M.E. NDE

Experience Description

I don't have any clear memory of the accident, of the rescue, of the helicopter flight. Suddenly I was above my body - watching from above - and I was being rushed through a sky tunnel/bridge on a stretcher, sky all around. Very bright and intensely vivid. I don't have clear memory of being in the hospital after the tunnel. I don't remember anything about the surgery. When I woke after being unconscious for weeks, I knew exactly where I was and what was going on. I knew why my mom wasn't there. I had been over to see her where she was in a hospital sixty miles away. The questions they asked me seemed very condescending. I knew all that had happened, not so much as an ordinary memory, but as an instinct.

The tunnel was very vivid and immediate and real though.

I was in a tunnel of light and I experienced the tunnel of light - and I know it was not just the ordinary experience of being pushed through a tunnel because I was watching it all from above. I saw myself stretched there, I saw the scrubs and caps or whatever those hospital folks wear on their heads, I saw their shoulders, backs, I did not see their faces, just mine. I saw the floor, I saw it all from above and I could see the bright, bright sky all along the side of me and above me and then surrounding me too.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1983

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident. Direct head injury 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' I was in an automobile accident and experienced severe head trauma.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

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 As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? It was when I was above my body in that tunnel.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Faster than usual

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning Yes, or maybe not altered, just aware of what time and space really are.

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. Very vivid.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Not sure I can say I sensed sound in the same way as usual - and the terms suggested here do not fit either. It was more like thought sounds, I could hear inside me - there were the sounds that were coming from outside, but I didn't hear them as outer noise. It was all internal, along with my own internal noises and none of it was loud or overwhelming. All very well integrated and though so many noises were happening at once, I had the ability to hear and experience and understand and listen to each sound individually - all at once.

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? Yes In the actual physical 'real' world, I perceived I was being rushed on a stretcher through a 'sky bridge' - a tunnel bridge that crossed the street between buildings. I saw the sky all around because the thing was made of window. Now I wonder if this was real/physical or if it was the tunnel of light. Because it was very light, and very much a tunnel. Or could I have been experiencing the spiritual tunnel of light simultaneously with an actual one? So strange.

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes Well, I saw the medical people running along and pushing the stretcher and things. And there was a sense of an Almighty being, really, the Universal Being.

The experience included: Light

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? Yes Like I said. There was a life changing quality to the light. Vibrant.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm yes, it was one of complete understanding. Very beautiful but ordinary, in an extraordinary way.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt just fine. Calm.

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

The experience included: Special Knowledge

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 Sure, but it wasn't very significant at the moment. It just taught me I would go on and I knew everything from the past and from that point on - good or bad - was for a reason and would be okay.

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future But not in a real detailed kind of way, just underlying. I have had many moments of awareness of future events since then. Some very detailed and very accurate and some more vague but accurate nonetheless. This is part of what is hard to describe with words. It does give me a sense of peace and safety that others don't seem to have.

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? Moderate a child brought up in a Christian home.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes

What is your religion now? Moderate I attend a Quaker meeting for worship - because I understand what they are after - though I feel like I have gone beyond it long ago.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes

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? Yes Indeed.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes I can describe parts of it easily. Where I was, what happened, what it looked like. There is the feeling part - the part that really changed my life and that has left me feeling quite different and that has given me a sense of greater awareness - that is quite hard to explain. I don't think I could, except just to go on living my life as an expression of the knowledge of love and safety I have gained. Lead by example, not that many people seem to get it. Some people will sense something. Some people see me. A few times I have met another like me and we just know.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes No 1. Dreams - example: I watched from aside as a friend gets in an automobile accident - wake up and feel the urgency and call her in middle of night to tell her. Normally I would NEVER disturb anyone in the night, but the feeling overwhelms my inhibitions. Reach for the phone without a thought. Tell her. Next day - I see her and she is in shock. 'Did you really call me last night? What did you tell me?' Because it happened. She was miraculously okay. Why? That was a very solid example. But there are other dreams that have that special tone where they ring true - and then they do. 2. Telepathic type of communication with some others.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? That is unexplainable. Life-changing.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Like I said.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No I was just a little girl. It was a real event for me when I started hearing of near death and out of body experiences. There seemed to be a lot of cynicism over the claims, but I knew them to be natural and true - a matter of fact, a fact of life.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real Well, I did know what was happening to me and where I was. I had not really had the flood of images come back to me yet.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I say definitely real. But I am unclear as an adult how my perception of it would be if it happened to me now, in contrast to my perception as a child.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain Yes, well, mushrooms and marijuana could make me feel floaty or even out of my body and I felt a greater understanding - but nowhere close to the same calm confident all knowing. They never felt safe. There were no longer any boundaries and I no longer had any control. So over-rated.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I feel like there is a lot more that keeps coming to me from the experience - just comes in gradual doses over time. Gifts of understanding from God just when I need them.