Touching the void...
...and coming back.
What is Near Death Experience UK?
We are a peer-to-peer support group for people who are strugglng post NDE. We actively encourage and run personal meet-ups in your nominated city to build a network of other NDE experiencers as well as meetings and talks with those within the medical and counselling/psychotherapy professions. Founded by Gigi Strehler following her own NDE in 2011 - this is an excerpt from her chapter contribution to "The Transformative Power Of Near Death Experiences" by Dr. Penny Sartori & Kelly Walsh:
"It is the aftermath of an NDE that really has an impact on your life rather than the NDE itself. Somewhere between the spiritual and the physical lies the mental and emotional. I can say with certainty that there was a time when I completely lost my mind and heart. I think partly my experience of “the void” led me to have a complete existential breakdown, and my experience of “the peace that passeth all understanding” left every emotional encounter in this world paling in comparison. I almost became suicidal, wanting only to return to that blissful euphoric state that was Limbo-land. The way I felt and thought about everything completely changed. As if I’d had a brain and heart transplant; a personality and identity transformation. It was overwhelming. I had a different take on myself, my place in the cosmos, my family, my friends, my environment, my choices, my attitudes, my morals, my values, my ideas of love, children, animals and nature – in the broadest scope of things – right down to politics, career, money, assets, relationships, marriage, religion, faith, sex, prayer, meditation – straight back up to enormous concepts to do with time, energy and consciousness … As you can imagine, it’s a lot to mull over, and a lot to muddle through if, like me, you’re whacked on medication to dampen the effects of the NDE side effects and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It was during this time that Near Death Experience UK was born. I had done a couple of years of extensive reading on the subject matter and found huge comfort in the fact that although NDEs greatly differ in their manifestation, there are a few traits that hold true and transcend the age, sex, language, culture, creed and colour of the experiencer. I came to realize that these universal truths linked us all. I supposed that if I was suffering terribly to adjust to life on planet Earth, there must be thousands of others who are experiencing the same pain, confusion, challenges and obstacles. I created Near Death Experience UK as the UK’s first support group for experiencers. I had no idea how I was going to help anyone else other than say: “I know. I get it.” But I knew it would be a great way to bring the NDE community together to offer support, love and encouragement. Due to incredible medical advancements, more and more people are being brought back from the brink of death having had the most extraordinary experiences, and the more we share them, the more we can learn from them. My NDE has shaped and changed me in ways I would never have been able to conceive. I am so thankful. I would never take it back. And I hope light fills your “Take Two” – wherever and whomever you are …" - Gigi Strehler, NDE UK Founder
Have you had a Near Death Experience?
Returning to this realm after having a Near Death Experience can be a daunting and confusing time. If your Near Death Experience has been pleasant, this world can seem fraught with sadness and impurity of spirit. Maybe you can no longer focus on your work or job, knowing that material gain in this realm is immaterial to the place you visited during your Near Death Experience. You might have been made acutely aware of your wrong-doings and failings, and as a result feel remorseful. You might have spoken to the medics at the hospital who dismissed your accounts. Possibly spouses, family members, your parents or children find it difficult to believe or understand your experience. Maybe you saw your own death and of being resuscitated. You may even find it impossible to put your experience, the event or things you saw into words. You could now find it difficult to cope with how to interact with people. Whatever your situation, we know that a Near Death Experience can profoundly change your emotional, mental & spiritual make up and your life forever. Going through these life changes and seeking to live in a different way with new found enlightenment and knowledge is a more arduous task than it seems. Some people are very accepting of their experience. Others need to explore and question it. A few become so unhappy and restless in this realm that they wish to leave this world forever and return to the place they felt overwhelming peace, light and love. After having a Near Death Experience - living can suddenly become very hard. That is why we are here. Near Death Experience UK was founded to help you understand and process an event that really defies words or explanation. To help guide you to a place where living makes more sense than dying. And your own Near Death Experience is the start of new life.
Do you know somebody close who has?
Indeed, you may not have even had an Near Death Experience, but know someone close who has. You may struggle to understand what they went through or even get them to talk about it. If they have spoken to you about their experience, the language they use to describe it may seem alien and strange to you, or unnatural to the person they were before. You are possibly finding it difficult to interact with or maintain a relationship with a person whose behaviour, values, vocabulary, goals and feelings have vastly changed or been altered. They may want to make dramatic lifestyle changes that you cannot cope with. They may even want to reassess or terminate a relationship. It can feel as if you have lost someone and a completely new person now stands in their place. Are they frightened of their experience? Are they worried about what you might think of them when describing it to you? We are here for you too. Near Death Experience UK was founded to help you understand and open up a dialogue with your spouse, parent, child, family member or friend in order to help you find the most fruitful ways of helping them. In supporting a person who has had a Near Death Experience, we recognise that you need support too. Their Near Death Experience can be the start of new and more fulfilling kind of relationship with them.
