Curt A NDE-like

Experience Description

I was working for a manufacturing company in Iowa. I just had just left the Marine Corps after almost ten years of service. I left trying to save a marriage and to make sure I would be in the life of my twins. They were only four at that time. I started a job as a journeyman electrician. One Saturday in March, while working overtime, we had a power outage. The other electrician on duty and I were responsible for getting the power back on. After following safety procedures, we locked the power off and proceeded to fix the problem. When we were finishing up at the main bank, I was told by the senior electrician to attach a ground wire to the chain link fence and ground all the static electricity. He looked inside. He told me to go ahead. Everything was grounded fine. I touched the first two phases with no problems. Not knowing the switch was broken; touching the last phase caused an explosion. The power grabbed me and held me for a few seconds. Then I was thrown against the chain link fence surrounding the switches. I was conscious through the whole ordeal. Landing on the ground, I realized I was on fire. I started to run for the building and a nearby shower. The senior electrician who had not been hurt tripped me. I started to roll on the ground.

My foreman, who had walking by to check on our progress, began to put out the flames out with his hands. When he stopped I looked down and saw the skin covering my chest was almost completely gone. I could see my feet. However, the bottoms of my shoes were gone. He proceeded to tell me everything was going to be fine.

As he was talking a close friend of mine appeared over his left shoulder. He had been a military jet navigator who died three years earlier in a plane crash. Mike was in his flight suit. He told me he was there to help me make the transformation. I told him I wasn't ready to go yet. He encouraged me by telling me how wonderful it was. I was steadfast. I didn't want to go. The reason was my father had died when I was four. At that time, my twins were four. Then as suddenly as Mike appeared, my good friend was gone.

Suddenly, appearing to my right came this wonderful ball of white light. From the light, three figured appeared. They were dressed completely in white robes.

There were ropes of gold around their waists. Instantly, my life passed before me. All the good and also the bad. I could not see the faces of the three figures. Again, I said I wanted to stay with my children. I wanted to have the opportunity to watch my kids grow. That was something I was denied. A very abusive stepfather raised me. I didn't want that to happen again.

Then mentally I was told I must do three things. If I agreed, I would be able to watch them grow. First- I was to walk through the valley of death. That was the eleven weeks in the intensive care burn center. Second- I was to bare the scars and pain of the injury for the rest of my life. I have done that. Finally, I was to profess to the world my story and to the fact, there is truly life after death. The figures asked me if I was willing to accept these terms, I agreed and the light was gone. I was looking in my foreman's face as he was telling me I was going to be alright. I looked directly into his eyes and told him I knew I would be.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 'March 29, 1980'

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' I was working as an electrician. I had thousands of volts of electricity explode on me. I took twenty-one hundred volts through my bicep and exiting my right ankle. I was burned 57% third degree and 89% total.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Positive

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? No

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I was completely conscious.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning It seemed I talked to the beings for hours. In fact in was only several second or maybe minutes.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes

The experience included: Light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes A round ball like a tunnel. Large enough for three figures to walk from.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm The smell of burning hair and flesh were dominate. The explosion was so loud the guard who was posted two blocks away said he thought someone had shot a shotgun close to his ear. I didn't feel any of any of my senses.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Complete Utopia!! A feeling I was drawn to experience again to during the following painful days that followed.

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe Prior to the accident as a young child my grandmother pointed out that I was a special child. I would tell her what she had purchased for me before I got the gift.

The experience included: Life review

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 Periodically, I have feelings that about certain events. Example: My son was going to be driving back to college. He had a one hundred mile drive. I felt a car would cross the center line and crash into my son. I made him wait an extra hour to leave. On his way back to school, he came a car that had crossed the center line. It crashed into a truck just like his!

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? Moderate Roman Catholic

What is your religion now? Conservative/fundamentalist Became an Anglican in the Episcopal church

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I came to the understanding that we are all on a journey. We make different choices during this travel. But there is a higher power and he has a plan. Basically, we all are caterpillars waiting to turn into beautiful butterflies.

The experience included: Presence of unearthly beings

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? Yes

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The best was feeling the utopia that comes with death! The worst was losing that feeling of Utopia. Knowing my life was ahead of me and it was going to be a brutal recovery to get back to get back to somewhat the man I was.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes As many as I can.

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