Nostra J NDE

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:

After giving blood I was seated at the refreshment table and drinking a Pepsi.  I felt kind of sick to my stomach.  The lady who was watching the donors at the table was a retired nurse volunteer.  She asked me if I was OK.  I said no.  She rang a little bell and a Red Cross nurse came over.  She looked at me, then called for a wheelchair.  She asked me to stand up and sit in it.  I did so and thought I am so  glad to sit in this chair and know I am surrounded with professional people who are trained to take care of me.  I felt exhausted and deeply relieved to sit down. 

Then it seemed I was in some other place.  There was a lot of wind there and the wind made a lot of noise. I saw that I was in a tunnel.  I seemed to be floating through the air, propelled by the wind. I was very calm.  There was no sense of worry or fear.  I was willing to go where this wind would take me. 

Then I heard someone calling my name (Jean, Jean) very loudly and urgently.  Whoever was calling me evidently was in deep trouble and needed my help.  Also, since they knew my name, it must be a friend of mine.  I had to go back and help this friend.   

I opened my eyes and saw a strange man there and was quite confused by that.  Plus he was almost in my face and his face split open in the biggest grin I ever saw.  He sat back but he still radiated happiness.  He had on a white coat but I knew that he was not a doctor but one of the blood technicians.  Later I realized he knew my name because it was on the pasted on tag on my shirt.  Before I gave blood, I had been working as a donor assistant and the nurses asked us to put these name tags on so they could get our attention if they needed help and we were not making eye contact at the time. We had another one pasted to our back. 

The blood technician left and the head nurse started taking my pulse, then my blood pressure.  She said "nothing yet" and sat down beside me.  She told me "we will wait awhile".  She asked me how I felt.  I said I was tired. She looked a bit unusual to me, not exactly her usual persona of calm, unflappable nonchalance. It dawned on me that perhaps I was the cause of the change in her but for some reason I did not question her about anything.  She wanted me to converse with her, though, and to tell her what had happened to me.  She seemed to want to know what had led up to this occurrence.  I told her what I had been doing working with the blood donors and various incidences where this person or that had had minor problems or fears and how I had tried to help them. 

Then she said she had something she had to tell me.  She said while I was unconscious I had had some minor "jerking".  This was meaningless to me but still I did not question her. I did sense that it had a significance to her and that she thought it was dangerous.   

Then she began to ask me about physical problems I perhaps had leading up to this day.  She wanted to know exactly how I was feeling prior to this day and any problems that I might have had.  I told her I was going into menopause and was skipping periods but I just had a period a couple of days before I gave blood.  It was a very heavy period, much heavier than normal. I told her that I did not think it was anything that should preclude me donating as a period is not an illness. 

She told me not to donate again for at least a year.  

She kept me there at the bloodmobile center until my blood pressure and pulse came back to normal. 

I obeyed her orders and resumed donating one year later.  Nothing like that has ever happened to me since that time.

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? Uncertain      It is easy to detail what happened leading up to my collapse and after my return to my body but it is difficult to explain how I felt when I was in the tunnel.

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Uncertain      It sounds as if the nurse thought I had a life threatening event. I was never personally in any fear of my life even when I was in the tunnel.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?    I felt a black out hit me when I sat down in the wheelchair but returned to consciousness almost immediately.  I heard the very loud noise of the wind first, then became aware that the wind was moving me.  Next, I saw that I was in a tunnel. I was fully conscious all the time.  There was no dulling of the senses. The fact that I was floating and moving through this tunnel was exhilaratingly.

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:            I felt a black out hit me when I sat down in the wheelchair but returned to consciousness almost immediately.  I heard the very loud noise of the wind first, then became aware that the wind was moving me.  Next, I saw that I was in a tunnel. I was fully conscious all the time.  There was no dulling of the senses. The fact that I was floating and moving through this tunnel was exhilaratingly.

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.)?  No      

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.)?            No      

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I do not remember feeling separated from my body but I do feel that I returned to my body when I came back (voluntarily) from the tunnel.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?          Yes     The tunnel had a lot of wind and noise from the wind.  It was larger than my body so that it did not constrict me in any way. There was plenty of room for the wind to push me through it. There was some  light in the tunnel so that it was not dark and I could see in it.  It was not a bright light.  I saw no light at the end of it.

Did you see a light?           Uncertain      There was an ambient light around me so the tunnel was not dark. I was nowhere near the end of the tunnel when the voice called me back.

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?          No      

Did you see or visit any beautiful or otherwise distinctive locations, levels or dimensions?            Yes     The tunnel was a beautiful, distinctive dimension even though I was only in it briefly. 

I should say I think it was briefly, I really do not know how long it was.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     My body did not seem to exist.  I was floating through the tunnel.

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?     Yes     I believe I am a kinder person. I feel more connected and empathetic to other people.  

I quit trying to get people to recognize my abilities so much. 

I find more joy in my friends and family.

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?     No      

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     It was several weeks later that I related the experience to my husband.  He did believe me.  He tried to dissuade me from donating blood again.  He did not succeed.  

No, he was not influenced by my experience. 

I have related it to at least two other people.  They did appear to believe me.  At least one of these people did seem to be awed by the experience.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?    Yes     I had heard of this phenomena and read some NDE experiences.  I was uncertain whether it was a truly a religious experience or purely a physical reaction of the body shutting down. 

My experience was not as deep as the ones I read about.  I attribute this to the technician calling my name.  Still, at the time, I really felt that this was my decision whether to go back on not.  

I don't think anything I read influenced my experience. 

I do think now that it is a rite of passage into the next world and not just a shutting down by the body.

How did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:            Experience was definitely real    It has been 19 years since this experience.  Plus I know I have a poor memory that has plagued me since a child.  But I have never forgotten anything that happened to me that day.

Were there one or several parts of the experience especially meaningful or significant to you?            The tunnel was the central part of my experience. Plus there was the indescribable sensation of floating in the wind.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience:            Experience was definitely real    see above

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?           Yes     My relationships have changed.  I love more deeply,  I have less stress.  I forgive more easily.

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?         No      

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        No.

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

Are there any other questions we could ask to help you communicate your experience?   No.