October 20, 2025 • 27 mins
A new guest. A clear sky. One question that matters. How do you reignite your fire when life blows it out?
Holly Porter is a CEO, retreat leader, and survivor of a 70-day battle with COVID. She shares her story from intubation and isolation to clarity and purpose. She returned with direction, firm boundaries, and a mission that reshaped her work and her life.
In the ICU, she lost all five senses. She describes the silence, the sameness of masked faces, and the rare moments of contact that kept her connected. She recounts an out-of-body experience in a “Stadium of Light” and a meeting with ancestors who told her one word: fight. From that moment, she received two instructions. Start a nonprofit called Adventure Bucket Wish. Decline a business partnership that did not align.
Her return brought hard years. Legal issues. Family conflict. Emotional strain. Holly explains how hypnosis, community, and reflection helped her rebuild. She learned to say no, to draw lines, and to turn her pain into service.
If you are a founder, leader, or caregiver facing burnout, you will hear clear lessons.
- Trust your inner direction.
- Protect your time and energy.
- Grow through recovery instead of rushing through it.
This is a story of resilience, leadership, and faith in your own path. Follow the show. Share it with someone who needs strength. Leave a review so others can find hope too.
About Holly:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/retreaternr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyporter/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hollyaporter
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@retreatrnr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyporterinternational/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HOLLYANNPORTER/
Subscribe to The Reignite Resilience Thinkletter
Subscribe to Our Weekly ThinkLetter
Facebook
Instagram
Check out our Book Series:
The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self Worth and Resilience
Magical Mornings Journal
Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The co-hosts of this podcast are not medical professionals. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. Reliance on any information provided by the podcast hosts or guests is solely at your own risk.
Pamela Cass is a licensed broker with Kentwood Real Estate
Natalie Davis is a licensed broker with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
All of us reach a point in time where we are
depleted and need to somehowfind a way to reignite the fire
within.
But how do we spark that flame?
Welcome to Reignite Resilience,where we will venture into the
heart of the human spirit.
We'll discuss the art ofreigniting our passion and
(00:28):
strategies to stoke ourenthusiasm.
And now here are your hosts,Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
Welcome back to another episode of Reignite
Resilience.
I'm your co-host Natalie Davis,and I'm so excited to be back
with all of you today.
And joining me, of course, isyour co-host Pam Cass.
Hello, Pam.
How are you?
SPEAKER_02 (00:53):
I am fantastic.
It is a clear blue sky outside.
It's gorgeous out.
So it's perfect.
This is my weather.
This is my jam right now.
So I'm happy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
It is.
It's like a true fall day.
Like it truly is fall.
The sun is shining.
I mean, the be the week startedoff a little gloomy, which is
always hard.
SPEAKER_02 (01:08):
Yeah.
It's hard to have a Monday likethat.
So we're skipping that and we'repretending like this is the new
Monday.
SPEAKER_01 (01:14):
This is the new no, I don't want that either.
No, I'm just kidding.
Just kidding.
Just kidding.
We don't need two Mondays in aweek.
We're good too.
No, we're good.
Oh my gosh.
Well, I am so excited.
We have a very special guestthat's joining us today.
I'm going to turn it over toyou, Pam.
Why don't you tell ourlisteners?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (01:32):
Yeah, I'm excited.
So today we have joining usHolly Porter.
She is a CEO of Holly PorterInternational, guiding leaders
and entrepreneurs to createtransformational impact
worldwide.
Surviving a near-deathexperience reshaped her mission
and fuels her passion to helpothers rise with resilience and
purpose.
(01:52):
She brings over two decades ofbusiness, retreat, and real
estate experience to inspirepeople to expand their vision
and prosperity on a globalstage.
Welcome, Holly.
We are so excited to have you.
And I'm gonna pass it to you tojust kind of share some of your
story with our listeners.
SPEAKER_03 (02:12):
Oh, well, thank you.
I'm so excited to be here.
You ladies seem fun.
I like fun.
That's like my motto.
If it's not fun, I'm not doingit.
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
Don't sign me up for it.
Exactly.
I'm not the person.
Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:24):
I about fell with that motto though, because
during COVID, we were justtalking before, I almost died.
