Divine Encounters Episode 080 | Near-Death Experience Story
Bill Letson was a fire captain working a busy station in Santa Barbara during a bad flu season when, he says, he fell gravely ill and slipped out of his body in an intensive care unit. In this Divine Encounters episode he tells Alex Ferrari what he says followed: a realm of stars and euphoria, a room with giggling hooded beings, a tall spinning figure radiating love, and an order to go back.
Key Takeaways
- Bill says he became severely ill during a flu epidemic, and that his blood pressure hovered near 40 over zero for hours before he left his body in the night.
- He describes a realm of colorful orbs and stars where he felt complete euphoria, like being let out of “a hot, dark, stuffy closet.”
- Bill says he asked himself, “How in the world did I forget who I really was?” and saw his earthly life as something like a game he had been playing.
- He describes three short, hooded, giggling beings and a tall, spinning figure so loving that it was overwhelming.
- He says he was told, “that’s enough time to go back,” and that he pleaded, argued and lost.
- Bill says a nurse comforted him with the words “you’ve been in escrow, and you fell out of escrow.”
- His message: the purpose of life is kindness, help for others, and walking your parents home.
| Guest | Bill Letson |
| Episode | Divine Encounters 080 |
| Work at the time | Fire service, Santa Barbara, station 11 |
| What Bill says happened | He became severely ill during a flu season and left his body overnight in intensive care |
| Where he says he went | A realm of stars and orbs, then a solid structure with beds and equipment |
| Who he met | Three short hooded beings and a tall, spinning, loving figure |
| Age at the time | Almost 40 |
| The message | “The ultimate purpose of life is to be kind and to help others.” |
Who Is Bill Letson?
Bill worked at a fire station in Santa Barbara, station 11, during a flu epidemic. He describes it as one of those bad flu years, when the hospitals and emergency rooms filled up. He was almost 40 at the time.
One call during that stretch stayed with him. His crew responded to a woman who, he says, was circling the drain by the time they reached her. They went into action, giving her oxygen and checking her vitals. She exhaled just as he inhaled, and he says he felt her hot breath go down into his lungs. She made it, he says, and was home within a week.
A Fast Decline
A couple of days later, Bill became very sick, and it came on quickly the next day. He had a racing heart, tanking blood pressure and severe dehydration. He called for help, and his own department came, followed by a local ambulance, which started IVs and took him to the local hospital.
The hospital was packed with people suffering from the flu, adults and children. They put him in a room. A nurse, who he says was great but flustered by the rush, injected something into his IV port. His wife was there. She told him later that his eyes rolled back and he keeled over straight back. They could barely get a blood pressure.
He did not come back to the room. He was moved to intensive care, with a couple of IVs and his head down. For hours, he says, his blood pressure hovered around 40 over zero.
A Realm of Stars
Sometime in the night, around two or three in the morning, Bill says he left his body. He found himself in a star filled realm of colorful orbs. He sailed through them. “It was just pure delightful existence.” He says it was complete euphoria, like being a huge expanded cloud moving through a welcoming party of stars.
He tries several ways to describe it. It felt like being let out of “a hot, dark, stuffy closet” where he had been stuck. It felt like “somebody was pouring honey all over my brain,” running down through all his nerves. It was “the standing wave of absolute euphoria,” and it kept going.
Low emotions like anger, jealousy and rage did not exist there. He remembers thinking that earth had been rough duty.
Who I Really Was
As he flew, a question came: “How in the world did I forget who I really was?” He says he had been completely convinced that he was Bill Letson, with a whole story, likes and dislikes. From where he now was, it looked like pretend. Something he had been doing, like a game. Going back was out of the question, he says. He was free, and absolutely stoked.
Each moment, he says, felt new and wonderful, and he felt he could have done it forever. For more on how people describe the self that remains, our glossary entry on consciousness is a gentle place to start.
A Solid Room and Three Beings
Then he landed somewhere solid. It had indirect lighting, equipment and beds, like a structure. In front of him were three beings. They were short, little and hooded, with big smiles, bouncing around and giggling.
Bill compares their look to the beings in the film Communion. Many people who see that film, he notes, think they see demons, but he says these were not. They were playful and happy to see him. He says they were cool little munchkins.
They asked him questions. “What did you learn? What can you tell us?” He had no idea where he was or who they were. One came forward, looked him up and down, and told the others, “he doesn’t remember us.” They giggled uproariously. Bill said he kind of remembered them, but this was very unusual.
