Hawaiian IANDS' Shaun Lether: Awakening to My Purpose
What Researchers Found
The Story
Sean Leather, a spiritual seeker from Utah who moved to Hawaii, had a profound near-death experience at age 50 in 2017 due to severe pneumonia and respiratory failure that collapsed his lungs. During the NDE, he left his body in the ICU and entered a dark space where he met a guide and moved toward a bright light. He saw Saint Teresa of Ávila in a nun's habit, who thanked him for helping souls transition. He reunited with his deceased mother, nephew, and relatives, merged with God's bright white energy, and felt deep compassion for his physical self. He had out-of-body travels, watched family, and learned false beliefs about himself were wrong. His nephew puffed his chest to teach him breathing as doctors removed the intubation tube. After the NDE, Sean gained self-compassion, strengthened connections to guides and spirits, quit harmful habits, and found purpose leading Hawaiian IONS groups to share spiritual experiences and help others integrate awakenings.
“love with my mom and God and God was energy and I could be merged with them”
The transcript describes multiple NDEs with OBEs, such as observing sisters at the coffee cart and cafeteria during ICU ventilation, and visions like Saint Teresa whose details matched later research; however, key veridical claims lack explicit prior reporting or independent confirmation from medical staff, limiting evidential strength. The strongest element is a non-NDE spirit sighting of fire victims matching a pre-knowledge newspaper description exactly, but NDE-specific veridical perceptions remain unverified.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
Are you here because someone you love has died?
These accounts were gathered because death may not be the end. Thousands of people have experienced something beyond — and come back to tell us about it.
What Researchers Found
The transcript describes multiple NDEs with OBEs, such as observing sisters at the coffee cart and cafeteria during ICU ventilation, and visions like Saint Teresa whose details matched later research; however, key veridical claims lack explicit prior reporting or independent confirmation from medical staff, limiting evidential strength. The strongest element is a non-NDE spirit sighting of fire victims matching a pre-knowledge newspaper description exactly, but NDE-specific veridical perceptions remain unverified.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.