Arazdordi T NDE

Experience Description

Near Death Experience in the Caspian Sea

Another harrowing drowning incident unfolded when I was 19 years old. At the time, I was a freshman student enrolled at Pahlavi University, in Iran. Following the completion of my first year, I journeyed back home for the summer break. I was accompanied by four friends. We embarked on a motorboat excursion to the Ashour Aadeh peninsula on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Our purpose for the day was to pay a visit to my high school classmate, Hamid, who happened to be the son of the island's mayor. Hamid welcomed us as we reached the island's waterfront pier. After an extensive walking tour of the island, he proposed that we indulge in a swim. I inquired about the ‘NO SWIMMING’ sign displayed on the beach, to which he assured us that it was merely a precautionary measure and the beach was indeed safe for swimming.

As we all waded into the water, engaging in a game of ‘throw and catch,’ I was selected as the catcher for the round. The ‘catcher’ would be tossed into the air by the others, while the remaining participants swiftly swam away to evade capture. The person captured would then become the next catcher. During one such instance, I was chosen to be thrown up. As they raised me and counted to three, I soared into the air. Being the smallest of the group, the stronger boys threw me exceptionally high. Upon descending, I landed headfirst into the water. The group dispersed quickly, maintaining distance to avoid being captured by me. My head was lodged in the sand and I was trapped and couldn't get free. Struggles to free myself only resulted in sinking deeper. I was suffocating. As the constriction of my breathing intensified, I felt a transitory sharp chest pain.

I transitioned into a state of calmness, devoid of pain. I became serene as I saw a panoramic realm characterized by radiant light. In this boundless and luminous space, I encountered a multitude of smiling baby faces. They greeted me with waves of welcome. Amidst this luminous expanse, I observed my entire life encapsulated within a single snapshot among these angelic visages. The sight filled me with immense elation. Their delighted gazes were fixed upon me. These images were purity, divine holiness, and unparalleled beauty. Witnessing them was the most tranquil moment I had ever encountered in my life.

I was in heaven. I felt like I knew all the faces, and indeed, I knew them all not by name, but by who they were on earth before they died. They were all my long-deceased ancestors who came to greet me. They were waving at me with their smiling, angelic baby faces, and invited me to join them. I don't know how much time had passed, but it felt like an eternal experience lasting a whole lifetime. I wanted to stay here forever. I was suddenly awakened by an impact on my chest. I opened my eyes to see my friend Moraddordi's tearful face. He had his hands on my chest and was crying. I started coughing out sand, mud, and salty water. I was surrounded by everyone in our group who were relieved and joyful once they saw me coughing and alive.

After a few minutes of settling down, my friends eventually told me how they had saved me from drowning. My friend turned and looked in my direction while he was swimming away. He saw my toes where they had thrown me into the air. He immediately assumed there was a problem and warned the others. They swam back to find me stuck on the sea floor. Moraddordi immediately pulled me up, and they all carried me to the shore and laid me down. They saw I wasn't breathing, but nobody knew what to do. Luckily, I started coughing and breathing.

Those divine faces of babies became imprinted in my mind, and I can still see them today.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1970

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No. Drowning. Other drowning during a swimming game

How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant

Did you feel separated from your body? No I lost awareness of my body

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? Less consciousness and alertness than normal. I was in the different world

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? unconscious

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning. Time had no meaning as I saw a snapshot of endless number of my ancestral babyfaces

Were your senses More vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. 20/20

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. no hearing problem

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes . I felt like I knew all the faces, and indeed, I knew them all not by name, but by who they were on earth before they died. They were all my long-deceased ancestors who came to greet me. They were waving at me with their smiling, angelic baby faces, and invited me to join them.

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes I became serene as I saw a panoramic realm characterized by radiant light. In this boundless and luminous space, I encountered a multitude of smiling baby faces. They greeted me with waves of welcome. Amidst this luminous expanse, I observed my entire life encapsulated within a single snapshot among these angelic visages. The sight filled me with immense elation. Their delighted gazes were fixed upon me.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm a panoramic realm characterized by radiant light. In this space, boundless and luminous, I encountered a multitude of smiling baby faces that greeted me with waves of welcome.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt immense elation.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible joy

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt no longer in conflict with nature

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe It was the continuum of life.

Did scenes from your past come back to you? No

Did scenes from the future come to you? No

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

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Muslim

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes Peace of mind at the time death may lead to a serene transitional realm. The knowingly wrong doings may catch up during that transition that may alter the state of the experience.

What is your religion now? Muslim

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. I never believed encountering ancestral in their faces!

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I am not afraid of dying.

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. Peace of mind at the time death may lead to a serene transitional realm. The knowingly wrong doings may catch up during that transition that may alter the state of the experience.

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? No

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

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Yes I felt like my whole life energy had condensed and fused with the radiant luminous that encapsulated the greeting babyfaces. I felt no sense of previous earthly life. I felt I have been one of them forever!

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes All my deceased ancestral greeted me to join them.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes Unconditional angelical love I felt among them.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

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. Those divine faces of babies became imprinted in my mind forever, and I can still see them today.

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? It is extremely significant to me to believe that I will be greeted and joined by my ancestors.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I began sharing my NDE many years later after I moved to USA in late 1970's during my graduate school years.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real The experience was so vivid and real that I have carried it all my life. I have been visiting those encounters in my mind when I need a serene time for relaxation.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably real The encounter was as real as it can get. But I am leaving some contribution of ‘transitional state of mind’ to the experience.

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? At the age of 6, I became unconscious and assumed dead from falling off a runaway horse. During this incidence I did not encounter the same NDE experience I had when I was 19.