Can a Near Death Experience from years ago still have relevance for one’s life today? In this interview we observe the NDE and its implications for Ann’s life from the perspective of the water that almost killed her when she was a child. The water not only precipitated the NDE but it stands as antagonist in relationship to the bliss of the actual experience. Will Ann’s memory of the NDE be reframed in any way by experiencing it from the perspective of the water? Will Ann’s life today be reframed in any way by approaching it from the perspective of the water?
What are three fundamental life issues that you are dealing with now in your life?
1. I have back spasms, neck and headaches that are related to my scoliosis.
2. My desire to have someone to love as much as my father and I loved each other. I have had three marriages and three divorces and several other relationships, none quite as happy as the one I was in with my father.
3. A great desire to serve God by serving humanity by writing a book about Near Death Experiences, which I’m doing now.
Tell me about your near death experience…
I didn’t remember anything until two years ago. My father was wading in the river when I was two years old. I was trying to hold on to his bare shoulder but I was losing my grip. The next thing I remember is everything going every which way. I interpret that to mean rapids. I was probably under the water. Then I remember being in a bright place with a beautiful lady who I think was my guide, Melinda. She was seated forty-five degrees to my left. I was standing. I said to her, “It’s harder down there than I remembered. Then I had the impression that my father would be crushed if I didn’t come back. Then I saw myself above an ambulance, then a hospital, then my parents came in overjoyed.
Why do you think that you had this near death experience?
There are several benefits that have accrued…One benefit came from remembering that I had that experience. I remember the great gift I gave my father by being willing to come back. My father died six years later of colon cancer.
I would like to ask the water in the experience some questions, would that be OK?
Yes
Now remember how as a child you liked to pretend you were a teacher or a doctor? It’s easy and fun for you to imagine that you are this or that character in your NDE and answer some questions I ask, saying the first thing that comes to your mind. If you wait too long to answer, that’s not the character answering – that’s YOU trying to figure out the right thing to say!
Water, are you a character in Ann’s NDE, yes?
Yes.
Water, would you please tell me about yourself and what you are doing?
I am a delightful, dancing, beautiful waterfall going over the rocks in a creek. The sun is shining on me. I am very happy. A man comes out with a little girl. I am happy to have them wade in me.
Are you clear?
I am pretty clear. I have come down from the mountains. I’m not to the city yet.
What do you like most about yourself? What are your strengths?
I like the freedom of being able to move and dance. I’m flexible but powerful.
What do you dislike most about yourself? Do you have weaknesses? What are they?
I can’t think of anything…
Water, you are in Ann’s life experience, correct? She created you, right? Water, what aspect of Ann do you represent or most closely personify?
Ann and I are kindred souls in many ways. We love our freedom. We love to dance. We love the sunlight shining down on us. We like to sparkle in the sunlight. We like to go places; we’re both strong yet flexible.
Water, if you could be anywhere you wanted to be and take any form you desired, would you change? If so, how?
I can’t imagine anything better that I can be.
Water, how do you feel about this young girl having this experience?
I think I was able to give her a wonderful opening through the veil of light and love. I am happy that I could do that.
(Continue, answering as the transformed object, if it chose to change.)
(Character), how would you score yourself 0-10, in confidence, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, peace of mind, and witnessing? Why?
Confidence: 9
Compassion: 9 I’m extremely compassionate and yet there are some times I have to push things down and overcome things and hurt things. I don’t do it to hurt them but I cannot prevent it.
Wisdom: 9
Acceptance: 9
Inner Peace: 7 I have a lot of inner peace…sometimes I’m rather riled up! Sometimes I’m extremely peaceful…
Witnessing: 9
Water, if you scored tens in all six of these qualities, would you be different? If so, how?
In the area of inner peace, if I were in a pond instead of a river, I would be a nine or a ten.
How would Ann’s life be different if she naturally scored like you do in all six of these qualities all the time?
When I knew her she was high in all the qualities. As she aged she made some erroneous conclusions about things she felt were negative in her life. Because of that she doesn’t score as high as she used to and I do. If she did she would be joyful every day!
If you could live Ann’s life for her, how would you live it differently?
I would have been more flexible, done more things, been more places. She has been stagnated for so long…I would tell her to get moving, have more flexibility, don’t hesitate, don’t stop so often.
