

like just a split second and
that was truck boom gone.

Stephen Weber: I didn't
even see the truck.

They did, these are all
things that from reading

the police report and stuff,
I didn't see anything.

I didn't know
anything had happened.

And the next things I
realized is that I was laying

on the ground, and I was
looking straight up, and

there was all these flashing
lights all over the place.

And it was actually
starting to get dark out.

And I realized some time
must have passed because

everything was changed.

And I remember looking around
and thinking to myself.

This is going to be
like no other day.

There was no getting up
from this because that's

one of the first things
I tried to do is get up

because as a biker, right?

Or wrong.

There's a saying, if you go
down, get up because if you

don't get up, you stay down,
you will stay down, you'll

get up right away and I tried.

And I felt my leg
was disconnected.

It was, the skin was still
there, but my leg was

just flopping all around
and ah, such intense

pain that I blacked out.

And then and then the next
thing I knew is I was.

Sailing through the air.

I was going higher and I was
going through the clouds and

I was thinking, what someone
would think in that situation.

Rod Bland: What's
happening here.

Stephen Weber: Yeah,
because it was everything

was so surreal and
I didn't realize it.

Until I started to go
down out of the clouds,

and then I saw a big circle
with an H in the middle

of it, and I realized
I was in a helicopter

and I was being airlifted to
Stony Brook Hospital, and I

knew that hospital because I'm
a graduate of the university

there at Stony Brook.

My daughter's a graduate
of this university.

My mom's a graduate
of the university.

It's a cornerstone
of our community.

And it's one of the
most premier trauma

centers in the world.

They just do
incredible work there.

I think they invented the
sonogram or they did so

many of the tests and micro
grafting surgery to reattach

limbs and such that it's just
a tremendous trauma center

outside of about 50 miles
outside of New York city.

And I was outside
of the helicopter.

It was if you
remember from MASH.

The way the helicopter
was really small and it

can't fit you inside.

So they have these pontoons.

And so I was outside
and all these things, it

just took me a while to
realize what was going on.

And then when they rolled me
off the helicopter, I realized

that was the last time I was
on this earth in my mind.

In my hospital bed.

I was in a coma for a month.

But in my soul, where I
was, I spent a lifetime,

lifetimes there.

And it's a place I call
between here and there.

And it was surreal.

It was the most intense,
most beautiful experience

someone could have.

I didn't expect it.

I didn't expect any of this.

And I was profoundly ill.

I was bleeding internally.

They had to do several
surgeries to stabilize,

stop the bleeding.

My whole body was crushed.

They had to do all this
surgery to put all these

metal implants in me.

And then my back, my
vertebrae were crushed.

They had to put these
two steel rods in it.

And then I was in a coma
and at first I didn't

know I was anywhere else.

I thought I was at work.

Really, it was...

It was no different
than anything else I was

experiencing and when I say
I was in another place, a

place between here and there,
it's like purgatory that I

learned as a Catholic, except
for Catholics learn purgatory

as a place of punishment.

You're not good enough to
go to heaven, but you're not

bad enough to go to hell.

Go to this middle place where
you do penance and you...

Absolve yourself of sins and
then you could be in heaven.

But it wasn't
like that for me.

It was a place of learning
and understanding.

And it was what I felt,
what I feel now is that in

the same way, your body.

transitions to come from
spirit into a physical

form, your body also
transitions to go from a

physical form into spirit.

It's not like a switch.

I don't believe that all
of a sudden you're alive

and now you're past and
now you're in forever.

It's a process.

It has to take place.

At least that's what
I've come to learn.

And then one of the
first things is I

learned in that place.

It seemed like I shared
all of my experiences.

I shared everything
that I had with the All

That Is, and I received
certain wisdom, certain

knowledge that I needed

in order to make this
transformation into spirit,

to make sense of my life
that had passed so far, to

be able to grow my awareness
through my experiences, and

so, um, I was, Sat down at a
table and someone said, okay,

Steve, this is spirituality
101, start chapter one.

It was nothing like that.

It was the very first things
I learned is how to see

spirit, how to sense spirit
in everybody and everything.

And the way I was taught
and I have to stress, I

never felt like there was
a spirit's hand on this.

It felt like things
just happened.

It really, it wasn't like,
like I, I saw Jesus or

I saw this white light.

I didn't see any of that.

What I had was this experience
and what the experience was

is I saw a friend of mine,
a gentleman who I worked

with 20 years ago and I
hadn't seen him for 20 years.

And I saw him and I
was talking to him.

I recognized him
right away and we said

hello to each other.

But what was odd about
it is that he hadn't

aged a bit in 20 years.

Nothing, not a bit.

He was still the same guy.

He was like from Haiti and
he spoke this French, Creole,

English kind of language.

And it was very expressive
because he really didn't

know all the words.

And so we pantomime
him out as he talked.

And he was really
a jolly fellow.

I really enjoyed his company.

But I only worked
with him for a year.

So I really didn't know his,
and in retrospect, I would

think, why was he there?

Why was he the one
showing me this?

But but then he appeared to me
again, but he was an old man.

He was like 80 years old and I
didn't recognize him at first.

And but then he
did his mannerisms.

He acted out things
the way that he does.

And I said, aren't
you so and so?

and he said, yeah,
how'd you guess?

And that was the starting
of this game, is this

guy appeared to me in
every shape and form.

Sometimes he appeared to me as
a lady, other time he appeared

to me as an Asian person or
from South America or he would

change all these ethnicities
and ages and everything.

And over a period of time,
and I keep on guessing

him, sometimes it took me
a while, but over a period

of time is that I didn't
really have to concentrate

on like a mannerism to
tip me off to who he was.

As I start to feel like
an energy like there was

something no matter what
his form on the outside

changed, there was still
part of it that I could

sense that didn't change.

And as time went on as I
didn't even have to see

him, I didn't even have to
look at him, I could just

sense and feel his energy.

And that was when I realized
what I was seeing was his

true spirit, his satnam his
soul, that part of you that

perhaps was born with the
universe or created with

the universe, or always was,
but perhaps, It grows and

develops over time and so
by me seeing him and seeing

him in all these shapes and
sizes is that I realized that

I could see and sense spirit
and once I could do that is

I start to look around me.

