I died twice and was ‘propelled’ into a journey of death where ‘otherworldly beings’ revealed the secrets of life

A Maryland woman who claimed she has died and ‘crossed over’ multiple times during medical emergencies is now sharing what she believes she learned from being on the brink of death.

Norma Edwards, an 80-year-old spiritual therapist and life coach, claimed she has clinically flatlined on three occasions throughout her life.

Twice, she recalled what she described as vivid experiences in another realm, encounters with ‘beings of light,’ and a powerful message she claimed she was sent back to Earth to deliver: that life continues beyond physical death.

In 1971, Edwards was 26 and living in London with her then-husband and child when she experienced her first near-death episode (NDE).

She collapsed from undiagnosed pregnancy complications and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors discovered she had experienced a still birth and needed to operate immediately, but her heart stopped during surgery.

As doctors fought to resuscitate her, Edwards claimed she left her body. 

She described shooting through ‘a pitch-black tunnel’ toward bands of color she had ‘never seen on Earth,’ before entering what she interpreted as pure, radiant light.

She claimed to have seen what she likened to an enormous screen replaying her life, divided into what she believes were the life she planned, the life she lived and the outcome. 

According to Edwards, who was born in Guyana, ‘each review’ showed she hadn’t fulfilled her intended purpose. 

Moments later, she claimed to have seen familiar ‘otherworldly’ spirits, including a beloved aunt waiting for her by a river, before being told she couldn’t stay and had to return to Earth with a message that ‘life doesn’t end; it transforms.’

Re-entering her body was ‘excruciating,’ she said.

‘It was painful. Like trying to pour a galaxy into a teacup. My spirit is huge, so when you force that energy back into a small body, it hurts.

‘My senses were heightened and color appeared as music, with radios pulsing with light.

‘I could see inside people’s bodies – I thought I was going crazy. When I walked under bulbs, they would blow. I couldn’t explain it.’

This profound experience inspired Edwards to pursue training as a chaplain.

For 27 years, she served inside prisons, offering spiritual guidance and therapeutic support to individuals preparing to return to their communities.

Following her career, Edwards experienced another brush with death in November 2024, when she suffered a cardiac arrest in her Maryland home. 

Edwards claimed she recognized immediately what was happening – ‘the tunnel, the shift, the pull toward the other side’ – but said she was revived just before what she described as ‘reaching Heaven.’ 

When she flatlined a second time that morning, she recalled sensing a ‘female presence’ guiding her and being reminded of the same message she claimed she received decades earlier.

Along with the assurance that life is eternal, Edwards said she was told she still had a mission to complete: helping others release fear and approach life, and death, with clarity.

Now working with senior communities, Edwards offers support to those nearing the end of their lives.

She tells people not to fear death, but to view it as a transition. 

‘The soul doesn’t die,’ she said. ‘You’re simply stepping out of the body into something larger.’

Although she still feels a deep pull toward what she described as the ‘love and wholeness’ she experienced during her first NDE, and still grieves the loss of her baby linked to that medical emergency, Edwards claimed she has found purpose in helping others.

‘I’ve learned from every person I’ve served,’ she said. 

‘As long as you have breath, you have the greatest gift. And when the time comes, you’re not ending, you’re expanding.’

Edwards said her experiences have solidified her belief that fear is humanity’s greatest obstacle. 

‘We come here to learn, to love and to grow,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.’