Joan K NDE

Experience Description

All of the sudden, I was above everything. The first thing I noticed was an amazing feeling of peace, as I've never before experienced. All fear, anger, sadness, and negative emotions were gone. I felt amazing. I could see myself and the doctors, nurses, and medical staff. But they were only an observation. I had no feeling or judgment of them, they just were and I just was. Then I looked at myself and I was light. I had the shape of a person, but was only made up of a yellow light. I wasn't scared, just maybe curious. Then I felt I had to go somewhere else, so I began to fly away and upwards. That is all I remember. When I woke up in the recovery room, I decided that it was a dream. Then later on, I asked the nurse why my throat hurt so badly. She said they had to put the tube down my throat because I stopped breathing. I guess it could all have been a dream, but that overwhelming peace is something I have never felt before or again. There is nothing like it.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1993

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Surgery-related. While under general anesthesia. Life threatening event, but not clinical death I believe I stopped breathing, because I had to be intubated.

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

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I only saw the operating room and the doctors and nurses. 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 There was complete acceptance, there were no questions racing through my mind.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Probably when I was looking at myself and seeing that I had become light.

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. My light shined brighter than the people I was looking at below, I could not see their light. Before that, we all looked the same.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Hearing was inside and a feeling, rather than words.

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

The experience included: Void

The experience included: Darkness

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 darkness watching what was going on below. I was the only light, and then I felt I should go up somewhere but ‘It’ was all gone before I could leave.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Ecstasy and curiosity

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 united or one with the world

The experience included: Special knowledge or purpose

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 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- Catholic Brought up Catholic was not practicing at the time

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I do not believe we need to feel as guilty as the Catholic Church wants us to feel.

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Greatly important to me

What is your religion now? Other or several faiths A faith in the catholic church, yet reject many of their teachings. Believe less in judgement and sin than a belief in a spiritual realm that exists that contradicts many Christian teachings, would like to begin a study of this.

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 Well, I was not being judged I was fully accepted.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Uncertain Not at first, but as I have gotten older I understand the message much better.

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? Uncertain I though that maybe I was going back to a place I had been before

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Yes Oneness can exist without the judgment of one another, all are the same, and no one is less or more.

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? Uncertain I felt I should go somewhere, but was interrupted because, I guess, I came back. God definitely exists.

Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? God definitely exists

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Uncertain Maybe to share my experience

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? Yes If we can see what is real (what God created) and what is not (what man created), then we can stop ourselves from judging others and ourselves. We will come back to the innocence that God intended for Adam and Eve. If I wanted to feel this peace again, I would love all people including myself and God (a difficult task) then I would return to this innocence and no longer feel fear, shame, judgment and guilt.

Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? An afterlife probably exists

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I still was, I existed in a different form that’s all. I seemed to not think all that much and rather observed, but came to no conclusion. I felt wonderful, I just was, and everyone else just was. I could see but differently and hear but inside and all these were done without judgment because what is, is what it is.

Did you fear death prior to your experience? I moderately feared death

Do you fear death after your experience? I slightly fear death

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Greatly fearful in living my earthly life

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Moderately 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? Yes Stop judging yourself as bad and stop deciding whether what someone else is doing is good or bad.

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? Yes We put too much effort into deciding what other people are, what they should do, be, look like, and act. God, we and other people are what they are, which is spiritual beings like us. All hate, war, indifference is born of fear; the fear we are not measuring up to what God wants us to be. The most important thing is to not be afraid and not be afraid to love.

Were you compassionate prior to your experience? Moderately compassionate toward others

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes When I saw people, they were no better or worse than I was, they were just the same as me and the way we should love people is this way.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? I stopped feeling as if I was less or more than others were because we are all the same.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain I think I judge others much less.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Uncertain The only hard thing to explain is the feeling of overall peace, no pain, no fear, no guilt, just being. It is hard to say that I just was and everyone else just was.

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 as accurately as other life events that occurred around the time of the experience. I remember this experience very well, I am absolutely sure this happened. I also remember what was going on at the time.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain I have stopped things from happening that could have led to catastrophe. I can see into the past more than the future and I can sometimes seem to send a message of hope.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The peace that comes from knowing I am not guilty.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Probably about 5 years

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes I'd heard of it, mostly about people going through tunnels or re-experiencing their life. That's different from what happened to me.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was probably real I didn't understand the message.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real There was a message that has brought an immense amount of peace into my life.

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? Just seeing that we all just are, makes me know that all negativity arises from fear.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? They were fine.