And all of a sudden I saw
everything in a different

light now because that
I could sense spirit

and I started to realize
everything has a spirit,

everything, the
plants, the trees, the

animals, the universe.

And I started to
understand that all these

spirits are unique, but
they're also connected.

That together, perhaps, I'm
just saying perhaps, I call

it the universe according
to Steve very laughingly, is

that I'm just saying perhaps
we are all connected and

that all of us and all of
our experiences make up the

consciousness and I believe
Now that I believe that's the

consciousness of the Creator.

I believe that the creation
and the Creator are one.

Whether you believe in the Big
Bang or let there be light,

it explains the same thing.

All of creation coming from
a singularity and an infinite

expansion and this whole
scenario plays out where, Many

planets and many individuals
and many species evolve and

grow and develop spirit and
eventually come to realize

that they are the creator.

If we think about now, if we
think about where we are with

technology, CRISPR technology
and gene editing, and we've

just come that this way in a
short period of time, imagine

us a thousand years from now,
if we don't blow ourselves up.

First, about the
technology and what

we'll be able to create.

And what I really think is
that perhaps, just perhaps

I'll get off my thing in just
a second, but perhaps the

very purpose of life is to
learn and grow and to really

add to the consciousness of
the creation and the creator

through our experiences.

And that was one of the
first things I believe I

learned there is really that
everything has a spirit.

We're all connected and
perhaps we make up the

consciousness of the creation
that the creator and creation

are one and that was my very
first experience, but that

was the first experience of
many to come because that

when I was there this kept
on happening with this fellow

and me recognizing who he
is, and it kept on going on

until I stopped learning.

And each time I stopped
learning, I was presented

with another scenario.

that brought my learning
to the next level.

And so the very next
scenario was I had a life

review and my life review
went over and over again.

I reviewed all the aspects
of my life, but now I

could see spirit and I
could sense spirit in

everybody and everything.

So as I start to replay my
life, Each scenario took on

a different meaning because
that I could see what

everyone else was feeling.

And so to me, my reality was
my reality, but every other

person in that situation had
their own reality as well.

And so as I start to go
through all these scenarios

in life is I learned
more and more things.

And then when I got to
the end of my life review,

my awareness was raised
and I would go through

my life review again,

because I was able to get more
and more out of my life review

each time I went through it,
because at the end of my life

review, My understanding,
my awareness was raised

and I was ready to learn
more from my experiences.

And one of the things I
learned that was so valuable

is some of the most terrible
experiences in my life.

One of the most heartbreaking
things that I've had the

jealousy and the hatred
towards myself and other

people that, that once I lived
through those, And I had my

life review over and over,
I began to understand those

things in a different light.

And once I began to understand
it, is I would feel like

a weight was lifted off
me, is that I didn't have

any of those hatreds or
animosities ashamed anymore.

Because once I understood
it, and I learned what

I had to learn from it,
I, it was liberating.

It was blissful.

It truly was.

is I knew every day that I
went through my life review

is that I knew it was going
to be a really bad time.

I really, because you had to
face some really tough things.

And but at the end that
I would feel blissful.

I really would.

And I like bliss.

I really do.

And I just, it drove me,
it almost drove an urgency.

It drove an urgency for
me to learn more and more.

And grow.

And that went over time and
time again, a lot closer

to infinity than one.

And it kept on happening
until I stopped learning.

And then when I
stopped, nothing.

Rod Bland: Steve, it almost
sounds like you're on a

therapist couch where you're
talking about your experiences

and then you integrate and
process that and then you

move on to the next one.

Stephen Weber: No, and
it's so true because I

apply that in my life now.

That's one of those changes
that really made such a

positive difference in my life
in the here and now is that

I constantly do life reviews.

In fact, if I can't look
back six months ago and say

what a jerk I was, I'm really
not learning and growing,

nobody, if not learning and
growing, why are you here?

And so that's why that life
review was so important to

me because not only did it
enable me to grow there,

but enabled me to grow here.

Once I learned the value
of it, like anytime, some

people, when they find out
their faults, they feel

shame or they uncomfortable,
or they deny it.

Me, I get excited.

I get excited because it's
okay, I'm going to learn it.

I'm going to grow from this.

I am, I'm gonna, I'm
gonna do it, and I

don't even have that.

Sometimes it, you know, can
upset people close to me.

Like when I make mistakes,
it really doesn't

bother me that much.

I have empathy and remorse in
those things, but I don't beat

myself over the head for it
as long as I learned from it.

And I'm not a
person of malice.

I really not
concerned about that.

It's just, you learn
and grow, and that's and

that's really the mission.

That's what I learned,
at least, from those

life experiences.

Rod Bland: I know time
is a relative thing and

time doesn't really exist
when you're outside of

this physical reality,
but how many of those life

experience reviews do you, oh

you did actually say closer
to infinity than one, yeah.

Stephen Weber: But I want to
say something about the time,

because that's a
really important

point that you raised.

Is that time didn't exist
there like it exists here.

For instance, here you have
appointments in the future.

You can see the calendar.

You can cook.

The grass grows.

The weather changes.

There, it isn't like that.

Everything's about
the experiences.

Nothing, none of this
happens unless it's

part of an experience.

And so really the way that
you sense time, and time

moving on, is that you
sense your personal growth.

All the understandings, how
you learned along the way,

and that when I was going
through my life review is

that what gave my sense of
time is that I remember when

I started my life review,
where I was mentally and how

I had to work through all of
this stuff to get where I, my

understanding is now, and that
gave you the sense of time.

That's why I believe so
much, everything about life

is getting experiences.

If you went om on a mountain
all day, and I, and that

may be important for some
people, I don't know.

But you're not getting
life experiences.

You have to be out there.

You have to laugh.

You have to cry.

You have to make mistakes.

You have to love.

You have to do all these
things and still be able

to dust yourself off at the
end of the day and put one

foot in front of the other.

So you get so many more
of these life experiences.

If I didn't have these
life experiences, I

would have nothing.

I would be bored but really.

Time wouldn't move at
all because I'd have

nothing to reflect upon.

At least that's
what I believe.

Rod Bland: So the life reviews
came to an end at some point.

Was there always someone
there with you or did you

just have this general sense
of spirit or the creator

that was there with you as
you were going through that?

Stephen Weber: I know
this is very much unlike

many other people's
life, NDEs, but I didn't

sense like an individual,
like a Jesus or a God.

