Experience description:

In 1997 I was married and living in Portland, Oregon. Sometime between noon and around 2pm, I went into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. As I began to reach for the coffee pot, I felt a shockwave over my whole body. It's hard to describe, other than a sudden pressure change, like you might feel if there was an explosion nearby.

I found myself standing in a large open space that looked like a large grassy field. Off in the distance, miles away, on top of a rise there was a large white, domed building, with a shallow dome, much wider than it was tall. Around the bottom edge, it appeared to have columns. The building was very far away, so it was hard to see detail.

I looked behind me, and there was a forest. I looked down to my right, and could see a neat garden, with perfect rows of small round plants. I didn't look down to see if I was standing in the garden, but in retrospect, I don't remember seeing my hands or feet.

Then I looked up again, and now there was someone standing in front of me, about 20 feet away, a little to my left. He was wearing a dark grey, hooded robe with a wide belt. I could not see his hands, and the hood covered most of his face. I could only see his mouth, which had slightly upturned corners, as if he was smiling. He did not have any facial hair, and from what I could see, appeared thin.

I had the distinct impression he could read my mind. I don't remember any type of communication.

Then, I felt another "shockwave" and I was back in my kitchen. My arm still extended towards the coffeepot.

I ran to the bedroom where my wife was watching TV, and when I opened my mouth to tell her what had just happened, I was speaking another language. A very coarse sounding language, that reminded me of "Klingon" from Star Trek. (I don't think it was Hebrew, which I went on to study later).

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1997

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No. I was in my kitchen getting coffee Other No illness, loss of consciousness, or trauma.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? No No

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? Normal consciousness and alertness I didn't feel any different during the experience that I can remember

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I am not sure if there was an increase in alertness

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses More vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. the same

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Not sure if I heard anything during the experience

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? it greatly surprised me

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back to you? No

Did scenes from the future come to you? No

Did you come to a border or point of No return? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Unaffiliated- Nothing in particular- Secular unaffiliated Agnostic

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Other or several faiths I explored many faiths after the event, looking for answers. I know god exists, and that we are here for a purpose. What we say and do matters. Beyond that, I do not know.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience I had attended various churches in the past, but was not practicing any faith at the time of the experience. I was completely unprepared for it.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I now value the spiritual connection with other souls making this life journey with me.

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 I encountered a being dressed in a monk-style robe, and it felt like he could read my mind, or communicate telepathically

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? No

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

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? No

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life I No longer put as much importance in material worldly things. I now try to live my life with the expectation that everything we say and do matters.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Uncertain Hard to say. I am No longer married.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

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

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? 16 years after the experience, I met a man (now passed on) who when telling me about his NDE, described being "sent back" by a being matching the appearance of the being I saw.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I told everyone I could about it right after it happened. Some seemed interested, others not.

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 Nothing about how I view it has change, even until this day. I hope someday I will have the answer to why it happened.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Nothing about how I view it has change, even until this day. I hope someday I will have the answer to why it happened.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? The experience changed my life. I dove deep into religious studies for years afterward, attempting learn Hebrew and Greek so that I could get as close to the "truth" as possible. I did not know about NDE's or how common they were at the time or I would have looked at that material for answers instead.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? I think it's great as is, and a valuable resource