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Rick Archer: Welcome to Buddha at the Gas Pump. My name is Rick Archer Buddha at the Gas Pump is an ongoing series of interviews with spiritually Awakening people. I’ve done nearly 500 of them now. And if this is new to you, and you’d like to check out previous ones, please go to batgap.com Bat gap and look under the past interviews menu, where you’ll see all the previous ones archived in several different ways. This program was made possible by the support of appreciative listeners and viewers. So if you appreciate it and would like to support it, there’s a PayPal button on every page of the site. And if you’re not comfortable with PayPal, there’s also a donations page that tells you other ways you can do it. My guest today is Reverend Bill McDonald. Excuse me. I’ll read a little bit of his standard bio that he sent me but then I’ll lapse out of that and let him elaborate more. What’s the matter? Oh, there’s a bug. There’s a bug on everyone’s desk. All right. We’ll look at this little bugs that get in the house in the wintertime around here. Yeah, it wasn’t an hour we’ll talk about owls during the Okay. All right would have been really cool but all shows up. Don’t bug me. Okay, I won’t bug you. So, reverence built revenue Bill’s life has been a spiritual journey spanning light slightly over seven decades. His whole life has been a mystical trip in search of gurus the paranormal and self discovery. He has written about his many spiritually transformative experiences and near death experiences, including supernatural events during his combat tour of duty in Vietnam. In his books, he has shared some incredible spiritual events that are beyond the common understanding or explanation. We’ll be sharing them in this interview today. His autobiography, warrior, a spiritual Odyssey, this one takes us on a life quest for love understanding forgiveness and enlightenment. His follow up book is this one alchemy of a warrior’s heart continues that mystical journey, including four trips to India, for even more profound experiences with holy men, miracles and His personal relationship with the divine. What he knows for sure, after all these years is that the only thing that is truly real is love. Bill is an author as they’ve just displayed an award winning poet, motivational speaker, artists film advisor, veteran advocate, Vietnam War veteran in which he won the Distinguished Flying Cross the bronze star and the Purple Heart, 14 Air Medals and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, he spoke around the world, including the whole list of countries. And he has been involved with a dozen films and documentaries, such as in the shadow of the blade, which was about Vietnam, I believe, and has been on over 800 radio and TV shows in the last 18 years. So he’s probably going to be kind of bored talking to me, he’s done so many of these things. Anyway, I won’t go on bed, because you’re gonna learn a lot about Bill during this interview. So welcome, Bill.
Bill McDonald: Well, thank you for having me on your show. Yeah, I checked your list of previous predecessors coming on the show. So I have a lot of a lot to own up to here feel big boots. So I try my
Rick Archer: best. Yeah. Well, as you and I were, Bill and I were talking about half an hour before we started here. And he was talking about the variety of people I’ve interviewed and kind of what a variety of spiritual people that are out there in the world of all different types and flavors. And we’re just reflecting on how isn’t that kind of true of the universe itself as, as a display of divine intelligence, which is gives rise to such diversity and abundance and display such creativity. So and we were also talking about how, you know, there’s no one path to the binary such thing and it’s good to be appreciative of everybody’s path, regardless of what form it may take.
Bill McDonald: Well, that’s, that’s kind of my philosophy. It’s, if somebody comes to me and they’ve got a certain religious belief or certain faith or whatever it is or path. If they’re happy, I’m happy for them. I don’t want to change anybody. If it’s working for you go With it, we we all don’t eat the same flavor ice cream. That’s why they got 32 flavors, right? So some people like chocolate, some people like vanilla, some people like 2d Fruity. So when it comes when it comes to our spiritual quest, it is exactly that our spiritual quest. So what do we need this lifetime? What do we need to add to this diversity of this rainbow we have? What energy do we have to give and share. And it’s so much about getting, it’s about serving, as I’ve heard some of your guests talk about before. In India, they got this whole thing about serving at the ashram and serving your guru and serve. To me, it’s it’s always about that, whether you’re serving your community, your family, you’re serving your wife, you’re serving your children. It’s not about giving, it’s about or it’s about giving, it’s not about getting right, so let’s just go around that nice.
Rick Archer: As one begins to read your books, you know, you get the feeling like Holy mackerel, this, this guy has really been through it. I mean, from your early childhood. And let’s go through some of it. I mean, just to get and and one thing that you say later on, I guess I heard it in an interview, I don’t it’s probably one of your books someplace, is that you were told by some kind of palm reader or somebody or tarot reader or somebody India that your soul is of the type that kind of volunteers to come here again and again and take on a lot of suffering.
Bill McDonald: Yeah, and you got you have to realize that I don’t make any pretentious. You know, this is it because somebody said it. But the readers might not he palm reader, according to the charts in the astral charts, you know, the Indian astrology. They all said the same thing that this is something I’ve volunteered for. I’m taking it on again and again and again. Now, whether that’s real, whether that’s true, it makes no difference. To me, the only thing that’s important is who I am right now, in this moment. Because I hear a lot of people, they talk about their past lives and, and this and that. And I go you know what, it doesn’t matter. Because you can’t prove any of it. The only thing you can prove is who you are, by how you live your life. And so that’s kind of where I’m at. So it’s like, I wake up every day, and I try to be the best me I can be. Yeah. And, and I’m finding out that I’m better today than I was yesterday. Of course, I’m older today. But uh, but I’m better in other ways. So yeah, I definitely see that. When I was in my, when I was in my teens, I thought I was smart. I was in my 20s. I knew I knew everything and my 30s I was right on it. And now as I got into my 70s, I’m realizing I don’t know anything. And what I did know, the only thing I really know is love. That’s the only thing that’s guaranteed. I know, I know what I’m loved. And I know when I give love, and I feel love. Everything else is theory. You know, it’s what this isn’t me.
Rick Archer: Yeah, and I’ve heard you say God is love. And obviously that’s a almost like a cliche bumper sticker phrase, you know, that people say? So, what is what does that mean to you that God is loving? How do you reconcile that with all the suffering that you’ve encountered, and that people in the world experience?
Bill McDonald: People? Here’s the thing, let’s talk about suffering. First off, there’s pain. There’s painful things that happen to people, there’s what could be classified as negative aspects of their life and their life experience. But suffering is a choice. Pain, sometimes you can avoid it’s subtract for your life course. It’s part of your journey. But choosing to suffer or not suffer. That’s the key. What I believe that everything is made in God’s image. That means atoms, everything, Table Rock, you the dog, every, everything’s made the same thing. And I think that what holds that substance together that holds those molecules together that the corks, the strings, the atoms, whatever that energy is love. It’s like you call it light. You can call it love. You call all you call it whatever you want. But it’s basically I feel it as love. And so I experienced life on a scale of how I measure life. So I’ll measured by love how much love and light is generated. And to me light Love is everywhere if you open your eyes. Better yet, if you open your heart, you’ll not only see it, you’ll find it and you’ll generate it for others.
Rick Archer: One way I would understand what you just said is that you know love abhors disunity what love wants to unify. And it’s a unifying force between people, between people and animals between anything that where love is displayed or expressed. It’s uniting. So you know, when you say that the corks and the strings and all that are, you know, you are kind of united by love. And when we say that God is love, then maybe we could say that, yeah, what we experienced subjectively as love is the human experience of a deeper force in the universe that that kind of binds it together and keeps it keeps it functioning. Could you say that?
Bill McDonald: You said a wonderful, you’re gonna find if you talk to me long enough that I’m a very simple soul. I’m a simple guy. I am more childlike than I am adult, like, I don’t use highfalutin words, I don’t use all these great philosophies and cool. I don’t quote any books. All these great Indian classic site. It’s so you know what the stories I don’t know him, or I’ve heard him and I don’t remember him. I function on the level what I experience. And if I experienced something this, I tell somebody, and they go, Oh, that’s somebody that’s this that I don’t care. I experienced it, I felt the love. That’s all that counts. It doesn’t matter if it has a analytical title, if you can classify it. I don’t if I have a mystical experience, score, unquote. I don’t analyze it. And you read my books, you know that things happen. And they happen often. And you know, this, this book here, Alchemy, which is 250 pages, and you go, well, it’s got a lot of stuff in there. The original manuscript was 650 pages. I had more stories I could use. So I said, You know what, let’s just get to the heart of it. And I condensed it down. I mean, is why write about 25? out of body experiences? One will do? Yeah, you know, we’re talking about this or that one example, that’s good enough. Because God has said, the universe is so diverse. There’s so many unique experiences. And I shared them not to say, Hey, look at me, here’s a spotlight. I talked about this earlier. And with you with Irene. I shared them. So other people could take that journey with me. Because a lot of people out there, good people, good souls, even people that are praying and meditating and doing all these things, and nothing ever happens. And to me, that people with the greatest faith are those that meditate with no, no tangible results, and they continue to do it anyway. They get up early in the morning, they do it at night, they do it at all, they’re in love with God, it doesn’t matter, anything happens, great if it’ll happen if it’s supposed to happen. They have more faith than I do. Because I sit down things happen. Anybody can have faith that they have the experience I’ve had. I mean, anybody, I mean, if you saw all these neat things, and healings and stuff, and visions, and but the person that has no experience, to me there operate on a level of pure love. And I always love these people for that. And I tell them don’t give, just just keep going.
Rick Archer: There was actually one of my primary motivations for starting this show about almost 10 years ago was that, you know, I live in a town where several 1000 People have been meditating for decades. And I knew a lot that we’re having great experiences, and breakthroughs and all kinds of cool stuff. And I knew a lot of others that were feeling discouraged and disheartened, because they weren’t having those experiences. And therefore they even doubted that these other people were having them who said they were, and I thought, well, let me just kind of showcase some of these people who were having these experiences, let them share them more publicly, so people can see that their peers are actually, you know, getting the promised result of all this spiritual practice. And, and it just kind of took off, you know, and then after a while, I started by interviewing people here in town, but then it kind of branched out. But that’s been one of the primary motivations for this is to give people everywhere, the sense that this spiritual development thing is real. And that is worth pursuing. And that it’s available to everybody not just somebody who seems to be special or Saint life or famous or anything like that.
Bill McDonald: Which Which gets me this whole special thing. There is no special race. There’s no special religion. There’s no special people. When you’re all special, nobody’s special. Right? When you’re all God. Then how could one part of God be greater than the other part of God? Yeah. Which which lends you to this whole thing about oh, how about these bad guys out there just people doing evil things? Well, they’re still part of God, it’s all God. And once you see there’s no differences between anything. It brings a great piece to one. And I think people need to realize that they don’t have to be special. You know, a lot of religions out there, and I’ll say a lot of culture, religions say, the leader will inflate people’s ego and you know, and getting titles and things and that and, you know, they feel special because they’re with somebody. Know, the lowest person, there may be the most advanced, you don’t know how it goes. So treat everybody as a saint treat everybody as a sage because, you know, something in the ever presence of having no time and no space being all time is now. That’s true. Everybody is a saint, the sage or Rishi, everybody’s an Ascended Master already. They just haven’t awakened in this moment. Yeah, realize that this parallel space over here is parallel time in the future, you call it? They’re not, you know, they are. They’re this great beam. And so that’s why people that meditate. It said that they can listen their karma. And you wonder how that happens. Because if they’re meditating now, and they’re doing these things, and praying and stuff, they’re actually helping evolve themselves in the past, as well as involving themselves in the future. So you’ve already changing your past. Past is not in stone. And neither is the future. And so these people that follow, like I’ve had, I’ve had readings and stuff if you follow that stuff, according to my support is so on my charts that I’ve had in some meetings, I should have been dead. 2016 was last time somebody told me what’s my death date? I mean, and I always I always say, no, no, I’ll know. But that’s not it. No. And, and how can one truly know that when they’re going to die even though I’ve been told God knows when you’re done being used, and you filled your dharma, what you were supposed to do, and you haven’t given up that’ll be your time to go. But as long as you still got once I still got an ounce of energy, physical energy, spiritual energy, mental energy. I have a list of things I’m still doing. I still have people that I still need to meet. Now you don’t let me let me tell you Sorry. Okay. Because I believe you read alchemy. I don’t know if you’ve read towards the back where I have a heart surgery.
Rick Archer: Yes, I was I read that part. Okay, so
Bill McDonald: let me talk about that because it ties into the nadi palm reading, which was where to kind of add,
Rick Archer: maybe explain what a knotty palm reading is. And also before okay, I was
Bill McDonald: a complete ignoramus, you know, as being very gentle with it. I had no nothing but when I was at the ashram and pulling up, and and going off comes to me and he says,
Rick Archer: he’s your guru, okay. And he has an ashram in Puna, which is in India, just filling in the blanks here. Go ahead.
Bill McDonald: There you go. And he goes, Phil, I want you to go down downtown pulling up. And I want you to get a naughty palm reading. And I’m going, I’m thinking, reading my palm. You know, that’s what I’m thinking reading the palm, you know, I don’t want a fortune telling you, you know, I don’t need a mentalist act or something? Because Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, he says they don’t read your palm. He says, this is ancient readings that they did 2500 to 5000 years ago. And when we talk about, he says, Well, the great Rishis of India, these holy men, they sat down and they channeled information for people coming in the future. And the future, I don’t know how far to future stretches. But it was from up to 5000 years ago. So you figured it’s still going today. So it’s probably hundreds or 1000s years more, I’m not sure. But they did millions of these. And they did these readings, and they had a scribe, write them on a palm leaf on the hard part of the palm and cut the fronds off and just the wood. And they wrote ancient Sanskrit or whatever was on there. And that is Schlacht them, and they saved these. And it was said that when you needed to have this information when that soul needed that information for that particular lifetime, because you could have several different lifetimes, you’re getting these things. I mean, you know, you come in at 18 119 100 or whatever. But when you’re ready to have it, you’ll find it. And so he told me that I’m going yeah, okay, I feel great. I said, I really don’t want to do this. It’s I don’t believe in he says no. For you. It’s real. You don’t have to believe in it. It’s real. I said, Well, how are they gonna find Mind. So he goes, Well, they, they take your thumbprint. Now,
Rick Archer: and let me just interject a question here. So they didn’t do one of these for every person who was ever going to be born, which would be billions of them. But they, they knew that if you went there, then they knew who was going to actually come to get the reading. And they did it for those people. Is that right?
Bill McDonald: That’s the way it sounded to me. Okay. And you’ll probably have people on your show that probably could explain this whole thing. You know, they’re not a chart people or something. But to me, simple explanation was, if you’re supposed to have this, it’s there. If not, it’s not there. Okay. So that was good enough for my feeble childlike mind. So my guru tells it to me, so I could explain. But when he says, They classified this my thumbprint, I’m just going, Wait a minute. thumbprint. He says, Yeah, you give me your left thumbprint, or your right thumbprint. If your man left thumbprint if you’re a woman, and then they look up into files and stuff. And I mean, they got these things filed by thumbprint and explained to me that unlike astrology, where you got 12 zodiac signs, you got 108 different indications on your thumb. So you got like 108 different subgroups. I said, Okay, so you got a million say, divided by 180, you still got 10s of 1000s of potentials. Right? So he says, no, no, no, the fight it. And then I said, Well, he says, and he says, I believe yours is going to be important. I said, What do you mean, in 20? You believe? Are they elsewhere? And he goes, Yes. He says they used to be all in one location. And then when the British were there, there, were stealing some of the the, you know, the scrolls and the palm leaves. And there was a fire destroyed some. So they took the collection of these from all the issues, and they divided them up. I don’t know what the number is. I’ve heard 1215 1920. But there’s various locations all around India, itself, where these things are stored. So even if you had one, right, and you went looking for this, and you go into Puna, it could be in Delhi. It could be Calcutta, it could be Mumbai. It’s so we told me that I’m going okay, what’s the chances of fighting the city says for you, it’ll be there. So I go to this place. And I told my friends and when when I say don’t call me by my name. Don’t exchange any conversation when I give these guys any heads up because I’ve seen I seen the Las Vegas mentalist acts, and I know how it works, right? They listened in, you know, and they pick up you got a wedding ring, you’re married, you know, and they pick up stuff.