It was, everything
was all around.

It was like, it
was everything.

Like I remember when I
was a kid, they would

say, God is everywhere.

And I'd be like little eyes.

You can see me going to
the bathroom, it was like,

you would have those kinds
of thoughts as a child,

but it wasn't until I was
in that other place where.

It's everything.

And that's what gave
me the understanding.

At least what I felt was
that the creator and the

creation of one is that it
wasn't like one set of eyes.

It was like complete
understanding that

surrounded everything.

And I hope that
answers your question.

I could babble on for a while.

Rod Bland: It's a
paradigm, isn't it?

Because we see with our
eyes, we individualize

things and to try to explain
something that's outside

of that paradigm it's not
an easy thing to either

explain or grasp, I think.

Stephen Weber: It's
very true, but but I

do think it's important
to for me to do my best

because having that life
review is one of those lessons

that you could really learn
in the here and now that would

change your life, is to have
a very critical but honest

and kind eye towards yourself.

But truly to identify those
faults in yourself, which

you can learn and grow, a
lot of the things, a lot of

the issues that we have in
life, we've ingrained them

when they happened like if
the dog bites you when you're

seven years old, you can go
through your whole life and

just be afraid of dogs and
react all of a sudden towards

dogs, as opposed to if you
were to review that situation

with the understanding the
life experience of a 40

or 50 year old, you may
now understand is that you

could tell the difference
between an aggressive

dog and a friendly dog.

So you don't have to
be afraid of all dogs.

You have to use your
sense to figure it out.

And those, that's what
a life review does.

It releases those blockages.

You can have that blockage
for all your life and never

be around dogs and, be very
afraid of them, or you can

revisit it with the wisdom
of your life experience.

And that's really the true
beauty of the life review

and how it's manifested
in our lives here and now

it's one of those things.

Do it.

You'll be a happier person,
in my humble opinion.

Rod Bland: While you're
there having your life

reviews, what else did you
see and did you have were

your senses like sight?

Could you hear things?

Could you smell things?

Could you touch things?

Was that there or was it
something different to that?

Stephen Weber:
It was different.

And what I mean by that
is, when I say I talked,

I really didn't talk.

Nobody talked.

It was just an awareness.

Even when I was playing
that game with my friend.

It wasn't like
we really talked.

It was like,

it's tough to say how the
communication was, but I knew.

What he was, wanted to
know and wanted to share.

And I could tell he knew
what I wanted to know or

what I wanted to share.

And that's the way it went.

It wasn't like, like Star
Trek when the head moves

and they see pumping and
you hear someone talking,

but they're not talking
like you read the back.

No, it's not.

That is that you can feel
certain things and it has

nothing to do with speech.

You can feel and sense
intent and knowledge and

that's how I interacted.

It wasn't that like I can walk
to the store or something.

It was that these scenes
played over and over again.

I couldn't choose where I was
going or what I was doing.

I didn't try, I didn't
try, I just, everything

just happened.

But once I was in that
situation, it appeared to me

that I had a lot of free will.

on what I can choose to
do or what I can choose

to understand is that it
was almost like a play.

Is that is that you had the
scene, all your focus was

what was going on there.

There could be all stuff
around me or there could

be nothing around me.

I wouldn't know because It
just didn't occur to you

to focus on that because
everything was about this

interaction that was going on.

So it wasn't that I ate
or slept unless that was

part of the experience.

And for me, I didn't have
those kinds of experiences

but later on, there was one
point where I saw sunsets and

rises and falls every day,
but that wasn't marking time.

That was part of
that experience that

was very important.

And and so it's.

It was just just a
surreal experience.

I after I was experiencing my
life review, when I learned

all I was going to learn
from that, everything stopped

and everything changed.

And the next thing is
I was put in charge

of some young adults.

And I had to
teach them a task.

And no matter what they
wouldn't listen to me,

no matter what I did,

they wouldn't they would
act, no really, they

would act like they got
everything like okay yep.

And then when it was time to
do it, they would scatter.

And then I would see them
later and they would act

like nothing's wrong.

It was like something
wasn't clicking.

It's I, and I was
failing miserable.

I w I was failing.

And then I I went to
who I thought was like

in charge of things.

And I want to express how
I felt and try to figure

out what was going on.

And as I stood before,
I don't know the owner

who was in charge.

I realized something is
that I realized that I was

standing before myself, not
myself, Stevie Weber, but

my higher self like it was
then it became apparent to me

that perhaps part of you is
always in spirit and part of

you has a human incarnation
or a physical incarnation

to learn and to grow and to
make the mistakes that your

higher self couldn't make
to enable you to have those

experiences that enable you
to learn and grow, which

is perhaps the very meaning
of life is that to continue

the spiritual evolution,
this awareness revolution,

evolution, how the more you
Raise your consciousness.

You raise the consciousness
of everything around you.

And so once I started to
stand before my higher self is

that I couldn't read my mind.

I couldn't tell why I
felt the way I felt or

the knowledge that I had.

But by standing in that grace,
just that understanding, it

wasn't like I was answering
or asking questions,

but just by being in.

That aura, that energy,
things just appeared

to me to be more clear.

It's not like someone
put a thought in my head.

It was just by being there,
like all of a sudden I looked

around at the kids and I
realized I had it all wrong.

Is that I wasn't there
to teach them a task.

What I was there to do is that
these children were spirits

who had yet to experience
their first human incarnation.

And I was here, I was being
tested to see if I could

shepherd those young children,
those young adults, those

young spirits into their
first human incarnation.

And what I was doing is I
was failing miserably because

that I spent all this time.

To learn about spirit, be
able to sense spirit and life

reviews and everything else.

And finally, when I was
put in the situation to

mentor these spirit, I
didn't see them as spirit.

I saw them as dumb kids
who wouldn't listen.

Like I was taught all
these things and I

didn't apply any of it.

There was this lady there
who didn't do anything,

and it seems strange, but
everyone had a role there,

but there was this lady
there who just prayed.

And I couldn't hear her
words that she was praying,

but I felt like this energy
coming from her that was

just so beautiful and so
intense and so love, but love

with wisdom, it's not just
love, it's love with wisdom

and it was almost like The
words was a was a road in

which this intent traveled.

It really wasn't like
the words matter.

It was just like
the highway for this

beautiful loving energy.

