I had a near-death experience (NDE) yesterday afternoon. Once I was sufficiently back in my body I posted this. This morning I'll recount the events as I lived them.
At 3:45 my legs began to buckle while I was getting a drink at the kitchen sink. I hung on to the countertop for a few minutes as I steadied myself, then pulled myself to the couch. As I sat, listening to the music on National Public Radio, I wondered why it didn't sound like any earthly music I'd ever heard. The sounds coming from the speakers were not only beautiful to the ears, but contained information. That's the only was I can describe what I heard. This link and this link may help to explain what I'm trying to say.
Several times I tried to rise from the couch, but could not. I lay my head back and looked out the window into the garden. The wind was blowing hard, dust everywhere. I felt totally at peace as I saw my human form begin to shrivel up, just like the Wicked With of the West in The Wizard of Oz. I was melting. Literally and figuratively.
My eyes closed and my breathing became very shallow. The tunnel lay just ahead. It was a black tube with no light at the end. A black hole. I was losing track of time. The news had begun, so I knew it was some time after 4 p.m.. As I listened I realized that, as I lay dying, the world was exploding. I caught the undertone in the reporters' voices, a catch in the throat, as they reported on the flash points in the Middle East, the flooding, the demonstrations, the misuse of power, the senseless killing. The dream I'd had the night before - I was repeatedly putting out fires in the kitchen - was an indicator of world events as well as the state of my own psyche. Of the four elements, fire was highest and strongest, both within me and across the globe. (Here are some of the symbolic meanings of fire.)
Yes, there was a voice, silent but quite clear. It said I was being given a gift. I could leave now and avoid all the insanely bad things that were queued up in Earth's timeline.
It was then I began to object. I was not afraid, but I felt strongly that that I did not want to die alone. I wanted company. I asked for a postponement. The answer was an unspoken No. The tunnel was getting closer; my breathing so calm and shallow as I began slipping away from the shore. Then I had an idea.
I said (everything is unspoken in this narrative) I had to leave Stella a note. This thought pulled me back a wee bit, but in seconds I was again moving towards the tunnel. So I said, wait! I need to write down what I've learned from this experience. Again, I was pulled back a bit, and again, in seconds, I began the journey forward.
OK, I thought, if I'm going to die like this, alone, at least I should leave a good looking corpse, so I tried different sitting positions. I tried pointing to the garden outside the window, like Bowman in 2001. (I always liked that shot.)
To be continued... I have to get ready for work.