Experience Description

My brother and I were in my bedroom watching a movie we were really enjoying. There was a scene in which the hero falls into the water. He has to hold his breath for a period of time that seemed too long for me. I asked my brother to try to see if it was possible to stop breathing for such a long while.

He suggested covering my face with a cushion to prevent me from breathing until the hero in the movie breathed in again.

I agreed to his idea because I knew if I wasn't covered with something, I would breathe as soon as I felt I needed air and I wouldn't get to know if holding my breath was possible or not, I was too much of a fool.

When the scene started, I took some air and my brother threw himself upon me with the cushion. I could feel every heartbeat of my heart becoming more, more violent, and more violent with the passing of time. I can't tell how long this lasted but it seemed eternal to me, I worsened, my heartbeats were getting more violent and less regular. It was doing me harm.

The moment came when I started to see vaguely something like tiny lights and I twisted under the cushion trying to breathe but my little brother would not let go. I thought it was the end of my life so I stopped moving and waited patiently for the scene in the movie to finish and be able to breathe. The tiny lights faded away little by little, I know because I was paying much attention to them, they were beautiful and as they faded away, I saw more and more darkness.

The moment came when - though I was not breathing - I felt I was breathing, I stopped feeling my heartbeats. I had neither pain nor weariness, no, everything was very, very pleasant, I felt stronger and more alive than ever before, I felt light as if I could fly at any moment. However, I couldn't move a single muscle. I didn't care about it, I was absorbed in what I was feeling at that moment - I wasn't hearing or seeing anything, I felt no pain or weariness, I didn't notice the passing of time.

Unexpectedly, I lost awareness of my body and I saw myself in some other place, to be more precise, I saw myself at the school I attended (I loved school). Then I saw myself at my best girlfriend's house but I couldn't see my body, I just saw a landscape. I was feeling even better with all that, those images made me really happy and there was also wind at the back, a light wind.

All of a sudden, I felt movement, a lot of movement. My mother was shaking me and she was blowing air into my lungs to make me breathe and gain consciousness, according to what she explained to me. All the images I had been looking at disappeared and a complete darkness flooded me - from this moment I don't remember anything at all.

I only remember I woke up in hospital connected to a breathing machine. The doctor insulted me. He called me foolish and ignorant. He said I stopped breathing for forty minutes and that I could have died if hadn't been for the breathing machine I was connected to and the emergency services.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1999

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Falta de aire 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' The truth is I don't know because the longest the period of time I was not breathing, the better I noticed I felt physically.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain 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 As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I was always aware I was not breathing but, as I was feeling so well, I didn't feel it was important for me 'to start breathing again'.

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 Everything seemed eternal to me.

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. Everything was more beautiful than it normally is.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I only heard the sound of wind, that's all.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

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

The experience included: Darkness

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? Uncertain Light, the only light I perceived was that of the landscapes, I doubt it's the same light mentioned in other NDEs.

The experience included: A landscape or city

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm Mi colegio, el cuarto de mi mejor amíga, el campo...cosas normales.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Happiness, a lot of warmth and strength.

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 united or one with the world

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future It was absolutely precise, mysteriously too precise, everything strange I saw in my experience, I saw it in real life too afterwards.

Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will

God, Spiritual and Religion:


What was your religion prior to your experience? Liberal 'No tengo muy claro sobre que tengo fe, se que hay algo pero no como me lo ponen las religiones.'

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Liberal Siempre e creído en lo mismo.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

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

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:


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

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I realized that I never noticed how marvelous the world was, I paid much more attention to the console table and the TV than to the details of reality. It made me take a look at everything with less haste and more tranquility.

After the NDE:


Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain Sometimes I realize someone is going to die, people who are strangers to me, but I don't know if it's my imagination. And whenever I intensely wish something unconsciously, it happens.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Important - well, no. The only thing which was significant to me was that though I knew I was not actually breathing, I realized I was doing it.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? No

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 probably real Everything I saw was the same afterwards. It was hard to believe.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real After thinking about it for a long time, I realized it was real since I remember everything perfectly well.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain Once, not long ago, I had an arrhythmia and I felt like in my NDE but this time I had a strong pain that didn't make me as happy as I was on the previous occasion but I felt stronger and full of vitality at the same time.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? No.