Matthew Dovel on Toward The Light

On 15 and 22 July, I had the honour of interviewing Matthew Dovel on Toward The Light where we discussed his NDEs and the issues of suicide. Matthew had two NDEs — one from drowning at age 12 and one from suicide at age 21 (interesting how his ages were the same numbers in reverse) and, after his second NDE, he realised that he had to fulfil a special mission. This included writing an autobiographical book entitled, My Last Breath, and starting an organisation, International Suicide Prevention, Inc. (ISP).

To use his words, “I met Jesus Christ when I was 12 during my first near-death experience. He told me I still had work to do,” says Dovel. “I ignored his will for years and it was not until I tried to commit suicide that I finally understood that I could no longer ignore my destiny.”

After ingesting three bottles of pills and a fifth of gin in an effort to end his mortal life, he was transported into what he described as 'hell' where he was free-falling into a huge black pit and was suddenly split into seven versions of himself at the bottom of the pit — each representing a facet of his being and what needed to be addressed and dealt with.

As he continued describing this 'hell' I thought that the atmosphere very much resembled the planet Venus with its oppressive hot steamy environment including pillars of steam or smoke and perpetual lightning storms overhead. Everything he described was replete with symbolism and powerful messages. This, in turn, propelled him onto a path that led him to found the above organisation at the age of 25, where he ultimately became an expert in suicide prevention.

The statistics he provided were staggering — citing that, somewhere in the world, a person commits suicide every 15 seconds! The second statistic that had me gob-smacked is the fact that the most suicides are committed by the elderly, and then by adolescents. It gives you cause for reflection, doesn't it?

Whilst I do not resonate with Matthew's 'Christian' interpretation of his NDEs and the Afterlife, I firmly believe that he saw and experienced exactly what he needed to — that which was familiar to his present vantage point — so that it would make sense to him and also provide some kind of valuable understanding that would propel him forward onto the path that would change the course of his life forever. It was a powerful wake-up call ... and one that led him to give up his $1000-a-week drug habit.

He described himself as a typical 'normal' human being as he was growing up. Indeed, so many 'normal' or 'average' individuals tend to be 'sleep walking' much of the time — oblivious to and unaware of the bigger picture and out of touch with their true selves and their divine heritage — to say the very least! Alas, Matthew is no longer 'sleep walking'; nor does he have a desire to be self-destructive or end his life. Rather, he's committed to living a full and meaningful life in helping people throughout the world to avoid taking their own lives prematurely.

I've always given suicide the analogy of dropping out of school or class before it is completed. One cannot drop out of school without having to return and start back at the beginning of the class ... in order to learn the lesson one came here to learn. One must graduate before one can move on to the next level. There is no 'escaping' when we leave this plane. We're still alive — very much so — and still must deal with whatever we were challenged with on the physical plane.

I believe that it is people's ignorance of death — thinking that when one dies, that's it; it's all over ... and the erroneous thinking that there's nothing more to experience, feel, know, or suffer — that lends to ones committing suicide. Sadly, I know a number of people who believe that there is 'nothing' once one experiences death of the physical body — mainly stemming from false religious beliefs and atheism. This is a very serious mistake and nothing could be further from the truth!

Everything consists of consciousness ... and energy. Energy cannot be destroyed; it is only rearranged or changes form, but it cannot perish. Our consciousness and self-hood remain perfectly in tact — even after we've left our bodies behind! Sorry to have to bear the news to all of you would-be 'escape artists', but it's true. Again, there's no escaping! And once people start to become more aware of the truths surrounding death — that death is an illusion and doesn't really exist at all — then people will start to behave in a much more responsible manner and not endeavour to cut their lives short, i.e. 'dropping out of school'.

That is why I'm so committed to doing everything I can to help educate people about death and dying and the Afterlife ... so that, for one, the fear of dying can be eliminated and one can also come to realise that we just continue onwards after we leave this body. There will always be more 'life to live' — regardless of what dimension we happen to be residing on at any given time.

I have offered to be a volunteer counsellor for Matthew's organisation, so that more potential suicides can be avoided in future. I hope you will visit his websites to find out how you can help as well. This is a serious and grave matter and we cannot underestimate the help and resources required to eliminate this epidemic that's spun completely out of control!

Matthew is a warm and compassionate soul and all the wiser as a result of his profound experiences. Because of what he went through, he's doing tremendous work to help educate people and give much-needed support to a troubled world — encouraging one to hang in there and complete the 'school of life' through to graduation.

My Last Breath