I Died and Learned the Unbelievable Power of Prayer (It’s Not What You Think)

I'm not talking religion right now. I'm talking from someone who didn't believe it just from the facts of my experience. They were watching over me and they were they were proud of me and that didn't make sense because what kind of life was I living when I had this experience there? And I was still homeless. I was a drug addict.

[music] >> [music] >> Welcome to Prioritize Your Life and Prioritizeyoulife.com. I'm excited to be here today with Landon [music] Dennis. Um, I know you've been touching lives anytime you share your experience, so I can't wait to hear all about it.

>> Yeah, I I would like to hope so. That's that's why I share it. I grew up in a wonderful home, loving parents, wonderful. And growing up, I I've had very paranormal experiences my whole life. I grew up in a haunted house.

>> We had poltergeist. Um, and from a very young age, I was the first one that was really affected by these things in this [music] house. I whatever you want to call them, I I I've heard the term shadow people. And so that's what I've come to termit. Um, but I remember from a young age it I would I woke up this one night and I could feel this horrible energy and I I I mean if you people listen to music and there's awesome lyric they get you know this goosebumps that energy you get but this was horrible and I could feel it.

>> And I I didn't see anything first and I suddenly couldn't move. I could only move my eyes and people call it sleep paralysis. Science wants to explain it however they want to explain it, but I'm telling you it was spiritual.

>> And it may have a scientific aspect to it, but this thing was around 7ft tall and in in the corner of my room and this thing was dark like like curtains, you know, are black. This thing it made the room not look dark and it was a literal figure and it looked cloaked almost. It didn't have the form I could see in front, but it looked cloaked. And it would stand there and it would mess with me and I I I could hear these screams type things from it. And this is I'm a young kid. I don't understand what's going on. And and finally, they came to this point where boom all sudden I was able to move. I darted out of the room, ran to my parents' room, told them what happened. They just thought I was having a nightmare. stuff like that. Um I but I knew it was really wasn't a nightmare and and I had very many other experiences like that and with the other type of entities and different forms. Um and I don't know what those that means you know I don't claim to know what that means. I just know that it was real and it happened and they would mess with me. And one night um as a kid my mom you know she she had her own experience as a a young adult and so she believed me and she said you know what son what you say in the name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave. I'd been raised, you know, to learn about Jesus, but didn't make sense to me. But

>> sure,

>> this one night, this thing came again and I could feel it.

>> Those [laughter] Oh, man. Um, I could feel it and it was almost like it knew I was going to I knew how to get rid of it, I guess, is the best way to say. And it came and it hovered to my bed. And I again I could look at the corn. I was frozen. It hovered and it came and it bent at the waist over top of me, [laughter] throw up. I wanted to die. Like I there's no words to describe it. And I wanted to die. And that's when that thought came to my mind. Land and say, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave." And I thought that. I didn't say it. I just thought it in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave.

>> And this thing

>> and it scream and it screeched is the it's like nails on a chalkboard type scream. Never heard that type of sound in my life, but it did it and it was out of there.

>> And that's the first time that I learned the power of even just the name of Jesus Christ,

>> right?

>> And that was at a young age.

>> Yeah. Yeah, it didn't, you know, and and so at that time I I learned, okay, wow, that worked. That's that's crazy. And and it and other things happened to the rest of my family in that house, too. So that from a young age, I had weird dark paranormal things like that. But also from a young age, I had incredible like incredible experiences. my niece who passed away um when she was at a young age. She died in a car wreck. And that night before my dad got the phone call, she came to me in a dream and and spoke with me and and comforted me. And I was still young. It didn't make, you know, it these things at the time, it didn't make sense to me. Now that I'm older, in retrospect, it's like, wow, these were incredible miracles that I was, even the bad stuff was a miracle of of seeing the good and the bad. And this dream from my niece and she comforted me. And about I don't an hour later, my dad got the phone call that she passed [music] away. And I didn't tell my parents cuz to me, it was just like, wow, that was a really real dream I had as a young kid that my niece just came to me and and that happened. I've had dreams also with my grandpa um that's come to me and with my uncle um very personal, very awesome dreams and and and like I said in retrospect now looking back on those those that it's incredible that I was given those gifts to be able to have that.

