Dannion & Kathryn Brinkley

Kathryn’s NDE’s

My first NDE happened as the result of a drowning accident. I was only 12 years old, away from home and family on a day trip with neighbors. My girlfriend, Nancy’s family owned a little getaway cottage, about an hour from our homes in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of those hot, muggy summer days when you feel heavy with the weight of the moisture in the air. So, as soon as we arrived at the cottage, Nancy and I changed into our swimsuits and raced to the large pond, no more than fifty feet from the front door. We splashed around in the water for a little while, and then, started diving off of a raft her father had fashioned out of wooden two by fours, nails and wire.

On my fifth or sixth dive around and under the raft, my long hair got snagged in a large splinter on the side of one of the two by fours. I was trapped… under the water. Frantically, I struggled, but I could not free my hair from the splinter. Gradually, and without even noticing it, my spirit slipped away, taking with it my connection to time and space. Then, I was outside my body, looking at myself. I remember being amazed that I was actually gazing upon myself, dangling lifelessly, from the raft. Though spellbound by this incredible scene, I recall catching a peripheral glimpse of a bright light rushing towards me and spiraling over my left shoulder. I turned to the light…and the next thing I knew, Nancy's father was pumping the water out of my lungs on the grassy shore of the pond.

I never shared the story of this event with my parents because I knew if I did, they would never give me permission to go to Nancy's vacation cottage again. I simply buried the experience in the dark basement of my mind, and went on about the business of growing up. Then, at age 29, when I was a young mother of three, I was required to review all of those memories, in the riveting wake of my second near-death experience.

My cozy, two-story saltbox home was situated in the middle of thirteen green acres, in northern Nevada. It was early May and the winds were fiercely whipping through the Carolina Poplars in the front yard, like they did every spring. My children and I often sat together on our favorite blue porch swing, listening faithfully to the gusting evening zephyrs. As they danced through the tree branches of the poplars, they sounded much like ocean waves hitting against a sandy shore. So, I would tell the children to close their eyes and imagine being at the beach. It was always a delightful way for us to end our day together. But this particular day would have a very different ending...

Quite abruptly, I decided it was time to go inside when the winds churned themselves into a howling frenzy. I was carrying my eighteen month old son, Evan, in my arms so, my older daughters, Elizabeth and Alixandra scurried ahead of me, to hold the door open. As I walked into the house, the ringing telephone hooked my attention. With Evan still in my arms, I headed quickly for the phone in my bedroom. A dear friend was on the other end. As we started our spirited chat, I changed Evan's diaper, put him in his pajamas and nursed him to sleep. He was so tired that this entire process took only a few minutes.

Yet, through it all, something kept distracting me. Sporadically, I felt something weirdly irritating on my neck. I thought it was the label on my blouse rubbing against my skin, therefore, inadvertently I kept touching the back of my neck. Suddenly I felt a searing pain. It was shocking, and caused me to gasp as I reached for the painful spot on my neck. Quickly, my frantically searching fingers located the insect that had just stung me. I grabbed it and thrust it to the bedroom floor. Just as I did, I felt lightheaded and overwhelmed with nausea. I told my friend, on the other end or the telephone, what happened, and before hanging up, I promised to call her back.

Literally stumbling over my own feet, I somehow made it to the bathroom mirror where I saw the stinger still throbbing in my neck. I managed to clumsily secure the stinger, between my index finger and thumb nails, and pluck it out. {Note: later I discovered that you should never squeeze a stinger, as that action releases an increased surge of venom. One should always scrape the stinger off the skin with something like a credit card}.

Hives immediately erupted around my midriff. In the following instant, I felt completely drained of all my physical energy. After a brutal struggle to make it back to my bed, I laid down next to my sleeping son. In an attempt to calm my racing mind, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I released that breath, I felt my spirit effortlessly separate from my body, and hover over the bed.

I floated up to the ceiling of the bedroom where I experienced myself as an iridescent bubble of consciousness. In those moments outside my body, I felt what it was like to be truly, magnificently alive, for the first time. I was living in spirit! I had no boundaries, no limits, and no worries. As a weightless bubble of consciousness, I was unequivocally one with everything my gaze fell upon. The energy of the walls, and the sky outside the window, were the same as mine. In those few endless minutes, I felt the “peace beyond all understanding” to which the Bible makes reference. In that time outside my body, I felt what it was like to be truly, magnificently alive, for the very first time. For I was living in spirit! My eternal existence had no boundaries, no limits, and no worries. As I looked down at my body, I experienced no longing, whatsoever, to be back in it. Neither did I experience any concern for the present or future well-being of my children. I simply knew they would be alright – safely guided and lovingly watched over by the Divine.

While observing my world from above, I was unexpectedly infused with a profound calm, and soothing presence of Infinite Mind. Again, I discerned the perfection of a Divine Plan, wherein everything functions flawlessly within the Universal Blueprint. I was shown this is the ultimate truth in everyone’s life. In that precious space, between breaths, I understood the Secrets of the Cosmos: 1) Everything – every particle and atom, is interconnected, 2) Nothing in the Universe happens by chance or accident, and most importantly…3) Love is the only thing that’s real!