Video by Coming Home.
Nancy Rynes grew up on a small family farm outside Chicago. As a child, she felt spirit everywhere and often told her family she saw God in the trees. But when reports of priest abuse scandals broke during her teens, her faith collapsed. By the time she entered college, she had turned fully to science, studying geology, working for the Department of Energy, and building a career in scientific writing.
By her mid-20s, Nancy was a firm atheist, guided only by rational thought and material reality. That certainty would end one winter afternoon in Boulder, Colorado.
🚴 The Accident
A simple bike ride turned tragic when a SUV driver, distracted by texting, struck Nancy in a traffic circle. She was thrown onto the hood, dragged nearly 60 feet, and left with catastrophic injuries; broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and shattered vertebrae.
Surgeons scheduled emergency operations to stabilize her spine with titanium rods. For someone who had lived in fear of death, the prospect of not waking up was overwhelming. But instead of darkness, Nancy encountered something utterly unexpected.
✨ The Other Side
As anesthesia took hold, Nancy found herself in a meadow, surrounded by rolling mountains and flowers. A wave of peace and unconditional love washed over her.
Her skeptical mind resisted. If I’m dead, where’s the nothingness I expected? Where’s the hell my parents warned me about? Instead, she heard the answer carried by the atmosphere itself:
This is your home. You are part of me. You are part of us. Welcome home.
At that moment, she realized earthly life was only a temporary illusion. This greater, love-filled reality was the true home of the soul.
🕊 Lessons from a Guide
A guide emerged from the mist, not to be worshiped but to teach. She told Nancy she had agreed to return before she was born, then revealed a vision of her pre-birth planning.
She also experienced a life review. By touching the surface of a pond, she relived moments from her past, this time feeling not only her own perspective but also the emotions of others. Acts of kindness returned as joy. Careless words came back as pain. She saw how her choices had rippled outward and shaped lives in ways she had never realized.
“I knew right then I had to change how I interacted with people forever,” she says.
Her guide then showed her a map of her life and explained that no single path was “right.” Decisions, she learned, should come from both intellect and intuition, with mind and heart working together.
🌱 Returning to Life
Nancy resisted, but her guide gently placed a hand on her injuries then sent her back. She awoke in the recovery room screaming, furious to return. “Where is she? Can I go back?” she demanded. The medical staff thought she was delirious, until a hospital chaplain explained: You had a near-death experience.
That moment reframed everything. Nancy realized she faced a choice: dismiss it as a hallucination, or embrace it and allow it to change her life.
🙏 Living with Gratitude
Her healing stunned doctors: she was out of the body cast in four weeks instead of sixteen. She began meditating in nature and practicing gratitude each day, starting every morning thankful simply to walk.
Gradually, her fear of death faded. She found peace, presence, and compassion, no longer living on autopilot or reacting from fear. Instead, she began helping others make choices rooted in love and strength rather than avoidance or anxiety.
Today, Nancy teaches that life on Earth is a “near-life experience,” a place to learn and grow. Our purposes may differ, but one truth unites us all — to live from love and compassion, not only for our families but for everyone.