>> Um and so my whole life that's kind of a buildup of I've had weird good things and bad things. Uh, I guess you could say a little more spiritually in tuned. I don't know why. It's not anything I asked for. I don't think, [laughter] you know, but um and so later in life, I'm very accidentrone. I' I've overdosed, fallen off a second story building onto a car. Luckily, it softened my my cush my ball a car, you know, soften to the concrete, if you want to call them that. Call it that. It's often the cushion to the fall. Um, I've I've overdosed I can't tell you how many times from a young age I got in accidents and prescribed pills and it led up to that and I became a heroin addict. My parents were out of town [music] and me and my wife went to their house and I got on my Vespa which is like a little gas scooter. They're awesome for gas. horrible if you don't want to get hit by a car, which happened. And so I got on my VESA, went to get drugs. For anybody with drug addiction, they know it it it progresses quickly and it takes everything you care about in your life even quicker. Like everything from you. It it took everything from from me. my my first daughter, my first fiance, uh my my house, cars, everything, you know, I I was stripped of everything. But um so I'm I got remarried and I was still in deep addiction. I went to get these drugs and um I guess I overdosed at the house and they narcaned me, which is something they give you to get you out of an overdose. And I was blue and I guess I came back [music] and instantly was just like, "Oh, I got to get home." And [laughter] they're like, "Yo, chill." You were just like, "Dad, like chill." And and I don't remember any of this. I remember leaving my house to go get the my parents house to get the drugs. And that's the last thing I remember. And so I went there, I overdosed, they narc me, I got came back, got on my scooter. Luckily, I was only a couple blocks away from my house. Um, got hit by a car on my scooter right after that. [laughter] I mean, I don't I they I don't know if they allow pictures on a lot of the YouTube stuff or other things, but if you see the pictures and so I I got hit by a scooter, somehow got up from that, fled the scene, and this is in the medical and police reports I read later. Um, I mean, I have to laugh about it because otherwise it's just miserable to think about. So,

