I found myself in a forest unlike any forest I had ever seen before.  One of the things that was so unique about it was that with the exception of the plant life, no other life forms seemed to be there.  It was SO beautiful and I found myself walking around this place just drinking up all the beauty around me.  Suddenly this voice, apparently from nowhere and yet everywhere, spoke to me and told me I was going to be given a map.  I was to follow the directions on the map implicitly.  Then from thin air, this map appeared and waited, hanging in the air until I reached out for it.  I looked at the map.  Now, in life, I have no problem reading maps at all.  However, this map had no writing on it of any kind.  There were no county lines, no listing of nearby towns, nothing like that.  It looked like what I would think a geological survey map must look like.  It had just the topography of the land.  The layout of where the rivers, hills, forested areas and clearings were.  There were no directions to follow.

Somehow I understood that the directions would be heard within me.  So I began walking over the land.  At each change in the directions that came to me, I followed a different path through the forest, until I found myself being led to the place where the land ended at the ocean.  It seemed there was no gradual slipping away of the land, gradually going into deeper parts of the ocean, it was quite deep there from land's end.  I was instructed to dive and keep diving until I was told to stop.

I had gone quite deep, and suddenly began thinking in very physical terms.  How am I supposed to survive the massive weight of the water above me?  How am I to breathe as I continue to descend?  I may very well be facing my death here.  Curiously, I saw this as nothing more than a passing thought which had no real importance in the grand scheme of things.  As soon as those thoughts crossed my mind, the voice spoke again and told me I could surface now.

As I rose through the water I became aware of EVERYTHING being alive!!  The water around me was devoid of sea life, but the water itself was alive and was assisting me to rise to the surface.  I could see the light up above getting brighter the nearer I came to it.  As I reached the surface I felt a sense of having just passed some test.  I have not been afraid of death since.

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? No

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Yes

Yes, though it was not quite that imminent.  In order to repair my heart, the surgeons would have to stop it.  I knew I faced my death, temporary though it would be.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           I was fully conscious and alert.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   Most decidedly not.  In fact it was more real than every day waking reality is to me.  Which had me wondering for quite some time after if waking life is not indeed the dream state . . .

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes

After all these years I never look at myself any more.  It seems silly and pointless to me.  I am separate and I know it.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            They ranged from curiosity to awe at the beauty around me to a passing concern for my imminent demise which seemed really pale in comparison to everything else I was feeling and at the end of it, such immense joy I can't EVEN begin to express!!

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           Just the voice from nowhere/everywhere.  Which in a forest was really weird, I heard no bird calls, no rustling of the wind through the leaves . . . it was as though this place was designed somehow to make me focus inward.

Did you see a light?           Yes

As I rose through the water, the light up above that I was trying to reach.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes

Yes, kind of.  Just the voice.  I have no clue who it might have been.  Scroll back to number four to get an idea of what was communicated.

Did you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state? No

Been there, done that, it's silliness now.  I can at any time.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No

Did you notice how your 5 senses were working, and if so, how were they different?          Yes

I was feeling things once in the water.  I felt the water yet did not feel cold.  I could see things in absolute living color and it was truly spectacular!!  Aside from the voice, I heard nothing else really, which I found really odd.  Taste and smell were not a part of the picture.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes

My own purpose in life became clear to me.  It would not do for a person learning to heal to be afraid of her own death.  This was a necessary step for me, and was indeed a test I had to pass.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             Yes

I crossed the boundary from land to water, then from deep within the water back to the surface.  At that point I was FAR too excited to bother to get back to land again, I just wanted to get back to my body and tell someone about this!!

Did you become aware of future events?       Uncertain

Only in relation to me.  I knew I would go into surgery and be fine.  They would be able to resuscitate me and I would come back.

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes

Hell yeah!!  I couldn't wait to get back!!

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Uncertain

Yes and no.  I have always had the ability to perceive the presence of those who had passed on, though it seemed rare and sporadic before this event.  I have always had prophetic dreams, there was nothing new there.

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes

Absolutely!!  Death is not something to EVER be afraid of!!  This changed my whole relationship to the world!!

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       It has changed my religious practices actually.  I have always had more of a Native American view of the world anyway but now I feel a need to incorporate Buddhism into my understanding . . . I still don't really know why.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes

I see so many things so differently now, things that used to be a big hairy deal to me are such nonsense now!  Things I would have taken for granted, I don't any more.  I'm not afraid of much of anything any more.  You take away the granddaddy of all fears and the rest of them fade into meaninglessness.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes

Just a few others, they were fascinated, but there really is no way to convey the enormity of this experience to others.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Absolute elation!!!  Such profound joy I just couldn't contain myself!!

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      There really was no worst part.  The best part was passing the test.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        Where would I begin?  Back in January of that year I was in my office in Radiology in the hospital I was working in at the time, an office I occupied alone, when I had two visitors stop by I hadn't seen in a number of years.  My mother, and my grandfather, who had been dead about 7 years and 26 years respectively, came in to my office and said not a word.  They examined my chest for a good 15 minutes, I was completely baffled by this sudden interest, then they told me to see a cardiologist, and they left.  I got on the phone right away and called my primary care doctor, I had the feeling at the time that they wouldn't have bothered to visit me and do this were it not serious.  Not necessarily life threatening, I wasn't suddenly terrified for my life.  I figured they had told me when they did to avoid anything happening imminently and I still didn't know the nature of the problem.  It was discovered near the end of March when I had an echocardiogram.  While it can be said this may not directly have anything to do with my out of body experience, I seriously doubt it would have happened in absence of this situation.

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No

I have had no need to re-experience any part of that out of body experience.  I got it the first time.

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

I think they were adequate and left room for further expansion as well.