Very few people can say they understand what might happen after we die as well as Dannion Brinkley.
In 1975, Brinkley, a former US Marine, was declared dead for 28 minutes after being struck by lightning. Amazingly, he later returned to life and made a full recovery.
Let’s pause here — the odds of being struck by lightning in a year are less than one in a million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So while it’s rare, it’s still possible. Brinkley’s story proves that chance is always present during storms.
On the day it happened, September 17, 1975, Brinkley was using the phone when lightning hit. It travelled down the phone line and into his body.
“It entered the side of my head, went down my spine,” Brinkley explained in an interview with 8 News Now.
Here’s where it gets even more surprising.
He said the lightning welded the nails in the heels of his shoes to the floor. He was thrown into the air, saw the ceiling, and then slammed back down. A fireball passed through the room, and he found himself burning, unable to move.
What followed was unexpected. Brinkley described leaving his body after the strike. He only returned after his body had already been moved to the morgue, nearly half an hour later.
During those 28 minutes, Brinkley says it didn’t just fade to darkness. He remembers floating alongside the ambulance, watching from above as doctors declared him dead.
His experience continued as he moved through what he called a tunnel and reached a place he described as the ‘Crystal City’, where he met a spiritual being made of light.
There’s more — he recalled seeing his entire life replay in front of him, like a 360-degree view.
“You watch it from a second person’s view,” he explained, adding that he was asked what difference he and a higher power had made in his life.
Though some doubt his story, Brinkley remains firm. In fact, he has had two more near-death experiences since then, during heart and brain surgeries. He believes these moments have helped him guide others facing similar fears.