Shana M NDE

Experience Description

My experience happened when I was 6 years old and under anesthesia for an emergency appendectomy.

A tunnel open and I seemed to have entered it. The tunnel was black with glowing, electric lines and successively narrowing blue-green rings of light as the view went further back into the tunnel. I did not see any single, bright light at an end of that tunnel. The tunnel was to my front right, with a slight upward gradient. Four or five women, who were not elderly, approached me. They were dressed in white, floor-length dresses.

The view of the tunnel and the approaching women is still, even at this moment, vivid and focused. It always has been.

It took some time for me to comprehend what happened to me but it has impacted me all my life. The experience has removed any fear of death, while giving me personal confidence in facing this mortal life. I have feared the process of death, but not the fact of death. I've been fairly adventurous by having something of a 'why not?' attitude toward doing things or going places that may not have been comfortable for everyone. And while I am sure I have missed some opportunities for compassion, I have always been aware of the suffering of others. What is 'mine' has been mine to share. I am now 85 years old and consider it a privilege to help where I could.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1946

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Illness Surgery-related While under general anesthesia Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening. It was an appendectomy, done on emergency basis. My parents were told the appendix would have ruptured within twenty minutes, but appendectomies are not, to my knowledge, life-threatening. But after the surgery, the surgeon told my parents that I had nearly died, which I've attributed to anesthesia.

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

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 remember those moments in the NDE with crystal clarity. I remember the context proceeding that surgery and following with much less clarity. I do remember being in major abdominal pain just before coming into the house that night, but nothing more of what followed in getting to the hospital.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? It was very brief, so I would say all of it.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses More vivid than usual? More vivid than usual

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. It was sharp.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I don't remember any exchange of thoughts; hearing was not involved.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes I've described this in detail previously. I did not proceed further into the tunnel; I just seemed to remain in its entrance.

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

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 The slender, successive rings of blue-green light encircling the walls and roof of the tunnel

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? It was positive. The women who were approaching were focused on me in a kindly way. The woman most to the left in that little group seemed to connect most completely with me. I wonder who she was.

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? No

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 was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Mormon As a little girl, I knew almost nothing religiously. My religious background was and still is Mormon, but it would be a few years before that background had any impact on my thoughts or emotions.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Uncertain I have enormous faith influenced by later, powerful evidences of God's hand in my life. But I believe that event has been a rock on which I've stood since childhood.

What is your religion now? Christian- Mormon The concept of life after death is central to my faith. It has been enhanced personally by the NDE experience I had as a child.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. That I saw people approaching me through that tunnel tells me life goes on. That confirmation has had huge impact on my entire life.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I believe the NDE liberated and strengthened me throughout my life. I've been able to cope with challenges to my emotional and mental health to a degree that has amazed supportive members of my family, and to accomplish things I might never have dared to attempt otherwise.

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 The women approaching me and I do not know who they were.

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes That the women I saw approaching me suggests that someone alive was coming to escort me somewhere, not just to greet me.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? A big change is just growing up, but there have been many experiences confirming that life is eternal and that God cares about me. He has intervened several times I am aware of to save my life, when it probably would have ended. And I am sure there are other times when I was not aware. I know God lives and loves us.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? I've been more confident, even fearless, in relationships. I've been able to deal with challenges that might otherwise destroyed me. Yes

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

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 The NDE during surgery when I was unconscious is sharp, in full color, and in still vivid after 79 years. I do recall the severe pain of appendicitis making it almost impossible to get off my tricycle and into the house, prior to going to the hospital, but I have no memory at all of the interval between that moment at the back door of our house and being given ether to put me out for the surgery.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain I've been very confident; have had the capacity to share my faith with others. But I do not consider myself to be psychic.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Just being in that tunnel and seeing those women approaching was meaningful.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes It was decades. No one spoke of such things in the forties and fifties. I shared it yesterday with four elderly friends. Their eyes lit up; they wanted to know more. One asked for the name of the 'Evidence' book.

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 I was a little girl, so I arrived at no opinion except that it happened.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real It fits with other recorded NDEs; it is still of remarkable clarity 79 years after it occurred. Like it happened yesterday.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes I have felt the weight of a comforting arm around my shoulders once in weighty prayer. It was not earthly.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? You did fine.