Grace NDE

Experience Description

I was a passenger in a Ford Econoline Van, traveling north on I-95 en route to Rhode Island in the early hours after midnight (1:00 to 1:30 am). It had just begun to snow mixed with light rain. I was in the middle row of seats, closest to the side doors. The car skidded and rolled over; I slid sideways, breaking the doors open. I lost consciousness, and came to trapped under the car. The first thing I remember is hearing my companions yelling, ‘Push!’ I tried to push, but found I could not move my arms. I tried to yell, ‘I can't push,’ but found I could not make my mouth speak. They got the car off me and dragged me away along the side of the road, up a small rise. I could hear them talking, but could not make my mouth speak, nor move my limbs.

Although my body was lying supine, face to the sky, I experienced the scene as if I were sitting upright, a little to the right and behind my body, slightly lower on the rise. I could hear everyone, and see the scene from the vantage point of one sitting up. I was concerned about not being able to make my body work. We waited quite a while, my fiancé speaking to me and me not being able to speak or move. I vaguely wondered about why I was unable to make my body function, and I think the idea of being dead may have been distantly entertained, but my main concern at the time was not being able to make my body work, not feeling connected to it and in control of it. The idea of being dead was curious, not especially frightening. I was mostly curious and a bit annoyed, wondering if being dead explained why I wasn't able to make my body work, but also not believing that that was all there was to death, that it couldn't just be sitting next to one's body not being able to control it, while witnessing the events around me in totality and clarity. Surely if one were actually dead, there should be the white light, or angels, or dead people, or something. I also just couldn't believe that I was actually dead.

I saw the ambulance arrive, and the paramedic come up the rise with a flashlight in hand. He examined my body, shone the flashlight in my eyes, etc. I saw him shine the light, but did not ‘see’ the light as if with my eyes, did not feel or see light shined in my eyes. The paramedic turned around and called down to the other personnel at the ambulance. He said they could take it on in, that ‘this one's dead.’ He started back down the hill. I was so startled by the announcement that I was, in fact, dead, that I said, aloud, ‘Am I dead?’ At this my fiancé jumped up and ran after the paramedic, yelling that I wasn't dead and they should come get me to the ambulance. After that I was back in my body, so I suppose that was the end of the experience.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: March 19, 1969

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Accident car accident. Car rolled over, I was trapped beneath. Friends righted car and dragged me away to side of road. car accident. EMT ascertained I was dead, but I did not feel so. I had been in a car accident, trapped under a car. When paramedics arrived, they determined I was dead. It was only on hearing that that I spontaneously returned to myself and was able to speak. So, the accident may have been life threatening, although in fact I did not die, so it is hard to say that it was so.

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I didn't actually pay attention to my appearance or form at the time. I felt like I was me, but couldn't communicate with my body. I felt like I was in a different place, not far from but not in my body, though.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Except for blacking out during the skidding and rolling of the car in the accident, I felt alert and was aware of the scene and happenings around me.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Only that the space where I actually lay would have had a view up at the sky, while I was seeing things from a vantage point of someone sitting up.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I could, however, hear the people around me clearly as they spoke to one another.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

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 didn't feel very emotional. I was not happy about the idea of being dead, wasn't ready for it, but wasn't terribly sad or frightened, either. I was concerned about not being able to make my body work, and a bit annoyed.

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control I would say no, except that if I had actually been dead or unconscious, I would not have heard people and would not have seen the paramedic examine me and shine the flashlight in my eyes.

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 was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate

What is your religion now? Conservative/fundamentalist

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Uncertain I was concerned with not being able to make my body work. It was only afterward that I realized that what I saw was not consistent with what my physical body would have been able to see, that my perspective was from outside my body.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Best part was probably that although I was frustrated at being out of contact with my physical body, I was spared the pain it was undergoing. I was also more or less peaceful, although there was some anxiety at the thought of being dead. The worst part was the lack of control. Being able to enter and leave that kind of experience at will and under conscious control would probably be awesome.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain Later in my life I attempted to induce an out of body experience through mind attempts, meditation, etc., with some success.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? Not at this time. I am tired.