What I think of The Near Death Experience meditation by psychotherapist Jonathan Robinson

Photograph of me taken by one of my good friends Hannah.

As we go through this death and rebirth experience, we are greatly aided in diminishing the fear of our own death, and at the same time, diminishing the fear of our own life and those things that keep us from becoming all that we need to be. There is no greater joy and peace than finding your purpose and delivering it to the world. Jonathan Robinson, creator of the Near Death Experience meditation

This is far from being a meditation about death, and more about feeling as alive as possible and making the most out of your life right now.

Before you read any further, I’d like you to know that I am an affiliate of iAwake who co-created this meditation with psychotherapist Jonathan Robinson. I have, however, personally done this meditation and all the exercises, and highly recommend it if you’re looking to find your purpose in life right now and want to experience more joy, happiness and appreciation for life right now.

Who is Jonathan Robinson?

Jonathan Robinson is a renowned psychotherapist, author of 12 bestselling books, and the co-creator with iAwake of the Near Death Experience meditation I recently did.

After having a transformational near death experience himself as a result of a car accident, Jonathan refined over many years, a method to help induce a similar experience in others. He’s now worked with thousands of people including many Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Coca Cola and Microsoft, to help transform people’s lives.

The resulting meditation which is now available to you has been created using specific binaural beats and music to help stimulate an ‘artificial’ near death experience.

What is The Near Death Experience Meditation

The Near Death Experience meditation consists of three audio tracks: an introduction to the method, the main meditation, and a conclusion with exercises for you to do.

This meditation was actually really difficult for me to do and is equally difficult to write about because it’s so personal. I initially felt uncomfortable to the point where I actually cried. Were they tears of joy or sadness? Nope. They were tears of urgency, love, gratitude … it just made me want to appreciate everything I have in my life right now.

I’ve made quite a lot of major changes in my life over the last few years, so this didn’t make me want to do anything drastic, but it certainly allows you to see clearly what your purpose is right now.

This was a very personal meditation for me to do and I’m not actually going to write about the specifics of my personal experience as I want to actually keep this one to myself. It’s a highly personal unique experience that will be different for everyone, and might also change depending on where you are in your life right now.

You’re encouraged, for example, to have a pen and paper close to you as you’re doing the meditation, so you can write down any insights, thoughts and personal experiences afterwards. I’m keeping my insights private, but this was one of the most powerful parts of the exercise.

After the meditation, there’s a 17 minute conclusion audio where Jonathan talks a bit more about the meditation and also asks you there and then to complete the exercise that was given at the end of the meditation. You’re actually instructed to stop the audio at this point and write your responses.

I loved this bit probably above anything else, because there’s a real emphasis on taking action and making that very first step to change, which is a step that’s often overlooked. You can read all of the self growth books and meditate all day long, but if there’s no action, however small, there’s no change. I love that there’s no getting out of doing these exercises.

Do I have any constructive criticism of The Near Death Experience meditation?

This is personal preference, but I could have had a longer meditation. However, looking at this objectively, approximately 20 minutes for the meditation and an additional 20 minutes for the conclusion and exercises afterwards is actually just the right amount of time.

I know when I teach meditation, many people struggle to stay still after about 30 minutes max, so an hour would definitely be too long, but I’d love to personally experience this as an hour long recording. Other than this, there’s nothing else I’d change. I thought it was an incredibly heartfelt, authentic and powerful meditation.

What is the point of The Near Death Experience? What are the benefits?

Six years prior to doing this meditation, I actually went to a talk by a Dr. Raymond Moody who has been researching and interviewing people for many decades who had experienced real life near death experiences.

Many people who have had near death experiences report having a newfound purpose in their waking lives. Just listening to this talk at the time absolutely fascinated me, so I feel really grateful six years on, to have been able to actually try this meditation.

The benefits of The Near Death Experience meditation are as follows:

Experiencing more joy in your everyday life
Discovering your life’s deepest purpose and priorities
Feeling more alive and at peace
Letting go of grudges and resentments
Forgiveness
Inner clarity
Feeling happier
Spontaneous moments of insight
Gaining access to deeper wisdom and love within
Releasing the fear of our own life

Final thoughts

It can be easy to drift, put things off, or place conditions on yourself by saying things like, I’ll wait until this date to finally get round to doing this thing I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Or, maybe, like me, you might have so many ideas popping in and out of your head, it’s hard to know what to focus on next or what your true purpose really is right now.

Sure, this meditation made me uncomfortable to start with, but it will certainly put things into perspective for you and hopefully give you a newfound appreciation for everything you have and everyone in your life, so you can live the best possible life right now.