EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:
I was on vacation with my mother, father, a friend of
mine and her mother in Kentucky. We went to Dewy Damn, which I believe is not
far from Van Lear, Kentucky. We rented a small boat and when we got to a shallow
spot at the lake my dad, my friend and I got out to swim. I couldn't swim so my
dad went in the water first to make sure it was a shallow spot, so the water
wouldn't be above my shoulders.
We were in the water,
playing, screwing around and laughing when suddenly I stepped backwards and
stepped off a ledge into very deep water. I couldn't swim so I was sinking under
the water. My dad and friend thought I was still screwing around and was
laughing at me. In the beginning I remember struggling when I breached the top
of the water, but after going down a couple of times, I wasn't struggling
anymore when I went under. I was at peace and had no fear, everything became
extremely beautiful. The lights and colors in the water were so beautiful that I
was captivated and mesmerized by them.
I saw colors that don't
exist. The lights were sparkling and bright and yet soft and inviting, they were
comforting, it was like I was apart of the lights and colors. The peace was so
calming and desirable that I felt a part of something very much larger, like I
was one with the universe. During this experience I felt what it feels like to
have no time, it was timeless, no boundaries of time. It was an amazing feeling,
the freedom of no time and the connection with "the universe" (I use that word
simply because the universe is vast but I felt it was more than the universe as
we know it)
Then, suddenly, I was
floating above the area and looking down and saw my mother and my friends mother
still in the boat, I saw my dad and friend in the water. My mother was scared
and yelling at my dad to pull me out of the water. My dad was laughing and said,
"Oh Helen, she's just playing, we're all just fooling around." And then I saw
myself pop up above the water again, and it looked like I was panicked,
frightened, and struggling for my life. My mother became desperate and mad at my
father, and as I again went under water I heard her insist that he drag me out
of the water.
But, when I went under
again, I was puzzled, I didn't understand why I briefly struggled and panicked
when I resurfaced because in reality, I wanted to go back under because
everything was so beautiful and amazing under the water, it was tranquil, and
the feeling of oneness and timelessness was what I wanted to go back to. I
didn't understand why my body struggled and showed fear because that isn't the
way I felt at all. I didn't want to resurface, I wanted to stay below the water,
and I was happy there, happier than I can ever remember being before or since
the experience.
The next thing happened is that I felt my dad pull me up from the water and pull
me to the boat trying to resuscitate me. I felt very heavy in weight, so heavy
that it amazed me that my body could be so heavy. It felt so heavy that it was
laborious to adjust to being in my body again. I was coughing and sputtering,
water was stinging my eyes and I felt a panic also return to my body that didn't
exist when I was under the water, but, the strange thing was that those signs of
panic and fear were only in my body, not my mind. I didn't feel those things in
my mind. What I was feeling was disappointment about being taken out of such a
beautiful, amazing, wonderful place.
Was
the kind of experience difficult to express in words?
Yes Our vocabulary doesn't have the capacity to express much of the
experience.
At
the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?
Yes I was drowning.
At
what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness
and alertness?
When I was under the water.
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 under the water.
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 As I said before, I saw colors that don't exist. And even though the
light was brighter than I had ever seen it didn't hurt the eyes, in fact, it
soothed the eyes and appeared soft and bright at the same time. I can't say that
there was depth perception as we know it... it was greater than that... again,
like a oneness and all things perceived in its entirety. I learned from that
experience that there is such a thing as "the minds eye"
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 "Hearing" as we know it, isn't the same. Hearing as we know
it is just one part of our other senses, it is separate. During this experience
there was no separation of senses, they were all connected, they were one, and
being one made everything super remarkable and amazing.
Did
you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?
Yes
What emotions did you feel during the experience?
Wonder, amazement, pleasantness, peace, lightness, happiness,
freeing, longing to stay, feeling of being "home".
Did
you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?
No
Did
you see a light?
Yes As described above in my descriptions.
Did
you meet or see any other beings?
Yes I didn't meet or see other beings, but I could "feel" and "sense"
mystical entities around me, as if they were waiting. I didn't get the
impression that I knew them.
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
Did
you see or visit any beautiful or otherwise distinctive locations, levels or
dimensions?
Yes My experience felt like I was in another dimension.
Did
you have any sense of altered space or time?
Yes There was no time, saying it was timeless doesn't really describe what
it was like. I can still feel what it feels like (time does not exist) but no
words can really describe it. Regarding space, there was no space either,
everything was one, connected, again, there is really no word that fully
describes this knowledge.
Did
you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?
Yes I'm not sure you would call it "special knowledge", I wasn't given any
revelation or anything, but, I just simply knew, for a fact, without question,
that everything is connected, that our reality "here" is only a fleeting and
cumbersome short period of time. Only a blink of an eye perhaps. But, I did
learn that there IS a reason, a purpose for our life here, ... but, I wasn't
told what that reason/purpose is. The only strange thing I can remember is the
thought that stuck in my mind after this is experience was "The important thing
is to make it shine, everything else is folly." û those are not the exact "words
in my thoughts" but it was something like that.
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 I developed an ability to "read" people, to become one with them and
understand many things about them without them having to tell me. Even until
today, most of the time I could not tell you the color of friends and relatives
eyes (unless I deliberately commit it to memory) because when I converse with
them I do not see their eyes, I see through them, past the eyes. It is difficult
to explain, but if I want to see the persons eyes I have to deliberately focus
on them because otherwise my natural instinct now is that my mind doesn't see
them.
Have you shared this experience with others?
Yes I have shared this story for many years with family and selected
friends. I didn't start sharing it until a few years after the incident. There
have been mixed reactions, of course to it, some people believe you and some
don't. Some find it fascinating some view it as imagination. I don't have a
desire or urgency to make people believe it. I tell it and then it's up to them
how or what they want to think about it.
Did
you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?
No
How
did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it
happened:
Experience was definitely real There is no doubt in my mind it was real.
Were there one or several parts of the experience especially meaningful or
significant to you?
Every part of the experience was meaningful and significant to me.
How
do you currently view the reality of your experience:
Experience was definitely real There is no doubt in my mind it was
real.
Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your
experience?
No
Have your religious beliefs/practices changed specifically as a result of your
experience?
No
Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life,
medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?
Yes Several years after the drowning incident I did have one other
experience. I will use another form to tell you about that.
Is
there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?
Only
that there is another reality, another realm, another dimension.
Did
the questions asked and information you provided so far accurately and
comprehensively describe your experience?
Yes Yes, you gave a lot of latitude to explain the aspects of the
experience.
Are
there any other questions we could ask to help you communicate your experience?
I'll give this question some thought but as for the present I think the
questionnaire is very good.