Rick Archer: Now when your girl knew a lot about you, is there any chance he could have talked to them and give filled them actually
Bill McDonald: actually didn’t know that much about me? You? He didn’t know. Parents names he didn’t know.
Rick Archer: At that time. He didn’t know where your wife went to college and all that kind of stuff. None of that stuff.
Bill McDonald: There’s a lot of stuff he didn’t know. Right? Because yeah, that thought occurred to me to maybe just calling the head office parties. But my guru didn’t even know my birthday. So I go there, I sit down, I give him a thumbprint. And they go put your initials next to your name and I’m going, Okay, I don’t go by William Bell, put w you know this, let’s just test these guys, right. So I put w next to the initial, you know, and then the thumbprint. And an hour later, they call me in this little room. But sighs this little computer room. And it’s got an altar. And they must have seriously now 75 to 100 incense sticks burning. I’m interested like, roll and smoke. I’m just like, you know, every order you think of it has got candles lit. It’s got Catholic candles. It’s got Jesus statues. It’s got Buddhists. It’s got Krishna, it’s got Shiva. He’s got all the gods. It’s got everybody, they leave anybody out. And I’m going okay, fine. So this guy walks in Indian. And he’s carry what looks like a Nisha blinds, Venetian blinds, you know, the, the but this long, enter the solid material from the palm leaves, and they’re strung together with strings. So they’re all stacked together. So he had like, 20 minutes stack. And he takes it out. He goes through he says, Listen, I’m gonna ask you a series of questions. And as soon as you say no, that’s not your, that’s not your leaf, we leave that we go to the next one. Okay, so based on your thumbprint, this stack someplace should be yours. I said, Okay. So he asked that man, and so it gets to get through the sixth one. And he says, okay, intuitively, this is the reader. Intuitively. I know the seventh one is yours. He said we just answered yes or no. And I said, Okay, which is not yes or no, I said, Okay. Anyway, I laughed. He didn’t laugh. Anyway. So he goes, your name is four letters long. I said, okay, good guess I go yes. Because I go by Bill. And he says that it starts with B. I put w on my initial attorney because b Right. And then he goes, and then he reads it off to thing. He goes, bi lol Bo bill. And I go yep. Bill. Yes. And he says, and your father’s name was exactly the same as yours. Notice he says was an exactly was being he just died. I only found out a few months before that, that my father died 1973 And this was 2010 I think. So I just found out recently my father has died. So that’s information I wouldn’t have had been there the year before. So that he goes and the names exactly the same. I am William H. McDonald, Jr. i Father was William H. McDonald, senior. So it’s exactly the same. And I’m going okay, that’s impressive guests. I’m thinking man, what do you got? They go to wait a peek or something? No, where were they dig this up? So then he goes, and your mother’s name was mean, she’s dead. And she died 1990. And see my guru didn’t know that they know anything about that. And her name was any mispronounced it. He says Marcel. He spelled it out Marcela. And all this same script. On this thing written, or whatever is written in whatever language is written in. Phil and Marcela are spelled out in English letters. Now realize when it wrote these things. I don’t know what the relationship was England. I don’t know if they had English letters in India or not. But it’s in there with English letters.
Rick Archer: They didn’t have it. 2500 years ago, that’s for sure. Oh, so it’s like, I think they had an England back then.
Bill McDonald: Yes. So where did that come from? Right. Plus Marcel’s Italian name. Alright, so that kind of threw me for a loop of thinking. That’s I don’t think maybe the guy added it later. But I saw how old this thing was. I mean, it was all crinkly and fallen apart. I don’t know if it’s 2500 years, but it looked like it was at least seven or 800 years old. I’m thinking maybe they redo those things as they start to, you know, okay, right. Something age. I’m guessing that because it didn’t look 2500 years, it looked like he was hundreds of years old. And then he goes, and your mother’s dead? And I go yes. And he says, and your wife’s name is Carol. And I go, wow. Okay, I was impressed with that. I got my wife’s name. And she graduated from a prestigious university in America. So 25 years ago, there was no American, right? So some of this may be his intuition, put it together for the pieces. I’m thinking because I can’t read what he’s got there. But he says America, so maybe that was his add on. So I’m thinking all these things in my mind, though, cuz I’m a skeptic. I don’t want to accept anything at face value. So and he goes, he says, we don’t have a word for this in India. He says, but when you’re growing up, he says it was something like being a foster kid. You’re one of your parents, your dad wasn’t there. I know. That’s true. And you were separated from both your parents for a period of probably a year. And I was I said, Yes. And you’ve read my book. I was in hospital for years as a child taken away from my parents. And so there I was alone. So nobody knew that at the ashram, nobody. So that was interesting piece of information. Okay. And then he goes, and you got a son, and a daughter, and he gave some information on them, and a birth order and everything else and they were married and and then it says that they both love you. And then of course, I couldn’t answer yes or no. And that because that’s what I’d like to think versus what they think you know, you have to ask them, I say, so then he goes, your birthday. And it’s obvious that Okay, let’s see where he goes with this. I figure you could guess a year maybe. I don’t know how old I look. But you know, I’m 73 and a couple of weeks. You could tell this was a few years ago. And he goes, your birthday is March 16 1946. Yes, he says well, we’re unsure the hour the time says we think it’s a one o’clock between 110 and 130 in the morning, but for some reason. They couldn’t get it right. Now what he didn’t know was I when I was born, there was no doctor there. I gave it to terrible but it gave my mother an animal when she was in the hospital expect you know, Ray Ray delivered she’s I’m getting ready delivered on will be the judge of that right. So why the doctor was gone. hers was there. I, I was delivered right into the headfirst into a bedpan. bedpan. Thank you. So instead of a silver spoon in my mouth, I was born with a bunch of crap. So that was kind of like the beginning, anyway, but they didn’t know the story because the doctor was sent for. So the doctor didn’t pronounce me born until he got there. And they tried to guess at what time. So the doctor was trying to get between 110 and 130. And I think he gets about 115 or 120 or something anyway, so nobody knows the exact minute of my birth. And in this reading, they didn’t know my exact minute of my birth either. Which is unusual for these things, usually pretty sharp. And so when he told me that, that was an interesting thing, because it was historically, yeah, I didn’t even know the answer to that. So then he went through a whole bunch of other questions. And he goes, I’m gonna tell you this piece of information, he says, but I’m gonna change it because what’s written here is an antiquated, is because they didn’t know about things like to do now. He says, so my intuition says, This is what they met. You says, You just recently mean, within just a few weeks, you recently worked on a movie says in this thing here says you worked on a play. But says, intuition tells me what I’m doing this, that’s not a play. It’s a real movie. He says they didn’t have movies back then. So there’s no vocabulary for gaming. He said, But he just recently worked on a movie, but not as an actor. And I go, Yeah, and nobody at the ashram knew that I just helped with the ending of a movie called whatever was going on, I can’t think I want to know, that was another movie. Anyway, it just, it just worked on the I saw the film clip on this, and I didn’t like the ending of the movie. And I suggested to the, the director, you need more happy, upbeat ending. And so I got involved with this thing. And and so I made a suggestion. And the director just went really great with it and did even better than I suggested. But nobody knew that story. So the point is this, had I gotten there the year before the year before that, or the next year, that statement wouldn’t have been incorrect? Because No, it wouldn’t have matched. So that was the time and the guy told me this is to tell you this, is this the right time for you to get this. So then he went through telling me about birth in this lifetime, all you up to the moment I walked into there. And that stuff was right on. And that was interesting, because I looked at that saying, that’s a better reading, than somebody reading your future, which you don’t know if it’s anything. And reading the past, which could be all make believe, you know, make you feel good, and buddies this and that. You can’t bank on either of those two. But the guy tells you all the stuff leading up to walking in there. That kind of gets your attention. Because they wait a minute, this guy’s reading the Now moment, and previous now is in my memory. And then he went on and he goes, you’re supposed to it’s your dharma. It’s your duty. To write a book, talking about your guru, and Lord Shiva. At the time, I was working on it. In fact, I was in the middle of work. And here’s this reading says, This is what I was supposed to do. And then the guy goes, in spite of the fact that when you write this book people gonna say, who does Bill think he is? I mean, always tell all your stories and all this, you know, since spite of that, take those beatings, that’s okay. Because in the end, they’re going to smile upon your guru, they’re going to smile upon Lord Shiva, you’re going to bring people to them. And it’s not about you, even though the book will look like he’s written about you. In the end. It’s about their energy. It’s about spiritual quest for not just you, but for others. It’s about taking people on a spiritual journey, write the book. So other people are taking the journey. So he’s given this whole talk about that, and I’m going, wow. So I talked to you earlier about that. That’s why I wrote this book. It’s really written, especially the second book. The reader gets into it. It’s them on the journey. And I don’t give you a heads up how I felt later on. A year later, two years later, retrospect. It’s how I felt then. You know, what I didn’t know then. And when I know later, doesn’t count. And I take people on that same journey of discovery. That’s all I wrote the book and that’s how I was told to write the book. But they also warned me I’d get criticism. I mean, some people, some people, yeah, overwhelmingly not expected more. Well, it’s
Rick Archer: an autobiography. biographies are about one’s life. And I don’t think you come across as boastful or anything. You’re just telling him he had all these firewood experiences that most people don’t have. You’re just talking
Bill McDonald: about it. And what’s interesting is, I’ve had several people that have got through in the chapters that say, were with me for something. And they’ve come back to me later after they read the book, and they go, Wait a minute, I was with you during this year, you’re under telling what happened. And a couple of one goes, I thought you were right. I thought you exaggerated. He says, I’m finding out that everything you wrote about that I know about in there. You’ve brought the level down. You’ve under told it. You could have said so much more. And I go, yeah. I felt what I said was going to be hard enough for people to believe was, and I didn’t want to go that far. I just want to take people to the edge. Yeah. All right. All right. So then, then they go. And he goes 30 questions. And as Yes, yes. Yes. One of the questions was your he says, Your guru is more Shiva. And I’m going, Oh, that’s impossible. Nobody’s nobody’s a disciple of Shiva. And then he’s just the next breath. He just goes, your guru was going off the president guru. And I’m thinking, he just said, Shiva was my guru. Now he’s saying, we’re not. So it’s like, this is like Russian dolls. You know, is is all one, you know, is a guru one is it, you know? So that had me question I said, Yes, I know, some overachiever. So he gets through. And I thought he was done. So I reached into my jacket to get up my wall, and I started to pay him and he goes, No, no, no, that’s not the reading. What do you mean this up the reading? So it’s no, no. Now we got an index card. Now we know where to go to get your files. That was just to find out if we had the right person.
Rick Archer: I was just doing a blood test before giving you a transfusion and just want to make sure I had the right blood type.
Bill McDonald: Yeah. Anyway, so it’s like my blood type, which is be positive, which is my whole life, right? Yeah, be positive. It’s my theme. So anyway. So six hours later, I’m still sitting around there. And they’re working these astrology Vedic charts upstairs. And they got a guy that’s reading them in one language. I have an interpreter. Frozen think the guy’s name was real nice, man. Really nice band. And he was there for me to interpret from this old language. into English for me. And so I went upstairs, there was three of us. And we sat down and, and read my previous life. Because my guru told him, I had to tell him I want my worst sin from from the past. Revel in life, you know, that ties me to today’s situation. But I got to the guru, one of my worst sin was, and they said of me to share them, I got back the issue. Now the people that had it ahead of me, there was people that, you know, tortured, somebody cut off ahead, you know, adultery of all kinds. I mean, just theft wars. Oh, my God, were sin was this gonna be about right? So now realize this just makes a great story, because there is no proof positive about anything that I’m about to tell you. And so what credence anybody gives? It’s, it’s, it’s on faith. So I’m giving it the same way it was given to me. So people can accept it or not. This is what was given to me. So basically, the guy says, in most significant past life that connects you today with your guru. You had a lifetime in triplets now. Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, yeah. And you were at your present, gurus, ashram, you were his senior monk is Brahmacharya or whatever. You’re his main guy. And he loved you. They had a great relationship. They were friends. You did all these services. You’re a good man. But you committed a hideous crime. Count what I do. He says you had a fleeting thought about a woman you actually had fell in love, emotionally with a woman. And your thought about that. When you take into vows. The Guru since that and kicked you out and you had wandering the rest of your life. This would have told anyone wandering the rest of your life with you know, like full of crazy head and some years later, corded the chart, you ended up back in India. Pay that in the Ganges. You go down into water and you come up, and they’re in a blaze of light is Lord Shiva. And I’m saying like we only week see Lord Shiva should dead. And then next thing he says, and yes, you leave in a rainbow body with more children. And according to his chart, and of course, and this is basically great story again, creating SunOS he goes every lifetime that we can go back and look in this every lifetime at least 10 years. Every time you leave, you leave in rainbow body. You reach a point. You remember your who you are what you are which purposes. And then you go,
Rick Archer: there’s rainbow body. What is Rainbow body mean? Exactly?
