Today I am going to share a story with you. It is hilarious now when I look back and think about it but nonetheless it is still a near death experience as it is. And the lessons learnt are still valid.
I had to travel in an airplane few weeks back. I had a little cold for a few days prior with a mild frontal headache. I didn't mind that as I never had any problem travelling. 6-hour travel after busy day of working, on top of that I couldn't even sleep on the night before. As usual and as often happens, flight was delayed one a half hour! Well, that is for the background.
Flight was smooth, nothing abnormal, I was in good spirits. However, I could not sleep still.
At 40000 feet I was really fine, then the pilot announced we are about to descend. And slowly but steadily it started a down slide. Then I noticed a sharp headache on half of my forehead, which has never been there, like I was struck with a club. That's strange Sharp severe pain 9/10. My initial thoughts were maybe it is a sinusitis and blocked ear causing nerve irritation. (later happened to be what it is) Or a stroke. Latter was fearsome. A worst place to get a stroke! Am I going to die? Are these my last minutes on this life? And I panicked.
I palpated my pulse and felt its slowing down. I could feel my heartbeat slow down. For 15 seconds I believed I am going to die. I told the stranger nearby that I feel ill, and I lost my consciousness.
And I woke up. for 2 minutes I didn't know what happened. And a kind flight attendant helped me with some water, and I processed what happened. Pain was still there, and my heartbeat was fine. I had a Vasovagal attack!
There is more to the story. But I will not drag you on that lane as I really like to keep the post short and let you scroll through the cat stories in the web.
Lesson one:
For 15 seconds that I believed I am going to die, I reflected my life. And I knew I have wasted it on unnecessary things. Family, money, my job, stress, work did not matter. I really did not know what is on the other side. And I regretted the way I have spent my life.
Lesson two:
The only one person that could help me was the one who sat next to me. That was the most important person.
I will end the story here. When I reflect It may be not a true near-death experience in an airplane, yet I did believe it was. Some of you may have near death experiences. True ones. Please feel free to share your lessons in comments. For rest of you I suggest imagining. Imagine before it happens.
What insights science and philosophy can provide us about Near-death experiences? You can read about it here.
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