Andreas SH NDE

Experience Description:

I was seven years old, it was summer and I was as usual spending my summer holiday sailing the seas around Denmark in my parent self-build sailing boat. We were laying in the harbor of Nyborg on the Island of Fyn. It was dinnertime. My father had made a sailboat for me of paper and tied some fishing line to it that we had wrapped around a stick. I was eager to try it out and somehow I managed to leave the dinner table without a life vest on. Stepping up on the bridge (a rectangular long platform that all the boats are tied to) I got the idea, that I should examine how long the line was, before throwing the boat into the water. So I laid the boat on the bridge and walked backwards while I unrolled the line. The line was long and without knowing, I walked towards the end of the bridge until there was no bridge under my feet. Splash!

Falling backwards as I did, landing head first I hardly uttered a sound until I was under the water (there was less than two meters from the bridge down to the waterline). Under the water, I screamed, surprised, choked and horrified. All the air came out of me creating bubbles and my scream was absorbed by the water. After the first choke, I gained more control. I oriented myself and tried with the best 'dog paddling' that I had learned to work my way up, ferociously fighting. Then came a shift. In an instant after fighting a while, I realized that I couldn't make it - I was not going up. Having this realization, I instantly calmed down, resigned, got peaceful.

The fear left, peaceful silence arrived. I let myself sink to the bottom, where I sat looking around. It was a bit dark, but I could see the seaweed that sat on the bridge pillars waving and small swarms of little fishes (we call them 'hundestejler') intermingling with the seaweed. I also noted the rippled sand bottom. Then pictures started to be imposed on me, like a slideshow of pictures, showing my family, our house, my cat Felix. It is difficult to say what exactly I felt, I was saying goodbye, knowing that I was now leaving these wonderful beings, but not with a lot of sadness, more a feeling of sympathy, maybe a bit of melancholy?

Then I saw a light. Like the brightest cloud. It swept along the bottom of the sea towards me, in a rolling kind of motion. It embraced me. It is very difficult to explain, the texture and the richness of this being. Like small vibrating treads of fire, the purest white. And the sensation - Love. Every molecule in my body melted into this being and I somehow became one with this vibration. The moment it embraced me it was like it said, 'Don't worry my beloved,' while smiling to me, cuddling me, embracing me, but not with a face, with a penetrating presence. It simply did me all the best in an instant. Writing it down now, I start crying, just as I did the last time I tried - in a state of deep reverence.

Next thing I remember is opening my eyes; I'm under my father's arms as we go to the surface as a projectile. I'm being towed to the bridge where some people has gathered, I'm bewildered and somehow angry. They turn me upside down and I puke out the salty water. They carry me down in the boat and put blankets around me, a doctor comes to check on me, I'm fine. I remember how my family, mother, father, and brother were looking at me with love pouring out their eyes, somehow creating a golden glow in the boat and I felt so warm.

Next day I was happy, dancing down the streets of this little city. I was not the slightest bit traumatized, but on the contrary just eager to swim by the beach.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: mid-July 1986

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Life threatening event, but not clinical death Drowning Drowning.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I lost awareness of my body

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal It seems very far away from any normal state of consciousness, I've experienced many good times, had good orgasms etc. But it is not really comparable.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? At the end.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Neither

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Neither

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more so

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. See main narrative.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I was under water.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Neither

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? Neither

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Uncertain Other than the being I've described - NO

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes See main narrative.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Neither

What emotions did you feel during the experience? See main narrative.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible joy

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? Neither

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? Neither See main narrative.

Did scenes from the future come to you? Neither

Did you come to a border or point of no return? Neither

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Liberal

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Uncertain See above.

What is your religion now? Liberal Consider myself a disciple of the mystery, has had vision with Christian undertones, my main spiritual point of reference is the late Martinus a danish cosmoligist, got in contact with his work trough a mystical experience.. see link http://www.martinus.d

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Uncertain See above.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? Definite being, or voice clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? Neither

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain I was young when it happened. I don't come from a family that is very much interested in spirituality; I'm definitely very different in a lot of ways.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes At the time I bothered little about explaining, I did actually try but my parents and fellows in the kindergarten seemingly couldn't fathom what I was mumbling about. I somehow let my experience rest until late adolescence, where I had full body experience of a déjà vu. I somehow relived the event, while waiting on a train and had an experience of the mighty force that I encountered on the bottom of the sea, a blast that made every molecule in my body spin in ecstasy. Shortly after that I felt inclined to become a vegetarian.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain I have had a number of mystical experiences, since I turned eighteen. I was a very talented child, and would sometimes paint images that were very unlike what a child normally paints at that age, for example: a mandala like picture enfolding both heaven and hell and somehow showing the transformation process of man. I would often go into a trancelike state and sometimes produce interesting work. Apart from that I was very much like any other kid, playing soccer etc.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I guess it was all meaningful, but I must highlight the experience of melting together with the light.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I've shared it with good friends and family and on a few rare occasions where I felt it could help someone.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real I remember that I knew I had been blessed with something amazing. Life, I was alive. But the experience somehow first came to surface again at the age of eighteen. For many years I hardly gave it a thought, like I had repressed it.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I could add. That the power and presence I have felt at times when I somehow tune into the light I saw, can affect me very powerfully.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes It practically felt like a tape was played inside of me, in a meditative state I relived what seemed to be every second of the experience

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? No thanks.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? You've done a good job.