Bill McDonald: Literally, I was all light. I mean, the
Rick Archer: physical body still floating in the Ganges, but your subtle body went out that
Bill McDonald: I didn’t even know if the body was there physically anymore. I was always I remember was he saying you just turned into a rainbow, you just push, you’re gone. Alright, so then he, he tried to say this is the way you ended every life and the way you’ll end this life. They go like it’s great. Very cool. I’d like to believe it. But who knows? You have to come back to the next lifetime and asked me that question. So I will tell you if I pass over, okay. Oh, sure. I want to go yet. So then he goes through. And he says, Now the reason we’re telling you that past story is when you had that fleeting thought it was just a fleeting thought he didn’t take no action, I had no desire to do it. The Guru put a curse on your mind, like Oh, my God curse. And this lifetime, when you met your guru, what’s the first thing he did for you? Well, I knew the guru, just within an hour or two. I was having epileptic seizures a couple 100 a year. And when I met the school, he just hadn’t had one since since 2008. Was not the whole story that we could talk about that. But anyway, so that the guy doing the reading says, what’s the first thing that Guru did for you? It took back that gave you back your mind? And that’s so you would believe and know that these two are connected? Number one, okay? It makes a good story. But how’d that reader know that I had epilepsy? How do you know that I had a problem. So that was kind of interesting. So then he did a reading for the future. And he says, he says most people we got a lot to say says versus a very short block of time. He says almost everybody can change their future. I mean, that’s, you got freewill, you got this and that he says, but some people when he says you’re one of these people, because of your dharma, your duty, which is supposed to do stuff is pretty much locked into stone. I mean, you could still mess it up, you could still change it. But it’s pretty much in stone that this is what you’re going to do. I mean, you still got the freewill to mess things up. But this pretty much, they’re pretty positive, that stuff is going to happen. And so you went down all these things that were going to happen with my health with a couple of neat things, which I’m going to go into the operation on, tell you where they came into. And and then he says, and you’re gonna write this book on sugar guru, and you’re going to spend your last years of your life talking about Shiva and your guru. And you will win people over. And it’s not about you, it’s about them in the end. And that’s your duty and you’re supposed to do it. And and then it gave me when I was going to die and how I was going to die and all that. What the only caveat. Was that a thing? Well, yeah, okay, they got something to cover the basis, right? You make a prediction and you go there’s, if Lord Shiva or Baba Ji or your guru have a task for you, that’s I’m done. Then you’ll be given that time to do it. Or when you finished your, your plate, and it’s done. If you serve whatever they’re supposed to do, then here’s what happens. So I won’t go into that but but I’ve looked at a lot of other people’s nobody gets death prediction. It just don’t do that. First off, there’s variables out there first, all of a sudden, it shouldn’t No. It didn’t upset me. It actually made it easier for me when I went through all these other things later on in my life. So there was a reason for me to know. And it also put me into a speed up mode. All of a sudden was like you know, I got sand slipping through the hourglass. I can’t just sit around here and wait to finish that book and wait to go and do these things. Alright, so let’s go where I was going, I’m going to a near death experience a near death like experience. My next year I go to India. And I have major heart attack when I’m there. I’m introducing Gordon off to his Indian audiences, I introduced him to the Women’s Club of Poorna 300 of the most influential women and that part of India, they all spoke English, and you know, even steam, even each other. Nobody spoke their native language. It was like every was college educated, alright. And I introduced them in Mumbai in different places. And just one venue, I didn’t introduce somebody, somebody else did, I was sitting up in the stands, also to have a heart attack and they fall down. And I’m in the background, nobody sees me. I’m laying down. And also the gurus give them this. Syria, this meditation exercise where you get power from the sun, and he stops the normal what he was doing. And all of a sudden, he’s telling these 1000s of people in the audience, they’re all kind of going what’s going on. It’s a wonderful way to focus on the energy of the sun. Now I want you to focus on the energy, the heart, I want you to connect the heart and the sun, and the energy going from the Sun to the heart, the sun to the heart. And it goes on for like 10 minutes on the sun to the heart and energy. And people are going, we’ve never heard this before, right? Meanwhile, I’m dying, laying down. Nobody’s even see me laying down in the crowd. And I’m getting better and better and better and better person, I’m standing up, and then he stops. And he calls me up on the stage. And he says, you make too much work for me. That’s pretty good. I got gifts anyway. Alright, so now robotic, his beautiful wife saintly being, she goes ill you have to leave India, time to go home. Don’t come back until you’re healthy again. So I’m at the ashram the last day. And I’m sitting there in the kitchen. And there’s like four people there. And this kind of brings up a point because people say, Well, how can this person sees angels, I didn’t see any things versus delusional. I didn’t see nothing. I didn’t feel nothing. So here’s a here’s an example. For people in the room. This one beautiful lady from Scandinavia, but she was a teacher of yoga, you know, the exercise and all that stuff. And she just did a meditation and she’s sitting there and I feel somebody’s looking at me and I turn around and sitting there are standing there as she would Tish wore a vision lifelike body. She Ritesh was going off. Almost looks like him. When I’m telling you it was sheer potential.
Rick Archer: And I just want to add that tree up dishwasher or however it’s pronounced was Yogananda his guru. So go ahead.
Bill McDonald: And he’s standing there with his hands behind his, his waist. And he’s just looking at me. And I’m going and I’m feeling this great, great. Love my Kundalini energy. My spines kind of go into like helicopters, right? You know, that feeling? And then I’m going. I wonder if a bill ceases right. So I turn around. And I asked that girl. Do you see anything behind me? No, I don’t see nothing. We crazy. There’s nothing going on. So she had this guy from Texas. Young man from Texas. I go, you see what you see what anything behind me he goes, is a blaze of light behind you. And he says, I’m feeling loved. I go, okay. And then believe it or not, there was a Brian Yosef pitch. A young lawyer wasn’t a lawyer. So even they even lawyers could be spiritual. I’m sorry. Brian had to make a joke. But anyway, so Brian is sitting there and he goes, you ain’t gonna believe this bill. And I said, Try me. He says, I see. See Ritesh were standing there like garrafa was does with his hands behind his back, looking at you exact same way he does. And I go, yes, Brian. See exactly what I see. So there was a situation where the guy’s been practicing real long time. Brian really knows meditation and open open heart. Receptive sees exactly what I see. Which verifies what I’m seeing. Another guy meditated a good length of time, but his energy was that level he could see the energy, the light and field love. It could make up the whole image. When you see the brightness of the light, he knows what a great being there and the other one. So it makes you sometimes children see things that we don’t What you believe, right? So it’d be open to
Rick Archer: dogs, things that we don’t sell on. All right. So
Bill McDonald: I get on an airplane, I fly back, I collapse at the airport, in customs in Denver, Colorado coming back Sacramento, and paramedics got me for six hours. And I’m telling look, I got to get back up and see my heart, Doctor cardiologists, because they were elected put me on an airplane to go like, it’s two hours. That gave me an exam, medical just before I got on the airplane. And I was told the other end, I had to see a doctor immediately. No way they should have let me on the airplane. I mean, I can’t. There’s no way to do that. But they did, right. You don’t let a guy that’s collapsed at the airport, get on an airplane and fly and come on. Anyway. So So I fly to Sacramento. And then next thing, you know, I go see the doctor and I go in the doctor’s office, he takes a listen and he goes, nope, closer wheelchair, says the ER. Next thing you know, I’m in intensive care for days intensive care, because they can’t even operate on me because I’m so low. I mean, the energy is just practically gone. So four days of that, I put me in an ambulance, they transferred me to another hospital from Kaiser, they take me to Mercy Hospital in Sacramento. And I get there and they prepare me for the next day, they’re going to do open heart bypass surgery, quadruple bypass surgery. And my wife comes in she must, should I worry. I said that’s not my time. Now my time is okay, cuz, okay. So, next day, I go in there, and I’m laying on the table, you know, that cold metal table they put you on, and you’re naked, right? You know, and then get ready to catch up. You know, it only thing about open heart surgery, well, they’re going to take what looks like pruning shears to cut all your ribs, right? They’re gonna split it open. And, and then they’re going to put ice or something under somehow they’re going to stop your heart. Before they do that they’ve they’ve hooked up one of the arteries to a heart lung machine. So they stop your lungs, and they stop your heart. And you’re being kept alive, oxygenated by little box. It’s got tubes coming and going from it. And I listen to stuff I say, well, it’s like I’m dead. He says, Well, yeah, you’re, yeah, you’re artificially being kept alive. Basically, I say the Gish are dead because of the electricity goes out. You’re like, okay, good. So am I gonna feel anything? He says, Well, unfortunately says about 5% of the people that go on this bypass machine, because we have to bring down the amount of anesthesia we give you. They feel something, you’ll feel pushing, shoving, poking, you’ll, you’ll know we’re doing something. I said, Okay, I got no choice now, right? I’m getting ready to shut going out, right? I find myself unconscious on the tape. heart stopped, my lungs stopped. I’m, I’m gone. I’m no longer at that table, I have transfers the continent I’m, I’m in India, all of a sudden, I’m looking around. And I’m dressed like I normally dress in India, just you know, I’m looking around. And one of the predictions from the Nadi reading was, I was supposed to go to this temple in the south, seek it out, and then walk uphill two to four hours up this hill. And I know where to stop. But at the top of this hill will be waiting for me. All the Rishis you send it in once or whatever, all the rushes will be waiting for me. Not to impart knowledge upon you, but only to reopen. So you remember the knowledge. So basically, they’re just opening the book for you. Here you go. You will no longer have to ask questions. You can answer them yourself. I’ve gone okay, fine. So that’s what I was told there. So in this search experience, where I’m leaving my body gets where I’m at. I’m at this temple. How do I know it’s a temple? In total, so this is got to be the temple, right? Because I can’t see any Indian names. I couldn’t remember the name of it. But I’m going. I told me it’s gonna be 68 hours of surgery, I got time to walk up this hill. And I walk up the hill. And I’m in a physical body. I’m walking past people. I’m in a body.
Rick Archer: Was it like a dreamlike experience? Or was it as real if you were there in your physical body? Like
Bill McDonald: better than this? Okay. It’d be like you were sitting physically right from it was like, physical Yeah. And so I get the top of the hill when they’re sitting on log, couple of stumps rocks, standing around. Are these guys with beard funny hair. I mean, I knew who they were. I couldn’t tell you now the names. I knew they were. And they were standing there. There was a little fireplace, you know, fire pit going,
Rick Archer: how many of them were there?
Bill McDonald: I don’t at least close to a couple dozen. I don’t know. Okay. All I knows they were there. That was all the guys are supposed to be there. It’s all remember details of that. See, I had a child, I just enjoy the moment. You know, somebody else gonna go let’s see people what they were there. He smells and he cites things. You know, I don’t do that. I just go. Okay, here I am. Right. And standing amongst them. And, you know, I didn’t see at first was going off. You standing with these guys. His arms folded and just standing there. So I walk up there and I sit on the rock. And I’m just getting so much love. And, and then this was like a download like, computer, you download information. Sure it’s done. That was a bowl. It’s all closed. I had no questions I didn’t ask. I didn’t have to ask any. I didn’t have any questions to ask. I didn’t ask a single question. I just I was happy. So then this blazing light comes in out of this blazing light. This angel of death for a better word. This feminine voice. Beautiful, loving, feminine voice goes bill. You don’t have to suffer anymore. You don’t have to put up with the pain. You’ve done more than was asked. All you got to do is give up art. And go I promise you bliss. Love a long rest. And a rainbow body. It’s it just come with me. I promise you all that. I’m going wow. Okay, I’m ready to sign up for this right? And then gone off. Remember him he’s still there and he’s got his arms folded ego still. Don’t give apart. You could skip a few beats but don’t give up heart. He says you got duty to do you got God you got dharma. You’ve got people that are waiting for your message for my message for Shiva his message for love for answer something. You got duty and it’s I’m done. I’m going wait a minute. Okay. What do I get? He says, Well, I’m going to promise you pain and suffering. says yes. He says all your life when things happen to you that were really painful physically and stuff. You were blissed out always and went away. Do you have to take any pain pills, you’re always we’re taking that away from you. We want you to have real pain and real suffering. So in your life, you can become an example to others, when they have physical pain. You can’t just say well, no, you got to be able to learn how to handle it yourself. So you can teach them to handle the pain you lead more reading more meaning to them. And they’ll go wait a minute, let me get this straight or not. She wants to give me bliss and peace rainbows love and, and rest. And you want to give me more pain and suffering. Yeah, but it’s your dharma duty. Holy cow. So I’m thinking she’s got a heck of a deal going here. And then he does like this. And all around me in the the air space. So all these faces, like I read, you know, all these faces of people. Like I read all the spaces. And I was being shown all these people in Wales, and England, Florida, California, Australia, it was just people you’re gonna meet. Yeah, and maybe it was just gonna be a smile I given maybe it was somebody I was going to give hope to maybe somebody was going to hear my story. Maybe somebody would be inspired to do something to help somebody else. Different levels of health. Maybe they’d be inspired to seek God at a deeper level, not about me, you know, and they’d be happy with me nothing to do with me. Moving them to their next level, whatever their next level may be. And I was told, if you’re not here, this will not be done. You know, then to delay in the process at all. So anyway, so finally, I’m going through this whole process and all of a sudden, I’m feeling this book in the Poland, because obviously they had a season where and often in my physical body in India is feeling this like I got hands on safety of God. Well then all of a sudden there’s this shook electric jolt that jumpstarted my heart, boom and all sudden now I feel in great pain. And I’m I realized I’m in the body and I got my eyes shut. I know I’m on a steel cold metal table. And there’s people pushing, shoving rapid wires around my ribs, all kinds of cycle. Welcome back. Welcome back to the world of pain suffering, and it was painful. And finally, they wheeled me into recovery room and I mean they’re a couple hours I still got my eyes taped shut. They got tubes in me tubes down my throat tubes in my stomach tubes in my neck. And also I keep thinking about she’s also got to do is say, I want to go and I’m going to go this is all over. Right? This is tempting. So finally they take the tubes out and everything and a wife looks down at me to see if I’m okay. And, and I don’t know if she’s heard me or not. But in my mind, I said, I love you. Because realize that a to Dama throat came out and it’s all sore and everything. So I don’t know if I actually whispered I love you or if I actually said it, or if it was all mental, but I think she got the drift. So another eight to 10 days I’m in this process of getting worse. I didn’t get better after the operation was getting worse every day. I had five blood transfusions. I was just a chest cavity is filling up. I mean, everything was going bad. And one night they came to me it was like 1030 At night they go we’re gonna take you downstairs to give you an MRI and we’re going to see what why you’re filling up with fluid something. Something’s wrong. And we got to do it right now. So emergency Oh, okay. All sudden, the bed. Bedside phone also brings 1030 A night right. I gotta answer that. They go. No, no, no, no, we get. I said no. I have to answer that. So the nurse gave me the full Negril. Hello. That sounds like Elmer flood, which I can’t deal but pitcher Elmo foot say, Oh, well, that’s the way he was. That I was. There you go. There you go. The other end of folder here does this Indian voice school? Yeah. This is going off from India. Like how many goulash do I know? Right? So and then the next thing out of his mouth was Don’t Give Up heart. You can skip a few beats, but don’t give up heart. That’s exactly what was told to me. And what was weird was during the eight to 10 days after that surgery, every time I laid down and went to sleep or just was unconscious, I was back there on that hilltop having that same fight with the Angel of Death, with gore and off fighting over my decision. And that was going on for eight to 10 days. And the first thing out of his mouth after introduce himself was don’t give apart. And then he did something because he knows that a man of duty Don’t be in a warrior military guide everything. He knows I’ve been to duty. Loyalty is everything right? So then he lays this trip on me. He goes I got about 110 people here right now at the ashram. I just said I just send them now to the temple to Shiva temple to pray for you. I told him that was going to heal you wouldn’t want them to be disappointed, right? So be like God, if I if I die. I bring shame to my Guru. He just told him he was gonna heal me. Use the one thing you knew would work with me. Duty and loyalty. I couldn’t embarrass him. I couldn’t bear some by saying I’m out of here. All the other thing was nice. I’m gonna help people all that. But it was ultimately not my wife, my children, my grandchildren. You know, it just wasn’t. It was a guru gave his word and I didn’t want to make Him a liar. I see. Okay. And I told my wife I said I’m beyond the hospital in 36 hours. She was no way you came. I mean you’re dying. Right all these blips 36 hours later I was out of the hospital course I I just asked the question. What am I gonna do get out of hospital. So anyway, so I’m in the hospital the last the last day before I left. One of the other predictions in the nadi was that Baba Ji would come He would sprinkle water and oil on my spiritual eye on my head and he would bless me sometime in the future right and I think I was kind of odd prediction. Okay great. Why was sitting in the hospital bed all all sudden I feel this energy around me and there’s like a, like a crystal bowl turned upside down you can see through the energy bowl, a dome of energy around my bed. And at the end of my bed stood the ever youthful long haired Babaji with no shirt on with a pair of Levi’s Yeah, Levi’s, some kind of pants wasn’t like that it was pants. And and he’s pouring oil and water in my head and chanting in some strange. And I’m just blissing out, I’m going well, you know, if you’re going to be delusional, it’s a good delusion, right? That this is great. You know, nobody’s gonna believe me. I don’t even believe me. This is cool. This is good, right? Nobody sees it. So I’m home the hospital. The next day, my daughter comes over to see me and says, you know, David Ryan, he was our old neighbor. He was like 40 years old or something. He came by to visit you at the hospital the other day? And I said, No, I didn’t. I didn’t see him. This is Oh, yeah, he saw you. He came into the room and you had some crazy young Indian guy with a shirt off long hair. It was pouring stuff in your head and chanting this crazy stuff. And he didn’t want to embarrass you. So he left. So I told her the story. And so so there’s a case where David came. And he didn’t believe in either stuff. But he was like validation. For my experience. Otherwise, to this day, I thought I was just drugged up or something. Right. But it gave me validation that he saw it. And why was when I get out that dome. I looked around the hospital and there was a six minute time gap. I don’t know why, how come. But I was six minutes into the future. I know that the doctor was going to walk by six minutes later he did. And nurse was going to come in six minutes from now. I mean, I was in this thing for half a day where everything was six minutes ahead. I knew it was strange thing never happened again. But it’s just an odd thing. But it happened in correlation on that. So that was the Nadi reading. And that’s how tied together with some of that. And the nadi palm reading is about 90 Some percent complete on all the predictions. So far, it’s been like, for example, one of the predictions was good to have trouble with your skin. cause serious skin problems. Well, you know, you read my book, you know that they cut most of my nose off, and I had it rebuilt cancer. And looks pretty good. Right? That’s another great story. But we got to start. Anyway. Yeah, I’m sure that story. Oh, let’s
Rick Archer: let’s do it. But let me ask you a few questions. Based in upon things I read in your book that and some notes that I read pass me here. I want to make sure to get in these questions. But we’ll get into your nose story too, because it’s an interesting one.
