Some thoughts on NDEs

That sounds horrible. You've been through a lot. I hope you are good to yourself now.
Thank you Mark. That event shaped most of my "big" decisions my whole life. From a becoming a "born again Christian"...to becoming a monk. Looking for ways to navigate the world with a very fragile ego. But, it kept me interested in the "big picture". :)
 

Yes and after all these years, a milestone memory.
The first that comes to mind when thinking back to the age of 19 in 1972.
One of the first that comes to mind when reflecting on my life in its entirety.

No but I feel much more was going on than my human mind could comprehend.
In fact, I think my mind tried to put into context what was happening in such a way as I might understand.

Well, I initially wondered why I went to sleep talking on the telephone.
I was struck by lightening that had gotten into the phone system while I was talking to my girlfriend.
I never felt a thing. Conscious and talking on the phone one instant and going down a dark tunnel toward a bright light the next instant.
Happened quicker than the snap of a finger.

It was an overwhelming, profound experience for me and I internalized it. I told no one about it. I couldn't bring myself to speak of it.
It wasn't something that ever came up in normal conversation in 1972. At the time I didn't know others had similar experiences.
In fact it wasn't until the mid to late 70's that I personally heard anything about such experiences.
An article in Reader's Digest was where I first saw mention of a NDE.
3yrs after it happened, my sister demanded, "Something happened that night and you are going to tell me about it right now."
I broke down in tears as I shared the experience for the first time with anyone.
Again....fascinating account Naturally! Thank you for sharing your profound experience! Besides the story itself, I find it interesting that you didn't feel it when you were struck!

@Paco Dennis You became a monk?!
 
My friend @Stoppelmann posted this elsewhere and I'm listening to it now. Interesting.


Now I think the book I read not long ago The Midnight Library is even more interesting to read in light of all this video even just as a work of creative fiction.
 
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I believe as a Christian but I am confused. The Bible says only those who accept Christ go to heaven.
Yet I have read lots of people's accounts of NDEs who were not religious and still experienced wonderful moments in heaven and met their loved ones. They felt loved and accepted.
I do not think most people lie or make up stories, especially when they happen to be scientific or medical professionals.

So how can Christianity explain this?
 
I believe as a Christian but I am confused. The Bible says only those who accept Christ go to heaven.
Yet I have read lots of people's accounts of NDEs who were not religious and still experienced wonderful moments in heaven and met their loved ones. They felt loved and accepted.
I do not think most people lie or make up stories, especially when they happen to be scientific or medical professionals.

So how can Christianity explain this?

Maybe Christianity is a good way to understand what Christians experience but not a good way to understand what non Christians experience
 
Maybe Christianity is a good way to understand what Christians experience but not a good way to understand what non Christians experience
True. It also could be that many different people experience the same things, but just call it something else, or relate it to a different set of principles.
 
True. It also could be that many different people experience the same things, but just call it something else, or relate it to a different set of principles.

Especially where thoughts about what is sacred are concerned. Nothing like that is easily contained my common language.
 
I believe as a Christian but I am confused. The Bible says only those who accept Christ go to heaven.
It is always confusing when we attempt to reduce reality to what is written in a few pages of a book, especially when that book is 2,000 years old, has been redacted multiple times, and interpreted by people who have a narrow concept of what was meant.
 
I am reading a book full of NDEs and I am re-evaluating my outlook. Such a variety of people are having similar experiences. Many atheists say they felt such unconditional love and felt wonderful. The interesting thing is many atheists did NOT become believers of any religion afterwards. But invariably, they revised their ways of life and understood that love is the way to be. It is the answer.
So I no longer believe only religious people get to go to heaven. I just think we cannot know until our time comes.
 
The interesting thing is many atheists did NOT become believers of any religion afterwards. But invariably, they revised their ways of life and understood that love is the way to be. It is the answer.
I have also come to the conclusion that compassionate love is the answer and that we must serve truth, unity, beauty and goodness in the interest of a common good. Only when religions follow that path do they achieve what we know to be divine wisdom.
 
