Author, lecturer and hospice worker Dannion Brinkley returned to the show to discuss his near death experiences (NDEs) and his work with dying veterans. He said he'd had three major NDEs, once when he was hit by lightning in 1975, another time during open heart surgery, and a third episode during brain surgery in 1997. In the 1997 case, Art Bell conducted a radio experiment asking people to pray for Brinkley, who said he could see a "silver blue color" in his room at that moment.

Brinkley also described an unusual occurrence when he was doing his hospice volunteering. An elderly vet, who had been one of the Tuskegee Airmen, was "talking" to his brother who was not physically in the room. Dannion said he saw "a beautiful silver being" that was lifting out the spirit of the vet, just as he was dying.

The year 2004 holds great opportunity for spiritual growth or it could lead to an extended world war, Brinkley said, based on his "Final Vision" that he received in his 1975 NDE. The vision also warned of an upcoming implantable chip technology which he said would eventually give consciousness to the Internet. Also, according to his vision, within the next four years, the price of oil will rise to $200 a barrel, and there will be a complete acknowledgement of ET's.

Arafat's Death

Thursday's first half-hour guest, Dr. Clovis Maksoud, a Professor of International Relations at the American Univ., offered commentary on the death of Yasser Arafat. He said that while there now may be a new chapter in the Mideast peace process, the U.S. and Israel had, over the years, created propaganda pointing at Arafat as a main obstacle in ending the hostilities.