Bill McDonald: Well, those Guy
Rick Archer: Yeah, I have quite a nose myself, actually. You know, here’s the profile. I remember my father saying to me one time, where did you get that beak? Big beaks you like I was probably getting some old stories to logic. Okay, so there were a couple stories in one of your books, where one was you’re quite young, five or six years old. And these little beings came into your room, like they look like little ETS or something. And you were terrified. You’re screaming bloody murder. And your father came in and told you to shut up and then he left, then your stepfather. And then you started screaming again, and your sister heard you from the other room. But she was afraid to do anything. She stayed in bed. And I guess your father didn’t hear you again after that. But that was one aspect of the story. And then another aspect was like, maybe five years later, you’re camping in the backyard with a friend. And you in around midnight, you saw this big, big light come down into an adjacent field. And next thing you knew it was Dawn, like and you hadn’t slept. It was like last time. So I’m just wondering whether you think that aliens have played a formative role in your life that they somehow you know, realize that you have a certain destiny and tinkered with you in some way in order to somehow help you fulfill that destiny. This otherworldly beings I mean, let me just add one more thing when we talk about aliens. I think if we if we imagine in my understanding and opinion if we take a Venn diagram diagram, you know how the circles overlap like that. I think There are probably other worldly people from other places in the universe that that, that does it. Yeah. And then that’s a second thing. There are beings who live right here on earth as we do but live in other dimensions astral or celestial, whatever. And then there’s probably an overlapping part of that Venn diagram where there are. So people from other universe, other galaxies or whatever, have the ability to travel inter dimensionally, and could appear on a subtle level where people couldn’t even see them. But anyway, that was just a little expression of my opinion. But what do you think about my question? Did you think that you’re somehow primed to have this?
Bill McDonald: Yeah, it’s, it’s interesting, because what’s okay, let’s, let’s talk about that experience. My brother who was in the same room, slept through it all. And you were screaming, your mother and stepfather slipped through the whole thing. My two sisters were awakened, they were in a different room. So when I left my room, because they were all there, and when the other room they came in there, and then a little boy’s low beams. And the next thing we know, it was morning, and they’re standing there by the window and kind of given us one of those full consigns
Rick Archer: or something long and prosper. Yeah, it’s
Bill McDonald: like, like, like, like loving parents or something. It wasn’t. It wasn’t they weren’t religious. Yeah, to me. I wasn’t intimidated at that point in time. My two sisters had a different experience motional experience from that, and neither one talked about it for over 50 years. I mean, we never had a conversation about that. Till I talked to my little sister Marsha, like 57, like 1950 51 or something. And we didn’t talk about it. I didn’t talk about it to her till 2000 Some. And both of them, you know. They were afraid of the dark, they were afraid of things, something happened. Maybe they were treated differently or whatever. And I, there’s a part of me says, oh, you know what? Last year, I went and got an MRI at the VA. Because they were checking my my nerve, that nerve damage in my wrist. Because I was having some issues with the neck. And so they did an MRI and X ray on the wrist. The guy goes, Well, you got a piece of shrapnel here from the war. I guess he didn’t read take it out. And I said no, there’s no shrapnel there. I didn’t get wounded there. And the guy shows me is when you got a metal object in there about so big irregular shaped how to get there and I’m going
Rick Archer: so two things an implant alien implant. Well,
Bill McDonald: there’s I don’t remember ever getting wounded there. Right? You know, if something is inside their big, you know, piece of metal. I mean, it’s gonna bleed right. So that was odd. That was just a little side note that I didn’t know when I wrote that book. But I think they’re interdimensional beings. And grown off. He has an interesting quote, I used him in one of my books. I don’t know what chapter well, I guess it was that chapter for that story. He says there are no aliens. There’s only Ascended Masters. Which I thought kind of fit. It fit what I was writing because there was a part of me kind of believed they were imparting something to me. There was knowledge being exchanged. There was a gift, it wasn’t just to take. And I was able to hit whatever it was they were giving me. And I was very psychic. And of course I had nosebleeds forever. And all my youth and everything and, and I kept having future visitations the only way I could say because you know that field where you’re in bed, all of a sudden, like you 500 pounds, you’re back in your body again. I mean, every day was like that. It’s like return I’ve been someplace I’m coming back right. And sometimes I wake up and there would be a hand on my on my hand. And then soon as I focus, it’d be gone. So somebody was taking me on nightly journeys, things were happening. I hope that was the devilment and, and beneficial I’m the product of it, and I don’t think I’m damaged. I don’t feel like a victim of whatever was, I think in depending on your state of wakefulness, in various stages of spirituality, I don’t know. But some people can’t handle that kind of experience. And I think it could break and cause but again, a normal person would have questions like, oh, this happened. Why? What what was that? You know, and talk about No, okay, it happened. These guys came in a story. But that’s, I think one of the reasons I have unique experiences is I don’t overthink. I think too many people analyze things. And when you analyze things, you’re looking from the mind, the intellect, and not the heart of God, God shows me that great. I don’t have to know why. Why do you think levitate? Why did this happen? Why? Who cares? It happened, right? I enjoy it. Thank you for the gift. Great. Let’s move on. I’m, I’m grateful for all that’s happened to me. And that includes not only the supernatural, mystical, but also the pain. For all that pain, made me who I am today. And I’m forever grateful. Because it may be maybe a better father. If to ask my kids how good a father was, maybe I would have been a lot worse. But maybe a better grandfather, maybe a better husband, makes me a better friend. What if there’s one thing I’ve learned through all this, and it’s love. And the greatest way to show love is through Loyalty. Loyalty to your family, to your tribe, to unit to your town, your school, to family, to your friends, to your teacher, whatever it is. Be loyal to somebody or something. You’re not loyal to anything but materialism, or power. Money, then you’ve missed it. So yeah, to answer your question, I really can’t answer that. Somebody I’d like to sit down and, and just see what comes to me. And we could have a show and talk about that. But I I think some people have a hard time accepting those stories. They can accept all this other but they can’t. And I’m saying it’s all the same God, it’s all the same energy. It’s all just a different experience. And God was in these things, too. So yeah, I think, I think in my case, they were here to teach me to guide me direct me. And they’ve been back. And I think they probably visit people in my family. Whether they remembered or not, I don’t know. I don’t think I think these things are generational. I think they follow families if I think they follow genetics.
Rick Archer: Okay, there’s another thing I want to make sure we get a chance to talk about Irene wrote some notes here. And one of her notes was experiences of surrender to the universe, serendipity. And there’s one you told there’s a lot of stories in your book, but we don’t possibly have, we won’t have time to cover them all. But there was one that I thought was really sweet. And I’d like you to tell it. And that was where your work. I used to work for the Postal Service. And I guess you’re working around the Sacramento area or something. And one day, you just thought, I’ve got to go. And you just told your boss, I’m leaving. Not that you’re quitting the job. But I’m leaving for the day. And he didn’t question it. And, yeah, and so you got we went out got in your car, it was pouring rain and kind of chilly and you’re walking on, you’re driving along. And you saw this kid by the side of the road, who was soaking wet and bedraggled. And you didn’t ordinarily pick up hitchhikers, but you decided to pick them up and take the story from there.
Bill McDonald: Okay, that whole week, that whole entire week, started off me going into a bookstore and had a random pile of books on sale. And underneath at the bottom of that I pulled out this book on star signs that the lady’s dead dad was one of those women authors, right spot star signs. And there was a quote, I just opened up in a random page. And there was a quote in there about be Where’s who you talk to how you treat people, because there goes an angel on spinach to you. Yeah,
Rick Archer: it was I think it’s in the Bible someplace.
Bill McDonald: Yeah, it was a quote from the Bible. And I read that, Oh, that’s interesting. And then I went to my doctor’s office of wheat in the lobby. And I pick up a guidepost magazine, I just flip it at random and that same exact quote sitting there. I was twice I got that quote this week. And then I kept having this feeling all week long. Somebody is waiting for you. You got to help. You have to help. So I went to work that day. I’m sitting here the whole day one, it was getting greater and greater and greater to reach the point where I couldn’t say no to my intuition. I go, I gotta leave. And I couldn’t offer an explanation to my boss. I said, you know, I ain’t gonna lie. I gotta tell him why I’m just gonna say I’m gonna go. And I said, I’m going, okay. Nobody asked me I walk out the building, worked on my desk. There’s stuff going on as phones ringing. I just walked in leave as that’s it. But I didn’t want to lie. I do things don’t lie about doing something good, right. So I just I just left it up. wasn’t sure why it was leaving, but I knew I had to leave right then and there, got my car pick up. And I drove down the road. Just just before about seven miles from Elk Grove on the highway 99 There’s this tattered young guy, it turns out, he’s 20 years old. And he’s got one of the I call Scooby Doo beard, young guy choices, but he’s got a hair here and a hair here. I mean, he’s got no real beard, right? And he’s got a short sleeve shirt on soaking wet, and he’s got socks on his hands for gloves because he was cold. And they’re wet. And he’s got no no equipment. No nothing. He’s just as this crazy guy got to pick them up. Right. So I back up after I pass the road. I back up on the Hydras shoulder the road. Get him in the truck. So where are you going with? I’m going to Texas. I’m going Yes. 1800 miles away. I say what I’m going down the road some miles. Come with me. Okay, so he starts telling me the story that he was camping alongside the road there and an empty lot. The night before. He didn’t have a tent. He has sleep bag, but a big thunderstorm came in and rained and asleep baguettes soaking wet. And he just left it. So he had no no sleeping bag yet no camping equipment. He had nothing. And that night was very despondent. He was very despondent. So I talked about that little bit later. So anyway, so he told me that he says that. He just left his grandmother’s house where she just died. He’d been there for a couple years. He was a foster kid. And he was going to go to Texas, try to find his real dad. Because he had nobody else to go to and he had no money. I said okay, so I found all that he had the truck as it will come onto my house. So I can bring him in the house to the garage. And he smells and he’s been on the road for a couple of weekends. Like he smells. He’s dirty. I said, Look, there’s a shower. There’s clean towel. I’ll bring it down some clean stuff. Give me stuff to wash, put it out here and clean up. For me and you both right? Anyway, so he goes in the shower and laundry, his clothes. And then I think this guy’s got that that’s I take a bath. I get a backpack. Okay, this guy is gonna be a bomb on a roadie these stuff, right? I get a backpack. I get half a part of a 10th a canvas thing that you know waterproof. I give them a Firestarter. I gave a flashlight to get sweatshirt, I get my underwear T shirts, socks, sweater, a couple pairs of pants, a jacket, hat, I mean everything you can think of all kinds of items, you know, canteen, and, and it comes out and I gave all scripts you’re gonna need all this for on the road. And, and I don’t have any food now is basically a fist of peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I gave him peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And he’s just looking at me staring at me now. You know, my daughter’s there. And my wife’s there. He’s just staring at me. And I said, you got some stuff you’re wondering about some stuff on the course, just kind of shook his head, right? And I said, Well, when I give you this reach into a pull up my junk drawer in the junk drawers, open packet sugarless gum. It’s got sticks a sugarless gum. Stupid thing, right? But I reached there and I said, I’m going to give you this. And when I give you this. You will know why I’m giving it to you. And you’re and you remember. And so I put him in his hand and he looks at he starts crying. Just a package. sugarless gum, right. And then he went through this whole story about the night before his drenching his cold chillin. I mean, he’s shaken. He was thinking about taking his life. He was thinking about ending his life. And then he said a man came to him who looked exactly like I did dress to the same exact clothes I was wearing right there in the kitchen and had on the sugarless gum and told him and he’s got to that part, and I stopped and God loves you. And then he really broke down because that’s what the man and his vision, told him God lotion. And he was just all over himself. My daughter score. How’d you do that? was instilled a certain skill was and I didn’t know how I knew that. I didn’t sit there and think, yeah, I was there last night for this guy. So this I’m going to do this whole act. No, I just did it. I just did it. I just went down grabbed Trump, and he’s just right. And I just said these things. So things come to me. I don’t think about them. I want to show this there’s a lava. I don’t intellectualize Why do you tell me that? Because sometimes I tell people something like to tell me that a couple days later they find out oh, here’s a wire I don’t analyze it. I don’t own it. I don’t own it’s not mine, the universe. Here it is. I just downloaded it. There you go. You know how you saw me whether that was me whatever was was an out of body experience was being a second body, whatever it was, it doesn’t matter. All that matters was he didn’t commit suicide. And the next day, I not only resupply him with a shower and cleaning them up and get him clean clothes. I put some money in his backpack and gave him some food puts food canned food, some bread, crackers, peanut butter and stuff. And I loaded him up so he can travel for a few days, right. And I prayed for that man for 20 something straight years. In fact, this last two weeks for whatever reason I started praying for him again, because now it’s that was like 1980 something, then I’ll maybe 1990 Anyway, so it’s got to be 2530 years. He was 22. So he’s in his 40s. So I’m thinking he’s back on my prayer list. So I visualize him. I call him in my mind, because I can’t remember his name the hitchhiker. So I asked Baba Ji and God, Jesus, whatever. shine light on the hitchhiker. That’s like the story I got in there about the eBid angel, the black, the black, young black, maybe that came girl stayed with me the 17 year old and she had a beautiful vision of Paramount’s Yogananda, I pray for her. So when people crossed my path, I may do a small act or something. I may do something that looks like service. But I don’t forget them. My prayer list like last night, I started going through my prayer list after meditation, it took me about an hour and a half to go through my prayer list in my mind, visualizing people instead of like visualizing, because on my prayer list, I not only have people like that, I have people that I wronged people that have wronged me, those two, two groups needed the most. Sorry, tears coming down for some reason. So praying for those that we come across your life. You gotta you got to hitchhike on the road, you got to guide begging for money. If you don’t want to get money, Kim love, don’t give judgment. Give love. Jesus bless that man. Bless that lady. Bless that family. Because some years you can’t give money to every beggar out there. And I mean, let’s get rid of you care. I mean, you can’t. So you have to draw a line someplace, it’s really hard to do sometimes. What you can give love. And you can give prayers. So that’s kind of like how I serve. That’s how I do things. And it’s, it’s, it’s the core of who I am, what I do, and why I continue to keep doing it.
