Terminally ill violinist claims to know what the afterlife is like after surviving 17 near-death experiences
One vision made musician Paul Robertson believe he was a husky dog bounding through the Arctic
A VIOLINIST who survived 17 near-death experiences claims to have seen the afterlife whilst he was in a coma.
Paul Robertson, a celebrated violinist, died of heart disease on July 27 this year, but believed he had seen death plenty of times already before he passed away.
The terminally-ill musician, who died aged 55, claims that he experienced death firsthand in his final memoir, Soundscapes: A Musician's Journey Through Life and Death.
In his book, Robertson discusses the series of near-death experiences he faced when he slipped into a coma eight years ago, following surgery on his ruptured aorta.
During the three weeks he spent unconscious in London's St George's Hospital, the violinist had a series of astonishing visions, which he claims are proof that there is a life after death.
In one near-death experience, he claims he was blocked from entering heaven by a group of laughing angels who smelled of aftershave.
Another vision saw him bathed in the aura of an "Asiatic goddess", whilst he claims a further supernatural encounter made him believe he was a husky dog bounding through the Arctic.
And other encounters made him believe he was witnessing a medieval pig slaughter and think he was lying underwater on a "ship of the dead".
Robertson, whose heart stopped for 34 minutes during his desperate operation, writes: "As I lay there waiting, I felt myself die - beautifully, ecstatically, transcendentally."
The renowned musician had previously discussed some of his darker visions publicly, claiming that he had experienced the Hiroshima atomic bombing, and spent days dying a painful death as a result of the blast.
An equally harrowing near-death experience made him believe he was in a departure lounge filled with dead people, where he was stuck for two dismal nights.
Robertson penned these final memoirs to share his visions, which wavered between depictions of heaven and hell, with the world.
At the end of his book, he writes: "Our time on earth is brief, but my only hope is to be able to leave the world with the lightness of a small bird."
Soundscapes: A Musician's Journey Through Life and Death by Paul Robertson will be published by Faber and Faber on September 1, priced £15.99.
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