All language subtitles for The.Story.of.God.with.Morgan.Freeman.Series.2.2of3.Heaven.and.Hell.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGr

when I
was a little boy growing up

here in Mississippi, I
spent a lot of time outdoors.

Part of it looking
up at the night sky.

We had no electricity so
the moon was the only light

that ever challenged
that of the stars.

And they filled me
with such an inexpressible

sense of wonder.

My paternal grandmother
told me that that was where

heaven was,
where god lives,

the place where good
people go when they die.

She also warned me
about the other place.

Hell.

The place you
go when you're bad.

At age five or six these
ideas are a bit overwhelming.

Frightening.

Inspiring I guess.

And I think most people,
no matter what their faith,

have faced similar thoughts
and fears, what is heaven?

What is hell?

How have these unseen
places changed the way we

live our lives on earth?

To find out...

Oh, look what I see.

I'll descend into
the underworld of ancient

native Americans.

I think there's something in here

that they don't want found.

See people who are tormented by hell.

And touched by paradise.

It�s that sneak preview
of what heaven's

gonna be like.

I'll discover heaven in

the Cambodian jungle.

We really are at heaven on earth.

And in one woman's
remarkable story.

As far as I can tell
you just described heaven.

It was my heaven.

Do heaven and
hell await us in the afterlife?

Or are they here and now?

For how long have we been
contemplating heaven and hell?

We know that more than
4,000 years ago the ancient

Egyptians dreamed of their
souls traveling through a

fiery underworld.

And up to the stars.

And the people of Stonehenge
fixed their gaze on the

heavens even earlier,
some 5,000 years ago.

But archaeologists have
recently found evidence of a

culture that believed in
a version of heaven and hell

even before those
monuments were built.

It's not where you'd expect.

Archaeologist Jan Simeck is
taking me to a site on the

hills of Tennessee, one that
the ancient native American

ancestors of the Cherokee used
for hundreds of generations.

So, then where
are we going now?

So, we're going
to a cave called Dunbar Cave.

It's a cave that was used
for as much as 10,000 years

by prehistoric people,

much of that time they were
using it as a religious site,

you know, kind of the
entryway to hell in our terms.

These formations,

they just scream ancient.

Yeah, they are,
the cave itself is a very

ancient place.

It's beautiful isn't it?

Over the centuries people
have left their mark on

these walls, most have
little historical significance,

but, in a chamber 200 yards
from the mouth of the cave,

Jan's archaeological team has
made a stunning discovery,

artwork that could represent
humanities oldest imaginings

of heaven and hell.

So, Morgan, this is Beau Caroll,

a graduate student of
anthropology and a member of

the eastern band of
Cherokee Indians.

Look at this.

So, what we're
looking at here are

these two symbols,
one looks like a star,

one could resemble a comet.

So, the original peoples
came down and

they made these symbols
representative of what?

Some people have
actually interpreted this

cross and circle image as a
sign that represents the upper

world above, the middle
world and the world below.

Cherokee people
believe that they came from

the stars, and they were
put here in the underworld,

in earth, and we were
born from the earth.

I think that this could
be a depiction of that.

The Cherokee
believe the universe is

encased in a stone sphere.

Inside are three
levels of existence.

Cherokee souls are created amid
the stars of the upper world,

then they sink deep underground
into the lower world where they

await their birth
into the middle world,

the land of the living.

At death their soul returns
underground and then travels

back up to the stars.

Closing an endless cycle
of life, death and rebirth.

For the ancient Cherokee,
to enter this cave was to set

foot into the lower world,
a place where the living

did not belong.

Oh, look what I see.

What do I see?

So, we're looking
here at a reclining

human figure,
about 6 and a half feet long.

His head is pointed down
into the depths of the cave,

so this is a warrior
floating into the death realm

of the underworld.

Do you get a
special feeling coming into

these caves and knowing the
ancestry of that part of your?

I get nervous.

But you're an archaeologist.

Yeah.

I think that they put this
guy here because he's guarding

something, I think there's
something in here that they

don't want found.

I think that I get that
feeling from this drawing

because we're really
not supposed to be here.

Jan and Beau have
brought me to the edge of

the Cherokee underworld,
but I wanna know if these

ancient people also tried
to make contact with their

upper world, their heaven.

What about the upper world?

Would you like to go see?

Absolutely.

Let�s go.

Come on.

So, we're in a
place called mount bottom,

it was a large village,
centered around a mound that

provided access to the
upper world, the temple,

and that's what
we're looking at here.

