Living Life After Dying - Some Kind of Mystic Podcast - Episode 18

Welcome to episode 18 of the Some Kind of Mystic podcast, where we bridge all things mystical with the exciting adventure of being human. I'm your host, Jesse Herman, and today we have an extraordinary guest whose journey and insights promise to leave you inspired and uplifted. Imagine a life where you're free of limitations and where you can achieve anything you set your mind to, where you are truly living your best life. This is the life that Rei Catania helps hundreds of people create. Ray is an acclaimed author, metaphysical teacher, theorist, and coach. His life changed dramatically after surviving a near death experience, and since then he has dedicated himself to helping others unlock their full potential. Ray's unique approach seamlessly blends scientific theories with his own profound life experiences, revealing how anyone can harness the power of the mind to create their own reality and be limitless. He has written two captivating books in his awakening series, the Atheist and the Afterlife and you are still Alive. Now act like it. Through these works, Ray shares his profound insights and intuitive abilities, making him a sought after practitioner in scientific spiritualism and the practical applications of metaphysics. With a thriving private practice, Ray guides individuals on transformative journeys, helping them achieve the spiritual awakening they've been seeking. His work has had a profound impact on many lives, and I'm truly convinced that Ray will leave an indelible mark on all of our listeners today. So without further ado, let's dive into this mystical, limitless world of Ray Catania on Some Kind of Mystic.

Welcome, Ray Catania, to the Some Kind of Mystic podcast. I am so thrilled to have you here. How are you doing today?

I'm doing very well, Jesse. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

A wonderful opportunity to have you on the show and you're actually our first near death experiencer that's coming on the show. And I know that my audience has been asking me for a long time to cover people who have had that particular experience because it really is. Is so in alignment with the content of what we're producing here. And also it really does in many cases speak to the fact that a spiritual awakening is just a question of a moment in time. So I'm super and I'm getting tingles. I'm so excited. And to start out, I want to hear your story because you were an atheist before any of this happened.

Yeah, yeah, I was an atheist and. But you know, I was an atheist because I was kind of rebelling against my parents. They were Christian and, you know, the home life as a child wasn't really pleasant. So, you know, just To I kind of went all the way to the other side and just really rebelled, if you will. And my near death experience. I was 20 and I was still living in that house. And the way the house was situated, my room was above the kitchen, so I'm on the second floor. Kitchen's on the first floor, obviously. And the stove had a gas leak and the gas had been leaking all night long. We really don't know how long. And so I was breathing that in all night. And my mother had gotten up, I guess, to turn on the stove to cook, make breakfast, whatever, what have you. And there was a big ball of flames, the way I understand. And the wall caught fire. My mother was fine. The fire was put out pretty easily by my dad. But the fire trucks came, of course, the police came. And I'm hearing all this commotion downstairs. And so naturally I want to get out of bed to see what's going on inside my house. I don't know anything yet. And when I go to get out of the bed, I find that parts of my body, I just simply cannot move. Almost like they're, they're paralyzed. They weigh so much. My legs just, they weighed like a thousand pounds. I couldn't get them to cooperate, you know, so it was really hard to get out of the bed. I also noticed that I couldn't get my head off the pillow. It was just a very, very strange feeling. I knew something was very wrong, didn't really know what it was. So I tried to, I tried to yell that. That didn't work. Um, and so I started to pull myself to the edge of the bed using my arms. That did work. Thank goodness for that. And I was kind of like pulling and I would inch. Get a couple inches and then I would fall back down, like out. And then I would hear commotion. I wake up and I pull a couple more inches. And this went on and on and on. And by the third or fourth time, I knew if I didn't get out, I was dead. I just knew at that point. I just felt like I was to die. And so when I got to the edge of the bed and I took that one last pole, I tumbled out of it and I landed on the floor face first, hit my chin first. And the strange thing about when I hit the floor, I knew I hit it. And you know how like you, you hit something, you expect pain, right? That's the next thing that's going to happen is the pain is going to kick in, Right? Well, that, that part didn't happen.

Wow.

