Sharon T NDE

Experience Description

I was 14 years old and on a synchronized swim team. At the end of practice, we did drills where we swam a full lap of the pool underwater with one breath. The coach asked if anyone wanted to attempt two laps with one breath. I was the only one that said I did. She had me go last. I dove in for my first lap. The last thing I remember is when I did the flip for the 2nd lap. At that time my eyes were open underwater. I remember telling myself, 'Close your eyes and it will go by faster'. What I describe next is from persons who witnessed this because what I experienced was very different from what the witnesses experienced. I continued to swim underwater about 3/4 of the way down the second lap when I stopped swimming but was still underwater.

I floated to the surface and then sank to the bottom. The coach saw something was not right and jumped in. She was on the opposite side of the full-sized competitive pool. Several of the taller girls also jumped in to help. I was in the five-foot section of the pool when I stopped swimming. I have no recollection at all of having swam 3/4 of the way down that second lap. There were only a few of us on the team who were 14 years old. Most of the members were 12 or 13 years old, so none of them were very tall. From what I was told they had a hard time getting my out of the water. I was one of the tallest on the team, therefore I was heavier dead weight. The 5 foot deep section made it awkward to get me up onto the pool deck. I was unconscious this entire time. They did get me up onto the deck and the coach put me over her knee in an attempt to get the water out of my lungs. When she did that, my head was limp and smacked the deck. I got a cut by my left eyebrow and it began to bleed. I was still unconscious and didn't feel a thing. The cut required stitches.

Coach laid me on my back and was about to start mouth to mouth. (Not sure, but I don't think they did CPR way back then.) I was told there was a lot of excitement and fear during this time. Imagine 30 girls, aged 12 - 14 years old watching this; the coach trying to help me, but yelling for someone to pick up the emergency phone across the pool deck. While on my back, I became conscious. When I did, I felt fine and had no awareness as to what had just happened. I wanted to get up and walk away. My coach made me lay there. The EMS arrived shortly and took me to the hospital.

What I experienced during all of this was very different than what was actually occurring. I had left my body and was looking at Sharon. But she was not lying on the side of the pool. Rather, she was lying in her bed in her bedroom at home. I was floating near the ceiling in a very specific corner of my bedroom. I was dressed in a white flowy gown, and there were two persons to my right also floating near the ceiling in white gowns. I saw them out of the corner of my eye. One seemed to be Jesus, but the second person was partially blocked by the first. I wasn't looking right at their faces.

My focus was on Sharon lying in bed. Her room had yellow walls and the bedspread was white with yellow dot-like flowers. Just like my real bedroom had. My dresser and bed lamp were just where they truly were. Sharon was lying in a place that was very comfortable to her. I was looking at Sharon and she couldn't wake up. It was as if she was having a dream that she couldn't wake up from; like her eyes had crusty stuff that little kids get at night and she couldn't open her eyes at the end of the dream. She was calmly trying to wake up, but couldn't open her eyes. There was no panic, no fear, and no sense that there were any problems. It just was the way it was. Everything was very calm. The two persons next to me, who were floating in white, didn't say anything. I felt a sense of love, comfort, and support from them while I was floating. It was like they were going to guide me. We were all looking over Sharon lying in her bed. A bright stream of sunlight started to come in through the bedroom window to my left, as if dawn was breaking. We continued to float over her, watching Sharon calmly try to wake up. As the sun got brighter, I watched her calmly open her eyes. At that exact instant I returned to my body and I was conscious.

That's when I was laying on the deck of the pool with my coach over me. I felt fine, like nothing had happened in the earthly world. I was very aware, however, of what I'd just experienced and seen. I remembered it vividly (and still do) but was confused at the time about what had happened and why I was lying on the deck of the pool. It was a very strange feeling. I really didn't know how to process what had just experienced. A couple days later I told one of my girlfriends who was there when I drowned what I'd experienced. She told me what occurred at the pool. There was a lot of commotion going on. In the meantime, I was experiencing peace and calm. They were afraid, but I wasn't. One thing she said that really struck me odd was that when I told her that I was floating over Sharon who was having a dream, she said, 'That's weird. Your eyes were open the entire time while you were unconscious.' I've never talked to her about it again. I didn't tell my parents until a couple years later.