Rick Archer: That’s beautiful. I haven’t finished your earlier book about your experiences in Vietnam and everything. But one story and maybe it’s interesting for you to tell a story or two from that period. But one story I’ve heard you tell a number of times, which might be one of your favorites was I’ve heard you tell it so many times, is the time when you touched the helicopter. And you kind of like realized what was going to happen to this helicopter in the next day. And there was that and there was also the one about where you were flying in a helicopter as a gunner. And from the altitude you were flying out you saw this 30 or so people marching along the road who your commanding officer told you were yet Tom and one year to shoot them. And you feel like telling both of those stories are absolutely
Bill McDonald: absolutely, because let’s just regress for a moment. I’ve been trying to do my own way for the last couple of decades, reach out to the new age group reach out to all these yoga guys and meditators and and I keep getting thrown back from my veterans. I mean, the veterans invite me to stuff all the time. I’m always doing stuff. And I keep going well, you know, in the last year or two I’ve I realized, you know, the universe is telling me something. There’s a lot of people like me out there for the New Age community. They got all the people they need. But the veteran group is abandoned spiritually most most especially spiritually, because there’s a whole group of New Agers out there. I just sort of blanket statement out here. That things you can’t be spiritual and be a warrior soldier. Even though history shows us St. Francis of Assissi was a warrior. Saint Ignatius. Leola was a warrior. He was a sergeant major in the British Army in South Africa. I mean, the great ones Krishna are Juna, they’re in a big battle. Well, that was there. Duty. So a part of me, believes for them, because I am them. And I’ll share these experiences so you can know some of the stuff they go through. And I was able to survive Vietnam, spiritually and emotionally and physically because what I went there I was practicing meditator. I was into yoga, I was into Kriya Yoga, I was into the Kundalini energy, I was into all this stuff as in paradise yoga, I was into a whole different aspect of reality. To me. It’s all dream, you know, it’s just, it’s all God. It’s just a big play, right? People are getting killed. That’s what everybody think. But in reality, God is killing God. God never dies. That’s the reality. But that’s a reality that nobody is ready to accept. And it’s hard. But I got veterans out there that are hurting. I’m starting to work with them. Now. In fact, I’ve been invited to be a keynote speaker, offer international association, their destinies. They have their big international conference in Pennsylvania, outside of Valley Forge. And I’ve been blessed, literally blessed to be able to do that. Somebody discovered me found me and asked me to go, and I am more than willing to go I am whatever they want me to do. You know, it’s for veterans. So let’s talk about Vietnam. Vietnam was a war. Like all wars, there’s stuff that goes on. Lawyers don’t make war. They’re pawns in the game of war. They don’t make the decisions. That’s politicians. That’s generals that’s kings. Congress, whatever. Both sides. So you can’t just say, Well, I love my American vets. But the guys are fighting are terrible, too. That’s event warriors aware. Now how you fight that war over there makes a difference. It’s like, the example I was given once upon a time by some Swami. He says, Would you call it murder? If a doctor made his mistake in the operation because he accidentally slipped in and cut some artery and the guy dies? Is he a murder? Or is just incompetent, but it’s a lesser, you took somebody’s life, but it’s a lesser karma that somebody that stabbed the guy in the heart whole different thing, right? Or if a cop ends up shooting someone that’s getting ready to kill you guys got a knife can read the plunger, and the cop shoots the guy. Well, the cop shot that guy, he killed the guy. But is that murder? So there’s all these levels of karma that we don’t know how to measure when it comes to taking of a life. And that what happens when more and I think your intentions in war? Are the difference. Are you intending to be in the light? Are you doing it for what’s right? Are you doing it out of anger and hate and prejudice? Because I’ve seen guys in battle, they hate these guys. You know, bah, bah, bah, you know, and you see him there. And some guys actually, they get off on this warrior. I’m just it. And then I’ve seen some guys, they only shoot back because they’re trying to kill their buddy. So they want to save your buddy, they have a duty to protect the unit. Right? So you got all these different levels, you know? So let’s take the marching guys, let’s just take what I call the story about mutiny. Because believe it or not, I got decorated I’ve got all kinds of awards and everything. And the one time that I felt that I was the bravest took the greatest risks with my life and career. I got nothing for except threatened to be locked up for the rest of my life or given a distance nudity. So here’s how that day started off. We had a major graduate at West Point. Nice guy, but he was into the rank and I’m the major and I’ve been charged and he doesn’t realize that when you’re in a helicopter is only for for crew members, to or officers to enlisted men. So you can’t be on the officer and half the crew is nothing right. So it’s like helicopter crews was family. It didn’t matter about rank. But he came a new he came in from Germany didn’t know. And so his first mission out and he’s flying around a and he’s trying to he’s not listening to his pilot. He’s a commander and he’s trying to navigate and the pilots go well, you you follow the river you do this. I gotta get up higher so I could see these. So he wanted to fly up several, you know, 1000 feet or so or 800 feet up high enough where people could shoot at you it was very dangerous level. We were warning him, but now he would listen to us and let us know he’s, he was in charge, don’t worry about it. He was doing. So we’re flying over the wood Ulchi men trails and in Vietnam, this big tents, dense jungle, and it’s what they call free fire zone. In other words, it’s supposed to be people in this area. You know, you could you could you could actually without permission, you could you could fire people. But there was some friendly villages down there. So I was always awareness from the villages there. I mean, you don’t fire somebody for no reason. But if it looked like there was a reason you could fire so he looks down here and there’s this call on the 30 people in black jammas to buy to marching down this dirt road trail. And there’s a guy in the front. And they’ve got they all got weapons on their shoulder. I mean, they really look like weapons from the high up we read. And he goes, Mac, they got a Mac. Get on your M 60. Once your once it kills guests get those guys’s VidCon I did move. I didn’t do nothing. I mean intuitively of going. No, no subs right right here. I said, Sir, something’s not right. It’s not what you think. You’re questioning my order. I’m telling you to shoot as the enemy I want you to shoot. And it gave me that order about five times he says, this is a direct order. Failure to follow it. I’m charging you with beauty. I’m gonna have you core Darshan, let me get back, you’re going to be important later with the rest of your life. You’re never gonna see the light of day. I said you do whatever you’re going to do. How’s that? That’s bold. You do it. If you kind of do, right, I can fire that EMS safety machine gun fires a 7.62 millimeter rounds. It’s about that big. 750 rounds a minute. I got a built with about 3000 rounds on it. I mean, I could talk to those guys up, I’m going to just sit ducks. So he turns the aircraft around to the side, he tells a gunner on the other side. He goes, I can’t remember his name. And he goes, Hey, I’m giving you the same order, shoot. And here’s the part that just kind of made me a little scared a little bit because I’m now responsible for somebody else following my intuition, right? The guy goes, I’ve fought with McDonald for six months. And if he says something doesn’t feel right, I listen. I refuse to fire. Now that was a braver man than me. Because I had the feeling I was going with what he was trusting me. And he already knows that if I’m facing nudie charge, and he says, basically sign me up. I ensued. So this guy’s going crazy. You know? Finally I go, sir. Tell you what, you fly down, make a swoop down there. And if anybody looks like they’re gonna shoot me, we’ll both fire. Okay, be prepared. Maybe we’ll get killed, you know. So here, we luckily took a pass and we went down there. It turned out to be 30 Something children in black pajamas. And what they were carrying were hoes and rakes and shovels for the community garden. And the guy lead them was a Catholic priest and black robe. Now you can imagine killing the kids would have been bad enough to kill the Catholic priests got to be a cardinal sin, right? I would have had a direct direct letter coming from the pope saying hey, what’s up so I could feel the blood. Just going crazy with this guy. Because he just realized how close he came to committing a criminal act of war. I could have followed his orders and said, Hey, I was following orders. Remember that there was a defense by some people? I’ve just fallen orders? I don’t believe in that. But I would have been scale. No. You have to answer some higher. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel right. I know was 30 Kids know, they know what civilians know. I was prepared. If it was been bad guys, I would have fired back if they would have shot to be able to fire. But intuition said no. I got that word. No. I listen. I don’t say well, how come or do is that this guy is going to court martial me if I don’t do it. You can kind of get a maybe, you know how about, you know, do I get another answer? And would only thing I regret to this day is I can’t remember the name of the gunner. Because I think the guy deserves a medal. If I ever find out who it was, I think the guy deserves a Silver Star. I’ve been that guy put his total trust in that he knew the penalty. And he did that. Now think about that. Now that’s the kind of moral issue that happened in war. And you can see how had I done that, how that would have changed my life. And the other door gunner and other pilots and the commander, all of our lives would have been impacted forever. One has to learn to listen. Now the other story,
Rick Archer: oh, before you finished before we go to the other story, there was a nice conclusion to that story, which was the effect it had on that commander’s personality afterwards.
Bill McDonald: Let’s let’s talk about that. What’s, you know, I could have bloated, I could have said all kinds of stuff. You know what I did. I just gave him kindness. It really didn’t turn. He became my best officer friend that I ever had. And every time he got on a ship with another crew chief, he introduced himself, he asked where you’re from, what he could do for him, it all favors. you’d listen, listened to his crew, came a great executive officer. I was so proud of them. That changed his day. That incident changed him to be a better person. Less Artha kradic and controlling, you know, to be willing to listen to others went on lesson. Had I not listened, he wouldn’t have learned that lesson he would have been would have listened to other lesson. So I act, not on faith. Because faith is like, I think something’s going to happen. It’s a belief of want to be belief. That’s faith. You want to believe I act on a knowing and there’s a difference. I know the sun come up tomorrow. Yeah, that kind of thing. I know. And when I get I know, feeling. I don’t question it. Now an intellectual person. I think that’s why maybe a little on the dumb side. I’m not that not that sharp, one of the sharpest pencil in the thing. You know, I struggled with geometry, you know, okay, the sharper people out there. But they think about things. They analyze things. They’re using the mind. Anybody will tell you, you know, Billy’s out of his mind. He never use this point. He’s out of his mind. But that’s it. I’m really out of my mind. I don’t use it. I think I feel I react, I speak all from the heart center. And when I start something like this interview, I had nothing prepared. I don’t know where I’m going with this. I don’t even want to go in the next sentence. I open my mouth. And I just rely on the universe. Element thoughts. There’s a part of me that when I’m doing something like this will sit I’m watching myself. Okay, once a while a flash. I’m up here. And I’m going well, that’s interesting how you answered that bill. We get to go with this question. I mean, I’m actually watching odd, like, there’s too many watching this,
Rick Archer: I get that on this side, too.
