I found myself by the side of a mountain road and noticed there had been a car accident with police and ambulances surrounding the vehicle.  I peered into the vehicle and was shocked to see myself there slumped behind the wheel, looking dead.  I immediately flew upwards in the sky and had an enormous sense of elation.  I gathered pace and ended up floating fast through bright white cloud.  I remember looking down at earth and seeing my family crying, my parents, brother and aunt in particular.  They were in mourning dress and in my parent's house in London.  I wanted to shout to them that I was sad not to be with them, but that I was fine and had never felt better in my life.  I eventually came to a wooden gate where a person was standing with an ordinary clipboard, they looked at me with a smile but a confused look on their face and said, sorry, you aren't meant to be here with us yet.  I immediately dropped back down to the mountain road where the car had been, but this time it was deserted, no car, no ambulance, no people.  I began to feel scared and confused, unsure of what I should do next. 

I wandered for a minute or two before again, racing upwards and flying through the bright white cloud.  Again I was filled with elation and came across the same person (I can't really picture whether a man or woman), however this time, they apologized or said they had only been joking and yes I was indeed expected and I should go through the door and make myself at home at the Staging Post.  I flew again through more white cloud until coming across a deserted small town.  I was alone but feeling unbelievable joy and comfort.  I decided to start to look around and came across a young man who explained that everyone had gone to the gathering for Heaven to find out whether they would be making the next step up to Heaven.  He said that everyone was relaxed about it, since they had such a great time where they were that Heaven was a bonus and he had heard it was simply amazing.  He mentioned everyone who was staying would be back soon and we would meet up later.  I thought 'Great' and headed off to look for a friend of mine who had sadly recently died. 

As soon as I thought of her, I woke up in my bed on the boat.  I went outside and spent the rest of the night on deck, staring at the sea and the stars and considering jumping in as I couldn't believe what an amazing experience I had just had.  I decided that if that had been a vision of death, then it could wait and I may as well enjoy my life as much as possible in the meantime.  I also wanted to tell other people about the experience, and didn't want to upset my parents.  My friend and travelling companion joined me on deck as the sun came up and I explained what had happened.  We were both shocked by it as he mentioned that I had been coughing, my face was white and he thought his shoulder had fallen across my windpipe in the night as we were in a small bed with our heads close together, I had leaped out of bed and he had gone back to sleep thinking nothing of it until I had told him the story in the morning.  To this day I can remember it vividly and have no fear of dying.

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?          Uncertain            After explaining it to my travelling companion, he was shocked as he mentioned that I had been coughing, was white in the face, sat bolt upright and walked quickly out of the cabin.  Our theory was that he may have been accidentally strangling me with his arm as we were sharing a bow cabin on a boat.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           very alert

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   yes

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes     I was dead, slumped in a car

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Joy and elation primarily although tinged with sadness and confusion in places

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           not really.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION:  Did you recognize any familiar locations or any locations from familiar religious teachings or encounter any locations inhabited by incredible or amazing creatures?    Yes     Heaven seemed to close by although I don't think I was there yet.

Did you see a light?           Yes     Bright white light in cloud, I was moving very fast along it.

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes     The person at the small wooden gate and one person in the deserted village.

Did you experiment while out of the body or in another, altered state? Yes    

Kind of, I attempted to go and see a friend who had recently died.

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            Similar to normal although no real smell that I can remember.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes     Everything moved quickly, I was in one place then moving fast and found myself somewhere else.

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    Yes            Felt like the next phase of our journey in death was revealed to me.

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?             No      

Did you become aware of future events?       No      

Were you involved in or aware of a decision regarding your return to the body?       Yes     It happened immediately after I started looking for someone I knew.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?  No      

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

How has the experience affected your relationships? Daily life? Religious practices? Career choices?       I have become extremely phlegmatic about life, I see us all as playing our part on earth in advance of an even more beautiful experience in death.  I became more of a humanist than religious actually,

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes     I feel that if I did experience something like death then there is little to worry about.  If it wasn't, then there isn't anything anyway so no need to be afraid.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Very interested and some happy to hear that it was a positive experience.

What emotions did you experience following your experience?  Amazement and happiness, thoughts of suicide to want to experience it again rather than through any depression of any sort,

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Feeling of elation. Realizing that I wouldn't see my family again.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        No

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

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