Transcription
It was Jesus Christ. And I recognized him just like that. It was like I knew him. And he knew me. He knew every mistake that I had ever made. He knew how much in debt I was. He knew I was failing my my grades, my goals, my family. And he was exuding the most incredible unconditional love. It it was such a tangible force of energy. I had this uh expansiveness of knowing everything like universes and universes and universes of knowledge and understanding what he was doing as he was talking with me. Um not with words but I knew what he was saying. It was vast to me. Um because it was the solar system, but it was but it compared to what I saw and witnessed, it was like the head of a pin and the the layers of dimensions and colors and star systems and and and planets and time and space um was unique and and significant. it. I just had no idea that there was so much out there.
>> Did you feel that he cared what you believed at the time about him?
That's an interesting question no one's ever asked me before.
I have to say that this is one of the most satisfying and inspiring uh Q&A sessions I've ever had with a guest. I I just love all of the information that you are sharing. We have covered a lot.
>> You're just extraordinary and your energy um curious and calm and so loving is extraordinary. It's you're one of the best hosts I've ever had an opportunity to witness. So, thank you for your gifts.
>> This is Beyond with Heather Tash, where we examine near-death experiences and life itself, hopefully making this life a little better. Hello everybody. Welcome. I am so happy you are here today and welcome to my guest Bridget Cook Burch. Hello Bridget.
>> Hello Heather. So delighted to be here.
>> I am so excited to have you here. You have a really extraordinary lifechanging near-death experience and I'm really excited to share it with everybody today. So, I I guess let's just jump right in and tell us all about your near-death experience.
>> Well, thank you. Um, one of the things that uh has become so clear to me since my my near-death is the importance of stories. And so, I'd like to start with the story I was telling myself as this near-death approached. So, I was headed down a very narrow canyon. I was a college student. I was working three jobs and going to school and Heather, I was failing everything. Um, my my life felt really shattered. I didn't have any stability. I used my last $5 from a tip I'd made as a waitress the night before to put gas in my truck to to head to my mom's. And I I was so sick and I didn't know what was wrong, but I was shaking as I'm headed down the canyon. And now I know I shouldn't have been behind the wheel, but I just I was that sick that I was in surrender and I wanted my mommy. And um and and there were two parts of me that were waring. one that wanted that nurturing and affection and the other that just knew I was going to disappoint her because I was failing in school. My grades were complete crap at the time. Um I was in a horrendous amount of debt. Was having trouble making my truck payment and still working my tail off, but I was in a community that, you know, was just this kind of roughshod, mostly bluecollar community. and and um uh just not making ends meet. So I felt like I was such a failure and um it was difficult even to walk up to her door and knock. And she took one look at me and I was much worse off than I even I knew. I'd lost 30 lbs in 3 days and I'd been a bodybuilder and a runner. I didn't have 30 lbs to lose. And she said, "I need to get you to the doctor." And so she ushered me into her car. We went to the doctor where I collapsed. And fortunately, it was right next to the hospital in Brigham City and um they they put me in for emergency surgery right away. And when they cut me open, they found sepsis. I had ulcers and fissures in my colon. I from all the stress and other issues that were going on, I was just full and full of sepsis. And so they pumped out pints and pints of this infection from my body. And I was so emaciated they put me on what's called subclavian uh because they couldn't get even an IV in. So they had to do it um close to my heart and they they put me on the IV but then also six or seven different kinds of intravenous antibiotics. And I just remember waking up from surgery and see these, you know, hanging near my bed. And the nurses would come in and out and um I was spiking really high fevers even with the antibiotics. And um a couple of days progressed and they were really upset because the antibiotics didn't seem to be working and they weren't sure what was going on. And none of us knew that one of the antibiotics was killing me. So my mother had stayed by my side so much. Um and uh I'm really grateful for her prayers. I believe in intercessory prayers because of that. Uh, also there was a a woman that was my roommate next to me and I'd never met her before and we mostly have this curtain between us and um she was getting ready to go into surgery and her husband and she started reading from what's called the big book and I had been to a 12step group uh for drugs and alcohol. I'd grown up around partying. Um, I grew up Catholic in Brigham City, but it was the 12 steps that brought me back to God after a very rough road. And so, I'm listening to just some of these words that brought me just this tiny little bit of comfort in all the suffering that I was feeling and how terrible I was feeling. and um you know and you're not supposed to uh you know it's supposed to be anonymous but I had enough courage just to ask her a couple of questions and things and I didn't know at the time that I was