Cate NDE

Experience Description

About an hour or two after I took some medications I knew something was not right. I now believe that an interaction between the medications was the problem. I felt like I was losing touch with reality in a way. I lay in bed and closed my eyes as I tried to get to sleep, and wished I would just feel better.

Now is the part where it gets hard to describe. It's as if my awareness started expanding out of my body. I was still in my body but out of it at the same time. It's a feeling that's impossible to describe without experiencing it yourself. I was in a deep void of empty space. Suddenly a cold, stiff feeling poured over my body. My awareness kept expanding, but my body felt like a cold machine that was holding me back. It felt like my respirations were artificial, and at that moment I just stopped breathing. I heard, rather than felt, my lungs gasp for air, but I was so disconnected from my body by now that there was no possible way to keep breathing. I have no idea how long I stopped breathing for, but my heartbeat got louder and louder until it stopped along with my breathing.

The moment my heart stopped the void became deeper and deeper, until it felt like it expanded forever. I sensed that the darkness was about to part and reveal a marvelous light. Then I felt the presence of my deceased grandfather. I don't remember everything that was said, but basically it was revealed that I could move on if I wanted to, but once I reached the light I would not be able to return to my body. He did not want my life to end though, because I still had some important lessons to be learned in this lifetime. He said that after I learned what I needed to about love that it would be my time to go.

I have a chronic illness, and this last year I have narrowly avoided death five times. My illness almost claimed me three times; I was also crossing the street when I felt an unseen force push me backwards out of the path of an oncoming car, and last of all I nearly fell off a cliff. He said that it was no accident that my life I had been spared each one of those times, and what I needed to learn in this life is so vital that I really needed to go back. I felt a force pushing me back into my body, and I resumed breathing.

I tried to get out of bed, but still felt so disconnected with my body in a way that I could barely move. I have no idea how long this continued, but as I lay there motionless, I felt at times my body would start getting cold, and my awareness would start trying to expand outside my body again - only to be pushed back by an unseen force. At one moment during this time, I felt the presence of two other deceased spirits. One was more prominent than the other was. I received the knowledge from him that they were two young men in this lifetime who had recently passed on from a tragic car accident. I received other details such as his name, the location, and the circumstances revolving around the accident. He told me the same thing as my grandfather as far as the fact that I still had things to learn in this life. During this entire experience, I also felt the presence of my 'Higher Self'. I can't really put this part into words, except to say that I have felt connected to this same Higher Self during different times in my life when I have felt truly been loving and connecting with others.

The next thing I remember is waking up several hours later. I suffered no ill effects, except a horrible headache and temporary short-term memory loss, which I suspect may have been a result from the oxygen deprivation rather than the medications themselves. Needless to say, I was kind of in a daze the entire next day.

At first, I thought I just wanted to move on, but later I went on the internet and started looking up car accidents in the news. After just a few minutes of searching, I saw a picture of a young man who had recently died in a car crash with his friend. I felt chills go up and down my spine because his name, the location and circumstances around the accident, and his picture all corresponded with exactly what was revealed to me the previous night. I never met him in this life, but I feel like there is some deeper meaning to why he was there. I have continued to feel his presence after my experience, and feel like maybe he has become kind of like a spirit guide. This experience has deeply affected me and has made me even more determined to continue to manage my illness and live the rest of life to the very fullest.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: July 2011

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Interaction between medications. Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function or brain function) Due to a possible reaction between several medications, I stopped breathing.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes 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

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Probably once I stopped breathing and came in contact with my grandfather.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning I lost all track of time. I didn't know if I stopped breathing for one second or five minutes.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. It's almost like you don't need to see anymore. Everything is just there all around you.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Hearing isn't the same as it is in my body. Everything is telepathic, but I recognized my Grandpa's voice and I haven't heard it for almost ten years.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

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

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes I communicated with my grandfather and sensed the presence of two spirits who had recently passed on. They told me I still had more to learn about in this life about love.

The experience included: Void

The experience included: Darkness

The experience included: Light

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 I felt like the void I was in was like a thick mist and it was about to part, just like curtains on a stage, and reveal a bright light, but I was stopped from passing through.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm I sensed that I was entering dimensions that are outside of my body and different than the physical world that we are used to.

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? After I started losing awareness of my body, even when I stopped breathing, I was perfectly calm. Our bodies are very dense and once you start moving outside your body you feel very light and free. I did not feel alarmed that I was dying. After my grandfather communicated with me, though, I realized the profound significance on my own spiritual progress and on that of my loved ones that cutting my own life short would have.

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? I felt united or one with the world

The experience included: Special Knowledge

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control My grandfather shared with me that each one of the five times I came close to dying this year I had been saved because it was not my time yet.

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future

The experience included: Boundary

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? Yes My Grandfather stopped me from moving through the void into the light. I sensed that if I reached the light I would not be able to come back into my body.

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 was your religion prior to your experience? Liberal none

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes

What is your religion now? Liberal none

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes

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

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

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes Our bodies are dense vessels that hold our spirits. Once we leave our bodies we expand and once again join something much greater.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I feel like they have changed for the better.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes This entire experience was so profound that I find it really hard to describe.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I have been able to continue to communicate telepathically with my spirit guides.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? This experience reminded me that love is truly the center of all being. The one true constant makes every moment in our lives significant. It is the reason that we are here. Just like everyone else, I have experienced a lot of pain in this life, but in the end everything will be made right.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes The only person I have shared this experience with is my sister, because she is the one person who I can share everything with. When I started talking about sensing the presences of the two young men she had this look of surprise and familiarity come over her face, and said right before I told her the location and circumstances of the accident she knew exactly what I was going to say.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes When I was ill a year ago I felt a very bright and loving light surround me and received profound insights. Since then I have been very interested in near death experiences. Both of these experiences have confirmed my belief that death is simply a transition rather than a final event.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real Everything that happened was real and had a profound impact on me.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real The reality of this and my first near death experience have never and will never change. What has changed, though, is the way I have lived my life and I have seen profound changes as I have received a greater capacity for loving others and becoming more empathetic and more forgiving.

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