Witney NDE

Experience Description

My family and I had gone to watch a double feature at the local drive-in theatre. We were driving back home at around midnight. My father was at the wheel, I sat in the passenger seat next to him, and we had our seat belts on. My mother sat in the middle of the station wagon and my brothers at the back. As we drove, we were hit head-on by a drunk driver that drove into our lane without stopping.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I could see his vehicle heading straight into us, and then I blacked out. I immediately forgot about everything. I was in complete darkness: it was warm and comforting. I felt safe and content. I felt loved. It was very quiet, it felt like I was swimming or floating. I felt like I was in a warm, safe cocoon. Nothing hurt. I saw a light in the distance. It was soft and shimmery. However, I didn't feel the need to go there. I had to 'go back'.

I awoke suddenly, but couldn't see well due to eye and facial injuries. I was being taken out of the car wreck. I felt no pain as the adrenalin was pumping through my body. I was being told that I was in a car crash that everything would be all right. I could then hear people talking about me and what to do with me. I was back into consciousness.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1988

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Life threatening event, but not clinical death. I was in a head-on car crash.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

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? Normal consciousness and alertness

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I blacked out, so to speak, I felt as if it was lucid dreaming. I was very aware yet at the same time I felt protected.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

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

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. Well I couldn't really see anything. It was dark.

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

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? No

The experience included: Void

The experience included: Darkness

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? Uncertain I'm quite sure that I saw a proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel'.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Some unfamiliar and strange place

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Content, loved, safe

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt no longer in conflict with nature

The experience included: Special knowledge or purpose

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? Greatly important to me

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Catholic

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

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

What is your religion now? No comment

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 I was so young, I was raised Catholic yet even at that age I'd wondered about the truth. I was and still am rather confused by it all but basically felt that I am a good person and that it does count, that love is real and that there is peace and comfort in death if you are a good person.

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? 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.)? Uncertain Maybe an angel/angels

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? Yes Well I felt the peace of knowing that I shouldn't be afraid to die.

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 definitely exists

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Uncertain I don't know. I think I felt that yes God was real, but at the same time I am an over critical thinker and I was questioning what does it all mean?

Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? God probably exists

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 probably 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? I was uncertain if an afterlife exists

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife probably exists Yes

Did you fear death prior to your experience? Unknown

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

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Moderately 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 probably meaningful and significant

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are 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? Uncertain It was like I felt all the love of everyone that has ever loved me at once. If that makes any sense. I just felt loved.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life Moderate changes in my life. I still have many unanswered questions. Not about God, as much as, to how I should approach religion and that there is a lot of bulls$#t in the world.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes Yes I think it put emphasis on family values and love.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It's difficult to put feelings into words.

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 whole thing made such an impact in my life, the accident, the near dying, I was never quite the same again.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes It comes up in conversation every now and again.

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 just a kid but it happened. The time after it happened it was just there, as I was very busy recovering from the car crash.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real It happened, I can't deny it.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain When I was 16, I was hit by a car that disregarded a stop sign. I had an out of body experience. I landed on the concrete with no helmet on after flying through the air, thus I blacked out, but I remember clearly floating above my body and seeing everyone around my body at the scene of the accident. I was definitely above myself, quite high, enough to hover over the scene. Two things made me 'come down' one was that I realized my school uniform was exposing my underwear and I felt very embarrassed, remember I was a 16-year-old girl. The second was that I saw my bike was crashed and that I would be in huge trouble with my parents for the wreck. I felt anxious and I felt that my 'spirit' was rushed back into my body very fast, like a vacuum. I almost immediately awoke in a panic!

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? These things happened when I was very young, even with life experience I cannot explain them.