Hereafter
The date was June 15, 1998, 5:35 in the afternoon. The day seemed to those around me like any other hot Florida day. I was 19 years old, and for me, this day had a real life changing event in store, and I knew it.
I told my friends that I needed to return to the place I was living because it was about to storm. Because the skies were clear and sunny at the time, they all laughed at me. As I walked out the front door to make my one kilometer journey to my friend Dan’s house, where I was staying, the rain started.
I ran as it continued to rain, and the faster I ran, the harder it came down. Before I reached the end of the street, it was pouring and I was at top speed. Then, a flash of white light that I can only describe as a bonfire came out of the concrete road. It moved across the ground as the light rose.
I knew I was on a collision course with this great force of Mother Nature. This white light from the ground passed through me, flashing and exploding like nothing I had ever felt or seen before. I saw X’s of white light in my eyes, and I knew I had been struck by lightning. If you have ever been shocked by a wall socket, it was like that amplified 50,000 times.
Three hours later, I was standing on Dan’s front porch. The thing is, I don’t remember falling or walking to Dan’s house. I mean, it was three hours and a very short distance. Where was I for three hours?
How did I get from the strike point to his house? All I know is that I was on Dan’s front porch, enlightened and confused. Why didn’t I die? Why are there no burns? Why did Mother Nature spare me and give me this understanding of my soul that I had never felt? Dan and his mother wanted to take me to the hospital, but I refused because there was no physical damage. That experience is as vivid to me now as it was that day.
After the Strike
In the days and months that followed, I became interested in religion and philosophy. I wanted to know why I was struck, and more importantly, why I wasn’t hurt. Strange things began to happen when I was around.
Computer systems would crash. A friend’s radio stopped working when I touched it; six months later I made it work again. Watches stopped when I wore them. As time went by, it became clear that I must share my story about this phenomenon. It seemed that strangers began to gravitate towards me, for no other reason than to share with me their souls and what they thought happens to them when this life is over.
It was like I became a beacon for people willing to share that they, too, were a lost soul at some point in their life. I would talk to anyone about what I understood from being struck, and I became more obsessed with helping others than myself. It felt like this was the reason I survived.
Rich, poor, old, young, educated and ignorant; I could see the good in even the most evil of people. However, all that seemed to do was land me in jails and mental homes. With the exception of some friends and family, I found that people did not care much for me telling the truth.
Needless to say, I felt like a comfortable outcast. I never expected to be to be judged for sharing my experience, but I found that if what you say and do doesn’t match people’s philosophy or religion, you will be judged.
It was obvious that most people don’t like themselves, so how could I expect them to like or understand me? Thirteen years later, I continue to open myself to others and ask about their souls.
I can’t tell you how, but somehow being hit by lightning helped me understand life, death, and the oneness of this planet, and I’m so grateful.
I hope that this look into my life will teach people not to judge others and just be happy being you. I know that’s much easier said than done.
One love,
C. Blake Egger
Hereafter will be available on Blu-ray Triple Play, Double Play, On Demand and Digital Download from 13th June 2011.