Experience Description

In my near death experience, I was standing in my family's cemetery. Everyone in the cemetery is a relative of mine. The graves date back to 1869. I saw a number of my dead relatives standing around me; however, none of them could see me. In this experience, there were no tombstones in the cemetery. Some of the people that I saw there died before I was born, yet I am able to describe their mannerisms. I walked through the crowd of dead relatives, and noticed that they were looking in one direction, as if they were waiting for a car to arrive. I realized that they could not see me even when I walked right beside some of them. I decided to leave the scene because I felt that I was not the person that they were looking for. When I woke up, I was being run down the hall of a hospital on a stretcher.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 2008

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Illness 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' I was dying of a terminal illness. I have had full blown AIDS and I had a viral load that had skyrocketed.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain 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? Normal consciousness and alertness As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Towards the end of the experience when I noticed that no one could see me.

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

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

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? Uncertain

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

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

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? No

The experience included: A landscape or city

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm I just visited my family cemetery

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Confusion.

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

The experience included: Vision of the future

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future I saw my aunt looking for her husband. He died shortly after this experience. I also saw my great-grandmother looking for someone. My grandmother died within a few weeks.

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 Baptist

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Liberal Baptist

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? Uncertain

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain

After the NDE:


Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It replays in my head over and over and when I want to speak of this event I can't seem to find the right words.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I have never had piano lessons; however, a few weeks after the experience I sat down at the piano and started playing classical music as if I had been playing the piano for years.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Based on some of the actions of the people that I saw there. I was alerted to the fact that my uncle and my grandmother were about to die. They both died within a few months of this experience.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I shared it with others a few months after it happened. My mother was shocked because I very accurately described some of the relatives who died before I was born.

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

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No