Lon B NDE

Experience Description

I was 14 years old. A young sophomore in high school, in the most beautiful land known to man. My favorite place on this earth. Maui Hawaii. Year round blue water, green vegetation, hidden caves and waterfalls all across the island.

For six months, I was part of a youth program there, all boys between 14 and 16. We were being paid to pick pineapple, one of the most physically demanding jobs I had ever known. 8 to 10 hour days, wearing armor to protect us from the serrated edges of the pine blades. During our free time, we explored every bit of the island and ocean we could.

About four months into the job, my friends and I learned of a secret cliff jumping spot the locals called iron maiden. It was a two mile swim from black rock beach directly west of the island. At that time, we all considered ourselves adequate swimmers capable of reaching this cliff jumping rock. Excitedly we began

the swim, following a trusted local who had been there before. About a mile into the swim, the shore was just a small line in the distance. A friend of mine was having difficulty due to choppy waters and some heavy undercurrents. I stayed behind with him until he was comfortable to continue. I let him ahead of me as we continued.

Surprising to me, I began to have trouble myself. I was a fair distance behind the rest of the group at this point, so was now alone. I panicked a bit and started floating and conserving my energy like I was taught. After some time, I thought I should head back to shore. As soon as I began to swim again my muscles cramped. I could feel every limb tense up and stop moving as I panicked harder. The pain was intense. But worse, my body began to go cold and I started to sink. I took as large a breath as I could but my head was already going under. There was only darkness below me as deep as the water was. This caused more panicking and my limbs would not move. Lungs began to burn. Limbs ached and grew numb. Body shivered with cold. The last of my breath I let out and I began to cry. I didn't want to die, but I was alone sinking further into the dark water about to suck in my last painful breath. My eyesight went red. Then black like a tunnel, I could barely see the light above me. After shaking uncontrollably, I finally let seawater into my lungs as I coughed in pain. Then time stopped.

I looked around the watery abyss and realized I wasn't cold any longer. Everything was frozen around me like time stood still. Nothing moved, all was silent. I began to see memories, as if I were reliving them. Happy memories from when I was very young, before I could speak or walk. Loving memories from people and places all around me as I grew. Even sad memories brought me joy for the times I was experiencing life. Years passed by, and as short as my life was up to that point, I saw how lucky I was to have this life. I had lived a lifetime of experiences, and all I could feel was gratitude. Joy and gratitude for such a beautiful life experience. I began to cry again, but this time tears of joy. I began to pray, a prayer of thanks to the creator for everything I was allowed to feel, see, smell, hear, touch, love, and experience. I thanked God for all of it. And I was ready.

Then I heard a voice. 'Stand on the rock'

There was a sudden rush, I felt pressure in my chest, and the sound of heavy wind and water rushing past my ears. Time rushed back and I was suddenly coughing hard above the water again. I had a sudden burst of energy and my arms and legs could move again. I turned around and saw my friend. He came back to find me. I yelled to him to help me find a rock to stand on. Confused, in the middle of the ocean, he helped me search for a rock. About 30 ft away, we found a flat rock, just waist high under the water, about 3 ft in diameter. It was covered in soft grass like moss I could grab onto with my toes to keep me on without much difficulty. The rock was like a pillar, straight down in the water.

As I stood there I could feel my strength returning. My gratitude for life and everything I had just experienced was still heavy on my mind. And I was being allowed to live on. I shouted in gratitude to the sky and wanted to experience everything. 10 minutes later, my friend and I continued to iron maiden and cliff jumped with our friends for hours and hours. We witnessed Maui's famous great white shark later that afternoon from the top of iron maiden.

Decades later, my family and I still travel to Maui and swim and dive at black rock beach. It's our favorite vacation place. The locals call black rock the gateway to the spirit world. When I swim in that ocean, I sometimes feel it calling to me. Like an old friend that wants me to come back.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 6/14/92

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Drowning Life threatening event, but not clinical death Exhaustion based drowning

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? No No

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal Time stood still, and I could see my life more clearly

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When time stood still

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning Time stopped. Ocean stopped moving. Sounds went silent

Were your senses More vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Like reliving memories completely in a flash

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Resonant

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? I sensed their presence

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes Was all around during memories

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Extreme gratitude for life

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible joy

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe Gratitude. Lucky to have experienced life.

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control Entire life, good and bad moments

Did scenes from the future come to you? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Mormon LDS

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes More gratitude and love based

What is your religion now? Other or several faiths Love based spiritual belief

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. Life is precious

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes Gratitude

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I heard a voice I could not identify 'Stand on the rock'

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I sensed their presence

Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes Gratitude for life

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? No

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes Sacred

How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience. It was more vivid than most memories.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The voice

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Journal, wife

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real. Nothing was more real

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. Nothing was more real

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No