And when I was in this
place, that loving energy

really gave me strength at
some of the most difficult

points when I was dealing
with the situation, it was

like, I couldn't hear the
prayer, but I felt that

loving energy and that was.

If it wasn't for that,
I wouldn't have made it.

I really wouldn't have.

I don't think so.

And then once I
understood that...

Everything came into line.

It was then I began to realize
that perhaps your spirit was

created with the universe
but it learns and grows over

periods of time through many
incarnations that it's not so

much I believe that's not so
much your reincarnated, as a

new person or a new body or
just yourself and you just

forgot your other lives.

It's really what I began
to understand is that

your spirit grows through
many incarnations, many as

animals, as plants, as all
different types of things.

And at each stage,
you learn how to have

love and compassion.

Does an alligator have
love and compassion?

I don't think so.

But once preachers start
taking care of their Children,

then they start to understand
love and compassion.

And I truly believe that
the spirit learns and

grows through many of these
experiences once again

to elevate the awareness
and the consciousness.

And once I was able to
shepherd those kids off to

their experience, to their
physical experience is that

I had my very next and final
experience in that place.

I come from a small town
on Long Island called

Kings Park, and that's
in New York, in the USA,

and there's a big bluff, it's
like a cliff that overlooks

the Long Island Sound,

and everybody from town,
at the end of every day, we

all go down to the shore,
it's a small redneck town,

and we go down to the bluffs
and we have red solo cups.

Some people drink coffee
and other people drink other

stuff from the red solo cup.

And we talk about what's
going on in town, who's

doing who and all those
small Town Gossip, which

makes small towns fun.

And I would sit there with
my two friends when I was in

this place, Joey and John.

I knew them from
town, and they were

good friends of mine.

They were much older than
me, but they were talkers.

They were raconteurs.

They were these two
Irish guys who still

spoke with the brogue and
they could tell a tale.

I just really, they
did a lot of fun.

And and Joey, he had
broken his back when he

was a kid, right at the
bluff where we were.

He was diving in the water, it
was shallow, and they actually

had to put metal implants in
his back and stabilize him.

And that was years ago
when that was really new.

And then Johnny, he like
did the readings in church.

And he was like the voice
of God when he was like,

he had this voice that was
like, and Jesus said, and

like the ground would shake,
he was really a good guy.

I really liked them a lot.

And and I would sit there
and I'd watch Sunset

with them every day.

But the Sunset
wasn't marking time.

It was the reason
why we were there.

Because each time I saw
the Sunset go, eventually

I came to the realization
that both Joey and John

had died earlier that year.

And I thought to myself,
how could this be happening?

Really.

How could this be happening?

Is that up until this point?

A lot of crazy stuff was
going on, but for some

reason, I don't know, it
didn't register with me.

It was like, I was
just going with it.

I was having, up until
this point, I was having a

wonderful experience and I
just didn't question anything.

I don't know why it sounds
so odd that these strange

things were happening, but
I was just dealing with it.

And it was okay.

I was fine.

I certainly didn't remember
any accident I was in.

And when I came to this
realization, I started

to think to myself,
I wanted to ask them

like, how are they here?

Why are they here?

I know your past, like,
how could you be here?

And I kept on thinking about
asking them, and I say that,

like I was saying before,
it's not like we really talk.

It's if I wanted this
to be known, I would

have made it known.

And each time this happened
is that for some reason I

didn't want to ask them.

I'm not exactly sure why.

I probably didn't want
to know the answer.

It's I just didn't
want to ask them.

And then finally, each time we
went through this experience,

Because I started to get the
feeling that if I didn't ask

them now, I would never get
a chance to ask them again.

And this started building
up and then finally one time

as I had made it known that
I wanted to know why they

were here, and they said,
is that they wanted to make

sure that I was alright.

And I didn't know what they
meant by this because there

was nothing wrong with me.

I was fine.

And it was like echoing
in my mind, I'm all right.

I'm fine.

I'm all right.

It was like it was just so
surreal to me and then as the

sun started to set it just
got brighter and brighter

and then I shielded my eyes
and then eventually I took

my hands off my eyes and I
was in my hospital room and

my mother was holding my hand
and she was telling me that

I had been in this terrible
accident, but and I was

very injured, but everything
was going to be all right.

I'm going to be fine.

And and that was
my return back.

But in so many ways,
that's just the start of

the experience because I
thought it was the drugs,

like I thought of this
experience afterwards.

And a lot of times I joked
about it with friends, I

would, I really did is that
I really made fun of it.

It was like, Hey, I got
a six pack to go, it was,

wow, that was a trip, man.

It was like.

I didn't believe it.

And but I was just
so gravely ill.

I couldn't walk for a year and
and it was just so tough but I

remembered a couple of things
is first off as I remember

that lady who was praying
and I could see spirit now

and I knew who that lady was.

That lady was a dear
friend of mine, Kathy.

She was I was on
the school board.

And so she was like
one of the school moms.

Our kids went to
class together.

We did field trips.

We ran an organization called
the Kings Park Network to

have positive change in our
community and everything.

And we were good friends.

We walk our dogs together
and she was a little kooky,

she was into saints and things
like that, things that kind

of made fun of her over it.

But she was good
humored about it.

And and so I called
her right away.

As soon as I.

I was tied down, which
was very strange.

It's the first time
I was tied down with

my clothes on before.

So it was very strange.

It took me a little time
to get used to that.

But as soon as I was able
to get, I was intubated.

I couldn't move.

I had this tube down
my throat and that's

set like a long time.

I was like that.

But as soon as I got all that
stuff out of me, I texted my

friend and I told her that
I heard her prayers and she

said, you heard my prayers?

How did you know?

And I told her that
that I was in a place.

That not here, not there,
where you can hear prayers,

and I heard your prayers,
and it gave me strength

at the most difficult
time I was there, and

I thank you for that.

And she told me how she prayed
every day at the exact same

time, and she made sure, to
send me that, that love and

light, and and really, so if
I have any advice to anybody

is that, prayers work, but
it's almost like the words

don't matter, it's the intent.

It's the love and the
caring and the intelligence.

That you put behind those
prayers, that it's really

just a highway, a vehicle
for sending that into spirit.

I really believe that.

And it wasn't for Kathy.

I wouldn't have made it.

And also Kathy was an athlete.

