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When I fell and broke my neck, I remember seeing my hand in front of my face. Then it faded to black like an old TV set used to do. How long I was unconscious for, I am unsure. I think it was at least 5 minutes. I remember quite a bit during the time I was out, which felt like hours. I remember waking beside a tree overlooking a lake. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The lake was pristine and a beautiful color like I have never seen before. The lake was surrounded by a hill side with bulrushes and lily pads close to the edge. There was a bird, that looked like a heron, standing in the rushes. On the far side of the lake was a forest of trees. To my right there was a tree trunk split as it left the ground, making it look like two trees were growing there. The colors were vivid. This place had a quiet peace about it. Quite literally, it was the nicest and most tranquil place that I have ever experienced. I looked up to see a person standing close to me. I did not recognize him at first, but I did know him from somewhere. He was quite young; about 25 years old in a baseball uniform that was either Brooklyn Dodgers or New York Yankees number 5. The man looked fantastic. It was when he spoke that I knew he was my uncle. This confused me because he had passed away a couple of years earlier. There were two other people whom I didn't know who were standing beside the two trunk tree. One man was bent at the knees in a crouched position and the other was standing upright and leaning against the tree. They stayed against the tree in the background watching but didn't say anything. I was in the most beautiful place I have ever been and felt at complete ease and comfort. I felt completely at peace, like I have never felt before. I had a conversation with my Uncle about life and life's expectations but all that we spoke about is a little sketchy now. What felt like hours was probably only minutes. From far away, I heard a voice yelling my name. I thought to myself, 'Leave me alone. Why is someone bothering me?' My Uncle told me it was time for me to leave and go back. I found this very strange. I told him I did not want to leave this beautiful place. He then told me it wasn't my time and that I had to go back. His last comment to me was, "Play it again, Dougie." This was what he always said to me when he visited, as he wanted to hear the same song over and over again. At that point, I felt like I was being pushed very hard. The peacefulness vanished and I was looking into the eyes of my niece yelling at me because she thought I had died. She said that I was very still and not moving. Suddenly my eyes opened and she could see only the whites of my eyes. My eyes looked like they had rolled into the back of my head. She said I started to shake and having convulsions when my eyes rolled into place and I was looking at her. I had no idea where I was, how I had gotten there, or why I was looking at her. At that point, I felt the pain and then had the understanding of where I was, but not how I got there. I have gone over this so many times and can still hear my uncle's voice in my head but I do not understand the meaning of anything. I have not been myself since falling and can't understand why. Everything seems the same, yet different to me. It is as though I have lost a part of me or left some part of me behind. I also have a strong feeling of guilt as I want to return to this place that I was in. This experience has scared me. The pain and suffering has subsided, but emotionally I am a bit of a wreck. I don't let it get in my way of doing anything but it plays in the back of my head over and over again. I feel completely lost, all alone, and can't seem to find myself. Background Information: Gender: Male Date NDE Occurred: March 12, 2012 NDE Elements: At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Direct head injury. Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening. C-7 vertebrae was broken during my fall How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant Did you feel separated from your body? Yes From far away, I heard a voice yelling my name. I thought to myself, 'Leave me alone. Why is someone bothering me?' My Uncle told me it was time for me to leave and go back. I found this very strange. I told him I did not want to leave this beautiful place. He then told me it wasn't my time and that I had to go back. 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 I felt completely at peace and could see vividly the colors and shapes of everything At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Completely alert while watching the lake and speaking. 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 It felt like I was there for hours and had no sense of time at all. In reality it probably was only a matter of minutes. 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. The colors and shapes were vivid, that's the only word I can think of to describe it. Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Really don't know of any change. Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No The experience included: Presence of deceased persons 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 Uncle deceased 5 years prior The experience included: Unearthly light Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No Did you see an unearthly light? No The experience included: A landscape or city Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm I was at a lakeside that was the most beautiful and peaceful place I have ever seen. The experience included: Strong emotional tone What emotions did you feel during the experience? Completely at peace. I was not afraid at all, even though I realized that I was speaking with my Uncle who had passed away. 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? No Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about myself or others My uncle and I had a conversation about life, but I vaguely remember about all that we spoke. Did scenes from your past come back to you? No Did scenes from the future come to you? No The experience included: Boundary Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? 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 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- Protestant Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Moderately important to me What is your religion now? Christian- Protestant 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? Yes I have a feeling of guilt because I am always wondering when and how I will get back to that place. The guilt is probably due to the leaving behind those that I love. 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 There were two people standing beside a tree that I did not recognize. They did not speak and seemed to provide calm about them. Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them 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 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 probably 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 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? I was uncertain if an afterlife exists Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I met my Uncle who was wearing a baseball uniform and looked as though he had just finished playing a game. baseball was his passion during life. I asked my mother to explain how he looked in his uniform, what number he wore and what his uniform looked like. Amazingly it was all exactly as i saw. 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? Moderately fearful in living my earthly life Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Not fearful in living my earthly life Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are meaningful and significant Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are 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? Moderately compassionate toward others During your experience, did you gain information about love? No Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what. I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what. Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes As I explained earlier I have a feeling of guilt that I want to leave the ones I love behind and go back to this place. I have that in the back of my head at all times when I am with those that mean a lot to me. After the NDE: Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes I am a skeptic and do not know what to believe or not believe. I feel embarrassed to speak about my experience and it took a long time before I opened up to anybody. I finally approached a very good friend whom I find very spiritual and explained what I had gone through. She had expressed to me to write it down as I had experienced something that very few people get to experience. It has helped to speak about my experience but it is very hard for others to understand or for me to really feel that they understand what I have gone through. 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 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? Yes I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what. Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes It took me over a year to speak about my experience. It was constantly playing in my head, driving me crazy. I thought maybe I was crazy. The first reaction was one of awe and I was told that I had experienced something very few people get to experience. Most people just look at me and ask if this really did happen, while others are quite interested and others that just say, 'You're full of it.' Most notably my mother told me she knew something had happened and that I had changed; she just didn't know what or why. It was her brother that I spoke with and I told her some things that she thought was amazing. 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 probably real The experience was clear and the feeling has always haunted me. What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I have played it over and over in my head so many times and it hasn't changed. You would think if I made it up in my mind, that it would change and I would forget. But it has never been different and it has always been exactly the same. 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? It has been great to be able to put down in words and describe what has happened to me.
