Untethered Consciousness

Melissa Denyce: So I
was laying in my bed.

I was fully awake.

I was fully alive as far
as I'm aware and my eyes

were closed and suddenly I
was in another dimension.

And this dimension was made
entirely of an infinite ocean

of overwhelming love and bliss

Rod Bland: My guest today
is Melissa Denise, the

creator of the YouTube
channel Love Covered Life.

Melissa, welcome.

And thanks for
coming on the show.

Melissa Denyce: Thank you
so much for having me.

I'm excited to be
here and have this

conversation with you.

Rod Bland: Great.

It's, I'm very honored that
you said yes to have this

conversation, actually,
because um, you know, when

I started this channel back
in March of 2023, and it was

one, your channel was one of
the ones that inspired me.

There's a few that
I found inspiration

from that was yours.

And, uh, I mentioned
before the JeffMara

podcast and of course
Alex from Next Level Soul.

So I really appreciate
you for doing what you're

doing because I felt
like, okay, Melissa is

not a movie producer.

She's not, uh, you know, she
hasn't been in the movies

like what Alex has, and you've
kind of, you know, started

from scratch where you are.

And I felt like what
you were doing with your

channel was something that.

is achievable, still
really good, but achievable

for the everyday person.

So that, that, that
helped me get going.

Melissa Denyce: Oh, thank
you so much for saying that.

I love to hear that feedback
because you're correct.

I don't, I still don't
have a clue what I'm doing.

So.

Rod Bland: Yeah.

It's um, I think sometimes
you just got to stay in

something for long enough
to become successful.

You don't always have to be
like the best of the best.

A lot of success is
just sticking in there.

So how about we start with
what your life was like before

you had your, shall we say,
spiritual transformation?

Melissa Denyce:
Okay, yes, wonderful.

So, feel free to stop me
or redirect or anything

,
but I was born with pre
birth memories, which I

did not understand what
they were at the time.

I didn't know what a pre birth
memory was or that people

could have them, but I just
had this memory of divine

bliss that I was born with.

And so that sort of,
um, started my life off

in a certain direction.

From the very
beginning, I was very.

interested in spiritual things
and kind of a little bit

obsessed with how I'm going
to experience this divine

bliss again, and what do I
have to do to feel that again?

And I was born into
the Christian faith.

I was born into a
really strict branch

of the Christian faith,

which now would probably
be considered a cult.

And so I was taught a very
opposite thing about God

and the spiritual realm
than what I remembered.

And as a young child, I
couldn't really differentiate

those two things.

So I 100 percent swallowed
everything that I was taught.

And I was a very, very
sincere Christian for

almost Well, yeah, about 30
years, 29 years of my life.

And some of the things
that I was taught were very

depressing to me and caused
me to have some mental

health issues as a teenager.

Oh, for most of my
childhood and my teenage

years, I was depressed.

I became suicidal
as a teenager and.

I just kept, um, kind of
pushing forward to try to

find the spiritual connection.

And so on the one hand, I had
this like ongoing relationship

with this being that I
remembered from my pre birth

memories that was very loving,
very understanding, very.

forgiving, um, always
directing me to forgive

the people in my life
and to be more loving

and more open minded.

And then on the other hand,
I was taught that this being

that we called God was, had
created most of the world's

population just to throw
them into hell and burn them

alive for all of eternity.

So I, it was kind of
hard to reconcile these.

things.

And it caused me a
lot of mental turmoil.

And so I spent a lot of my
time desperately seeking

divine bliss, seeking to
have a divine experience.

As we said in the
Christian faith, trying

to feel God's presence.

I want to feel and
experience God's presence.

And I did a lot of
crazy things trying to

stimulate an experience.

I would go out
in crazy weather.

I would go out late at night
by myself and just like

walk around when it's zero
degrees outside thinking

if I can have an extreme
enough thing is going to

stimulate something

Rod Bland: say crazy
weather, do you mean like

thunderstorms, lightning,
that kind of thing?

Melissa Denyce: Yeah, I
went out in blizzards.

I was out in thunderstorms
all the time.

And so I, I would go out by
myself and walk around the

neighborhood, just hoping if
I go around this corner, the

light is going to be there
and I'm going to have this

crazy supernatural experience.

I was a crazy teenager.

The thing, things that we
do when we're young, um,

but nothing ever happened.

And.

I, I, I just remember becoming
more and more depressed and

then I would pray every night
begging for an experience,

please give me some kind
of experience, because I

knew if I could feel that
bliss again that all of my

earthly pain would just be
wiped away in an instant.

So that's what led up to
me having, finally having

the out of body experience.

Rod Bland: Right, so you had
an out of body experience.

This is interesting.

So what actually
precipitated, so that was

around about 2930, I guess.

So tell us about that.

Melissa Denyce: Yeah, actually
this happened earlier.

I was 18, 19 when

Rod Bland: Oh, okay.