Because as soon as I hit the floor, it was like I knew I hit it. No pain, because I'm not in that body anymore. And that's when I'm above it and I'm looking down on my lifeless body. I was in the corner and picture of the room is like kind of a perfect square and I'm in the left upper corner and I'm looking down at my body which is on the farther side floor, kind of in the middle of both corners. And you would think this would really scare me, but actually it wasn't scary. It felt amazing. It felt euphoric, actually. I've said the day of my death was the best day of my life. It was incredible. And adjacent for me, my energetic self, not my human self, but my energetic self is this light. And this is shining on me, the real me, the energetic me. And I'm entwined with this light. It's like me and the light are one and I'm a part of it, but yet I'm not a part of it, which is really hard to explain, but it's. It makes you feel loved, it makes you feel no pain, you feel just. You feel free. Euphoric. That's word I have for it. And so there was a being at the end of the light, and I don't know who it was, I don't know if it was a whole, but they said, ray, you can come into the light, it's safe. It's safe to come into the light. And I was like, great, because I want to go into this. The light, it's like a tunnel, you know, and I want to, I want to head in. And I started to do so. And the more I got into the light, the more the euphoria increased and. But what happened, I was about halfway there and what happens is my father kicks in the door, you know, because they heard the thump, right? So he kicks in the door and he scoops me up in his arms and he's screaming and crying for the paramedics and just really, really distraught. And I was like, wow, you know, like I didn't really have a good relationship with him. And all these years and I guess when I, you know, I saw that, it made me really want that. And so I asked the being if I could go back. And I don't know that that's the reason I was allowed to go back. I. I don't claim to know, but I did, obviously. And I woke up, I was on the living room floor, flat on my back, paramedics on top of Me doing all kinds of things that paramedics do. And I'm like, guys, guys, I feel great. What are you guys doing? Why are you touching me? You know, like, I feel fantastic. And they're like, kid, you're not okay. You need to just lay there. Okay, just don't move. And I'm like, no, don't. Did you see the. The light? Did you hear the voice? And then they're looking at each other like, okay, this kid's on drugs or he's crazy or something, right? So I just shut up and, you know, kept my mouth closed and let them do what they had to do. I was only in the hospital for one day, came back the next day and trying to make sense of that moment. Well, when I told my mother, she was like, that didn't happen. That's absolutely crazy. Don't. Don't tell anybody that. That's ridiculous.

Sure.

That didn't happen. You know, she. She didn't even want to accept or acknowledge that I had died, which they resuscitated, you know, what do you call it? Resuscitated me? Is that what you say? Right in front of her. But she was in denial, I guess, and I understand that because if I would have lost one of my kids on my watch, I would have said that never happened to. It wasn't until she was like 82 years old and the book came out, the first book, we had a heart to heart. And she said, actually, not only did you die one time, it was more like three.

Wow.

So after I came back and I was told I was crazy, you know, I'll go a little bit into my childhood and just say that there were always times when I felt connected to another world, another reality, and I could see and feel energy. And I didn't know why. I just thought everybody could do this. And when I told that to my parents, I was also crazy and I was damned and I was going to go to hell. Okay? So I'm always being told that I'm crazy. And so I'm going along with that because I'm remaining an atheist. Why not? I'm 20 years old. I don't need to deal with this. I have no computer or cell phone to look this up. There's no Internet yet. You know, it's not that some showing my age here, right? It's just so I have nobody to go to and ask. So I just chalk it up this way. I say, well, I probably fell in front of a window on a sunny day. There's the light. I Probably inhaled so much gas that I was hallucinating. And that's the voice and everything else that happened. So I accepted that as fact and put it away. So it was something I simply didn't have to deal with. But in the back of my mind, I kind of know that dying doesn't suck.

Yeah, sure.

And I don't fear death. So now, you know, I'm a kid who comes from a home of chaos, right. I'm self sabotaging, you know, I'm doing what I'm programmed to do, which is be angry and not give a crap about anything. And so living that type of lifestyle, I put myself in a lot of bad situations, not hindsight that I never should have been in. And I would even try to up the ante to see if how close I could get to dying again. And there were different times. There's a handful of experiences in, in, in each book where I talk about times that I really came close to death. And, but the being that I saw and, and, and when I say saw, I just mean like I kind of saw energy. But that being would be there for me in times of trouble, times of need to guide me out of the situation that I was in. Right. And I'll share with you one story where I'm in a nightclub, it's after hours, and I'm working for some shady characters. And there's a group on the one side, group on the other side. Everybody's pretending like they're having a good time. And I was just cleaning up and somebody asked me for a drink and I bent under the bar to get the drink and then I hear pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And I know that they're shooting at each other and I'm like, I got to get out of here. And I don't know how I'm going to get out because the second I stand up, they're going to see me. And the being comes and, and, and says, side door, side door. And I can't even explain to you like how you. Because you're not hearing it, you're feeling it. Yeah. And, and that's a very, very. Actually, you understand that?

Yes, I do.

You totally get what I'm saying.

Yeah.

So I make a break for it and I go out the side door and I. And then, but that's not it because then I have to make a left, go all the way down this long corridor. It's like 45ft. I don't know whether I'm going to make it. And I get to the Next side door, which is a fire exit, and my car is right there. And what's unique about that is I never park there. I have my own parking spot. It's on the other side of the building. It's actually indoors. So why I chose to park outdoors on that night, I have no idea.

Crazy stuff.

