James B NDE 9434

Experience Description

The year was 1962. I was 13 or 14 years old, in the eighth grade. It was my first year to go out for football. I was small for my age, my weight being approximately 80 to 90 pounds. (That's an accurate estimate because, when I got my driver's license at age 16, my weight was only 115 pounds.) We were scrimmaging that afternoon. The coach put me at safety. On one play, Norman (our fullback) broke through the line and headed straight toward me at full speed. Norman was twice my size, two years older, and large for his age. I estimate Norman to have been around 200 pounds, around 6 feet tall, and muscular. I knew I had No chance to bring Norman down head-to-head so I went for his ankles to trip him up. After that, I don't know what happened. Maybe I took a knee on the chin. I remember being bowled over. I don't remember getting up. But I do recall being on my feet with my lumbar region hurting. Suddenly, without any warning, I found myself somewhere else. I was No longer on the football field, or even in this world; I was in another realm or dimension.

I seemed to be in some kind of room. A shadowy room with thin shafts of light trickling down. The room was marked by total and complete stillness and silence. Nothing moved. There was No sound. I experienced myself as standing completely still. I looked straight ahead and to my left. I didn't look to my right, why I don't know. I just stood completely still. I've often wondered what I would have seen had I looked to my right. Would I have seen something or someone? Would what I saw have been frightening? To my left were three large piles of silver coins. I have No clue why I saw silver coins or what they meant. Three thoughts popped into my head in sequence: (1) Where am I?; (2) I'm not supposed to be here; and (3) Wait a minute! I was at football practice. Immediately--and I do mean immediately--with that last thought about having been at football practice, I opened my eyes. I was on the ground with Coach bending over me. My knees seem to have been behind my ears, as if Coach was pumping my legs to revive me. The team was bending over me in a circle, looking down at me. When I was fully conscious, Coach said, "Hit the showers," and I headed for the locker room. I never said anything about what I experienced. I never mentioned it to my parents or friends. I didn't have the ability to process it.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: September 1962

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Direct head injury I think I took a knee to the chin while trying to tackle a guy at football practice. Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening I clicked "Uncertain" because I simply don't know how close to death I may have been. I may have been unconscious and out-of-body or I may have been close to death. I cannot say. I simply know that one second I was in this world and the next second I was somewhere else.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? No I lost awareness of my body

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 was, of course, more alert than normal. I didn't know where I was and wanted to know if I might be in danger.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? The entire time. From beginning to end.

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. If by vision, you mean physical vision--sight--I was certainly very attentive to my surroundings while in the other realm. I noticed everything straight ahead and to my left. I was very focused on where I was and what was happening.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. There was nothing to hear. The experience was marked by total silence and stillness.

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 I was in a shadowy room with thin shafts of light drifting down. The room was marked by complete stillness and silence. I looked straight ahead and to my left but not to my right. To my left were three piles of silver coins.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Wonderment. Curiosity. Bewilderment.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

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? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Protestant I went to church; but at age 14 I was more interested in girls, cars, and sports than in religion.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes the experience in 1962 may have been the catalyst to spirituality becoming the most important aspect of my life. Today, the usual things that are important--money, status, power, popularity, etc.--hold little meaning to me. I want to know God. I begin each meditation session by asking Jesus to make me one with the Father as he and the Father are one (from the Gospel of John). I wonder if the 1962 OBE became the foundation for the certitude I feel in regards to spirituality.

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated Since having a Spiritually Transformative Experience approximately 15 years ago, institutional religion has become meaningless to me. I No longer attend church. The only thing I want from my former religious denomination is my pension. I've practiced meditation since 1987 and have logged over 6,000 hours. I read extensively in the Zen genre.

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 My religious beliefs at the age of 14 were nominal. I went to church. I believed in Jesus. But, being so young, they were not my primary interests. So to talk about consistency with beliefs is kind of a misnomer. From today's perspective, I would say that, compared to the orthodoxy I evolved through, nothing that happened was consistent with orthodoxy. Additionally, the use of the term "beliefs" doesn't hold much meaning to me as dogma is No longer an important part of my spiritual life. I don't need to depend on belief; I know!!! Spirituality/God/Jesus aren't intellectual constructs in my head; they're personal experiences that seem to be located in my chest/heart area.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes As I wrote earlier, spirituality has grown more important to me as the years have progressed; it's not the most important aspect of my life, which consists in retirement of reading about spirituality (approximately a book a week), meditating daily for an hour or more, and holding an ongoing awareness of God in my consciousness. I strive to be kind, compassionate, non-judgmental, forgiving, and the other values in the Sermon on the Mount.

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? No

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

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life The changes that have occurred in my life (re: the above questions) probably came about as a result of the STE 15 years ago more than from the OBE in 1962. In 1962 I was a 14-year-old kid; if it didn't have to do with girls, cars, and sports, it didn't get my attention. Additionally, in my youth I didn't know how to process what had happened to me. What I can definitely say is that the importance of spirituality to me has been growing from my youth onward, to the point that today spirituality is my most important value, and I try to live out of it daily.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes Words do not do justice to the experience. I can describe it but the description does not express the impact of the experience.

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 To this day I recall the entirety of the experience, every detail. At 72, I No longer recall most of the experiences of my youth; but I do recall what happened in the OBE experience.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes My intuition has been heightened as the years have progressed. I am sometimes able to feel what other people are feeling (empathy, I suppose). I am good at reading the "air in the room," as my friends call it. I am able to feel spiritual darkness, even evil. If I walk into a room and there is negativity, I sense it immediately. One of many examples: a friend and I climbed Blood Mountain on the Appalachian Trail several years ago. At the top we were both struck by a frightening evil presence that didn't seem to want us there. My friend sensed it too. On another occasion, we went into a bookstore and I immediately sensed a negative spirit. We left immediately and on the way to the car my friend said, "I'm glad we're outa there. That place has bad juju."

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The absence of the fear of death is the most meaningful part of my experiences.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I began sharing my experiences sometimes around 1978 after reading Moody's book, Life After Life, and for the first time realizing that what I experienced might be valid.

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 never doubted it didn't happen. I always knew I wasn't dreaming or having a vision or whatever other ways some might try to explain the experience away.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real As the years have progressed, as I've experienced other preternatural experiences, including an STE, the reality of the original OBE has become more solidified in my mind as real. My only question pertains to what it was: an NDE or an OBE?

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No