We have all heard of near-death experiences, moments in which people believe they were very close to dying or even died and then came back to life.
The title of this post was originally thought to be “A near-death experience”, but as it sounded a bit too strong, I decided I didn’t want to scare or shock anyone so I gave it a second thought.
And the second thought that came to my mind was what is now heading this post. At that moment it made total sense to me. Yes, this is a much better title and I already know what this post will be all about.
Before the change of title, I had already jotted down a few lines and as the idea of a near-death experience was still fresh in my mind (body and soul), I wanted to read a bit about these experiences and so I did a quick Google search with the words “near-death experience”.
The first thing that popped out was a one-day-old piece of news from The Telegraph. According to the article “near-death experiences are felt by one in 10 people, study finds.”
How curious, coincidental or interesting, depends on how we look at it, that this article came to light exactly on the day I had what I felt was very similar to a near-death experience.
No, I don’t believe my life was ever in real danger but the experience I went through was really powerful and overwhelming as I believe near-death experiences probably are.
Long story short, last weekend I had a few episodes of what western medicine labels as “benign paroxysmal positional vertigo”.
I felt extreme nausea (it reminded a bit of how I felt 26 months ago, when expecting lovely Leo, but, this time, on an almost unbearable and very scary scale), dizziness, static noise and buzzing in my head.
I had to stay lying in bed most of the time, as the few times I stood in a standing position resulted in three falling and fainting scares, especially for my dear hubby, as in the last two I blacked out for a few seconds while he was holding me.
In the hospital, I told the doctor, with a few fat tears running down my face, that I felt really bad and for a few brief moments I questioned myself, am I going to die or oh, my, am I having a heart attack or stroke.
Then, while still conscious, I remembered the symptoms that are meant to be a red flag for these and relievedly thought, ok, good, I am not and then a few seconds later I fainted.
Still in the hospital, the very thoughtful and caring doctor reassured me those feelings and thoughts are perfectly normal for people who experience b.p.s vertigo and these situations are actually quite common, one or two people come up to him in the hospital, every week, with the same condition.
Ok, that calmed me down and reassured me I was ok.
Then I asked him what could have caused it and he said there is no known cause, it has to do with the inner fluid in our ear that is responsible for our balance. What you felt is very similar to being on a boat, with a very turbulent sea, he said.
(Yes, I remember once going to the Berlengas, in Portugal, and the sea was pretty rough, but I can assure you that that sea was very mild compared to the freaking sea I navigated last weekend.)
The doctor also reassured me there was nothing wrong with or in my head or tummy, and what I felt was all “controlled” by the ear.
He also said, it may take a few days or weeks for all the symptoms to finally wear off and they may come back in a few weeks, a month, six months or never again.
These meaningful last words are what I really want to focus on from now on.
What happened was really powerful and scary and maybe even necessary.
Maybe what I felt was what spiritualism labels as “spiritual awakening”.
Most of us, statistically speaking, maybe 9 out of 10, live our lives in a near life experience mode.
Most of us prefer to live on the surface rather than in the core, surviving more than living, always running from A to B and from B to C, in a constant robotic hurry, forgetting there are so many more necessary letters we need to type to write a full, powerful and purposeful life story.
Most of us are living our lives in a state of non-alignment with our inner dreams and life purpose.
The majority of us look for instant gratification to fulfil the void that remains unfulfilled for that very same reason. The majority of us are controlled by what-ifs and fears.
(The other day a member of my Lovewellbeing Community Hub referred to them as false evidence appearing as real, and I think she is spot on.)
People who live a near-death experience state they started paying even more attention and appreciation to “the little things”, to what they value the most. Many changed their hierarchy of values and most of them said they wanted to start living their lives to the fullest.
This sounds amazing to me!
What about you? Is it necessary for us all to go through the scare of a near-death experience to start living a real-life experience?
Let’s stop being ‘clones’, living as safe-mode ‘drones’ and leave our comfort zones!
Life is supposed to be rich and fulfilling and (good) scary and meaningful.
Let’s stop saving that very special outfit for a very special occasion (every day is a gift, that is why there is no time like the present), postpone our healthier exercise routine or diet (which for most people never starts on the following Monday let’s face it), a trip to the Maldives when I retire (but I read somewhere that the Maldives will be completely submerged in 25 years, I won’t make it in time!).
Oh! But I don’t have enough time or money!
Well, time is money, right? And time is what we make of it!
So, let’s take the challenge and make time and (good) money or whatever we need to live our life as a real-life experience.
Let’s take the challenge together! Shall we?