Yeah, crazy stuff. I can't explain it. And so it's kind of like I've had this bond with this energy being who's always been there in times of. Of need. And that continues for quite a while. Every time I wind up in another terrible situation where something could happen, he or she tells me how to get out of it at the last minute. And I'm not deserving of this. I am not special. I am not. You know, like, I don't. I don't claim to know why, but I had a lot of rough experiences in my life when I was really young. One time I was. I swam out too far in the ocean. The undertow kept pulling me back. I was about 10 years old. Didn't know how to get out of it. Started to go down, started to go under. And the lifeguard was busy saving a bunch of kids on the other side, so nobody was paying attention to me. And I just kept going out and out and out. And the being said, calm down. Swim sideways. Take all the time you need. Calm down. Swim sideways, Take all the time you need. Now I couldn't calm down. I was panicking. So he did. He or she did that for me. I'm going to say he, for lack of a better word, I don't have one. So all of a sudden, this feeling of calmness just took over my entire body.

Yeah, my heart.

My heart was not racing or anything. And I started to swim sideways, and I was just like, who cares how long it takes me to get there? Doesn't matter. And instead of panicking and trying to get to shore, which I would have drowned for sure, I wouldn't have made it. I just kind of swam, swam. I mean, it was a long. It was enduring. It was hard. And I was 10, but I made it. And I got to shore and I just collapsed. And then I remember a bunch of people were coming around me to make sure I was okay. And now I'm scared of the people because they're adults and I'm 10, and they're like, touching me, and I'm like, stranger danger. Stranger danger. Yeah. So I'm trying to get away. I can barely walk. I could barely breathe. And I'm trying to, You Know, just kind of walk back to where the beach blanket was, where everybody else was in my family. And it seemed like that walk was forever. And. But that walk taught me something really early in life, and that was, I am the only person I can count on ever. And that remains to be true even to present day. So I learned a lot from those experiences, and I learned a lot from that being. But I still continue to reject the idea that this was anything supernatural. And I think that that's because I don't have clarity. Right. My background is putting me in a place of not seeing things properly, obviously, because who wants to put themselves in a place where they would die? And I'm just. I'm in a bad place. And so I remember going back to the NDE. I was about 20. So maybe two years later, I move out of that house, I get an apartment, and it's my bachelor pad. It's the very first one. And I'm all excited. We're gonna have parties all the time. It's gonna be great. Well, it didn't go that way. When I moved into the apartment, I was excited, but from the day I moved in, it kind of felt like the party was already going on in there without me. Like, I was the addition to the party because it felt like the room was filled, Right. It was just the energy. It was that it would be like the same energy that you would feel if you went to a nightclub and you're trying to walk through people, but there's no one there.

Okay, so would you say it was sort of like a haunting type of experience?

Well, I didn't know what to make yet. I don't. I see. I don't believe in haunting. And I keep telling. I'm telling these things. I don't believe in you. You're not real. And then the lights would flicker. You know what I mean? Like, something like that would happen. And anything electric they could mess with. And sure enough, you know, televisions, phones, alarm system, they love to set the alarm off, right? And I would call the maintenance guy over and over and over, and he would come up, and he's, like, checking everything, and he's like, listen to me very carefully. You're crazy. There's nothing wrong with this place. Don't ever call me again. You're crazy. And here I am, crazy again, right? So everybody. I try to say anything about this, to reiterates. You're crazy. You're crazy. So I start to believe that to be true. But here's the problem now in that Apartment I can't sleep. So, yeah, I mean, it's not, it's not a haunting like today. I know. There's no hauntings. Right. It's just that they know that I can see them. I crossed over, I came back. And they're just trying to get whatever it is that they need, which is probably a message to a loved one, nothing more. But I don't know how to shut it down. I don't know how to turn it off. And I don't even know what it is.

Do you know how to turn it off now? Or was it just okay?

Yeah, yeah. Eventually I was taught. Thank God. Otherwise I wouldn't, I would, there's no way I would be here. I wouldn't have made it. So I move out of that place. But I, I'm doing a lot of drugs and a lot of alcohol in order to sleep. You know, I, I, I, this is the only way I have to make myself pass out because it was just like I would vibrate at night. I would try to lay down and I would just vibrate. And you know, those vibrations are meaning someone or something is, is in the room. So, and they, and again, I don't think it was with malicious intent by any means on their part. It was just. Hi, I'm here. Can we talk? No, I'm trying to sleep. You know, first of all, they have no concept of time. They don't even have time. We made that stuff up, right? So, you know. What do you mean? It's four o'clock in the morning. I don't know what that means. Just, I gotta talk, you know? So I'm like, this is crazy. I gotta get out of here. I moved to another place thinking it's going to be different and it's the same thing.

Oh gosh.

