At eighteen months, the young George Camden* swallowed a small portion of Drano, almost died, and in the process altered his reality forever. He awoke to find himself surrounded by not only doctors and family, but angelic figures of light that hovered around the room. Many of us can imagine a world that extends past what our human senses are capable of perceiving. Yet even those who believe this are often skeptical when faced with the confessions of a life like George’s. Here he reflects on his personal and social experiences and their metaphysical manifestations, and talks to Sensa Nostra about how he manages to lead a normal life with this curious reality.
Drano, a heavy-duty cleaning product, had practically burnt a hole through my stomach. The doctors forced a pipe down my gullet and pumped the chemical out with milk. I believe that during this near-death experience, the barriers between the physical world and other worlds were shaken loose. When I came back to consciousness I could see healing spirits hovering around the room. From then on I have born witness to these beings of light, or devas, as some refer to them, which is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘shining ones’. Perhaps it was the severe pain that seared this moment into my memory. I was only eighteen months old and couldn’t articulate the change to anyone.
After many years of research, observation and interaction with the beings, I have learned a lot about them. They tend to conform to traditional methods of classification: earth (gnomes), air (sylphs), fire (salamanders) and water (undines). Yet there are also spirits associated with things like parliament and multinational corporations. Even suburbs can have a sort of presiding spirit hovering above them, and when you move between suburbs, you can feel the energy change. The spirits are quite tactile. If you move through them or they through you, you feel their energy. Sometimes it’s warm, and sometimes unbearably hot, like fire. Other than their physicality, they often also provide me with ideas or understanding in one sharp moment of enlightenment. For example, the spirits basically gave me the ideas for my PhD in mathematics. This allowed me to complete it within ten months, significantly faster than the three to five year average.
At some points in my life I have spoken openly about my experiences. I gave lectures across northern Europe and took garden tours. One thing I would tell these groups is that spirits take on different forms depending on where they are, geographically. In India, for instance, whilst studying meditation, I saw devas shaped like enormous golden snakes and the deity Ganesha. Yet in Australia, spirits present in the typical Christian angel form.
When I was young, I visited a cathedral in the centre of Melbourne. Angelic beings hovered before the hunched forms of people praying. The angels seemed to deliver energy or blessings to these people. When someone left, a smaller angel, what I call an elemental, would often follow that person out. It’s as if devas present in the manner that is acceptable and coherent within the folklore and literature of that place. Their forms are too diverse to adhere to one particular view, and thus I do not attempt to justify a particular religion or philosophy.
When I was a teenager and a child, I was often afraid of what I saw. Yet as I grow older and stronger, have seen more and understand more, I have developed a relaxed faith that nothing bad can happen. One experience that helped me reach this point was while I was living on a certain street, and every day for six months I walked past a bush on my way to work. Every day I watched a nature spirit sitting within the bush. I didn’t know whether or not to trust it. I eventually relaxed and realised that the spirit must be a good presence, as the only thing that happened during that six-month period was that beautiful roses bloomed. There was no reason for me to worry. I allow the spirits to appear, and don’t ask too many questions. I am lucky enough to have the ability to step back from it all. My brain was not damaged to the point where I couldn’t recognise the difference between worlds. I realised, long ago, that I don’t need to pay much attention to them. If I did, I would probably end up in the loony bin. I have met many people with similar visions and more often than not they are crazy. They go off and do strange things, expecting to convince the whole world of their reality. If you have visions and they affect your whole life and are all you believe in, you can become unhinged—totally.
If ever there were a time to go crazy it would have been when I was in my twenties. In bed one night I rose up into a kind of energy ceremony. I was zapped with an enormous amount of energy and fully expected not to wake up in the morning. But I did… again with an altered reality. Suddenly I perceived an enormous amount of energy: auras, chakras, and energy transfer. It was too much information to be presented with constantly. I took a year off university and basically just rested and learned to meditate. After three months it started to dissipate. There are still times when I can see some spirits more vividly than others, but never as sharply as that year in my twenties.
Years later, I am able to control and dull down the visions. I can sort of work with the spirits and summon their energy. There is the law: energy follows thought. When you think about something you project a kind of line through which you can send or receive energy. For example, the healing angels at the hospital can help you make miraculous recoveries if you know how to interact with them properly. It’s not a good idea to talk about this to the doctors, though…
The more I talk about all this, the more you probably realise why I haven’t been talking about it. Many people are good about it, but most seem to think I’m a whacko. As I prefer not to deal with these people, I do not speak publicly about these experiences any longer. I am able to accept and live with the visions, as what happened to me at eighteen months has not damaged me to the point of permanent insanity.
I’m not sure whether there is a reason my two children—who also perceive the spirits—and I are able to see devas and energy. As I don’t know the answer to this question, I don’t have a vested interest in any of it being true or false. Basically, I don’t care. I treat it as a myth in the sense of the ancient Greek mythos. It could be true, but it might also not be. I am prepared for both options.
*Names have been changed
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