And it's like, that was not fun.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
That was not fun.
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
Yeah.
But that experience reallyshifted so much in my whole life
up until now.
I mean, it's been four yearsago.
Most people, you know, we allsuffered from it.
It's nobody's in fact, I'venever been able to have anyone
challenge me on the statementthat I can't think of anything
that the whole world didn'tsuffer from so quickly at the
same time.
unknown (02:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Yeah.
Everyone, you know, and maybethey didn't get it, but they
were affected by it somehow,some way.
It's something I almost likefeel bad for the people that
write the history books becausethat's gonna be some wild crap.
SPEAKER_02 (03:09):
Absolutely.
And I and I think we will seethe results of it for years and
years to come.
Like we won't, because I bothNatalie and I had kids in school
during COVID.
And so just kind of seeing howthis generation of kids is have
adapted and changed over it andthe kids that have come through
it.
And and so, yeah, it's gonna,it's gonna be really
interesting.
(03:29):
It was definitely the the greatworld unifier because it's the
only thing that everyone wentthrough.
Yeah.
Or divider.
Or divider.
One of the two.
Yes, exactly.
I think there was a period oftime where I felt like it did
almost bring everybody togetherwhen I would get on and they'd
have those concerts that werevirtual, and people all over the
(03:50):
world were on these concertssinging.
And Andre Piccelley, when he wason the I think it was the
Vatican steps, and he sang AvaMaria, and the and then they
panned over all the cities andthey were empty.
And it was such an eerie, weird,beautiful thing.
So yeah.
Yeah.
So share your story about COVIDbecause that's yeah, I mean, I
(04:14):
had it, but I had very mildsymptoms.
Everyone was so different on howthey were impacted.
SPEAKER_03 (04:18):
So yeah, no rhyme or reason to it for sure.
I never even thought I'd get it.
Not that I thought I was aboveit or anything.
I just was super healthy.
And in fact, I had zero medicalrecords at the hospital when
they when I checked in.
And within the first 30 days Iwas in the first hospital, there
was 422 on my app.
(04:40):
So, like just in 30 days.
So they just had no baseline togo by, you know, to have to go
through like the anxiety of notbeing able to breathe.
I mean, I just it's funny thenurses would say to my sisters,
like, are you sure she wasn't onanxiety medicine?
And they're like, She was on nodrugs when she walked in here.
And they're like, She's reallybad.
(05:00):
And you know, I couldn't reallytalk.
And it was like, let me takeyour oxygen away and let's see
how you react.
Yes.
Yeah, I agree.
So I was home for I got I gotthe Delta Virgin at a
conference, and they did all theright things.
I mean, sure, I probably huggedpeople because I'm a hugger, but
you know, I just I wasn't gonnalive in that fear anymore.
(05:21):
We were just starting to getback to things.
It was a conference I went toevery year, and I got the Delta
Virgin, came home on theairplane.
I always think how many people Iinfected on that plane.
I had no idea that I had it.
I tested finally, like this wasSunday night, tested Tuesday.
I got up Tuesday morning beforeI found out I had it, and I had
a pitch to a company.
I was starting a new companycalled Retreat R, and it was for
(05:46):
retreat leaders, and I waspitching to a company to partner
with, and they had a billionairebacker.
So, like, I was not gonna cancelthat.
You know, when you you know youever put your we're women, so
you put your makeup on and it'smelting off as fast as you know.
SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
Make your hair bigger and more makeup and more
lipstick, and you're good to go.
Let's go.
Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_03 (06:03):
It was Zoom, it was about nine people, and I just
said, Hey, full disclosure, I'mjust not at my best today.
I think I've got the flu, but Ididn't want to reschedule.
We'd already rescheduled once ortwice, and I'm like, no, this is
happening.
So I went ahead and did it, andyou know, I knew they loved it.
I knew it was gonna go further,but then I ended up down.
We were in a in an RV, fifthwill, waiting for our house to
(06:26):
close that we had undercontract.
We had sold our house, and so wewere living in my dad's
backyard, which sounds weird,but it it's like a spa.
I mean the guy, it's likestaying at a resort, you know.