I know it's obvious but all NDEs happen at a time of incredible maximum stress. So is it the case that at that point the brain will try to comfort the body by making up dreams and visions?
Just a thought, because I want to rule out all possibilities.
Having said that, I do believe people and honour their experience.
 
I know it's obvious but all NDEs happen at a time of incredible maximum stress. So is it the case that at that point the brain will try to comfort the body by making up dreams and visions?
Just a thought, because I want to rule out all possibilities.
Having said that, I do believe people and honour their experience.
I was talking to my girlfriend on the telephone when struck by lightening and traveled down a dark tunnel toward a bright light. These was no stress going on at that time. In fact, it was a very pleasant conversation when like the flip of a switch and in an instant, everything changed. And I say "tunnel" because it felt like a tunnel but reaching out, I couldn't touch any sides.

The curious fact I didn't understand what was happening as events unfolded, caused me some concern but as I neared the light, "beings" surrounded and comforted me with nonverbal reassurance. There was communication, just nonverbal and I have no idea what the beings said, only that they calmed and comforted me as they helped prepare me for what lay ahead. And then a figure emerged from the light. A higher power.
 
I was talking to my girlfriend on the telephone when struck by lightening and traveled down a dark tunnel toward a bright light. These was no stress going on at that time. In fact, it was a very pleasant conversation when like the flip of a switch and in an instant, everything changed. And I say "tunnel" because it felt like a tunnel but reaching out, I couldn't touch any sides.

The curious fact I didn't understand what was happening as events unfolded, caused me some concern but as I neared the light, "beings" surrounded and comforted me with nonverbal reassurance. There was communication, just nonverbal and I have no idea what the beings said, only that they calmed and comforted me as they helped prepare me for what lay ahead. And then a figure emerged from the light. A higher power.
I have read many experiences exactly like yours. I do believe you and feel very inspired by your experience.
 
I have read many experiences exactly like yours. I do believe you and feel very inspired by your experience.
But you are right Rose, in that my mind attempted to place into a context I might understand the resulting events following bodily trauma. I think it is not remarkable at all that true NDE's are often initially tied to some kind of physical trauma.

Lightening got into the phone line and went from my ear to my brain ... and elsewhere throughout my body. It happened so quickly, I neither felt nor heard anything. Here one millisecond and gone the next. My body AND my brain was exposed to something unusual. Something unusual that placed my soul, spirit, consciousness if you will, in another dimension. A dimension I'd never visited before nor since ... yet.

The first sensation I felt when I regained consciousness was a sensation that an imaginary line went down the middle of my head from front to back. Everything on the right side of my head felt completely normal ... but the left side of my head where I'd held the phone receiver to, was tingling intensely. That sensation would diminish by evening of the next day.

As days unfolded following, the top layer of skin peeled off my ear. As skin might peel from a sunburn. The heat from the lightening did that. Additionally, welts / burn streaks came up on my skin, going down from my ear and neck and into my shoulder and down my back and chest. The welts were in the shape of lightening bolts. An indication that electricity traveled through my body as the electricity naturally tried to reach ground. The welts were not painful. Just a curious visualization or manifestation.

So yes there was physical trauma. Just that I wasn't aware in any sense, of the trauma initially happening. I awoke after 10 minutes, wondering why I went to sleep talking on the telephone ... and also wondered about that strange "dream" I had while I was "asleep" ?!?!?!
 
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Did you think to see a doctor right away...or were you trying to figure things out by yourself a t first?
Or what?

Your gfriend must have wondered what the wtf happened to you on the other line.
 
I know it's obvious but all NDEs happen at a time of incredible maximum stress. So is it the case that at that point the brain will try to comfort the body by making up dreams and visions?
Just a thought, because I want to rule out all possibilities.
Having said that, I do believe people and honour their experience.
Well, it is possible that the body is programmed by nature to give us a painless comforting experience at the time of death. But it has been shown that the brain lives on for several minutes after the body has died, so something is going on. A travel to heaven; a shifting of our consciousness to a universal realm; a transcendence to another dimension? No one knows. But if all the reports of NDEs a true, then is it just a final sensation, or something far more miraculous and unknown? It stretches the imagination beyond our ability to understand.
 
