Kathleen A NDE

Experience Description

I was with my family and a group of church people. We were gathered to have a day of pleasure. Picnicking, playing, swimming, and fellowshipping. I walked out along a pier that led to the deep part of the water. Although there were other kids there, I was ‘alone’ as I felt almost all of the time.

I was feeling happy and brave and I jumped into the water (even though I couldn't swim and knew that). I was confident I could reach out and grab the edge of the concrete pier. When I reached the top of the water, I discovered I couldn't reach the edge! I desperately kicked my feet, trying to get them sideways so I could kick myself to the ledge, but I couldn't get my legs sideways. I remember going down under the water feet-first. I was experiencing total panic. I was drinking water in my mouth and I was under the water. I was physically fighting to get to the top and my entire self was wrapped in pure panic! I don't know how long I was in this state. It seemed forever and it seemed a second. The next conscious awareness I have, is that I'm under the water. I am experiencing the ‘peace that passeth all understanding’. I am aware that I am in my body and yet I am seeing myself ‘out there’ about five feet away. It has no form and yet I know it is me. There were words that came to me from the formless me.

I can’t recall if the words were, ’I am never going to die,’ or, ‘you are never going to die.’ It's almost as if they are both. As if I'm there where the words are coming from. I’m in my body witnessing them, yet seeing they are me too! I remember the actual experiencing of forever never dying. My attention was then brought to my left side. I looked, and it felt like I was looking from inside my body. There I experienced pure black velvet, the texture of pure. Peace that had the feeling of pure black velvet. The shape of the black velvet tended to be somewhat like a tunnel, but not so clearly defined as a tunnel. I then continued to ‘soak in’ all the textures, and peace, and calm and contentment. I was soaking it all in.

It was still like there was no time. And then I felt something grab my hair on the top of my head and I was pulled from the space I had been in. I have no recollection of who had me, what they did to me, or where I was. I only remember hearing voices saying things like, ‘oh, your Aunt will be so mad at you.’ My thoughts were saying inside myself, ‘I wish they would leave me alone and let me be with what I'm feeling!’ Note to reader, at this period of my life, I had pulled so deep into myself that I don't recall too much of anything other than I went along with being a ‘person,’ but most consciousness was hidden deep inside my Self. That was the only place I felt safe, so I don't have any recollection of what happened after.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: Summer of 1945

NDE Elements:

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

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? No 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 I felt that I wasn't only thinking with my brain. I was totally pure consciousness and knowingness and a being of everlasting life!

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I was under water and had passed the panic level into the eternal peace. When I was at total peace looking at myself while I was being told I will never die.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning My experience was totally in ‘no time’. It was just all ‘now.’

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. During my experience I was the experience while here I feel like a watcher rather than a participant.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. During the experiencing I was the hearing while in everyday life I automatically do my best to not hear!

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Uncertain Sort of felt like a tunnel but not clearly that shape. Just something that wrapped itself around me like a soft black velvet blanket. More a feeling than a shape.

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: Darkness

The experience included: Unearthly light

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

The experience included: A landscape or city

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm I cannot say other that I felt I was in the place where all the people who have lived and died are now. It has no physical form. It just is pure existence.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? First, panic. Then peace and joy and happiness and contentment.

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? Everything about the universe There is no death. There is all only foreverness forever. No beginning and no end.

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? Greatly important to me

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Protestant Singing hymns as prayers and "holding" Jesus as my brother who loved me and was always with me was the strongest tie that kept me alive at this period of my life.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I am one. All is one. There is only Is-ness. One is-ness. Flowing, being, moving.

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 I hold myself to be all of everything - consciously experiencing myself as holy Spirit contained in a "human" body.

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 knew about love (like the love Jesus feels toward us) and I was bathed in that love and safety. I had never been able to see beyond concepts that there really IS eternal life and I was given that gift that day under the water.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I've been on the path of searching for human comprehension of how the everlasting life is in perfectness in spite of the pain, sorrow, and ugliness that shows up in the earthly plane. I'm constantly working on loving everyone and pushing away all the judgments I carry with me from all these years living in a body.

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 The voice told me I will never die. Whether it was from the me outside my body or someone else, I cannot say.

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

Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? God definitely exists

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

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? Yes There is no death. There is only living ongoing.

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? No

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

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I heard I will never die...and I experienced the essence of everlasting life in my body and awareness.

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

Do you fear death after your experience? I do not 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? Not 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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

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

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Uncertain I did experience love;yet the total event was experienced as a joyful happiness of knowing - the love being in the happiness rather than " love" specifically singled out.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life Mainly I experienced that I was not alone even though I can't prove it humanly.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes Yes All people are me and I am them. There is only one everlasting living forever!

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It's difficult to find the energy of each word that will touch the listener and have them unite with me. I want them to be able to become my 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 I have been blessed with many "other dimension" experiences through my life. This one is the only one that appears "life threatening". Everyday life seems so vague and unimportant and I tend to dismiss awareness of everyday living.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes My Being is open so wide to the all of everything that I experience events that are ‘not of this life. I experience being someone other than my ‘now’ self, where I am living as somebody else. I can read people’s feelings and emotions. I hear requests from people that they do not express and I am able to love and care for those people by finding the words to sooth them. The experiences I have are best explained in the sentence, ‘In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you’. I have been in many of those mansions which are simply additional ways of seeing and experiencing the ‘all of everything.’

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The greatest is that I am the all of everything everlasting.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Not sure how long. I have been very careful of whom I shared with. Only telling those whom I know love me and whom I trust. As I am aging, I feel safe enough to share with whoever will listen and now I believe this is the work I'm to do with my earthly time. People have been touched by the stories and have been able to trust enough to start sharing their stories out loud.

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 just knew I was living the experience and that it and I were real.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I just know and I've been given so many more experiences that they make up my ‘real’ world.

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? You did well thank you.