Melissa Denyce: Yep, so I was
in my bed praying my normal

prayer, begging to have an
experience of divine bliss and

I cannot explain why
it happened that night

when I had prayed the
same thing for years and

nothing ever happened.

But I, so I was
laying in my bed.

I was fully awake.

I was fully alive as far
as I'm aware and my eyes

were closed and suddenly I
was in another dimension.

So there's two phases
to this experience.

In the first phase, I still
perceived myself to be

in my bedroom on my bed.

But it was like I was
in another dimension and

this dimension was made
entirely of an infinite

ocean of overwhelming love
and bliss that was also a

presence and I immediately
recognized it from my pre

birth memories as the being
that I had been taught to

call God in my earthly life.

And this presented itself to
me as like this force field of

love and the love was washing
over me in waves from my feet

to my head and it was also in
like washing in waves inside

of me and it was wiping away
all of my depression and all

of the pain connected to my
earthly life and I remember

saying to it, where have
you been my entire life?

I have been looking for
you my entire life and

you are finally here.

And I felt like I was
being held in my mother's

arms like a newborn baby.

Like, no, like I was held
in my father's arms and

comforted in my mother's womb.

So there was definitely a
masculine and a feminine

element to this presence.

And I remember thinking it
feels like the love, all the

loves that we can experience
in this lifetime, all wrapped

into one, like brother,
sister, friend, mother,

father, son, daughter, lover,
everything, pets, everything.

All wrapped into one and
multiplied by a million.

And this is where words
really fail me because there

are no words to describe
what this felt like because

we don't even have those
feelings in this world.

If I could describe it,
it would be Love, safety,

security, peace, joy,
bliss, beyond what we

can ever experience here.

And I felt like, like, I
realized that the things

that I had been taught in
the church were completely

wrong and that it is
completely impossible for

anybody to be eternally lost.

It's just unthinkable
because that's how safe and

secure and loved we are.

So, I'm not sure how
long I experienced this.

I remember feeling like I, I'm
just gonna stay here forever,

I'm never gonna leave,

Rod Bland: not going back.

Melissa Denyce: go
back to my life.

That's right.

Um, but time was
different there,

so I'm not sure how long or
if there even was a length of

time that I was in that place.

But at some point,
I began to...

expand.

My consciousness began
to expand out of my body

and out of the physical
realm, and I found myself

somewhere above the earth.

I, I've since put
language to it.

Um, a lot of near death
experiencers have called this

an experience of ultimate
knowledge, and that's what

began to happen to me.

I became aware that I had
access to all the information

that was available in
our universe and that

I could know anything
that I wanted to know.

So I began asking questions.

As soon as I would formulate
a question in my mind, I

would receive a massive
download of information that

would Not only answer that
question, but show how the

answer to that question fit
together with everything

else in the universe.

And I know that sounds
impossible, but that

is what happened.

And as soon as I would get
that download, it would

stimulate more questions.

And I would ask like
five, 10 more questions

and I would get a massive
download and response to

each of those questions.

And this was happening
like at the speed of light.

So on the one hand, it's
like I'm asking questions

and I'm getting this massive
download and it's like

I'm expanding like this
because as I'm, as this

information is coming into my
consciousness, I'm expanding

so that I can contain it.

And it felt like I
was expanding through

dimensional awareness.

So I remember expanding
through several

dimensions of awareness.

And every time I would
expand up into a new

dimension, there would
be this feeling of, like,

release, of freedom and bliss.

Like, I would feel so much
more expanded and there

So much more information
available to me, and I

would see things from such
a higher perspective that

I kept having this epiphany
like, oh yeah, I knew

that, oh yeah, I knew that.

How could I not
understand that before?

But it made so much more
sense the more expanded I got.

When I got to the top,
there was um, This moment

where I saw that what
what I called the key to

life like why are we here?

What are we doing
here on this planet?

And and I saw why we have to
go through all the suffering

that we do and I saw the
answer and from that Extremely

expanded perspective.

It was so simple that I
laughed and I said, how

do we not know that down
there like We make things so

complicated and this whole
time it's been so simple.

But I wasn't able to remember
what it was because from

this perspective, it's
way too much information

to fit into our minds.

And I know that
doesn't make sense.

Like, from way up here,
it was so simple, but from

way down here, it's so
complex that it's impossible

for us to understand.

Um, so on the one hand, um,
I expanded extremely fast.

I saw the key to life, and
then I began to contract back

into my con into my body.

But on the other hand, I
was being given all these

downloads and having all these
epiphanies and it was like

all of these other things were
happening at the same time.

Most of those things I was
not allowed to remember

but there's two things I
saw that I can remember.

Do you want me to share those?

Rod Bland: Yeah,
I'm fascinated.

Melissa Denyce: Okay, so
the first thing I saw that I

do remember is when I first
expanded out of my body.

It was like waking up into
this realm of brilliant light.

And what I called my
angels, many people would

probably call them guides,
were there with me.

These beings were
surrounding me and they

had a message for me.

