What happens when we die? I’m sure we’ve all thought about the events that take place after all lights go out and it’s been long pondered by different people across history.
Well, one former atheist had a near-death experience and shared what it was like for him after watching himself die in the hospital. The man who was a self-proclaimed ‘true atheist’ changed his ways after surviving the experience.
He recalled his experience
In an interview with the YouTube channel Shaman Oaks, Jose Hernandez recalled his near-death experience.
Hernandez started telling the story, saying it had happened when he had been conducting a routine change of electrical wires as part of his job.
Hernandez is an engineer
“When I had my experience I was a true Atheist. I am an engineer. I was up on a bucket truck running some electrical lines,” the American told Shaman Oaks.
He then started recounting the moment he fell and was rushed to the hospital.
Hernandez broke his ribs
“We were running late. The guy that was with me, my partner, was more worried about electrocuting me up on top, so he was more worried looking up and he just kind of bumped into a tree. I hit the bucket and I broke all my ribs […] on my right side and I was sent to an emergency room,” he recalled.
He stopped breathing in the hospital
When Hernandez had been taken to the emergency room, he stopped breathing and the medical staff started rushing to save his life.
“I started thinking about God, saying, ‘If you get me through this event I will change‘,” Hernandez added.
He claims he saw spirits
Hernandez shared that at this point, he noticed a shadow spirit in the room.
“And then I noticed this shadow, by the door. And it just stood there. Then I started thinking ‘you know what, I’ve had such a hard and difficult life, maybe it’s okay to let go’,” he shared.
He had accepted he’d die
Hernandez added that he had accepted his fate, saying, “I kinda said it’s okay to die. And the minute I said that, or thought that, the shadow just moved.”
“In my mind I could see its hand reaching out to me, and it just touched my toe,” he recalled about the spirit.
Hernandez felt at peace
“And the minute it touched my toe I just felt this tremendous sense of relief, and relaxation, peace and love and calm. I was in bliss,” he added.
According to Hernandez’s retelling, he had an out-of-body experience where he watched doctors do CPR on his body while the “shadow” spoke to him.
He felt he was being lifted
The spirit then started to explain that he has to let go of his body, according to Hernandez.
“I heard the voice next to be say ‘think of the your body as a car, and that car has life five million miles on it, and there’s nothing we can do to fix it anymore. So you have to now say goodbye to your body’,” he added.
They moved on to another place
Hernandez then recalled “falling” into a black hole and was reunited with his late father in a place he believed was heaven.
“When I met my dad on the other side, I realized that sometimes we may not be able to say something here, [but] we’re gonna be able to say it somewhere else,” he added.
NDEs are experienced by many

A lot of people have experienced near-death experiences and while there are different theories on how such experiences happen, medical professionals have their own explanation.
Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry William Reville wrote in the Irish Times that NDEs are the activity of the dying brain as its oxygen levels drop.
Last Updated on January 28, 2025 by admin