Ismael Probable NDE

Experience Description

When I was 4 years old, I fell sick with peritonitis and my mother took me to the hospital. One day after surgery, I woke up very excited, and told my mom that I had felt my body leave the planet like a rocket, and enter a supernatural world or dimension where I had met God.

According to me, at that time, I described him as an old man who had a white tunic and said that what stood out the most were his sandals. After that, God told me that I had to go back because my mother was crying a lot and I couldn't leave her alone.

It should be clarified that it was very hard for my mother, because my sister was 9 years old and we didn't have any family members in the city where we lived, because they lived in the capital and my father had gone to Japan for work and was not with us at the time. Then I went back and spoke to my mother, as mentioned at the beginning of the story.

Years later, during a basketball training session, my teacher, who became a good friend of my mother, told me that story and I was surprised, since I didn’t remember it.

In the year 2021, in the midst of an existential crisis and the search for God, I came across the movie “Heaven Is For Real” and I realized that my experience was almost the same as that of the boy in the movie, which was based on real events. Since then, I have become interested in the topic of NDEs and I can say that I no longer fear death so much, although I still have some doubts about the topic of hell and what happens to people who hold other beliefs.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 2007

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Surgery-related Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function) Peritonitis

How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes God told me to go back because my mother was crying and suffering. I think it was for the best since I feel that if I hadn't come back, my mother would have sunk into a depression and maybe my family's life would have been very different. 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 I don't remember experiencing a high state of consciousness; I just remember being happy to be in that place.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? During surgery, I suppose.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

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. Normal

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Normal

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? Uncertain I told my mother that I took off like a rocket and could see the earth from space, but I don't remember a tunnel. It was like astral travel, I would say.

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

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? Uncertain When I was talking to God, I do not remember his face. Having read about NDEs and part of the Bible, I know that God is represented with a bright light and that’s why you cannot see his face. Maybe that was it.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm Heaven

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Happiness and joy. I did not want to go back.

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? I felt no longer in conflict with nature

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

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 God told me to go back. Although I still wonder whether it was a recommendation to follow, or because it wasn’t my time yet.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

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

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes When I was 16 years old, I considered myself an agnostic, but I continued to go to church while secretly making fun of God and those who believed in him. In 2021 my life took a 360 degree turn, and after that, I wanted to connect more with God and I would say that I have been very happy since I believed in him again. Although I still have doubts about some issues such as hell, reincarnation, life on other planets (dimensions or universes), different religions, the return of Jesus to earth (The Rapture) or what happens to people outside of Christianity.

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience I did know about God since my school was mostly Catholic. The similarities with other NDEs surprised me (Taking into account that I was 4 years old at the time and had never heard of this topic before).

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes After the experience: no. Currently, at the age of 19, as I read the experiences of others, I try to give the same love that God gives to everyone, incredibly, including atheists, homosexuals, muslims etc.. (Taking into account that I was raised with the thought that they were despised by God, who would punish them for not being christians). But now, I think we all have a purpose in life.

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 I met God, an elderly man who had a white tunic and sandals of the period. I don't remember seeing his face though.

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.)? Uncertain I only remember that it was God, although I do not reject the possibility that it was Jesus.

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Yes Heaven exists.

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes I spoke with God.

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Uncertain To love, I guess.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain I don't know the meaning of life. Although I suppose that when I returned, my purpose was to be with my mother and to prevent her from suffering.

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes At the time of the experience, no. Years later, when I began to investigate this topic and saw that many people experienced the same thing, I suppose I became convinced that there is life after death and we are close to an awakening.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Uncertain Incierto

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? Uncertain I don’t remember.

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes I think so, because if God told me to go back so my mom wouldn't suffer, I guess he loves us all and doesn't like to see us suffer.

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

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? 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 do not know how my remembrance of the experience compares to my remembrance of other life events that occurred around the time of the experience I became aware of those approximately 6 years after the event.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain A few times, I have dreamed of future events that subsequently happened exactly as in my dreams. Although it happened on very few occasions.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The love that was in God was impossible to explain, as I worried about my mother (who believed in God without being a devout Catholic); it makes me think that he loves us unconditionally.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes With my relatives and one or several friends, inside or outside my parish.

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 not real After the experience, I did not remember it, and during my most rebellious years, I even denied it, thinking that it was just something I had told my mom to get her attention or calm her down. After reading other NDEs, I am amazed that at the age of 4, without prior knowledge of those experiences, I underwent something so similar to those others.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably real After reading other NDEs, I am amazed that at the age of 4, without prior knowledge of those experiences, I underwent something so similar to those others.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes I tried astral travel, although I set that aside.