So it's not the place. It's me. Wherever I go, they're coming. More drugs, more alcohol, please. So. And that became a dependency. Eventually, over the next, you know, maybe seven years, eight years, I don't know exactly how many, but that's the only way that I know how to like, suppress it. How to, how to turn my brain off so that, Excuse me. So that they don't, they can't affect me. You know, it's kind of like I'm shutting down the part of my brain that they, you know, can, can get to. Or maybe I just didn't care about it anymore. Who knows? I don't know. But it wasn't until I got married the first time and had two kids that I wanted to be a dad. I wanted to have two boys. And, you know, I'd always talked about that. And I didn't want to be too old when I had them. So I was like 30, 30 something. And I got married and had two kids. And now I've got these two beautiful little humans that I'm responsible for it. So now I have a reason for living. Now I can't play this game anymore. I can't go do my reckless behavior. I got to get sober. I check myself into rehab, I go back to college. I finish my degree after a million years and I get a good job. I do well, I get another good job. I do very well again. And they have a good life, I think, in my opinion, because I would always ask myself, what would my parents do? Okay, I'll do the opposite. And that's just. I think that went well. But so the, the, the marriage doesn't make it the marriage. You know, a couple years and that was done. But I still have the kids, obviously, and everything I did, I did for them. And, and I. And you know, I dedicated the second book to them because I said, you guys have done more for me than, than I ever did for you, you know, and I wanted them to know that. So. Sorry. It's my son's birthday coming up. I can't believe how old they are now. I'm just. I'm just thinking about, how old are they? So he's going to be 23. One is going to be 23, and one is going to be 22. They're. They're good. They're good guys. Like, I, I like them.

Great.

Sorry, I'm. So, anyway, after. After that part of my life, a long time goes by before I, I date. Seriously. Anyway, because I didn't want to bring a woman into their life. I thought that that would disrupt them too much. And so I waited a long time before I dated again. Seriously. And when I decided to, I was in my 40s and I went online to meet somebody and. Because that was kind of how we do it now, I guess. And when you go to these sites, they show you examples to try to entice you to get you to join their particular site. So they show you four women in your area or three or something like that and hoping that you're going to take out your credit card. Well, when I did that, one of the sites I went to, the third woman down. I remember the photo. I still have the photo. I'll never forget it. I see her and I am Just completely enamored. And I feel like I know her, like, not just knowing, but, like, having been married to her. I'm like, that is my wife. And it was incredible. The feeling, the drive that, the whole. Everything about it was just incredible. And so I joined the site and I send one email, and that goes to her and her only. And I tell her that I'm like, I'm joining the site just to send this one email to you. And I actually copied and pasted and put in a book, but I'll just really, really shorten it. It was like, hi, we don't know each other. My name's Ray. You're my wife. You just don't know it yet. Have dinner, I'd really love to explain this to you. And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And she kind of. She's like, you're crazy. And I said, I know. So we did. That did happen. And we are married, and we're still married and still together. And sure enough, she turns out to really be my soulmate. And I'll tell you why. When we first started dating, this is the first time an energy being, like I call them, presents themselves in human form, because that has not happened yet.

Okay?

And there's. I don't. I think it was maybe two months into the relationship or something like that, and it was getting close to my birthday. And the question that usually comes up when two people are getting serious, because she had two little ones, right? I have two older ones. And she's like, so what are your religious or spiritual beliefs? And I was like, oh, what are yours? And, you know, I was like, I'll. I'll just go along whatever she says, but she's too smart for that. So she kicks it back to me, and I'm like, honestly, I don't know. I just don't know. I was an atheist, but then I'm not. I don't know what I am. Maybe I'm agnostic, I don't know. And I've been meaning to figure this out, but I haven't. So it's been on my list of things to do, and it really was because I had so much confusion about it. Now I'm older, and I can look back at the NDE and say, you know, maybe that was something because I heard of other NDEs by this time. And so she says, well, I would like to buy you something for your birthday that's called the spiritual clearing. And I was like, okay, so what's that? And she doesn't really explain it to Me. And I was like, so it's like a massage? And she's like, not at all, not at all. And I was like, all right, whatever. I don't know what this thing is. But I'm like, okay, as long as we have cake, I'm good. So it's done. Distant the woman calls me. It's in the morning, I'm at work. And she says she's about to begin. It was 10:30am and she says, I'll be done in about one hour to 90 minutes tops. I'll call you back when it's finished to tell you what I see and et cetera, et cetera. So the time goes by and she calls me back and she says. So she goes through a whole list of things that she did and admittedly I'm not giving her full attention because I don't believe in any of this right yet. And she says two things. Don't make any appointments today that are important and don't make any life changing choices for the next two to three days. And if you feel really weird, just call me back and I'll help you with that. And I was like, okay. I got the phone and sure enough, I got up out of my office and I went to walk to the bathroom and I felt like woozy. It was like I was like my equilibrium was off and it was really weird and it would do it and then it would, and then it would, and then it would. And it just. I just figured I was getting sick, I was getting a headache. I was like, let me just leave work, I'll go home, I'll feel better. It was a Friday, I don't have to be back till Monday. So if I'm getting sick, you know, that's okay. So I get to. I get home and here is what happens for the very first time. It's like a. A window, Not a window, I would say a movie screen kind of opens up in my mind and I get the vibrations and I'm starting to feel like I'm in that apartment again, right? Because all that stuff that I kind of had at bay is, is starting to repeat itself. Sorry. So I'm having it. The vibrations and that leads to the movie screen. The movie screen opens up and it's in front of me and there's a man on the screen, but he's talking to me, only me. And he says, I effed up, I made a mistake. You can help her. I cannot Just what just happened. I feel very strange. Then it goes away a little while later. I'm thinking about this. It comes back. He says the same thing. I effed up. I made a mistake. You can help her. I cannot. Okay. I've never seen a man before. I don't know what the message means. I don't know what I just saw. I'm getting a little freaked out and I just. I go to bed. Next day. It happens almost every hour on the hour. He's like, tormenting me and it's the same thing. And I'm seeing. It's like an 8 second video loop that I just keep watching over and over and over and over. So now I really think I'm crazy. And by the next day, it felt like it was every five minutes. You know, I would feel it chills up my back and I'm like, oh, no, not again. I know already. I know you effed up. I know I don't believe in you. Go away. I'm an atheist. And it was just. It's so persistent. Yeah, that it broke. It broke me. Finally. I couldn't function anymore. I couldn't drive, I couldn't have a conversation. I really couldn't do much of anything. And I was paying for my stuff at the counter. It was the final thing that happened. I don't know what I did, but the lady says, sir, are you okay? And I said, absolutely not. She wasn't expecting that answer. I took my card back and I went to my car and I started to make preparations for my own debt. Like, I started to prepare for I'm insane while I'm still cognizant. I need to make sure my will's in order. I want to make sure I have a dnr. I'm going to the light. Don't ever resuscitate me again.