Bill McDonald: So, alright, so let’s go back to some of the other incidents because I really want to talk about warriors because I give you these experiences. But once you call. There’s a new term out there maybe not new to you, but in Warrior community in the Vietnam community, veterans stuff called spiritual transforming experience, spiritual transformational spirits, you know, because you got like, near death experience. And now you can have something like that, but you don’t have to die. You’re having the same kind of experiences, but otherworldly. And I had a lot of those. This particular one, which I’ll tell you about, but when I told that aircraft story when I was going to die, what’s good about this story is, this still has a life. Because I was investigated by the CIA, that I reported this, put under the hot seat for a couple of days and wanted me to change my story about it. And then it told me we’re watching him because I think he did something because nobody can know all this stuff. And then, a few years back on talking just a few years ago, I get a call from Langley, Virginia. So my phone sits at Langley, Virginia. When the ex call me from Langley, Virginia on my phone. It was a CIA contractor, who had like a $20 million budget or some huge amount. And he had my files. And you guys as I get your files, here, I go, what files? Well, we can’t talk about it. I said to me, the CIA has a file on me. He goes yeah, but you can’t get a copy. I can’t get a copy it’s me. Just Well, you gotta get it if they’d be redacted but your name I go was the same. So I can’t tell you how I want this information how you did this and how you knew that he was trying to reproduce it electronically with electronics and money and it’s not they can engineer what happened. So let me tell you what happened and and you can see why they didn’t want to hear what I wanted to say about because I’m telling the guy well You gotta learn some kind of Kundalini energy rising, the Yoga, you know, you know, some kind of meditation. I don’t want to hear that. Anyway. So I’m sitting around one day and my aircraft was taken and being fixed. So I didn’t have an aircraft. I had the day off. But they came to me and they said, Hey, would you fly this aircraft tomorrow? We don’t have enough crew chiefs. And you know, I said, Well, okay, let me go take a look at it. I’ll do a pre flight on it. And when I went to do the pre flight when I touched the skin of the aircraft, Huey helicopter looks like a giant tadpole. Yeah. I touched it. And it was like, just like that. It wasn’t like this whole drawn out several minutes. It was like instant download I had. I’m watching this helicopter fall apart. And here I see the rotor going crazy. I see a spinning, hit in a jungle, spinning around bursting into flames. I see bodies falling out on fire all over the place. I see everybody being killed. I feel the heat. I feel the pain of the burns. I feel the spirits leaving the body. All just like that. It takes me longer to tell you. I mean, it was instantaneous. So wow, man. So I wrote up the aircraft there. Normally, the crew chief writes up the aircraft and he signs it off, says ready to fly. If there’s some wrong you put a red X in it, and explain what’s wrong. And then you fix it. Or he comes out and fixes it. I put a big red X in there. And I just put something on the aircraft. It’s gonna crash. That’s not a military thing you do, right? I got what is this way. I said I’m signing off on this. Sums wrong. So draw the rotor rotor head something something’s gonna happen. This thing’s gonna crash and burn. So they set up whole team, its mechanics and special people. And I said, You guys signed it off because they wanted me. I said, I ain’t signing it off. I’m saying it’s red X. I’m saying it’s gonna crash and burn. So all these guys signed it off. Yeah, the Ulchi Yeah, we think it’s good. And then I, I told the car, so I’m flying it tomorrow. Well, we got you scheduled to fly drone flight status. You said you’d fly it. You’re flying. I said suevey. What are you gonna do? Right? Well, you’re going to be you’re going to be punished. I mean, this this is disadvantaged back to this disobey in direct orders. I had a lot of older dissipated direct orders. I said, Okay, I tell you what, you put me in any aircraft tomorrow? I ain’t going on that. And neither should you let anyone else fly on now. Of course, the CEO tells me I’m in charge. You’re not You’re he five. I’m a major, you know. That’s okay. So I go back to my bungalow hooch in a little hut. There’s like 20 of us in there. So. And there was a new guy there. Guy named Al Terrell. And he had a really easy job in Saigon. He was actually back in the old computer days, that guy’s feed IBM cards in and, you know, punch cards and all that. He had that kind of job in Saigon air conditioned building at a good restaurant, you know, had a hotel room instead of abilites. I mean, but there was a part of it says the same, right? I’m in Vietnam, I want to fight. So he volunteered from his easy job to become a door gunner on a Huey, which is like, life expectancy, a door gunners, you know, I’m sitting behind a gun. I know, it’s, it’s not good. I mean, there’s nothing to hide behind. And you see it on a campus seat. I mean, there’s nothing to stop anything. So he volunteered, and he showed up at our unit that day, and he says, I was totally just transferred in and it was gonna be a door gunner. So they brought me over to introduce him said, Hey, Mack, this is out. And as soon as I shook his hand, I got that same whole vision. Just like wow. And I go, you’re dead man walking. As I say, Now, I didn’t know that term there. So but basically, it was something like you’re gonna die tomorrow or some don’t go out. So I told him I said, Whatever you do tomorrow, don’t go flying and don’t go fly in on that aircraft. So I told him a number and everything. And he goes, I’m not even on flight status. I don’t have any flight equipment. I said, if they asked you to fly on that tomorrow, don’t go because you’re never coming back. I started tears started rolling down my face. I was just people want to spam Max better too long and country days cracking up right. I’m serious. And if we Gotta give me that. You know, you know, Max Max better to long stuff and crazy guy, right? So so I went back to my bunk I just, I knew, I knew I know what to tell the guy. I knew I got up in the morning, because I’m gonna fly out another aircraft showed the car offline anything. So I took a real dangerous mission. I flew another aircraft. And I walked by the other aircraft and it was empty. And I went back and made sure the guy knows it’s empty. It ain’t going anywhere. So I’m FlightStats don’t go right now left. We come back in the afternoon to helicopters not there. Either. There’s a guy. So I go into the CEOs office. I go, how do you send that aircraft out there to mission? Well, how dare you question what I do with my helicopters? What the hell do you think you are? Right? So it was like, I mean, it’s totally out of protocol military. I’m gonna listen badly. So I’m telling him as he just killed all those people you sent out there? Oh, no, it’s just late. As to how late is it? Well, it’s two hours. I said it only it only can fly for about two or three hours with fuel. If it’s been flying all day, and is two hours late. It’s out of its out of fuel, wherever it’s at. Right. Well, okay, we’ll have to go out and look forward. So he says once you volunteered, come along on this, since you seem to know everything, right. So we get out there we get up in the air and the pilot goes, being a smartass. Yes. Okay, Mac. Where’s that? Which way should we go? I just pointed off in some direction on the compass map. And they all looked at each other. Like they had no clue where it’s at either. So it’s okay. We’ll find that way. We’re flying about 20 minutes to pursue, we see this glow of the jungle. There’s just getting dark now. And there’s this forest fire. And in the middle of this forest fires, we circle around. There’s the remains of helicopter torn in pieces. And there’s all these bodies of all these guys all burned up. I volunteered to go down a rope and check it out. No, no, no, no, no, no, we know what’s down here. Right? You know, they want to hang around. Because get shot. I think we’re left I think so. We came back. Nobody said a word to me. Nobody talked to me. But the equivalent of the NCIS guys, I can’t remember what the Army version of that there’s an army version of the of the NCIS. They got some kind of initials. And they came and they quizzed me and they put me in under under light under light bulb in a tent hot tent on a stool for all day a couple days. Question me How’d you know that airplane was gonna crash? You must did something to make it crash. You see you killed those guys. We’re gonna prove it or watching you for the rest of your life. I told him it was something wrong with the rotor, rotor head. I know it. I know it. How could you know that? I said I saw a division that was in industry. So I thought, yeah, sure. He’s got so I thought, you know, weeks went by. And they basically told everybody, yeah, he’s killed a bit and how he did it, but he’s killed him. And nobody told me until when I wrote the book just for wrote the book. One of the guys in my unit, one of my pilots went on the National Archives, and looked up the crash investigation. Three weeks after that investigation, there was report that said the rotor had failed. There was a bolt and nut up there and it failed, and cause the thing to freeze up and it crashed. So they knew within three weeks that it wasn’t my fault. And it was exactly what I told them it was. And even me telling them that they couldn’t find what was wrong with it. So for all those 4050 years, I had that. Are they watching me? Are they waiting for me and what’s going on, right? And then I got the call from the CIA as turkeys. They believe it the whole time. Not only did they have that story, but they had all the rest of my stories that I shared in my unit. That whole file. I mean, somebody was watching and listening. And they were recording all my stuff. And apparently not that hard to find on the internet because this guy was able to find me I mean Bill McDonald’s or are but apparently they found me. So it was interesting. So that gets back to what I’m talking about with veterans. There are veterans out there that had experiences you can’t share them with the military. Official ranks. It’s gonna leave you it’s crazy. If you got a secret clearance you don’t anymore. I knew an officer is dead now. Neil Levin. And he was a he was one of the first guys to graduate from that flight school thing. Was that top Flight Academy what it was, anyway, he was a top flight guy, whatever the name of that is. But he was a Navy guy. And he was, you know, he was like a great fighter pilot. And he was a Vietnam flying over an area. And he’s getting shut down. And he’s getting ready to eject. He looks over and on his wing, sister’s young, beautiful young girl Angel smiling at him. He goes, Wow, that’s weird. It’s crazy. I mean, really shut down. He just kind of kept that story to himself. When I talked to him 40 Something years later, he tells me he says, Let me tell you that when he shows me a picture of his granddaughter and daughter says, this is the angels on the wing. And I know that because she came to me one day and said, Hey, Grandpa, you remember when I was on your help on your fighter jet suit? And you crashed. I was looking after your grandpa. So, but he couldn’t tell anybody. And then just the 40 guys shot down. Images wing man. We’re flying over just outside of Illinois, where they encountered a UFO, the real guy flying, odd shaped thing flying, zipping around, flying all around him. And so he chased it. He chased it all with Cambodia. He calls into the aircraft carrier says, Hey, we’re chasing this bogey is a UFO unidentified. And the guy in the tower goes, Colonel, are you sure you want to report this? Ask them four times to finally get the idea. All okay, we’re chasing a bogey. We don’t know if it’s a major one. Okay, you’re chasing a bogey. Alright, couldn’t catch it, or things. But he saw it. He swear to God, he saw another guy friend of mine from self realization fellowship. His name is Lee. And this incident he shared with me when we were at Hidden Valley ashram for the men’s retreat there and self realization fellowship. Dama San Diego, we were out one day meditating. I can. And he told me that they were sitting around he was in the ninth infantry, I believe in a big circle at night. Now you don’t know anything about about this. Most people don’t know they’re civilians. Well, when he was camping in the night, they make a circle. Everybody facing outward circle. And so every other guy was asleep. And then a couple hours later, you wake up the other guy. So somebody is awake all night long. So all of a sudden, he’s supposed to be sleeping. And it’s so quiet. He said it was so quiet. You could hear a trail of ants crawling next to his head. He could hear the answer moving sin. And He wakes up and looks around and all these guys are woken up at the sky if you’re the guy’s looking up at the sky. And they’re all days, right. So he asked him what happened. And these guys go. There was that aircraft ahead of us of spinning them with lights flashing and it was only about 100 feet up and was there for a long time. Yeah, sure. So it goes the other other sides of the circle, they all have the same story. So what was that? You know? So I’ve heard many stories like this. I’ve heard stories of near death experiences in Vietnam. I’ve heard spiritual, other experiences. I’ve had many more that are in my book. So people have to realize that we’re live places you it’s all God’s territory, miracles, the miraculous, the mystical, love, happens, even in battle. And it’s always the hardest. So if you go into real war and battle, whether it’s with another person argument or whatever, wherever you’re at whatever your battle is, if your heart is focused on love, that’s all that counts. So there are no battlefields that are going to harm you. I do have I don’t have you guys with the questions but just for a minute in case we run out. I have a program organization called spiritual warrior ministries. It’s it’s a organization I put together it’s a loose affiliation. I’ve got chaplains from all kinds of organizations. I’ve got ministers from different you know, national ministers revers I got guys that are aren’t ordained at all. They just want to be a chaplain I make him a chaplain grateful. God’s with you. Anyway, the basic concept is no dogma, you can’t preach dogma. Don’t try to change anybody’s beliefs wherever they’re at and accept But that can spiritual counseling, and a story. help veterans help their family. Don’t charge for your service. Somebody wants to donate to help you with it. Great, but don’t ask. So that organization, which I’m expanding into Europe, into Russia, hopefully, and around the world is there to give free, free help and administer support. It’s best if I can get veterans, at least people that are interested in helping veterans that we’re teaching yoga, teaching meditation, we got one guy now, I just ran into that speaking at ions conference. He lives in Southern California. And he taught TM, meditation, to West Point. And to the Air Force Academy, I believe anyone overseas in the War College, that was way back,
I might know.
Bill McDonald: So you might know. So that’s where things are heading. So it’s interesting that I’ve been invited to ions this conference this year, because it’s the one year they’re going to kind of bring veterans issues in. And it’s kind of been a burning thing in the back, you know, the back burners. And now it’s going to get a little lighter day. And I’m happy to be a part of that. And again, I am not the message. I’m only one of the many messengers out there. But we have to we have to make peace. And this is this is about everybody. It’s about the vet the non vet. Child, the old guy. The crazy, the sick, the lame, the lazy. It’s all the same. It’s all your brother, your sister. Yes. I really believe we’re our brother’s keeper, because basically they are brother were their brother, or sister. I mean, it’s one, how do you separate just by luck, I’m only going to do good things to the left hand. With this right hand, I’m going to cut it off. And I don’t like it. It’s all the same body of God. Nice question.
Rick Archer: Actually. Irene sent me a question a little a couple hours ago, actually, um, she said, and this way that those will be fine. And I think this will lead into, we’re still going to talk about your nose if you feel if you have the time. We go along. She here’s what she wrote. She said your upbringing had some hard knocks in terms of lack of love and support from your family. And yet that helped you develop your experience of quote, someone out there loves me and quote, it helped you help to develop your love for God and surrender to the universe. He had so many experiences of great support and love in spite of what you went through? Or possibly because of it. Could you elaborate on that? And maybe elaborate, you could somehow segue into your into your notes.
Bill McDonald: We could do that. Those while you were reading it? That was my segue. Here’s the deal. It’s, and this is so cliche, that I hate to say it. But it’s not what happens to you. It’s how you handle it. And that’s been my philosophy ever since. Ever since the beginning. It’s it’s never about being a victim. I am not a victim. People read my book, oh my god, you had more stuff happen to you than me? And how could you like it bad and your parents did this. I’m going everybody was following their own battle plan, their own dharma. We don’t know if what they were doing was an intended thing I needed to have that for whatever. It caused me to reflect on or made me a better, more spiritual, active person. I didn’t whatever it was, it was a catalyst for who I am today. So therefore, no one should be getting down on a victim. You know, if you got things happening to you in life, you know, you’re I mean, I deal with, I’m dealing with a couple of abused women right now that I mean, they just some really horrific stories. And at some point in time, it’s not the time now because I can’t tell them time to move on. They have to they have to deal with that hurt first. People have to be ready to move on. But at some point in time, you got to go, you know, it was what it was. It’s not who I choose to be. Now, right now, I’m not a victim. Right now. Nobody’s doing anything to me. And now I haven’t been abused right now. I haven’t been whatever it is. Because everybody has something that happens. Our level of pain is different. It’s for example, meaning you’re in the hospital and you’ve ever been in a hospital so you don’t know but they give you this little chart shows your pain level one through 10. Right. And I always laugh because mine’s gonna be a one or two even if I’ve been ripped open. It’s like I have had my teeth drilled, drilled down to the nerve no medic No, no, no, no became not just, I don’t want no shots. Just drill down fill it and the dentist is going. I just I do a little harm. saw technique I sit there, okay, drill down, boom. So pain level is different to everybody. There’s somebody has something you would say that’s nothing man is ache, this guy was number 10 I better have some, I better have some oxy man I got number 10 pain, you know. So life is like that you choose to focus on the pain, the pain becomes number 10 for you. I have been trying to teach veterans and I’ve had some guys call me up at two o’clock in the morning, somebody his wife has said this guy is getting ready to kill himself, he can’t take the pain anymore. It was a burn victim, he’s got burns all over he’s lost his arm. This is alright, let’s let’s put them on the phone. And then I’ll go through a technique, you know, where you have to take the pain and make an elevator music. The music is still there and the elevator, you still got you know, whoever singing in the background, but you don’t hear it. It’s it’s fades. So you don’t make the pain vanish. But it’s not the forefront of your mind. It’s not in your thoughts. And you can do that with various mantras. Whether it’s just I love you, Jesus or whatever. And there’s ways to refocus allies that anyway, so I tried to teach people that because pain, as Buddha learned a long time ago is one of the great motivators. So pain is not an enemy. Suffering is what pain. Yeah. Alright, so let’s talk about pain
Rick Archer: before you get into. Yeah, I just had the same question a little while ago, towards the beginning when you’re talking about pain versus suffering. And it sounds very nice to say, yeah, if you could just sort of guard pain, its pain and not allow it to cause you to suffer. That’s great. But I wonder. I mean, some people undergo such horrific things to people, that many people really have the capacity, you know, if there’s no torture, or serious burn problems. I mean, it’s it sounds glib, to just say, Oh, it’s just pain, don’t let it cause suffering.
Bill McDonald: You know, why advice? Because they’re gonna help you look like what right now? I don’t do marijuana never done. Alright. I’m not into it. But I’m telling people, if your pain is that bad, use marijuana. I don’t want people to take an oxy. I mean, there’s a lot of drugs that veterans are taking to make them suicidal. But there’s some, there’s some safer stuff out there. Meditation, all kinds of things. And if you can’t, if you’re dying, and you got bone cancer, and it’s just totally, I mean, it’s horrific pain, own cancer, and you’re dying. Let the doctor drug you up, be comfortable. There’s no sin at all. When you worry about getting hooked on something you’re getting ready to leave in a few weeks. So. But I tell people don’t just focus on the pain, complain moan and groan. And that’s not just physical pain, but that’s also life stuff. Because people get down the moan and groan and bitch about things that happen to them. And I listen this person, and this this woman telling me all this stuff that’s happening on my guys really took she’s telling me really, it’s like, feels like it happened yesterday. But when that happened, oh, 37 years ago. She’s talking about it just happened. It’s still fresh. And every time she tells this story about all these painful experiences, it’s like redoing it or mind. It’s like she suffered it. She’s choosing to suffer it again. And again. And again, whether was abuse or whatever. She’s been abused again. And again. And again. Instead of saying, Once is enough, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of suffering again for once was enough. Let’s move on. But you can’t tell people that because I couldn’t tell a general audience and I am this visual, but I have to put quotes around that and say, one on one. I got to tell I got to feel people out. Some people don’t have the strength. So I tell people mourn as long as you have to mourn for death. You know, deal with this thing as long as you have to deal with it. You’ll feel what’s right time for you. There is no fixed all time schedule that you supposed to get over abuse or whatever it is. Right. So
Rick Archer: yeah, just uh, you know, Christianity makes Christianity makes such a big deal out of how much Christ supposedly suffered. And Maharishi Mahesh Yogi used to say, Christ never suffered. You know, he suffering people from their perspective saw him suffering but from his subjective perspective, given the status of his consciousness, he may have experienced pain but it wasn’t suffering.
