Greetings from a near-death experiencer.

I've curiously observed ATS for quite some time now and have just recently decided to join this eclectic community in hopes of giving and receiving helpful insight. I hope to contribute to threads and acquire contributions to my own, as well as acquire a better understanding of my experiences and the experiences of others. In my life, I've had two particularly profound experiences that intensively sparked my interest in the unknown about the world we live in.

When I was seven years old, my family visited the big island of Hawaii and decided to go hiking to a desolate beach we had heard about in a brochure. The hike went fine, and by the time we finally reached this beach in the middle of nowhere, storm clouds began thundering gently in the distance. We had been to Hawaii multiple times, and anyone who knows Hawaiian weather knows that it can go from sunny to pouring down rain in less than five minutes. The waves seemed eerily calm, so my father and I began walking to the obsidian tide pools that were rich with various aquatic creatures.

After walking onto the slippery rocks, I began venturing further and further outward, getting closer and closer to the edge of the water. Once I reached about thirty feet out, I noticed a small starfish in a puddle. Since the tides were low at the time, the sharp, rocky tide pools that were usually underwater were now exposed. As I bent down and turned my back to the ocean, I heard a roaring coming from behind me.

I didn't have time to turn around, but the look of the my mother's face on the shore told me that something was severely wrong. Before I even had time to run, I found myself hit with the full fledged force of what was later to be described as a nine foot wave. I hadn't realized how much power water had until I was hit with it at full force. I crashed forward and began rolling over the obsidian rock that was now very much underwater from this wave. I felt myself spinning underwater, being cut and sliced by the razor-sharp ridges of the tide pools and began freaking out because I realized I was unable to breath.

It seemed like an eternity that I was down there. The wave had knocked the wind from my lungs and I was striving to breath. To inhale water is the most painful feeling I have ever experienced. Even at seven years old, I realized I was in seriously bad shape, and if I couldn't find a way to latch onto something I'd be washed out to sea. I began noticing as I was underwater how quiet things became, even though my own body was being ripped and thrown and tossed amongst the rocks and water. The second thing I noticed was how warm I felt. This warmth was a warmth that didn't come externally, it was a warmth that seemed to be radiating internally. As this warmth grew stronger, I felt myself becoming engulfed in a peace unlike anything I had ever experienced. Here I was, feeling myself drowning, and in an instant I went from feeling intense pain to feeling such an extreme serenity that I sincerely regretted that my father had eventually grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me to shore.

For years I thought about my experience in Hawaii, and how bizarre it was that I felt such an extreme peace. Even years after, I possessed the scars from my experience and they served as a reminder of something I didn't completely understand. It wasn't until I was 11 years old that I would experience an even more bizarre experience, with eerily similar circumstances.

At age 11, I lived near the ocean in California and found myself boogey boarding alone very frequently. At any chance I had, I'd grab my board and wet suit and go boarding. On one particularly nice spring day, I grabbed my board as I always did and began wading myself into the water. For a good half an hour I boarded without any problems, I was exhilarated and found myself loving the force of the sea as it took me speeding on my board to the shore. As I began swimming to the wave area, I caught a perfect wave (as perfect as a wave could be for boogey boarding), and began riding the wave in. About 5 seconds in, I felt my board jolt forward. As the board jolted forward, the back end of my board was rammed into my abdomen and I slipped off. As I slipped off, a second wave had formed behind me that was much larger than the first and I was shot down underneath the water, spinning without any perception of up or down.

I remembered my experience in Hawaii as I found myself in a similar situation again. This time however, I felt this warming sensation much faster and felt my body go weightless almost instantly. As I continued spinning towards the shore underwater, I heard a voice that even thinking about to this day gives me chills. The voice sounded like a group of voices, all talking in unison. At first, it seemed like I was just hearing whispers, but they were muffled by the water. As I felt myself go more and more numb, these female voices seemed to echo louder and louder. I'd describe it as sounding like all these voices were coming from various parts of the ocean, yet they were all saying the same thing. As I felt the warmth overcome me, these voices said, "You have to hold on."

They didn't seem concerned, just compassionate. They were both muffled by the ocean and echoing through my eardrums as I felt myself losing consciousness. Before I felt myself black out, I saw the sun as I was tossed onto the sandy beach. I laid there for quite some time, completely in awe at what I had heard. Surprisingly, I sustained no severe physical damage and was left with an experience that I will never ever forget.

hi and welcome,

you story reminds me slightly of the UK football player Fabrice muamba,

His interview states the moment he had his on pitch heart attack, he felt no pain, just complete blankness falling into light and complete peace,

i havnt experienced near death myself but my brother has so i can understand in part the things that you describe,

I think as we are about to die, that pain receptors switch off, electrons / neurons or whatever start randomly firing, and that creates a chemical reaction which shuts down the nervous system leaving nothing but momentary bliss, similar to the highs people can get from recreational drugs. when a light burns out it goes with a pop, but all energy must go somewhere, dead plants rot and in time turn to oil in the soil and the energy becomes something else, why sshould we be differnt, the electrical current from us i beleive must filter somewhere, whether its what some people called ghosts, or it contributes towards electrical storms etc

i am merely speculating asi have no first hand experience, however this would be a more embracing way to look at death rather than fearing the pain that people expect to feel

Wow that is a very interesting story. Welcome to the community, and I am sure you will find others here who have had near-death experiences as well.

there are people who claim to actually have visited heaven.

what do pain receptors have to do with that.

right now, most peoples pain receptors are turned off. since you aren't feeling any pain.

then why isn't anybody seeing white light tunnels and in heavenly bliss.

reply to post by Sylence


Welcome to ATS interesting story sounds like you should keep your feet on dry land my friend

reply to post by randomname


thats a very spurious post, you could apply that logic to many things

your eyes are closed but you are not asleep

your asleep but your not yet dreaming

a broken bone doesnt hurt till you look at it


not everything has to have an explanation, just an oppinion

reply to post by Sylence


Welcome to ATS...hope you find what you are looking for here...

Des

Welcome to ATS

reply to post by Sylence


Welcome.

Your story gives me chills of Déjà vu - uncannily.

My father often recalls a story from just before I was born, of when he was once white water rafting during Defence training. LSS, he was swept and caught under water, lifejacket and all, yet his words always stick with me when he told me that he feels that "Drowning would be the most peaceful way to go."
Every time I think of the story, and the way he describes it, I can litterally picture the feeling of slowly being taken over by the dark peace...

I hope you find explanation for your experiences amongst here - great intro read, too!

Fascinating story you have shared, so glad you took the time to share it in such detail. Reminded me of my favorite film "It's a wonderful Life" and how each of us have an important role to play in life. Also brought to mind "Lady in the Water". The similarities to the female voices you heard is striking. Clearly these were not just accidents you experienced but something that must have been divine in nature.


Quotes from the film "Lady in the Water":

"You have a purpose. All beings have a purpose."

"Man thinks they are each alone in this world. It is not true. You are all connected. One act can one day affect all."

"This film supports the ideal that people still serve a purpose in this world, and that through supernatural power or simply by strange occurence we are where we are for a reason. Even the most insignificant people have a reason to exist. And that is an undeniably comforting truth in a world where one of our greatest fears is to be alone and without a cause to live." LINK