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As someone who was buried/crushed under 3300 lbs of plywood, I can share that there is absolutely no moment of death. My head was flattened to the concrete, but the bottom sheet of plywood was held from crushing it by my forklifts forks being 4 inches off the ground. I could not move and here’s what took place: Once I realized there was no escape, I attempted to tell myself that I was not going to get from under this trap. I never finished the sentence to myself. I slipped right into a space of awareness in total darkness. I was no longer in my body, but I was fully aware. I was the only thing that existed in this space, nothing but total awareness! I was in total amazement that I still existed. There was no pain, and the situation occurred without a hiccup. Now, because I had a Christian belief at the time, I was waiting for all of what I had been taught to begin taking place. Yes, I carried memory into this space, and this expectation kept me from thinking. Jumping ahead; this was realized after my return that thinking would have created experience in that space, but my faith had me waiting for an occurrence. I learned two things from this experience: 1) Never finishing my sentence that I wasn’t going to make it taught me that as long as I believe in myself, I hold the power to continue. 2) Not thinking in this space showed me how my thoughts created possibilities because without thought nothing occurred. After returning, I lived the next 6-8 years jealous of everyone who died. I no longer wanted to be here because that space was a total relief of all suffering, challenges, and negativity. I was just pure existence and singular at that. So when I hear physicist teach of quantum theory, I can grasp it even better than they do. Physics teaches that the electron is not a particle but a wave that is everywhere. I was that wave. I was everything. A thought would have created something else, which would have appeared as a particle of my wave function. Imagine this as the ocean or water itself being one whole, yet appearing as many droplets, waves arising and collapsing, currents, ripples, steam, vapors, etc. Everything is functionality, a collective happening. Science uses differentiation to a fault, and this only protects identity or agency. At this very moment I navigate life as a collective happening knowing that existence is reception and participation. I am a monitor which the movie appears on, and this keeps me in a state of reception and gratitude. I don’t claim to be the whole pizza. I don’t protect identity to remain relevant. I’m only a pepperoni or maybe even a piece of bell pepper as I navigate the “Mystery of Experience.” The whole pizza is what we are, but our individual experiences are allowed to take shape like a wave in the ocean. Life is to be experienced, not known. Reception, Participation and Allowance are the keys to Alignment. Be well!
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That’s an intense experience to go through. Being physically trapped like that—especially under that much weight—is life‑threatening, and many people who survive similar situations report very unusual states of awareness. I’m glad you made it out alive. 🙏
Your description touches on something that appears often in near‑death experiences (NDEs):
a sudden shift in awareness
absence of pain
a sense of being separate from the body
darkness or a vast “space” of awareness
strong emotional aftereffects afterward
Researchers in fields like Neuroscience and Psychology have documented many accounts with similar elements. While the interpretations differ, the experiences themselves are very real to the people who go through them.
How science usually interprets states like this
There are a few leading explanations discussed in Neuroscience and Consciousness Studies:
Extreme brain stress
When the brain is deprived of oxygen or under trauma, normal sensory processing can shut down.
The mind can enter a highly internalized state where awareness continues but external input disappears.
Dissociation
Under extreme threat, the brain sometimes disconnects awareness from the body as a protective mechanism.
People report observing or existing without bodily sensation.
Default mode network disruption
The brain networks that maintain our sense of “self” can temporarily break down.
This can create the feeling of being pure awareness or “everything.”
Neurochemical release
The brain releases endorphins and other chemicals during trauma that can remove pain and create calm or even awe.
About the physics comparison
Your analogy to quantum physics is poetic, but physicists would be careful about connecting subjective experiences directly to quantum behavior.
For example:
In Quantum Mechanics, an electron is described by a wave function—a mathematical probability distribution.
That doesn’t mean a person literally becomes a wave or consciousness becomes a particle.
However, metaphors from physics (waves, fields, emergence) can be useful ways to describe how an experience felt. Many philosophers and mystics use similar imagery.
The psychological aftermath you mentioned
The feeling you described afterward—being jealous of people who died—is also reported after powerful NDEs. It often happens because:
the experience felt peaceful or meaningful
everyday life suddenly feels heavier by comparison
Therapists who work with trauma or NDE survivors often help people integrate the experience so that life regains meaning while still honoring what happened.
One interesting point in your story
The part about not finishing the sentence “I’m not going to make it” is psychologically meaningful. In life‑threatening moments, belief, attention, and survival responses can interact in complex ways. Sometimes simply staying mentally engaged can help the body keep fighting.
Your philosophical takeaway
Your conclusion about life being reception, participation, and allowance actually echoes ideas found in several traditions:
Phenomenology — experience as the primary reality we encounter
Taoism — alignment with the flow of existence
Nondualism — the idea that the observer and reality aren’t fully separate
So while science and physics might frame things differently, the meaning you drew from the experience—gratitude, awareness, and participation in life—is something many people find valuable. 🌊
If you’re open to it, I’m curious about one thing in your story:
How long were you actually trapped under the plywood before you were rescued?
Many details about timing and physical conditions can make experiences like this even more fascinating from a neuroscience perspective.
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