Because I had been raised in
the church and taught that

most people were dying and
going to hell, and I had also

had all of these layers of
guilt and shame programmed

into me, um, because we were
taught about sin, and how we

all had to confess our sins,
and if we missed anything

we could die and wake up in
hell, so there's all these

layers of guilt and fear
that were programmed into me.

And so what they said
is, there's nothing for

you to feel guilty for.

There's nothing for
you to feel ashamed of.

There's nothing for
you to be afraid of.

There is no judgment
awaiting you.

Your life is proceeding
exactly as it is supposed to.

You are doing exactly what
you were supposed to be doing.

We are so, so proud of you
and we are So supporting

you and there is no way
that you can mess this up.

We know how difficult this
is for you, but you're

doing exactly what you're
supposed to be doing.

So there's, there's
nothing to worry about.

You have to go back and
complete the job and we'll

be with you every step
of the way, supporting

you and cheering you on.

And I looked down at the earth
and I saw that the entire

earth is made of brilliant
light, the same brilliant

light that was in that place.

And I saw that the light
is the presence of what we

call God, Source, Creator,
whatever word people

are comfortable with.

We're all made up of that.

And we can't get away
from it, even if we try.

So that's why the idea of
somebody being eternally lost

is unthinkable, because how
can you be lost from what

you literally are made of?

And I saw that from
that higher perspective.

Down here, humans are
stumbling around like

toddlers learning to walk,
and that's what our mistakes

are like to God or to Source.

It's like a toddler
learning to walk.

Why would you judge a toddler
for tripping and falling?

Everything is understood
because we're at a very

limited perspective here,
so everything is understood.

Everything that the
plan encompasses.

anything that we
could possibly do.

And there's nothing that
we could do to be lost

or to make God mad or
disappointed or surprised.

We are just so eternally
held and loved.

So that was the first
thing that I saw.

And the second thing I saw
was when I was much more

expanded, when I was expanded
as far as I could, I looked

down and I saw, now this
is really cheesy, but I

was a Christian teenager.

And so we were always
talking about the plan

of God for our lives.

And so the words I was
given is this is the

cosmic master plan of God.

And I looked down and
I saw this beautiful

multidimensional living
pattern that was full

of colors and math and
geometry and music.

On the one side of the
pattern it looked like one

of those rugs they used to
make where it's like all a

mess on the one side on the
back but on the other side

it's a beautiful pattern.

So I was shown that from our
perspective here with all the

pain and the mistakes and the
suffering and things that we

go through right down here
it looks like it's a mess

but on the other side of the
pattern is this absolutely

beautiful multidimensional
plan that is alive, and

it contains the life paths
of all sentient beings.

And within that plan, it is
so large that it allows for

us to have free will and to
make choices that seemingly

lead away from the light,
lead away from love, but

everything is contained within
the plan, which is perfection.

It is absolute perfection.

And so even when we make a
choice that seems to lead

away from that perfection,
it is contained within that

perfection and it's impossible
to get away from it.

So that's the
second thing I saw.

Um, then I saw the,
uh, the key to life,

which I can't remember.

And then I began contracting
back into my body and it felt

like I knew I was going back
in, I knew I was going to

forget most of what I saw.

I understood that it's
because it couldn't fit

into my physical brain and I
felt the information falling

out of my consciousness
like air leaving a balloon.

And I, another thing that
I remember very clearly at

that point is the music.

Every part of my
experience was music.

It's like the experience
itself was music because when

you're on the other side,
everything is connected.

So math and music and geometry
and all the feelings like

the love and the bliss,
it's all the same thing.

And so everything was
music, and I heard this

beautiful music the entire
time I was there, but

I specifically remember
noticing it when I was coming

back into my body and it
felt like my consciousness

was floating back into
my body on the music.

Then I came back in and
I had the first moment of

my mind coming back online
and saying, Wait a minute.

What just happened to me?

Because when the experience
is happening, it seems

like the most normal
thing in the world, and

you don't question it.

You're just present with it.

But then when my brain came
back online, I was shocked.

Like, what just
happened to me?

And I felt the love.

That magnetic, loving
presence stayed with me until

I fell asleep that night.

It was gone when I woke up
in the morning, much to my

disappointment, but I did
still feel this, like, glow

around me for the next couple
of days, and then eventually

that faded away as well.

So that's what I remember
of that experience.

Rod Bland: Wow, so
I've got, I've got a

few questions for you.

Um, so when you're saying how
when your, your consciousness

expanded and then a lot
of, God, that must be so

tantalizing to have that, like
the key to everything, knowing

that you were showing that,
but then not actually being

able to remember it later.

I guess there was
some reason for that.

Yeah.

Melissa Denyce: it's so
frustrating, but I know the

reason, the reason is because
it wouldn't make sense from

this perspective, because
in order to get to that, I

had to expand so much and
I had to understand so many

things that, that science
just doesn't even know about

yet, if that makes sense.

Rod Bland: Yeah.

