Joseph R NDE

Experience Description 33366

I will start with the actual NDE; but then go back to early days, and then after NDE.

I was having an easy Saturday just doing nothing in particular. Suddenly, I began having chest pains. The pains were increasing in intensity and I was getting weaker. It seemed as though I was having classic heart attack symptoms, like when people describe having an elephant step on your chest. I was in the bedroom and my wife walked in and asked, "What are you doing?" I explained to her that I had these pains. She told me to lie down on the bed. I told her that I was too weak to do so, but she guided me there and I lay down. I figured I was dying and I tried to tell her that I loved her but I was too weak to vocalize it.

Suddenly, I was in this silvery, white light. The peace I felt was so awesome. I was thinking to myself that if this was dying, then I did not want to go back. I then heard a voice that sounded like my dad who had passed away a few months prior to this event. He said, "Joe, relax, you're gonna be alright."

Immediately, I was back on the bed. I got up and started to walk to the door. My wife, in a kind of shock, asked where I was going. I said told her that I was OK now.

I have told a few people of this event. Many ask if I went to the doctor afterward to see what happened. I tell them that if Jesus healed me then what would a doctor do? Probe me incessantly and then prescribe stuff I do not need? No thanks.

Going back to my early history: When I was very young, I often had terrifying nightmares that scared me so badly that I would sometimes be afraid to go back to sleep. There is one in particular that stands out for some reason. In this dream, a car pulls up behind my bedroom and a clown gets out and continuously threatens me. My silent screams and shaking did nothing to end it, although eventually it did.

After multiple nightmares like this, I noticed a pattern. Before the nightmare would start, I would see the ceiling of my room and there would be a giant buffalo nickel covering the ceiling and then the room would start spinning faster and faster. Then the nightmare would start. After this happened multiple times, I would try to shake myself awake before the nightmare could start. Sometimes that worked.

There was another time, when I was still in grammar school, I awoke at night to the sound of a helicopter approaching the house. It got very loud and then stopped. I turned to my side, and at the doorway was the devil. He was as tall as the doorway, stern and mean-looking. He was a burnt orange-red color with a spear and he had horns oh his head. I was so frightened afterwards that I could not go back to sleep.

After that, I told myself that I would never have a nightmare anymore. And, they stopped!

Later, there was my first dream of a future event. I was about ten or so and had a dream of looking out my bedroom window and seeing it snow on the onion grass. The snow was falling in rather large flakes. When I awoke, it was a bright sunny morning but cold. The onion grass had not sprouted yet. A week later, I witnessed the very scene I had dreamt about a week prior.

Not much happened after that, and when I was getting late in my teen years, I was more agnostic than outright Christian. I would ask God to show me his reality if he was there.

Years later, I joined a charismatic type of prayer group through some weird circumstances, and things began to change. My faith in Jesus was renewed and I took on a better spirituality.

God was working in this group. Early on, for example, one of the men had neighbors with an infant that had cancer. They agreed to bring the baby to this man's house so we could pray over the baby. We men formed a circle, and each got to hold the baby and pray for it. The next day the couple went to the doctor for their infant's scheduled appointment and the cancer was gone!

There were other healings also. At the end of the prayer group's teaching and sharing we would put out what we called the hot seat. Anyone with a serious problem could sit there and receive prayer. This was a night my back was so bad that I could barely walk, but I drove to the meeting anyway.

I was about to go to the hot seat at the end for prayer, but someone with a much more serious problem needed it, so I stayed back. I gently knelt behind the seat as we prayed. At the end, my back was healed completely! Jesus said, "Joe, you didn't think I could heal you too?"

Not long after that, I got married and we had our first child, who was two years old at my NDE.

After the NDE, I was noticing that I could remember dreams very well. Some were of no meaning, but some were profound.

One time I had a dream that was very long and it was like watching a documentary on television. It explained about the evil going on in the world. I could feel the sinister spirit it was revealing and how evil people running the world were killing people and trying to hide it. Then in this dream I was like a child sitting in front of the TV and a shadow figure went in front of it and turned it on. The screen showed a title, "The Final Chapter". It then went to a scene at some kind of meeting in a basement and a pudgy man with loose graying hair began the meeting and made a sign of the cross but it was upside down. The narrator explained that this man was so evil he would gladly kill his own daughter.