empathic. I didn't even know what that meant but I had this situation where she came back from surgery and she's writhing in pain and she had the oldfashioned gallbladder surgery and she could feel every cut and every stitch. She's behind the curtain and there's family back there and I could feel her pain in my body and I'm very uncomfortable and I'm writhing a bit on my bed and I felt so bad for her and then she had a member of her clergy and her husband and they gave her a blessing and I heard her sigh and I felt the pain leave my body and she went to sleep and I thought well That's really interesting cuz I'd never experienced anything like that before. But in the meantime, I was growing sicker and um more frail. And uh I fell asleep for a while and then it was about 2:00 in the morning. My mom had gone home and I heard these two nurses outside in the corridor and they're discussing she's not going to make it until morning and we better call her mom back. And Heather, I just I still get emotional thinking about it because it was like I I knew that I had not fulfilled the measure of my creation. I knew that there was something I had come here to do. And um it wasn't necessarily part of my Catholic upbringing even when I had thought about becoming a nun, but it was like there was a purpose on this planet that I had and I hadn't fulfilled it. And I just remember being so sad because you know when you're listening to medical authorities and they're saying she's dying, there's nothing we can do. I I just was crestfallen, just shattered. And then Linda said, "Hey, Bridget, you know you're dying, don't you?" And I said, "Yes." And um and then I I kind of had one of those like Mac truck moments where I said, you know, "Hey, can anyone have one of those blessings?" And she said yes. And she calls her husband on the phone and and um he and another clergy member, they come in and they they gave me a blessing. and different than the priest who had visited me that particular day who I I loved and adored. Um, but I had this strange sense of peace that came over me for a little bit and then um I fell asleep and a a little bit later I awoke to the most incredible light in my room. It was um still to this day, and I love words, but to describe the light and love that was in my room was absolutely incredible. Um, this this appearance, it was Jesus Christ. And I recognized him just like that. It was like I knew him. And he knew me. He knew every mistake that I had ever made. He knew how much in debt I was. He knew I was failing my my grades, my goals, my family. And he was exuding the most incredible unconditional love. Like it it was such a tangible force of energy in the room that everything in the room was vibrating. I like I looked at my, you know, I'm in a hospital gown, but I'm looking at the cells of my of my arms and my hands and they were vibrating. The metal tray table that was right there by my bedside, it was vibrating like every single atom in the glory of his love was vibrating with that unconditional love. I had never experienced anything like it that I could remember. And you know, I had these incredible adoptive parents and they were just wonderful and very loving. But this was a level that I had never experienced. And it it changed me totally changed me in the moment. And I I I sometimes again words, but the um there was there was this this moment of letting go and allowing for his love to permeate me. And um there was a a a moment and it's not like other people's experiences very much but a moment where I I I came out of my body and I was watching my body and watching him and um I had this uh expansiveness of knowing everything like universes and universes and universes of knowledge and understanding what he was doing as he was talking with me. Um, not with words, but I knew what he was saying. And then I was back in my body, and that wasn't easy. Um, but I was still in his presence, so that's all that mattered. I wanted to be there forever in his presence. And he he told me he was giving me a second chance at life. And I knew that I would live. And it it just it changed everything. So I I fell asleep. My fever went down. Um I awoke very early in the morning. You know, they come in all the time, the nurses, and this nurse is wheeling in more of these intravenous antibiotics. And I looked at her and I said, "Hey, I can have every single one of these, but I can't have this one." and I pointed to a particular antibiotic and she just looked at me like it was a French fries. I have a happy meal. She's like, "Girl, I don't know what you're thinking." She said, "But we thought we were going to lose you. These are the only things that are saving your life." And I said, "Not this one. It's killing me." And so she raises off to talk to the doctor and tell him what an uncooperative patient I am apparently. But he he had had other patients with near-death experiences and he came in and he asked me questions and talked with me and then he told the nurse, "Well, we can take her off this one. Um, you know, she's on the rest of these and we'll see how she does." And within 24 hours, I walked out of the hospital on my own power. It was extraordinary. I I was I was healed. Um, and I I what changed the most dramatically, not just the things going on in my physical body, cuz I still had stress and I still would hold it there and I had a lot to learn. I I definitely was never perfected on that journey. I was still making mistakes. I was still trying to figure things out. But the story that I told myself was that I came from love and that I was loved and I wanted to be that loving. And I