That's a hard one to wrap
your head around, but

it does actually make
sense if you think of.

I've heard our brains
described as really like

a reducing mechanism.

So, memory etc.

is not actually contained
in our brains, it's just

a filter for what's there.

So, from that perspective
it does make sense to me

that you would acquire all
of this information and be

able to process it at that
time, but then you come back

into the body, everything's
sort of hooked to these very

minimal set of filters that
you've got to, that's what

you've got to work with.

And unless you can
separate your consciousness

from that, then...

You know, it makes sense
that you can only do

what you can do with what
your brain can handle.

And I suppose the other
thing is that it would kind

of defeat the purpose of
coming here, wouldn't it?

If we, if we knew all
that, knew everything

we could possibly know
before coming here, we

wouldn't learn anything
while we're here, right?

Melissa Denyce: Yeah, I
think you're absolutely

right about that.

It would, it would mess up our
game, so to speak, because I

think a lot of the purpose in
being here is to experience

things that we can't
experience on the other side,

like limitation, um, what it
feels like to be a separate

being and be put in all of
these challenging scenarios.

And if we knew all the
answers, then it would

defeat the whole purpose.

Rod Bland: Yeah, it seems like
the more I read about this,

it seems like this is, it's
the essential part of our

life experience that actually
helps us grow, like as a,

as a being, as a, as a soul.

That's, that's actually
the part that makes us grow

and if we, we don't have
exposure to these trials and

tribulations and challenges,
then we're kind of just

cruising along, right?

Melissa Denyce: absolutely.

I've found that in my own
life, I'm constantly being

flipped into, let's say
I have like a judgmental

thought towards somebody,

maybe not even like in a
harsh way, but just like not

understanding why someone's
behaving in a certain way.

A few months down the
road, I'll find myself in

that situation, reacting
exactly as they were.

And then it's like, I'm
just getting all of this

hands on experience on what
it is like to be in all of

these different situations
so that I can learn how to

have compassion for people
who are different than me

or who respond differently
than I think that I would.

Then I often find out
that's not the case.

Rod Bland: So after you had
your out of body experience,

that's really spiritually
transforming what occurred

to you then, how did you then
integrate that into, you know,

your religious upbringing
and what you'd, what you'd

learned from your religion
up to that point in time?

Melissa Denyce:
Great question.

It took me another 10 years
to fully integrate it.

At the time, I was still
very much immersed in

the Christian faith.

It did prompt me to leave
the childhood church that

I had been attending for
19 years, the one that

was really suppressive
and cult like, and to find

a much more open minded,
compassionate, church setting.

But really, the, the big
thing that it, that it

caused me to do is to become
an even more avid seeker

of spiritual experiences.

Because my initial thought in
my teenage brain at the time

was, wow, I finally had this
experience of divine bliss.

I know it's possible.

I've experienced it
again, and now all I

want is to have more.

So my entire goal in life
became, how am I going to have

more spiritual experiences?

So I began chasing them
even more than I had before.

I joined this charismatic non
denominational church that

was all about like all the
the gifts of the spirit and

having divine experiences
and all these things and and

so I really chased that for
a long time but I never had

anything as profound as my out
of body experience had been.

So after several years I began
to feel really disillusioned

with the whole thing and
I actually shut down my

non spiritual connection
for the first time in my

life and became more almost
more of a materialist.

I still believed in God.

I still considered myself a
Christian, but I thought it's,

it's, this whole thing is,
it's not getting me anywhere.

It must be really impossible
to experience those divine

experiences like I want to.

And I kind of just, At that
point, I thought, oh, that

out of body experience I had,
it must have been demonic.

Um, and I just put the whole
thing behind me and, uh,

went into a really dark,
dark period of my life.

When I shut down my
spiritual connection,

nothing good came from that.

Um, my husband and I really
struggled in our marriage.

We really struggled
financially.

Um, we lost our, car, we
lost our apartment twice

and things just kept
getting worse and worse

and worse until I finally
had just had enough of it.

And I finally had been
pushed to the place

where I was willing to be
more open minded and to

consider options outside
of the Christian faith.

I began, I had known for
a long time that near

death experience stories.

existed because I had run
across them online earlier

in my life, but I had
intentionally stayed away

from them thinking that's
not, that's not Christian,

that's demonic, that's going
to be a bad thing for me to

get into because I knew as
soon as I started reading them

there would be no going back.

Well, I was in such a dark
place in my life that I

decided I didn't care and I
started reading them anyway.

And that's when my life
changed because I began

reading all the stories of
people who had had similar

experiences to me and I was
finally at a place in my life

where I could just accept what
I new to be true, like this

deeper truth that I had known
from my pre birth memories

and my experience, my own out
of body experience, which is

that the truth is much more
wonderful than what we've been

led to believe in religion.

The truth is that God, or
Source, or whatever word

you're comfortable with,
is unconditional love.

And it's the love that is
so powerful and so magnetic

that it can encompass
all of our mistakes.

