Agreed. What a different world it would be if everyone could experience this.
Re: definitions - Castaneda (see below) talks of the Unknown (Mystery) and the Unknowable ('those things that come from outside human understanding'.

The unknown is something that is veiled from man, shrouded perhaps by a terrifying context, but which, nonetheless, is within man's reach. The unknown becomes the known at a given time. The unknowable, on the other hand, is the indescribable, the unthinkable, the unrealizable. It is something that will never be known to us, and yet it is there, dazzling and at the same time horrifying in its vastness.
There is a simple rule of thumb: in the face of the unknown, man is adventurous. It is a quality of the unknown to give us a sense of hope and happiness. Man feels robust, exhilarated. Even the apprehension that it arouses is very fulfilling. The new seers saw that man is at his best in the face of the unknown.
The unknown and the known are really on the same footing, because both are within the reach of human perception. Seers, can leave the known at a given moment and enter into the unknown. Whatever is beyond our capacity to perceive is the unknowable. And the distinction between it and the knowable is crucial. Confusing the two would put seers in a most precarious position whenever they are confronted with the unknowable..

Rising Spirit, thanks for sharing that intimate account of your NDE. it seems you've led a life of discovery that is not so typical in society. but your NDE is somewhat typical -as NDEs go- and i doubt you had any knowledge of NDEs as a 10 year-old growing up in the '60s, yet your experience shares key hallmarks of the vast majority of those accounts: discorporate sensations, the realization of 'oneness,' knowing your real 'home' lies elsewhere.

i'm assuming it must have been tough to talk about your experience back then, and probably in the decades to follow; people just weren't down with that kind of talk... even today -depending on geographic location and community mindset- it might be hard to bring it up in a conversation. however, it is my experience that you can say just about anything to anyone if you truly speak from your heart at any rate, we have a great community here at this site to share these events

the really good news is there are some intellectual heavy-hitters putting NDEs back into the scientific conversation. check out this interview of Dr. Pim Van Lommel. his theory fits nicely with our view of the way things seem to be.

i'm a little bit roached out at the moment so i won't be ale to address your whole post, which was very interesting, but i'll try to get back soon and reply to ObsidianKnife's post, and maybe later i will post some other events that were/are important to me.


thanks again for sharing, Rising Spirit! i know it takes courage to lay yourself out there to be assessed by others.