Sara W's Experience
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Experience description:
I believe what I
experienced was in direct relation to my breast cancer diagnosis. About a year
before I was diagnosed I had a dream or vision that I was sitting having a
conversation with my mother in law and sister in law when I suddenly felt a stab
of pain in my right side. I looked down and saw blood. It hurt so bad but I
didn't want to draw attention to it and disrupt our conversation. My family
didn't notice the blood. Then all of a sudden the room to the right split, but
only I noticed. I saw people walking by on the right side like it was a
different dimension. They were excitedly going places and meeting people.
Everyone was so happy and excited. I saw people greeting others with smiles and
hugs. And a sense of excitement to teach the loved ones they greeted. I noticed
the clothes they were wearing weren't just white, but blue, pink, even black.
The shirts and pants were the same color, like scrubs. I noticed the place every
one was gathered in was like a train station but I saw no trains. It was also a
place of great learning I felt. I saw great pillars go up to a ceiling I
couldn't see because it was too high. The walls were made of glass and light
came in through them. It felt like a train station/University. Then an elderly
couple walked past me arm in arm. They were smiling and talking and the man
glanced over at me. When he saw me looking at him he did a double take and
nudged his wife and said something like "she is aware of us". He stopped and
came to talk to me. I noticed other people stopping and looking at me too. He
acknowledged my wound I was holding and asked if it hurt. I said yes but it was
fine. He asked if I was ready. I said no. Then that was it. I woke up.
Now I thought at the
time what a lovely, weird dream of heaven. I sometimes have weird dreams but
this stuck with me, I remember it vividly. I didn't think much of it until about
a year later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In my right breast.
Just before I found my
lump I had been struggling with my faith, is my church true? Is there a God?
Because I had two young boys I wanted to know what I should teach them, if I
should go back to church. My husband had confided in me before my vision that he
no longer thought our church to be true and that the founding prophet of it to
be false. I was devastated. I still believed. Because I love him we eventually
talked about why he felt that way and so I then began to struggle with my faith.
I remember laying in bed praying, tears streaming down my face asking Heavenly
Father what was right, what was true. I told him I didn't care what the answer
was I just needed to know. I said the words "I am ready to know." Maybe a week
later I was diagnosed.
Trying to make a long
story short, (too late) I recalled my dream of heaven. At the time I thought the
man asked if I was ready to die. But then I realized he was asking if I was
ready to know the truth, if I was ready for God to use my body as a vessel for a
miracle to prove to me he exists.
My cancer was caught
very early and I feel it has to do with my prayer telling God I was ready. I
believe I had the cancer at the time of my vision. My experience showed me there
was a God, and some things I found out about about my church during my fight
with cancer led me to believe my church I had grown up in was not true. I ended
up beating cancer and gaining a closer understanding and love for life and my
creator. When things were uncertain during my fight, my vision brought me great
comfort in a life after death. I think that is why I was blessed with it.
At the time of your
experience was there an associated life-threatening event?
Uncertain Shortly after my experience I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Was the experience
difficult to express in words?....No....
At what time during
the experience were you at your highest level of
consciousness and
alertness?....Normal
consciousness and alertness This all appeared to me in a dream, but I was
more aware during this "dream" than any other I've had. I also recall it like I
had it yesterday. It left me with a feeling that stayed with me for a long time
if wonder and amazement. That is why I believe it was more than just a
dream.....
Please compare your
vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately
prior to the time of the experience.
The same.
Please compare your
hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately
prior to the time of the experience.
My hearing was
the same as my everyday hearing.
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?
Uncertain This was a
vision, I was never apart from my body.
What emotions did you
feel during the experience?....Wonder,
surprise and awe. Pain in my right side, embarrassment because I was bleeding.
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?....I
encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin
The elderly man
with his wife spoke to me as he was passing by.
Did you encounter or
become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings?....Yes
The elderly man was a spirit, I did not know him although he did introduce
himself and his wife to me (don't remember his name).
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....It
had earthly characteristics, it was like a giant train station/university. But
in another dimension.
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?....Yes....We
were contained in a building.
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?....Uncertain....I
felt I was special because I was aware of everyone, that dimension, even though
they were aware of me, it seemed odd to them and special that I could see them.
Discuss any changes
that might have occurred in your life after your experience:....Large
changes in my life........
Did you have any
changes in your values or beliefs after the experience that occurred as a result
of the experience?
Yes It is hard to
explain but I no longer believe it is hard to be accepted into heaven, I still
believe you need to be a good person and live your life as Jesus would want you
to but I don't believe in the steps my former church said were required to get
into heaven.
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 told my mother
in law the next day. I think she thought it was an important and special
message given to me . I have shared it with my mother when I realized the true
message of it. And just recently shared it with my husband,.
Did you have any
knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?....Yes
This is a spiritual manifestation, or vision. Not a NDE although I was shown the
afterlife.
What did you believe
about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it
happened:....Experience
was definitely real
What do you believe
about the reality of your experience at the current time:....Experience
was definitely real....I know it was a gift to get me through a really tough and
scary time when I was struggling with my faith and was not certain if I would
live.
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?....Yes
I
have different feelings about my church.
At any time in your
life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience?....No
Did the questions
asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe
your experience?
Yes