could look into the eyes of anyone that I came across and Heather, I would see love there. And for the very first time in my entire life, I could look into the mirror in my own eyes and I could see love there. And it was such a gift. And I thought if anyone can be redeemed by love, like me, then anyone could be redeemed by love. And so I sat out into the world and I I got to discover people's stories like um someone discovered me when I was working at the YW.CA CA because I love to be around teenagers and hearing their stories and talking to them and just being in love. And I had a gentleman approach me from community learning centers and he said, "You know, you're really good with these kids." And he said, "I saw an article that you wrote for the YW.CA. Would you come to work for me? Would you tell some of these kids' stories?" And I'm like, "Oh, yeah." Because I just fell in love with the human soul. And uh I got to work with some of these really hardened gang members. Mom and dad were gang members. Grandma and grandpa. It it was like their religion. It was all they knew. And they lived life in a box like I had in a box of what I believed I was and only what I was capable of. And it was a box of full limitations. And I saw them. And then I would see what would happen if someone loved them enough to show them a different way and pry that lid off the box so that they could see there were more opportunities around them than maybe they ever knew. And I just I fell in love with that and and wrote their stories. Um, where they came from, the darkness, but then the light that started to come in in the form of other humans who who mentored them, who showed them, and then their own ideas. and I've been on this journey ever since.
>> It's a beautiful journey. I know you've written um many books telling people's stories. Now, going back to your actual experience, you knew it was Jesus. Did you feel like you had known him previously before you had this experience or were you just meeting him?
There was a sense of I remember you, but I I don't have any memories from before. I know a lot of people do, but I don't. I don't have any memories from before. But when I saw him, there was that. It was a instant recognition, right? I remember you. I know you. And I was so floored that he knew me.
>> He didn't care about your screw-ups. and he just simply loved you. And I don't know if you know the answer to this, but I'm I'm just curious. Did you feel that he cared what you believed at the time about him?
That's an interesting question no one's ever asked me before. I get the sense. I don't know. I just felt the power of his presence so strongly um that I I I think he realized he was superseding any beliefs that I'd had by that point. Um, and and I do remember cuz, you know, years later, I would hear some near-death experiences where people had hell and damnation or um, you know, proclamations of doom for our people if we're not careful or things like that. I felt ultimate faith in me as a person and ultimate faith in humankind. That's that's really what I got out of this that there is a purpose behind all of this and that none of us are who we really you know who we've been brought up to believe we are you know all these forces around us that sculpt our stories. Um I I really feel that you know cuz he told me I was being given a second chance at life. He didn't he didn't tell me about the antibiotic. I just woke up knowing that. But he told me I was being given a second chance. And and just even like that was this completely significant gift was was something I can never deny and I I never would want to. It was it was just that extraordinary.
>> There was another being there as well, wasn't there?
>> Yeah. So, as I'm looking at you, if I was looking at him and he was front and center, there was another off in the corner a little bit, just bright. Um, but here was Christ. So, he was he was back there in the corner just bright. So, I acknowledged him, but I didn't know who he was. And it wasn't until years and years later I had some spiritual experiences and I recognized him as Archangel Michael. But before that, I hadn't any idea. Um, I just felt like he was like a ministering angel or, you know, something. Um, but I didn't know. But I definitely knew Christ.
>> You brought back universes of knowledge. Were you able to take some of that back with you?
>> A minuscule sliver. It was It was so hard to come back in was it was except that he was there. like if he'd not been there, I think it would have been absolutely excruciating. But I I felt like I was gifted to see that there's so much more than what we even have an inkling of. And um I just remember how how incredibly expansive it was. Um, but when I came back like the next day when I woke up um I I remembered these things so clearly and and was so moved by each thing. But there was a there was such a longing a yearning to know all that. Um, that was one of the hardest things. The other was to like not not be in his divine presence like that tangible. He's right there in front of you. There was um it like I just still wanted to be with him. It it was that powerful. If he would have said, "It's your time. It's time to go." I would have I would have just gone with him. Um, but it uh, yeah, sorry. From time to time I have this loss of words to be able to explain. So, I love that you ask really great questions.
Well, thank you. As your consciousness expanded, I believe I heard you said at one point that you could see other dimensions and you could see backwards and forward in time. Is that correct? And and if so, can you explain that a bit more?
