Lee S NDE

Experience Description

I was twenty years old, a college student, in 1968. Some friends and I were injecting Procaine intravenously. This was a very risky thing to do, there being quite a fine line between a satisfactory dose and over-amping with the possibility of death. Of course, all twenty year olds are immortal.

I got up, feeling the urge to vomit, and quickly went into the bathroom, one of my friends with me. I got down on my knees, head over the toilet. At this point, I lost consciousness, but do not think that I fell. All of a sudden, I was in a very dark long tunnel. I have no memory of whether or not I had a body. What really was most prominent was a reddish-gold light at the end of the tunnel. It was the most beautiful color that I have even seen, before or since. My impulse was overwhelmingly to go through the tunnel and into the light. Then out of nowhere, there were vaguely distinguishable figures in black shrouds who seemed to be beckoning me. These figures were at the very end of the darkness, near but not into the light. I had the distinct feeling that these were deceased relatives, but none were individually recognizable as expired grandparents, my having three at the time.

There was absolutely no fear. Quite to the contrary - I wanted very much to go through the tunnel and into this indescribably beautiful, warm, and welcoming light. The figures in the shrouds were by no means as alluring as the light was.

Then, of course, I came to. I have no idea how much time had passed, and did not ask my friend. I just thanked him, got up, and went back into the living room. I think that I stopped shooting up for that day, but do not really recall. I do definitely remember that I did not mention this experience to my friends.

I think that it was at least twenty-five years before I ever told anyone, this after having heard other people discuss similar experiences on TV talk shows. Prior to my own experience I had never heard of such a thing.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1968

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Drug over-dose (Procain) I am not certain.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Positive

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain I do not know. I had no body that I was aware of, but did not sense a loss of body, either.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Unconscious.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning The dimensions of the tunnel were strange, like it was very long while not very long at all.

Did your hearing differ in any way from normal? No sounds at all.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes A long tunnel seemed to be several city blocks long. Dark as pitch. Narrow.

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes Maybe a half dozen vague figures wearing black shrouds. They were at the end of the tunnel just on my side of the opening into the light. I had the definite sense that they were deceased relatives and that they wanted me to come with them, but no words were said nor were any gestures made, nor sounds heard.

The experience included: Darkness

The experience included: Light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes Incredibly beautiful reddish-gold light at the end of the tunnel. It was as though I was in a tunnel a few blocks long, high enough to stand, with a large opening at the end, the opening higher than the tunnel itself.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm The light was unbelievably gorgeous.

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

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? 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 I never had any feelings about my body. It just did not factor in.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I am not afraid of death, am inclined to think that it might be very pleasant, although I'll let nature take its course.

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? The light and the promise that it represented was the best. The worst? Maybe having come back, not having been able to go forward into the light.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I have told only three people. Two were female relatives who read such weighty tomes as 'The National Enquirer' and 'The Star,' so I tend to discount their reactions. The other was a male friend who said that he thought that it was a visual hallucination caused by the drug and natural endorphin release.

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? Nothing. I would be curious as to 'your' reaction, though, and whether or not you have heard this same thing before from others. I put 'your' into quotation marks because, after all of this typing (I hunt and peck) I am wondering if anybody will read this, feeling somewhat foolish at this point. Why am I doing this?