The Tall, Spinning Being
In the background was another figure. He was tall and wispy, like a trimmed up Gumby with a walking stick, with a huge smile and bright eyes. Bill could feel the love coming off him. The figure had a spinning energy, he says, like the vortex in a glass of water when you spin it. When the being came forward, it was like looking at someone underwater: the top part moved first and the other parts caught up.
As the figure came closer, Bill felt his chest expand and his throat tighten. He felt he would break down crying from love. He says it was so much love that it was paralyzing. Whatever Bill said, the being chuckled, the way you might at an amusing toddler.
An Offer to Review His Life
Bill, taking charge in the way a fire captain might, said it did not seem very organized. Should they do a review of his life? Were they going to start? The tall one cracked up. He thought it was hysterical that this little toddler was trying to run things. But he said sure, how would Bill like to start?
So Bill told stories. One was about a job offer for him and his wife, on an island off the coast of California. He took a fire job instead. His wife really wanted the island. Now that he is almost 70, he says, he wishes he had done that for her. For more about this kind of review, see our entry on life review.
While he talked, nobody listened. The beings were busy with each other, playing and chuckling. Then the tall one turned and said it was enough time, “that’s enough time to go back.”
Pleading to Stay
Bill was floored. No way, he said. He could not go back to that place. The being said, “You got things to do, and you’re going back.”
Bill pleaded. He said he was almost 40 and his life was pretty much over. He said he had lots of friends, but only his wife and parents would be hurt if he did not return, and they were strong and would persevere. The being found it funny. Okay, he said, now you are going back.
The room began to dematerialize. The tall figure evaporated. Bill dropped in frequency and fell away toward another dimension, another stop. It did not feel good. He says that near his body the place was dark, lonely and dismal. He believes this place is very close to the physical world, and that part of our task is to move through it successfully into the higher planes when we leave our bodies.
Awake and Not Happy
Around four or five in the morning, Bill woke up a few times and watched his vital signs improve. When a nurse came by, she was shocked that he was awake. They had been worried all night. Bill told her he needed to talk, and asked what he was doing back here. He says he wanted to verbalize how he felt. He had been home, he says, with his best friends.
She had her hands on his shoulders. She was an old nurse who had seen it all, and she told him, “you’ve been in escrow, and you fell out of escrow.” Now he was back with them, and he would have to get his head around that. She said it genuinely, he says, as if speaking to his soul. He never forgot it.
Telling the Story
It was like getting off a roller coaster and wanting to talk about it. But he says he saw disappointment on his family’s faces, and the doctor told him outright that he was crazy. Back at work, the crew wanted to hear, and he left nothing out. Some very religious coworkers stopped listening when he got to the little beings, because they did not fit robes and harps and beards. He says they were good people. Eventually word came down from the office that he should stop telling the story.
He took that in stride and says it made sense. If you want to read more about how people talk about the afterlife, see our entry on afterlife.
Kindness, Parents and a Temporary Gig
Bill’s answer to what matters is simple. “The ultimate purpose of life is to be kind and to help others.” When your parents get old, he says, drop what you want to do, even if you are young and healthy, and be there. His mother lived in a place with 80 residents, he says, and he was the only one who visited every day. “Walk your ancestors home.”
He also stays away from chasing money. He points to the story of Jesus turning over the tables in the temple, because of the money changers. He says “this life here on earth is a temporary gig,” over in a few heartbeats, and then it is “back to who you really are.”
Where Bill’s Story Sits Among Near-Death Accounts
Bill’s account has many familiar themes: leaving the body at a time of crisis, a feeling of euphoria, remembering one’s true nature, meeting beings and being told to return. His account includes unusual features too, including the hooded beings and a humorous, loving manner among the beings he met. We share it as his experience and make no medical claims.
In 1983, psychiatrist Bruce Greyson published the 16-item NDE Scale, a tool researchers use to describe these experiences. And a 2001 Lancet study by Pim van Lommel and colleagues reported that 62 of 344 cardiac arrest survivors, roughly 18 percent, reported one. For a wider view, start with our complete guide to near-death experiences and the glossary entry for near-death experience.
A Simple Way to Walk Someone Home
If a parent or older relative is in your life, pick one visit or call this week. Show up without a plan. Listen. That may be all the kindness asked.
Questions to Sit With
- Bill says a job choice from years ago still tugs at him. Is there a choice you wish you could honor for someone you love?
- He says life on earth may be a temporary gig. What would you do differently if you held it more lightly?