This native American village,

situated about 50 miles
south of the Dunbar Cave,

was a center of religious
life for the Cherokee ancestors.

The top of the central earthen
mound was as close to heaven

as the living could get.

Okay, so what happens up here?

Just like with the,

with the cave and the
underworld you go from...

inside the cave you go
from middle to under,

here it's the same thing
except we're going from

middle to upper.

We're right on the cusp
of a cosmic doorway.

Can you be a little bit more specific

About what that is?

When we say you're on the cusp
of a cosmic doorway, who is?

The living?

So, all these people
that have passed on

before us they're
essentially in another world,

they can hear us if we talk
to them in the right way,

if we dance the right way,
if we sing the right song,

then those people can hear us,
and those people know that we

haven't forgotten who they were,

we haven't forgotten who we were.

Everything wants to go up,
and if you build this up here

and have the same dances it
would be heard better than

doing it down on the ground.

So the higher
you go the more you're likely

to be in touch with the
elders or the gods...

whoever wants to listen.

Right.

Going into the Dunbar Cave
I felt like Orpheus must have

when he descended into hell.

And it made me realize how
ancient and universal our

connection with
heaven and hell is.

I felt a vague sense
of fear as I moved deeper

into the darkness of the cave.

Likewise I felt a sense
of hope and release when

I climbed to the top of the temple.

We all share these
hopes and fears.

We always have, we
probably always will.

For thousands of years heaven
and hell have driven us to

create enduring monuments,
they've inspired iconic works

of art, around the world
the faithful hope for an

afterlife in paradise,
or, fear eternal damnation.

But sometimes hell
visits people on earth.

In Ethiopia, many people
believe evil spirits can take

over the bodies of the living.

One way to chase them out
is to undergo an exorcism.

Historian, Nancy Caciola,
and religions scholar,

Solomon Getina have
come to Debre Libanos,

a seventh century monastery of
the Ethiopian orthodox church.

It's a site with a long
history of exorcism.

I can't wait to see what it's like.

Yeah.

I will take you inside
and you will see how

people get healed.

Ethiopian Christians believe demonic

possession manifests
itself in many ways.

From the mild pain of
a headache to extreme

hallucinations and
emotional disturbances.

People travel here from
all over Ethiopia to

rid themselves of
the hellish demons they

believe possess them.

Zelalam Gedachim is one of

those people.

Why were you feeling ill and why did

you decide that you
needed to come here?

You see, he said
he heard unusual voices.

Ah, so these
voices feel sinister and

evil to you?

Exactly, exactly, exactly.

Zelalam, like the
hundreds of other people

with more severe symptoms,
has come here to be healed by

St. Tekle's cross, a holy object
so revered it's always kept

wrapped in cloth.

St. Tekle was an Ethiopian
Orthodox monk who took charge

of this monastery
in the 13th century.

So this cross has a
very special power of

expelling demons then?

So it makes the demons
upset and that's why they

react in this way?

Exactly, exactly.

Because the demons can't tolerate

to be close to something holy?

Exactly, exactly.

Yeah.

He�s saying
"I�m burned" demon in her

is saying,
you know, you know,

I'm burned,
I'm burned, I�m burned.

As the cross nears the possessed they

believe the demons will be
expelled from their bodies.

Now it is Zelalam's turn.

Despite his outward calm
he firmly believes the voice

in his head is a demon.

And only the cross can expel it.

So he's going to beat the demon?

Exactly, the ordered
to kneel down so...

So the cross is for
the blessing and then

if it's stubborn he'll
beat them with the strap?

Exactly.

So, do you feel that the evil spirits

have left you now?

Permanently?

So, after he kissed
the cross he didn't

feel the previous feeling.

He said that he is
sure that he's healed.

You can see that there's
this struggle going

on between good and evil,

heaven and hell,

humanity and forces
of evil and demons.

Exactly.

You can see that in the
responses of people,

the noises they make,

the way that they
twist their bodies,

you can see the struggle
that is this cosmic

part of the world of good
and evil that we live in.

Exactly, this is a...

But it's right in the body

of this individual.

Ethiopian Christians see their

suffering, be it illness,
conflict or any calamity that

befalls them, as the shadow of
hell falling on their lives.

Bowing down to the cross can
purge them of that shadow and

bring them peace in this world.

But where there is
darkness there is also light.

Some people feel they
are touched by heaven in a

physical way, every Sunday.

I've come to Albuquerque,
New Mexico,

to meet Annie Naz.

Hi.

Hi.

