Arthur S NDE

What I perceive to be an out-of-body experience is as follows…

I was driving home one evening around 11:00 PM, when I had a car accident. The weather was terrible - one of those short, violent summer storms that seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere. With the best of intentions, I was driving along, slightly faster than normal when I came to this tight bend in the road. I thought I was all set, since I already knew it was there, having driven down this particular road several times before, both in daylight and in darkness. However, as I remember, I was just emerging from this tight bend when the car skidded. It hit the curb, and then took off through the air for a distance of about twenty to thirty yards!!! The car finally came to rest by crashing into a brick wall that was at the side of the walkway.

This is when I had the out-of-body experience. I was floating outside of my car looking down at myself, my body sprawled motionless across both front seats. What really makes me think I was dead for a short period is that everything visual was in reverse, just as you see it in the prints of film negatives. Everywhere that should have been black was white, and everything that should have been white was black. And there I was, suspended in mid-air, looking down at myself lying in the car, dead.

There was no sound to be heard; there was no light nor dark, just the picture and negative. The time lapse must have been only seconds, but it seemed that time had no reality. It seemed to me I had all the time in this world, because there was this unconscious light behind me!! It was calling me nearer to it— but, the faster I traveled towards this light, the farther away it seemed to become. That's when I traveled so fast that I saw myself appearing back in the car, re-entering my body and waking up. There was no pain at all during my accident, in fact, no feeling at all, other than a little discomfort from slight grazes. The car was wrecked - and the six-foot-tall, double-layer brick wall had to be rebuilt. The police were informed, and their investigation took its course.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1979

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No Accident Life threatening event, but not clinical death
How do you consider the content of your experience? Positive

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes See above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? None.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning What really makes me think I was dead for a short period is that everything was in reverse, just as you see in negative prints of film.

Did your hearing differ in any way from normal? That's the whole point - only total silence, and no color.

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes Myself, dead.

The experience included: Light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes This light was so bright and friendly, that it was unbelievable.

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? No pain, no pleasure, no time. There was no feeling, no pain during my accident, other than discomfort from slight grazes.

The experience included: Special Knowledge

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

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

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 That's when I traveled so fast towards the light that I saw myself appearing back in the car. Then I saw myself traveling back into my body and waking up.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate

What is your religion now? Moderate

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Knowing that I was alive, and not dead.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes My family. So that may be some improvement.

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

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