>> um, I I fled that scene and somehow got home scooter covered in blood and I walked in the door and my wife saw me and she was like, "What the heck?" And I just had this blank [music] stare and I just basically told her, "I have to go to the bathroom." And I guess what I was going to the bathroom to do was more drugs. Um, like true drug addicts fashion. Um, [music] and I know how I did my drugs. And I would sit up on a high countertop to look in the mirror because I would have to do them in my neck. Um, so I'd be sitting up high and [music] so I was Indian style is what I'm assuming cuz that's what I always did. And when I did that, I overdosed again [music] and uh fell back high straight to my head, cracked my head. Um, just very bad traumatic brain injury. I'm sure I had one from getting hit by a car, too. And the first overdose. And this is all in the span of like 30 minutes, man. If it wasn't in the medical records, I wouldn't believe me either. Like, it [laughter] it doesn't make sense. I mean, it it's it's awful. And I was living a horrible life at that time, you know, doing drugs. I I They make you do things that you would normally never do. You steal from family. You steal from loved ones. You You [music] cheat. You lie. You You do anything to get it. It It's horrible. But when when that happened, I fell back off that countertop. I cracked my head. And my wife, she what what she's told me um is that she got this horrible feeling. She heard a noise, but she was clear on the other side of the house. Didn't think much of it. But then she got this really bad feeling and came to check on me and found me on the ground just a puddle of blood under my head just messed up. [music] I was blue and purple. She said she was trying to wake me up, lift my arms, any I was I was gone basically. And uh um the paramedics came um and they end up reviving me and putting me into the ambulance by our driveway. [music] And so everything that I just told you from getting the drugs to right now, I don't remember. That's [music] what I'm told and that's what's on the reports and everything. And so this is where the NDE starts. And I am I'm just suddenly like 4ish feet above this ambulance and it's still by my driveway and I can see through it and it does it's hard to describe that is [music] like a like a translucent and these guys [music] were were working on me. They were cutting off my pants. Um, they were all around me. And I remember the feelings I got above that ambulance were like when I think about the worst depression I've ever had. When I think about the worst sadness, loss, grief, um anxiety, panic attack type feelings I've ever had. That's what I was feeling above that ambulance when I was watching my body. Um, and it it became to a point that was like too much. [music] And I get it when I hate talking about th this part, I talk about it because I think there's a lot of significance to [music] it. But it it it [snorts] sticks with me to this day when I think about those feelings. And when it got to a point that I thought it was too much, like I I literally thought I was going to explode is the best way I can describe it. Whatever. And [music] instantly when I got to this point, I I didn't say the name Jesus [music] or anything like that. I was too confused and chaotic and watching these people work on me, watching this guy have this drill thing in my knee and putting this needle thing and I didn't feel it, but I I was watching all this and it became too much spiritually [snorts] and that's when the most incredible thing happened and just boom, I was instantly away from that above the ambulance [snorts] and I'm [music] in this grass field and dude I it's been it's been years since this happened and I still can't find the [music] words to describe the the grass. I I try so hard even with my brother just sitting in the parking lot here. I was like, he's like, "So, the grass." I was like, "I know. I'm trying to think of the best." And the best thing I can think of is like if someone like the green laser pointers almost, but to have it be grass, but with also this this like glow [music] around it. So, it's still green like that neon green, but this glow. [music] And I'm talking each individual blade. And that doesn't make sense, you know, when I try to explain that here on Earth. [music] I know it sounds crazy, but that's the best way I can describe it. [music] And the coolest thing is is when I'm standing there, all those bad feelings are gone. And the grass loved me. Like the the grass loved me. And at first I was so scared to tell people that to say that sentence to say that phrase, but I the grass loved me, man. And it was each individual blade. It wasn't it was so cool to experience that. [music] And when I when I looked up farther, it was like, how do I explain it? I I could still see each blade and there like a quarter mile away there's there's this just big type [music] hill, big long hill, but it was rainbow shaped and I could still see each blade when I looked up towards that hill. And the the coolest thing now is when that grass was comforting me and I looked up over that hill and I saw lights just countless lights [music] as if as if someone was holding like a a spotlight in the air but just countless of them. But it wasn't just lights that we have here on Earth. And the best way I've been able to describe it is if you put a crystal on top of a spotlight, imagine the refractions of colors that would come out of that. It was like that. They had their own distinct color still each beam, but it wasn't necessarily a single color. It's like like I can tell you my grandpa was a reddish one. He was a reddish one. I I I saw him and I and I discerned that from all those lights even and and I say reddish cuz again he it wasn't red but it was redish and it was like a color vortex and that was my grandpa and I could I knew that from all the other lights and he literally came and hugged me dudes like he like he hugged me and he told me Landon I love you I am still your grandpa. I love you. And I say that in words, but it it was it was so much more. Like it was it was it was so much more than that. And as that's happening again, just a sea of these lights, my niece that passed away at the one that came to me in a dream, she was this pinkish violetish light. I I really wish we had more color names here. And again, I discerned her from that. And she again, I felt her having that feeling compared to just seeing them. Oh, any day of the any day of the lifetime, I [music] would take that feeling because that was them. And and they confirmed to me that that was still who they were. And in the best words that I can describe that they that they were proud of me. They knew how hard it was here and they were they were they were watching over me and they were they were proud of me. And that didn't make sense because I was living what kind of life was I living when I had this experience there? They But it was them. They weren't were not they weren't reincarnated as some going to be reincarnated as someone else. And I don't mean to bash on other beliefs or religions. I want people to find soloulless in this life. This life is hard. But I'm telling you from my experience, they were still them. They were their unique souls that they were created to be. They were not going to become another unique soul somewhere. They were there and they were still learning. And the the best way I haven't described this to people either. The best way I can say is the that when they said they love me and were proud of me and were helping me by them helping me that was still them progressing and learning. It was like they were take they God waste nothing. even my hard times that that loved ones I've seen help and I was showing this and I'll get to this in a minute help me through these times it it is also making a purpose on for them and they're learning and that might sound crazy to people it but it and this all didn't make sense to me at the time like I said I I didn't want anything to do with church I didn't want anything to do I thought no God could love me I was just a worthless piece of junk And and that I thought that was incredible that that not only could like now my addiction where I'm trying to speak out about to help others, my bad times can help turn into my best times and help [music] others, but also my bad times on this earth that I felt worthless through. God was using my loved ones on the other side to continue [music] helping it. In a way, it was like it was mutual beneficial, I guess you [music] can say.

