Vicki S NDE

Experience Description

I was standing on the roof of our old garage trimming an overgrown hedge - we had recently purchased the property. After completing the work, I stepped backwards from the edge to admire the result. I did not realize that there was a brittle plastic skylight set into the roof. Before I knew what was happening, I had fallen ten feet onto the concrete floor below landing on my back and hitting my head.

I remember the sensation of falling and hitting the ground. The next sensation was of 'seeing' myself as a crumpled body below me on the floor. A split second later, I was 'back in my body' but aware that this body was in some sort of spasm from the neck down - I had no feeling in my body even though I could see my limbs flailing about. I could move my eyes voluntarily but nothing else. At that moment, I was conscious of a disjunction between my body and my mind/soul. It was as if the normal state of seamless synchronization had been broken and had exposed the two distinct constituents of my being. This 'out-of-sync' moment was replaced by a feeling of 'coming to', and I began screaming for help as my 'seamless' consciousness returned.

A medical examination revealed that I had no broken bones or internal damage. I had sustained a hit on the back of my head, which left me with a hematoma but no other problems. It would appear that I was lucky not to realize that I was falling before I hit the ground, as I did not have time to tense my muscles in anticipation. Although I experienced trauma to my spinal cord, it sustained no damage other that bruising.

The feeling of disjunction is the strongest feeling that has stayed with me. I am fascinated by the realization that whilst still living, I momentarily experienced the separation of my body and my life essence, an event that normally is believed to happen only at death.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: October, 1995

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Accident Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening Fell from a garage roof.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I was a presence looking down from the ceiling in the corner of the garage to the left of my body lying on the floor below.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I felt present throughout the whole episode, although in an altered state.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning In the sense that time appeared to stand still as I experienced the separation of body and mind/soul.

Did your hearing differ in any way from normal? Absolute silence.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

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

Did you see an unearthly light? No

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

The experience included: Special Knowledge

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe For a brief moment the seamlessness of being human was broken and the separate entities of body and mind/soul were distinctly revealed.

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control

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? Liberal

What is your religion now? Liberal

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes As time has passed I have developed a sense of calmness about my existence, after being initially disturbed by the incident in the days following the accident. I feel more aware of life experiences than I was before.

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? One in the same - the disjunction between body and mind/soul.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? No

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