Lyle R Possible NDE

Experience Description

ON NOVEMBER 12, 2014, I had an NDE. I have no recollection of the hours leading up to the event precipitating my crisis, which left me in the condition in which I was found by paramedics on the morning of November 13: on the floor of my Chicago apartment, unresponsive with pulmonary aspiration and in asystole (for how long no one knows).

I was intubated on the spot and a pulse revived. My heart would stop again in the ambulance. I have no recollection of any of this. I awoke from a coma eight days later in the ICU. Immediately before opening my eyes, a message (not a voice, exactly) was 'impressed' upon me that 'Everything is going to be absolutely fine.' Even before I took account of my surroundings, this assurance was the impression that I had. I was being 'told' it without words and by a genderless 'voice' that wasn't mine.

All I wanted to do was rip out the breathing tube and all the rest to share this news—a thing I was in no position to yet communicate. As soon as I could get a pen into my hand, it was the first thing I endeavored to scratch out onto a pad. Twelve hours later the breathing tube was removed. A day later I was walking and moved from the ICU into a general service room, and the following morning I left the hospital.

One of the ICU nurses told me before I left that my PSI on admission had been 6. He said most corpses, when they arrive at the morgue, still have a PSI of about 12.

I had never known much about NDEs before 2014 (or even since) until recently, when I stumbled across Dr. Moody’s work. And while I left the experience of 2014 without what seem to be the tell-tale experiences of NDEs (OBEs, tunnel, light, spirits, etc.), I felt an odd change in my life, even then. It is the profound warmth, gratitude, and insight genuine empathy brings.

One moment it was 3 pm and I was walking down Chicago Avenue on a sunny day, near my apartment. I looked up at the building and saw '50' above the door. I lived at 42. Then, perceptually, in the blink of an eye it was November 20th and I was in the ICU. It all happened just that fast.

In September 2021 I requested and received my medical records for this event. It's 600 pages. I've had it reviewed by two doctors, both of whom say the drugs given to me during the crisis commonly cause amnesia. This is almost certainly why I don't recall events in the hours leading up to the overdose. Unfortunately or not, it may too account for a more comprehensive lack of recall of the NDE. A recent hypnosis regression did shed some light, so to speak, on what might have happened while I was away. I have an audio file for the regression.

If I learned anything in regression, it is this: I was sent back in accordance with an agreement first to be made whole. I recall being bathed in light and repaired by a group of nondescript humanoid light beings. When I woke from coma, my recovery was off the charts. I was walking out of the hospital days later and arguably in better condition than I had been in prior to overdosing.

For the months and tears that followed, I continued to build on these improvements both physically and spiritually. I've been fueled by a deep and powerful force of empathy I didn't have before. My natural default-state was one of gratitude: not for being saved but for having been alive in the first place and, yes, even now.

I've spent my time since then living my own life: traveling, writing a book (not about the NDE) / getting it published, and teaching literature. Important: I have answered and will answer questions in this survey NOT based on the regression but on what I recall from the NDE in 2014.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: November 12, 2014

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Drug or medication overdose Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function) I was found by EMTs asystole and not breathing as a result of a drug overdose. Not sure if this is what you mean by 'associated' event or not.

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

Did you feel separated from your body? No No

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 The voice was inside me but not my own. It said what I knew I needed to hear even though I didn't know it. I refer to it as 'the middle voice.'

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? before waking up from coma

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. N/A

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. see above.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere, as if by ESP? 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? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? N/A

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Relief or calmness

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? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated N/A

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I am now certain our consciousness is elsewhere. We are receivers of it.

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated To the extent it matters, I identify, generally speaking, as a follower of Stoicism, which is more of a philosophical disposition than a religious one. Stoicism represents a practical guide to life. It has little to do with death or any beliefs governing an afterlife.

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 I did not, prior to my experience, have any previously held beliefs or expectations concerning 'miracles' or post-mortem awareness/consciousness.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Uncertain Nothing resembling an 'oh wow' moment, and mind you I didn't even look into my NDE until recently. I did, however, feel changed. Bettered. Improved. Healed. And for years I just 'went with it.'

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I heard a voice I could not identify see above.

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? Yes see above.

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? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I was impressed with the knowledge that I had been repaired, like a car in a shop. Restored, if you will . . . physically.

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? Moderate changes in my life I had always been somewhat empathic. As a writer, I'm what the Germans call an 'eideteker,' one who can naturally assume the emotional point of view of others. Since my NDE, this has ramped up considerably. I know what people of all stripes will say or would say, feel, or think in various situations. This is quite helpful, as you might imagine, for a writer. I am also able to 'spot' absolute truth or the 'rightness' and 'wrongness' in things as I encounter them. Not in an ethical or judgmental sense, mind you, but in what I can only describe as an 'absolute' sense.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I have a better understanding of myself and my role/influence in others' lives.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes see above.

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. The experience was highly impactful and delivered as if I was awoken from coma 'on cue.'

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 revelation that I agreed to be sent back was impactful. Prior to regression, I didn't understand how or why I was. Now I do.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Only Drs. Greyson and Kelly. Supportive. Mine is a 'shallow' experience by their standards of research, but that is largely based on my lack of recall outside the context of hypnotic regression.

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 It's crazy-odd how I didn't think much about it or feel compelled to share it and since nobody asked. It just 'was,' and I was fantastically comfortable with that. It was mine. It was personal. I had my own questions, of course, and my own curiosities particularly concerning why I couldn't remember more compared to other NDE accounts. The big question for me (and the one current research seems not to address) was this: why do some people have NDEs and others not? The answer I feel has been 'given' to me by spirit is this: All do. Some do not return. Others, who do return, either do not recall due to drugs (but may over time) or have asked/been asked not to recall. Some recall and share; others recall and do not share.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real It was a 'deep' impression. That's the only way I know to say it.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes Regression took me to a place that felt one-foot-in and one-foot-out.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I am willing to share my medical records concerning this event.