Los Angeles, Dec 5 (IANS): Actress Sharon Stone says she had a white light experience when she suffered a near-fatal brain haemorrhage in 2001. She says the experience made her appreciate her life so much more.

The "Basic Instinct" actress had the haemorrhage while she was still married to ex-husband Phil Bronstein. She claims she felt what it was like to die before she came back and insists the experience changed her view on life completely.

"My head blew up. It was almost as if I was shot. I had two unbelievably painful shots in the left side of my head that physically knocked me over on to the couch," contactmusic.om quoted Stone as saying.

"I called Phil and said, 'I think I've had a stroke.' I was haemorrhaging into my brain for 11 days before they found out what was going on," said Stone.

"Yes, I had a 'white light' experience. It was a very beautiful and illuminating experience. It was a very profound thing to come back," she added.

The 54-year-old star, who has three sons, Roan, 12, Laird, seven, and six-year-old Quinn, says her experience, as well as going through a divorce, made her unafraid to fail.

Instead, she is determined to embrace every challenge she encounters whether she is successful or not.