And so she helped me recover.

And she was like halfway
between Sergeant Slaughter

and Mother Teresa, you know,
you know, like, at times she

was so tough and so mean,

but other times she was
just so kind and supportive.

And, but there was
something else there.

is that I felt like
a surety of outcome.

Almost like I've
been down this road

before, but I hadn't.

Like I knew that if I did
these things and I tried real

hard and I didn't give up,
I didn't get discouraged,

I would get better.

I would be able to walk and
these things would happen.

And I was so sure of this.

I drove the poor people
crazy in rehab because I

would sneak out of my room.

I'd be in my walker and
I'd be shuffling down

the hall and stuff.

And they'd tell me I'd have
to get back in my room.

And it was then I realized.

What Joey and Johnny meant
about what Joey and Johnny

meant about making sure
I was going to be okay.

They didn't mean there.

They meant here.

Because I believe that
they were my spirit guides.

And like John's leg,
he died of diabetes.

His leg was all infected.

My leg was all crushed.

My back was all busted up.

I had all these
metal implants.

Just like my friend Joey.

How does this happen?

Like, how do they, how
do I feel that energy?

How does that happen?

No, I'm certain they
were my spirit guides

and I was benefiting
from their knowledge.

Not like they were telling
me one more push up, but

it was that understanding
that if I did these

things I would get better.

And it was really true.

I felt like I did, I
made tremendous recovery.

In fact, I meet some of my
friends from high school

now, I'm in better shape than
they are, nothing happened

to them, it's just, it's
all about motivation and

and getting that energy,
really feeling that.

from my spirit guides and
Kathy, you know, get going,

Steve, but it really was.

And things were
going pretty good.

Then I was starting to
get my sea legs back.

I had returned to work and

then my son died
of a drug overdose.

And um,

Rod Bland: Yep.

Yep.

Stephen Weber: you.

And uh, you know, it
happened so quickly, a

lot of families have,
long histories but he was,

He's a tremendous musician.

He could play the guitar
like Jimi Hendrix.

He could play the
saxophone like Dizzy

Gillespie played the horn.

He played the guitar

and the piano.

He played the
piano like Mozart.

He just, he would, I remember
the piano teacher used to

yell and scream at my son
because he was playing all

these very complicated pieces.

My son would say, what
am I playing it wrong?

He would say, no idea
what you're playing.

It was like.

It was such a blast and
he was gone, he was a

championship wrestler.

He was on a scholarship to a
engineering, top engineering

school in the United States.

And it was just, Oh, it just
happened all of a sudden.

And, and I had to do a lot of
soul searching because, being

an alt personality wasn't so
funny now, like the Harley

Davidsons and the pretty
girls and the beer and stuff,

it wasn't that funny now.

I was a committed father,
100%, but I often thought

did I make the best example?

These are things you
just run over your mind

over and over again, you
just try to figure out.

And this is when I started
to become pretty close to

my friend, Kathy, is that we
were spending a lot of time

together and sometimes I
would share stuff about the

place between here and there
with her and then one day as

I was sharing it and I like
made a joke and Kathy said,

Steve, are you looking at me?

I'm not laughing.

She said, okay.

That, That was real.

And the things you learn
there is preparing you for

what you're experiencing now.

And I think she was
right, because that it

was such a difficult
thing and I had to begin

to come to terms with it.

And Kathy, she was
very kind about it.

She was a little, she was a
little kooky about things,

about spirit, at least I
thought at the time, but I

later learned that perhaps
she, one of us was kooky and

perhaps it wasn't her but.

Who knows?

And and so my cousin had gone
to a medium, mediums, channel

spirit and went to a medium
and to get in contact, I

think, with her grandmother.

And instead of her grandmother
coming through, my son came

through And there were a
few validations about my

son playing football with
her son and the medium

read off the numbers on the
jerseys and also said that

he had a synchronization.

Synchronicity with Saint
Teresa, and that's like a

Catholic Saint, the little
flower and roses, and the

psychic had asked if we had
seen flowers like roses,

and it was so weird because
Kathy and I, we were hiking

as part of my rehabilitation,
and we'd be seeing roses

all over on the trails, like
in the middle of winter,

and Kathy would say, Oh,
someone's trying to send us

a message, And I would say,
yeah, they dropped the rose.

That's what the
message is sending.

And she'd say no,
this is so odd.

And so when my cousin came
back with this information

about Nick and St.

Teresa and roses, I
just thought it was a

whole load of poppycock.

I just, I thought she
looked on Facebook, what,

I just didn't buy it.

And that really upset
Kathy because she felt

like this was the, the
missing link that Steve

would really buy into this.

And that went on for a while.

And then, one day it was about
a year after my son's passing,

is that a friend gave us a St.

Teresa card, like a mass card.

And so what we had done is
that we had found like a

brook, a babbling brook, and
we had put a statue of St.

Teresa there, and we had a big
magic marker, and we wrote a

prayer on it, And we put the
rock down and then we came

back like a month later and
there's a hundred rocks there.

It was with all prayers on
it for lost children or even

I need a job or I like this
girl, even something as simple

as those things, but everybody
started writing prayers down

and it was then I started to
really begin to heal because

I began to, it reminded me of
that Sting song, Message in a

Bottle where he was miserable,
he put a message in a bottle,

he expected an answer, but
he got 10, 000 bottles back

instead, asking for help.

And and that's the way
I felt, but it reminds

me of that place.

It wasn't that nobody
wanted to listen.

It was like we were
all in this together.

Really, that we all
have these problems.

We all have these things.

I'm not the first person
to have lost a child

or lost a loved one.

And we're all in this
together and we really have

to rely on each other and
be there for each other.

It really helped me
to understand that.

But it was then I looked
down on the mass card

and it said Saint Teresa
was born on January 2nd.

That was my son's birthday.

And then I, I'm not done,
and then I read the day

she was canonized, that
was the day my son died.

Rod Bland: Golly.

Stephen Weber: Like, Like,
how does that happen?

It was like, really I
could understand one

thing, but both things?

Statistically
speaking, that's crazy.

And then with the flowers
and everything, like I

had to sleep on this.

I really, it was very
like, and then that

night I had this dream.

It was a dream that so
many times people have when

they've lost a loved one.

Is that the loved one
comes back to them and

it's everything's okay.

