Winnie J NDE

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:

I had taken a late morning nap.  When I woke up I began doing my daily housework, specifically dusting in the bedroom.  As I reached up to dust the top of a cabinet I hit my left elbow.  I had the funny bone type of pain and began to get really dizzy.  I knew I probably should have sat down on the bed but didn't want to so  I tried rubbing the elbow to make the pain go away.  I passed out and hit the left side of my face next to my eye.  I learned later that the bones were shattered.   

As I lay there, at first I felt that I was continuing to do the dusting, but then this was interrupted by something different.  I suddenly found myself flying in a dark night sky.  The stars were everywhere, beautiful, shining all around me.  I was aware of a cool breeze against me as I moved.  I seemed to be aware of a being beside me on my right, perhaps holding me at the elbow, and another at my left.  I felt trusting and never turned to look at them.  I quickly moved along and soon found myself above a courtyard with pillars.  What impressed me most was that the floor was beautiful, white, like a crystal of some kind, dazzling and shimmering.   

I began to descend slowly,  then I noticed a lot of people moving quickly in one direction like they were hurrying to a meeting.  They all seemed to be wearing white, but were wearing colors too. 

I then became aware of the voice of my son beside me.  He was shaking me and saying, "Mommy are you sleeping?"  I realized then that I was in deep trouble.  I knew I wasn't breathing and that I was going to die if I couldn't begin breathing again.  I tried to take a breath but I couldn't expand my lungs.  Although I wanted more than anything to take a breath in I decided to try to make my lungs contract instead.  This worked and I began to breath.  My son then ran to get my husband who was in the bathroom  getting ready for work.  When he realized that my head was slightly caved in he took me to the hospital and then later in the day I had surgery to repair the damage to the bones in my face.  The Dr. said that the spot I hit could easily have resulted in my death and that I had a concussion. I didn't say anything to anyone about my experience as I lay dying until later. 

About a year after that, my husband, my son and I began to discuss in detail what had happened to me. I knew only that I hit my head, I wasn't breathing, I almost died, and that I seemed be dreaming about finishing the housework and that this was interrupted by an odd experience of flying through the sky and going to the courtyard.  My husband knew only that he heard a loud noise that he thought probably was my son bumping things around in his room and that about five minutes later that his son was calling him to come help mommy. My son, age about eight years only knew that mommy was laying on the floor, was blue, that her eyes were open and he was able to help. 

I often wondered later if this was a near death experience.  My Pastor at church had made fun of people who said that they had near or after death experiences, so I knew that my experience wasn't acceptable in my church. I only talked about it with family. 

At the time of your experience was there an associated life-threatening event?   Uncertain  I hit my elbow, my funny bone, passed out, hit the side of my head on furniture and passed out and stopped breathing.

Was the experience difficult to express in words?  No    

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?    As I was moving through the sky and came to the courtyard.

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   I was able to appreciate the beauty of the stars, the coolness of the breeze, and the extreme beauty of the floor of the courtyard.

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.   Probably 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.   I did not hear a thing

Did you see or hear any earthly events that were occurring during a time that your consciousness / awareness was apart from your physical / earthly body?   No  

What emotions did you feel during the experience?   Mostly peaceful, very trusting, not afraid at all.  

Did you pass into or through a tunnel?   No  

Did you see an unearthly light?   Uncertain  

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
I felt aware of one being on my right and maybe one on my left.

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  

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings?   No  

Did you become aware of past events in your life during your experience?   No  

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world?   A clearly mystical or unearthly realm
The courtyard was so bright and pleasant.  I saw no shadowing as there would have been in ordinary situations.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down?   No

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?   No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?   Yes
My feet did not touch the ground.  I was aware of my son calling me first.

Did you come to a border or point of no return?   No

Did scenes from the future come to you?  No 

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness suggesting that there either is (or is not) continued existence after earthly life (“life after death”)?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that God or a supreme being either does (or does not) exist?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that you either did (or did not) exist prior to this lifetime?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that a mystical universal connection or unity/oneness either does (or does not) exist?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding earthly life’s meaning or purpose?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding earthly life’s difficulties, challenges, or hardships?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding love?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any other specific information / awareness that you have not shared in other questions that is relevant to living our earthly lives?   No  

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge or purpose?   No  

What occurred during your experience included:   Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience  

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   It is permanently fixed in my mind.

Discuss any changes that might have occurred in your life after your experience:   I chose an occupation in which I take great delight in cleaning floors.

My experience directly resulted in:   No changes in my life

Did you have any changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result of the experience?   No  

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you?   No

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?     No

Have you ever shared this experience with others?   Yes  I think that it was a year before I shared this experience with others.  The reaction was positive by some.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?   Uncertain   I think I heard about them before.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:   Experience was probably real   Because my Pastor had expressed negativity about them, I thought it might have been a dream, but the fact that my dreaming was interrupted suddenly by a different experience would suggest that it was real.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience at the current time:   Experience was probably real   I don't really know what to think.

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?   No  

Have your religious beliefs/spiritual practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?   No  

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?   After hearing of the experiences of others I wonder why mine wasn't more dramatic.

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?   Yes   I don't think there is anything more to tell.

What could a national organization with an interest in near death experience (NDE) do that would be of interest to you?        I'm interesting in reading more about the experiences of others.

Please offer any suggestions that you may have to improve this questionnaire.  Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience?                    None.