Mystical Experience of Nancy Clark

Nancy Clark (1941 - ) is the founder and facilitator of the Columbus, Ohio branch of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc. (IANDS), a worldwide non-profit organization dedicated to studying and providing information on near death experiences. Until her retirement, Clark worked as a cancer researcher and Cytology instructor at Ohio State University and in the clinical Cytology arena in different laboratories. The author of Divine Moments:  Ordinary People Having Spiritually Transformative Experiences, among other books, Clark has devoted her life to spiritual work.

A few days before her mystical experience, Clark – who years prior had had a near death experience during childbirth – had a premonition in a dream of the death of a very close friend. Clark later learned that her premonition came true:  the same night of her dream, her close friend had died in a plane crash. Clark gave a eulogy at her friend’s service, stating that her mystical experience occurred, “Simultaneously while [she] was delivering [the] eulogy…”:

“I was addressing the audience with the eulogy and I spoke perhaps three sentences when all of a sudden I became aware of a brilliant white light coming from the left rear of the chapel at the ceiling. I did not see this light with my eyes, but, rather with some other unexplainable source. It was more of an  “inner awareness.” I find it very difficult to describe. I could see but it was definitely not through my human eyes. 

Upon seeing this light, there was immediate recognition on my part that it was God. I felt I was in the presence of my creator, a very exhilarating, spiritual feeling. I can’t explain how I knew or how I recognized God’s presence. The best I can do is to say that there was a transference of knowledge placed directly into my consciousness. In other words, I was being fed the information that I was supposed to receive.

The light completely surrounded me. I felt as if I had merged completely with the light and “belonged” to it. I felt a greater sense of reality and truth in this state.  I felt as if I was “home.”

The love that was emanating from the light is by far the most difficult aspect of my experience to relate to others. I feel so inadequate to speak of this love. Not because I am not a scholar, a theologian, a scientist, or someone who can dissect it and analyze it. I am limited simply by being human! It was not a human kind of love. It was not within the framework of our human experiences. Therefore, it defies human explanation. I can only say that it is because of this love that was channeled to me that I am able to remain strong and travel down life’s highway knowing that a great truth has occurred.

I wanted to remain in the presence of this light forever! I felt as I was in a state of grace. All my sins were forgiven and I felt perfectly and totally FREE. If I had somehow been asked at that moment if I wanted to go with this light and leave my earthly life behind, I would not have hesitated and I would have chosen to go. Not because earthly life is so bad, but, rather, that’s how incredibly beautiful the light was.”

Quoted by Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. in Heading Toward Omega: In Search of the Meaning of the Near-Death Experience.

Photo Credit:  Nancy Clark from www.freewebs.com/nancy-clark.

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