Um, I read a book recently about how the universe is still expanding. And that was the first time that I had seen words put to the experience that I had because you know when I when I saw it um there were there were so many uh dimensions and um it you know and and I had always just thought of the universe as the Milky Way and here's our planets and there's this solar system and that is like tiny minuscule compared to what is actually there. And when I saw forward and back in time, the um some of the things I saw were like the birth of of suns and the dying of things and um but it was strange like waves where it would go it out in time and expanse and then it would would come back in a little bit and then um you know I wasn't out for very long. Uh sometimes I I you know might read someone else's experience and go oh how incredible that would be to you know be in all that knowledge for that length of time. Mine was mine was was was very minuscule. But um but it now um here's what I find is that I um I see expanses everywhere and in every human being except myself. I have to really watch because I still have stories that I carry and hold, you know, about myself in terms of of things and I have to watch to make sure that, you know, here I'm giving everyone else like transformation and and it's possible for anyone and I have to remember that it's also possible for me. I can be really hard on myself when I make mistakes or hurt somebody.
>> Oh, we all do that so much. So when you say you see expansiveness in other people, what exactly does that mean? Like say if you're looking at me, what would that look like to you?
>> Ah, well, you have the most beautiful eyes and um I love to look into your eyes or someone else's eyes. And so fascinating because I see um I see universes in your eyes. I also see people including you for potential. Um, and it's not like that. Um, where they used to tease girls about, oh, you just see this boy for his potential kind of thing. No, it's about like the whole expanse of divinity. I can see this really incredible thread of the divine in a person when they speak words about their stories, where they come from, um, where they've been, where they're going. I see the threads of those stories. I see what they tell themselves. I also see beyond that to what God sees. So often, um, sometimes I have to be careful cuz I I don't I don't see the games people play in life. Um, so I can be very naive and um sometimes manipulated. I have to be careful. But I really see just the the potential and the um it's even hard to put into words like the the overall dynamics of what makes a soul a soul. It's it's exquisite. So I love looking in your eyes. I love looking into the eyes of anyone that I get to talk with. And you Yeah, we'll talk about that when we get off the phone.
>> Okay. You you do it so beautifully because you talked earlier about meeting with gang members, telling their story. You also have written a book, I believe, about skin heads. And it's so hard for many of us to see that goodness in people, but somehow you're able to do that. And I really believe that's a wonderful gift. And I wish more of us in this world could begin to see things like that.
>> Yeah, it's um one of my daily prayers is Lord, let me see through your eyes. Let me hear with your ears. Let me feel with your heart. And when prompted, let me speak with your words. Because it's just um my view is so limited compared to his. And uh I want to I want to be more like that um with myself and others. And I'll tell you, I still hold judgments just because of where I came from, you know, and I was in a very open, loving family. And, you know, we didn't see race or color. We saw people for people. Um, but even then, like every person holds certain judgments. And whenever I hold a judgment, God will send me a story, you know. So, I've written about skin heads. I've written about the daughter of a serial killer. I wrote about a woman who was the 19th wife of 65 women and how she overcame her cult upbringing and brought more and just to justice. Um I've I've written about when God has more faith than your doctors. like there's there's these just incredible stories and I feel like um uh because of what was gifted to me in my darkness that I have the ability to walk with anyone in their darkness but also see that that what we call in writing the conflict character arc like what is truly on the other side of being a victim to the victor of our heroes or she's journey of And and then I sometimes can see beyond that that someone might not even know about themselves yet. It's so glorious to witness when someone unfolds like a like a lotus before me and I I watch them as they grow and understand the love of God more, understand themselves better. And um some of the most extraordinary stories, I feel like the darker people have experienced trauma or other things is the bigger their pendulum swing to light on this side, they have the ability to hold more light. Doesn't mean that it's not available for everyone. It is, but their their pendulum is bigger. So their vast experience um shows them this dualism, this this incredible dichotomy of what is possible for each one of us. It's it's really um it's miraculous and sacred to me. I really love that because one thing that saddens me about our society is I see how we have stopped loving people that believe differently than us. And I always think if you can love those people, you're going to make so much more progress together than when you decide that you can't you have to hate somebody just because they have different thoughts than you do. And we all are products of everything that's happened to us in our life and that has brought us to our beliefs. But together, you know, we can help each other along. I would agree with that. Heather, can I share a story?
>> Yes, please.