We are a peer-to-peer support group for people who are strugglng post NDE. We actively encourage and run personal meet-ups in your nominated city to build a network of other NDE experiencers as well as meetings and talks with those within the medical and counselling/psychotherapy professions. Founded by Gigi Strehler following her own NDE in 2011 - this is an excerpt from her chapter contribution to "The Transformative Power Of Near Death Experiences" by Dr. Penny Sartori & Kelly Walsh:
"It is the aftermath of an NDE that really has an impact on your life rather than the NDE itself. Somewhere between the spiritual and the physical lies the mental and emotional. I can say with certainty that there was a time when I completely lost my mind and heart. I think partly my experience of “the void” led me to have a complete existential breakdown, and my experience of “the peace that passeth all understanding” left every emotional encounter in this world paling in comparison. I almost became suicidal, wanting only to return to that blissful euphoric state that was Limbo-land. The way I felt and thought about everything completely changed. As if I’d had a brain and heart transplant; a personality and identity transformation. It was overwhelming. I had a different take on myself, my place in the cosmos, my family, my friends, my environment, my choices, my attitudes, my morals, my values, my ideas of love, children, animals and nature – in the broadest scope of things – right down to politics, career, money, assets, relationships, marriage, religion, faith, sex, prayer, meditation – straight back up to enormous concepts to do with time, energy and consciousness … As you can imagine, it’s a lot to mull over, and a lot to muddle through if, like me, you’re whacked on medication to dampen the effects of the NDE side effects and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It was during this time that Near Death Experience UK was born. I had done a couple of years of extensive reading on the subject matter and found huge comfort in the fact that although NDEs greatly differ in their manifestation, there are a few traits that hold true and transcend the age, sex, language, culture, creed and colour of the experiencer. I came to realize that these universal truths linked us all. I supposed that if I was suffering terribly to adjust to life on planet Earth, there must be thousands of others who are experiencing the same pain, confusion, challenges and obstacles. I created Near Death Experience UK as the UK’s first support group for experiencers. I had no idea how I was going to help anyone else other than say: “I know. I get it.” But I knew it would be a great way to bring the NDE community together to offer support, love and encouragement. Due to incredible medical advancements, more and more people are being brought back from the brink of death having had the most extraordinary experiences, and the more we share them, the more we can learn from them. My NDE has shaped and changed me in ways I would never have been able to conceive. I am so thankful. I would never take it back. And I hope light fills your “Take Two” – wherever and whomever you are …" - Gigi Strehler, NDE UK Founder
Have you had a Near Death Experience?
Returning to this realm after having a Near Death Experience can be a daunting and confusing time. If your Near Death Experience has been pleasant, this world can seem fraught with sadness and impurity of spirit. Maybe you can no longer focus on your work or job, knowing that material gain in this realm is immaterial to the place you visited during your Near Death Experience. You might have been made acutely aware of your wrong-doings and failings, and as a result feel remorseful. You might have spoken to the medics at the hospital who dismissed your accounts. Possibly spouses, family members, your parents or children find it difficult to believe or understand your experience. Maybe you saw your own death and of being resuscitated. You may even find it impossible to put your experience, the event or things you saw into words. You could now find it difficult to cope with how to interact with people. Whatever your situation, we know that a Near Death Experience can profoundly change your emotional, mental & spiritual make up and your life forever. Going through these life changes and seeking to live in a different way with new found enlightenment and knowledge is a more arduous task than it seems. Some people are very accepting of their experience. Others need to explore and question it. A few become so unhappy and restless in this realm that they wish to leave this world forever and return to the place they felt overwhelming peace, light and love. After having a Near Death Experience - living can suddenly become very hard. That is why we are here. Near Death Experience UK was founded to help you understand and process an event that really defies words or explanation. To help guide you to a place where living makes more sense than dying. And your own Near Death Experience is the start of new life.
Do you know somebody close who has?
Indeed, you may not have even had an Near Death Experience, but know someone close who has. You may struggle to understand what they went through or even get them to talk about it. If they have spoken to you about their experience, the language they use to describe it may seem alien and strange to you, or unnatural to the person they were before. You are possibly finding it difficult to interact with or maintain a relationship with a person whose behaviour, values, vocabulary, goals and feelings have vastly changed or been altered. They may want to make dramatic lifestyle changes that you cannot cope with. They may even want to reassess or terminate a relationship. It can feel as if you have lost someone and a completely new person now stands in their place. Are they frightened of their experience? Are they worried about what you might think of them when describing it to you? We are here for you too. Near Death Experience UK was founded to help you understand and open up a dialogue with your spouse, parent, child, family member or friend in order to help you find the most fruitful ways of helping them. In supporting a person who has had a Near Death Experience, we recognise that you need support too. Their Near Death Experience can be the start of new and more fulfilling kind of relationship with them.