- Who in your life might need you to simply show up this month?
Call or visit one older person in your life this week and ask them to tell you a story.
Spiritual Takeaways
- Bill says he forgot who he really was while living on earth.
- He describes love so strong it was overwhelming.
- He says humor and play were present in the places he visited.
- He says the purpose of life is to be kind and to help others.
- He says to walk your ancestors home.
Please enjoy my conversation with Bill Letson.
Guest Links: Connect With Bill Letson
Listen to the Episode
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bill Letson?
Bill Letson is a near-death experiencer who worked in the fire service in Santa Barbara. He tells his story on Divine Encounters with host Alex Ferrari.
What happened to Bill Letson?
Bill says he became severely ill during a flu epidemic, collapsed in the hospital and was moved to intensive care. He says that during the night he left his body.
What did Bill see in the star filled realm?
He describes colorful orbs and stars and a feeling of complete euphoria. He says it felt like being let out of a hot, dark, stuffy closet.
Who were the beings Bill met?
He describes three short, hooded, giggling beings and a tall, wispy figure with a spinning energy. He says the tall figure radiated so much love that it was overwhelming.
Were the beings frightening?
Bill says no. He says they were playful and happy to see him, and he compares them to the beings in the film Communion, which he says are not menacing.
Did Bill have a life review?
He says he offered to start one and told some stories, such as turning down an island job his wife wanted. He says the beings were busy playing and not paying attention.
Why did Bill have to go back?
He says the tall being told him it was enough time and that he had things to do. Bill says he pleaded to stay, but the being found that funny.
What did the nurse tell Bill?
Bill says she told him he had been in escrow and had fallen out of escrow, and that he would have to get his head around being back.
How did people react when Bill told his story?
He says some family members looked disappointed, a doctor told him he was crazy and some religious coworkers did not want to hear about the little beings. He was eventually asked to stop telling the story at work.
What is Bill’s message?
He says the purpose of life is to be kind and to help others, and to be there for your parents as they age.
Is a near-death experience medical evidence?
Next Level Soul shares near-death experiences as lived experiences in the person’s own words. Researchers continue to study and debate what they mean. Nothing here is medical advice or a medical claim.
Keep Exploring
- The complete guide to near-death experiences
- What a life review is
- What the afterlife means
- Dean Brinson on the astral world and levels of heaven
- Ellyn Dye on meeting unusual beings after a collision
- Natalie Sudman on what she saw after a blast
- Garnet Schulhauser on a spirit guide in disguise
- David Bennett on meeting his soul family
- Browse more free masterclasses and the Divine Encounters podcast.
Follow Along with the Transcript
Alex Ferrari 0:00
Tell me what your life was like before you died.
Bill Letson 0:08
I was working at a station down in Santa Barbara, station 11, and there was a flu epidemic going on. You know, we had those bad flu years, and it was a it was a good one, and it was filling up the hospitals and the emergency rooms, and we ran on one patient, and she was had really gone far. She was circling the drain by the time we got to her, and we jumped into action. And I, you know, in with everything that we do, putting oh two on her and getting vitals, she exhaled, and I inhale. And I took her breath straight in, and I was like, Oh man, that was I could feel her hot breath go down into my lungs. Everybody cringes when they think of that. And we got her to the hospital, and successful, she came home in a week or something. But a couple of days after I had my got that inoculation, I was really sick, and it came on pretty fast the next day, and just had this racing heart and this tanking blood pressure, and I was dehydrating, and before you knew it, I was circling the drain, and I got I called for help, and my department came, and, you know, local ambulance company came, and they picked me up, got me in an ambulance, got some IVs started because I was severely dehydrated, and got me to The local hospital, and the place was full of people, full kids, full of adults, people suffering from this flu, and they put me in a room, and they were kind of overwhelmed, and they came in and gave me something, you know, they injected it into the IV port, the injection port on the IV line. And the girls, you know, she's great nurse, but they were flustered, and so she pushed it in, like, all the way in, and my wife was there, and she said, your eyes rolled back, and you just keeled over, straight back, and you were gone, and they couldn't get you back, and they could barely get a blood pressure. So I didn't come back, and they put me into intensive care with, you know, a couple of IVs, and head down, and I just kind of hovered there at, you know, a blood pressure that was like 40 over zero for hours, and at some point during that night, two, three in the morning, something like that, I left my body. What I found, I found myself in a star filled realm. It was just all of these stars, these colorful orbs. I was parading through them, and it was all good vibes and beautiful stars, orbs, I guess we call them. And it was a complete ecstasy. It was complete euphoria. It felt like