Bill McDonald: You can have pain and be in bliss. Yeah. I’m just telling you that bender. So let’s talk about your no rebuilding rebuilding the Gnosis NAS. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Okay. I had for my exposure to exposure to Agent Orange. My time as a professional lifeguard. my time as a professional scuba instructor, swim team, long distance swimmer, all kinds of stuff, Sunshine surfer, all that stuff. I had pretty bad skin cancer. I still had I just had a treatment three weeks ago, four weeks ago. So I still had some taken off. So I’ve been doing this since 1979. Now the easy ones you’ve earned off, you know. But I’ve had some taken off. I’ve had one in the cheap taken off, there was size of a golf ball, huge sucker. I mean, it was just huge. took an hour to sew it back, you know, the whole anyway. So I’ve had some really major stuff. And somebody says you’ll have some real bad skin problems. Well, they weren’t unbeknownst to me. So I go to the doctor, dermatologist. And it would go on as you know, this nose ain’t getting any better. It looks like it was right up in the to duck. It’s your duck was looking funny was right next to the tour duck. And they said, Well, let me let’s take a sample. So they take a scalpel. And you’re cutting this right next to your to duck course, which is really fun. And and they sent it to the lab and it comes back to you. It’s it’s really bad cancer, we got the cut off lots of flesh, anything that touched or close to it, right. So I go in there, and I wasn’t sure what they’re really going to do. Because you know, it was I went they sent me this first doctor and and I go in there and he’s a plastic surgeon. I don’t know what they sent me a plastic surgeon cuz I got a postcard says, you got this doctor appointment here. Then you got this doctor for you got this doctor appointment. So I didn’t tell you why. So I go to the first doctor and he goes, he has no bedside manner. None. But apparently was really good at what he does. And it covers and he looks at this and he goes Sit down. Let me look at your nose and your eye. And this guy was also an ICER he says just I don’t know he says I might have I might have to amputate. Remove your eye. I might have to cut cancer up behind your eye. That’s just the conversation starts off. There’s no warm up. How are you? What do you do for a living? You know? Oh, this thing could be Yeah, it was just Dama probably gonna have to do this. He says I’m looking at your lips probably have to cut your lips off. Probably have to cut both ears off. That cuts eyelids off and for sure your nose. I’m not sure about parts your forehead. And I’m just sitting there going. Hmm, what I went in not having any idea. I thought the guy was gonna spray liquid nitrogen. Cut some tab off or something. You know. He’s going major major surgery. So going. Wow. Right. So. So I’m stumped. And I have to admit, I usually got my act together. But I was stunned. Because it was just like, boom, there was like five minutes and he goes, Yeah, go see this guy. Go see this guy tomorrow, he’s gonna cut off. He knows that what else needs to become about the company. And he has cut yours, whatever. But you’ll find out tomorrow. Just go in there in the morning. Then you got to go the next day and place a search and see what they could fix. It may take multiple surgeries. I’ll be there for that. They walked away. Nobody’s holding my hand. Nobody was saying, golly gee build. It sounds like it’s pretty terrible. And it wasn’t the thought of pain. It’s gonna sound terrible. But it was vanity. I’m thinking what may look like with no lips, no ears, no nose, no eyelids. You don’t want to duck gun. That was my thought. I don’t know if a normal person would think like that. But I’m thinking because you get a pimple on your nose. You kind of go on to cover it up, right? So I left her and I go sit in my truck. And I call a groomer and off. And it gives answering machine who’s in America is the answering machine on his smartphone of all things. He’s gonna get smartphone. And I feel bad. I go girl that asked you for I’m not asking for anything. Not asking for healing. I never ask for healing. I’m not asking for healing. I’m just asking for courage, strength and wisdom analysts. That’s all. And then I hung up. And then I sat there because it was a party still kind of. I was actually a little bit shaky. I was like, wow, that’s asking a lot and I’ve even told the wife yet. I mean, cuz that’s like changing your whole life. Right? Because I think I’m kind of okay, look, I’m not average Joe. But I would have been a monster in my mind. You know, this the parts and then I just said you know, I can handle this. Whatever it is. It’s a test. I can handle it. I can handle it. So within about 90 minutes of itself talking to myself saying, I’m gonna learn something from this. And if it messes up and I will learn how these people feel when they’re like that I’ll be able to, to minister, people like that. I’ll be sympathetic and empathetic. And heck, this is funny, I could tell people how I lost my face, but a space with I mean, I’ll find humaneness, I will make it work. It’s not the end of the world. Dammit. There’s an inspirational story coming from this. It’s going to happen. Okay, let’s do it. Because here’s the way I live my life. So I was I was torn off when it comes to him for advice. And if you really narrow down what he tells people that come to him for marriage, work, help yourselves to things. It’s your karma, deal with it. Or do more, do more dictation work for you. So I think myself it’s your it’s your karma. Embrace it. Embrace whatever comes to you. That’s it. It’s given to you embrace it, love it. Love it. It’s a gift. Don’t know where it’s going to be. But it’s a gift taken. So that was my attitude was that I’m going to embrace it. I’m dealing with it, right. So I tell my wife and I got to be honest with my wife was kinda like, very, very quiet. We didn’t have much of a conversation. I mean, it’d be hard on her it is somebody that she apparently likes, she’s American, almost 15 years. So she’s put up with, she knows I’m going to go through some pain, some great pain the next day. And so I had that night, I go to sleep. And I wake up the next day. And I go, she drops me off and don’t hang around. Because this is going to be an all morning all day thing. What they do is it cuts so much it shoots it, they were shooting injections behind my eyeballs in my nose down into my sinuses that the needle was actually presented my throat, I could feel from up the eyeball was down cuz I feel it drops and stuff. And it would numb everything up. And then they would cut and they would burn it to seal it. Then they would throw general gauze over that they’d have to go sit in the waiting room for an hour, I was sent to a lab. And then when they saw how much cancer was there that may come back and you kept going through this process. And then you got the shots all over again. So you got to sit there in the lobby and think about going back in and being cut again and getting more cut and more shots all around the eyeball and behind it had happened multiple times. So and why they’re cutting I feel the blood just pouring down the face, and everything else. And then this. Obviously, I’m not perfect. And authority is part of the story. There’s an evil evil person in me. It was a sudden lady come in, she had to be about 20 years old. And she had four of her friends come in holding her up and everything. And she was she had a mole that was going to be taken off. Little tiny movie, I couldn’t even see it. And then we had to cut it often Chews and I said well, don’t worry about it. It’s not that big. That all these bands and I said like I said, it’s not a big deal of Go. Don’t you talk to me, you chauvinist. I’m a woman. I can handle this. I don’t need your chauvinist. You know, trite. I’m going. Okay, fine. So just sat back. I’m a little guy trying to help her out, right. So then the nurse calls when she collapses, and they drag her in her feet or drag it and she starts screaming and crying. And I can hear her back there in the treatment room. And she’s crying and screaming and crying and scream for half hour. Just comes out. Little tiny bandaid here and you’re done with her ankle. She wouldn’t look me in the eye. But here’s the evil part. Inside I was laughing I’m sorry. All those people that love me think I’m a good guy. But inside it was like, yeah, baby. Alright, you didn’t need my advice. You male chauvinist telling you you know, okay, great. How do you feel? Anyway, that was terrible. I felt bad. But I didn’t at the same time. It was like, so bad. And I told the doctors, I told him the story. He starts laughing and he goes, Yeah, man, and we had to hold her down. Everybody to hold it down. He says all items. I just took a couple layers of skin off. She was like crazy, insane. Anyway, so then he starts giving the shots. He says, He’s talking to me. And he’s just cut away. So you don’t he says, I’m cutting a lot off here. You know? I said, I’d like to see what it looks like you had a mirror and he says, No. I’m not going to let you look. I’m going to take a picture for the the plastic surgeons who took a picture and he says, I’ll let you kind of maybe a flash class. I don’t want you to look at so it’ll make you sick. I said what was gonna happen tomorrow, because he finally finished up. He said, Well, tomorrow, he says, the normal procedure is he’s going to cut your forehead in a triangle. Big thing here it comes down to top your nose. And then he’ll fold that over upside down. And then they will sew that on top, your nose, that will be your new nose will be forehead and your foreheads gonna have no skin, it’s gonna be all messed up, we’ll have to stitch that and you’re gonna need about five plastic surgeries to make this that better. Then meanwhile, you have a hump of the nose that will grow where the skin is hanging there. They don’t have to have surgery on me to say that, but always look like it’s kind of folded over. He says, but it covers the whole. I said, whatever. Okay, I’m prepared for whatever. He says, Okay? He says, Now, when you leave here, I said, All this, all this local stuff is gonna wear off. You’re going to be in the greatest pain of your life. Would you leave here? It says gonna feel like your face has been on a barbeque pit. So this is I’ve been burned in everything. And it’s not only just on and on, so it gives me 500 100 tablets of 500 mgs of Oxy. I didn’t know what it was right. Okay, as long as it stopped taking. So I get home and my wife’s looking at me and she looks at the pills. She says you’d never take pills. I said, No. You can take us a bath. Real men, real men were black and they don’t need pain pills. Pursuing that pain was so great. Chris, I was screaming. And I said, Well, you know, maybe I’ll take a half a pill and I put the half pill my mouth. But as I did, so I said a prayer to Babaji. Obviously, bless me, let me handle this. And it took a glass of water and as I was swallowing the half of the pill, it was still in my throat. The pain vanished. There was no pain. It was the pill that did it. I was still traveling and he dissolved. But I was so exhausted from this operation blood if you notice it’s really bad. manages all of my eye and everything. I told my wife I said you don’t sleep today. I’m gonna. I’m gonna take a nap. I’m gonna lay down a little bit. I’m exhausted. So I lay down and darken the room and I’m laying down in person I wake up because my my pillows wet. sheets are wet blankets wet. I got I got wet hope nobody sees this because I must be a big baby. I must have been crying so hard. I wet the pillows and everything. It must have been tears, right? It’s like, it’s like, Come downstairs. I tell my wife. I said you’re not proud of me, obviously. But I think I was really crying pretty bad up there because everything is soaking wet. You know, with my tears. She was let me go up there. Take a look at us. So she comes down she goes, she’s got all these sheets. Have you been there all blood stain. Everything was blood. It wasn’t tears. And she says you’re crying and you were bleeding. I go, Thank God it was Blood, Sweat Tears. That of course just thought it was nuts at that point. Anyway, but I meant that, you know, as part of your saying, you know, blood was okay. So that night I’m in bed. I’m sleeping in a separate room because I’m gold’s payment, everything. Four o’clock in the morning, Shiva. And all of a sudden, the room is illuminated. I mean, Luminate it, it’s like you just took the sun, shrunk it down to the size of my wall. In fact, I couldn’t see the ceilings of the floor. So it was at least the size the wall and there was no borders. So it was just this huge disk. Son. It should have been blinding me it was so bright. Watching it. But when I saw the rise all bandaged up and I got these. And I’m feeling bliss beyond bliss. I’m feeling love beyond love. I’m feeling and I wrote this in the book, I omitted the love of a billion mothers. Talk about you didn’t get love at home for your mother. This is the greatest. You got a billion of them loving you. It’s unbelievable. It’s like you’ve never been loved. And then, in the midst of this as I’m just watching him, it is interesting. My childhood like mine. I’m accepting this as Yeah, this is cool. This is what happens. Gods are for me. Yeah. Why should I be saying this? There wasn’t one question like, What is this? Who is this? What’s going on? It was like, Yes, I was just a joy in it. And then this long or no, no robe or not just an arm, no clothing and a hand It reaches out from this disc of sun, this omnibus or whatever it was. And it reaches down. And it covers my, all the place that the surgery was at that date, the eye that knows everything. And just my body was just picture your greatest meditation experience you ever had. Multiply that by billions. That tingling Kundalini energy in your spine. It’s like a helicopter taking off. It’s like a rocket ship. It’s and it’s all love. It’s love. And I feel this love. There’s no part of me this worried about the surgery the next day, I’m not even thinking about it. I’m not thinking about the injury. I’m not thinking about nothing. I’m just thinking about loved. And I’m enjoying it. And I love God back. And I got this hand on my face, right? I had a feeling I thought it was but I didn’t want to see. So I kind of kept this secret. So a couple hours later, we’re up. I tell my wife about it. She kind of she’s heard enough of my strange tales. I told her and she had to believe she accepted it. And so we went there the next morning. And that doctor remember the guy would know bedside manner the guy told me that cut my lips my ears off. And he looks at me says yeah, it looks pretty bad. I got this stuff. This looks bad. says it takes out this chart picture of my face with a graph on it. Show I’m just going to take all these stitches and cuts and stuff. Because I’ve been working on this all last night. I’ve got a graft out this morning. So he says I plan this. He says I’ve done this for 30 years. I got it down. I know exactly what I’m going to do. Okay, you’re the boss. So I go into surgery, I come out. And my wife comes in and she’s just staring at me. She goes What’s wrong? I think it was. She was it didn’t touch your ears. They didn’t touch your lips. They didn’t touch your eyelid. They did. They didn’t do your your forehead. Really just bandages on the nose and they cut everything or all the meat all the flesh around the turnip was in by itself. And they rebuilt that I said so she adds a bandage to see the doctor that Dr. Kabbalah goes. Yeah, you know, it’s really weird. I was in there the surgery, actually, he was out, ready to do the surgery. I got the instruments, I’m ready to start doing the cutting. And inspiration came to me to cut the shoulder and take the flesh from the shoulder and rebuild. He says I’ve never done a rebuild and also the shoulder. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t charter the grafted, but it felt like something I should do. And so I did. And then he didn’t question why. Okay, fine. And then he goes, Hey, by the way, he says, you know, like they’re 68 stitches or something. I mean, there’s a god awful lot of stuff in here. And you know, you’re gonna be a great pain tomorrow. But what’s this wears off. So he gave me another bottle of Oxy. I don’t need it. I don’t need so I went home that day was I go? No. I proved I didn’t need it yesterday. I don’t need it today. So I didn’t take it. I went in the bedroom. I went to bed at four o’clock. 0400. Same exact experience I had the night before comes back and revisits me blazing sun and reaching out hand on my face. And all I could feel was love healing love. I knew I was being healed in some way. I knew there was a visitor there i I knew I knew who this was. And then three weeks later, I’m invited to a wedding first I cancelled the wedding invitation because I didn’t want to show up looking like a monster. But then didn’t look so bad. I had an eyepatch on which was kind of cool at a black eyepatch like, you know as Israeli general or something. And in the nose was stitches around so it wasn’t too bad. And gone off was there to help at the wedding. It was in Napa Valley. Beautiful say we’re sitting at this table with a wedding party, or they were coming over to talk and it was nine people they’re all part of the same group. And good enough stops the conversation. He says Bill just crossed. By the way, that experience you had the other night. Okay. He says that was a dream wasn’t an imagination. It wasn’t a vision. It was real. And it was the big boss now, he calls the big boss. oddity to was the big boss of course, a lot of people don’t. So I didn’t break the news to the people. I was trying to keep a secret. I didn’t want to tell people and, and then tell people I think it’s Baba Ji, because that’s just like what arrogant can you be? But he he laid it on the bag? He told everybody. There it is. And I’m just kind of going. So it was one of those things that
Rick Archer: you hadn’t told him you had that experience, right? I don’t
Bill McDonald: know how he found out. I don’t know what the deal was. But it was like, Wow, I’m just like, is there anything secret to the universe. So that was an experience during the kind of experience they had with with a sphere of some kind, because you kind of had an interest in that. So let’s go there. When I was in my 30s, living in Oakland, and I was meditating down in my basement, I was meditating really focused. And all of a sudden, the room lit up, I mean, lit up. And I felt somebody looking at me. This is what I can’t explain. And it happened twice. And so I look up into the ceiling of the basement here is this orb? What size of basketball? That’s all that size of basketball. But it’s like, there’s no such a solid. It’s like spheres of light coming out different shapes and sizes of light coming out of it. It’s alive. It’s pulsating, it’s alive. It’s alive light. It’s there’s no other way to describe. It’s not even like crystal. And I just look at it. And I’m staring at it. I didn’t say, Hey, buddy, who are you? What’s going on? Let me draw this. Let me take picture. Nothing was just all kinds of time went by, it could have been 10 minutes. It could have been an hour, I had no clue. Time went by. And then all of a sudden, boom, explosion, there’s a sonic boom. I mean, there’s a lot of as a sonic boom and shook everything. Whoa. And it was like shards of glass. This light, the light was like solid chunks of light, penetrating my heart in my in my spiritual eye and my crown chakra and just charge. And then like fireworks kind of. There was nothing. And I’m going that’s exciting. Even for me. I was fresh, right? So I go run out of the basement and go up the back porch. I go in the house and I go looking at my wife and kids. I go Do you guys hear that explosion? No. Nobody heard nothing. Okay, fine. So when I was writing this book warrior. And I was talking about that experience. And I want to say cheese, you don’t really want to write about the experience, I should know something about it. You know if that ever happens again, I knew as soon as I said the universe, you know if that ever happens again. I’m gonna write down some questions. I wrote down a sheet of paper had this question sit in the corner, my desk. As you know if that ever happens again. I’m gonna commit these, these up the questions to mind. And I’m going to ask another strange visiting just I’m going to ask I’m going to be curious, I’m going to ask, and I’m going to about a time and how long and everything else. I want to focus on this. And no sooner had written the list made up my mind. That’s what I was going to do. There was it was like I get called up. Okay, buddy. And then I’m looking over this thing. I didn’t ask one question. Either questions, write it on a tablet, and it asked one question. I didn’t time it had no clue. And then shards of glass, in my heart chakra into my spiritual eye and the crown chakra, just throat chakra. Everything just. And then I came out thinking, well, let’s see. Anybody hear anything. But it was interesting that the experience happened twice, once, just out of the blue. And the second time when I was trying to write about that experience, and remember what it was about, and swore that I was going to ask questions. So the universe is Yeah, but you can ask questions. Sure. Well, nothing like mine, like I said, was out of my mind. So identity experience with a son in the hand coming out. Same experience twice, and there was somebody to verify it. And then the fact that the surgeon’s hands motivated to do something entirely different. Why would you do it? 30 years, one way, and then this whole fat old veteran comes in and you do something different for him. Come on. There’s something float there, literally a float right. So the other unique experience we got time for another question. Um, yeah, a little bit more. Okay. Because I think one of the one of the more
Rick Archer: the last one, okay, this
Bill McDonald: give it let’s let’s end on up on a major one like in what you end up a fourth of July display. Right? Yeah. Grand rainbow star story because you asked about a rainbow and I want to get a little bit deeper. And that oh, by the way, thank that that wonderful person that lady that sent you the stories and the pictures of the owl that she raised sacred. Tell her thank you blessings. She wants to write me private give her she could. She could contact me do so. Anyway. That’s That was a beautiful thing for the people who haven’t seen it. I recommend they do anyway,
Rick Archer: just for Well, since you said that it was on the Mika Boerse two I’ve interviewed you find her on BatGap And you could contact her and she’ll send you her story about an owl is a very sweet story about how she adopted this owl when it was only awakened. You know the size of your thumb and then she raised it up anyway.
