Brom W NDE

Experience Description

I was swimming when I injured my back, that paralyzed from the shoulders down. I was transported to the hospital where they admitted me. I had been fitted with a trachea tube in my throat and was placed in a circle bed to prevent pressure sores. When a caretaker was turning me from my stomach and onto my back, the trachea tube got caught in the sheet. This caused the breathing tube to come out of my throat.

I became fully engulfed in heavenly light while being propelled forward. I clearly heard the loud sound of rushing wind. After some moments of awe and wonder, I realized that my consciousness had been separated from my body. Instinctively, I struggled to return to my body by sending messages to those parts of my body. I tried to shrug my shoulders, blink my eyes, and turning my head, but did not seem to have any effect at first.

Unknown to me, a doctor was with me at the time. He recognized what was happening, grabbed a hand pump to resuscitate me, and repositioned the breathing tube. He also directed my brother to shout at me and get my attention.

As my sensation of being separated began to fade, the sound of the wind began to diminish. I heard my brother's voice. I heard the doctor's voice telling me to calm down, stop moving around, and that I was going to be okay. The room gradually came into focus.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: September 4, 1975

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident. Surgery-related. Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function). I had a spinal cord injury [c5-6], infection, and pressure sores.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes. I clearly left my body and existed outside it

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. There was a singular purity about my consciousness because there were no distractions to cloud my thinking.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Immediately after being with the light.

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. Time seemed to lose meaning to me. My thinking pattern remained the same during the experience, so I conclude that moments had passed.

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. Though my vision seemed confined to my immediate surroundings, I knew that I could see into infinity.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I had heard wind through the trees, but this sound was amplified and concentrated. Since I detected no trees or manifestations of wind, I assumed it to be part of the natural environment. I sensed that I would become accustomed to the sound the longer I stayed there.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere, as if by ESP? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes it was tunnel-like, but I did not feel there were limits to the sides of the tunnel, but only my limitations to perceive them.

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? 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, this light has a life that is embodied in it and animates it.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm. The light was the space and animated it.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt awe, surprise, confusion and panic

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? I felt united or one with the world

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe. I knew that complete understanding was within the light but I didn't have time to access it. I was busy trying to reconnect with my physical form.

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 was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Other Christian. I was raised Catholic and stopped attending regular services upon entering later teen years.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes Although I subscribe to the faith that I was born to, I recognize that there are many paths to that place that transcends dogma.

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian. I regularly attend Presbyterian services with wife. She's a member, I'm not.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. Biblical phrases like 'I am the light of the world' have taken on a greater meaning

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? 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? Yes I knew my experience was not unique. I knew that we are all a part of it and that it occurs constantly.

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes that the light is god made manifest.

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes that my purpose was to help ease suffering to the best of my ability and be a teacher.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? An afterlife definitely exists. that life is a constant, there is no before or after on the conscious level.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes that I had not only separated from my body but the world also, maybe the universe too.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes light, love and god are all the same thing; accessible and free. There may be a greater understanding of love to aspire to by being more loving.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life a renewed appreciation about the preciousness of life and an urgent desire to make the most of my time to help others.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes the concept of a living light seems preposterous here but there, it just is the natural state of things.

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. Since recognizing that the experience is always happening at any given time, I feel that I am constantly in that space but it lies beyond my ability to physically perceive it.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes more synchronicity.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Knowing that consciousness continues and I now have a lack of fear about the future.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I attempted to share it immediately and subsequently lectured at IANDS about it.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes out of body and lucid dreaming research at the local chapter of the theosophical society as a teenager.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real. I continued with my hospitalization and thought and prayed about it often. I knew it to be an extension of my earthly existence.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. The reality of the experienced is reinforced by other accounts I've heard and people who have shared similar experiences.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain. When we had a hot tub, I would be in it on a sunny day, but have to squint so it didn't hurt while I turned on the noisy jets. This is close but still doesn't describe or reproduce what happened.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? Since I'd been in the hospital for some weeks prior to the NDE, I had been praying fervently. Others had been praying or otherwise sending healing energy my way. I suspect the fact that I was instantly in the light had something to do with being in a state of grace.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? it might be helpful to know how the NDE affected the experiencer's later life. For example, I began teaching art to children in a hospital setting and also serve as peer counselor to new quadriplegics.