Jeff L NDE

Experience Description

I was about 4 years old and had crawled underneath a desk in the living room where there was an electric outlet with several bobby pins. Using one hand, I put a pin in to one of the holes of the outlet and another pin in the other hole of the same outlet and they started moving back and forth. I then put a third pin in the outlet next to it and suddenly, I could not move.

I remember all of this as clearly as if it were yesterday. Suddenly I was looking down at the room from the ceiling and could see the couch where my parents were talking, the table in front of them, the desk and the general layout of the room. My father got up and (I later realized) pulled me out from under the desk by my legs. That was the end of that memory.

Strangely, I asked my parents about this decades later. They did not remember it. I did not recognize it as a NDE until after reading Raymond Moody's book ‘Life after Life’ in about 1985.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: Approx. 1955

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' Electrocution.

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

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 As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Just before and during the event. No memory before or after that.

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 No idea of timescale when I was outside of my body. It could have been mere seconds.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. No audio memory at all.

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? No

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? None, except perhaps wonder.

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? Liberal none

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes Based on my rational knowledge and the brutality and senselessness in life, I would undoubtedly be an atheist except for this otherwise-unexplainable experience. I still cannot believe in some all-powerful God with an apparently cruel personality, but am comfortable with pantheism, the idea that everything is sacred and with the existence of powers higher than human beings in the universe.

What is your religion now? Liberal pantheist

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes Based on my rational knowledge and the brutality and senselessness in life, I would undoubtedly be an atheist except for this otherwise-unexplainable experience. I still cannot believe in some all-powerful God with an apparently cruel personality, but am comfortable with pantheism, the idea that everything is sacred and with the existence of powers higher than human beings in the universe.

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? No

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? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Only the fact that it happened.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Uncertain I probably mentioned it to my sister at some point but have had no real discussion about it with anyone.

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

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real The memory of the whole episode, including the living room layout of my early childhood home, is still very clear; I never knew what to make of it. It was only after reading Raymond Moody's book in 1985 that it dawned on me what it was: a NDE.

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

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? With regard to the question; ‘Your religious background at time of experience’. I was 3-4 years old and had no religious background at the time of my experience. Could you add ‘none’ as an option?