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The Mel Robbins PodcastThe Mel Robbins Podcast

Near Death Experiences: The Ultimate Truth About Your Soul’s Purpose, Consciousness, & Oneness

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — This one episode will change how you think about your entire life – and what comes after life ends. You are going to learn how to let death, the regrets of the dying, and near death experiences shape your life. Joining Mel today in this deeply profound and moving episode is Dr. Zach Bush, MD. Dr. Zach is a triple board certified physician specializing in hospice care, internal medicine, and endocrinology. He is one of the most compelling medical minds currently working to improve our understanding of human and environmental health. He is here today to share his wisdom and insights from his extensive experience working with people near death and being with them during the dying process as a hospice physician. Dr. Zach is also going to share what he calls the “science of the soul” and the powerful lessons you can learn from near death experiences. He even reveals for the first time ever, his own powerful near death experience and how that has shaped his life. What you learn today will forever change you. Dr. Zach Bush’s website: zachbushmd.com For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: www.melrobbins.com/podcasts/episode-197 Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 00:00: Intro 04:27: How knowledge of near death experiences will COMPLETELY change your life. 07:53: Dr. Zach shares his never been told story of his near-death experience. 19:27: Why Dr. Zach believes the universe needed to bring him near-death. 21:20: This is what YOU can bring into your life from Dr. Zach’s experiences. 26:12: Mel describes an experience that made her feel more present in life. 29:41: This is how Mel learned to accept death and how you can too. 41:11: Dr. Zach wants you to take this advice with you through life. — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@UCk2U-Oqn7RXf-ydPqfSxG5g Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostDr. Zach Bushguest
Aug 1, 202442mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Near-Death Wisdom: Remembering Your Wholeness Before Your Final Breath

  1. Mel Robbins and Dr. Zach Bush explore near-death experiences, hospice work, and what these moments reveal about consciousness, the soul, and our purpose. Dr. Bush shares his own life-altering car accident and years of witnessing patients at the edge of death, concluding that we arrive and leave this life already whole. They redefine near-death experiences as any moment we drop out of the mind’s fear, guilt, and shame into a felt sense of oneness. The conversation challenges listeners to stop living in performance mode, release fear of death by reconnecting to their inherent completeness, and use nature, breath, and presence as daily doorways into that state.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

You are already whole; incompleteness is a learned illusion.

Dr. Bush emphasizes that we enter and leave life in a state of wholeness; what we experience as brokenness or lack is a mental construct layered on top of an unchanging, complete soul.

Near-death experiences show us what it feels like to be without fear, guilt, or shame.

In his own car accident and in countless patient stories, Dr. Bush notes a common pattern: people report an ecstatic, peaceful state where self-judgment falls away and they experience themselves as inherently beautiful and complete.

Most people’s biggest regret at death is having lived in performance mode.

The dying often realize they spent their lives trying to impress, conform, or make others proud instead of inhabiting their true self, and wish they had known their wholeness earlier.

Everyday moments of awe can function as micro near-death experiences.

Goosebumps from a child’s words, a profound moment in nature, or deep eye contact can briefly pull you out of mental constructs into direct connection and presence—practically the same state people describe in near-death events.

Fear of death often fades as you align your life with your values.

Mel’s own journey shows that doing inner work, making amends, and living in a way you’re proud of can transform terror of dying into sadness about missing more life, but not existential fear.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You are the most beautiful thing. You are the entire divine expression of your soul.

— Dr. Zach Bush

They're gonna come in whole and they're gonna leave whole.

— Dr. Zach Bush

The number one regret is, I was performing the whole time.

— Dr. Zach Bush

I used to be terrified of flying… and it dawned on me that I wasn’t nervous at all, because I’m actually not afraid of dying anymore.

— Mel Robbins

We are all twins in a womb right now, watching each other pass down a birth canal. And we call it death.

— Dr. Zach Bush

Redefining near-death experiences as moments of pure presence and wholenessDr. Zach Bush’s transformative car accident and Haiti deploymentLessons from hospice and ICU work about death, fear, and regretThe illusion of incompleteness, egoic performance, and needing others to ‘complete’ usUsing nature, breathwork, and awe to access soul-level connectionBirth and death as parallel rebirth processes and the continuity of consciousnessCommon regrets of the dying and how to live differently now

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