Jim L NDE

Experience Description

I was working on my computer, when I felt I immediately had to vomit. I jumped up, ran to bathroom, and just started vomiting until I passed out. I landed backwards into the sheetrock bathroom wall and caved in a large chunk of wall. While I was passed out, I know my heart stopped beating.

I saw what looked like I was in a tunnel. Way down the tunnel, I saw a distant light about the size of a pea. This light seemed like it was traveling towards me in the tunnel; as it came closer, the light kept on getting bigger and bigger; brighter and brighter. At first, it was about the size of a quarter. Then the light was about the size of a silver dollar. It kept getting bigger and brighter. It was the brightest light I have ever seen and it totally embraced my entire body. I was 100% immersed in this bright, bright light. It was behind me and above me. I was totally 100% surrounded by this beautiful light. I loved it! I was the happiest I have ever been in my life.

Then I guess, after a couple minutes, my heart started beating again. I woke up on the floor and was I upset. I wanted to go back to where I had just been. I did not want to leave that beautiful experience. But I woke up.

I noticed I had been crying as tears were on my cheek and I had to wipe away the tears. I got up and I think I just started doing my normal routine. I never told my cardiologist or my wife. A year or two later, I did tell my brother. He laughed at me and said that was stupid or something like that. So I really haven’t said much about it to anyone else.

I did pass out several times after my event but only for a few seconds. The doctor made me wear a device that monitored my heart on a 24 hour basis. It found my heart was stopping every few minutes for several seconds. My cardiologist called it a “pause” in my heartbeat. I was taking medicine because I have chronic atrial fibrillation. He had reduced my medicine down to 3 mg from 25 mg. That is a whopping decrease. I haven’t passed out since.

I’m not scared of death at all. In fact, I will welcome it when it is time to go. I once added up all the minutes I have lived during my 76 years and it came to a little over 40 million or so minutes. In those millions of minutes I have lived, the happiest of them has been those several minutes when my heart stopped and I had that beautiful NDE.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 06/20/2000

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes
Heart stopped due to overprescribing my heart pills that slow my heart down due to atrial fibrillation.

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

Did you feel separated from your body? 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? Yes. Definitely alert.
Totally focused on what was happening. Loved it and was taking it all in.

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

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 This vision involved the brightest light I have ever seen. No other senses like smell or hearing were involved.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience No hearing was involved.

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

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Yes
Tunnel with light at the end. Pea-sized. Grew bigger and brighter and brighter, and brighter. Then totally immersed in the brightest light I have ever seen.

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased 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? Yes
Just bright light, like never seen on this earth, way brighter than looking at the sun.

Did you seem to enter another world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm
It was like I was suspended in the air with nothing holding me up. Just floating with the bright light all around me. But I wasn't moving, just standing in the air surrounded by this bright light.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? So happy. Loved what I was experiencing. Peace. Calm. Everything is great.

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 understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back? No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? Uncertain
I just felt so peaceful, so happy, like no harm was coming to me, that this place must be like heaven.

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

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian - Protestant
Baptized as an Episcopalian. Went to church very rarely as an adult.

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated - Nothing in particular - Secular unaffiliated

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
At the time, not 100% sure that when we die we go to heaven or hell. But now more convinced of a heaven.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes
Life after death. Before, not so sure.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? 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? Yes
Before, I had believed in God, but I just wondered if there really is a heaven and when we die we just die and then everything is over. Period. No heaven. Nothing. Now I believe we keep on living, but in a different form, and there is something. Something is out there. Whether it's called heaven, I just hope so.

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Uncertain

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? Uncertain
I have read that 3% of the population has had an NDE. That's a lot of people. I think that most of us had a great experience and we are not afraid of death, as we think there is life after death.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes
I felt so happy and at peace. I felt I must be on a journey to heaven.

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? Slight changes in my life
Not afraid of death. Believe in an afterlife.

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
Like I said, this experience was the best couple minutes of my life.

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? Believe in an afterlife.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Shared with my brother. He laughed it off. Mostly don't tell people.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes
I had read about experiences in magazines, newspaper articles, etc., and found them interesting, but wasn't caught up in researching it or had any great interest in it, rather it was interesting to read about it. I knew people had these experiences, but I thought they were very, very rare occurrences.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real
Believed I was on my journey to heaven, but it was interrupted by the restarting of my heart.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
Same as 2 weeks after. Now I take a greater interest in NDEs. I read about them and do some research. I know that there are different NDEs. The tunnel and the out-of-body experience in operating rooms seem common. Others see their past and past family, etc. As I said, mine was the tunnel and didn't seem to last but a few minutes, but it was beautiful.

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

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes
My tunnel experience was beautiful and peaceful. Haven't changed my life because of it, but I don't fear death, and now I'm not wishy-washy about there being an afterlife.