The next thing I know, I was inside the wave. But, it wasn't a tube. I looked down at my feet and realized that I was literally standing on the ocean floor (no water on the bottom...in other words the wave wasn't a tube like the kind that surfers surf). The water formed a magnificent tunnel about three feet above and about four feet in front and behind me. It was absolutely breathtaking, and I was mesmerized by the beauty of the roaring water as the sun's light filtered through, highlighting the different shades of silvers and blues.

Through the entrancement, fear started to kick in. "What will happen when the wave ends...will the water come down on my head and drown me," I questioned?

Right then a man walked into the tunnel. I remember staring at him, wondering how someone could walk through a wall of water and still be dry. I assumed it was like passing your hand through a flame real quickly. He asked me if I was okay. I wanted to tell him that I was scared, but I didn't want to keep my eyes off the beautiful tunnel of water. So, I told him that I was okay. I turned back to look at the water, and he left as quickly as he had come.

The next thing I know, I'm standing in waste high water. I looked around for the man but didn't see him. I ran out of the ocean and excitedly told my mom about what had just happened. I never forgot about the experience but didn't give it much thought until my dad tragically died 40 years later.

After my dad's death, I voraciously began reading books and articles on near death experiences, after death communications...anything to do with the survival of consciousness. I had to try to find verification that somehow my dad survived death and was okay. While reading literally hundreds of near death experiences and learning how people were often very psychic after NDE's, I didn't give it much thought. (I was very psychic, especially as a child.) Then I came across a story of a man who had telekinesis after his NDE. Then I knew! And I asked myself, "Did I have an NDE?" Suddenly my experience that day in the ocean came to the forefront of my mind.

After my experience that day in the ocean, I started inadvertently scaring my teachers. Sometimes before they would ask questions, I would blurt out the answer. As one teacher nervously asked with fear and agitation in her voice, "How do you know what I'm going to ask before I ask it?" I realized that I'd better keep this ability to myself.

Then one day while on the playground, when I was around eight, we were playing some kind of game where you threw the ball over the net and the other team caught the ball. I got hit by the ball and started crying. A girl on the other team, Suzanne, started laughing at me. Suddenly I looked at the kid serving the ball from my team. As the ball left his hands, somehow my mind grabbed onto it. I steered it over that net and slammed it into Suzanne. She began to cry.

My childhood had not been easy. I was born with a malformed palate. Fortunately the outside of my mouth looked fine. But because of the malformation, I could not say the "S" sound for many years. That was tough with a name like Susie. I pronounced my name, "Uie," and the kids had a heyday teasing me about it and soon everything else.

After the first incident with the ball, other similar events started taking place. Most of them were with balls. But there were others. For instance, one day on the playground a girl named Jenny was being very cruel to me. I told her to shut-up, and she said, "Make me." That afternoon I knew that Jenny had soccer practice after school. I purposely went home and got my dog and came back to the school. As I stood on top of the ramp that led down to the campus, I watched as the players took turns dribbling the ball down the asphalt. (It had rained the night before, so they were practicing on the asphalt instead of the field.) When it was Jenny's turn, she began to dribble and took a terrible fall. I turned and walked back home.

Let me just say, I'm not proud of my actions back then. The worst thing I did arose one night when I decided to reveal my secret to my sister. Joyce was four years older than me (about 13 at the time), and we shared a room. That night I quietly said, "Joyce, I'm a witch." I thought she would laugh. Instead she asked me what I meant. I explained to her what had been happening, and she unexpectedly burst into tears. She told me how on the bus a group of boys would tease her, knock her books out of her hands, kick her, etc. and asked if I could help her. I had no idea this was taking place and was infuriated. I asked Joyce what she wanted me to do. Joyce asked me to break the "gang" leader's leg so that he couldn't ride the bus for awhile. I stayed up all night concentrating on it. That very next day while he was skateboarding down our street, he fell and broke his leg (the exact scenario I saw in my mind).

When I was around 12 years old, I was at a friend's house and her mom was watching the original, "Carrie" on T.V.. I was dumbstruck. There was a name to "my power:" telekinesis.

When I was about 11 years old, my sister Joyce and my brother told me that "my gift" was a sin. I stopped using it, and that was pretty much the end of my telekinesis although I've remained very psychic. I have to admit, I do feel like the original, "Carrie."

