Looking for others

[alcyone]

So back in 2015 I had an accident and went unconscious.

I was in a forest with beautiful trees and rocks, plants, water streams. It was beautiful. I remember bits and pieces. The events are all out of order because time did not exist...

First thing I remember is a priest giving me a cup of water with some kind of antidote in it. Then I laid down in the bed that was in the cottage in the woods and I went to sleep. Next thing I remember seeing was myself wake up, somehow I managed to go outside the cottage and pick some mushrooms off the ground and ate them. Then, the weirdest thing happened. I was asleep in bed again. Opened the front door, grabbed a flash light and went for a walk. I kept seeing signs on the trees of a cross and a stick figure man falling down with the number 7 on it. As I was walking, I suddenly fell down backwards like the sign and I actually fell underneath the mud and I was just pulling myself out of the ground. I stumbled back to the cottage bruised up and smelled like a dead animal. Laid down again. There was a bible written by the guy who gave me the cup of water and other things that are christian like....

Woke up in my car in the ditch.

I don't think this makes much sense as it is all out of order. But anywho that's what happened to me. I'm pretty much doing okay now.

Anyone have any similar NDEs?

[desert rat]

How do you know that this was a n.d.e. and not a dream?
.

[Colorado]

I am getting the feeling that this was a dream, too. Im not saying you werent in a life & death situation, you were obviously in a car wreck....but that doesnt mean you were dead or near death. You had a bad concussion it sounds like. As far as what you experienced, it seemed very symbolic...on a subconscious level, with the crosses & bible, ect....your brain was registering that you were in a serious situation. That doesnt mean there is nothing to learn from it...the brain is an awesome coping mechanism at times. If left to itself...it can shield you from trauma & can release endogenous morphine,(endorphins) to protect you from experiencing more pain than you otherwise would....it also causes hallucinations, jumbled thoughts & dreams, some that seem poignant & others that don't make much sense. Now that is a judgement based off what I learned, that doesnt mean I am right...because

Then again, you could have been somewhere in between, on some dimension that we are not aware of...your story reminds me of that doctor who had a similar experience...I believe he was a neurosurgeon & an atheist, until he had a nde after being deathly ill.

I guess what I am saying is, we really dont understand much about ndes, whose are real, whose are hallucinations, what is the line that is drawn between an authentic nde & hallucination, or if the two can mix, what part of what the doctors say is true, what part is actually real... Dr. Eben Alexander's experience was eerily similar to yours...and it changed him from an atheist into a believer. You might want to read his story, if you already haven't.

[SemperVI]

@Aesta,

While the specifics of your experience is unique to you, to answer your question -- yes, I have had something similar happen to me as well as many others on this site. I do have a quick question about your experience. Has this experience had a profound or otherwise influence on your worldview?

The reason I ask is because I noticed others suggested this was perhaps a dream and not an NDE. While I am no expert in this subject matter. It is my understanding that the "NDE" phenomena is a bit of a misnomer in that this experience can be triggered by many forms of traumatic events including events that are not "life-threatening".

I have also discovered in research the NDE experience is generally followed by a profound shift in your understanding in self-awareness. A revelation of sorts. Studies suggest this after effect can begin immediately after the experience to years after. In any event - this is perhaps one direction you can think about to evaluate just what it was you experienced.

At the end of the day - it really does not matter what you call it or how others interpret it. It's your experience and the most important thing you consider is that this "Experience" you had is real - dreamt or spiritually experienced. Based on the fact you posted this, it sounds like this experience is relevant to your greater understanding and I encourage you to not focus on the semantics of how you label this experience and instead focus on the meaning of it.

Peace

Sean

[Yharnam]

Originally Posted by SemperVI

It is my understanding that the "NDE" phenomena is a bit of a misnomer in that this experience can be triggered by many forms of traumatic events including events that are not "life-threatening"...

At the end of the day - it really does not matter what you call it or how others interpret it. It's your experience and the most important thing you consider is that this "Experience" you had is real - dreamt or spiritually experienced. Based on the fact you posted this, it sounds like this experience is relevant to your greater understanding and I encourage you to not focus on the semantics of how you label this experience and instead focus on the meaning of it.

I agree that it's possible OBEs can be triggered by traumatic events. However, I suppose it depends on the OP's intent whether or not it's important to distinguish NDEs from OBEs or dreams. If one is looking for personal spiritual development, then both a dream and an NDE can be beneficial. But if one is interested in the afterlife, then it would be important to distinguish NDEs - the ones where the person is considered legally dead for a time - from everything else.

Personally, I've had near death instances, but I never got anything from it except a headache. The research on it is interesting though.

[SemperVI]

Originally Posted by Yharnam

But if one is interested in the afterlife, then it would be important to distinguish NDEs - the ones where the person is considered legally dead for a time - from everything else.

Respectfully I disagree it is important to distinguish anything - an experience is an experience is an experience regardless of how one is inclined to classify it. The idea of being officially recognized as "legally" dead (Is that a thing?) determines what the experience is or how it might influence the person does not wash with me. Lest we forget - NDE means Near Death Experience, "Near" being the operative word.