Bill McDonald: Good. It was a beautiful inspired me anyway. So I just pushing somebody else that inspired me. So I was meditating married about three years or so at two kids. And I was meditating and I had this habit when I got through a meditation downstairs I get I get in bed I don’t have just like okay, now finished meditating. Let’s just go to sleep now. I’ve been meditating and on my nightstand next to my bed on my side. I had perfect see that picture that picture back there of milk. Yeah, the last the last photo taken of him before he collapsed and died. In fact, I think that’s the same exact picture different frame but same exact picture. And it was sitting on my nightstand and by habit was to stare at Yogananda and just I love you. I love you. And I’m just staring at yoga. I just picture I love you. I love you. I love you and and next thing I know I’m watching this video yesterday saints are saves faces if you really staring with great focus. They come alive for you. I mean, this is almost like a life. All right. But then all of a sudden, I’m this thin sheet of light. And this rainbow filament. I’m soup. It’s like a Star Trek, no Star Trek hyperdrive. You know, warp drive. There is this trailer colors. It’s exactly what I was feeling. I was like traveling. And it was just like Star Trek. I mean, go and buy this car. I was just enraptured. I was feeling so much love. I was this rainbow body. And I was traveling to realms of the inner Cosmos outer Cosmos, I have no clue if it was interdimensional, hotter dimensional light, it was not here in that sense. And I’m traveling. And I sense that I know that I’m not alone. That this rainbow body I’m in is a body a community of consciousness. You know, there’s that one great conscious. And this is like functioning like a body of it’s like your toes, your fingers are all part of this body. You don’t the cells. They’re all individual, but they’re all functioning to help this one body. Now it’s kind of like what it felt like, I felt like I was functioning this rainbow body thing. Which is strange. But I could hear colors. I can hear colors. I can see sounds I can feel the emanation of love expanding everywhere. And at first when I first had this experience when I first talked about it, I talked about just go an ultra fast, fast fashion. And then I went to bed one night and I realized I wasn’t traveling fast. I was expanding the consciousness. Expansion not travel. Which is a whole different concept. Just like what there was all these everything worlds and everything. In this experience, which only lasted one hour, material world time. I felt I was gone. Two to 300 million years. I mean, a lot of stuff just happened. And I knew the beginning of this the end of this. I mean I was given information. And I was given certain things that I needed to know. And then I was given things which I could never, I could never share. And then I was given things that you got amnesia on, you’re not going to come back with that. And I had this interaction with the cosmic mind. So I would say, it was like, always one, it was like, it was all one, I wasn’t just as rainbow body. It was all one I was the sound, that beautiful sound to own, which is not even like anybody, anybody can do here on Earth, that ultimate sound of creation. It’s the sound of love. So all this was going along, and that was just, it was a beautiful experience. And then, all of a sudden, I remembered by family, my wife and two children. 10,000 pounds back at a human body, right? Oh, my God, it was a memory of this material life in this now. That instantaneously brought me back here is today’s even have been there for a couple 100 million years doing this was a memory of life here that I came back here, which is kind of interesting, philosophical question. So I woke up, and I was bawling my eyes out. That I hate to be married being my wife was go through it was what what the heck’s going on your husband? Anyway. But there was that great loss, right loss. But it profoundly changed me in so many direct, indirect ways. And over the decades, unless treated like a, like an onion, just on layering, the different meanings, the different things I learned, I’ve come to realize it was so much greater than any other experience that I’ve ever, ever had. And also realize that I’m not alone in this rainbow body. And that there are other people manifesting human bodies that are part of that rainbow body. I was in light, there are visitors here. But that’s the real home. And maybe we each got a different rainbow body. I don’t know, maybe there’s a group of scientists out there that got a special rainbow body. Maybe there’s a group of people that are bringing spiritual stuff. Maybe there’s a group of people that are engineers, science, I’m think I’m thinking that maybe the world has been directed by these groups of like minded entities, souls consciousness, that are working on some aspect of our evolution. That was the thought I had when it came back. I can’t prove it. I don’t know. I haven’t read it anywhere. So I don’t know. But it was a feeling that something to do with that. And I, I found that to be something comfortable with me to think,
Rick Archer: yeah, I have the same feeling. Although I haven’t had an experience like that, obviously. But I think your whole life is a testament to the idea that there’s more to life than meets the eye, there’s more of the world that then than meets the eye. And I think it’s not only comforting, but inspiring, and perhaps realistic to assume to understand that there are all kinds of higher levels of creation, that may not be perceivable by the average person, but that are that but that were perceivable to them, and that they’re very much involved in helping to orchestrate human affairs. And yeah, I mean, said somebody else out there love this, you know, keep us from Barcelona, give us ourselves up. And at the same time, you know, Shepherd along our development or evolution as as a planet as a species. Yeah, it’s a Yogananda talks a lot about that, obviously, and many people I’ve interviewed have had experiences along those lines, and there’s all kinds of books you can read about it. So I don’t think it’s just sort of wishful thinking or fantasy indulgence or anything like that. I think it probably is an indication of how the universe is actually operating.
Bill McDonald: Yeah, but there seems to be a plan. And I’m one of these guys. I don’t question nothing. I’m happy if I was, if this whole answer this cosmic thing was a jigsaw puzzle. And I was just one of the border pieces. But I was the flower in the middle of all the colors wouldn’t bother me. I’m happy to be in one piece of the puzzle. Sure, because I know they can’t finish that piece of puzzle till I’m in plugged in. Right. So I think each of us is a piece So that jigsaw puzzle, that spiritual jigsaw puzzle, and, and I really do believe that ultimately, we’re already there. And you talked about it. On some of your talks, I’ve watched some of your videos that people talk about climbing a mountain and stuff, you know, there’s many different trails to it. Cuz I was like this example because you want to go to the top of the mountain, you want to take a Sherpa that’s been to the top of that particular mountain. But he hooks everybody up to rope and you can have somebody down the valley on that same rope. Rescue guys are at the top guys are in the middle. And you know what, everybody that’s tied to that rope is going to get to the top of the mountain. And it’s just a matter of time it says time is not real. Right. So it doesn’t make any difference.
Rick Archer: You know, you’re just reminded me of John Dunn’s poem, as you’re speaking and I just looked it up. It’s no Madison Island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent a part of the main, if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is less as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manner of by friends or they don’t wear any man’s death diminishes me, because I’m involved in mankind and therefore, never sent to know for whom the bell tolls it tolls to the
Bill McDonald: I love that court. Yeah, that’s one of my favorites. But that’s true. For all, every decide to get back that original statement, we started off earlier, nobody’s special because we’re all special. And if we’re all special, then nobody special right back to that. We’re all one. So who you choose to be your teacher who you choose to be a guru, there’s only one guru. There’s that one guru within you. With outside you. When you worship a guru, whatever you pick, doesn’t matter. If you see the one guru in your guru, it’s interesting because people criticize whatever guru where this guy does this, this guy that he’s human, he does this. You know what? I think how you see your guru says a lot about the devil team. If you see your guru is a crook, as a fake as a fraud, as cheater as you know, an idiot. That’s what they are to you. And if you see in your guru, that one God, the guards with the physical guru, you see that one guru, that God in them, then you actually see in the face of God, what your life. And so, and that’s a reflection upon the student, the devotee, the disciple. So all these people know, stop and think it’s reflection upon you, the follower. So, which
Rick Archer: is, which does not absolve gurus from the hill, you know, that’s their responsibility. But you have a point, you have a point at which,
Bill McDonald: but that’s up to them. Yeah, it’s up to them. You know, they, it was got to answer for whatever it is. But you know, if we spend our time focusing on us, and improving us, in less time, we’re worried about everybody else’s faults, we’re gonna get someplace. And right now we’re living in a society. It’s really terrible out there right now, because I don’t even dare talk politics, because I disagree with them all. Because I’m going, both sides are terrible. ones go so crazy this way, once going so crazy this way. Nobody ever says, let’s work together, let’s compromise, let’s find something that’s of equal value of a man without a party of a man candidate. But I got hope. And I got that one guru within me. And I’m hoping that this nation, this country, this world, this cosmos, will focus on that one, guru within. And we’ll all come to the same understanding. So that’s where I’m going. And I don’t know if I’m going to be there successfully with me, well, I’m going out there trying to help one vet at a time, one person at a time. I don’t just help veterans case, somebody out there. And if somebody wants to come and buy buy books on Amazon,
Rick Archer: I’ve been LinkedIn too.
Bill McDonald: And there’s, there’s links from my website, they’re going to my website. I’m here, I’m available. I got YouTube videos out there. If you want stuff, individual stories, this video itself will probably add some power and impact people who want to hear me I am just a messenger. And I am not the message. And I think a lot of people come on your shows have basically echoed that same thing. It’s it’s the message that we’re all sending out. And I think the common line that we’re all being drawn in the sand here. It’s all about love. It’s all about love. And if it’s not why we hear
Rick Archer: the Beatles, right?
Bill McDonald: Yeah, cuz people ask why are we here? What’s What’s the purpose of my life? To love and serve? And you can narrow that down just love Because certainly with Love Love is service. I mean, what’s love loving?
Rick Archer: Great. Well, that’s a good place to wrap it up. Can’t can’t get any better than that.
Bill McDonald: Well, Nava, stay. Thank you for allowing me to occupy this cyberspace with you. Sure,
as an honor this, this
Bill McDonald: will live longer than the both of us. Yeah,
Rick Archer: I hope so. Yeah, sure. Well. Yeah. So thanks a lot Bill. I really enjoyed this whole week, you know, reading your books and listening to your videos, and then have this this conversation has been the icing on the cake. So really appreciate your time.
Bill McDonald: No accidents. Somehow we connected thank Irene for that, and blessings and peace to you, my friend.
Rick Archer: Let me just make a little concluding remark here. So I’ve been speaking with Bill McDonald. And as always, I’ll have a page on BatGap about him about this interview, and with links to his YouTube channel, and his books, and so on. When you’re there, if you go there, check out the other menus, there are things you can, you know, subscribe to an email or, you know, subscribe to the audio podcasts or whatever interests you check out the different menus. And this is part of an ongoing series. As it said in the beginning, there’s an upcoming interviews page where you will see who we got scheduled. Take a look at that, you can actually sign up to be notified of those things. There’s a little calendar thing that you can fill out to get a notification when an interview is going to be aired. Because a lot of people like to watch them live and about 150 people on today for this one. You cannot you can send in questions during or before the live interviews, if you wish to do so. And there’s a forum for that at the bottom of that upcoming interviews page.
Bill McDonald: And Rick, it because I didn’t answer a lot of questions. If you can forward. Feel free to forward any questions to me with the people’s email address, or Facebook, whatever it is, and I will personally answer any question that comes in.
Rick Archer: Okay. Do you want me to put your email address on your back end page? Yeah. All right. So we’ll have your email address on there. If it gets a bit too much. Let me know I’ll take it off again. But
Bill McDonald: that’s that’s what I do.
Rick Archer: Okay, good. Well, thanks, Bill. Thanks for your time, and thanks to those who’ve been listening or watching and we’ll see you next week.