Again, I really didn't understand what had occurred, and I was also afraid people wouldn't believe me. A few years later ,I read Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' book for a psychology class. This made me want to read Life after Life by Raymond Moody. That's when I began to understand what I had experienced. I still have not told many people about my experience. When I have, it has been somewhat spontaneous from an unexpected conversation that caused me to share it. I have noticed that my intuition has been sharper since this occurred. I really didn't pay attention to it at first. Nothing big has occurred regarding my intuition, but a lot of odd little things have. It was only after these odd things had occurred several times, that I began to realize this was a gift, and I wondered if this was something I'd received after I'd drowned. I didn't even know it was fairly common for persons with NDE to have enhanced intuition. For me it was just little things. For example, several times know I have taken flowers to persons whom I hardly knew, just because I thought they could use some cheering-up. It turned out, I had delivered them to these people on their actual birthday. I didn't even know them well enough to know when their birthday was. I just felt led to do it when I did. There have been a number of other things as well.


Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 9/12/1972

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Drowning. I lost consciousness while swimming underwater; was pulled from pool and did not regain consciousness for several minutes later. I was transferred via ambulance to the hospital.

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

Did you feel separated from your body? No 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. To this day I can remember very well what I saw and experienced. It's as if I took in everything I saw and it blazed a snapshot/movie that was permanently engraved in my brain.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I was out of my body and looking at myself.

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. My vision seemed very sensitive to small details.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Same. There wasn't anyone speaking. It was more visual and feelings.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere, as if by ESP? 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? Yes There was another person there, but I didn't know who it was. I didn't look directly at their face.

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes Bright sunlight coming through the window. Not sure if that qualifies as unearthly. It wasn't from the planet Earth.

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Peace and calmness.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

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- Protestant. I attended church regularly with my family, but we had never talked much about death. I had not experienced the loss of any close family members at that age (grandparents, parents, or siblings).

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Christian- Protestant

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. As I child, I knew about Jesus and that there is a heaven. I did not know about a body and a soul. And as I child, I thought dying was scary.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I now know we have a body and a soul. I feel a greater sense of importance that we do good things for others.

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. There were two people floating next to me in white gowns.

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.)? Yes The person to my right that was floating appeared have a face like Jesus.

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? Yes Prior to this, I did not know that a person's soul could separate from their body.

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? Yes The person floating next to me appeared to be Jesus in a white flowing gown.

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes That death is not scary and that we have a body and soul.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? An afterlife definitely exists. It was like I had people sent to guide me to another place if I were to have died.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes The experience made me aware that death is not scary.

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes I felt a great sense of love and peace.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life. I now know we have a body and a soul; that there is a God, and that we are expected to do good things.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I am better at sensing people's feelings, and showing compassion.

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. It was as if the experience was a snapshot/movie that was indelibly engraved in my memory. The memory is much more than any other.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain There have been some odd things that I have been led to do and that I ended up doing. Then I learned after doing them that there was particular importance in my doing them when I did.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? We have a body and a soul. There is a God.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes About 2 days afterward, then not again for about 2 years. I've only shared it about a dozen times since. Some acted skeptical. Some found it interesting and later told me how it helped them.

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 knew it was real, but at such a young age I couldn't explain what I had experienced. What I experienced was so contrary to what was happening to my body at the time of my NDE, and that puzzled me.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. I know it was real. I don't say much about it because I think people are skeptical, but I don't take offense when they are because I know what I experienced.

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

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I feel humbled by it. As a child, I naively didn't feel life, but I did fear death. Now, I don't fear death, but I slightly fear life in that I worry that I'm doing enough to be worthy of an afterlife. Just because at age 14, I may have gone to heaven, I remind myself that it doesn't mean I'm guaranteed now. So, I frequently question if I am doing enough for others--even when I do a lot for others.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? I need to think about this.