Even with what was almost certainly an NDE, I continue to search for evidence that we survive death as my heart was shattered over what happened to my dad.

At the time of your experience was there an associated life-threatening event?   Uncertain   I'd say so. I was in the ocean when a rogue wave of about 10-12 feet arose.

Was the experience difficult to express in words?....Yes....Please see above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?....More consciousness and alertness than normal    Throughout it. I'll never forget the beauty and the sound of the water.....It was just so real...so vivid! It was unbelievably beautiful. It's hard to explain.

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.    My vision seemed normal. It just was that the light coming through the water was just mesmerizing.

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

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?....Complete awe and fear.  

Did you pass into or through a tunnel?....Uncertain....I was in a tunnel of water. When I looked to my left, the tunnel of water went as far as I could see, and then it just got dark.

Did you see an unearthly light?....Uncertain....Just the light filtering through the water that was tantalizing.

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    A man came into the tunnel. I never really analyzed it until after my dad died 40 years later. Thinking about it now, it would be impossible for someone to walk through a wall of water and stay dry. Also, the second the wave was over, I did not see the man. This would be pretty much impossible because the wave ended maybe three seconds after this gentleman walked out of the tunnel. The ocean and beach were pretty much empty.

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings?....Yes    A man walked into the tunnel and asked me if I was okay. I had never seen him before. I was amazed that he could walk through a wall of water and remain dry.

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

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world?....Some unfamiliar and strange place....I recently contacted the university where I spent my freshmen year. They're known for their Oceanography department. I spoke awhile to a professor. He said a wave without water on the bottom is possible but would last just a second. I know it was longer than a second. I chickened out to tell him that it lasted long enough for a man to walk in and ask me if I was okay, not to mention the few seconds before then where I stood mesmerized looking at the roaring water that formed a tunnel over and around me. When I'm brave enough, maybe I'll e-mail and tell him this.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down?....No....

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?....No....

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?....No....

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

Did scenes from the future come to you?....No....

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge or purpose?....No....

Discuss any changes that might have occurred in your life after your experience:....Large changes in my life....Discussed in the story at the beginning.....

Did you have any changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result of the experience?    Yes     Didn't understand it at the time, and it would take another 40 years until I did, but now it's made huge changes in my values and beliefs. It's definitely made me more spiritual.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience?....Yes     Please see main story

Have you ever shared this experience with others?   Yes   Just my mom right after the experience. It wasn't until 40 years later, when I began reading books and articles on NDE's, that I realized that that incident was probably an NDE, and I began sharing it with a few others.

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    It happened. It's that simple. I ran out of the water and immediately told my mom about it.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience at the current time:....Experience was definitely real....I NEVER forgot about it. It was so beautiful and incredible. What's so funny though is that I never really analyzed it until about three years ago. All these years,I just accepted it as a phenomenon of the ocean.

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?....Uncertain....

Have your religious beliefs/spiritual practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?....Yes    It's definitely contributed to the belief that there's more going on than what meets the eye.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience?....Uncertain    After it, and I recently checked with a sister who is six years older than me to verify if this was true, my mom told my four older siblings to keep an eye on me when I was in our swimming pool. I would lie on top of the water, face down, and just stay there. I remember the peace I would feel as I did that. I believe now that I was trying to recreate my experience.

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?    Yes    I can't think of anything that was left out.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you?     I guess now looking back on it, it makes me realize that there has to be more to life than what meets the eye! I know I was only six at the time, but it happened. I ran out of the water and told my mom about it. The part that stands out most is just the sight and sound of the water as it roared above and around me.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience?....Another interesting thing that happened: About 29 years ago, when I was in college, I took a shamanism class taught by a Native American professor. There were about 20 students in the class. This professor lectured like most--walking back and forth in front of the class. One day this gentleman came and stood right in front of my desk. He stared straight into my eyes. And for the entire class period, he described the gift I had without saying that "I" had it. It was the freakiest thing. The whole time he never took his eyes off me. It was as though he was in a trance, and he knew about these "powers" (as he described them)! I don't sweat easily, and I could feel the sweat beading and dripping off my forehead. That night, I slept on the floor of the bedroom of a fellow housemate. I was scared to be alone with myself!