If you could live Ann’s waking life for her today, would you handle her three life issues differently? If so, how?
I have back spasms, neck and head aches that are related to my scoliosis.
I think she’s kind of a stick in the mud! I think she should spend more time in the water. Flexible, moving, and strengthening herself. I know because of her back pain she doesn’t travel as much as she used to but she could at least walk longer distances and get more outdoor exercise. Loosen up!
My desire to have someone to love as much as my father and I loved each other. I have had three marriages and three divorces and several other relationships, none quite as happy as the one I was in with my father.
I would tell her that it’s not so bad to have gone many places, seen many things and to have loved many people. Not feel deprived that she wasn’t able to spend her whole life with one person.
A great desire to serve God by serving humanity by writing a book about Near Death Experiences, which I’m doing now.
I think she hides too much. She gets mired down in details, research, reading. She would be better off and do more good by being out there in the midst of things…Like I do in a river: I just keep going! I can’t stop at everything I’m interested in. I don’t get distracted from my ultimate purpose by all the fascinating things that I pass by! I have to keep centered on my goal and keep moving toward it! She wouldn’t have gotten bogged down for years and years!
She would wake up with joy each day and have five ways to express it plus nurturing herself plus moving toward her goal. She would do a better job of listening to her guidance. She would have more ways to express and share her joy.
What three life issues would you focus on if you were in charge of her life?
1. I would make sure that she was filled with light and sunshine.
2. That she kept flexible and kept moving.
3. That she was a blessing to every person, town, and landscape that she touched or passed by.
In what life situations would it be most beneficial for Ann to imagine that she is you and act as you would?
All the time!
Why do you think that you are in Ann’s life?
I think I have a very important perspective to share with her. We have become more connected in the past year. It’s important for her not to think of me in a negative way but to see my influence as a positive one and allow me to continue to teach her.
How is Ann most likely to ignore what you are saying to her?
She is pretty likely to because she doesn’t feel as flexible, light and joyful as she might, especially when she’s in pain. She might forget me and her wisdom.
What would you recommend that she do about that?
She could try to remember me every day, but she already has a long list of spiritual advisors that she tries to honor every day. She may not put me at the top of her list…I wish there was some way she could remember me and remember the joy that I could bring her.
I think Ann had this Near Death Experience because
I think she was chosen for a global mission to save the Earth. One of many people. She’s doing a lot to get the word out about near death experiences. She could do more to save the physical earth. She doesn’t focus on that particularly. I would like to have more importance in her consciousness if nowhere else!
What have you heard yourself say?
I heard myself say that I’m a stick in the mud!!!! I would be a lot more joyful if I would move more, absorb the sunlight and sparkle! Be more flexible! Get out! Enjoy nature! Go places! See things! Do things! Not be stagnant! Sounds wonderful! It’s very interesting how much I identify with water, which I have always been kind of afraid of…
If this experience were a wake-up call from the most central part of who you are, what do you think it would be saying to you?
Girl, you’re so much more! Get out of yourself and enjoy the beautiful world out there!
Notice that the recommendations of water are so simple and straight forward that it is easy to wonder if they could actually be transformational. After all, getting out more, being more flexible, enjoying nature, going places, and not being stagnant all sound reasonable and easy enough. However, like for most of us, such changes represent a fundamental shift in Ann’s priorities. Why should she trust an imaginary part of herself that she has just met? The answer is that this is a part of herself that scores higher than she does in core qualities of enlightenment. Therefore, if Ann desires to heal, balance, and transform, as well as become a greater channel to others, she could do worse than put the recommendations of Water to the test in her everyday life.
We can see that water is encouraging Ann to view it more positively than she has in the past. Certainly, when one almost dies because of water, it is not surprising that there is a residue of caution, anxiety, or fear toward it.
You can tell that Ann did a good job of letting water speak by some of her answers, such as, “ That she was a blessing to every person, town, and landscape that she touched or passed by.”
One interview such as this one is not going to shift the habitual scripted inertia of long-standing life perspectives for Ann or anyone else. What Ann has experienced is an open door to an always available source of direction that can and will strengthen her contact with her own inner compass so that the promise of her near death experience long ago can become an even greater blessing today.
