Jean C NDE

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:

My mother took me to the dentist when I was seven.  I was to have a large back tooth extracted. The dentist was located in an old building on the second floor.  We went up the old wooden staircase.  I recall going into the dentist's room.  There was another man who was not usually there, he was going to put me to sleep.  There was also a dental nurse.  I remember the mask going over my face and my ears ringing as I went to sleep and a needle pricking my arm.  I felt that there was something wrong,  I had a tooth out before and it was not like this.  This time I knew I was awake, or at least aware.  I then felt the dentist lever my tooth out.  I recoiled from this pain. 

I then found myself floating in the stairwell.  I knew it was odd, because I was up high close to the ceiling, I really should have fallen.  I felt amazement that I could be so clever as to float there.  I could see my mother.  As I watched her she seemed content at first, then over time she got restless.  She began being distracted from reading her magazines and checked her watch frequently.  I could tell she was worried about me.  I began calling her name, she could not hear me.  I tried to move forwards to go and tell her something was happening to me, but I could not move from where I was.  I then found myself in the room.  The man that was meant to be making me sleep was telling the nurse to go and tell my mother that there was a delay but I was fine.  I knew that was not true.  With that, the dentist grabbed my ankles pulled me down the chair so that I was flatter, and they started pushing my chest.  I wondered why, but I fled back to my spot above the stairs to watch the nurse.  I saw her hurriedly rush across the landing past the reception desk to talk to my mother.  My mother accepted what she had to say and sat down.  I could not hear what she said to her.  At this time, the stairwell began to fill with what seemed like sunshine to me,  but it got really bright. A voice told me I was alright and that she was with me.  I do not know who this was, but I felt extremely peaceful.  I began to shield my eyes.  Suddenly,  I felt myself tugged back into my body.  My body felt like a glove that was too tight. 

The nurse and two men eventually stood me up.  I felt very strange as though I could just about use this body.  The nurse walked me out to my mother and said that I was fine, just a bit dizzy.  I remember feeling very angry that she was not telling my mother the truth.  I was not fine.  I wondered as we walked down the stairs where the sunshine had gone, by then it was raining hard.  My mother took me to a cafe a couple of doors away.  She could see I was having some trouble walking and needed a bit of rest.  While she had a cup of tea I tried to tell her what had happened.  She told me I had been dreaming.  Since then,  I have felt that there is more to living than intellectual pursuits, that real wisdom comes from knowing how to love.

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? No      

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Uncertain      I was too young to know and I know my mother was not given any details of my treatment.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?    When I was floating in the stairwell.

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal every day consciousness and alertness?    More consciousness and alertness than normal

If your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience was different from your normal every day consciousness and alertness, please explain:            When I was floating in the stairwell.

Did your vision differ in any way from your normal, everyday vision (in any aspect, such as clarity, field of vision, colors, brightness, depth perception degree of solidness/transparency of objects, etc.)?  Yes     Very vibrant, everything had more colour and detail.  Things seemed solid as normal.

Did your hearing differ in any way from your normal, everyday hearing (in any aspect, such as clarity, ability to recognize source of sound, pitch, loudness, etc.)?
            Yes     I could hear at times, and not at others.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     No

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I felt calm, but that something was not right.  I was not concerned that I was dying, it never crossed my mind.  I did not make any association to being dead or think I would not be able to get back into my own body.  I was more fascinated at being able to be outside of it.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?          No      

Did you see a light?           Yes     As described above,  initially I thought sunshine was shining through the door and coming up the stairs,  but then it got incredibly bright and I had to shield my eyes.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           No       No,  I just heard a lady tell me I would be alright.  I knew she was in the light, but I could not see her.

Did you experience a review of past events in your life?    No      

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No       Nothing was followed up.  My Mother simply believed I had been dreaming.  I did not think so.  I was too young to really push the issue any further or know what to do.

Did you see or visit any beautiful or otherwise distinctive locations, levels or dimensions?           No           

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Uncertain      I cannot tell you how long I was affected by this experience.  It just seemed to happen in this series of events.  But, it must have been long enough for my mother to get concerned at the delay.

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?     Yes     I just knew that his experience was not abnormal.  I never questioned how was this possible.  I seemed to know that everybody has this happen to them when it is their turn to not be here anymore.  I did not relate that to heaven, which I knew about, or death.  I also came out of the experience with an overwhelming sense of being accountable to something at the end of my life.  I do not know what.  I was not told that it was a god, or altered existence.  I just knew that how i live and love will be very important.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No      

Did you become aware of future events?       No           

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience you did not have prior to the experience?     Yes     The voice I heard on the stairs has come to me in dreams on a few occasions.  Usually preparing me in advance for some major life event that is going to be upsetting for me, because of the way in which I love strongly.  The advice is to pull back from that person so that I can cope with the loss.  One night I had a significant dream about my daughter,  she was about 14.  When she woke I told her she had too many teeth in my dream, she had dreamt about the same thing.  Some months later, we found she had an extra set of wisdom teeth on the left side.  Incidents like this seem to permeate my life.  Very odd.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     I began to share these experiences with people in my thirties.  They usually are interested, and often can share an odd experience of their own.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?    No       I did not hear about such things until my late twenties.

How did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:            Experience was definitely real    I just knew I was floating in that stairway.  When I told my mother the nurse had come out to her, I was right about that.  She told me I must have heard them tell her to leave and dreamed the rest of it.  I tried to tell her what I had seen, but she was dismissive.

Were there one or several parts of the experience especially meaningful or significant to you?    Not really,  I accepted it with the flexibility of a childs mind.  It was what it was.  I never questioned it.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience:            Experience was probably real    I think it probably was real.  I do  not know if it means there is another existence for long after death.  Perhaps just a few minutes of some awareness.