And there's nothing
to be afraid of.

We're here to live our lives,
to have certain experiences

because we chose to, and
there's absolutely no judgment

in anything that we do here.

And when I was finally able to
accept that, I could integrate

the experiences that I've had.

And that started a whole
process of deconstructing

from my Christian faith, which
lasted several years, but

that's a whole other story.

Rod Bland: What I'm
getting, cause I've

got four kids, right?

So what I'm getting from
this is it's, you know, I

like what you said before
about how You're a cosmic,

was it a cosmic toddler?

Was that the term that you

use?

I've heard one of my
other guests use that

term as well, but it,
it makes a lot of sense.

And it's a perspective as a
parent that is a good one to

have is like, well, they're
just, they're just little,

they've only just started.

And I think sometimes
we can get caught up in

expecting them to sort
of be a certain way.

And, um, yeah, it's just
made me think about.

Perhaps being somewhat less
judgmental and accepting

the fact that they're
just learning as they

go and they're going to
stumble and fall and make

mistakes and that's okay.

Melissa Denyce: yeah,
what I was shown in my

experience is actually, it
actually felt more like a

grandparent's relationship
with their grandkids.

Like, oh yeah, you've made
a mistake, you did something

that you're not supposed to.

And I hesitate to say this
almost because Some of the

things that humans can do
to each other can be pretty

horrible, and I don't want
to downplay that or make

it sound like there's no
consequences for your actions.

You can just go do
whatever you want.

That's not what I'm saying
at all, but from that

higher perspective, that
really is the feeling

that I got and what I saw.

It was like just a grandfather
chuckling at his grandkids

getting into trouble and
understanding that they're

just two years old and
they'll grow out of it.

Rod Bland: It's a good analogy
because the grandparents

are the ones that don't
seem to hold a grudge.

Like parents, parents,
if you're in trouble with

your parents, you know,
you're really in trouble.

But if you do something
with the grandparents,

yeah, you're pretty much
going to get off the hook

pretty quick with that.

So I'm interested in when you
were conscious of your, uh,

pre birth memories, like, was
it from as far back as you

can remember, like from being
an infant or did they sort

of come online at some point?

Melissa Denyce: Yeah,
there's a couple of them.

That I've remembered
since I was an infant.

There's others that have
come back to me with time,

and I remember no I remember
remembering them when I

was very young, and then
I forgot and suppressed

them as I grew older.

I didn't understand that they
were pre birth memories until

I discovered the near death
experience community, and

learned that other people had
pre birth memories, and then

that's when I understood that
I had had pre birth memories.

Rod Bland: Okay, you mentioned
that there was this fairly

long period from when you had
your, so you had your out of

body experience and then you
went and then sort of closed

off again and then, and then
started to open up again.

Can you tell us a bit
more about that period?

Because it sounded like that
actually took quite a while

and I think maybe there's
something in that process that

you went through that might
help other people who have

been in a similar situation.

Melissa Denyce:
Yeah, absolutely.

So I had my out of body
experience when I was around

the age of 18 or 19, and
then from Then, until for

the next three or four
years, I was very involved

in the charismatic branch
of Christianity and seeking

spiritual experiences.

And I did a lot of the crazy
things that I did before

going outside, going out
into weather, but I also

combined that with doing
church events and whatever

things they had going on at
the church, like coming down

to the altar, being involved
in conferences, trying to

get the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, trying to stimulate

something and nothing.

I mean, I, I experienced
something like some feeling of

connection, but nothing crazy.

I never even spoke in tongues,
which is pretty standard for

charismatic Christianity.

Everybody speaks in tongues.

And so that was really
frustrating for me.

And I could not understand
why are these things

not happening to me?

So I shut it down when I
met my husband and we moved

across country and I kind of
just shut down my spiritual

connection and went into a
really dark period of my life.

Um, the thing that might
be helpful for people to

understand is I did eventually
learn that you cannot

force these experiences by
trying to make them happen.

For me, anyway, the way that
I've been able to finally

begin to tune into this divine
connection in any kind of

lasting or meaningful way
is to understand, first of

all, that I am that already.

And I didn't have
that understanding

until much later.

As long as I was trying
to seek an experience

as if it was something
outside of me, nothing

ever happened because I was
looking in the wrong place.

The experience is
within and it's actually

a part of who I am.

It's actually my own being.

Because like I saw in my out
of body experience, we are

all that brilliant light.

We are all that thing
that we're seeking.

And I had to understand
where to look for it.

So you have to look past
the body, past the mind,

past the emotions, into
your state of being.

And I started practicing
self inquiry meditation.

and understanding that I
have to get to the source

of my being, which is
simply my presence and the

place in me that says I am.

And that's where you can
connect to that bliss and

that love beneath all the
layers of everything else

that you think that you are.

So that was the first thing.

And the second thing
is understanding

that This connection
strengthens naturally

with spiritual expansion.

So if you want to have
spiritual experiences,

then focus on spiritual
growth and expansion.

