When Vincent Tolman was declared dead for 45 minutes after a tragic overdose, he embarked on an extraordinary journey to the afterlife. Guided by a spirit, Vincent witnessed profound truths about love, authenticity, and the power of thoughts—lessons that would forever change his understanding of life and death.
Vincent Tolman’s life began in Arlington, Texas, where he was raised in a strict and disciplined household. “My dad had spent some time in the Army and really liked the discipline of the Army,” Vincent shared. As a young man, he struggled with authority and often turned to fighting to release his frustration. But his life took a different direction when he discovered bodybuilding. “The better my body looked, the more attention I got, and I liked that.”
Bodybuilding gave him a sense of purpose, but it also led him down a dangerous path. Vincent relied heavily on supplements to push his limits, and one decision changed his life forever. “We ordered a muscle recovery product from Thailand. We later found out what we were getting was a 100% solution, while what we were using in the U.S. was a 5% solution.”
The Day He Died
On a Saturday morning, Vincent and his friend took the supplement, excited for their workout. Right away, he felt something was different. Vincent became dizzy and nauseous but thought food would help. As his friend began to pass out behind the wheel, they stopped at a Dairy Queen. Vincent barely made it to the bathroom before his body began to shut down. “I was passing in and out of consciousness, and my heart was starting to slow down. The last thing I remember was seeing the whole room start to spin, and I passed out onto the ground. My body started to vomit to try to eject what was causing all this, but as it did, I breathed it into my lungs, and I suffocated.”
When paramedics arrived, Vincent was unresponsive. “I was seeing it from the ceiling looking down. I never thought for a second that what I was looking at was my own body because I was up here.” They tried to revive him, but when nothing worked, they declared him dead for 45 minutes and zipped him into a yellow body bag. His lifeless body was loaded into the ambulance, but a rookie paramedic wasn’t ready to give up. “I could hear his thoughts... He felt like, if he was in charge, he would have tried harder and longer to resuscitate the body.”
Breaking protocol, the rookie opened the body bag and delivered another shock. The first round of defibrillation didn’t work, but the second sparked a heartbeat. That’s when the team snapped into action.
Meeting His Spirit Guide
While his body was being revived, Vincent’s consciousness embarked on a journey to another realm. “I felt like I was plunged into a pool of water, and this water was just like instantaneous peace.” Soon, he was greeted by a figure who radiated wisdom and love. “I thought he was God, but he smiled and said, ‘No, son. I’m your guide.’ His name was Drake.”
Drake showed Vincent the events of his life from a unique perspective. “As I was turning, I was seeing all the good things I ever did in my life. I started to see that I actually did quite a bit more good than I ever did bad. I got to see that many times, when I didn’t know, I was making a difference for people.”
Lessons From Heaven
Drake explained that Earth is a school, a place to learn and grow spiritually. “He told me, ‘Earth has always been a classroom, never a courtroom.’ Earth School had always been just a school, a place where we come to learn, to grow, to develop spiritually, to learn how to build with our thoughts and with our love energy, and build relationships and cohesive energies with each other.”
One of the first lessons Vincent learned was about authenticity. “He helped me understand that I had to peel away all those masks and allow myself to figure out who I was at my core.”
Love was another central theme. “Drake taught me that love is the strongest energy in the universe. It’s the building block of everything.”
Drake also warned Vincent about the power of thoughts. “He wanted me to understand that if I allow negative media or negative entertainment around me, it's going to get into my energetic body, and it will be hard to get rid of it. So it was important to not allow myself around that type of energy.”
A Glimpse of Heaven
As Drake guided him through different dimensions, Vincent felt a profound shift. Upon reaching the heavenly realm, Vincent was awestruck. Every object emitted light from within, symbolizing divine energy in all things. “I got to see all the plant life, the water, and the healing attributes of water in Heaven. It completely heals you of any energetic damage that may still reside in you from Earth life.”
For the first time, Vincent felt a deep sense of belonging. “I felt like I’d finally found my home, where I was supposed to be.”
Returning to Life
Despite the beauty of heaven, Vincent’s journey wasn’t over. “I then started to hear a prayer being given to my body.” It was his brother, pouring out his tremendous love. That prayer pulled Vincent back.
Waking up in the hospital, Vincent felt immediate claustrophobia. “I pulled everything off. I was on life support, so I had a lot of equipment hooked up to me.”
“The hard part was coming back to me; that was worse than death. It felt like a second death to be removed from Heaven.” He even contemplated suicide but knew deep down that he needed to ride this out. Eventually, Vincent sought professional help and began to heal.
A Divine Family Bond
After getting married, Vincent and his wife visited a little town in Wyoming, where they attended a historical presentation. As Vincent gazed at a slide, his heart stopped—there, staring back at him, was the unmistakable face of Drake, his guide from the afterlife. Beneath the image was the name Charles Cazier. Overwhelmed, Vincent rushed to his grandmother, desperate for answers. Her words, simple yet profound, shattered any lingering doubts: “Oh, you mean great-grandpa Drake. He’s famous in our family.”
In that moment, the lines between heaven and Earth blurred. Tears streaming down his face, Vincent realized that the guide who had comforted him, taught him, and walked with him through realms of light wasn’t just a spiritual figure—but a piece of his own family’s history. Drake had been a real man—a clergyman, a leader, and a cornerstone of his community. What had once been a mysterious journey now felt profoundly personal, tethered to love, lineage, and a deep sense of purpose.
A Changed Life
Vincent’s near-death experience transformed how he saw the world. “God is a part of my daily existence, in everything I do. [...] I learned that [life] is not about your jobs, not about your careers. It’s about your interactions; it’s about how you treat those around you.”
Today, Vincent shares his story to inspire others. “You are not the suffering that’s been going on; you are this higher being built out of love. Learn and grow, like when you shape a sword—by pounding it, heating it, tempering it, sharpening it. Choose to be a victor over your victimhood. Choose the light.”
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