Lanie C NDE

Experience Description

When I was about four years old, my parents, my sister, and I were at my parents' friends' house. It was summer, and they had an in-ground swimming pool in the backyard. It was a sunny day, and everyone had gone inside the house, probably to eat.

I was walking around in the pool because I did not know how to swim. The homeowners had either forgotten or neglected to put up the rope that separated the shallow end from the deep end. I remember walking through the water when, all of a sudden, I took a step where there was a steep drop-off from the shallow end into the deep end. I slipped and went under the water.

The next thing I remember is watching Bobby, the homeowners' son, running from the house toward the swimming pool and diving in. I think he was in his late teens or early twenties at the time.

After that, I remember floating in the air and looking down at my parents, Bobby, and several other people. They were squatting, kneeling, bent over, or hovering around something next to the side of the pool. I was looking down at the backs of everyone's heads and wondering, "What are they doing?"

I remember trying to look between their bodies and heads to see what they were doing and what they were looking at. The next thing I remember is coughing and vomiting a large amount of water.

When I was in my twenties, I remember talking to my mother about my near-drowning experience. She told me that everyone had been inside the house when she suddenly realized that I was missing. She began panicking and saying, "Where's Charlene? Where's Charlene?"

Bobby ran out of the house toward the pool, saw me in the water, dove in, and pulled me out. They dragged me onto the pavement beside the pool. My mother began pushing on my stomach because she thought I had swallowed a lot of water and wanted to get it out of me. She was only 22 years old at the time and did not know what else to do.

Eventually, I vomited a large amount of water.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date of NDE: 00/00/1972

NDE Elements:

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

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

Did you feel separated from your 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? When I was floating above everyone wondering what they were looking at.

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 don't remember there being a difference.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I don't remember there being a 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? No

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

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt a sense of calm. I guess I felt like I was peacefully floating. I felt a bit curious wondering what people were doing, but I didn't feel a sense of urgency or need. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort.

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 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? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian - Protestant
I have never been religious or believed in a god. I selected Protestant only because my parents sent my sister and me to Sunday school until I was 8 years old (I'm pretty sure they saw it as free babysitting). We did not have religious instruction other than Bible stories, I think. When we moved to Japan when I was 9 years old, my parents didn't make us go to Sunday school anymore, which was a relief.

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated - Atheist
I have never been religious, nor have I ever believed in a god.

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 was a child, so I think I was too young for any of this to register.

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? No changes in my life
I think I was too young for this event to have a meaningful impact on my life. I never told anyone about this experience until I was in my 20s and learned there was such a thing as near-death experiences. It never occurred to me that it was something extraordinary or out of the ordinary. The only impact this experience had on me that continues to this day is my slight fear of water. I can swim; I have no problem swimming in pools. But I do not go in the ocean or in lakes. I don't like going in water that I can't see through. This fear got worse as I got older. My dad taught me to swim after this incident. As a child, I spent many summers at the public swimming pool and playing at the beach and swimming in the ocean. But I have not been in the ocean for 45 years or so.

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
This experience has remained vivid in my memory.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Maybe about 18-20 years later. Everyone thinks it's interesting. No one has ever said they don't believe me.

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
It happened and I assumed it was real. Being a child, that assumption was probably easy to make.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
It has remained vivid in my memory. I "saw" things that I couldn't have seen. And I never talked about it to anyone for two decades, so my memories were not potentially shaped by what people told me happened.

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

Anything else to add? Nope.