My First Near-Death Experience

What happens to your spirit when it leaves your body, but it is not your time to die? Where do you go and what will you see? Will your spirit face your fears and danger alone or will someone be there to help you? I learned the answers to these questions early in life when I experienced my first of four near-death experience.

I was a normal 5-year-old child living a normal life on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. I had no special gift or abilities that I was aware of. My whole life changed when one day, my aunt Bertha took me and my brother Bill for a ride in our family car. These were the early days before seat belts were invented so we weren’t strapped safely onto the seats. 

Bill and I started to roughhouse with each other in the back seat, wrestling and shoving each other around as brothers sometimes do. I jumped on Bill and he kicked me so hard, I flew backwards and hit the car door on the opposite side of the car. Slamming into the door, I grabbed the door handle and pushed down to brace myself. The car doors opened by pushing down on the handle back then, so the door flung open and pulled me out of the car.  

NDE BEGINS

 As I fell from the car, time seemed to slow down as I could feel part of me trying to pull myself up to avoid landing onto the asphalt roadway. When the back of my skull finally made contact with the road, I felt no pain. Rather than pain, I felt a sudden jolt, and a quick rush of air passing through my entire body.

I found myself floating in the air, hovering over my motionless body. I could see blood running from my nose and collecting around the back of my head. Terror gripped my stomach as every attempt I made to wake myself failed. My brother and aunt rushed to my body, but they could not get me to move. I panicked. As my emotions soared, I noticed dark formless shadows and balls of light gathering around me. I felt trapped and hopeless, so I sat down and cried.   

 Out of nowhere, a large muscular arm appeared around my waist, and lifted me up like a small sack of beans. I looked over my shoulder and saw a huge Hawaiian man, standing over 7 feet tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds. His bearded face was covered with tattoos that made him look fierce and mean. His dark brown eyes told a different story, showing love and kindness. The shadows and lights that were threatening me quickly vanished as soon as my rescuer appeared. I knew I was safe and protected.

Secure in the arms of my new friend, we hovered above the accident scene for a few minutes watching people frantically trying to resuscitate my limp body. We then shot upward into the heavens at a high rate of speed, where we entered a long dark tunnel that was illuminated by specks of light that zipped by us.

 We descended into a deep, narrow cave that lead to a tiny multi-sided room. Each side of the room had a door with a small glass window.  The floor was hard cold rock. Above us was a bright shining light that filled the room with a soothing warmth. The light had a calming effect on me. I felt safe. Beyond the room was darkness, with only small portions of the exterior illuminated by the light from the room.  

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement in the darkness outside of the room. Curious, I walked towards one of the windows until my Hawaiian guardian grabbed my hand and said: “NO, Stay here.”

I quickly sat down, not wanting to upset him. 

Voices from beyond room then began to call out to me: “David John, come here and join us, we miss you!”

Glancing at the windows I saw familiar faces pressed against the glass. I stood up and dashed towards the door but was tackled from behind by my guardian. He then sat on my back and pressed me to the floor. “I said NO!”, he repeated.  “Stay here and do not open any of the doors!”

 I struggled to push him off me, but it felt as though a baby elephant had decided to take a nap on me .

“Get off of me!!!”  I yelled.

“Not until you promise not to open any of these doors.”

Why was this man so insistent about not opening the doors?  Where am I? Who were those people outside of the room? As these thoughts ran through my mind, my guardian began to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, Imaikalani.  You are in a safe place. I will make sure no one harms you while you are here.”

 “Where am I? Am I in Heaven?”

“No, this is not heaven. This is more like a waiting room.”

“What are we waiting for?”

“We are waiting for your body to accept you back.”

 “Am I dead?”

 “Not, really.  Kind of in between.”

The voices from beyond the room got louder and more demanding. I could see thousands of people crowding the windows trying to draw my attention. They seemed desperate to meet me.  

“Who are all those people?” I asked my guardian.

“Good question. They are not who you think they are. They are tricksters who want to take you away and leave you wandering in the dark like them.“

“But they look like some of my family members.  They even know my name, so they must know me.”, I argued.

“Sure, they know you.  But if you look at them with your spiritual eyes instead of your physical eyes you will see clearly what they really are.”

“How do I see with my spiritual eyes?”, I asked.

“Just close your eyes and see with your mind’s eye. Try it now.”

I carefully examined the many faces pressed against the windows until I found one individual that looked very familiar. As I focused on this mans face, I closed my physical eyes and opened my spiritual eyes. Seeing with my spiritual eyes for the first time, the friendly face I thought I recognized instantly morphed into a demon! Startled, I popped open my eyes and realized I could now see the true nature of all the beings crowding the windows. They were all demons, hideous and frightening. As fear began to grip me, the light above the room glowed stronger and brighter. The brilliance of the light forced the demons away from the windows. I turned to my guardian with newfound respect.  

“Thank you for helping me and keeping me safe.  Who are you, anyway?” .  

“I am Kupuna, an ancestor of yours.”

Kupuna and I engaged in a variety of small talk as we waited in the room.  He grew serious when he began to explain the various meanings behind my Hawaiian name Imaikalani.  I realized I needed to pay close attention because he was sharing something very important with me.

 I had always thought that my Hawaiian name meant “I come from Heaven”, but Kupuna reminded me that Hawaiian names have many hidden meanings.  Sacred names like mine evolve over time. As a child, Imaikalani describes a person who could communicate with heavenly beings, such as God, Angels, ancestors, and spirits. In this phase of my life I needed to learn how to see, talk, and listen to heavenly messengers. As I grew older, the meaning of my name would change and expand.

Listening to Kupuna's calming and hypnotic voice helped me relax and I began to nod off to sleep. I snuggled up to Kupuna who cradled me in his arms and I drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.    

A strange sensation overcame me. I felt as if I was falling from the sky.  Startled, I suddenly woke up on a gurney and discovered I was being wheeled into a hospital examination room.  Pain slammed into me with an anguishing kick to the head. My skull ached and throbbed wretchedly making me feel weak and dizzy. I slowly opened my eyes making eye contact with the people trying to help me. The doctor and nurses were very excited that I had regained consciousness. I was back in the world of the living.

When I finally regained my senses, I was confused. It felt as though I had spent a few days in the safe room with Kupuna. I was surprised to learn that I was unconscious for only about 10 minutes.

I shared my strange experience with the doctors, nurses, and my parents. The doctors attributed my experience to the concussion I suffered from the accident. No one believed me. It took me 52 years to realize that my first near-death experience was real, when at age 57, I was taken back to the same safe room after encountering some complications during my triple bypass surgery.