2.   Two years after the first event I was riding in the front passenger seat of a car in a rural area of north Georgia.  It was a grey, rainy, drizzly kind of day.  There were at least 2 other people in the car and at this time, but there was no conversation that I was aware of.  I was looking intently at a raindrop that was slowly winding its way down the side window, when I suddenly felt myself leave my body and rise up through the cloudy atmosphere to a clear area of the sky. I then looked down and saw a small house on top of a hill.  There was a man and his wife and children (who were unidentified).  They were all working together for the benefit of each other and their family.  There seemed to be a very profound message that I received at that instance where I just knew with every cell of my body that this was the purpose of life.  There was nothing more, but this was enormously significant.  In my entire life I never since felt a truth in such a powerful way.  There was one other truth that accompanied this vision.  And that was that I was totally inconsequential.  I was nothing, like a grain of sand on a beach that stretched for miles -- and yet I was at the same time enormously important and significant.  So much so that without me, "the grain of sand,"  the beach could not exist.  This event was the much more powerful than the first. I felt an overwhelming sense of bliss afterwards.  It remained for hours if not days.  By the way, drugs or stimulants of any kind were not involved in these events.  These events, particularly the 2nd still haunt me to this day.  Nothing like this has ever happened since.

At the time of your experience was there an associated life-threatening event?   No  

Was the experience difficult to express in words?....Yes....There are no words to explain the sensations and sense of knowledge that I had.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?....More consciousness and alertness than normal    I was never at anything other than a high level of consciousness and alertness.....Totally absorbed in the moment.

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.    Something other than my 5 senses was allowing me to perceive a reality that my normal physical senses are incapable of perceiving.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience.    Not really a factor that I remember.

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?....Total elation.  

Did you pass into or through a tunnel?....No....

Did you see an unearthly light?....No....

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice?....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?....No....I hate to say that it was a different reality.  It would be more accurate to say that it was more real that my every day reality.  It was an earthly world, but the world as perceived in a far more real way than normally perceived.

Did time seem to speed up or slow down?....Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning....Time really had no meaning at all.  It just wasn't a factor.

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything?....No....I did not understand absolutely everything, but I did understand some pretty important things about the universe.

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?....Yes....

Discuss any changes that might have occurred in your life after your experience:....Slight changes in my life....Surprisingly, not as much as might have changed.  My late teenage, early twenties were the most difficult time of my life by far.  The insights from these events helped, but I still struggled and suffered for several years afterwards.....

Did you have any changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result of the experience?    Yes     Very subtle changes.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience?....No    

Have you ever shared this experience with others?   Yes   I don't think I shared it immediately afterwards, but did years later -- and only with people who I thought might understand somewhat.  I don't know if they were influenced or not.

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    Never questioned the reality of it.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience at the current time:....Experience was definitely real....

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?....No....

Have your religious beliefs/spiritual practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?....Uncertain    I was never into dogmatic religion.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience?....Yes    there was one time maybe 25 years later when I stood at the end of pier in Manhattan Beach,

California and was transfixed by the sunset.  I stared at it and was totally absorbed by it for probably 20 minutes and felt a sense of incredible  peace.

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