Reply #32: I almost died when I was 11 [View All]

[Chovexani]

At summer camp, I was in the mandatory swimming class (it was mandatory for me because I failed the swim test miserably). When the time came for me to take the swim test again, I inadvertantly veered into a deeper part of the lake, and once I realized what had happened my body shut down in panic and I started drowning. Counselor was on hand, of course, and he pulled me out but I was knocked out for a few minutes.

I never saw "the light" or tunnels or any of that stuff that people usually go on about when talking about near-death experiences. I don't really remember a lot of it. The only thing I do remember is a very strong floral scent. It's difficult to put into words, really. It was like the scent of a meadow on a spring day. It was like nothing I've ever smelled, before or since. Just beautiful and peaceful. It was a "hint" of something, if you will...but I got a strong feeling that it was something I wasn't supposed to feel yet. I wasn't supposed to be there, wherever "there" was. And as soon as that feeling hit me, I woke up.

In the years since I've come to believe that it was the Elysian Fields. At the time it happened I was still nominally a born again Christian, but had a very strong interest in Greek mythology since I was able to read, and the imagery always resonated very strongly with me. I think the flower field (and I've always thought of it as such, despite having not actually "seen" anything of it, just the scent) was the Elysian Fields, that it was my subconcious' way of interpreting the experience, giving it a framework my mind and spirit could understand.

This is the first time I'm sharing this with anyone, btw. I've never felt comfortable discussing it in the past.