And that I mean,
there's so much that

we could go into there.

Meditation is really helpful.

Um, learning how to
accept and flow with life

rather than resisting it.

Learning how to tune into
this, the frequency is the

best way that I can put it.

the subtler level of
our consciousness.

When you do those things,
um, then the divine

blissful connection will
start to naturally become

more available to you.

Rod Bland: I'm
fascinated by meditation.

So could you tell us a
little bit about your

meditation practice?

I know everybody's kind
of has their own one, but

I'm interested in hearing
what you do with yours.

Melissa Denyce:
Yeah, absolutely.

I will say that I find it
really hard to sit down and

meditate for much more than,
yeah, you have kids, so

you understand that there's
never quiet in the house,

so I often end up being
a little more frustrated

when trying to sit down and
meditate, so the way that I

practice meditation is As I
started doing self inquiry

meditation, even if it's
just for a couple minutes a

day, so that I can tune into
that sense of beingness.

And rather than trying to
sit there for 20 minutes

and meditate when it's just
not happening, I've tried to

make it a practice of living.

Like, this is how
I live my life.

In any situation that I
find myself in, where I feel

stressed, I feel overwhelmed,
I feel any kind of emotion,

whether positive or negative,
I bring myself back to

that sense of presence.

So I'm constantly practicing
self inquiry as I'm going

through my life until it
becomes a way of life.

And after doing this, For
a couple years, I started

to notice that when I would
try to pin down my sense of

self, it wasn't showing up.

When I first started doing
self inquiry meditation, I

could find the sense of self
where I would say, who is it

that's having this experience?

It's me.

I am having this experience.

And I could pin down
that sense of self.

But the more I did this,
The harder it became to pin

down that sense of self,
and I started to notice

there's something beyond
the sense of self that's

waiting to be discovered.

It's before the, the
I and I am, and it's

the simple am ness.

It's the simple being ness.

And so I found this whole
new dimension of life that

was just existing without
identifying as anything,

if that makes sense.

This whole dimension of
beingness that contained

everything that was happening.

And when I, and then I started
practicing just surrendering

into that beingness and
learning how to flow with life

as my guru, as some people
say, I don't know if you're

familiar with Aaron Abkey,
but that's what he says, that

life is the ultimate guru,

because it will manifest
as exactly what you need

in each moment for your
highest and best good.

And so then that became
my meditation practice to

surrender to the beingness
of life and embrace the

divine teacher that life is

and just develop this trusting
relationship with whatever is

manifesting in front of me.

that this is for my highest
and best good at this time.

And I can just kind of flow
with this and fall into this

and let it be what it is.

So that's kind of how
my meditation practice

developed through stages
over the last few years.

Rod Bland: Yeah,
that's really good.

That's helpful for me.

Cause yeah, it's, it's
not just having a lot of

activity around because of
having children and whatnot.

And, but it's also,

I, from the, when I wake
up in the morning, I'm

like, I want to, I want to
do stuff and to actually

pause and just sit there.

Ooh, sometimes it's
really like, Ooh, I don't

want to just sit here.

Can't do it.

So that's given me
something to, to work with.

Um, and sort of on that topic.

A lot of people who watch this
channel have children or have

really busy lives, but they're
wanting to get more connected

with this spiritual side of
things and perhaps they've

sort of lost touch with that.

Do you think that meditation
is like one of the best

ways to do that or do you
have any other things that

really work well for you?

Melissa Denyce: I honestly
think that there are a lot

of different tools that
people can use and they

all lead to the same place.

Meditation is one of my
favorites because it helps.

you to connect with the,
the subtler reality, like

the subtler frequencies
of the spiritual realms.

The more you do it, the
easier it gets, and it

allows you to have that
deep divine connection

that you're seeking.

Another practice that I've
found really helpful is

to just love everything.

So whatever manifests in
your life, just make it

your practice to love it.

Every person, every
object, every situation.

And that can, I mean,
that can be a lifetime

spiritual practice.

If that's all you do,
it will really expand

your consciousness.

Another thing is which is
really simple, is simply

practicing gratitude, being
grateful for everything

that manifests in your life.

I don't think that a spiritual
practice has to be like,

take a ton of your time and
energy and you don't have to

sit for hours in meditation
or go to the Himalayas

or anything like that.

It can often be the
most simple things.

that are designed to
just change your state

of consciousness.

So just being grateful for
everything that manifests

into your life, even the
challenging things, finding a

different way to see it that
allows you to feel gratitude

will start to create those
feelings, like create, open up

your awareness and make room
for those feelings of bliss

and love that everyone is
seeking to have in their life.

Um, I think those have been
the biggest ones for me.

I know there's, I mean,
there's so many spiritual

teachers out there and
each one of them has

their own spin on things.

So just finding what
works for you and what

resonates with you, I think.

Rod Bland: Yeah,
that's useful.

so you've had a, at some
point you wanted to be Become

a kind of a teacher or to
help people find their own

path with obviously with what
you do with your channel.