>> Yeah.

>> And I've never been able to explain it that way, but that's the best way I've ever been able to explain it right there. And that and that was incredible to me because that means that [music] meant to me that families can be together forever. And your family members are your family members. You you you have a unique soul for your unique body. I have a unique soul for my unique body and our family ties are meant for something. And this is not even me trying to be religious about this. This was my experience that I had there. I'm not talking religion right now. I'm talking from someone who didn't believe and just from the facts of my experience and take away from it what you want, but from mine, they were who they were and they were proud of me and that didn't make sense to me, but it was helping them too.

>> Yeah.

>> And that that's [music] something that is it's crazy to think about. God wastes nothing. You know, there's a plan. Everybody always says things happen for [music] a reason. Maybe here on earth you think, well that doesn't make sense. That couldn't happen for a reason. Maybe it happened for a reason here because the reason was there for a per you know what I mean?

>> But so I'm have that experience with my grandpa and niece. And so I'm [music] I'm standing there and I'm yearning to go back there. I wanted to go back behind this hill, this hill. Whatever was behind this hill, I needed to be there. And I and I and so I yearn to go back there. And that's when I felt this presence to my right. And again, just like when I was young, that dark presence, that horrible presence I could feel before I felt it. I know what that presence feels like. The demonic presence, whatever you want to call it. Whatever name you have for that dark force, those are real. And I felt those when I was young. But here I felt this presence just back to the right of me. Total opposite be just I it it it made it to where that yearning to go back behind the hill was like almost like pulled back to like whoa what what's so what what do we have here you know type thing. And there was this beautiful lady standing there, dude. It like and it was so cool. Like when I sit here and think about it, just the look on her face was just she was I remember distinctly just kind of a a slight tilt to her head and just just this little smirk and I got her lip. She didn't talk, but I I got from her like, "How cool is this that he's seeing this again and feeling this again?" Like, she was having a cool experience from seeing my experience [music] and feeling what I was feeling cuz I know I was feeling what she was feeling. And I know she was feeling what I was feeling. And and she didn't speak. She was just looking and and say, "And I say again cuz like I said, like seeing this place [music] again, I I wanted to go back behind that hill." And I knew I like this place, this place felt much better than here. I'll put it that way. And it felt like a place I had been [music] before. I yearn I yearned to go back there. And she spoke a little bit with me about why I couldn't go back there. But it it the way that she did it with through emotions and and experiences. It wasn't words. Her lips didn't move. It It was like, [music] and this is the best way and the only way I describe it to people. It's the best way I found out, is that if she said the word fire, I would all a sudden instantly see the glow of a fire. I would feel the warmth of the fire. I would smell the the wood, whatever is burning in the fire. I would hear the crackling of it. But that and she didn't say the word fire, but if she did that, it was like just that quick. And and so there was no miscommunication. And and I say that to people here because people, you know, the best thing we've come up with so far with technology is emojis at the end of sentences to to make sure people get what we're trying to mean. You know, cuz people can take a text however they want. there's you can mean the best and next thing you know your wife's like what and you're like whoa whoa baby I didn't mean it that way you know so it really put into perspective how crappy just human language is compared to the emotions inside of you that in a lot of people I'm guilty of it too I have a lot of emotions that I want to express to people but my pride won't let me be humble enough to express those emotions and so I express the words up here rather than the thoughts in here.

>> Yeah.

>> And and up there it was the it was here to here.