It's like nothing of
this it's well, it's

it felt like nothing of
this really happened.

And then when I woke up as
I realized it was just a

dream, but it was okay now,
it really was okay because

that I began to understand
that place was real and that

my son was in that place
now and he was transitioning

and he was experiencing all
of those beautiful things

that I experienced and just
as spirits grow and we have

our a higher selves that
I'm certain I will see him

again, not as father and
son, but truly as part of our

whole spiritual existence.

And it will be beautiful.

But until that time
comes, I was going to

make the best out of life.

I was going to be happy again.

I was going to be sad again.

I was going to enjoy and
make the most out of it.

My, my daughter, such
a beautiful girl.

She was struggling
with losing her.

Her brother.

And so I had to focus
on those types of

things, not on myself.

And and it was beautiful.

It really was so liberating
for me because I began to

understand everything, but
that's not where it ends.

Is that they caught the fellow
who sold my son the drugs.

Because, I'm a computer guy.

I had cameras all over
the house when cameras

weren't cool, I was into
it, not that I lived in a

dangerous neighborhood just
because you could do it,

and my son didn't have any
other drugs in his system.

He really didn't have his
history of drug abuse besides

beer, the things that the kids
can do and and they put him

on trial and they charged him
with second degree murder.

The very same charge
that they charged that

fellow in the beginning.

Very same charge.

And I thought, wow,
how ironic that was.

And it was, they were
charging him federally.

And in the United States,
that's a big deal.

If you get charged federally,
you get 16 years, you're

going to do 16 years,
there's no, it's different.

And and so I went to go
to the trial and and I was

really, I wanted to be angry.

I really did.

I wanted to pound the flesh.

I knew how those parents
felt in the beginning.

After losing their child and
when I got there and I saw

the defendant, I don't know.

I just couldn't hate.

I just, I couldn't do it.

Like all I saw was a kid,
a stupid drug addicted

kid who made a terrible
mistake, a mistake that

he couldn't take back.

What would it serve for me?

I don't know, it might sound
so sappy so, well, whatever,

but I felt love for the
kid, I really did, is that I

wanted things to be different.

I wanted him to be able to
put his life back together.

He had to be held responsible,
because my son wasn't the only

person who he'd hurt, the only
person who died, but other

people got very sick and...

Forensics have changed
their lives, and granted,

buying drugs is your own
choice, but when a drug is

so addictive, and you're so
young, and you really don't

know about these things,
it's just, and I felt for the

kid, and, you know, I think.

And I don't know for sure,
but I think that those

parents experienced from
the beginning, with that

wrong way drunk driver
is that I think that was

part of my life review.

And I came to terms with that.

By living through their
example and feeling what they

felt and going through that
over and over again in my

life review, when I was put in
that same situation, it's like

I had the benefits of that.

And I was able to relieve
myself of all of that

negativity, all those
negative feelings.

And truly really what I
wanted for that kid is I

wanted him to have a child
someday, to get out of jail,

and have a child, and to
love that child, maybe a son,

and nurture him, and bring
him to wrestling practice,

go to his wedding, and see
grandchildren, and maybe

someday when your day comes,
you'll be surrounded by your

great grandchildren in bed.

That would be payback for me.

For that truly would to
have a life well lived.

And so I understand
Stevie Webb is not making

criminal justice law.

And I am a full believer in
law and order in this world.

So I'm not saying anything
about anything except for

my personal experience.

Is that I found a way to
love after all of that,

after all this experiences.

And so when I tell you, and
when I share with you and your

audience about the near death
experience was just part, it

was just part of a longer,
A more intense story that,

that, how did this happen?

I had this crazy experience
with this wrong way

drunk driver and the
death of this young lady.

Then I had my near
death experience.

A crazy, crazy, and I
survived to tell about it.

I often say like I took a
spiritual shortcut because

all I did was survive.

But it's really true.

I had this crazy near
death experience and

then I lost my son.

And then we had a trial that
so paralleled everything,

and I thought, like,
how did all this happen?

Is there a master design to
things, or is the stage set?

Sometimes I hear people
say, oh, that's your

life plan, you plan this.

I never got that feeling.

I never, you know, that
like, like you have the

wisdom to plan your life
plan to, I don't know.

I don't have all the answers.

All I have is my experience,
but it seems so odd how

these things fit together
and truly since, since

having these experiences
and coming to terms, like

my life has changed so much.

There's certain gifts
that I take with me now.

And one of those things is.

is signs and synchronicities
is to really understand those

messages that we receive from
spirit and that and then you

have to get rid of the oh
wow factor a lot of times

when people receive a sign
they're like oh wow grandma's

you know blah blah blah once
you start to examine why

you're seeing this message
or why you're feeling this

message all of a sudden it
opens up this gateway of

communication because spirit
knows That could communicate

with you and understand,
you could understand those.

And sometimes the message
in and of itself is

just one message and it
tells the whole story.

But other times, messages
from Spirit is a sequence

of messages to educate
you and bring you a

level of understanding.

And it's really true, at
least for me, is that once I

started opening up my eyes, I
started to see these messages.

In my book, The Place Between
Here and There, is that

I write about about this
one experience that really

changed the way I felt
about mediums and psychics

and spirit communication.

Because I remember the first
time that my friend Kathy,

Kooky Kathy, said to me one
afternoon, she said, has my

son ever tried to contact me?

I thought she was batshit
crazy, because I, I'm

dealing with this grief
and she's talking about

my son contacting me.

Oh, what am I supposed
to go to a medium?

And they got to tell
me stuff about my son.

Like I want to
know part of this.

I didn't understand
any of this and I

didn't buy a lot of it.

And um, day, Kathy and I,
during the health crisis that

we've all had to go through,
the whole world has suffered

through I had decided to write
this book about my experience

and Kathy was helping me with
it, we were doing it together.

And we were just taking
a break from it and we

were walking along the
beach on Long Island.

And one of Kathy's
favorite pastimes is

collecting beach glass and
it would roll up on the beach

and she had jars and jars
of it all over the house.

We were going to have to
get another extension on

the house just to take care
of all of our beach glass.

And she's a big saint person
and she always prays to

this saint called Saint
Germaine, the violet flame.

So when we're walking on the
beach, she's praying to Saint

Germaine to heal the world.

And first off, it wasn't
for Kathy, things would

have been a lot worse.

