Mary Jo W FDE

Experience Description

In 1976, I was five years old. I lived with my mom and my two year old little brother. Before I explain, I should give some background to my story. My mother was from Portugal and was raised in Rhode Island. She married very young and had five children before having my little brother and me. Her marriage fell apart due to alcohol and abuse. She abandoned her family and moved to the west coast. My mother struggled with depression and did not provide much attention toward me, but she loved my brother very much. My mother never knew how to swim. We lived in an apartment complex across the street from a pool. I remember being very attracted to the pool, but my mother restricted me to the stairs.

One morning, I woke up early. I do not know what I was dreaming about, but I had this need and desire to go out the door and go swimming. I remember climbing onto the couch and reaching for the door chain on the top right corner of the door. I proceeded to run across the asphalt to the grassy area where I approached the pool. I was very young and innocent about water safety. In the 1970s, there was not a pool gate, so I was able to get right into the water. I immediately grabbed onto the wall of the pool and gradually shimmied myself over to the deep end, which was nine feet deep. I remember enjoying the area by holding onto the wall and stretching my legs out and bringing myself back. I did it a few times, but by the third time, I accidentally kicked the wall too hard, and it pushed me away from my hold. I remember sinking immediately to the bottom. I looked down at my feet; I could see the drain and the smooth curved walls of the pool underwater. It was not very long before I needed to breathe. The intense pain of needing air made me know I was dying. I was accepting death.

Then my head started having this crackling sound. I have been trying to figure this out because I am not sure if it was the sound of energy or my ears crackling from being under deep water. Suddenly, I felt this large presence standing behind me on my left. I cannot tell you if I died or popped out of my body, but I do remember it being dark and then I was back in the pool.

The presence standing behind me absorbed me; I felt like I was in a warm bubble being cradled, and all the pain from needing to breathe went away. The presence leaned down to give me a slight hug. I was afraid of it because I felt like I was in trouble for sneaking out of the apartment and now needing help. The voice spoke to me telepathically, as if I had interrupted its day. It said, "Okay, this is what I want you to do for me. I need you to jump. Can you do this for me?" I remember saying telepathically, "Okay." When I started jumping, I felt a swishing that was pushing me forward. I received automatic knowledge that I was being taken to the shallow side of the pool. I also understood that the reason it was not my time was because if my mother found me dead in the pool, she would have jumped into the water to get me and she would have drowned, and my little brother would be alone. While I kept jumping, a beautiful woman's voice was intertwining with his voice. I am not sure if this was to keep me calm, but the man's voice was the prominent one I was listening to. I have no idea how long I was under the water.

I arrived at the shallow side of the pool. Right before I jumped, all the pain from needing to breathe and that desperation, all came back. I am not sure if this is considered free will, but when I jumped, my head popped out of the water, and I was able to get a couple seconds of air before going back under. Each time I jumped, I got closer to the stairs, and each time I got air, the better I felt. When I got to the stairs, the voice spoke to me very sternly, by telling me not to do this again. I quickly ran back across the asphalt and into my apartment. There was no one who witnessed my drowning. I was saved by these two presences. The next memory I have is my mother waking up and saying, "Why are there wet clothes on the floor?" I did not say anything. Because my mother was having her bad times, she probably felt everything was okay and moved on. There was no lesson learned by my mother.

My experience did not come out until 2019. I never spoke about what happened to me. I was attending church for almost four years, and I started remembering the voice that said, "Okay, I need you to jump." This made me very emotional. I tried to talk about it with some church members, and it did not go very well for me. When my mother had her stroke and was in a memory care center, something inside told me it was time to tell her what happened. I told her my story, and she believed me. She actually cried because she remembered the wet clothes on the bathroom floor. I am so happy I told her before she passed away in 2023. I believe that I was given a purpose to speak up about my experience and to provide a message that God is real and that life exists after death. I later found IANDS and near-death study groups that really helped me feel that I was not alone. I am here to share my story as I did in the child experience section of IANDS. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Mary Jo.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date of NDE: 1976

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

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, I remember the downloads of information I received, and understanding information that a child would not relate to, but I understood.
After my NDE I was not the same child. I felt more knowledgeable and could not relate to children my age. I felt like I did not belong here on earth.

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? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
I cannot say how long or the sense of time. Like time did not matter.

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 I was a child. I cannot remember things from almost 50 years ago, all I can say is my NDE is very clear like it happened yesterday.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I was spoken to telepathically, and I replied telepathically under water.

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? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter another world? Some unfamiliar and strange place
I was here in the earth realm but then in a dark place and then back

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Scared, then I was fine once I received the downloads of where he was taking me, I felt loved and cared for.

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? Everything about myself or others
I was receiving downloads of information - it was like another form of communication that I understood.

Did scenes from your past come back? No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? Uncertain
I think I was between earth and the other side.

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
My mother raised us a Catholic when we were children. I am not attending a church at this time.

Have your religious practices changed? Yes

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Religious unaffiliated
I am Christian Catholic, but have attended a Christian Church for bible studies.

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 raised Catholic, and my mother did not like how the bible had judgements and the threats of going to hell. I think during my mother's life struggles strained her relationship with taking us to church.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes
I dont think that God is to be feared or that we will be judged and condemned.

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
The feeling of a Prescence standing behind me was prominent, and when it spoke to me - it felt all powerful and I felt busted. I felt as though I was speaking to GOD. The voice was prominent male but had a female intertwining voice.

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? Yes
I had a large presence standing behind me that felt ALL POWERFUL. IT EXISTS

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes
The NDE special knowledge is that it is affirmative that GOD exists. There is no second guessing what happened.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes
During my experience and everything that happened to me. I am 100% understanding that life exists after death. I am not afraid to die.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes
I think my NDE happened for a reason, because I was not brought up in a loving environment. I think this happened to me to provide me the understanding that I was loved and not to fear the presence that was with me.

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Uncertain
From my experience. I was loved and known very well.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life
My NDE taught me that I was loved and that no matter what was happening out of my control - that the memory it has calmed me and provided peace during uncertain times.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes
I was a child unable to express what had happened to me it took me 53 years to start making sense of it.

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
Unknown

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes
I had really bad feeling a warning about my stepson. who later committed suicide. I also heard my father in laws spirit as he died say," Mary Jo go get my wife!"

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? That intimate moment of death to be greeted by someone who provided comfort knew how to keep me calm.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
I finally posted a video on Not the END NDE on Youtube.

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

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes