Maureen H NDE

Experience Description

I was on my way home while riding my bicycle. I had just ridden over a bridge that passed over a reservoir. Suddenly, I felt so unclean inside. The next moment, I saw a rock about the size of a fist on the road as my front wheel hit the rock. I went flying over the handlebars and that's the last I remember. I must have landed on my head. I was in total blackness, and barely aware of anything.

Suddenly, it felt like I was being lifted straight up and super-fast by my elbows. The sound was like a loud, deafening wind that sounded like a train engine. I found myself standing on the bridge in front of an elderly couple. They were very well-dressed in black and I felt like they were on their way to church. In back of them was a very old black car, like the one in this photo:

I was dumbstruck and in awe because there was such a feeling of kindness and caring from them. The woman said, 'We weren't sure you were going to make it.' I was enveloped in the feelings of kindness coming from them. Then the woman said, 'There's your neighbor.' I turned and saw a neighbor, who had fallen to a seated position on the little hill on the side of the road. Then the woman said, 'Now, you go home...!'

So I picked up my bicycle and went over to my neighbor. All of a sudden, my head was filled with incredible pain. I felt so much pain that I had to sit down next to my neighbor. I buried my head in my hands for a long time.

Many times as an adult, I have wanted to locate that neighbor and ask her what she witnessed that day. But, I never have.

From that moment on, I had amnesia. My neighbor walked me to her driveway and then sent me on my way. As I walked home, my father's best friend talked to me. I didn't know who he was or what he was talking about. When I got home, I went upstairs to tell my mother that I had hurt myself. But she was busy on the phone.

I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I was horrified and terrified because I did not recognize myself! My mother must have sensed that something was wrong, so she came in. I told her I had hit my head. She took me right to the pediatrician. He found a lump on a bald spot about the size of a quarter on the corner of my head. He commented that hair will never grow on that spot for the rest of my life. The area is smaller, but still bald today and is still very sensitive to the touch.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1964 or 1965

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Direct head injury. Other: Unconsciousness, amnesia I was lying unconscious in the road. I could have been hit by a car if not for their intervention.

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

Did you feel separated from your body? 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. It was as if there was more communication going on than just the words that the woman spoke. It was almost like telepathy with and feelings.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? On the bridge with the elderly couple.

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. It seemed like there was no time at all or that it had stopped.

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. Everything seemed grayish during the experience, especially how their clothes and their car were black.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I could hear/feel their nonverbal communication.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? 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

The experience included: Void

The experience included: Darkness

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

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Their caring.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

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 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- Catholic

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Moderately important to me

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Secular unaffiliated

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. Throughout my life, I have remembered this experience as having been helped by angels. But they were dressed like older people, not in white robes with wings.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

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. Because of the way the couple were dressed, and the age of their car, I believe they were some kind of angels or something.

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? Yes The telepathic communication.

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? No

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 No

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

Do you fear death after your experience? I moderately fear death

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Not 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? Moderately compassionate toward others

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes That there could be such caring and kindness.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes To just say that an old couple stopped and helped me is very easy. But to really communicate what I believe really happened, which was a near death experience, was hard to believe the first time I thought it over myself, let alone tell somebody else.

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. It was extra-ordinary.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I think I was too young to understand psychic experiences at the time of this event. Through my life though, I have noticed that I am a bit on psychically sensitive side .

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes The first time I shared it I was in high school. It was met with disbelief, until I showed them the bald spot on my head.

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 probably real. I chose probably real, but in reality I was so young, I didn't really put it together until I was older.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I have a firm belief in the eternal validity of the soul.

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? I think the questions were designed to provide a norm of the experience. I'm sure this is not really the case for people with NDE. Sometimes I felt like I was trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. Maybe an interesting question would be how many people with NDE have met others in their life. For example, when I was in college, I had a part-time job where I worked for a blind man. His best friend would sit in the office to keep him company, and when I came in the friend could see that I had a NDE. He had also had an NDE. How could he tell that about me just by looking at me?