I'd been let out of a hot, dark, stuffy closet, and I'd been stuck there, and I was now this huge, expanded cloud just sailing through this welcoming party of stars. And I felt like somebody was pouring honey all over my brain, and it was running down through all my nerves, and it was like a cosmic orgasm. And it just kept going. It was just the standing wave of absolute euphoria. And I was thinking, Man, that was rough duty, that place was gnarly, this earth, and all those things, like those low emotions, like anger and jealousy and rage, those things didn't exist. It was just pure delightful existence. And as I flew along through all these stars, I was thinking, How in the world did I forget who I really was? How is it that I was absolutely convinced, immersed in this dude, that I was pretending to be this bill Letson, and he had this whole story, and he had his likes and dislikes, and he had, you know, this, all this stuff, and all of it was, it was like, it was pretend it was like something I was doing, like a game, and anyone going back to that was out of the question. There's no way I was free. And I was absolutely stoked. So I flew along for a while, and then, and everything was awesome. And it's like this moment is constantly the same thing of, Oh, wow. This is so cool. Everything is new and absolutely stoked in each moment. So I was flying along. Just could do this forever. This is awesome. And then I landed in a place that was solid. There was indirect lighting, there was equipment there, there were beds, there were it was a solid place, and right in front of me were three beings, and they were the short, little hooded guys with big smiles on their face. And they were bouncing around and giggling. And I was trying to sort out, Well, where am I now? This was complete change in everything that was a, you know, in a structure, and they were looking at me, and they were they were giggling, and they were saying things like, how was it? What did you learn? What can you tell us? And I was just kind of looking at him like, where is it? What is this place? And who you guys are? Very strange looking. And they looked exactly like that, those guys in the movie communion, where Christopher Walken goes in, and there's a lot of people when they see that, they see demons or something, but they weren't.
Bill Letson 4:59
They were just these cool little munchkins, and they were giggling and they were happy to see me. And if you watch that movie communion, they're actually pretty playful, joyful guys. They don't do anything that is really upsetting once Christopher Walken controls his fear of the situation, once he gets used to you know, this is something phenomenal, but it's not menacing. So one of them came forward. He looked me up and down, and he turned to the other two, and he goes, he doesn't remember us. And they started giggling uproariously, bouncing around and stuff. And I was like, Guys, I kind of remember you, but this is very unusual here. And then there was this other guy, and he was in the background at first, he was this tall, wispy guy, and he had this, like, you know, I've called him, like a trimmed up Gumby and like a walking stick. And he had this huge smile on his face. His eyes were bright, and he was absolutely stoked. You could feel the love coming off of him towards me. And he had this, like, weird spinning energy like you were, you know, like if you took a glass of water and spun it and then looked at the, you know, the vortex there, the spinning that's what he looked like. And it looked like I was when he came forward. It was like I was looking at somebody underwater. And the top part would move first, and then the other parts would sort of catch up, and then he'd become whole again. And he kept moving. And as he came closer, I just felt my chest just expanding and my throat tightening, and I felt like I was going to break down an uncontrollable crying from love. There was so much love coming from this being that it was paralyzing. It was overwhelming. And we went back and forth was some different small talk stuff. And every time I said anything, he just chuckled. He just would crack up, like he was looking at a little toddler, and he was amused by his little toddler. After a while, you know, the little guys were just giggling, and he was just chuckling at everything. And I said, you know, was not, you know, this isn't very organized. There's not much going on. Do Do we net? Do we go and make a, you know, do a review of my life? Is that? What's next? Do you guys want to get started with that? And the tall whiskey guy just cracked up. He was just chuckling. And he thought that was hysterical, that this little toddler was, you know, trying to take over. But he said, Sure, Sure, let's do that. How do you want to start? And so I told a few stories about, you know, jobs that my wife and I got offered a job on off the coast of California, on this island. And I took a fire job, but she really wanted that. And she said, You know, when are we going to get a chance to live on an island by ourselves, you know. But I was, you know, 2022, something said, I'm not going to do well alone on an island at this age. And I need to, I need action. I need to be around fire. Guys, yeah, but now that I'm almost 70, I look back and I say, I wish I had done that for her, because she wanted it, and she's pretty cool. So I talked for a while. I told a couple of different things. Nobody was listening. They weren't paying attention. They were doing the same thing. You know, they were doing these playful, joyful things with each other, and a lot of chuckling and giggling. And