Was any of this in like a state of. Of sorrow or. It was. It sounds to me like, okay, I know I'm crazy now. I have complete clarity about that, but not really. Like, there was not necessarily an emotional aspect to it.

Oh, there was.

You were scared.

Was I? Well, yeah. Scared is, is, is one. But sad because I had everything that I did, you know, like, I went to rehab, I went back to college. I busted my ass for my kids. I had. I had kids. And, you know, I did everything right from doing everything wrong. I did everything right. And now I'm right back where I started.

Okay. And the thing that, like, you don't want is still occurring.

It's still occurring and it's back, bigger and worse than ever because now I'm seeing people that Aren't there, Right?

Right.

And so I call my brother, who holds all this paperwork, and I make sure he's got everything. And he's like, why, what's the matter? What, is something wrong with you? Sick? I'm like, no, I just want to make sure you have everything. I don't want to. I'm not telling anybody anything because I'm not going to be right crazy anymore. Forget about that. But I do have to tell the woman that I love because she has a right to know so she can get on with her life. So I get my courage up and I tell her what happens. I get the vibrations, this happens. And this man keeps coming to me, keeps saying the same thing. Movie screen opens, he says, I effed up and made a mistake. You can help her. I cannot. He's a big husky guy, he's got a beard, mustache, thick black hair, kind of Italian looking and blah, blah, blah. And she's, she's like, tilts her head and smiles and says, that sounds like my dad. And I said, babe, your dad is dead. She goes, I know. I said, you're nuts. You're crazy, right? So now I'm thinking she's the one that's crazy, not me, and I gotta get out of there. But she said, I've been to mediums before. What the hell's a medium? What do they do? And she's like, well, let me. When the medium can bring forth spirit. And my father comes through and he comes across the way you're explaining, very, very powerful, almost right front and center. And he's made many a medium cry. Now, if the story's not crazy enough, my wife is a doctor of psychology and a doctor of neuropsychology. So this is not what I'm expecting from a doctor of psychology. I'm expecting her to write me a prescription, right? Or send me to another doctor and say, don't ever call me again. Instead, she's completely open to this, understands it, and says, no, you're not crazy. You're probably a medium. Let me take you to a medium. And I was like, well, why would I do that? She goes, well, you can tell her or him what happens and you guys can kind of talk shop. I'm like, okay, you know, if she wants to stick by me while I'm crazy, awesome. So I see the medium and I'm sitting, I walk in the room and I said, hi, I'm Ray. And she said, oh, you're that brave? She had heard something about this Ray that was coming or she just knew. I don't know which. And then I sit down and she says, tell me what's happening. And I said, well, I see people sometimes and they're not there, and they talk to me. And she goes, me too. And I was like, okay, so you're crazy too. And. And I begin to tell her everything that happens and how it happens. And I tell about the vibrations, I tell about the man. I told the movie screen. And she goes, stop, stop, stop, stop. I was like, what? And she goes, that's exactly the way I see it too. And she goes, you don't even know how rare it is for a man to be able to do this. And she said. She told me about different abilities that I had too, because as I was explaining that story, I shared with her many stories of things that I could see. And she's like, you are an anomaly. Very unique. And. And it's. It's pretty cool, isn't it? And I said, no, no, no, no, no, it's not cool. Can we turn it off? Can we make it go away? And she goes, yeah, but why don't you give it a chance first? And I said, how am I going to give it? I can't even function. I have a job. And she's like, relax, I'll take you through this. Right. And so she became my teacher for the first year and she saved my life. And what she shared with me was when she was a kid, everybody thought she was crazy and her own parents put her away.