>> So, I um I have this like beautiful ability to put on uh inspired writer retreats and I have people that come from all around the world and uh a couple years ago and things were very divisive then and there were the sides of the aisle like we're seeing today. Um, but it was so interesting because they had all these people come in and I just kept looking up going, "Okay, God, I don't know what you're going to do with these people, but I'm I'm trusting 100% in you." Because there were some that were very specific, you know, super engrossed on the right and super engrossed on the left. And um, even when they were talking to me and their one-on- ones and other things, I'm like, "Yeah, this is going to be an interesting retreat." But as they shared their stories, Heather, just as you said, as they they came to love each other through this deep honoring and sharing of stories and from Thursday to Sunday morning, I saw all these people come together in this um this honoring of each other and they didn't want to leave. And they even said, "If I met you on the street, I wouldn't like you. now I love you. And then I went home and um on on the way home I that was just so deeply impressed on me and then we also got the news about the Hamas bombing of Israel. And I'm not taking any sides. What I am sharing is what I saw again that spectrum of what is possible for humanity in one weekend. all the hatred and also all the love that can happen when we let down our walls and we actually listen to each other's stories and perspectives. We come back to that place where we're all human and you know to be able to honor each other and our stories and our differences of opinion I think is really really important. So I'm so glad that you mentioned that because that's been profound for me to see. I think on social media we have a tendency to not see the human and when we are in person and we can actually have a conversation it's such a different experience and and we just need a lot more of that. So I really appreciate all of that. You also talked about a bit earlier um you were able to see other dimensions and I talk about dimensions a lot on this channel but then I go well what is another dimension? So what exactly are you seeing when you say you saw into other dimensions?
>> Yeah. Um just this is important for me to to what I experienced. Um, so colors and stars and planets and um what was fascinating to me was the layers of it. Um, and and so it it's very different. it. So, what I think one of the best ways I can describe it is, you know, how the world believed that the Earth was flat and you would fall off until we discovered that it was round. In my limited view of what was possible, the the solar system was just this like it was this small I it was vast to me. um because it was the solar system, but it was but it w compared to what I saw and witnessed, it was like the head of a pin and the the layers of dimensions and colors and star systems and and and planets and time and space um was unique and and significant. It I just had no idea that there was so much out there. I just I didn't I was that limited. So, it was it it it definitely blew me out of the water. Um, we got uh a few years ago some pictures from the Hubble spacecraft and there were some unique things where I was just like like um uh a remembrance of of that. Um, although the colors were um very muted compared to what I experienced. Um, cuz the the the colors of the the star systems and solar systems and everything else, it just was it was so dynamic and the black was so black like velvet, but the colors were so vibrant and the light was so light. So anyway, I know I'm I'm not doing well in the description of it cuz I feel it. It was it was such a a a feeling and a visceral experience in in terms of that. And it also reminded me of his unconditional love like they were in one. They were it was creation which is love and that unconditional love that was before me. Um, they were one and the same.
You are doing a great job of explaining this and what I love about near-death experiences is they really expand our view on what is there but at the same time you realize there is so much beyond anything that we can comprehend and I think back to when I was a kid and you know I'd imagine heaven and it would be you know we'd be happy and kind of in this beautiful place or floating on clouds. And you know, you hear near-death experiences and they're all so different. And it's because to me it seems now there are just infinite possibilities and there is just so much more than our brains can even fathom.
>> Yeah, it's it's so true. Thank you. you were able to see love in yourself and others, which which I love because so many of us look in the mirror and we can't see that.
>> Yeah.
>> But Jesus came to you in a vision a few years ago and I guess you needed a little bit of a reminder on proving yourself worthy. Can can you tell us about that? Share that experience with us.
>> Yeah. I've hardly shared this cuz it's so tender and and so sacred, but I did have um I kind of was at this place in life where um I felt like I was, you know, that measure of my creation. I felt like I was failing in that like I I wasn't doing enough. I wasn't giving enough. I wasn't, you know, expansive enough to in in terms of what I felt like I could or should be able to do with the gifts that I'd been given in this in this second chance at life. And um and it was a very low low for me. Um and and in terms of like worldly success, you know, it had these books that had come out. I was building a company. I was able to work with extraordinary people, but there was like this this um little piece of black coal inside of me that somehow was supposed to be made into diamonds. U you know, there was something big that I thought that I was supposed to do and be and and all of these things. and I was negating anything that I had done. But also um I didn't realize that I was telling myself a lie. And when he came, he let me know undeniable undeniably that I had been lying to myself. And it was like, oh, from the very core of me, it was like that's not true. I wanted to fight back. I wanted to defend it. I wanted to, you know, and he's like, you lied to yourself. He said, When when I came and I gave you a second chance at life, you said to yourself that there had to be something worth saving. And suddenly, you set off on a course to prove yourself. and Heather. It was, you know, you've seen the whole comedies of like it it hit me like a wall. Like the recognition of all the years of trying to prove myself worthy for that second chance, all the years of wanting to be worthy of that love again, um wanting to make sure I did everything with the gift he gave me. And I was putting limitations on his love. And I got a very strong sense that whether I was sitting on the couch eating bon bonss and watching TV or doing what I was choosing to do, that he would love me the same. That there wasn't a hierarchy of his love not for me and not for anyone is just simply unconditional. And the joy of of him seeing us experience what we get to experience as part of his creation is unfathomable. But I had lied to myself. And so all of a sudden I I even felt a drift like well if I'm not this person who has to unconsciously prove you know then then who am I? Um, but it was really extraordinary cuz I' I'd been adopted. I'd had three sets of parents. By the time I was 6 months old, I'd carried a wound with me. And in in a period of about 5 years, I found my full birth family. I have like 79 new family members. It's crazy. Um, and I had this experience with him and now trying to come from a place of again that expansiveness like I don't have to prove a thing, you know, and and getting back to who I really am, which is a child of God. You know, his light shines upon all of our faces. Um, there are are no expectations and yes there are um the joy and celebration of when we treat each other with respect because we are God incarnate and when we look into each other's eyes I hope that we can see more of God there. Um, but it just blew me out of the water to to um to recognize that lie and then um and now I'm working on being absolutely free of it. So, it was a gift, but it was hard to hear tell the truth.
It's such a great message though because I think so many of us feel we have to prove that we are worthy whether it was from our upbringing or the faith that we had something and it it's such a great reminder to know no we are loved no matter what even when we sit on that couch and we just eat bon bons.
>> Yeah.
>> This is not the only vision that you've had. Um, I believe since your near-death experience, you've had other visions. Are there any that you would like to share with us?
>> Um, I will I will share one that I think has to do with some of the topics we've been talking about. Um, the place that we hold each other sometimes, the the judgments that we hold. I had a um situation that involved my dad who passed away and um he's come back from time to time to show me something significant and I was doing um I was in a group of people and I was doing a guided meditation and then I was gone and all of a sudden I see my dad and he's all dressed in a tux dressed to the nines younger than I'd seen him when he passed away and just grinning from ear to ear and he would have this belly laugh and so he's he's chuckling as I'm taking him all in and then he holds out his arm and here's my grandmother, my mother's mother and they are dancing. She's dressed to the nines. She's in this like shimmery fun, you know, swaying thing. They're dancing to big band. My grandfather is over in a tux. He's just grinning and he's watching my grandmother and my father dance on the dance floor. And the thing that was so noteworthy about that is I know that my grandparents are guardian angels. Um, my dad has helped me with a couple of things, but my grandmother was upset with my dad for a number of years because, um, my dad and mom grew up in Detroit, fell in love, got married, had two boys, and then he took her to this heathen land of Utah, and um, where she couldn't see her grandchildren or her daughter on a daily basis, and she was furious with him. She took his picture down off the mantle. um took other pictures uh and put my mom's graduation picture back up and my dad just said the games we play in life. And then he showed me that prayer that I was telling you about that that I say, you know, Lord, let me see through your eyes, hear with your ears, feel with your heart, right? And he showed like me in the center of all this light and it was very humbling and it was very powerful. And he was he was showing me what I was creating with that prayer. And then Heather, he showed me behind like like there was all this light and then there was this black wall just black devoid of any light whatsoever. And it was shocking. I was like, "What the heck is that?" And and he begged me to look over the wall, which I did. And over the wall was Melissa Moore's father, the serial killer. And he said, "How much light do you think he gets inside of those prison walls?" And I was just floored because I' I'd written about his name's Keith Hunter Jesperson. He's the the father of Melissa. Um, he's known as the happyfaced serial killer. And I didn't hate him. I'm I I don't hate people, but I had withheld I had withheld my love for him because I was so furious at what he had done to the women he'd killed and what he'd done to his own daughter. I was furious. So, here I have this prayer of light and love for everyone except him. And um so it was shortly after that I was in Texas in a courtroom or getting ready to walk into a courtroom when they marched Warren Jess from one room into another. And I remember looking for light in his eyes. Like I didn't have respect for the man. I still don't have respect for the man and what he's done to destroy 500 families and he's a pedophile. But I did look for light. And um and I know I still have I have more work to do on the planet because um it's it's still easy sometimes for me to not love like Christ did. I still can withhold. And um so I seek on a daily basis to be more like what I experienced right in front of me. and what he has shown me time and time again including in that that situation where I didn't have to do anything to perform for his love again it's so important because when you are learning we even need to love those people how much more does that mean we need to love our neighbors somebody that disagrees with us somebody that really irritates us Um, I I really just think that that's the message that ultimately will change humanity.
