Pietre M NDE

Experience Description

My teenage friend borrowed his mother's car. He, myself and another friend went joy-riding on a backroad. Franco was driving too fast and rolled the car. I had been sitting in the front passenger seat when he lost control. Back then, there were seat belt laws. I watched from about 100 feet above and behind the car. The vehicle rolled seven times creating a cloud of dust before coming to rest on its wheels. I don't recall feeling any emotion or surprise at the time. There was a strange 'zooming' sound or sensation. I was on hands and knees, on the floor where the back seat had been. Blood was splashing everywhere. At first, I thought it must be from someone else, but I was alone and realized the blood was mine. I had no pain, and I'm still convinced that I wasn't actually in my body at the time of the accident.

I still bear the scars. I'm convinced that if I'd banged my head a little harder I would have died, and wouldn't have felt a thing.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1971

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Life threatening event, but not clinical death. Car accident. Received a minor headwound, although a slightly harder bang might easily have killed me.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes The zooming feeling when I returned to my body. I clearly left my body and existed outside it

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal. I felt detached, impassive, but fully aware of what was happening.

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

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses More vivid than usual? More vivid than usual

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. There's no comparison. It was life-changing.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Can't recall

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? No

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? None

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Relief or calmness

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

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? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated Searching, perhaps?

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Uncertain. I did convert to Christianity about 15 years later. My experience may have been a factor. I still consider myself a Christian, but not a church Christian. Nowadays I wonder if God isn't just the souls and knowledge of all living things that have gone before, otherwise what is the point of experience? Whether that consciousness remains discreet forever or is ultimately absorbed into God and loses its individuality would be a guess too far.

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian Non-church-goer. No particular affiliations, but describe myself as a 'bible Christian'

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience Nobody told me you could leave your body behind.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I knew that the body is just a machine, and the brain is just the motherboard that allows that machine to function, but my soul is entirely separate from that machine.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

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? No

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 The fact that my body was in the car but I was not. And that my body could have died, but I was not my body.

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? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience?

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain I feel my experience helped my dad when he died.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It was a long time ago now and hard to recall in detail, but it felt perfectly normal.

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 as accurately as other life events that occurred around the time of the experience. I have a number of vivid memories, and this is one of them.

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? no

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Can't remember.

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. Because it was so vivid.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. Because it was so vivid.

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? No