Experience description:

It all started when my extended family and I were up at our cabin on a lake. This particular weekend at the cabin we decided we were getting fireworks to light off. The day went pretty normal at first, but I was a young child I felt many things very deeply. I had felt like few people  around me were like me. Earlier in the day, while the sun was still out my dad went to light off a small fire cracker that shot out sparks. This was the first warning sign I had felt had a deep impact on me somehow spiritually. It did not light properly, and while she was lighting it I felt like I was not in my body and something was about to go wrong. I took it as just being nervous since it was my father lighting it. We had done these ones before and I knew what to expect. This one in particular was malfunctioning, he could not get the wick to light at first. Once it did it burned extremely fast and blew up while his hand was just inches away from the fire cracker. It completely exploded on the beach. He got away with no damage or burns. (This is not the NDE!)

It was almost like I felt a presence there of his father. Not so much seeing him physically but feeling him near us. We went on with our day like normal, we met swimming and fished. However this feeling lingered with me. A few hours had passed at this point, and we decided it was time to set up our fire pit. We collected our wood and newspapers. My father lit the fire for me and my cousins and went back inside with all the other adults. A couple hours had gone by of my cousins and I sitting out the campfire with nothing strange occurring. I was sitting opposite of all of them, more towards the smoke in the direction the wind was blowing. I had always been the one to love the smell of it. My sister, and three cousins were directly opposite from me in their chairs. It was dark at this point of the night.

Mid-conversation with my cousins I had left my body. I heard a voice, not physically but within me. I felt a strong presence of something there with me. Something warning me. At this time I was partially aware of the shift in reality I had. I felt doom, danger and something bad about to happen. During this episode I would call I was still sitting opposite from everyone else across the fire. It felt like I was somewhere else for minutes having a vision. In my body I felt screams and worry and grief. It’s hard to explain by typing it , but almost as if I had embodied the feelings of my dad and felt him grieving and worrying and crying. It was one of the most intense emotions I have experienced at that time in my life.

Just within seconds of me snapping out of this episode, I ran across to the other side of the fire. It was almost like something took over my body and made me move. The moment I got to the other side of the fire where my cousins were The fire exploded. It was huge and loud. Immediately everyone else stood up and we started running. Time felt like it had been moving in slow motion in our ears were ringing. We ran back to the cabin to see our parents had already started running to the door to see what the loud noise was. We were plugging our ears. My cousins and little sister were freaked out but I somehow seemed calm to the adults. I just looked at my dad and I told him what had happened. The explosion we later found out was caused by a large firework that had ended up in our fire pit. No one recalls putting this in there, and we built the fire ourselves. It was a phenomenon none of us can explain to this day. Once the fire died out, we walked back to the pit. Nothing was harmed except for the chair I was sitting in. I was the one closest to the fire. The chair I had been sitting in was demolished. It had a large hole through the seat and the back of it was burnt to a crisp. I am getting goosebumps as I am writing this. I stood there looking at the chair and thinking of the experience I had just had. Still then I felt the presence with me. I felt an overwhelming sensation of spirits. I had predicted my own death. I was a small child just eight years old. The best outcome of me not moving most likely would have been losing my legs and having severe third-degree burns, possibly even killing me.

My cousins were in shock. They had seen me behold it out of my chair just seconds before the explosion. I could barely explain the feeling to them as I did not think they would take me seriously. Something had been there with me and made me move. I saw my life flash before my eyes in those moments still sitting in that chair. This was not my first time encountering a deep spiritual feeling. Often as a kid I would feel and even sometimes see shadows that gave me a heavy presence. I lived through a lot of trauma very young but always had something lingering with me. I could not sleep this night. I laid awake in the feeling of fear, confusion and thankfulness. 

Was the experience difficult to express in words?  Yes     I felt like I couldn’t even get the right words into my mouth at that age.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?          Snapping out of it and feeling a force halt me out of my chair and make me bolt to the other side.

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness?      More consciousness and alertness than normal   I felt like I had moved 100 mph and was back fully in my body.

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.   It was a dream like state, like my body was not my own and I had been taken somewhere else to be communicated with in a different realm.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.   I no longer could hear the conversation my cousins were having, it faded into the background like distant chatter.

Did you see or hear any earthly events that were occurring during a time that your consciousness / awareness was apart from your physical / earthly body?   Uncertain   It was like I was not even looking at the fire anymore.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?   Grief, loss, sadness, intense spiritual presence, disassociation.  

Did you pass into or through a tunnel?   Uncertain   It happened so fast in real world time, but felt so slow in my mind.

Did you see an unearthly light?   Yes   It was like a fast blink into the episode and a fast blink of light out of it.

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
It was the presence of my grandpa who had died of cancer.

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  

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings?   Yes  

Did you become aware of past events in your life during your experience?   Yes   When my dads hand should have exploded. It felt even more deep after my encounter.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world?   A clearly mystical or unearthly realm

Did time seem to speed up or slow down?   Time seemed to go faster or slower than usual

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?   Everything about myself or others

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?   Yes

Did you come to a border or point of no return?   I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life

Did scenes from the future come to you?  Scenes from my personal future 

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness suggesting that there either is (or is not) continued existence after earthly life (“life after death”)?   Yes   I felt the presence of the dead in the afterlife.

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that God or a supreme being either does (or does not) exist?   Yes   I’m not so much a standard God religious person, but I more so now feel something is out there.

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that you either did (or did not) exist prior to this lifetime?   Yes   I felt very spiritually intelligent especially for my age. I was different from the kids around me.

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that a mystical universal connection or unity/oneness either does (or does not) exist?   Yes  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding earthly life’s meaning or purpose?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding earthly life’s difficulties, challenges, or hardships?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness regarding love?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any other specific information / awareness that you have not shared in other questions that is relevant to living our earthly lives?   No  

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge or purpose?   Yes  

What occurred during your experience included:   Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience  

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  

Discuss any changes that might have occurred in your life after your experience:   It’s a challenge for me to this day to process this. At age 15 Had another encounter with a similar episode of predicting my own death and saving myself minutes before chaos. I plan to submit another form when time allows me. I would love to be contacted to discuss my experiences. My most recent experience was at age 17 on a motorcycle. And the one at 15 was a fatal drug overdose. I am always telling myself to seek a psychic, but I believe I am one and do not have the money to pay their fees.

My experience directly resulted in:   Moderate changes in my life

Did you have any changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result of the experience?   No  

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience?   Yes   I have been very psychic and predicted my death two times again after this at older ages.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you?     The feeling of the presence.

Have you ever shared this experience with others?   Yes  It was years after that I told people I trusted close to me. I told my dad right away, because my dad is the one who I believe awokened me at a young age to have my mindset and abilities. He was not surprised as he has encountered many crazy stories regarding his passed father. When I was a young age he spent time researching my abilities and warm hands, which led him to knowing I am a healer and spiritually inclined.

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   It was real. I knew it from the second I snapped out it and saved myself from a tragedy.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience at the current time:   Experience was definitely real   It impacts me so deeply to even think about or tell the story.

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?   No  

Have your religious beliefs/spiritual practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?   Yes  

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience?   Yes     

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