I�m Annie.

I�m Morgan.

Pleased to meet you.

It's my pleasure Annie.

Annie's family recently
Immigrated from Pakistan

to the U.S.

You're from Pakistan?

Right.

The name Annie,

isn't that a Christian name?

It is, I was born in
a Pentecostal, Christian family.

Yeah.

Yes.

But you were
not Pentecostal Christian.

In the beginning I
didn't like going to church,

I thought it was boring,

but then I had a great
spiritual experience.

One day we were worshiping
and all of a sudden

I just started
feeling like crying,

and I started praising god,
I started saying those words,

when I started speaking
I was speaking in tongues.

Okay, alright.

You know, it just
changed my life in a huge,

huge, huge way.

Any chance I get to see you

speaking in tongues?

When you feel
the presence of god,

even if I try to speak to you...

Yeah.

I just can't, my
tongue starts twisting and I

start speaking in tongues,
so you might.

Annie is taking me to the

New Life United Pentecostal Church,

where they worship
by speaking in tongues.

This practice comes
from the Christian bible.

According to the book of acts,
50 days after Jesus�s death,

on the day of the Pentecost,
the Holy Spirit filled

Christ's disciples
causing them to speak in

an unknown language.

Pentecostal services
recreate this moment of heaven

coming down to earth.

Yeah, I gotta praise,
I gotta praise now, now, now,

Now, I gotta praise.

Can�t stop, praising his name,

I just can't stop
praising his name,

I just can't stop praising
his name, Jesus, Jesus.

In the name of Jesus,
in the name of Jesus.

When I began to open
myself up and surrender

to God and allow his
spirit to move within me,

It's a sneak preview of
what heaven's gonna be like.

I want you to close your eyes,
I want you to begin to pray.

In your heart, right now,
I want you to open your soul

and say God, here I am.

I surrender to you.

I don't care what
you're facing in life,

what situations
you're struggling with,

I'm here to tell you today
that God has the ability and

the power through his
spirit to bring you out

of that circumstance,

to give you that heaven
can be a real place.

Hallelujah, we thank you
Jesus, thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus.

In the name of Jesus right now,

Let your holy spirit
begin to move!

All around me people
have been swept up

by an invisible force.

And now they speak
what they believe is the

language of heaven.

I can see on their
faces that they are

genuinely somewhere else.

You were there for a long time.

You don't have any idea
what you were saying?

No, but when you
let the Holy Spirit flow

through you, then, I mean,
then you don't have any control

over yourself and it's
just the Holy Spirit,

The Holy Spirit
speaking to you,

And I can't wait
till I go to heaven,

because that's how
I will be at all times.

Well, you know,

I've been going to the
cultural experiences of

different religions
and belief systems,

and the thing that I have
learned is that everybody's

truth is the truth.

That was quite a
powerful experience.

I could...

feel the energy in that space.

Normal people suddenly
transformed by some power.

And then just as suddenly
return to normal.

Pentecostals believe that
they are bringing heaven down to

earth, now, whatever it is,
once they felt that power

they're not the same.

Experience changes them.

How they see themselves,
how they relate to others...

how they live their lives.

The Pentecostals feel the
presence of heaven through

their unique ritual.

But one Hindu king physically
built heaven on earth.

To entice the gods
to reside in there.

Mississippi is my home.

Being here just feels...

right.

To me it's like heaven on earth.

And we all yearn for that
place where you're at ease,

the place where you
feel you belong.

The ancient Jews sought
the heaven of their homeland

when they left Babylon.

The Mormons found theirs
by the Great Salt Lake.

It's a universal human
urge to find your heaven

here, and now.

In the jungles of Cambodia,
over 900 years ago,

one king built his
own heaven on earth.

This is Angkor Wat.

It's the largest religious
monument in the world.

Today it's a Buddhist temple,

but that wasn't
always the case.

It was originally
constructed by the king of

the Khmer empire,
Suryavarman II,

as a model of Hindu heaven.

Hey David, how are you?

It's been a while.

Right.

Welcome, welcome.

Thank you, Thank you, very much.

Archaeologist, David Brotherson,

as enlisted the aid of
Cambodian historian,

Syan Superovi to understand
why this incredible

site was built.

It�s mind boggling how much work

was put into building this
immaculate building.

Tremendously.

And the amount of manpower that was

deployed here, there must
have been a very important

underlying reason for them
to go to all this effort?

Definitely.

This whole complex
itself is the symbolisms of

the entire universe.