There were other dreams like this at times, but only one other was scary. It showed a very large box that I knew was filled with dead people and there was one body at the top. I saw the face, and it looked familiar, but I could not place it.

It continued to where I was in a hazmat type of suit spraying something around the box like they do with, say, Ebola outbreaks.

It haunted me so much that when I awoke, I just sat there for like ten minutes trying to figure out who that dead body was. It was a daughter of a neighbor. Not long after, Covid 19 broke out. It turned out they had all gotten the jab. So, I kept her in prayer as someone mentioned to me that what I saw was to pray for her to keep her safe, even though she had done me evil.

After the NDE, I would also see people who had died. Some were very pleasant meetings, and I knew they were in heaven. In other meetings, I knew the person did not make it to heaven, but it was not a surprise either. For example. In a dream, I saw an old neighbor who had died and we met. He looked great and very happy. Sunshine and blue sky!

There was another neighbor who was a backstabber type. I recognized him but he had a clownish-looking face and he could not stay still! He said, "Look Joe, I'm OK!" No, he was not, I realized it was a facade of what he was actually suffering through.

I loved the Beatles when I was very young and perhaps this is why once, sleeping before work that night, I woke up crying and as soon as I did, I heard Howard Cosell make the breaking news announcement that John Lennon was shot.

Also, I once had a dream where I was in this huge room that had panels of orange, red, and yellow scattered about. Before me was a beautiful casket, well polished. Beside it was a man in black and white. Looked like George Harrison on the All Things Must Pass album, then I awoke and saw the time was like 4:26 a.m. or so. I heard that Harrison had died at 1:26 a.m. in Los Angeles. I was on the East Coast three hours ahead, so I had that dream the moment he was declared dead. That really freaked me out.

There were times when I went to visit the dead instead of them coming to me. My favorite one is in my dream visit: I am in a dimly lit building. There are others there, and without words, we decide that we will all go in different directions. I go along this corridor. There are open doorways to the right, but they are dark. To the left is a wall that is pure gold. Even though dimly lit, I could tell. There are steps going down to another level, but no railings. But I am suddenly at the bottom of the steps. As I continue, I see bright light shining from a room off to the side. I enter the room and there are two women sitting there at a table. These two women would often attend the weekly Bible study I would give at the nursing home they were at. The one facing me was Marie and the one facing away was Vicky. Marie looks up and her eyes go wide and she exclaims, "It's Joe!" I immediately awoke.

There were also times where I knew angels were present. One of the earliest was when I was at an abortion center to quietly protest with a few others.

As I came around the side to get to the front entrance, a scraggly man in a pickup truck told me to get a job and to poke my eyes out.

I ignored him and continued to the front. Later on, he drove to the front and stopped a little short of the sidewalk. He rolled down his window and started waving a nine-inch knife around with an evil sneer on his face. I happened to have a Bible with me, and without thinking, turned to him with the Bible over my head and said, "OK, you against God and me, let's see who wins." He looked up laughing, which immediately turned into a look of stark terror! He nearly dropped the knife and tore off into the highway, nearly hitting two other cars as he fishtailed out of there.

I wish I saw what he saw. Michael the archangel? I don't know.

There were two other times where I saw angels as orbs of light and one of those times, an angel disguised as a person. In that setting, I had quit my job even with my wife eight months pregnant with our second child. I had mentioned it to the group but nothing else was added.

It was a low humidity sunny July day. I decided to sit on the front steps of our short street. Suddenly out of nowhere was a bright yellow car. I could not tell you the make or model. It seemed foreign. There was a black man in it, and he seemed to be in a little pain. I went up to him and asked what I could do for him. He said that he was working at the diner and broke a tooth. He needed two dollars for gas. I didn't want to open my wallet in front of him, so I told him, wait, I'll be right back. I got into the dining room and opened my wallet. I had a one and a twenty. In the corner of the room was an oval glow, and a voice said, "Give him the twenty."

So I took it and gave it to him crumpled. He looked at it and said, "No, that's too much. I only need two dollars for gas." Now I was thinking, wait, this is the point where you should be laughing like a lunatic as you speed away. I said, "Well, I am out of a job and this is all I have. Say a prayer for me." He said that he was a Christian too and would pray for me. As I turned to go back inside I took about three steps and turned to watch him leave but he was gone. We had a very short street and at the end you have to turn left with a 110-degree turn. No engine sound, nothing. He was gone.