Did you think to see a doctor right away...or were you trying to figure things out by yourself a t first?
Or what?

Your gfriend must have wondered what the wtf happened to you on the other line.
In 1972 when I was 19, I was working for the local cable TV and in a windowless concrete block building at the base of a tower 525ft tall. I showed TV shows on the local cable channel from 5-9 at night while I attended the local junior college during the day.

During times of bad weather, my boss, the chief engineer for the cable company would watch the storms from the window of his home in town. He could easily see that tower from miles and miles away. Storms often meant after hours work for him to restore cable service.

This particular night, he and his wife watched at they would later say, the largest bolt of lightening they'd ever seen struck the massive tower. The wife turned to my boss and excitedly told Gilbert to get out to that tower RIGHT NOW, OH MY GOD THAT BOY IS DEAD !!!

Gilbert left his house so hurriedly, he forgot his keys to the heavy industrial metal door that was the only entrance and exit to the concrete block building at the base of the tower.

10 minutes later when he arrived, I awoke to Gilbert frantically BEATING on the metal door. I was confused, wondered why I went to sleep talking on the phone and almost didn't open the door because I thought some crazy person surely must be out there beating on it. But then I heard Gilbert YELLING my name.

When I opened the door, Gilbert was wide eyed and had a look of amazement on his face. He told me about him and his wife witnessing the immense lightening bolt hit the tower and I told him I had just woke up after going to sleep talking to my girlfriend on the phone.

I was still confused when shortly thereafter, my girlfriend and her mother showed up. Jan said the phone suddenly went dead while we were talking. That wasn't unusual during storms back in the day. What was unusual was the feeling of dread and that something was very wrong that Jan had. Jan had made her mother go with her to check on me. That whole part was pretty strange to me.

Anyway, Gilbert surmised that electricity from that lightening strike had gotten into the phone line and knocked me out. Gilbert insisted I go to the emergency room that night to get checked out.

The emergency doc could find nothing wrong with me. No busted eardrum or anything. He checked my eyes, hearing and monitored my speech and how I carried myself. Nothing was wrong that he could find.

The next day when I got to the tower to start work, the president of the local cable company was there with some lawyers and they asked for a deposition which I gave them. I'd already asked my parents if we should sue the cable company and mom and dad said no since nothing was found wrong with me. So I gave the deposition. I told them what happened as best I could ... except I didn't tell them about the strange dream I had when I fell asleep while talking on the telephone. That "dream" was such a profound experience, I could not speak with anyone about it for about 3yrs.

I noticed too when I arrived at the tower for my evening shift, that sometime during the day and right after the incident the night before, the phone company had come out, taken down and dug up and reinstalled all the phone wiring and ground wires.

The local cable company and TELCO was covering their bums LoL.

The cable president and my boss both told me several times that day that if another big storm came up while I was working, to lock up and get out of there. And not to worry, I'd still be paid.
 
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Cable companies don't use tall towers anymore. But 1972 was way before satellite TV signal relays. Back then, far away channels were transmitted great distances from tower to tower by basically line of sight. Why the tower was 525ft tall.

On another note, I thought one night it might be fun to climb that tower after my evening shift was over at 9P.M.
I waited until the calmest clearest night. Not even the hint of a breeze on the ground nor cloud in the sky.
I knew my boss, Gilbert had climbed the tower (to the top) when necessary to work on antennas and lighting.
So I thought I'd give it a try.

I got half-way up the tower (maybe slightly further) and it was swaying. Even only half-way up and with not a breeze on the ground, the swaying convinced me to go no further and I turned back. No way I would climb to the top of that "stick" ... but the view up there was amazing and could see areas of the county far far away. How beautiful, serene and quiet it was while seeing so far away ... just that the swaying was freaking me out a bit LoL.
 
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