Moat, in the Hindu mythology,
Moat is symbolizing the oceans

that is surrounding
Mount Meru.

In Hindu mythology,

the five peaks of
Mount Meru are the center

of the universe.

The heavenly abode of the gods.

So, the Moats which surround these

temples are huge, and they
symbolize the ocean that

surrounds where the gods live.

The entire complex itself
symbolizing the

universe, right?

But, this temple, it's not only that,

it is the heaven on earth,
it is the place called the

highest world of Vishnu,
in Sanskrit it's called...

I believe
I read the translation,

It's a sacred paradise
of Vishnu as well.

The Hindu god, Vishnu,

Is the protector of
creation and Angkor Wat was

built for him.

Inside the temple are
over 12,000 square feet of

intricately carved reliefs.

One relief was created
to link king Suryavarman II

to Vishnu himself.

Look, you can see that by relief,

the king who build this temple,

and if you look
closely over there,

there is an
inscription saying...

Meaning that he is the king
who went through the highest

world of Vishnu.

Archaeologists
aren't sure whether

the king is buried here,
but local people believe that

his spirit resides here
in Vishnu�s paradise.

That paradise, that heaven,

lies at the top
of the central tower.

So they believe that Suryavarman II's

spirit would inhabit these
towers in the afterlife?

Exactly, exactly, exactly.

If you look at the steps, you
know, like the wider the step,

why it's too narrow, you know,
like it can be implied the

ideas of that you are
approaching the worlds of god

is not that easy.

Alright, well,

let's not wait a moment
longer, let's go up.

Please come.

The peak of the temple
was believed by the

khmer to be the highest
reaches of heaven and the

realm of Vishnu himself.

David, what do you think?

I think that everyone is impressed

by your ancestors.

Yeah, yeah.

This is phenomenal.

Perhaps they were
building such immaculate,

beautiful structures
to entice the gods to inhabit

these structures so that
the priests, the king,

would have had this
opportunity to have a direct

connection with the supernatural.

That�s true.

Even if you're not a spiritual person

you can feel the aura of
this kind of place, you know,

we really are
at heaven on earth.

Angkor Wat is
an impressive example of

one man's attempt to
build a heaven on earth, but,

I wonder does it have
to be so monumental?

So elaborate?

2,000 years ago,
in Galilee and Jerusalem,

a man called Jesus
began his ministry.

He told his followers
that they would inherit the

kingdom of heaven.

I've always struggled to
understand what he meant

by that, whether the
heaven he spoke of was

up in the sky or down
here on earth.

There's one group of
Christians that might know the

answer to that question.

The Assyrian Christian church
dates its foundation to just a

few years after Jesus�s death.

It claims its theology is
what Jesus himself believed.

For them, heaven means
being close to god,

hell is being far from god.

The Assyrian community's
home is now called Iraq.

So, I wanted to understand
how you can find a piece of

heaven when you are living
in what became hell on earth?

I've been invited
to break bread with two

Assyrians from Baghdad.

Hi, how are you sir?

Just fine, how are you?

Mervat Schlyaman...

Nice to see you.

And her son, Mattius Aneuam.

Hi, my name's Mattius.

Mattius.

Nice to meet you, have a seat.

Would you like some tea?

Thank you, that would be nice.

Ah.

You're from Iraq?

Uh huh, yes.

But you're not Iraqi?

You are?

We�re Assyrian Christians,

we lived in Iraq
for over 2,000 years.

How old are you?

I'm just kidding.

But the Assyrian Christians
have been there since

the time of Jesus?

You were in Iraq and then the

civil war broke out?

Yes.

That's the insurgence against

the government?

And you were still there?

Yes.

During the war?

Must have been awful.

She�s saying,
before the war started the

Muslim and the Christian
community they were all

peaceful, everyone was
treated equally, but,

when the war started everything

started going downhill.

Is that problematical?

That you were
Assyrian Christians in a

largely Muslim country?

There was no law and order between

the communities, and
the militants thought that

the Christians were working
with the American soldiers,

so, started creating problems.

The insurgents,

they put bombs in cars and
they used to really to put 'em

like in front of churches
and other religious areas and

they'd blow 'em up.

Didn�t that frighten you?

She said, yeah, it frightened us.

We hear like that
church got blown up,

it struck fear in our hearts.

We started getting threats.

Threats?

Yeah.

What kind of threats?

"We�re gonna Kidnap
your son and kill you."

Wow, so then what?

You left Baghdad?

Yeah, we did leave.

Where'd you go?

