Bohdan Probable NDE

Experience Description

I was being careless. My friends and I crossed the street on a red light. In Ukraine, the cars will not always stop, even when the pedestrian has a green light to walk.

A car hit me in my left hip. Then everything went black. I remember after awhile, I began to feel pain in my leg. Suddenly, I saw a bluish-greenish light. Then I was in a place with very little snow on the ground. To my surprise, I was skiing. As I focused on the bluish-greenish light, I realized that I was in a cave. I was able to see all these stones in the cave and there were little cracks in the stones had the same bluish-greenish light. I could feel the pain in my leg, but I told myself, 'Just keep skiing. Sure it hurts now, but every second I am skiing is one second closer to full recovery.'

I eventually woke up to find my hip was broken. I was told that the car was going so fast that it was incredible that I had survived the impact with the car.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 12/20/2014

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No. Accident. Surgery-related. Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function)

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? No

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? Normal consciousness and alertness it was not different.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I realized that I was not just skiing in a tunnel, but a cave!

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I felt groggy after I woke up and could not walk. However, I would not say that my senses were any different in general when I compare before, during, and after the experience.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I did not hear anything other than the skis on the ground while they were going over rocks. It was the same.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

The experience included: Tunnel

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes The tunnel was actually a cave, with a light at the end which I never fully reached. But I was skiing toward the light.

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

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

The experience included: Darkness

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? Uncertain I saw a bluish-greenish light and I don't know if it was unearthly, but it was definitely peaceful.

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt like I had nothing to fear. Although I had issues that would all go away eventually.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Relief or calmness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back to you? No

Did scenes from the future come to you? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What importance did you place on your religious/spiritual life prior to your experience? Not important to me

What was your religion prior to your experience? Unaffiliated- Atheist I came from a Ukrainian-Catholic upbringing, but I was an atheist at the time of the experience.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I was an atheist and now I am an agnostic. I realize that even though there is a chance my brain created this, there is also a chance it did not and that life after death does exists.

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Not important to me

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Agnostic

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. My experience was interesting, but it had nothing to do with my beliefs or disbelieving.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes. I used to be totally sure that there was no afterlife, and now I am still doubtful but not yet convinced.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? No

Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? God probably does not exist

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? I am uncertain if God exists

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

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

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are not meaningful and significant

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? An afterlife does not exist

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife probably does not exist No

Did you fear death prior to your experience? I did not fear death

Do you fear death after your experience? I do not fear death

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Slightly fearful in living my earthly life

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Slightly fearful in living my earthly life

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are not meaningful and significant

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are possibly meaningful and significant

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

Were you compassionate prior to your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life. I do not know exactly what occurred. If I was to find out tomorrow that I actually did have a soul that left my body, I would not be surprised. However, if I found out that it was the result of my brain playing tricks on me, I would accept that too. I am however, slightly more open to the idea that there may be life after death.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience.

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? No.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I shared this with my family right after it happened. I also shared with some of my friends as recently as last week. Most of them thought it was a hallucination or the brain creating the imagery rather than my soul leaving my body.

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 did not exactly know what to make of it, and still don't. I can still remember particular details well, and it felt just as real as real life does. However, I still don't know if it actually occurred because I have a soul which went somewhere else, or because my brain did it. I will never know, and there is no way to prove that I did or did not go somewhere else.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably not real.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes I dreamt about the experience afterwards, and one of my schoolmates also had an NDE from blood loss in which he claimed the same experience that I had, only the light was orange rather than bluish-green.