"It was Freedom and Love, But in a Thousandfold Intensity" | Carina Hilfenhaus Near-Death Experience
What Researchers Found
The Story
Carina Hilfenhaus, a mother and entrepreneur, had a near-death experience during a cardiac arrest in 2015. This happened while she underwent a tilt table test in the hospital for sick sinus syndrome, which caused her fainting spells. During the test, everything started spinning, her eyes went black, and silence followed. A great calm began from her feet. She felt like pure soul on an emotional level. She experienced peace, freedom, intense love, security, warmth, curiosity, excitement, and infinity. There was no body, and she connected to life at the soul level. This felt like eternity but lasted seconds. She would have stayed if not revived. After the NDE, she lost her fear of death and questioned her life's purpose. She struggled with longing for that feeling, sold her business, and changed her life to live more consciously. She became a coach and motivator, helping others find meaning and courage.
“and look back on a life full of strokes of fate. Cardiac arrest, I would like to talk to you about all this,”
This account describes a profound subjective emotional experience of peace, freedom, and love during cardiac arrest but contains no veridical perceptions of external events, conversations, or details inaccessible to normal senses. The absence of any specific, verifiable claims limits evidential strength despite the severe medical crisis.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
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These accounts were gathered because death may not be the end. Thousands of people have experienced something beyond — and come back to tell us about it.
What Researchers Found
This account describes a profound subjective emotional experience of peace, freedom, and love during cardiac arrest but contains no veridical perceptions of external events, conversations, or details inaccessible to normal senses. The absence of any specific, verifiable claims limits evidential strength despite the severe medical crisis.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.