>> And it was awesome. It was incredible. And it made it okay that I could not go back behind that hill. [music] And as she was speaking with me again, I feel a presence again. It was It was so cool. I I wish I could I wish, like I said, the best way I can describe it is when you hear something that's the truth and you get the goosebumps and tingles type thing. It was like that feeling when I felt them first. And so I looked a little more and it was a young man standing there and it was so cool. And they he started communicating with me too. And and this is where there there's I can't tell you how much time I spent up there over the years that I've thought about it. At one point I thought maybe it was an hour. At one point I thought maybe it was a day and a half. At one point I thought maybe it was too, you know, it's so crazy to try to think about cuz I hear um people tell me what was happening in surgery and my body down here, but for me up there it didn't quite line up. It's weird. But um the main point they started speaking with me about and this is the the biggest thing that I want people to take away because I didn't believe in it either and it's the power of prayer and when I say prayer do not think of it religiously like it is the most amazing ing tool you can have in your tool belt. No matter what religion, ethnicity, race, no matter what, prayer is the most powerful tool you have in your tool belt and people misunderstand it. And this and I and I'll I'll tell you the story right now of how they showed it to me because I misunderstood [music] prayer too. [snorts] And so they started telling me about prayer [music] and and how powerful it is and and just a lot of cool things about it. And during that I question them. I was like what do you mean the power of prayer? Such such arrogance of myself you know what do what do you mean the power of prayer? Look at these situations I've been in. I I've been homeless. I've been a heroin addict. I lost my my daughter. you know, she's out of got taken out of my life. I lost [snorts] a home. I've lost this person. This this I've been begging for food. You know, to pity me, pity me, pity me, you know, things. They were all self-inflicted. But in my mind, it was a real thing. Like, what do you mean prayer works? Look at what my life is contained. And this was the most incredible moment. This is when they [music] said, "Do you not you like basically you don't understand how loved you are and [music] how protected you are?" And this is when they showed me the coolest moment. And they showed me different things, but this is the thing that stood [music] out to me and that I is my biggest thing that I want to share with people. No matter how crazy it may sound to them, that's okay. Interpret this how you want. But they said, "Do you not understand how [music] how loved you are, how protected you are, and how powerful prayer is?" [music] And so when I was questioning that, they showed me this night that when I was I was homeless and I was behind this dumpster that I would go get little Caesar's pe that, you know, they would throw some food out at night and if I was the lucky enough first person to get there before the animals or people, I could have a thing to eat, you know. [music] And I was sitting behind this dumpster and I just remember it was around it was around Thanksgiving. Um, it was cold. I was alone. I just I was stripped of everything. [music] I was totally defeated. And I I wanted to commit suicide that night. Were sitting there just just thinking of the least painful way that how can I do this? And so selfishly just thinking nobody cares about me. Nobody loves me. No. [music] And also if there's a God, how could a God love me? way. Why would God let me go through these things that I've been going through? So, and I remember thinking these this night and they showed me this as if it was a vision and not like TV. It was like it was as real as me and you right now. It was as if you were me and I was watching, you know, and standing here. And I felt that again. And I remember that night that when I was going to do that when when I in my head it clicked. Yep. You're going to do it tonight. This is it. And all of a sudden I felt this embrace. And I'm telling you, I I it wasn't a a mental embrace. It wasn't like I just like, oh, I felt my body kind of got warm. No, I felt an embrace physically. I felt it that night and I turned and I didn't know what happened in that moment. It didn't make sense to me [music] and it didn't make sense until they showed me in this NDE. But that night years earlier, I felt that it saved me from committing suicide. And they showed me in that moment what it was that I felt. And I saw these beams of light just like the ones that were coming from behind that hill from in the grass where I went and they were talking to me and my it was those beams of light were were were prayers from people from loved ones. It was their their spirit and their their love were those beams is the best way I can put it. But when they showed me this night, when I felt that hug and it didn't make sense to me at the time and they showed me, those beams came and hit me a directly to me and I saw these dark I I mean these dark things just like that was in the corner of my room, but you know, and they just boom fled out of there, took off. And they showed me that moment and they said, "Do you see now how loved and protected you are?" And they showed me that those were prayers and those were answered in the moment that I needed the most. And the people that gave those prayers did not know, you know, cuz there's been months, there had been years that I'd been doing the same thing. And people that have been praying for me, my poor parents, my I mean, just people that cared about me, people I probably and people on the other side, that's an important thing. Not just my family here on the other side. Those were prayers on both sides. And they never gave up on me. And they, you know, people, my family here didn't think they were working. I was still homeless. I was drug addict. I, you know, I was out doing my thing. They're waiting for a phone call for for to say, "Hey, come identify your son. He's dead." Basically, they didn't know those prayers were working. And I saw those in that moment saved my life. And I I didn't believe in prayers before that. And that is that is an insane thing and an an insane gift I was given to be able to see that.

