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Rev. Gus, how and why did The Celestian Church of Universal Life begin?
I had an N. D. E. a near death experience many years ago. In the early sixties, actually, that
profoundly changed my attitude about religions and put me on a spiritual path that I am
continuing to follow to this very day.
Prior to that experience, I should tell you, my life was not exemplary. I was employed as an
armed bodyguard in an organized crime ring and had been involved with smuggling operations
in a number of different countries. As someone who was raised in a Christian environment, I believed that I was certainly not a qualified candidate for a heavenly afterlife.
Then, I died. Temporarily. Drug overdose. I need to tell you about that. Suddenly, I sensed that I was out of my body. I knew I had died. But, the thing that amazed me at that moment was that I still was "me". I had a strong sense of "self" ... the self that thinks in my mind and recognizes me as an individual entity separate from all others. That "me-ness" still existed even after my body had stopped functioning. Then, I had the sense that I was moving ... going somewhere ... leaving the Earth far behind. A new impression entered my mind. It seemed that all I knew
and cared about on Earth, in my material life, was no longer important or of any consequence.
And there was no sense of sadness or loss.
I accepted the fact of my death as a happening that I had expected and awaited all during my material existance. There was no fear. It seemed to me to be very natural. Since that day, my fear of dying, even though it never occupied much of my thought, has absolutely disappeared.
At the same token living has become more precious to me.