A friend from the group told me that night he would take me around to find a job so I would not have to use my own car. Now, I had not told anyone of this encounter because I was too embarrassed. I still felt like I was had.

When my friend took me, the third place said I could work there until something better came along. I told my friend, who took out an envelope and said, God told me to give this to you. It was two hundred dollars!

Another time, a neighbor was angry about something and of course I was considered the culprit even though everyone on the block hated this guy and another guy that caused trouble.

He came over as far as the neighbor next to me, throwing firecrackers at me as his young son watched. Yelling obscenities and threats so bad it would make a sailor blush. He threatened me and my family with bodily harm. I was mowing with my little reel mower so I heard everything. I kept mowing and as I faced the telephone pole, there was an oval glow. The voice repeated three times, "Prison ministry, radio ministry." I knew at that point what was going on. As he walked away, I saw a dark cloud over him, so I prayed for him.

Three days later, we were coming back from a family visit and the other neighbors said that he broke his ankle in seven places doing a stupid stunt on his son's bike. There are other things but I need to go.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 00/00/1986

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes
Heart attack symptoms

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? I was aware of the peace.

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

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I did not get to see anything other than the white light I was in.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I could hear what sounded like my dad who had died a few months prior.

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 beings? Yes
Yes, my dad who had passed away months before.

Did you see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes
Simply a white light that enveloped me.

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Peace and security

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? No

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 felt like if I saw beyond the white light, I would refuse to go back.

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 - Catholic
charismatic catholic

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Christian - Catholic
I am at peace with God and communicate with him often.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience
I believed in Jesus being the Son of God and all that, but it is one thing to study it. It is another thing to be in it!

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? 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
It gave me knowledge that life continues for eternity.

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
The event seemed to open up a better connection with God than before.

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
There was nothing noteworthy in my life then. This, however, changed everything.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes
I wrote some in this. Dreams, visions and encounters.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Seeing angels as orbs. Visiting others who have passed away.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Varied. The NDE is easy; the other angel visits, etc. Even other Christians find it hard to believe. Very frustrating.

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
Instant healing. Peace and security like never known before.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
Same as above and connections to spirit.

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
There is more to say, but I tried to put in enough detail to be clear.

Anything else to add? I learned that so much dogma in churches is no more than human sentimentalism. Church scholars need to wake up!


Experience Description 33376

This experience is, I believe, connected with the NDE I listed on NDE 33366, but I think it is very important to establish true experience.

The NDE happened in 1986, but in the summer of 1978 I was visiting a friend who offered to do a tarot card reading on my life. Back then I did not think much of it, but now I refuse to have that done.

There were interesting segments. At one point she just looked down, quietly for a short time, then exclaimed, "Oh! There you are!" I asked her what she meant. She said that I was simply on the bed and I disappeared, then I suddenly came back. She explained later that what she sees in these readings can only be what happens on this earth; therefore, at the end when I asked if I make it to heaven, she could not answer either way.

There was also one segment where she mentioned people doing evil things to me and a person got arrested for it. I asked who it was and she stated that she was not allowed to say.

I often wondered if that time I was missing from earth was the NDE or later when I would visit others who had passed away.

I have mentioned some experiences and eventual gain of spiritual insights after the NDE, but if you don't mind, I would like to continue because some seem like others can relate. I will put them into sections rather than chronological order.

Visit from someone who had died.

A neighbor had died and I was asked to do a eulogy the next year where he lived. One night while asleep, I was at the edge of the living room facing the front window. A face appeared, and it was the neighbor who died, but he wore a clown face and looked extremely sad.

I told him, "It's ok. Come on in, come on in," even gesturing with my arms. He just continued to stare with that sad clown face and disappeared.

I had a neighbor next to us who loved to garden, and we would share flowers and stories of gardening. She ended up getting stage four pancreatic cancer. I was not able to visit her in the hospital, so I decided to plant flowers in front of her house. She loved the flowers and the sentiment.

After she died late that summer, I noticed that autumn that the Azalea bushes on our side of her house had some red and white blooms on them.