She's, doing all those prayers
for us, and I do believe.

But she wanted a sign
from Saint Germain that

he had heard her prayers,
and that he was going to

help her heal the world.

And so she asked for to find
violet beach glass, like St.

Germain, the violet, she
wants to find violet beach

glass on Long Island.

You will find hen's
teeth before you will

find violet beach glass.

It doesn't exist.

Just no way.

And I knew she was
going to be disappointed

because she can really get
wrapped up in this stuff.

And and so we're on our
way back and I thought

she was almost crying and
that she was really upset.

She didn't find the
violet beach glass.

And then just right then out
of, just out of nowhere, this

Dalmatian puppy, Dalmatian,
like 101 Dalmatian, like a

white puppy with black spots
all over it, comes running out

from behind a sand dune and
starts jumping all over us.

I was thrilled.

I love doggies.

I have no problem with
a dog jumping on me.

And we were just, I was
patting its head and

like pushing it around.

The owner comes running
from behind the sand dune

saying, Oh, I'm sorry.

It's a puppy, got away.

And we're like, no problem.

And we chatted with the
lady for a little bit.

And so I asked her,
what's the dog's name?

Rod Bland: You're not
going to say Violet.

Wow.

Hmm.

Stephen Weber: And I
think to myself, like,

how could this Dalmatian,

how does a Dalmatian puppy,
how does that be Violet?

It's nothing could be
further from the truth.

And so I'm like, in shock, and
Kathy doesn't get it at all.

And so the lady runs off with
the dog, and so we're walking

away, and I'm like, Kathy,
the dog's name is Violet.

And she finally got it.

And I was like, that's a sign,
that has to be a message.

What does that mean?

Really?

We have to find
this lady again.

And so what had happened a few
weeks later, people walk in

the same beaches all the time.

And we see her again and
she's running with the dog,

of course, is off leash
again, jumping all over us.

And we're like,
Hey, how you doing?

And stuff.

And so we told her the
story about the violet beach

glass and the violet dog.

And she was so
thrilled about it.

And she started to tell
me how her son and her.

They used to watch
Gone with the Wind.

It was their favorite show.

They like had one of these
big screen TVs and they

just, they loved it and they
loved Scarlett O'Hara and her

sassiness and and Brett Butler
gave her this big violet dress

at one point that she wears
and it's beautiful and she

decided to name the dog Violet
but instead of spelling it

like Violet, she spelt it the
way Scarlet spells her name.

She lost her son just
a few months before

that.

And we became very
good friends, and we're

both struggling with so
many of the same issues

and like, how
does that happen?

Like, how does it happen?

Violet Beach Glass, Violet
Dog, Mom Loses Baby.

Young son like my son, and
we're brought together at

such a critical time in the
world is that a coincidence?

Really?

Really?

Is that a coincidence?

And that's really what's,
what sold me is that I started

to believe that, no, really?

There is spirit.

We are spirit.

We're all connected.

This is all real.

My experience was real.

Life is real, and we have to
go out and enjoy it and make

the very best of everything.

Laugh, cry, and just as we
opened up our discussion,

if I could leave people
with just this one thought,

it's that Life is good, and
people are good, even when

very sad things happen.

And in so many ways,
these are just silly

words that Stevie says.

But, if you could find out
why, for your own self,

in your own way, why this
is true, I'm certain you

will find peace in this
world, and any other world

that comes afterwards.

I've found a way
to be happy again.

I've found a way to share
my experience, not only with

people who are interested in
near death experiences, and

that this perhaps isn't a
one and done thing, and that

we have so much to learn and
grow, but also those people

who are suffering from loss,
who understands that when

you say there's something
else, there really is.

And it's beautiful and
there's a meaning towards

everything is that I didn't
see Jesus and I didn't see

pretty clouds or flowers and
all those wonderful things

that many other peoples did.

But the beauty I
felt was the bliss.

The bliss of understanding
is that a lot of times people

believe there's perhaps
two paths to enlightenment.

One is one of devotion and
the other one is one of

understanding and I'm more
of the understanding type.

And and it just so
happens, I think I had that

experience at the right
time and I'm very grateful.

And without the, with the
exception of losing my son is

that I wouldn't have changed a
bit about anything of my life.

And I'm so happy now.

And I feel very blessed.

Rod Bland: Thanks for
sharing your story, Steve.

If anyone's got any
questions are you open

to answering those?

And what's the best way
for people to get in touch

with you and find out what
else you've got going on?

Stephen Weber: Yeah
one of the best things.

First off, my book is the
place between here and there.

It's available on Amazon.

It's in Spanish.

It's an audio book in
Kindle, and it's really

a beautiful story.

It's about love and life and
there's some tough spots in

the book, but you'll leave
feeling happy and refreshed.

You really will.

It's a beautiful story
and I recommend it highly.

Of course I do, but but also
is that we have a Facebook

page and my email address is
steve, S T E V E at S Between

here and there.org, Steve, at
between here and there.org.

And I'm sure you'll
put our social media

in the description of
the of the video and

please reach out to us.

We talk to a lot of people
and we share, really it's a

. That means I honor the honor
inner teacher and student

inside each of us, and we
all have something to share.

It's just like, The lady
with the violet dog is that

we're brought together.

And in that situation,
we were both teachers and

students of each other.

And that's really the path.

The story, it's a beautiful
story and and then since

then is that right now
as I'm living in Florida,

we had mentioned this,
I live in paradise.

This is paradise here.

Every day is a beautiful day.

There's palm trees
all over the place.

And um, yeah.

You know, It's so odd.

I came here for the
weather, but I realized

it's the people.

It really is.

People are just so kind
here and just being

part of a community.

And it's just, life is good.

I can't ride
motorcycles anymore.

I put my family through enough
trauma, although I would love.

to ride motorcycles and
maybe someday, but I have

these electric e bikes and
I just love them because

I go off roading all the
time and I have all these

scooters and unit cycles
and so I have all my toys

that I do and I still work.

I work remotely.

I'm an engineer.

So I love that.

But but my real passion
in life right now is

I teach a yoga class,
a meditation class.

I called it Mantras,
Meditations, and Good

Vibrations, and I
teach another class

called Kundalini Kriya.

It's a type of yoga, it's
like a celebration where we

just really enjoy a lot of
different music, different

asanas and exercises.

