Tom S STE

Experience Description

It was summer and I was sleeping. No booze or drugs.

Sometime toward morning, I felt a great and wonderful feeling of my spirit rising up from my body. The next thing I knew I was out in space facing the Sun. The Earth was behind me and Mars was off to the left. I had no feeling of heat, cold, or breathing. It was a glorious feeling of being one with the Universe. The experience lasted for a bit, then the white light showed up. I remember being drawn to the light. I sensed people behind the light beckoning me to pass through it. I did not want to, and I kept fighting not to pass through.

Then the event crashed, and I was back in my body again. There was another brief feeling of being uplifted, but it passed. That was the end of my experience. I call it "a chance to see." To see what my passing could possibly be.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 07/21/1986

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 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? Yes

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? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
I went from being out in space to the veil immediately.

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 had no vision prior to my experience. It came totally out of the blue. Physical vision was not relevant because I was sleeping.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience Does not apply. I was sleeping.

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? I sensed their presence

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased beings? Yes
As I said, I sensed beings behind the veil.

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
It was an intense white light like a veil.

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Incredible joy and a feeling of being one with the universe up to the point when the white light appeared. Then I became a fighter because I did not want to pass through the light.

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? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life
I fought not to pass through the veil. I felt that if I did, my earthly body would die. It was not my time.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Unaffiliated - Agnostic

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated - Agnostic

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 that we had a spiritual life and our body was only the carrier that let our spirit learn in our physical lives what we had to learn to pass and not return to another physical life on Earth.

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
Yes, by sensing people behind the veil encouraging me to pass through. They seemed happy and wanted me to join them.

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? Moderate changes in my life
I understand that passing is part of life. I believe that we should meet all earthly challenges given to us, no matter how difficult. It is like being in school. Hopefully, we meet and overcome each challenge and learn from the experience. God wants us to learn.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain
I can relate my experience to a person, but it is up to them whether they believe me or not. I can't say for sure if any relationships were changed.

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
Almost 40 years later, I can still remember the experience and all of its details.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes
Too many to list. I spend more time with dead people than live people. I have been given physical gifts from people who have passed. I have had many paranormal experiences.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I think the part about being out in space and feeling an intense connection with the universe was the most significant.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
Immediately. I told my wife what had happened when she woke up. I also shared it with many other people. Most people did not seem surprised by my experience. Influenced? I don't know.

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
I believed it was real because it happened.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
Again, because it definitely happened. I know it was not a dream.

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 responses describe my experience exactly.

Anything else to add? No