What, do you mind if I ask
you what led up to that?

Do you deciding, okay, I'm
going to talk to people

about this in a much more
public forum and, and this

is how I'm going to do it.

Melissa Denyce:
Yeah, of course.

Well, I just did not have
anyone to talk to about

my experiences because I
told a couple of people.

I told my daughter, who of
course believed me, and my

brother, who also believed me.

But aside from that, nobody
came, nobody came out

and accused me of lying
or being crazy, but I'm

pretty sure that They were
thinking one of those two

Rod Bland: Yeah.

Melissa Denyce: Nobody
believes this stuff.

Nobody knows how to
respond or what to think.

And I just got to the
point where I needed

to talk about it.

Any artist will say
that when they get that

inspiration, it's like
they have to create it.

Like whether they're a
singer or a writer or an

artist or whatever, it's
going to come out of them.

So they have to
create it in some way.

And that's what it felt like.

It felt like there's
this message that's

burning within me.

I've had these experiences.

I have to share them.

I have to talk about it.

And so I went to YouTube
because I thought there's

got to be Someone out there
somewhere who wants to hear

this or who's had a similar
experience or who wants to

talk about these things.

And so I recorded a video
of my pre birth memories

and put it out there
and it was so Scary.

Because I was still involved
in the Christian church at

the time and nobody in my
life believed me and I was

so afraid of being judged
or I'm gonna go to hell

because I'm leading people
right away from the church.

But as it turned out,
there was a lot of people

who wanted to talk and it
took off very quickly and

grew into what it is now.

Um, and I think that even in
the last 10 years or so, the

interest in these spiritual
experiences has grown so much.

There's so many people who
are interested, so many

people who've had profound
spiritual experiences who

didn't know what to make of
them or how to process them.

And, but more and more
people are coming out

and sharing their story.

It's helping a lot of people.

Rod Bland: Yeah, there's,
we've just become a generation

of questioners and I think
some of that is partially to

do with, I feel like it's sort
of started with the pandemic

where we suddenly realized
that not everything we're

told is actually, is true.

And people started to think
for themselves a lot more.

At least I, that's something
I started to think a

lot more for myself.

I just sort of went
along and thought, okay,

well, everything they
told us is all fine.

buT I like what
you said about how.

When the artist gets the
inspiration, it's just got to

come out, whether you like,
it has to come out some way,

you've got to kind of go with
that, and yeah, that, that's,

it's, people often ask me
the same question, it's like,

well how did you, what made
you start doing this, and,

and um, there isn't really
any good answer, it's just

that while I saw some other
NDE videos, I thought that's

exactly what I've got to do,
and I wasn't doing anything

like that before, I'd had
no, I, I guess I had had a

couple of experiences that,
that was sort of in that,

in that sort of realm, but
people just thought I was

a bit, bit nutty going down
that path, except for my wife.

She thought that's perfect.

That's exactly what
you need to do.

And now everybody's
kind of used to it.

You know, I'm the guy
who asked for a Ouija

board for Christmas
and things like that.

Melissa Denyce: Wonderful.

I'm so glad that you
put yourself out there

and that people have
been accepting of that.

Rod Bland: Yeah.

So what's been the, the, has
there been an evolution with

how your family is with you
now, given that you've, you've

been, um, sort of out there as
far as your spirituality and

the way that you look at the
world for quite a while now?

Melissa Denyce: Well, that's
a bit of a complicated topic,

and my husband is fine with
me saying that he doesn't,

he is extremely supportive.

He doesn't, believe that
these spiritual experiences

are like really happening.

Um, he doesn't necessarily
agree with my perspective or

that they're real experiences,
but he is extremely

supportive of me doing this.

He's fine with me believing
whatever I want and

doing whatever I want,

and I'm incredibly
blessed to have that.

Rod Bland: a staunch realist.

That's what it sounds like.

Melissa Denyce: and there's
nothing wrong with that.

It's not everybody's purpose.

I do have.

Some family members who are
very supportive, um, may

be in the same boat of not
necessarily agreeing with

me on these experiences,
but are very supportive

of me and are happy that
I've been successful

with my YouTube channel.

Um, and then there's others
who are all over the spectrum.

Some of that I don't
necessarily talk about

publicly just for privacy's
sake for those individuals.

Rod Bland: It's definitely
evolving though, isn't it?

Like you're finding that
just, I just find just in

the general circle of group
of friends or people that

you meet for the first time,
it's a lot easier to have a

conversation about things like
an out of body experience or,

or a near death experience,
or when people ask, or

what do you, what do you
kind of do with your life?

And you talk about what
you talk to people about

and Their eyebrows still
raised, but it's definitely

much more a part of everyday
conversation now, isn't it?

Melissa Denyce: It's more
widely accepted by the

culture, even, I've noticed
things, even like when I

go to the bookstore, back
in the day, a lot of this

stuff, like near death
experience books, would have

this little tiny section in

Rod Bland: Yeah, it was
in the occult section

as well, wasn't it?