We got onto a bus
with some of our

clothes and we
just went to Syria.

Out of the frying pan into the fire.

Within a year of their
arrival in Syria,

Marvat and Mattius faced
A new threat, ISIS.

We actually Filed
applications with the

United Nations and they
actually accepted us to come

to the United States.

Welcome to the U.S.

Thank you.

I want you to, for me,
to make a comparison.

Your time in the hottest
part of Iraq and the hottest

part of Syria,
and your life now?

It's life here, freedom.

Freedom of religion,

it's really different to
come here, to America,

I do think between the
heaven and hell and I compare

it to my life.

Mervan and
Mattius have joined other

Assyrian refugees in
California's central valley,

where they can live
and pray in peace.

Mervat and Mattius have
lived through hell on earth,

they were chased out of two
countries because of their

faith, but, the promise of
heaven rooted in a tradition

that goes back to the time of
Christ gave them the strength

to find a better life,

they made it to
their kingdom of heaven.

Finding heaven on earth
is a goal for many faiths

around the world.

But in the jungles of Mexico,
the faithful dared to step

into their own heaven.

In an underwater graveyard.

As a youngster
growing up in Mississippi,

Hollywood seemed
impossibly far away.

A land I only dreamed
of ever seeing.

Many faithful think of
heaven the same way,

an impossible realm that
you will never set foot in,

in this life.

Or is heaven a place where
you can come back from and

tell the tale?

In Mexico�s Yucatan peninsula
the ancient Maya believed they

had found entry ways to
heaven through water filled,

underground caverns.

Called cenotes.

Archaeologist and National
Geographic explorer,

Giamo Dianda and his
colleague, Dante Garcia,

are here to dive
at two cenotes deep in

the Yucatan jungle.

They are searching for
evidence that the Maya entered

these cenotes to offer
human sacrifices to their

god of rain, Chaac.

What�s up?

Good to see you again, man.

Nice to see you again.

Pedro Flores is a descendant of the

ancient Maya people
who lived in this area.

This is the cenote that I talked

to you about.

Oh this is great,
it's a great entrance.

It�s very mystical for me,
the cenotes,

with water, is the closest
doorway to underground heaven.

This is the threshold
between our world,

physical world, and
the spiritual world.

And the world of gods
like for instance Chaac.

Maya legend says the rain god,

Chaac, lived in the
clouds, the heavens.

But his heaven also extended
underground where Chaacs

avatars scoop up water
from the cenotes with

earthenware jars to make rain.

Thunder is the sound of these
jars being broken open and

releasing the downpour.
The rain was vital for the survival

of the corn crop, and,
in turn, the Maya people.

Archaeologists
believe ancient Maya

would come to the cenotes and
offer human sacrifices to

bring the rain.

Before Giamo and Dante
Enter the cenote Pedro

makes an offering to Chaac.

I just asked permission you, Chaac,

the father of rain,
father of water, thunders,

he's the one who gonna
help us to go in safe and

get back safe.

Thank you.

Go.

Giamo and Dante dive 100 feet

below the surface.

They discover some carved
stones which Giamo believes

could be over 1000 years old,
but no sign of human remains.

Giamo hopes they will find
proof of human sacrifice at

another cenote that's two
and a half miles away.

So we rappel down
and suit up and make

a quick look, we will forage.

Access to the second cenote requires

the divers to be lowered down
to the water 30 feet below.

Giamo and Dante discover
some pottery, and then...

the evidence of sacrifice
they've been looking for.

This is the ultimate
offering you can

make to gods, human blood
or a human life.

So, in times of desperation,
big droughts, no rain,

no agriculture, it's maybe
time to do a sacrifice and to

appease the gods and to
ask for them, to beg them,

to make rain.

The ritual importance of
these places, cenotes and caves,

they are strong, they have huge,

important energies that
the Maya knew about,

and these people
supposed to, sometimes,

carry a message for the
gods that live there.

The Maya believed cenotes were

passageways to heaven,

some who ventured into
those waters returned,

I'm sure they
told incredible tales of

what they saw.

Across the world, in India,
Hindus also believe they have

a passageway to an eternal
world, the Ganges river.

It leads to a state of
pure energy called moksha.

Hindus believe
in reincarnation,

but when they reach moksha,
their version of heaven,

they don't return to earth.

We can't ask them any more
than we can ask the Maya what

heaven is like, but, today,
thanks to modern medicine,

people occasionally die
and come back to life.

Perhaps they have tales
of heaven to tell us?