Oh, my God.

In a hospital for schizophrenia.

Yeah. Wow.

Wow. And she saved my life. That's why only reason I'm here today. And when I met my second mentor, he told me, you know, sometimes, you know, if you are a medium and you don't get this help, you don't get a mentor, you can go crazy.

Yeah, well, you know, that's. That's the whole thing, because those openings do potentially, if you don't learn how to use them, leave you extremely vulnerable to not maleficent energies, but energies that might be a bit insistent or take advantage or just not lead you down the right route. And I do believe that the majority of people with, you know, what we would consider severe mental illness in terms of hallucinations, etc, are really just. They've got that window wide open and don't know how to close the curtains.

Yeah, there's probably a high majority of them, high number that really are. Or they started out that way or they were that way or they are that way, and they're just Completely misdiagnosed, right?

Absolutely. And I think that, you know, it does speak a lot to like what you did as a child and what many people I've spoken to have done as a child is that you get called crazy enough times and there's an aspect of you that wants to be a people. Like that people pleasing aspect of us actually saves us because it teaches you how to turn it off in many ways. And you go like, oh, I better not be crazy. So even that, you know, you mentioned a couple times you kind of said like, everyone's calling me crazy, so I must be almost. The believing that you're crazy gives you that ability to kind of put up a wall to it and go like, okay, I don't see you in the corner of the room.

Right.

And if you don't see it in the corner of room enough time, you figure out how to block off that aspect. I mean, that it's the same for, for me in terms of like dead people or spirits. You know, I, I don't interact with them because it's not the energy that I want to interact with. But I know exactly where the light switch is.

Right.

You could turn it on if need be. And sometimes something does get through quite like, you know, when someone has a request or someone that I've known in my own personal life has passed on and they have, you know, something that they, they want me to do. Okay, the switch is there, but it's best if it's off.

Yeah. And for me too, because I, even though I went through all the training and everything else, I decided that that's not my path because it's very taxing. It is on the medium. And I don't think that mediums get enough credit because, you know, it's hard work. The spirit has to completely entangle with you and therefore you're adopting all of their emotions, all of their feelings and all this stuff that's coming through you and it stays with you for a while. And what is it? Normal? It's regret, it's remorse, it's guilt, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's not, it's heavy energy. Sometimes it's positive, but it start, doesn't start out that way. It starts out in pain.

Yeah, I'm here. That persistence too, like you're talking about with your, your wife's father. There's this persistent nature to the.

Yeah.

That aspect of not understanding time or location or duration. That's just that energy, that wave. It's almost like you're like when you were swimming, you know, that undertow keeps coming to try and get you and you're like, oh, hold on, I need a second to, to pause and figure out which direction to go in. So yeah, I totally get a good example.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so, so I decided that I was not going to go this route. And you know, there's times I walk through the house and I know somebody's there and I'll just say, hey, what's up? But you know, even doing that, then, then they don't leave because.

Yeah, right.

You know, once, once you acknowledge them, it's on. Right. So I'm like, sometimes I can just say, you know, go away and it's fine. But you know, for the most part what I've chosen to do with my life is focus more on how people get a spiritual, have a spiritual awakening. Right. Getting to the next level of consciousness.

Beautiful.

And when, because when I did that, it opened up so many like light switches were going off. I learned about life, death, consciousness, the world. I see it in different perspective, not the way I saw it before. And I'd rather help people do that for now. And that's not to say I'll never go back to mediumship, but right now, at this moment in life, that's what I want to do.

So I'd love to take that direction because earlier when you were talking about your near death experience, you talked about how the out of body aspect or even the aspect where you were non physical felt more real than any reality you had experienced up until then. And so I know that, you know, in the accompanying people to their own enlightenment, often there is that question about reality. What is reality? Is this a simulation? Is this a game we're playing? What, what's going on? So I'd love to hear your perspective on that.

So, you know, I'm not, I first, let me preface this by saying I don't have all the answers. Okay. I'm. I'm just trying to figure this out like everybody else. But I do have a couple of little advantages. And I think the Buddha kind of explained it to his disciples pretty well. When he was on his deathbed, it was his seventh life, he said, and he won't be returning. And the reason he won't be returning is because he became enlightened on earth or in this realm. I don't think Earth had anything to do with it. I think it's the realm and I think that is the goal. I think that is the end game. Becoming enlightened and again, let me say I am not enlightened. I am trying to be enlightened, but I am not there yet. That is like an all knowing state of the things that we know in the next life, right when we cross over. But having that here. So in a way it might be like a game. I don't know if you could kind of look at it like that, you want to level up. But if you die and you, you're not enlightened, you have to come back and you're going to be, your mind's going to be erased and you're going to start from wherever your starting point is. And I believe karma transcends. So if you're a bad person and you're coming back, you're going back to a really bad reality. Never mind, you know, just having messed up, you know, childhood, you might be in another part of the world, a third world country. We have no food and water as a child, so it could get really bad. And, and I know of no heaven or hell. And there, there's nothing to suggest there was anything like that. You know, that's to scare the crap out of you. But I do know that karma transcends. It's coming with you, it's going with you, and it will. It can determine your future, even if your future is your past.

