Maxine M FDE

Experience Description:

I had been invited to a friend of mine's birthday which took place in his restaurant. I was with my husband at about four o'clock in the morning. We decided to leave. I was tired and I asked my husband to drive, but as he was also tired, I finally accepted to drive home. I felt very drowsy while I was driving and at about two miles from home, I fell asleep. I suddenly found myself floating outside the car and seeing and hearing earth and stones hitting the side of the car as it swerved towards a huge ditch. The car then plunged into the ditch, tried to go up on the other side, but rolled over and fell back into the ditch. I remember being in a sort of tunnel and being projected towards a bright light at the end of the tunnel. I was sliding at great speed towards the light and I thought 'When I'll stop sliding, I'll be dead.' The sliding feeling seemed to be coming out of my head and not out of my body, as though something was being sucked out of my head. I saw no one, heard nothing except the swishing sound due to the speed at which I was sliding down the tunnel. I heard bells or something. The sliding finally stopped and I knew I hadn't died. I was bruised and shocked but not badly injured. My husband was not injured either; nor were our two dogs.

Two days later, a man had the same accident as we had, in the same place, but he died.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: June 1, 1980

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Life threatening event, but not clinical death A car accident.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

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 I knew at that time that I was unable to control anything and that I would have to accept the outcome. I am a very controlled person with a very strong will - a sort of mind over matter person, but here I knew I wasn't controlling anything. I just had to accept what was going to happen.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I was sliding down the tunnel, because I knew that when I stopped sliding I would know if I had died or not.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Time seemed to go faster than usual The experience seemed to last for a long time, but in earthly terms it only happened in a few minutes or seconds.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more so

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I was transparent when I floated out of the car and saw what was happening outside, but once in the tunnel everything was terribly bright and the actual tunnel was more like a pipeline or something - not as spacious as a tunnel.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. The sound of swishing as I slid down the tunnel at great speed was extremely loud and frightening. There was a sound of bells in the distance.

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 A sort of grey pipeline with colors like rays of light - red and gold.

Did you see any beings in your experience? Neither

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

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 yellow light at the end of the tunnel with red and gold rays of light due to the speed at which I slid down the tunnel.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Neither

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Fright at not knowing whether I was going to die or not, but then a sort of resignation.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Neither

Did you have a feeling of joy? Neither

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? Neither

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? Neither I'm not afraid of dying. As if when you are about to die, you are disconnected from your body and feel no physical pain.

Did scenes from the future come to you? Neither

Did you come to a border or point of no return? Neither

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Moderate

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? Neither

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? Neither

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes Just a certainty that what has to be will be.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

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

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Only with close friends a few days afterwards. They thought I had dreamed up the whole thing.

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 When I saw my car a day after the accident, at the garage, it was a complete wreck, but on the sides, the paint had been damaged by stones, and this is what I saw when I was 'out of my body' before the car went into the ditch.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Every time I have to drive at night, I think about my experience and I'm scared to death of falling asleep again!

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