Experience description:

I'd like to share my experience hoping that by doing so some will find comfort.

When I was a kid I used to suffer from sleep apnea, most of the times I was able to wake up and catch my breath but when this experience occurred I I struggled far more to finally be able to do so.

That night I went to bed at the same time as usual and I was sound asleep in no time. At some point during the night I must have started to have trouble breathing again, because when the experience ended I immediately snapped out of it, woke up trying to catch my breath, throat burning and soaked in sweat. What happened in the meantime is as follows. I found myself in a valley, pretty high mountains surrounding it, I looked around and saw my parents, other couples they were friends with and their children. I got the impression we were there for a picnic. The parents were now sitting around a fire, chatting and laughing, while us kids were playng fetch. While running around I stumbled into an abandoned railway track, rusty and semi covered by the grass; I called my friends to me and suggested we should follow the tracks to wherever they leads us; they agreed and we started walking along those tracks like they were some sort of path. Eventually we reached a tunnel, an abandoned railway tunnel, with some wooden bars partially covering the entrance. Being the adventurer I am I urged my friends to climb past the wooden bars and enter the tunnel, but they were very hesitant and eventually they walked back. I remember feeling very uneasy too but I guess my curiosity got the best of me as I crawled under the wooden bar and started walking in the dark. I could see a dim light at the end, it grew stronger as I was approaching it, it attracted me immensely, but nothing could prepare me for what I found on the other side. As I walked out of the tunnel I was stunned by the amazing view that opened up in front of my eyes: I found myself on top of a shoreline cliff (strange enough since we were up the mountains a moment before), the turf is covered with countless small and extremely colorful flowers, I can see the sea far below me and hear its soft rumble as the waves clash against the rocks. I guess I stood there awestruck, I still can't put in to words the sense of peace and serenity I felt up there, never again in my life I could feel the same way. There was this warm breeze, and those amazing flowers, the sunset, just unimaginable. At some point I felt this urgency to go back, all of a sudden I was crushed by the feeling that I couldn't stay there any longer; I didn't meet anyone, no angels, no light being, no deceased family members (actually, I didn't have any back then) to tell me I couldn't stay, I just knew: I knew my parents were probably getting worried, seeing everyone else come back except me. During that whole time  up the cliff I didn't retain any memory of my family and friends, it was like they didn't exist, it was also like Eleonora, 'me', didn't exist; but that kind of awareness came back in a moment, and at that time I reluctantly decided to go back. I honestly can't remember the journey back, I just remember recalling my parents all of a sudden and deciding to get back to them, and the moment I made that decision I woke up in bed, pulled myself up coughing, trying to breathe and feeling an intense burn in my throat.

In the days that followed I would draw that cliff over and over again, I must have drawn 10-15 drawings, hanging them all over my desk and sitting underneath it, closing my eyes and pretending I was back there. I remember my mum walking on me doing that and asking 'what in the world are you doing under the desk with all those drawings taped around it?!' This is when I knew I couldn't really go back there and gave up.

All this happened when I was 7, I am 24 now and I still long for that place. I had many vivid dreams in my life but none of them came even close to what I experienced that one night. The sole sight of a railway track brings me back there, makes me feel extremely homesick for some reason. All I can say is that railway those railway tracks and the place they led me to impacted so heavily on me that they defined my whole life, as I am currently studying to get my MD in Railway Engineering.

At the time of your experience was there an associated life-threatening event?   Yes  When I was little I used to have sleep apnea, usually I was able to wake up and catch my breath, but this one time I couldn't

Was the experience difficult to express in words?  Yes     It's extremely difficult to put into words how I perceived things during the experience.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?      When I was on top of the cliff, it was like I could feel the sea, the sun, the flowers, the breeze merge with me

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   Well I had the same senses I have during my everyday life, but it was like they were hightened, it was like those five senses we normally have became just one.