Background Information:
Gender: Male
Date NDE Occurred: March 12, 2012 NDE Elements:
At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Direct head injury. Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening. C-7 vertebrae was broken during my fall
How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant
Did you feel separated from your body? Yes From far away, I heard a voice yelling my name. I thought to myself, 'Leave me alone. Why is someone bothering me?' My Uncle told me it was time for me to leave and go back. I found this very strange. I told him I did not want to leave this beautiful place. He then told me it wasn't my time and that I had to go back. 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 I felt completely at peace and could see vividly the colors and shapes of everything
At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Completely alert while watching the lake and speaking.
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 It felt like I was there for hours and had no sense of time at all. In reality it probably was only a matter of minutes.
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. The colors and shapes were vivid, that's the only word I can think of to describe it.
Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Really don't know of any change.
Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No
Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No
The experience included: Presence of deceased persons
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 Uncle deceased 5 years prior
The experience included: Unearthly light
Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No
Did you see an unearthly light? No
The experience included: A landscape or city
Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm I was at a lakeside that was the most beautiful and peaceful place I have ever seen.
The experience included: Strong emotional tone
What emotions did you feel during the experience? Completely at peace. I was not afraid at all, even though I realized that I was speaking with my Uncle who had passed away.
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? No
Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about myself or others My uncle and I had a conversation about life, but I vaguely remember about all that we spoke.
Did scenes from your past come back to you? No
Did scenes from the future come to you? No
The experience included: Boundary
Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? 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 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- Protestant
Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No
What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Moderately important to me
What is your religion now? Christian- Protestant
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? Yes I have a feeling of guilt because I am always wondering when and how I will get back to that place. The guilt is probably due to the leaving behind those that I love.
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 There were two people standing beside a tree that I did not recognize. They did not speak and seemed to provide calm about them.
Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them
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 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 probably 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 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? I was uncertain if an afterlife exists
Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I met my Uncle who was wearing a baseball uniform and looked as though he had just finished playing a game. baseball was his passion during life. I asked my mother to explain how he looked in his uniform, what number he wore and what his uniform looked like. Amazingly it was all exactly as i saw.
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? Moderately fearful in living my earthly life
Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Not fearful in living my earthly life
Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are 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? Moderately compassionate toward others
During your experience, did you gain information about love? No
Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others
What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what. I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what.
Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes As I explained earlier I have a feeling of guilt that I want to leave the ones I love behind and go back to this place. I have that in the back of my head at all times when I am with those that mean a lot to me. After the NDE:
Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes I am a skeptic and do not know what to believe or not believe. I feel embarrassed to speak about my experience and it took a long time before I opened up to anybody. I finally approached a very good friend whom I find very spiritual and explained what I had gone through. She had expressed to me to write it down as I had experienced something that very few people get to experience. It has helped to speak about my experience but it is very hard for others to understand or for me to really feel that they understand what I have gone through.
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 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? Yes I have at times been with other people and suddenly I am looking down upon everyone, watching and following the conversation. It is the strangest feeling I have ever had and it has happened only a couple of times. Somebody will ask if I am there. Then I come straight back into my body and shake a little and say, 'Yes.' If they ask what they were talking about I can give in detail the conversation and who said what.
Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes It took me over a year to speak about my experience. It was constantly playing in my head, driving me crazy. I thought maybe I was crazy. The first reaction was one of awe and I was told that I had experienced something very few people get to experience. Most people just look at me and ask if this really did happen, while others are quite interested and others that just say, 'You're full of it.' Most notably my mother told me she knew something had happened and that I had changed; she just didn't know what or why. It was her brother that I spoke with and I told her some things that she thought was amazing.
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 probably real The experience was clear and the feeling has always haunted me.
What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I have played it over and over in my head so many times and it hasn't changed. You would think if I made it up in my mind, that it would change and I would forget. But it has never been different and it has always been exactly the same.
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? It has been great to be able to put down in words and describe what has happened to me.
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