Yeah

Melissa Denyce: now there's
this massive section and

it's labeled, it might be
labeled like, self help or

spirituality rather than
metaphysical and occult.

Not that there's anything
wrong with those words, but,

but yeah, I've seen that
become more widely accepted.

Rod Bland: So given what's
occurred in your life Melissa

and the things you've gone
through, what advice would

you have for the young
Melissa, like from, that

was a teenager going through
those really hard times?

Melissa Denyce: That's
a good question.

I've never thought
about that before.

I think I would tell
her to try to relax.

I was very stressed, very high
strung, depressed, unhappy.

I would have told her what
you're going through right

now is really difficult,
but it doesn't have to be.

Just try to trust that this
is all leading somewhere

really, really good.

Actually, another thing that
I would have told myself, I

would tell myself, although
I don't know if I would have

been able to understand or
accept it at the time is that

you're creating your reality.

Like you're creating this
darkness that you're stuck in

and there's no guilt in that.

It's part of the experience
that you signed up to have.

But the point is going to be
to find your way out of that.

And you are creating in your
physical reality, everything

that's manifesting, you're
designing your entire

experience based on how
you're perceiving your life.

As soon as you can figure
that out, as soon as you can

figure out how to create from
a place of peace and bliss,

then that's what you'll start
experiencing in your life.

Rod Bland: That's a bitter
pill to swallow, isn't it?

That one where you've, you
have to go, okay, well, if

you've got all these things
occurring in your life to

say, well, this is actually
really my responsibility and

it's not up to anybody else
to fix this because I've

created it in the first place.

Yeah.

Melissa Denyce:
Yeah, absolutely.

It can be so hard for
people, and it took me

years to finally accept it.

But when I did, I had gotten
pushed to the point where

it was almost a relief to
think I, I can actually stop

this cycle from repeating.

Like, I'm actually creating
this so I can create

something different.

Rod Bland: Yeah.

You now become, you're
in a position of

power at that point.

So, I wanted to ask, people
are going to have to ask

questions if they want to get
in touch with you, or just

tell us everything you've got
going on as far as how people

can follow your work and reach
out to you if they want to.

Melissa Denyce:
Yeah, of course.

Thank you so much.

Um, mostly I'm active on
YouTube, Love Covered Life

podcast where I interview
other near death and

spiritual experiencers.

I do have a website.

It's lovecoveredlife.

com and I have, uh,
Some paintings for sale.

Right now, I'm still in
the process of getting

my website switched over.

So, but within the next
month or so, I should have

that straightened out.

I'm also on Instagram and
TikTok at melissadenyce, D E

N Y C E, although I don't do
as much on those platforms

as I would like to, but um,
that's pretty much what I

have going on right now.

I have a couple of other
projects in the works, but

it's going to take me some
time to roll those out.

So

Rod Bland: excellent.

I'll put some links to those
in the show notes for you.

Do you have any final
positive message that you'd

like to leave the viewers
with who would, uh, made

it this far in the video?

Melissa Denyce: yes, I,
I feel the most important

message that I could share is
that it is really important

for us humans living here
on this planet to learn

how to love each other.

The most prominent message
that I hear from near death

experiencers, almost every
single person who has a near

death experience, comes back
with this message that love

is the answer to all the
problems we're facing in our

world and that small acts
of love and kindness are the

most powerful and that we
really can change the world.

by learning to
love each other.

And I think that's something
that we don't quite grasp

here because we think that the
world is the way that it is.

And there's so much
cruelty in the world.

There's so much wrong
with the world and

that's just how it is.

And there's really
nothing we can do about

it, but that's not true.

The world is the way
it is because we've

made it that way.

And we can change that.

And it really is just
a matter of each one of

us waking up to the fact
that we have the power.

We have the power to
choose to love each

other in each moment.

And if all of us did
that, we could change

the world overnight.

It really is possible for
us to learn how to live

in peace and harmony.

on the earth, but we have to
stop accepting that things

have to be a certain way
just because that's the

way they've always been.

We have to change our
vision, expand our vision,

and believe that something
better is possible.

And then each one of us simply
has to do our part by making

the most loving decision
that we can in each moment.

And so that's what I
would like to share.

I would just like to encourage
people that you have a lot

more power than you think.

You don't have to go out
and do something massive

to change the world.

We just have to choose to
love in every situation.

And if all of us could
do that, then we would

solve the problems of the
world because we would be

creating from a much higher
state of consciousness.

a different world
would manifest for us.

Rod Bland: Wow, that's
a great message.

That's so good.

Melissa, it's been my
absolute pleasure to

have you on my channel.

I really appreciate you
taking the time to, uh,

to have a chat with me.

And thanks for, very much
for being a guest on my show.

Melissa Denyce: Thank you
so much for having me.

Thank you so much for the
work that you're doing.

I've really enjoyed talking
to you and I've been honored

to be on your podcast.