>> Yeah.

>> And and that's another reason that it took so long to share this. How do you share that with someone? Oh, you you you got a brain damage. You had a brain, you know, I I had part of my head taken off and put back on and all this. You just had brain injury. You're a drug addict. you know though that's what was going through my mind why I didn't share this stuff even though I know and because they showed me that night no one else could have ever known and and that for people that question prayers or think that that you know my prayer isn't answered this I didn't get my prayer this way this way that prayers dude people weren't necessarily praying save Landon from committing suicide that night but just their genuine when prayers for help toward me save me from committing suicide that night. And there's no wrong way to pray. What I say to people is, "Heavenly Father, our God would much rather care for you to call upon him than what you call him in your culture. Like our like America set up, I believe it was set up by by God. the Declaration of Independence, everything it was set up and it it it says every man is free to worship God in their in their own good conscience. And that's why I tell people that prayer is exactly that your direct line of communication with your God, with your intent and good conscience. So don't think that there's a wrong way to pray or that you I pray sometimes when I'm sitting on the toilet, okay? That's just the way it is. That's why I find a lot of solace from from the kids and wife [laughter] at home. I don't know if any other man can relate to that, but I don't even need to go to the bathroom. Sometimes just sit there. But you know, there's no wrong way to pray. And and there's been so many cool instances when I pray that I see miracles in life every day because before I used to see you know coincidences here or this I but when you pray and and you see miracles man you you when [music] you open your mind to that.

>> And they they shared a few things with me about my future um the way it it they did It it wasn't like this is going to happen, Landon. [music] It was like they were showing me informing me of a possibility and what would be the best way to go, but I have my free agency here. And that's awesome. That That's so cool that we have free agency on this earth. And it sucks so bad that some people suck at it. I suck at it sometimes, but but it and and so they they showed me a couple of future events. When I got sent back, there was no goodbyes. Um it was just this one last I love you from all of those lights. And I mean all the like and like I said, there was innumerable lights, but they all gave me this love you. I love you. And the coolest thing again is I will see you again. I mean, those are such powerful words, dude. Like having that experience that I will see you again and and confirming to me that they were still who they were as my family members, that bond was still there. [music] And that was so cool. And so then here comes another roller coaster ride of a crappy part. And so there was no goodbyes other than that I love you. I'll see you again. I've I've heard other people get choices to come back. That was not my experience unfortunately because I definitely would have made a choice to stay. It was it was much better there than here. Um, but I come back and I'm above my body in the operating room performing brain surgery and they had I won't get into ton of detail, but they had my head shaved. They had opened cut up open from here and up around here opened up and they had to take part of the skull flap off and drill holes in certain areas and and I saw a lot of this and what sucked is not even just seeing that is the emotional and spiritual and everything. All that pain that I felt above the ambulance again, it it came back, man. Like, it came back full force again [music] watching this surgery. And and I'm not a fan of gore. I I I'm not into gore movies. I don't like blood. I don't like that. And so, seeing that will forever leave a mark in my mind, you know? It's it

>> literally

>> Yeah, it leaves Yeah. No [laughter] pun pun intended, man. That's I'm lucky I have I have some hair to cover up this scar cuz I have a trench. I mean, up and around is but and it was horrible that emotional and spiritual is the best way to describe it. Pain I was in again above that watching that surgery and and this is where I heard [music] I the woman's voice I I I mean it's like I heard her voice up there but her lips didn't move. It was still a voice but through emotions.

>> Sure.

