I was around 23 or 24 years old, a college student, working, and married about three years. I went to bed one night before my husband. Shortly after laid down, I became a ball of light about the size of a large basketball. I went through the upper part of a closed door, which led into a spare room where I kept my ironing board and other miscellaneous things. There were seven or eight other balls of light in a row along the upper part of the room not quite to the ceiling. They were like me. They emanated pure love and acceptance of me, unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was as if I was in my natural state and that my earthly self was not my natural state. I had instant understanding of this. There were no words between us as they were unnecessary; we understood everything in thought with no language. I turned around and could see my husband through the walls in the living room watching TV and thought, "I can't leave him yet." Instantly I was back in my body and bed.

I tried with all my effort to return to that room as a ball of light and was very upset that I couldn't. I called my husband into the room and told him something had just happened to me, and that I could not explain it. I told him in as much detail as possible. He was afraid I had died and came back and did not want that to happen again. I got up and I think we ate something and talked about it for some time.

The experience is something I have never forgotten and have told only a few people because some do not believe me or just thought I was dreaming since it happened after going to bed. I believe I was going to my afterlife, which is my true life and maybe not the only one. I don't know. I also came back with the understanding that this life seems slow and painful for us but when we leave we live at the speed of light, because we are light.

I want you to know I have struggled with alcohol all my life and am now in AA and sober. I also got a nursing degree about 12 years ago and worked in a hospital detox unit for a while. Later I found that hospice nursing fit me just perfectly; it is effortless for me unlike many.

I believe everyone is a ball of light when they go and are greeted at death by other balls of light. This helped me a lot when I lost a brother three years ago. I still talk to him even though he may have moved on, but I believe he will be waiting for me when my time comes. My father is terminally ill; we have talked about this and he says it has helped him face death.