So yeah, that's what I was about to say. So you, like in this, there in theory is the linearity of time, but there's also simultaneously that timelessness where this life is the past life and the future life of some other life. Is that, is that what I'm getting?

Could very well be, yeah.

Okay. All right.

Right, cool.

That is so cool. And so in this particular life, with whatever rules we're playing with, um, what do you think that light was that? You know, because you experienced that in a sort of a temporal type of experience. At least your memory has like a time, right? What do you think that would be, is in between lives? Or is there like, where are these spirits that you used to see?

Or.

I think that the one being that I still see to this day, who's still with me, but not in human form. And this is again, just an educated guess. I don't think he's in the fourth realm, which would be the next if we're the third. That's what people call it for lack of a better term. So we'll say this is three. And when you die, you're in the fourth realm. And that's when they can still appear to you in Human form if they wish. They're not human. There's nothing human about them. But they can. They can still do that. And it's almost like a place of kind of waiting to come back, perhaps reincarnate, I don't know. But if you do become enlightened, I don't think the Buddha went there. I think the Buddha went right past there, went to the next level, the fifth realm, where now you're a guy, you have no human form. You're not male or female. You're nothing but energy, and you know everything, and you're helping others and you're guiding others. Now why would you guide somebody you don't know? I don't know. I don't. Maybe it is somebody I know. Maybe it is somebody I was related. I don't know.

Right.

But you know, I think that there comes a time where you reach a level that you lose all humanness and there is no coming back. And you don't want to come back. Right, Because I didn't want to come back. I mean, it was just so amazing, you know? And then when you come back, the physicalness, the pain that sets in after that euphoria wears off. Oh, my God. It's like a bomb goes off inside your body. Every little aches and pains that you have that you didn't feel when you were floating around.

Yeah, they're amplified.

They amplified because the brain turns those off and doesn't acknowledge them after a long time. Right. You know, the thing that. The knee that you twisted, that never went back and healed 100%, you know, or all those little minor injuries, it hurts. It really hurts. And nothing changed in my home life. So I was like, oh, my God, please can I get a do over? I need to go back to light. Not human is pretty cool.

Okay. Yeah. All right. Okay. And so you would say that even though you had the ND at 20, it took quite a while before you got to the catalyst that pushed you over the edge of, like, accepting into your life. This, like, okay, fine, I'm not just physical. And you went through a lot of catalysts. You know, you had these experiences of, like, being in physical danger. You had these experiences of being haunted, if you want to call it that. You had these experiences of, like, just things being kind of messed up for a long time, even though you did want to, you know, repair things for your kids and be, you know, you got your. Your act together. So it really was that. That specific and insistent vision of. Of your wife's father that, that kind of Pushed you over the edge. So from then there, did you, like, from that moment go, okay, you had this guide in the form of your medium friend for the, for the first year, and then you dove into it completely. You were like, that's it. I know that I'm a spiritual being and this is how I'm going to like, change course and direct my life or what happened then.

So with my first mentor, she was not teaching anybody anymore, but she had taken me on because we had so many similarities. And I think she felt bad for me, but it wasn't like that wasn't what she was doing. She was still practicing mediumship and, and interestingly, she was actually helping certain, like FBI find missing children and stuff like that, which I found fascinating. And if I was going to do that work, I wanted to go down that path. But when I met my second mentor, that is when I went full steam ahead because he came into my life completely. It was crazy. Again, it was my next birthday and my wife says, what do you want to do for your birthday? And here she is buying me something that is going to change my trajectory once again. And we went up into a cottage and I just said, I just want to be around trees. No people, just trees. And for some now I have this unbelievable connection with trees. I could do an hour on trees. Anyway, and so we went there and we meditated for the whole weekend. And she takes out an illustration, an actual drawing pencil on paper, and she shows it to me. And I said, that's your dad. And she goes, I know. And I said, but no, no, no, no. That's exactly the way I see him in the movie screen. That's the shirt, that's the way the hair is. That's everything. Every, even all the imperfections are perfect. You don't understand that. I said, who drew that? She's like a medium.

Whoa.

A media, a spirit art. That's great. Where do I find this guy? So we, we pulled him up on the computer and right on the front page of his website, what it said. Now taking applications for a two year mentorship program.