>> I believe so too, Heather. And I'm so grateful that you are one that gives voice to that very pure knowledge and um that very pure light. Thank you.
>> And it doesn't mean I'm always good at it, but I know that that really is what we all should be seeking. you you've had some of these visions and I'm curious, what do visions in general tell us about our connection to this other realm?
M well I will tell you like the experiences that I've had with that like Jesus in the hospital um more real and tangible to me than any other experience I've ever had. Um when I am blessed to have additional visions um again there it's it's full of dare I say like these universes of knowledge um but there it's usually in some sort of code usually in some sort of mystery for me to figure out or a lesson that is finally coming to fruition like you know how much light do you think he gets inside of those prison walls? Just um these extraordinary things that um that we're we're gifted to have a greater understanding of our own path in life and how to love deeper and and richer. And um you know I've listened to other people when they've had experiences and again I love to see the threads of the stories as they're telling me and the meaning to which they ascribe um that particular vision to them. And it's it's fascinating to me too, Heather, because um you know, and you've you've got to interview so many near-death experiencers, and I have as well and shared death experiencers and and out of body the these last few years in particular. But I will tell you that um I've noticed that people will have an immediate ascription to meaning like, "Oh, it means this." But then as their life takes place on a timeline that sometimes when they look back at that vision they realize a greater message that was there for them. Like yes this held meaning at this time it helped me on my path. I did this but wow there is a bigger greater meaning here that um you know that they weren't aware of in the beginning. Because as we grow, I think our our consciousness expands and we're able to see a bigger picture if we allow for that growth. And one thing I have learned about visions and life, you know, some people call it one eternal round, but I see that we live our life in patterns and a lot of it has to do with our beliefs. Um, but it to me I see the energy as a spiral and sometimes, you know, we go backwards a little bit. Um, but we're if we're growing, we're often, you know, accelerating up and we we can see a bigger picture. That's why I think it's really important for us to not negate the wisdom of our elders. Um not negate the wisdom of the indigenous, not to negate um uh what happens when when there is a bigger collective of information and we're tied to it. We we have a part to play in it. And um our little individual spiral is part of a a very big collective spiral of humanity learning and growing and sometimes regressing. But um we have such great capacity.
I have to say that this is one of the most satisfying and inspiring uh Q&A sessions I've ever had with a guest. I I just love all of the information that you are sharing. We have covered a lot. Is there anything though that you have learned that we haven't covered that you would really love for the audience to know?
I think just one last thing because it encompasses everything that we've been talking about and that is um you are infinite and you have infinite possibilities and if the story you have been telling about yourself is of limitation um to give yourself an opportunity to expand and to begin to see the opportunities that are before you but also So before humanity, you know, we're we're in a dark time where people are not treating each other with respect. And yet often times if we look at the patterns of history and our own history, from the darkness lies the seeds of our greatest glory. And I really feel that we are on the cusp of something magnificent if we choose it.
I love that. Bridget, as I said, I I've so enjoyed this. I know people are going to want to find out more about you to be able to connect with you. So, tell us just uh a little bit about how you're using some of your gifts and and how people can um make a connection or or read something that you've written.
>> Well, thank you. Um, my books are available on Amazon, some of them under Bridget Cook. Um, before I remarried and some under Bridget Cook Burch. Uh, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram. Um, my clients call me the book whisperer, but my website is called Your Inspired Story. and um I'm a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, but my favorite thing is to help coach others to write their own extraordinary stories. So, I've also become a publisher, too, because there's so many tremendous stories and they just deserve to get out into the world. So, I would love for you to connect with me. Doesn't matter if you're writing a story or not. If you just want to tell me your story, if you want to connect, if you want to be friends, let's be friends.
