Robert W NDE

Experience Description:

During a tilt table test my heart stopped for seventeen seconds at the eight minute mark of the test. During the four minutes, before I recovered I remember hearing the hospital public address system call out a code blue. Then I went into my experience where I found myself floating or standing in the center of a giant sphere, the color was gray and it seemed to be spinning at a tremendous rate of speed. I could hear voices but could not find a way to get to them; there were no doors or openings. I felt as if I were well and safe but I remember trying to hear the voice of my brother who passed away a few years ago. I was fully aware of what had happened to me, I knew that I had died on the table and yet I wasn't afraid of it, I just kept trying to find a way to reach the voices that I could hear. When I recovered from it, there were doctors from the emergency room all around the doctor and me told me what had happened. I was found to have a problem where my heart did not pick up the electrical signals to beat and a pacemaker was installed on June 2. I did not leave my body or see lights in a tunnel but again, I was fully aware that I had died. I will never forget the look of me, the sounds within it, or the awareness of my own death that I experienced during it. I am determined to learn all I can about it now; I would like to add that I was not afraid and felt completely safe even though I was totally alone inside of this sphere except for the voices.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: June 1 2005

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes During a tilt table test for my heart Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function or brain function)

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

Did you feel separated from your body? No I lost awareness of my body

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 could hear voices from beyond the wall and yet I could not find a way to reach them I was very alert.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? All of it.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Faster than usual

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening all at once

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. The color of the sphere was solid and unchanging even though it was spinning so fast. It was solid without openings but I could hear the voices clearly.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. My hearing was extra sensitive to the voices beyond the walls of the sphere and the sound it was making spinning.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Neither

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

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? Neither

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Unfamiliar, strange place I was inside of a spere or so it seemed

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt safe and yet knew I was dead I remember trying to find my brother's voice and a way to find him.

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

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

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? Conservative/fundamentalist

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Conservative/fundamentalist

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? Unidentifiable voice

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 I was fully aware that I had died on the table.

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

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? My awareness of my own death was significant to me.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I shared it with my family after it happened and I wrote about it in my journal, my family has asked me about it several times since then as if to learn from it.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes I had seen several accounts on television programs but they were not like my own.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real I know it was real I know what I saw and what I remember and how it looked.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I know what happened that day, what I saw, and what I heard.

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