Wow.

The deadline, February 15th, my birthday.

Wow.

You're gonna join? Yeah. Does the Pope in the woods? Yeah, I'm gonna join. You kidding me? So I, I take, I get the application, which leads to another huge application and then an interview and then another application. It's like this huge process to get in. It's thousands of dollars and I didn't think I got in. So I. A lot of time went by and I just figured I Wasn't good enough. And, you know, what do I know? I'm being kidder. And I called his assistant, and she's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. There's hundreds of applications he has to go through, and he wants to make sure that everybody's legit before, you know, you come in for this program. There's other programs if you're a beginner that you can take, but that's not the mentorship. And I was like, oh, okay. So she's like, just relax. We'll let you know. And I said, okay. And now remember, hundreds of people at thousands of dollars. That's hundreds of thousands of dollars. Okay, well, only 11 of us made it, and I was the 11th.

Okay.

Wow.

Talk about integrity. He turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure that everybody in there had the abilities that they claimed that they had. That's not to say the others didn't. He just couldn't connect. Sure.

Yeah.

It's a large program otherwise. Yeah, right.

And I was like, oh, my God. You're like. He became like the dad I didn't have because he taught me so much.

Really.

And, you know, integrity was always, you know, a big thing. And I will say, with my own father, integrity was always a big thing. Right. And. But my mentor is like, you know, we're asking people to believe that we see people that aren't here. If you don't have integrity, you've got nothing.

That's right.

And I was like, yeah, that makes sense to me. I'm never leaving you, dude. This is not a two year program for me. This is the rest of my life program.

Oh, wow.

And I'm still with him. Yeah, no, I am.

That's brilliant. I love that. And I love how, you know, it really shines through you, what you feel about this and all of that as you're speaking at it. Yeah. Beautiful. So as the show is called Some Kind of Mystic, I always ask my guests, what does the word mystic mean to you?

Oh, great question. I am. I. I think that it's a person who is interested in learning the knowledge that there is something more, accepts the fact that there is and wants to pursue the, The, The. The knowledge that's out there in any way, shape, or form, they can acquire that. And I think that's what I kind of did. I went back to school for metaphysics. I got a master's in metaphysics. I'm going through my PhD and I met with multiple mentors all around the world. And I've read Every book I could possibly read. So I think it's a student. I think it's a student of life, death, and consciousness. That's what I think.

Beautiful. And what kind of projects have you got going on now? What can people expect coming up from you? And what have you been offering?

So right now, in addition to the two books, I have the Atheist and the Afterlife. This is the first book and you're still alive now act like it is the second book, which is more about the spiritual awakening side, and the first one more about my life. And then I have a website where if you want to pursue this knowledge and learn more about how you can have a spiritual awakening and you can level up in consciousness, then I will teach you those steps and I coach and you can find me@raykatanya.com and I really appreciate you allowing me to say that. That means a lot to me.

Yeah, no, it's beautiful. I mean, the books are absolutely wonderful. I love the idea, you know, atheist and moving from that, because I think so many people do sit on that ledge. You know, it is a brave step to go. You know what? Even though I don't know, I don't know. Which are two different sentences, right? Like, a lot of people say, I don't know if God exists, which means it probably doesn't. And then there's the. Huh, What? Like what? You know, And I think that is kind of part of our experience as being human. It's like, what's going on really? And that's really wonderful. So. And then the second one was, you're not dead. So what's the title of the second book?

You're Still Alive now act like it. And you know, that revolves around really. I mean, it revolves around the spiritual awakening, but the title is about just, you know, tell everyone every day how you feel about them. Tell your kids you love them. I never let my kids leave the room or my wife leave the room without saying I love you. Because just in case it's my last breath, I want to know that that's what I said. I don't want to be on the other side trying to come through with regret.

Sure.

I want them to know I love them.

That is so beautiful. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. So, Ray, I have loved this interview. I will ask you to come back at some point to talk about trees because that's also a fascinating topic. And I know that there's also a lot of scientific study on the relationship with trees and the spirituality of our nature, which is amazing. So if that is something you're interested in. Let's definitely do that and set that up at some point.

Amen.

Um, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for taking your time to speak with us today.

Thank you. It's been my honor.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Some Kind of Mystic podcast. If you're hearing this message, you've listened all the way to the end of this episode. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's people just like you that keep me motivated to bring you more and more enlightened content to the world. If you have any questions about the.

Things we covered in the show or.

Would like to follow my projects, please find me on www.jpherman.com. i answer all my messages, so don't hesitate to reach out. You can also find me on Instagram and the details are in the show notes.

Let me tell you something. When people cross over, they're not nice people just because they crossed over. If they were an, they're still an. It does not change. You know, I agree with you. People think all of a sudden, well, you know, you get to talk to dead people. Dead people are.

They're just as bad as alive people.

Yeah, they're no. They're no different.

I love that.

I love that.