Ely L's NDE

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Experience description: 

I was sailing with my wife and son. It was his first time out and my wife was showing him what to do. I was going to tack but she forgot to release the line. The sailboat capsized. There was a sailboat race going on so the safety boat came over to help right us. I hooked on a line and he pulled the boat upright but the line my wife had forgotten to release was still hooked and it went over again. There was 25 knot winds out that day. I went over to release the line so they could right it again, but I got caught in some lines and the boat kept going over.

I couldn't get loose and I couldn't hold my breath any longer so I just gave up. All of a sudden a peace came over me and I was outside the boat looking towards my son. The safety asked if he could see me and he said no. I was next at the front of the boat looking at the safety boat with my wife in it, and I watched as they pulled the boat upright again. As the boat came upright I was suddenly back in it on top of the lines. I raised my head up and looked at them and unlocked the sail that was locked.

They towed the boat in and told me to go sit down as I looked extremely pale. I was very weak. My wife had terminal cancer so I never told her what had happened. She was very upset that I might have gone first. I was directly in my son's line of vision when he looked at the boat searching for me, and I was in plain sight for all three people in the safety boat when they asked my son. It wasn't until later that I realized that the peace was that I wasn't getting any stimulus from my body and I wasn't breathing until I raised my head when they righted the boat. I saw no tunnel or light or past family members. I have always been sensitive with visions in dreams and awake.

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No

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

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Yes

I couldn't hold my breath and I just gave up.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           Very alert. I saw and hear everything but couldn't seem to speak. I was in full sight of everyone but no one saw me.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   no, it was as real as everyday life.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes

I was floating in the lake. I could see my hands but the rest of me was underwater.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           I heard everything said and all incidental sounds; birds, waves on the boats, sails rustling, wind. all normal sounds. Even the water but it was different somehow.

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

Did you see a light?           No

Did you meet or see any other beings?           No

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?          Yes

I can repeated what was said and the actions taken

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?   Yes

well I was first at the side of my boat, then I was in front of it with no time lapse at all.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes

That I wasn't supposed to go then. Now this was a feeling that just seemed to be at the time. I have no idea how I got that though at all, it seemed more like a memory then anything else

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No

Did you become aware of future events?       No

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes

I just knew that it wasn't my time to go. But in all fairness at the time I thought I had gotten loose from the ropes until when the boat righted up I was it the boat and still was in the lines.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes

I no longer fear death. I know now that there is something out there and we are meant to go there. A very peaceful and serene place.

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       I always believed in god and the church's doctrine. The only thing that's different now is I no longer fear death.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes

I don't fear as much for anything.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes

My sister said that it must not have been my time and maybe my wife who died in 1993 needed me there. My friends that I sailed with just gasped. I told them about what happened two years after my wife died. They were there and saw me afterwards, and had talked to the people in the safety boat.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  I was in a state of wonderment myself since I didn't realized that I'd died until they righted the boat. at the time I said nothing because my wife was extremely distraught that she had almost lost me. I never did tell her or anyone till after she died.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The peace I felt was terrific, I have never been as calm as I was in the water, but after the boat was righted I felt extremely drained and weak. It was all I could do to go up and sit on a bench while they put my boat on the rack.

 Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes

well they brought back some things that I had not thought about at all.

 Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    none