Stella's Journey: "A Powerful Revelation: 'You Are Jewish!'"

The researcher and author Professor Kenneth Ring spent many years studying near-death experiences. In one of his books, he recounts the story of Stella, which we have summarized here:

Stella was an adopted child raised in a devout Christian family. She followed the church's rules blindly. At the age of 8, a classmate shouted, "You're adopted!" Shaken, she rushed to her parents to verify.

Her parents admitted she was adopted but stubbornly refused to share any information about her biological parents. She grew up, got married, and lived the exemplary life of a wife and mother according to the standards of her community.

Before experiencing her near-death experience, she had a waking vision of a series of symbols she thought were letters suspended in the air. Unfamiliar with these symbols, she copied them meticulously onto paper. Only after her near-death ordeal did she discover they were Hebrew letters forming the phrase, "Look beyond the disappearing point..."

Shortly thereafter, she suffered massive bleeding following an operation and entered a state of clinical death.

As she lost consciousness, she describes, "... Suddenly, there was a tremendous burst of light. I turned to the light and saw, from a great distance, a large city. But it wasn't like viewing a city from an airplane window. It was from a massive distance. I realized this was an enormous city suspended in space as if by nothing.

I saw glowing beams of light streaming from the city, reaching out to me and calling me. I rode these rays across infinite expanses at an unimaginable speed, conscious all the while of other life forms surrounding me. As I approached the city, the speed and intensity of the experience grew. It’s hard to grasp that so much happened in such a short time. I was so captivated by the sight of the city, I thought I'd passed it. In that moment, the beam of light landed me within the city without me feeling the descent.

While initially I was observing from a bird's-eye view, I now stood right inside the city. Everything was clear and incredibly bright.

The only analogy I can think of to make people in this world understand is to say everything looked like gold. Everything was bright, almost transparent. Everything was clean and pure.

The difference between here and there was also that here we think of gold as hard and solid, while there it was smooth, transparent, and soft to the touch. Not a softness you sink into, but a softness that merges and unites everything. Everything was distinct on one hand, yet also blended with everything else.

Alongside the street bloomed stunning flowers and buds. The intensity and brightness of the colors were like polished pebbles in water, but they were really gemstones — rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.^[1] I particularly remember yellow flowers that appeared to me like diamonds and gems, with a strong scent of roses. I began walking along the street, looked down, and suddenly saw a pair of men's feet peeking out from under a robe. His face seemed like two faces in one. One side radiated beauty and tranquility. The light and knowledge of that city seemed to shine from his face. Somehow, in those same features, there was another aspect of suffering. He communicated with me non-verbally, using thoughts alone. He sent a strong and surprising message: "You are Jewish!"

He told me there was a reason and purpose for sending me back to this world. I'm being sent to bring the knowledge of my experience and the fact that there is life beyond life in this world, on a broader and deeper level. We are so much more than we think. We have the capacity to embrace spiritual understanding and knowledge.

He gave me instructions regarding the tasks I would face when I returned to this world, which I ultimately fulfilled upon my return. He said there would likely be a barrier in my path, but without a doubt, it would contain a key to greater understanding. It held immense significance for me.

He stood in the path I was taking, and I understood I was not allowed to proceed further. From the golden city, I heard a symphony of languages, all languages I had never heard, but I could understand what was being said. I so longed for permission to continue inward. I knew there was so much there, things I yearned to see and experience. There was knowledge beyond anything explainable. The realization that I had to leave this place began to set in. I did not want to leave," she says, beginning to cry in sorrow despite it occurring years earlier.

About three years after the event, Stella set out to uncover her hidden heritage. She had only a hint of her birthplace, and she arrived in that city, starting her search for signs or documents, only to find that nothing had survived. On paper, it was as if she had never existed. After exhausting all logical possibilities and reaching the brink of despair, she turned to the heavens and said, "I've done everything you instructed. In the usual ways, the documents do not exist. If you want this to be done, you will have to help me."

As evening fell, tired, she settled into a restaurant, pondering her next move. Two police officers were having dinner, and one returned to retrieve something he had forgotten. She took it as a sign, carrying a hint of the answer she sought. She approached the officer and explained her desperate search for someone, asking for help. The officer directed her to a couple who had published the local newspaper for years, suggesting her best chance lay with a retired judge familiar with the city's affairs.

Meeting the judge, he was thrilled and amazed upon seeing her face, as if he was viewing someone from years past, as if a clock had turned back. He knew who she resembled, recognized her, and connected her with her grandfather, who was now retired and living in Florida. The meeting with her grandfather was extraordinarily dramatic; he sat showing her family memorabilia and albums.

Only then was another detail revealed to her, that which the radiant entity in the golden city had shared. It was the fact that she was indeed Jewish, and she had a biological brother she went to meet in Texas with his family. After some time, Stella also met her mother, who was not interested in maintaining a connection.

Despite the emotionally charged encounter and the repeated rejection by her mother, Stella concludes that the meeting was profoundly significant. It removed a deep emotional barrier and propelled her awakening and transformation process — a journey toward reclaiming her authentic and Jewish identity.

Stella became thoroughly Jewish, shocking her devout Christian family. She divorced her husband, transformed from a submissive, hidden type into an advisor on children and youth at the White House.

Her life changes weren't a continuous string of happiness and success. Not every challenge was easy to face. Her family still struggles to accept her new lifestyle and transformation. But as she herself says: now, finally, she feels free to be who she truly is.