Chris DA NDE

Experience Description

After losing control of my car, I went completely unconscious.

I then had an OBE and watched my car hit the guard rail head-on from moving into the oncoming side of the highway. The impact was estimated to be at between 35-40mph and the impact was violent enough to snap the rear axle of my car. The impact tore chunks out of my stainless alloy front wheels. After watching my car impact from above, I had a life review. The only things I remember were my elementary school playground and playing on my grandmother's porch when I was young. I could tell that I was younger because I was small in terms of height. I saw how I looked in relation to the size of the banister and furniture. After the life review, I woke up.

My car was on its side, in a ditch on the original side of the road. After impact, my car had skidded back across the highway; much in the same fashion as a puck in a game of air hockey would have done since the roads were icy. I still remember everything in vivid detail that happened immediately afterwards. I even remember the song playing when I regained consciousness. Doctors later told me that being unconscious might have save my life due to the speed of the impact and my airbags not deploying.


Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 01-23-2003

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident. Life threatening event, but not clinical deat. Lost total control of car's steering and brakes going 40mph. My car went into the oncoming lane around a blind turn.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? No 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? Normal consciousness and alertness.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Right after losing control and before going unconscious.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Time seemed to go faster or slower than usual. Time slowed down immensely when I lost control of the car.

Were your senses More vivid than usual? More vivid than usual

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. The OBE was in regular time but the Life Review was in hyperspeed.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Don't remember any sounds from during the whole experience at all.

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

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

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? No

Did you see an Unearthly light? No

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

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Extreme fear up until going unconscious. Then I felt peace and indifference during the OBE, and was completely caught off-guard by the Life Review.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

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

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

The experience included: Life Review

Did scenes from your past come back to you? I remembered many past events

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? Christian- Catholic

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes Very much a believer in the spiritual world and afterlife now.

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Greatly important to me

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated. I study lots of Christian Mysticism, Greek Mythology, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. I did not believe in OBEs or Life Reviews at the time.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes My uncertainty in spiritual/religious things was highly questioned and my quest for the big answers and explanations started shortly thereafter.


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? God definitely 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 probably does not exist

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists No

Did you fear death prior to your experience? I greatly feared death

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

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Not fearful in living my earthly life

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Greatly 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 probably 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? Slightly compassionate toward others

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes The Life Review seemed to be very peaceful and full of places that I enjoyed/loved.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life. It opened a door to a spiritual/energetic realm that I didn't know existed. I've had many encounters since that time. Some were more profound than my NDE and others were far scarier than my accident.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain Couldn't say to be honest.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes The emotional impact of it was very extreme.

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. I basically remember the entire hour after regaining consciousness. I, however, have very little memories of other events around that same time.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I tap into the spiritual world randomly. Sometimes it's pure bliss and enlightening, other times it's been completely hellish. It doesn't happen very often but it has steadily happened since my NDE. I've since learned to tap into this realm to make art with very little cognitive awareness of what's happening creatively until it's finished

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Still sometime I think about the experience quite regularly and I've tried rationalizing it with skeptics' theories and haven't been able to whatsoever.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Immediately afterward. They reacted with complete shock/disbelief. No, it sounds ridiculous to me even still, so I'm not surprised.

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 was really intrigued by the Life Review aligning with the old adage that your life flashes before you right before you die. That, more so than the OBE, was what caused me to go looking for answers.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. Just as crazy as I did back then but more validated after learning about how it happens to others.

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

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? I study psychology and often wonder what the long-term effects are on mental health and whether this is positive or negative. I could see how depending on the implications and intensity of the experience, it could actually cause depression and anxiety or quite possibly even cure such neuroses.