Anne M NDE

Experience Description

I had been riding with friends and we had crossed a main boulevard and were approaching a gravel side road. I recall riding down the gravel road and looking up to see a large beautiful tree with a brilliant light behind it. I remember being amazed at the beauty of the tree and turned to my friends and shouted 'Look at that tree!', but then saw my friends had stopped and were leaning over someone on the ground. I told myself to go back, that someone had been hurt. After this, I can only recall waking up in an ambulance. I later asked my friends if they had seen the tree. I wondered if I'd seen it just as I had been hit, but they hadn't. At the time, I thought that there had been a tree up ahead and the sun behind it had made it appear so radiant. I did return to that area, but no such tree could be found. I also realized that I had been heading east, the sun, in the early evening would have been behind me. That day had also been very overcast, not sunny at all.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 'July 2, 1979'

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' Hit by a car and thrown from a bicycle onto a gravel road.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? No No

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 As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I felt fully conscious of my actions, riding the bicycle, and viewing and admiring the tree and light. I have no recollection of the actual accident. I have no memory of anything that happened after telling myself to go back.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I recall clearly seeing the details of the tree's leaves, and the colors of the leaves appeared quite brilliant. The markings of the trunk were also very clear.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

The experience included: Light

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 Though the light was behind the tree, it was an important detail.

The experience included: A landscape or city

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I remember feeling exhilarated by the sight and wanted my friends to see it too.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

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

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future

Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Liberal Roman catholic

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Liberal Non-practicing Roman Catholic

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

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? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? At the time, I did not realize what the experience may have been, and did not attach any significance or meaning to it.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I did ask my friends about the vision, and we assumed it was something I had seen prior to getting hit. I later told friends, perhaps fifteen years later, who felt it was definitely a near death experience. One friend said it gave her 'goose bumps'.

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 probably not real I had never heard of near death experiences, and although it definitely felt real, I felt that it could not have possibly happened.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably real I now feel that what I experienced may have been real; I still remember it quite clearly. I recall it as though it was something I actually did and was not a dream. I've had vivid dreams in the past, and none of them feel as though they really happened.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No