I love that. And I will have links to how you can connect with Bridget um in the description. So, I'll share
all of that information. We've covered so much and I just asked you about one last thing. But of all the things that we've talked about today, if there's one thing that you really hope people take from this conversation, what would that be?
>> Is that you are deeply deeply loved no matter who you are. Thank you for sharing that love, for helping to bring it to our awareness, how important that love is. I have so so enjoyed this conversation, Bridget. So, thank you so very much for being here today.
Thank you, Heather. It's been a pleasure to be here. You're just extraordinary and your energy um curious and calm and so loving is extraordinary. is you're one of the best hosts I've ever had an opportunity to witness. So, thank you for your gifts.
>> Thank you so much and that means so much to me. So, thank you.
>> Welcome. I have had so many spectacular guests over the years, but every now and then, you know, one comes along and I just am like, "Oh, I just loved that conversation." And that's how I felt with Bridget. I wish I could just shout, you know, on the rooftops, you have to watch this one. I hope that you got as much out of our conversation as I did. There were so many things that we covered that I just thought were so incredible. And so I'd love to know if Bridget expanded any of your ideas of the afterlife because I really enjoyed her descriptions of what she saw and describing it to the best of her ability. You know, there are no words to really describe everything that people see. And then another really important thing to me is just learning to see and look at everyone through the eyes of love. I feel like if we can do that, we can really change the world. And we have a long ways to go. I have a long ways to go. We all do. But it's such an important message. And when I look at social media, that always is what comes to mind is, you know, we need to do better to just to try a little bit more. So, I loved that she was given this gift to be able to do that. So, please write in the comments what stood out to you. I really would love to know your thoughts on this. Maybe you just want a comment about Bubby. That is fine as well. Or a message to Bridget. You also can just say, "I made it to the end." I do appreciate any kind of comment you make because it makes a difference to this channel. So again, thank you. I always say this, but thank you to everybody who watches me weekly and also for those of you that always write a comment. It means a lot to me. And also, if you enjoyed it, please give it a like and share it with a friend. I I really love to get these messages out to as many people as I can and I really count on many of you to help me to do that. So, thank you so much for all of you that do.
I will have information in the description on how you can connect with Bridget and learn more about her and her books. So, please make sure to go to the description and check that out. In the description, I'm also going to have some information there about an upcoming conference that I think is going to be really neat. And so, I just want to mention it briefly in case some of you are interested. It's going to be in February, February 20th and 21st. It's in Dallas, Texas. And it's almost like a mini. It's called the Truthtellers Conference and it's going to be about near-death experiences, miracles, and then also the power of telling the truth, you know, um to look at our truths. So, I think that is going to be really amazing, especially when you hear about some of the speakers that are there. I have heard these speakers in person and it's incredible. Now, they've been on my show and that's great, but just to see them in person and to hear them speaking is really powerful. So, Vinnie Tolman will be there, Scott Drummond is going to be there, Jeff Olsen, also Cara Marlene and Barbara Barole. I love all of them. They are genuine and um sincere people and they have such incredible messages. So, that's something you may want to check out. Again, that's all in the description.
You can also um go to the description and uh you know find out more about ways to support me. But as you know, you know, your comments, your likes, but also I do have memberships now and some of you are joining my memberships. Thank you so much. It's just a small way that you can support me each month and I do try to give you some special things like some behind the scenes photos and that kind of thing. So, um you can consider that. And then also um you can buy merchandise and that's another way to support me and also to kind of spread the word about what I'm doing here. So thank you for all of you that are doing that. But as I always want to say, no obligation. The most important way you are supporting me is just coming here week after week and always leaving a comment and a like. All of that means so much to me. So thank you so much everybody. Please come looking for me each week because I have a new amazing guest every single week. And you can just go to Beyond with Heather Tesh and you can find the new episode there. And if you click on the word videos, that's how you can find all my past videos. I also always have a link in the description where you can click on that to go to all of my past episodes. And there's so many great ones and you might want to just go check out some of those as well. Thank you everybody for being here today. I hope you have a fantastic day and I hope to see you in the next episode.
Thanks for joining me on Beyond with Heather Tesh. Please add comments and questions you'd like future guests to answer. Also, if you liked what you heard, please hit the thumbs up button and subscribe. That'll help keep this podcast going. You can also go to Beyond with Heather Tesh to look for more episodes.