“I have been talking to Water. This morning I made a decision and wasn’t sure it was the right one. So I asked Water what it thought about my decision. I got some thoughts after that which made me think I had made the right decision. I have thought about Water and its wisdom many times since yesterday and am integrating it into my consciousness.“
“I learned so much from my interview, in which I looked at things from the perspective of the Water in the fast-moving river in which I drowned when I was 2. I now have so much respect and appreciation for the Water and for myself, and I have new thoughts about who I really am and how much fun life is.”
Do you think your IDL interview helped you to “wake up” in some way to the usefulness or relevance of your NDE for you in your current life circumstances?
The IDL interview provided a new perspective to the events surrounding my NDE, not to the NDE itself.
Was becoming an aspect of your NDE useful? If so, in what way?
Becoming the Water was useful in listening to an aspect of my inner self. I learned things about myself that I didn’t realize I thought. Now I can pursue the suggestions Water made for being more alive every day.
Did you feel like you were in touch with the divine in any way or at any time during your interview? If so, in what way(s)?
Not the divine, but an aspect of my inner self. Maybe that was my soul or higher self.
Have you experimented since the interview at becoming your interviewed character and attempting to live your life from its perspective and out of its energy? If so, have you noticed any results? If so, what?
I have talked to my interviewed character. I talk to that aspect of my inner self, by referring to it as Water. I respect what it suggested for me, and I want its guidance when I make decisions. For example, as I was shoveling snow, a man with a snow plow came up and offered to clear my driveway for me. I didn’t want him to and told him I needed the exercise. I asked Water if I was holding back needlessly. Water showed me some scenes in which men take advantage of women after doing them favors, and I was glad I didn’t accept the offer.
Now that some time has passed, do you think that the recommendations your character had for your waking life were appropriate, relevant, and useful? If so, how?
Yes, I think they were extremely valuable for me to learn about. I was told to move more and be more flexible, both physically and mentally. I was told to have more joy in my life. I have been doing these things, mostly unconsciously and then noticing them afterwards.
Sometimes we can get swamped with recommendations during interviews and sometimes the press of daily events swamps our ability to apply the recommendations we do receive. Has either been the case for you?
These recommendations were made by my own inner self, and as such have become part of my subconscious. I honor them much more than recommendations made by another person for me. Even when I don’t consciously think about them, they are now part of me, and they are creating a new life for me without any conscious effort on my part.
Did you learn anything new about your NDE from your interview? Did it change your attitude about it in any way?
No. My attitude about my NDE was already very positive, and this didn’t change the way I look at the NDE.
How about NDEs in general? Did your interview change your attitude about NDEs in any way? If so, how?
No. I constantly read others’ NDEs, weekly if not daily, and I have learned so much from them, but this IDL interview did not change my understanding of or appreciation for NDEs.
Has your character continued to be present? Have you had any success at becoming it? Or has its significance faded with time?
Water is still present, even when I don’t think about him. I don’t try to become him now. I consider him another entity now, although representing my higher self.
Do you think reading over your IDL interview would help someone who has not had an NDE to benefit from them all the same?
No, but I think reading NDEs would help someone who has not had an NDE to benefit from them.
Do you think an IDL interview could help people who have not had an NDE to get in touch with the divine?
No, but I think reading NDEs can help people get in touch with the divine.
Do you think this interviewing process could help NDEers avoid doing a “spiritual bypass?” (thinking they were totally healed and not addressing their psychological issues.)
I knew I am not totally healed, but my NDE helps me every day. The IDL interview gives me something else that helps me many days. I don’t consider it related to my NDE now.
Do you think that sharing your interview with family and friends could help them come to grips with the transformation that is still occurring in your life as a result of your NDE?
No, the IDL interview adds new information that I need for healing, but that new information doesn’t seem at all related to my NDE. I asked Water how I should deal with present-day problems, and it gave me very good advice. I did not ask Water how to understand my NDE or interpret it or learn from it. The IDL interview did not change my relationship with my NDE in any way or give me any new information about my NDE.
Do you think that an IDL interview on a NDE theme could help terminally ill patients and their families?
No, but I think reading NDEs could help terminally ill patients and their families.
