Agian
Well-known member
I've been reading about NDEs lately. Given the number of people here, I was wondering if anyone has had such an experience.
Near Death Experiences
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river-wear
Well-known member
Nope. I don't even have any recollection of the five hours they had me waiting around for surgery - the anesthesia team was apparently pulled away for an emergency. Gotta love versed (or whatever it was the guy shot into my IV before wheeling me away from my family). Next thing I knew, I was getting yelled at to move my toes - 15 hours later!
Hi Aglan - it was explained to me that when our heart is stopped for surgery that, as far as our brain and body are concerned, we would have experienced all the stress hormones etc that happens when a person dies. Because we're not concious we don't experience it as 'death' but our brain and body would have. I've not read of anyone having a near death experience though.
I have had a NDE though when I was four years old. Of course I didn't know it was a NDE. I could see a tunnel of very bright light above me and I was going up and towards it - I looked back down on my body, which was getting smaller as I moved away, and I got really scared and then 'came back down'. It was the most vivid experience. I didn't tell anyone about this, but years later when I read about NDE in operating threatres I recgonised that it was just what I had experienced. However, I was not ill or in an operating theatre. At that age my parents always made me have an afternoon nap which I hated becasue I wasn't really tired, but there was nothing to do but lie there for however long they said I had to nap for. I guess I had gone into a kind of state in-between sleep and awake - I think that must affect the brain somehow and that's why I had what is called a NDE - only it wasn't really near death, it's an effect of lowered oxygen levels on the brain (presumably in real near death oxygen levels change too).
During cardiac surgery we are too far unconcious to be able to get a NDE - you'd have to be in that semi-awake-sleep state to experience it. They are doing a ton of research into NDE these days and I have read that children expereince it fairly easily. It's a kind of lucid dreaming but it's always very similar experiences.
I have had a NDE though when I was four years old. Of course I didn't know it was a NDE. I could see a tunnel of very bright light above me and I was going up and towards it - I looked back down on my body, which was getting smaller as I moved away, and I got really scared and then 'came back down'. It was the most vivid experience. I didn't tell anyone about this, but years later when I read about NDE in operating threatres I recgonised that it was just what I had experienced. However, I was not ill or in an operating theatre. At that age my parents always made me have an afternoon nap which I hated becasue I wasn't really tired, but there was nothing to do but lie there for however long they said I had to nap for. I guess I had gone into a kind of state in-between sleep and awake - I think that must affect the brain somehow and that's why I had what is called a NDE - only it wasn't really near death, it's an effect of lowered oxygen levels on the brain (presumably in real near death oxygen levels change too).
During cardiac surgery we are too far unconcious to be able to get a NDE - you'd have to be in that semi-awake-sleep state to experience it. They are doing a ton of research into NDE these days and I have read that children expereince it fairly easily. It's a kind of lucid dreaming but it's always very similar experiences.
Agian
Well-known member
I have lucid dreams all the time. It waxes and wanes for me.
NDEs are apparently very different.
I remember being a baby lying in a cot, without a nappy, with a bunch of my mother's friends hovering over me. I distinctly remember a sense of embarrasment at being naked. I reckon I was about 3 months old. The memory still fascinates me.
It is a strong proof of men knowing most things before birth, that when mere children they grasp innumerable facts with such speed as to show that they are not then taking them in for the first time, but are remembering and recalling them. - Cicero
NDEs are apparently very different.
I remember being a baby lying in a cot, without a nappy, with a bunch of my mother's friends hovering over me. I distinctly remember a sense of embarrasment at being naked. I reckon I was about 3 months old. The memory still fascinates me.
It is a strong proof of men knowing most things before birth, that when mere children they grasp innumerable facts with such speed as to show that they are not then taking them in for the first time, but are remembering and recalling them. - Cicero
I came across this fascinating website just now Aglan: http://horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=284 I see that what I had at four years old would be classed as an 'Out of Body Experience'. This was interesting on their website as it describes exactly how I felt, being separate from my body and watching it from above...and I see they say it has been described by people in a deeply relaxed state as well as in people close to death:
An important feature of NDE is to distinguish between a near death experience and an out of body experience. Many people ask whether these two are the same thing? The answer is both Yes and No! An out of body experience is described by people as the sensation of separating from their bodies and being able to watch themselves and events from above. This can occur in a number of different situations ranging from severe illness to intense pain, and has also been described by people who have been in a deeply relaxed state. One of the circumstances in which the out of body experience has also been described is by people who have come close to death, when it makes up one of the many features of the broader near death experience. The NDE usually, although not always occurs when somebody is more critically ill and closer to death. http://horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=69 and http://horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=70
I liked your Cicero quote.
An important feature of NDE is to distinguish between a near death experience and an out of body experience. Many people ask whether these two are the same thing? The answer is both Yes and No! An out of body experience is described by people as the sensation of separating from their bodies and being able to watch themselves and events from above. This can occur in a number of different situations ranging from severe illness to intense pain, and has also been described by people who have been in a deeply relaxed state. One of the circumstances in which the out of body experience has also been described is by people who have come close to death, when it makes up one of the many features of the broader near death experience. The NDE usually, although not always occurs when somebody is more critically ill and closer to death. http://horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=69 and http://horizonresearch.org/main_page.php?cat_id=70
I liked your Cicero quote.
Agian
Well-known member
It's a fascinating topic. I dreamt a few weeks ago that I was at my parents' place yelling and screaming at my dad. He woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep, because he had a dream that I was... you can guess the rest. I was telling him that I couldn't think anymore and couldn't remember anything. It felt so real to him that he was worried about me.
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Carol
Well-known member
I had a NDE when I was 21.I was having a miscarriage and had lost a lot of blood.In those days you had to pass tissue before they could touch you.I remember leaving my body and watching what was going on and yelling Help.I was taken up to surgery and made it.I guess I was near death.
Agian
Well-known member
Thanks to both of you, for sharing your experiences.
bluefields409
Well-known member
Facing terminal illness or being told surgery or die, takes a person to a very surreal place. . Understanding how our brain interprets different levels of consciousness and how our body responds to crisis is complex. It is fascinating to hear about other peoples experiences but ultimately, who REALLY knows?
That being said, there have been times, after filling up the gas tank and seeing the total $$$ when it feels like a NDE
That being said, there have been times, after filling up the gas tank and seeing the total $$$ when it feels like a NDE
This is a very interesting topic and one that my dear aunt experienced due to sudden cardiac arrest. She suffered a massive heart attack and had to be 'paddled' back a number of times. She and my uncle lived in a small town and believe it or not, it was the local hospital that brought her back. After she was stabilized she was brought by ambulance to a large teaching hospital where she underwent quadruple bypass and a mitral valve replacement. I was in my early 20's at the time and went to see her with my mom as I heard she was critical and might not survive. Well, she lived another 10 years after this! A few years after her big event, I had a lot of questions as I heard she had 'died' on the table and I was interested to hear her story. She was very reluctant to talk about it, but one one occasion opened up and told me about her near death experience. She recalled in vivid detail, how she was outside her body, looking down on the table being paddled, the exact words that the doctors spoke to her husband and that they didn't think there was much more they could do for her. She also told me about floating over a beautiful meadow with flowers and seeing a white light. She said it was the most beautiful place she had been, but she was pulled back as she felt that there was still unfinished business for her to do regarding her son. To this day, I am so appreciative of her sharing this story, as it helped take away some of the fear of the 'unknown' around death. Her sharing with me this experience, in many ways helped give me courage to undergo my AVR a number of years ago.
Agian
Well-known member
Roberta, reading about your aunt's account makes me glad I asked about NDEs.
