A man who was once an atheist had a life-changing experience after he nearly died, claiming he saw an afterlife. We've all given thought to what happens after we pass away, and the theories can differ from heaven and hell to reincarnation, to simply ceasing to exist anywhere. Whatever your belief, it's hard to not be somewhat apprehensive of the great unknown - but one man seems to have experienced it and lived to tell the tale. A self-proclaimed "true atheist," Jose Hernandez once firmly believed that death was the end. However, his perspective underwent an extraordinary transformation following a near-death encounter that defied his beliefs. [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btacKoGvVtM]] Hernandez, an engineer by trade, recounted his experience during a candid interview with the YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btacKoGvVtM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaman Oaks.</a> "When I had my experience, I was a true atheist," he recalled. The episode was triggered by a routine task he would do in his profession, swapping electrical wires atop a bucket truck. "I am an engineer. I was up on a bucket truck running some electrical lines. We were running late," Hernandez recollected. His partner's concern for his safety inadvertently led to an accident. "The guy that was with me, my partner, was more worried about electrocuting me up on top, so he was more worried looking up and he just kind of bumped into a tree." The mishap left Hernandez with multiple broken ribs on his right side, necessitating an urgent trip to the emergency room. Things took a turn for the worse as he was left unable to breathe and medical staff rushed to revive him, which they managed to do successfully. At what he thought was the end of the line, Hernandez underwent a seismic shift of thought. He admitted: "I started thinking about God, saying, 'If you get me through this event, I will change.'" He went on: "Then I noticed this shadow, by the door. And it just stood there. Then I started thinking, 'You know what, I've had such a hard and difficult life, maybe it's OK to let go.' I kinda said it's OK to die." In response to his mindset, Hernandez felt an astonishing sensation. "And the minute I said that or thought that, the shadow just moved. In my mind, I could see its hand reaching out to me, and it just touched my toe. And the minute it touched my toe, I just felt this tremendous sense of relief, and relaxation, peace and love and calm. I was in bliss." Amidst the medical staff's efforts to resuscitate him, Hernandez claimed that this 'shadow' communicated with him. "Then I found myself being lifted into the corner of the room. "And I was observing the effort by the CPR team that was trying to save my life. I heard the voice next to me say, 'Think of your body as a car, and that car has life five million miles on it, and there's nothing we can do to fix it anymore. So you have to now say goodbye to your body.'" <img class="size-full wp-image-1263226139" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/08/GettyImages-502859729-1.jpg" alt="" width="2207" height="1358" />[[imagecaption|| Hernandez's claims pose more questions about an afterlife. Credit: Yuri_Arcurs/Getty]] "'OK, it's time for us to move on,'" the voice resonated within him. What followed was an otherworldly voyage. Hernandez recounted descending into what felt like a boundless abyss. On his journey, he encountered visions of soaring mountains, a breathtaking forest, and the untamed grace of wild animals in motion. The ethereal encounter didn't end there. Hernandez was assured that he would continue to be connected to his loved ones beyond the veil. He shared a heartwarming revelation: "When I met my dad on the other side, I realized that sometimes we may not be able to say something here, [but] we're gonna be able to say it somewhere else." Who knows, maybe there is life after death. <h6>Featured image credit: SEAN GLADWELL/Getty</h6>

Former atheist reveals what he 'saw in heaven' after near-death experience changed his beliefs

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