I have this huge gong that's
It's this immense gong.

I have it on wheels and I live
about 50 yards from the venue.

So I just roll it
out my front door.

I bring it to the venue
and I play the gong and

it's just so much fun.

And I just I'm
really enjoying it.

I truly am.

Rod Bland: I bet that
makes you well known in the

neighbourhood, the gong.

Stephen Weber: No it's
the best advertisement

because I walk, I push
it down the block.

Everyone says, Oh, Steve,
where are you going?

Like, come on, Come on down.

And I get like 50 to a
hundred people each time.

Each time 50 to 100 people
show up and either for the

yoga and the meditation or
just the meditation class, and

it really makes a difference
because we truly are all

connected and everyone has
the same desires and wants

and need to just get a
break from this crazy world.

Rod Bland: Uh, it's funny
you should mention Kriya Yoga

because one of my previous
guests, who was also a near

death experience with Peter
Panengor, is into Kriya Yoga.

Is he someone that
you know, Steve?

Stephen Weber: Yes, as,
you know, I was really

struggling when I had
first wrote the book,

The Place Between Here
and There, because

people would come to me
as I was knowledgeable

about spiritual matters.

And really...

I took a shortcut, you know,
because that it wasn't all I

did was survive, people study
all these years and have all

these letters after their name
and all I did was survive and

I felt so awkward at times
when people would come and

tell me, you know, share their
stories with me and it was

really weighing heavy on me.

And I was really depressed
about it because I felt

like I was an imposter.

And so I reached
out to this one guy.

I think it was on HBO or I saw
him on like a, uh, you know,

some sort of major outlet.

I found him on Facebook and
I sent him an email message

and I just asked him, you
know, I told him what I was

going through and I, Tom, I
felt very uncomfortable and

he seemed like he was a guy
who had his stuff together

and he was counseling people
and so I began this pen pal

relationship and his name
was Peter, Peter Paragon

Rod Bland: Yeah.

Because he used to have a
mainstream television show

on a TV network for like
15 years or something.

I think it was, yeah.

Stephen Weber: and And
he responded right back.

And I had this pen pal
relationship with him

for several months.

He was walking me through
spending a lot of time.

And it was walking me
through and helping me

come to terms with things
because he felt the same way.

Because I think that's
the way it connected was

the whole idea of taking
the spiritual shortcut.

And he really he got me
into a good place and so

when I told him goodbye and
I said, Peter, I said, if

someday a guy comes up to a
stranger and gives you a big

hug, you'll know it's me.

And he laughed
and that was that.

And so roll it forward to this
year there's this group called

the International Association
of Near Death Studies.

They had invited me to
speak at their conference.

And this was a surreal
experience for me because

other than seeing a small
clip by Peters, I never even

talked to anyone who's had
a near death experience.

I never listened to
anyone's stories.

Part of it was that.

I had my own experience and
I, it's complicated, but I

just, wasn't a part of anyone
else's stories and, but

that conference was great.

All of a sudden, I
met all these people

and it really changed.

Help me come to
terms to things.

But I look at the very
first day before everyone

gets there, Peter Paragon
is speaking and he's

speaking about Kriya Yoga.

I was like, I'm
going to his thing.

And and so I go to him.

I never saw him
in person before.

And he's sitting there, he's
talking in front of the group.

And at the end, he
asked for questions.

And then everyone asks
questions and I wait

until it's the very
sticklers about time there.

So I knew they were
going to, you know,

when the time was up.

So I wait.

I was the last question.

I raised my hand.

He called on me.

And I told him, I said, and
he mentioned shortcuts again

in his speech that day.

And I said, Peter, I said,
you mentioned shortcuts,

spiritual shortcuts, and
you're not feeling worthy

to explain these things.

And that kind of
brought you to Kriya

Yoga and other things.

I said, I share a very
same experience is that

I, I felt like I took
a spiritual shortcut.

In fact, it was causing
me a lot of trauma.

And I explained to him
the story, how I reached

out to this fella online
and and they counseled me.

They really gave me some
really good advice and made me

through a really tough time.

And I said, you know
who that person was?

And he said, no.

And I asked him, can I,
could I approach you?

He said, yeah.

And I walked up to him.

I gave him a big hug and
then he reached out with

both hands and yelled
at this top of his lung.

He said, Steve.

Rod Bland: Ha.

Ha Ha.

Stephen Weber: So that's,
that's a great guy.

And I really learned the
lesson not only about

Peter being a great guy.

Absolutely.

And someone gives to the
community and a wider

community, not only yoga,
I'm a yoga person but

also just being there
talking to other people.

It was just a
great experience.

I'll never forget it.

Rod Bland: Yeah,
that's a great story.

Yeah.

He's a good guy, Peter.

My last guest said, had this
saying, life is to be lived.

And I think that you're
a great example of that,

Steve, despite what happens,
life is to be lived.

And it's the joy that
you have for living

really stands out to me.

So let's wrap it up.

Do you have one final message
for people before we finish

off our conversation today?

Stephen Weber: Yeah,
I would just say,

I just have to reiterate
is that so as long as you

have breath in your body,
you can make a difference.

You could find happiness and
sometimes is some of the worst

things that have happened
to you really can be the

greatest gift they really are.

And you could
really agonize over.

terrible decisions you've
made or other people have

made against you, but
really there's a there's a

mantra which I love a lot.

It's called the Mool Mantra,
and it says uh, uh, Ekankar

Sathan, Kata purak nirvo
nirver, and that means

life is about awareness.

And raising your awareness,
and you raise your awareness

through your experiences.

So never have hate or
animosity towards those people

who bring you bad experiences.

Don't allow them to do it,
because you have to learn.

No, don't allow
people, be smart.

When those things come,
take them in stride

and learn from them.

And don't hate or have
jealousy towards others

or yourself, and you'll
really, you'll find

bliss in this world.

No matter what, how crazy
the world is, so many times,

one's prison bars are but
their own construction.

Break free, and you do
that from right here.

Rod Bland: That's
a great message.

Steve, it's been my
great pleasure to have

you on the show today.

I really appreciate
you being my guest.

Stephen Weber:
Thank you so much.

Best of success to you.

I'm inspired by your
journey and your message,

and you bringing this this
information to your audience,

and just best of success.

Sat Nam.