>> And this is when I heard her just her voice when I'm watching this [music] and it she said, "Landon, it's time." And I remember that first one was like kind of like, "Well, what?" And she said again, "Landon, it's time." And that's when I remember opening my eyes and my family was around me, but I saw those dark wispy things flee again

>> just like when I was shown behind that dumpster. And at the time, this is weeks later that I had found out that I guess as soon as I had gotten out of my surgery and they they were just telling my poor wife, we're trying to make him pass 24 hours if this surgery doesn't work. and you know all this then we're we're going to have to fly him to do a different one. Um but she said you know Atlanta it's time and I saw those dark wispy things fly out and I guess what had happened is when I came out of that surgery the first coherent things I was able to say was grab my dad I need a blessing and I don't remember any of that. That's not something I would have asked normally, especially coming out of, [laughter] you know, coma, brain surgery, brain injury first thing. And my dad blessed me and he said, I bless this I bless this room that no evil spirits will be here to hinder my son's recovery, both physically, spiritually, or mentally. And he blessed that room. And and me personally, I believe that that's when I when she said it's time and I opened my eyes and I saw those dark things flee again. I believe that that blessing is is what made those things leave and whatever you want to call those things. I don't know. But I believe they were able to hold me in that state of just confusion and and fear and not quite like being with my body and not knowing what's going on type thing. And they were able to do that and and that blessing I believe is what made those go and I I got to physically see those again. Um and that was incredible. And and a cool thing is I I recovered miraculously fast. I had to learn to walk again. I had to learn to talk again. I They would put a belt on me and a big like 45 lb weight behind tied to it and I'd be on a walker trying to, you know, go down and then do speech therapy. And it and it sucked because I was in there with people with the same type of injuries as me and and a lot of them died. Same type of injuries and a lot of them were some one was brain dead vegetable, the other couldn't talk, the other couldn't walk. You know, a one cop died and so in that whole floor I was I I was one of the only ones that somehow and I had one of the least likelihoods of making it. They were telling me I even if I made it, I only had a 40% chance of having somewhat of an independent life after that. And I was able to recover miraculously fast and start talking and and and [music] walking and speaking again. And I I still have troubles. I I can't see out of half my left eye now. um my brain injury and I still have troubles with with certain things I used to be able to do a lot easier thinking wise. Um so it's a lot easier just to blame me being dumb on a brain injury, which is nice. I can I have an excuse now, you know, but um it it's a miracle that I can even sit here and coherently to the best of my ability express this experience with you when these other people did not get that opportunity because it changed my life [music] and I need to stop being scared of ridicule and people that don't need to hear it won't hear it. people that need to hear it will hear it. And I hope they hear the sincerity and truth in the things that I say because I I don't want fame. I'm not looking to sell books. I'm not any, you know, I'm I in fact, I feel so inadequate. In my mind, I'm still just a a recovering drug addict that had a horrible experience in a small town. And that's, you know, and and it's it's been snowballing like this. But I I'm going to continue to do these because I'm not going to be scared to speak the truth of what I had. And I and I'm I [music] am telling everybody that is, you know, with this prayer thing and families can be together. I'm not trying to come at it in a religious way. I'm coming at it in a spiritual way and I hope everybody can spiritually feel the truth in the things that I'm saying because I'm not trying to push anything on anybody. I'm trying to share my experience with others and they can make with it what they may and I hope [music] that they can feel the sincerity in these things. But since my accident too, since I've come back, um the part I was going to get vulnerable about um when I came back to the hospital, one of the things that they warned me about is my temptations, my addictions still are going to be in full force there. And if if I ask [music] that they'll be there to help me. And that was a very important thing that they also told me up there about prayer. You need to ask. They can't always be there to help you. You need to ask. That's part of your free agency. And later in the hospital, even as I'm recovering miraculously fast, I just had this miraculous experience where I I [music] mean, it's I I'm ashamed to say this next part because of how miraculous this was. And so weeks later, I as I'm getting better in the hospital, um I had some drugs brought to me again. and I did them again. And that goes to show you how powerful addiction and how powerful dark forces are even to be able to have an experience like that. And that's it's [music] shameful for me to say that and I haven't shared that, but I hope that helps somebody because it is