Marianne D Mother NDE

Experience Description

Shortly after the injection was given, she was in extreme pain, and then blacked out. She said she recalled that all of the pain disappeared, and that she was floating above her body, as if at the ceiling, and watching as her husband, my dad, held her hand and tried to talk to her and cried. Despite the disturbing scene, she said she felt serene. She felt sorry for him, but felt so peaceful and detached.

She then turned and saw a very brilliant brightness, and a path that wound, sort of side to side, upward. Red rose bushes lined the path. The colors were more brilliant than normal, she said. She said she was told she had to go back, but did not really want to go back. She just wanted to keep going up that path.

She awoke lying down on the couch where she had passed out. I believe she said it was several hours later.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1965 -- as told by my mother to me

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Allergic reaction 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' She was allergic to penicillin but was given an injection of penicillin by a doctor who said, basically, 'A lot of women think they are allergic to penicillin,' before jabbing her with an injection.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes 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? The whole experience remained very vivid throughout her life and she retold it to us kids many times.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning She described time as being irrelevant, not quantifiable.

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. The colors appeared brighter, more vivid.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. She did not tell us anything about hearing that was unusual.

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? Uncertain There was a corridor or brilliant light, and a path to follow through and up to something.

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

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Uncertain I cannot recall the details of this exactly, but it seems to me that someone told her that she had to come back, and that she did not really particularly want to.

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 A bright white light enveloped the path.

The experience included: A landscape or city

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm A very beautiful scene with vividly colored red roses, her favorite flower and she did a lot of gardening.

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Peace, euphoria, in another dimension, increasingly detached from this world, bonding to the next, not wanting to come back.

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

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

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future

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 Catholic upbringing

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes She was no longer a Catholic per se. She was a seeker after truth, culturally Catholic, but accepting that all religions are men's attempts to explain and understand the ungraspable.

What is your religion now? Moderate 'Catholic, but not a churchgoer. More of a spiritual seeker.'

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes She was no longer a Catholic per se. She was a seeker after truth, culturally Catholic, but accepting that all religions are men's attempts to explain and understand the ungraspable.

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 She knew this was real, and considered it as heaven.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Uncertain She could express it, but not adequately. The feeling she said was indescribable. Too amazing.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes She often dreamed of the dead of our family just preceding a death of a family member. She also had many psychic predictions and feelings about us kids. But I do not know if that was also true before her NDE.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I believe that seeing the path and light and following it seemed to be the most significant to her.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes She often told us about her experience, the whole time I grew up. I am sure she told my dad (long since passed away) right away. We all believed her and felt great wonder and awe.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Uncertain I do not know if she had knowledge of NDEs prior to her experience.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real She believed she died and began crossing over to an afterlife/heaven.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Up until the time of her death, she always believed it, one hundred percent.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No