Experience Description

The day of my OBE is one I can remember as though it just happened. It was my third day at home after my surgery and hospital experience. I remember waking up that morning feeling ‘different,’ as though I could just lie down and die at will. I felt so horribly bad; my head was pounding, and I still had that sloshing ‘heartbeat’ going nonstop in my head. I couldn’t seem to maintain my body’s temperature; hot one minute, cold the next. My husband and son were working on the downstairs bathroom installing a new sink. I decided to go upstairs and try to sleep.

It seemed that when I first lay down, I no sooner closed my eyes, and then I was slowly sitting upright, ‘popping’ as it were, through seven layers of pudding.

I can remember rising from the bed; it was no longer the one in my own room, but a simple frame and mattress bed with pale colored bedding. I looked around in disbelief, wondering where in the world I was. I can remember the room and the layout, where the walls were, etc. remember putting my hand to the wall, which looked something like Knotty Pine, but the pattern of the wood was ‘quieter’, anyway, my hand had no jewelry; no wedding ring, no watch and I could actually feel the texture of the panel. I could even smell the fresh-cut wood. There was a new carpet smell along with the distinct scent of new books that also permeated the room. I remember that I was barefoot but I don’t remember feeling the floor under my feet although when I tried to resist being pulled toward the door, the pine boards on the floor bunched under my feet like a carpet. I had walked right into what appeared to be a house under construction, with workmen carrying panels or wallboards. They spoke telepathically to each other in a different language, I remember thinking it was Italian. One of the men had a cigar in his mouth, even though he never seemed to actually ‘smoke’ the cigar. In fact, the cigar was the only indication to me that there was actually a mouth on the man’s face.

There was a supervisor with a clipboard who looked up. With a surprised face, he told me telepathically, ‘It’s not finished!’ He picked up immediately that I was confused as to where I was, and gestured with his arms still holding the clipboard that there was no problem. ‘It’s okay’, he said. ‘You may stay here if you want, and we can just finish it around you’.

There were no windows. In fact, the entire ‘place’ did not have as much as a single window.

But there were three steps that led up to a platform of sorts, and there was a door across from the steps. I instinctively knew that every person and every animal I have ever loved in my life was alive and well beyond that door. They were all waiting for me. Now I understood everything. This was my ‘mansion’ that Jesus speaks about in John 14: 1-3, which also happens to be my favorite verse in the Gospel. It assured me that there would be a place for me in ‘heaven’. I was here. This place was mine. It was being built and personalized just for me. I can’t even describe the overwhelming joy I felt, or the atmosphere of love and acceptance I was surrounded by. I wanted to stay; and they were telling me that I could. I was loved. I was a part of this amazing place.

My father-in-law suddenly appeared in another doorway (the sliding wood door was across a wide hall from yet another wood sliding door). Dad Gibbons had that handsome ace I remember when he was in his early 50's. His whole body was radiant, and wore what appeared to me to be a white formal officer's uniform. But I think that what struck me most then, and still does to this day, is how radiantly his face beamed with light. I don't think I've ever seen him look happier. He crooked his elbow for me to take hold, and I did. Suddenly, all kinds of questions began running through my head. Like, where was I going, what about the family I was leaving behind, etc. ‘Wait a minute, where are we going?’ I asked as we walked closer to the sliding wood door. I do not remember speaking telepathically because I was sure I could hear my own voice. I don't think dad Gibbons was allowed to give me any information because all he could do was smile at me. Dad wasn't hurrying me, but I did feel a current pulling me to the door. I dug my heels into the floor, and it bunched in folds like a carpet. I thought of my granddaughter.

‘No wait’, I said. ‘I really can't go with you even though that's what I want to do more than anything.’

I felt the strongest reassurance of unconditional love, and when I almost subconsciously began to try to make deals with God because I didn’t want to die again and actually feel pain the next time. They assured me that I didn’t have to make deals, that death is painless.

A force seemed to propel me backward very quickly, and then I felt myself slam back into my body. I sat up and looked around. I was back in my own room, in my own house.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: March, 2006

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Surgery-related Overwhelming headache with the desire to lie down, erratic heartbeat, hot and cold, husband and son were one floor below, installing bathroom fixtures. Severe drop in blood pressure in hospital while under anesthesia. This happened twice. Now I was home, and it was my 3rd day home. I'm assuming that I was nearing death, it was as though I could feel it.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? No

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Extremely alert, very conscious, I remember everything.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning My dog had been in the room, and when I sat up after coming back into my body the dog ran over to me, wagging his tail madly. He wouldn't let me out of his sight after that, he's very clingy now.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes The Angels: (they look nothing like Botticelli babies with wings). I saw several angels; all of them looked different. One was very tall; two were short and spoke telepathically in a different language. I was spoken to telepathically and I was able to speak to them the same way. Two of them had no faces, yet were still able to communicate with me telepathically. I wasn’t afraid, but I remember thinking that a lot of people would be. I never felt anything negative from them.

The experience included: Light

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm My senses went into overdrive. I was relieved to be back in this world again...at least until I began having a longing to return to the place where my out of body experience happened. Within a couple of weeks, this longing turned into an obsession. I began to visit the drugstore that had a new carpet smell on a daily basis because it smelled like the room without windows. I began to make my husband walk through the plywood cutting area at Home Depot trying to match the exact smell of the lumber that was being used. I have this ‘thing’ about the smell of new books; books were being put on shelves in my mansion.

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Awe. Amazement. Love.

The experience included: Special Knowledge

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe A lot of knowledge was given to me very fast. The exchange of information was quicker than I am able to imagine. I was given ‘visions’ that explained to me how the universe works. I don’t have the vocabulary to verbally explain this, but I saw various planes crossing and intersecting. I was given the picture of a grid in my mind, with energy that was vibrating at different speeds.

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

The experience included: Boundary

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? Yes It was the sliding wooden door in my mansion. The room with no windows.

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 I was allowed to change my lifespan.

God, Spiritual and Religion:


Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I was shown how petty the majority of our daily routines are. I will say I was shown by my Creator, because that is where the information came from.

The experience included: Presence of unearthly beings

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:


After the NDE:


Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes I saw things that I cannot explain. I heard foreign language. I saw other ‘beings’. While I was seeing on the exterior of my eyes, my mind was filled with all the answers to everything. I knew EVERYTHING! I was being shown this in my mind. The universe in a multi-dimensional grid, but not exactly. I don't have the vocabulary to describe this. People in the same place at the same time, but on different planes.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes When people are arguing, I can see both sides clearly. I know when people are lying to me. I can see things that other people can't. I keep this information to myself.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Best part: I know where I'm going when I die!

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Not many people believe me. I no longer tell anyone.

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 would like to have another experience.