a struggle every day. But pray, pray, pray, pray. I mean it. And so that happened. And uh it it's it's funny too [music] though because as they said they would intervene for me, [snorts] but I need to pray and try. So, as I was getting out of the hospital later, that the day I was getting out, I went straight from the hospital, I had I had one one shoe on. I mean, I was straight from the hospital to go pick up heroin up the road. And as I got out of the car to go get the to go get it, he handed it to me through the window and a cop came out of this smoothie place that he was getting a smoothie at. As he had to me and he was saying, "Hey, what's that?" [laughter] As I got in my hand, I mean, the second it touched my hand, he Hey, what's that? And I'm uh I saw staples in my head coming down [laughter] around my ear and I'm looking like, "What do I do with it?" And and so he caught me right there. I mean, I I touched her for 0.1 seconds and I got caught from a cop coming out of a smoothie shop, you know, and they they told me, they warned me, "You're gonna struggle. Do your best, but we'll watch out for you." And and and it's those type of things, too. People think, "Oh, man. Why would God do this to me? I'm in jail now." It's like, "Oh, man. Thank God that he did that to me that saved me. They looked out for me." Went to jail for 6 months that time. And uh that's when I got clean though. That's my clean date. And so you know I but went to jail for 6 months and and that was that was interesting. You know, that was it was a lifesaver though because I without that 6 months in jail to really reflect and sit there and think about the experience that I just had and how I could reject it and go immediately back to what I was warned about and then sit there and think like, man, when they said they were going to help me out, I didn't think they meant like you're going to put me in jail if I even look at a drug. You know what I mean? like [laughter] like thanks I guess I don't know type thing but but and the way they were explaining prayers to me too that I want to get on is that it was in a way communicated to me again not through words but if if you're going to try to get a a husband or a wife or a girlfriend boyfriend you're not going to have a relationship or or even really get answers to your questions if you only talk to them, text them once a week, once a month type thing, you know, it just doesn't work that way. And and so when you're doing this, I I keep a daily open dialogue in prayer with [music] my best friend. And that's what I mean, not religiously. It's just, and I encourage everybody to do that. And it it's I wish I could show you guys what I saw so you knew the power of prayer. and and what it did when I saw and I physically felt it on this earth so you understood but you need to keep an open heart and mind and the best way I can describe that is that when you pray yes pray for specific things pray for help but like with me going to jail I didn't pray for that but it was the best darn thing that could have happened to me and it was sure a if you want to call it coincidence I call it a miracle that time you know and pray for specific things but if you don't see those specific outcomes keep an open heart in mind and sit back and and wait for that miracle not just the coincidence wait for that miracle and that's what I mean by open heart and mind because they are heard they are answered and a girl even asked me last night when you were behind that dumpster and and you saw yourself get saved by those prayers. Were those specific prayers that people were saying in that moment that saved you? And that's something I had never thought about before. And it hit me instantly that no, those were prayers that no prayer goes unheard and no prayer goes unanswered. And the way I thought about it is it's almost like God's got a library file of prayers that he's waiting to pull out at the perfect times, but he can't pull it out if you haven't done it first, if you haven't put in the paperwork for it type thing. And that came to me in that moment and and I told her, "No, it was it w and both from people on the other side and this side." So it wasn't that that in that moment that prayer was answered. that prayer could have been offered who knows when.

>> That's amazing, man. Yeah. One of the things I loved about uh your story and really appreciate you saying that this is one of the first times you've shared that um just about even though you had seen what you had seen, [music and snorts] you know, we're all still human and I think people can be really hard on themselves sometimes and we can fall into traps where we've had in the past. Um, [music] but how inspiring it is that you're you're here today and you're completely on the other side of that even though you've had a couple of little missteps. Um, but that's a really hopeful message and it's, you know, it's we're human and that's okay and and as long as you get back up and you keep praying. Um, it seems like overall if you could, you know, stand on a hilltop and proclaim a message to the world, it'd be like, I don't care who you are, what religion, whatever, just pray, people. Exactly.

>> So, and that's that's awesome. What a cool >> what a cool thing to take away from from the other side. So, yeah. [snorts]

>> Well, I I [music] I am so grateful to have heard your story today. Thank you so much, man. So awesome to meet you. Thank you.

>> [music] [music] >> Heat up [music]