Dale T NDE

Experience Description

It was about 55 years ago, and I was around 6 years old. I was eating dinner with my older brother (age 12) and my mother. I swallowed a piece of meat, which was unfortunately attached, by a sinew to another one still in my mouth, and swallowing the first piece caused the second one to block my windpipe. I could not breathe and, according to my brother, I turned blue. Suddenly I was observing the event from a corner of the room near the ceiling. I could 'see' ME lying on the floor, and my brother and mother watching helplessly. Beside me, in my corner near the ceiling, I sensed a being. I did not know who this being was, but it seemed to me that he was a spiritual 'big brother' that I had known since forever. Together we watched the events occurring below, as though it was all pre-planned. I knew that we would just wait a bit until things changed somehow, and then we would know when it was the right time, which would be when I would go back to my body. There was absolutely no fear, no concern at all. 'We' knew exactly how this would play out. I don't know how to say it. Something like 'It's so obvious how this will turn out' was what we were both thinking. Suddenly I was back in my body, and I found that I had brought back with me the knowledge that I needed - to swallow the second piece of meat in order to keep from suffocating.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1956

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Other 'Breathing obstructed, turned blue. My brother thought I was a goner.' My windpipe was blocked and I was suffocating.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

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

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? While I was in the corner of the ceiling with my spiritual 'big brother'.

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 There was not really any passage of time that I could sense. There was no time.

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. I would not call it 'vision', rather 'visual perception.' After all, I did not have eyes. This perception had a much wider field than earthly vision.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes There was a being beside me. I could not specifically identify the being, but I felt I had known this being for a very long time. There was tacit agreement between us that this was a temporary, planned event.

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? No

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt a total lack of concern about anything.

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

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

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

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? Conservative/fundamentalist 'I was only 6, my I attended Sunday school at the Baptist church.'

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes It took many years, but I finally ditched Christianity. It was such a relief when I did that! So much Christian dogma conflicts with my experience, and all my life I had been trying to reconcile the two, without success.

What is your religion now? Liberal While I adhered to the Christian faith most of my life I recently rejected all Christian Dogma and the bible. They just did not fit with my current knowledge of near death experiences in general and my own NDE specifically.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes It took many years, but I finally ditched Christianity. It was such a relief when I did that! So much Christian dogma conflicts with my experience, and all my life I had been trying to reconcile the two, without success.

The experience included: Presence of unearthly beings

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes Although I was very young, I understood that there is a natural order of events.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

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 I have a sense of things that others do not have. I have been able to sense future events and other people's feelings and emotions, without actually realizing what I was doing. I only realized some 50 years later that I was different from other people, and I needed to consciously take those differences into account, and not get blindsided by them.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes 50 years after it happened I started to share the experience with those I knew would understand it. As a child I thought it was all normal, so it didn't occur to me that there was anything about it to share. I just accepted it, not realizing that I had been changed in a profound way by the experience. There have been times in my life that I have lost friends because they did not understand perceptions I was having.

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 knew at the time.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I still have no doubt.

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? At my young age I thought that this experience was nothing unusual, and I just accepted it and forgot about it. What I did not realize was that my whole perception of the world had shifted to one, which was different from that of most other people. I never clued into this until I started reading the various NDEs on this and other sites. Reading all the other experiences suddenly brought my own experience into sharp focus. It helped explain for me some of the difficulties I have had over the years, and it has helped me to accept ME for who I am. Many thanks to all the experiencers who have shared, and to the owners of this site for these insights.