then he just turns to me and he goes, Okay, that's enough time to go back. And that floored me, that I was shocked at that. And I was like, go back. Like, go No way. I cannot go back there that you don't understand, that place is rough duty. And he's like, No, you got to go back. You got things to do, and you're going back. As he came forward, you know, I pleaded. I told him I was almost 40. What good am I? You know, my life's pretty much over. Just, I don't know, there's not much I can do after 40, you know. And he laughed at that, just like you. And I said some other things. I said, Hey, I got lots of friends, lots of bros, but the only people that are really gonna get stung by me not coming back is my wife and my parents. But they are strong people. They will persevere. And he thought that was funny. And he said, Okay, now you're going back. And He came forward, and the place just started to break up. It started to dematerialize. He evaporated in front of me, and the room came apart, and I dropped in frequency, and I dropped away, and I was on my way to another channel, another dimension, another stop. And it was a very it was a drop in frequency. It didn't feel good as I was moving back on this place, and I got close to my body, and it was a dark place. It was lonely, it was dismal, and you didn't want to be there. You know, we talk about heaven and in between place and earth and then another place, you know, from that experience, you know, I believe that other place is right close to where we are here in the physical I think that's part of our thing, where we need to navigate that successfully when we come out of our bodies. You know that whole thing about the valley of the shadow of death without fear, we have to move through that into the higher planes. But anyway, I was back in my body, and I woke up a few times, four or five in the morning, and I was looking at the. Equipment, and it was the vital signs that things were improving with each round and, you know, they take your vitals, and I could stay awake after a while, it was still dark out, and I was looking around, and the nurse came by, and she was shocked. She's like, you're awake. And I'm like, Yes, I am. I need to talk to you. And she said, Well, I need to go tell a doctor. We've been worried all night. We didn't know what was going on with you. You know, what was where this was going. And I said, Okay, you can go get the doctor, but first, what am I doing back here? You know, I was pissed, and I wanted to verbalize that, I guess. And I said, I was home. Was home with my best rose. I was back where I belong. I had died. I had bought the farm. I was sure of it, and she had her hands on my shoulders, and she was saying, he's just old nurse, you know, seen it all. And she goes, Honey, you've been in escrow, and you fell out of escrow, and now you're back with us, and you're gonna have to get your head around that, you know. And she said it very genuinely. She sort of spoke to my soul, and I never forgot that, because I had just come back from this experience in, you know, in this illusionary, this journey, but, you know, and then everybody came by, and I was just big guy, the tall guy, the little guys, you know, and they were my best friends. And it was like, I just got off a roller coaster, and they want to know what it was about. And you see disappointment in your family's faces. And, you know, the doctor tells you outright, you're crazy. And so I was home for a few days and then recovering, and then I got back to work, and the guys all wanted to know. It's like, Hey, dude, something happened to you. Everyone's talking about it. And I'm like, Well, yeah, well, I'll tell you what happened. And I didn't leave anything out, you know, the very religious guys, you know, they didn't want to hear much more of the story once I got to the little, short little guys, because it wasn't fitting their robes and harps and beards and and I always thought that was really interesting, because they were such good people, but they wanted nothing to do with this sort of unusual story. And so I told the story for a while, and then the word kind of leaked down from the office. Hey, you better stop telling that story, because, you know, we don't have Kooks riding our fire engines, and that made sense. So, yeah, it's that, and it's all those other things. The ultimate purpose of life is to be kind and to help others. And when your parents get old, you know, drop everything you want to do, even though you're young and healthy, and be there for them. Most of us don't. You know, my mom went through this place, and it was the only there was 80 people in there, and I was only one that was there every day. They'd come on the weekends or holidays and stuff, but walk your ancestors home. And you know, we're programmed to believe that we are, you know, that is something has value, then it has monetary value, and if you sell a lot of it, then you're a best seller, and now you have more value. And that's I stay away from it. I stay away from any bucks coming my way. And you know, Jesus, there's only one time Jesus got pissed off and he he went back to Jerusalem, Jerusalem with his followers, went into the temple, and there was all this stuff, people selling things, and he flipped out. He turned the tables over and, you know, he lost his cool because there was money changers in the temple. You know, we're not, we're not supposed to be doing this. This life here on earth is a temporary gig. It's over in a few heartbeats, out of the illusion of This world and back to who you really are.
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