A man who was dead for up to 45 minutes before being resuscitated has detailed what he saw in the 'afterlife'.
More than two decades ago, former bodybuilder Vincent Tolman claims to have witnessed heaven when he fell into a coma after taking supplements that he and a friend had purchased online.
He fell unconscious on January 18, 2003, and subsequently went into a weird state where he could see himself lying on the ground.
Recounting the traumatic, but powerful, near-death experience, Tolman said: "So they think I was dead for at least 30 to 45 minutes before they found me, but I was cold, like cold to the touch.
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"Back in the day, I was an amateur bodybuilder, I was taking a fairly new supplement. Turns out, the supplement was toxic, and I ended up aspirating in a public bathroom.
"So I had passed out and started to vomit, and I aspirate on that vomit and and I ended up dying right there on the bathroom floor."
Suddenly, Tolman explained how he was transported to a 'very comfortable movie chair' and that he was watching his death unfold from the comfort of what he believed was a theater.
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He continued: "The movie was the scene of this body on the ground, and I was looking at everything from above. But what's weird is it didn't feel like it was me at all - even though I was sitting there looking at my own dead body, I couldn't recognize it.
"It would almost be like going to a movie, like a real movie, and seeing someone dressed like you and looking like you on the movie, but you're like, that's not me, because he's over here watching the movie - that's what it felt like.
"So I had no idea that what I was watching was my own death."
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The detachment was so strong that he questioned the 'director’s' decisions in what was included in the 'movie' - explaining how he had a background in film and TV, critiquing why the production included the thoughts of everyone in the restaurant, including the cook.
This telepathic awareness struck him as overdone, strange, and lacking artistic intent, reinforcing the surreal, movie-like quality of the experience.
Tolman then claims to have witnessed the medics bag his body, and he could hear one of the paramedics thinking to himself in the back of the ambulance.
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"And as he was doing that, I actually saw light, a real light, start glowing from inside this rookie medic," he shared.
"And it felt as if like someone put a light bulb inside his shirt, like light was actually coming out from his heart space
and out of nowhere, this really strong voice says, this one's not dead."
Motivated by this overwhelming sense, the medic broke protocol, unzipped the body bag, and began checking for signs of life. Though he found no pulse, he felt a spark near the Tolman's inner thigh - just enough to justify attempting resuscitation.
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As the body was transferred to the hospital, Tolman began to feel the straps being secured on his arms. Still in this strange observer state, he was confused by the sensation of being physically restrained.
Tolman explained that was the moment it dawned on him - that the 'movie' featured his body.
Joe Yates