D NDE

Experience Description

This memory or 'experience' remains unchanged in my memory since those years. At the time, I was a regular customer of the municipal outside swimming pool. I went there all summer days with 5 or 6 friends. We passed our time by playing and horsing around in the water. As an excellent swimmer and diver, I was jumping up and down on the 3-meter fiberglass diving board. On the moment to take off, I made a wrong movement and landed on the water, making an enormous 'flat landing' on my belly and chest. The shock was very violent, which cut my respiration completely. I couldn't breathe as I got out of the water grabbing the rim. I was crawling towards my friends whom were laughing and making fun of me.

It was at this moment that I realized, I was seeing from another angle; I could watch myself on the ground while I was floating above my body. I didn't feel pain anymore. I floated in the wind going faster and higher. I didn't know if this would be stopping or if I would continue to go higher up into the sky. I saw the place globally, looking at the swimming pool, public gardens, the stadium, streets, roofs of the houses, at an angle that is just impossible to describe. I saw the alarm of people on the ground while I floating above them. I remember that I saw that I was wearing a red swimsuit that summer. A feeling of well-being came over me. I had no notion at all of time passing anymore. It is so impossible to say if it took 1 minute or 5. Then in a split second, I was caught and sucked towards my body.

Air could again enter my lungs. As I came back to consciousness, the pain came back. I was back to dry land, which marked the end of the 'experience'. I immediately told my friends what happened; they continued to laugh while saying, 'What nonsense!'

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1983/1984

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No Accident. Drowning. Life threatening event, but not clinical death

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? Yes I felt like a 'super' observer. I saw everything, but couldn't control anything. 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? All the time

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning Total loss of the notion of time. So impossible to estimate duration, except at the moment when I came 'back down': that only took a split second, the time it takes to snap your finger.

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. A vision, more and more globally, the higher up from the ground I got.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I heard absolutely everything, all the discussions of the people around me and far away from me. I only remember the words of one of my friends who were about a tenth of a meter away, he was speaking to my other friends, of whom some had their back turned away from me and said: 'Look at him, he's fooling around!' I was on the ground, face-down, my arm held towards them while trying to call them, but no sound came out of my mouth.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? 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? Some unfamiliar and strange place As I had never been in an airplane at that time, the fact of floating as high as I did seemed strange to me.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? The fact of being able to float was a new and pleasant sensation, but also disturbing as it was uncontrollable. I gained much height. The wind was directing me.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

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 myself or others We (living creatures) are nothing on earth, and our spirit ends-up going someplace else, I don't know where, as otherwise I couldn't be here to describe it.

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? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will I reached a point of no return. If I had crossed this point, I think that I wouldn't be here today. But that decision didn't belong to me. My body on the ground started again to function, in a mechanical way I suppose: my lungs could fill again with air. (I don't know if my heart stopped or not, due to the shock I endured.)

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What importance did you place on your religious/spiritual life prior to your experience? Slightly important to me

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Catholic Education catholique

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

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

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Atheist dieu n'existe pas sous quelque forme que ce soit.

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

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? Uncertain

Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? God probably exists

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 does not exist

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 probably meaningful and significant

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain

Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? I was uncertain if an afterlife exists

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? Uncertain

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

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

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Unknown

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Unknown

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are probably 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? Moderately compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? No changes in my life No changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No 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

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes A few minutes later. Nobody believed me. Until today only people having had a similar experience believe me.

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

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I've forgotten so many things since, but this experience is engraved in my memory as if it just happened. Each detail is there. The feeling remains unchanged.

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? The loss of belief is absolutely not connected to this experience. It's difficult for me to say if 'spirit', 'the soul', persists as I lost all notion of time. In retrospect, I would say that 'the soul' is finally arriving somewhere in the Universe. Difficult to know how far I could have 'flown' if the 'experience' had proceeded to the end. I think that this is the only memory that I recall about that time period.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? A bit long: this questionnaire. Doing it in two separate times would maybe be less tedious: One part more general, then a second part going deeper. Thank you.