Victoria R NDE

Experience Description

I had fallen unconscious outside a casino in downtown Nanaimo and entered clinical death (no vitals, not breathing, no heartbeat, and no pulse). I have strange memories about this. My sister called Emergency Medical Services from a phone booth several meters from where I fell.

I remember being in the phone booth with her and seeing the mall clock outside. I tried talking to her and calming her down because she was crying. I told her repeatedly that I was fine, I did not require an ambulance, I was happy. At this point, I was feeling just great, drunk but really great. I thought that she was only calling Emergency Medical Services to teach me a lesson and I was trying to get her to cancel the call. She couldn't hear anything I said. She continued to look out the phone booth at passing cars. She couldn't seem to see me. I tried desperately to get her attention, but she was completely unaware of my presence. She continued to cry and nothing I did she didn't acknowledge.

After a few minutes, I recall hearing someone screaming, ‘She's turning blue!’ At that time, I was unsure whom they were talking about. I had a moment where I thought that something was happening to somebody else and I had just been too drunk to be aware of it. Then I had a sudden awareness of my body on the sidewalk. I suddenly became aware that they were talking about me. I felt my presence in the phone booth suddenly drain and felt myself sucked back towards my body.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 'July of 2005, uncertain of exact date'

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Drug or medication overdoseCPR given Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function or brain function) I had suffered an overdose after I had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol and had extremely high blood-alcohol content.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I have never verified my experiences with anyone because I feel too uncomfortable discussing the experience with anyone I know. I clearly remember hearing people talk about me, seeing my sister as she called the Emergency Medical Services, hearing my sister talk to 911, saw the mall clock near the casino, saw cars driving by the phone booth, as well as becoming aware of my own body where it lay on the pavement. 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? Normal consciousness and alertness

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? While I thought I was in the phone booth.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

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

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. It was about the same.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? 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 I attempted to speak with my sister who was alive at the time of my NDE but she was not able to hear or see me. I became aware of and could hear other people who were around me at the time, but was not able to identify them.

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

Did you see an unearthly light? Uncertain I recall seeing a very bright light before feeling ‘sucked down’ but I'm quite certain that this was the hospital lights as I regained momentary consciousness after entering the Emergency Room and wouldn't say it was ‘unearthly.’ This happened after my primary NDE.

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt quite intoxicated but especially calm and unconcerned; however, I began to feel frustrated when my sister was not responding to my attempts to connect with her.

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? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What importance did you place on your religious/spiritual life prior to your experience? Not important to me

What was your religion prior to your experience? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Secular unaffiliated I was raised in a Mennonite church as a child, but rejected the faith around the age of 9. I did not hold any religious beliefs at the time of NDE.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Slightly important to me

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Secular unaffiliated Spirtual, but not religious. No definite beliefs regarding death, the afterlife, etc

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

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Uncertain I became more interested in topics of death, the afterlife.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

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.)? 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

Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? God does not exist

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

Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? God probably does not exist

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

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

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are possibly meaningful and significant

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

Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? An afterlife probably does not exist

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? I am uncertain if an afterlife exists No

Did you fear death prior to your experience? I slightly feared death

Do you fear death after your experience? I do not fear death

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Not fearful in living my earthly life

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Moderately fearful in living my earthly life

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are possibly meaningful and significant

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are possibly meaningful and significant

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

Were you compassionate prior to your experience? Moderately compassionate toward others

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

Were you compassionate after your experience? Moderately compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life In the time after my NDE I became more interested in the topics of death, poltergeists, and the possibility of an afterlife: what happens when a person dies. Slight changes in my life.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No No

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 as accurately as other life events that occurred around the time of the experience

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? The experience as a whole has been somewhat significant to me.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? No I am too uncomfortable to discuss the event with others who I know.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No At the time, I had never heard of an NDE. I only began to hear about it within the past year or two as I've gained interest in the topic after my experience. Prior, I had never heard of it and did not know what that was.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real At the time up to just a few weeks after my experience I was not aware that my memory was incorrect. It took time for me to absorb what other people's experiences and recollections were for me to realize that what I remembered was at odds with what actually happened.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real My memory of that night is so real and so vivid it's hard for me to completely discount that it happened at all.

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? Looking back at my experience it is definitely very surreal, confusing, and hard to understand. I don't know how: what I have experienced can possibly be so different from reality while it is still so vivid in my mind.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? I accidentally submitted this questionnaire before completely filling it out. Maybe less distracting of a background and font might have helped? I tried to copy directly from the form that had been partially completed but it did not completely match up.