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

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.   See above

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?   No  

What emotions did you feel during the experience?   Curiosity for the light at the end of the tunnel, incredible joy when I was up the cliff, sadness when I realised I had to go back  

Did you pass into or through a tunnel?   Yes   It was in the form of an abandoned railway tunnel

Did you see an unearthly light?   Uncertain   There was this light at the end of the tunnel, I wouldn't say it was unearthly, but it definitely drawn me to it

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice?   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  

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

Did you become aware of past events in your life during your experience?   No  

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world?   A clearly mystical or unearthly realm
As I described in my experience account, the cliff was otherworldly, everything about it didn't seem like they were from this planet, the colors were more vibrant, plus it felt like everything was alive, and I was a part of it.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down?   Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
I didn't feel any sense of time passing by, I could feel that the place was eternal, and by that I don't mean like it lasts forever, I mean that the place really didn't include time in its fabric.

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?   Everything about the universe
More than understanding anything, it felt like I had no need to ask any questions.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?   Yes
At some point, while I was up the cliff, I knew I couldn't stay any longer and had to go back or my parents would start to worry.

Did you come to a border or point of no return?   I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life
I made the decision, based on the fact that my parents would've missed me.

Did scenes from the future come to you?  No 

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”)?   Uncertain   Back then I had little awareness of life and death, all I can say is that the place I was in felt eternal

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that God or a supreme being either does (or does not) exist?   No  

During your experience, did you encounter any specific information / awareness that you either did (or did not) exist prior to this lifetime?   No  

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   I felt it, I knew the rocks, the flowers, the sun, the sea were alive, and so was I, like we were all made of the same 'energy', just in different forms.

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?   Uncertain   I felt a profound attachment to everything that surrounded me, I felt like up there I could mean or do no harm to anybody or anything, nor that I could be hurt myself beacuse there was just love, peace, and acceptance.

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   Well when I realized to go back, I thought that I just couldn't be there because I had my parents and I had to be with them. I also had this feeling that I would go back one day.

What occurred during your experience included:   Content that was entirely not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience   At Sunday school they taught me about the trinity, Mary, Peter, all the Saints worshipped in Christianity, but I didn't meet them nor was I giving second thoughts about them being only 7.

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.   I have VERY bad memory, especially long term, I see all my childhood friends who are also about 20-25 now talking about stuff we did when we were 5-10 and I am like 'when exactly did that happen?!', but the memory of my journey to the cliff never faded, my mum also remembers me telling her about it right after it happened, or the following days when I kept bringing it up.

Discuss any changes that might have occurred in your life after your experience:   I wouldn't call them changes, since my experience occurred when I was very young, it probably contributed to shape me as the person I am right now. I think it made me reserved, introvert and more compassionate towards other people; growing up I had this sense of urgency to help other and at 17 I became a volunteer 'EMT', I still am.

My experience directly resulted in:   Unknown

Did you have any changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result of the experience?   Yes   I asked my parents to take me off Sunday school, as I said I didn't meet Jesus or Mary, so they probably didn't exist.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience?   Uncertain   In a couple of occasions, I was able to predict the outcome of certain situation I wasn't even aware of. 

Have you ever shared this experience with others?   Yes  My parents back when it happened, now I tell my experience to anyone that is willing to discuss the NDE phenomenon with me with an open mind.

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 probably real   Well I when I woke up I knew right away that I had had another episode of apnea, but I also knew it was worse because my thoat was burning, and that I probably I had gone somewhere because I came closer to not be able to wake up again.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience at the current time:   Experience was probably real   I think the experience was real, I don't know how much oxygen deprivation you can get during sleep apneas, but I don't think it was an hallucination.

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?   Uncertain   I was very young, I'm sure it all impacted on how I grew up and how I see the world, but back then I wasn't able to recognize those changes.

Have your religious beliefs/spiritual practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?   Yes   Yup, I asked my parents to take me off Sunday school, eventually they did as I was alwasy challening the teacher with questions.

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

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