To learn what heaven might
be like I�m going to speak

to a woman who claims she
went there when she died.

Would you like to come and sit?

Surely.

A physician's assistant
named Krista Gorman.

You had a near
death experience,

I'm talking to a real,

live woman who had
a near death experience?

Uh huh, yes you are.

What led up to that?

Well, I was pregnant
with my daughter and

I went in a week before
she was due because she

had a problem with her
kidney, not only that,

but her heart rate
was dropping very low.

So, they said, you know,
we need to do a C-section,

and it was too
dangerous to wait.

I started having trouble
breathing and I passed out.

They lost my pulse
for eight minutes.

Can we define that as death?

In the clinical sense, perhaps.

My heart stopped beating,
I wasn't getting any blood

flow to my brain.

Okay, so, you pass out.

Then the next thing
I remember was being

very far above my body.

I saw the body laying there
and there were people around it,

and I was still me,
I was still Krista,

but I had no relationship
with anything that I

was witnessing below.

It�s happening but you're still

not involved in it?

Correct.

I felt this tugging to my left,

something kind of
pulled at me a little bit,

as if to say, come on.

And I, yes, okay, I�ll go.

I just started moving.

Through the wall and
into this bright white space

that was just a flash.

I came out into what
I called my Eden,

it was a space that
was incredibly beautiful,

green, rolling hills, beautiful,
blue sky, there was a deep,

evergreen forest, and to my
left there was a moss covered,

rock waterfall, and
it was beyond beautiful.

I felt like I was at one with it and

it was one with me.

I was flanked on both sides
by what I refer to as my

spiritual guides or what
we would call angels, here,

they were very tall and thin
and almost like they were

wearing drapes, and they
communicated to me that I

could either stay in
that place, that Eden,

I could move beyond
that to what came next,

or I could come back here.

And as soon as I
made that decision...

I started to move backwards
very, very quickly,

and they sort of turned to me
and communicated well if you

choose to go back you need
to share what you learned here,

and I had this feeling
of tremendous love

just permeated me.

Awesome.

Yeah.

As far as I can tell, you

just described heaven.

It was heaven, it was my heaven.

When do you get back to the time that

you know, oh, wow, okay,
I'm right back here.

They were able to get
me back and awake

on some level roughly
24 hours after the event,

and I woke up that morning
just wanting to, you know,

shout from the hilltops
what I had learned,

what had happened to me.

Religion, got one?

My religion is love, you know...

God, to me, is love.

That�s what we were taught when we

were three years old.

God is love.

And it's that simple.

We are love.

Now, hold on a second,

you're gonna say to the entire
world it's as simple as that?

For me it is.

Well, I have to believe that it's

as simple as that.

Yeah.

All of this we have discussed is

around the birth or
attempted birth of a baby.

Which is it?

The birth of my daughter.

So you have her?

She is a reality?

Would you like to meet her?

Of course.

Let�s go.

Hey Maggie.

Hi.

There�s somebody I want you to meet.

What are you doing?

Nice to meet you.

What?

Don't I get a hug?

Oh hi!

Oh my goodness.

Okay, alright, you know
we're here to talk to your mom

about you'alls experience?

Yeah.

How do you feel?

I was ten, 11, when
she first sat me down and

talked to me about it,
and when I first heard about

it I didn't really
understand it all that much.

It went over my head.

After that I was around 14
when I finally realized why

she thinks so highly
of this experience,

and I can finally
understand how to apply it

to my own life.

It makes sense
to me that at ten your mum

explaining to you your birth,
that's about as far as you

can go with it.

Uh huh, yeah.

Until things start to percolate

Over the years.

Yeah.

Well Maggie, darling, I am so happy

To see you.

It�s such an honor.

I mean, particularly
knowing mom and

you and your trip together,
I am happy to see you here.

Thank you so much.

So many faiths have so many beliefs

about heaven and hell.

But Krista,

like so many other survivors
of near death experiences,

came back from her trip
with an overwhelming

feeling of love, that's heaven.

Heaven is simply love.

And that's the power of
heaven and hell, I think.

How they affect us emotionally
and fill us with love of our

brothers and sisters and
fear that drives us away

from evil and hope
for a brighter future.

It drives us to make
a positive change,

not in some other world
but right here on earth.

My journey to understand
heaven and hell has taken me

from the bowels of the
earth to the gates of Eden.

From people who live in
the shadow of the inferno to

those who bathe in the
light of paradise.

Heaven and hell
are not just ideas.

They're a part of us.

A part of what we
yearn to escape.