For the thirty plus years that we lived there, those bushes never bloomed in the autumn, and it was only the Azalea bushes on our side that had blooms.

It was the only year that they bloomed in the autumn. Was it contact from my deceased neighbor on the other side?

I did have a visit from my dad years after the NDE. He was wearing a silver and black small checked suit. He was trimmed down from his overweight days and he kept his mustache that he grew in his later years, but the greatest part was his incredibly bright smile. My dad was one who almost never smiled while on earth.

Butterflies.

Regarding the neighbor who showed up at my window with the clown face. I was walking out the door to go across to his house, and suddenly, straight from his house to mine, was a large yellow and black butterfly that zipped right over my head. I have heard that butterflies represent people's spirits.

Another time, a niece of mine who had been murdered. Many of us stayed in the parking lot to talk after the service. As we were, I noticed a large black bird circling about. I felt it was representing evil and in my mind I told it to leave. It immediately flew in a straight line directly away from me, and just as it was going out of sight, a monarch butterfly flew right through our little circle. Was it my niece?

Messages of instructions.

I have had dreams of God reminding me of who is the boss. In one dream I am a little child in the back seat of a car with a steering wheel like they have for little kids. I am trying to drive but in the front seat are some kind of blocks, blocking my view. I am afraid that I am going to crash, so I keep telling my dad to take over. He finally does. Lesson learned, let God do the driving of my life!

Another time, he was advising me not to bet anymore unless he told me to place one.

Seeing Jesus.

There are two times in particular that I actually saw Jesus. The first time, I was sick in bed with the flu. All I could think about that day was all the things I messed up in my life. So many things done wrong, sins, not doing what was right, etc., etc. Then, all of a sudden, I saw this very long strip of paper that seemed to have no end. I could see writing on each line of paper. I could not decipher them, but I knew they were all my sins. Then I saw Jesus looking at them all while holding the long strip of paper in his hands. Next to him was a wastepaper basket, and I was thinking that I was doomed, it was over, and I felt horrible. As Jesus finally got to the end of the paper, there was writing in pencil, and the letters were written as a second grader would write them, just learning to write. I knew in this event that I wrote it, and what it stated was, ' I LOVE YOU.' Jesus took it and clenched it to his chest with a big smile...and I cried. I still tear up every time I think of it.

Another time, I was at a weekend retreat. It was June and the early light of summer was slowly awaking me, kind of. I saw Jesus walk into my room pulling a little red wagon. There were three crowns in it: white, blue, and red.

I was given the white and blue ones, and told why, but then he walked on with the red one in the wagon. Was someone nearby going to be martyred for their faith?

Aquariums.

Sometime after my NDE, I began to have dreams that were closely related. They all had to do with me seeing an aquarium that for some reason I forgot I had or never knew existed. I was worried that the fish must have died from not being fed for so long! But I fed them and they came to life, in fact, not long before I wrote about my NDE and experiences, I had such a dream and there were many, many fish in there that came alive.

Thanks for reading through these.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 07/00/1978

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes
Heart attack symptoms as described in 33366.

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? throughout

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

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience In vision, I was in silver white light. In following experiences, normal.

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

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 beings? Yes
My dad, who passed away months before. I met others who had died in various visions, dreams, etc.

Did you see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes
Enveloped in bright light.

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? peace and security

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? No

Did you suddenly understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back? No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No

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
I felt the light veiled me from seeing farther, or I would not want to go back.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian - Catholic

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Christian - Catholic

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience
I believed the scriptures, but being in it is the real deal!

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? 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? No

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
I became so much more in tune with the Godhead. I was getting dreams, instructions, knowledge, and a much closer relationship with Jesus.

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
It was the biggest thing in my life then, and still is today.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes
I took the liberty of explaining some of these above.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The peace, security, and hearing dad. After the NDE, well, let's just say I am never alone.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Quite some time. The afterglow of spiritual enlightenment, not nearly as much as even other Christians who never went through this care to understand.

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
Instant healing. Hearing my dad, who had previously passed away, and the awesome peace and security like I have never felt on this earth.

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

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain
Kind of. Healings and seeing some that have previously gone to the other side.

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes
I was able to get so much off my chest regarding so much of what God has done after that NDE

Anything else to add? I sometimes feel alienated from other Christians and even priests that have no faith in this reality.