Posted Wednesday --- November 28, 2007 -- 10:15pm

It is one of life's biggest mysteries -- what happens after death. A Deerfield woman who nearly died says what happened next changed the way she lives today.

This experience is by no means rare. Thousands of people actually report near death experiences. The elements vary, but one common theme is a profound change in how people spend their future.

Much like some of her special-needs horses ...

"This is Cherry Pie."

Roby Rogers has escaped death.

"She was supposed to have been dead about 8 years ago, according to all of the veterinarians," Rogers says of Cherry Pie.

But Cherry Pie survived to teach Rogers about caring for horses -- a calling she never imagined to answer in such a big way.

"I was 43. I had a career that was on the fast track. I really had a life that I liked."

That's until she says a medical mistake in 1999 nearly cost her everything.

"As a physician, I couldn't see anything, but I could hear people talking. I knew I was in really bad shape."

But then, a source of relief appeared before her hospital bed.

"Two angels came into my room, and they were little cherub angels about two feet high," she says, "As soon as they came, the room was filled with light."

"Although I was still in tremendous pain, and I was still in my body, I wasn't bothered by the pain anymore."

But Rogers, still struggling to survive, reached out for another comfort -- the memory of a beloved dog named Brinder.

"I always said about that dog, when I touched her, I felt like I was touching heaven, although I'd never been to heaven, of course."

"And boom, that fast, there she was," she says, "I reached out to pet her and as I did, the angels moved from the foot of my bed to the head and escorted me out of my body."

What Rogers describes as her "energy" then moved through a tunnel of golden light.

"It was dark and yet I felt the presence of angels and the presence of the divine ...and I saw golden, you just go to the light," she says, "It's sort of like the tubes at the bank... the drive-thru tubes at the bank ... it's like getting in a tube and going whewt!"

Rogers believes she landed in heaven.

"We don't have any words to describe heaven."

But the words she heard while there eventually landed Roby here -- on Avatar Farm in Deerfield.

"One, I was told very clearly that the reason we're here is all about love and relationships," she says, "It's not about the job you have, the car you have, the home you have," she says, "It is about our love of each other, the earth, the animals, ourselves, everything."

And everything is inter-connected.

"I was shown a picture of the earth," she says, "The earth had an infinite number of silver cords that went from every point to every other point ... I was both shown and told that everything happens for a reason... that nothing happens by chance."

Rogers rescued Cherry Pie before her near death experience but now she knows why.

"As I was put back in my body, I was told that I was being put back on earth to be of service in two ways. One I was told to "talk about the angels," and two, I was told to "help the animals."

Knowing her work was unfinished, Rogers then returned to her old, earthly life but as a new, changed person.

"It was both the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me and the most difficult thing. What I love about it is the sense of purpose.
Unlike a lot of people I know why I'm here."

And she's reminded...

"It was right in front of the door."

... because angels still visit Rogers...

"I was cleaning the manure out of the barn, and all of a sudden I saw a little angel, about this high again."

The angel called on Rogers to listen...

"We are so distracted from ourselves and from our lives, and from what's really important after all, what's really important is love and relationships."

Because every interaction is an opportunity to spread love ...

"It's not always easy to try to achieve the responsibility that I was given, but I know exactly why I'm here."
... an opportunity ...

"I see my job as a messenger... "

... to spread a kind of heaven on earth, here at home.

"It's the place closest to heaven that I can get to here on earth."

Rogers says she is not trying to convince anyone. Science, however, is less convinced of an other worldly explanation. It's still seeking to prove a physiological explanation for NDE's. One theory says an NDE is a sleep-related hallucination.

You can learn more about Rogers' sanctuary by visiting:
http://www.heartlandsanctuary.org/

You also can catch a web exclusive on a group that meets every month in Madison to discuss near death experiences here at nbc15.com (See Above Video)

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QUESTION: Have you a near death experience?? Feel free to post your COMMENTS below.

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