It was really we weren'troughing it too bad, but it was
such close quarters, and so Ibrought it to my husband.
He had it for a couple days.
We were in there for a week,wouldn't let anyone come in or
talk to us other than the phone,leave us food on the floor on
(06:48):
the steps.
I don't remember eating it, Idon't really remember anything
that week.
And then day seven, I I justwoke him up about 4 30 in the
morning, and I'm prettyintuitive anyway.
But I was like, I knew I was introuble.
Felt like an elephant sitting onmy chest.
I said, We need to go to thehospital now.
We didn't call an ambulancebecause we didn't want to give
it to anybody.
And so he drives us theresomehow because he was about two
(07:09):
days behind me in his journey,and he never got hospitalized,
but he was on oxygen, had bloodclots, and so drops me off at
the front of the hospital, goesto park, and they already had me
on my way to the ICU that quickby the time he got in the door.
So they're like, Yeah, you can'tgo see her because you have
COVID, you you can't go upthere.
(07:29):
So I didn't see him for threeand a half weeks, and that was
really tough.
I feel sorry for the peoplethough, before that, couldn't
have any visitors, people diedalone, and so there were a lot
of like tender mercies in mystory, even though it was hard
and challenging.
I could have one person every 24hours.
I have twin sisters just youngerthan me, and they just stepped
right up to the plate.
(07:50):
They lived in the same town,they're the busiest ones in my
you know family of 11.
They were just there.
I mean, they were there 24-7.
And it's funny for asindependent as I am, I needed
them there.
Like, I don't know if it was forthe hope to give me hope for
accountability to help with the,you know, make sure there's
nurses doing what they'resupposed to be doing, when
they're supposed to be doing it,just all kinds of crazy things.
(08:12):
And so I had 70 days.
I got checked in.
That was my first day of 70 inthe hospital, two hospitals.
I had two intubations, atrachea, sepsis, another
life-threatening infection.
I don't know the name too, butthey said that probably would
take me out more than the COVID.
So you knew it was bad.
You know, just hanging on fordear life.
They kept me in a coma probablyabout 30 days off and on,
(08:35):
self-induced.
And I was really glad because Ihad lost all five senses.
So when let me tell you whatthat looks like.
Oh my gosh.
Your senses, how important theyare.
If you wear glasses and theybreak, or contacts and they rip.
Yeah.
(08:55):
My hands, they they tie them toa bed, like they tie them when
down below when you're on aventilator because they don't
want you to pull it out.
SPEAKER_02 (09:03):
Yeah, that would make sense.
SPEAKER_03 (09:04):
Yeah.
So they had my hands tied, so Ihad couldn't touch anything, and
then taste and smell were gonefrom COVID, and I'm way past
legally blind.
And so I without correction, Icouldn't see who anyone was
unless they're about eightinches in front of my face.
And then they all were wearingyellow hats and masks and
everything and glasses.
Most of them I was sit lookingat some pictures the other day,
(09:26):
and I'm like, all my respiratorypeople had glasses on.
I don't know if they were maybethey were safety glasses for
COVID.
I don't know.
But they all looked the same.
I mean, you can't tell who'swho.
So that was it was scary, youknow.
And then the ventilator tooklike 90% of my hearing away, so
everybody sounded like theCharlie Brown school teacher.
It was a scary place to be.
(09:47):
So when I was put in on sedationand stuff, I was I was happy
because I was going to someawesome places and didn't have
to deal with reality.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
So okay, so 70 days in, lost all your senses
basically.
And then was your husband everadmitted into the hospital?
Or did they he just do it athome?
He just kind of went.
SPEAKER_03 (10:09):
Yeah, he, I mean, he could have been, but you know,
we like I didn't go for a weekbecause I didn't want to be in
there.
I'm more of a natural healer,and I mean, I got every drug on
the planet.
He was on oxygen for a littlewhile and he had some blood
clots, and I think he would havegotten better faster if he
wouldn't have been worried aboutme.
Yeah, but our kids are race, sowe're empty nesters, and so it's
(10:31):
just him, him and me.
And and then to know your, youknow, your significant others in
there and you can't even seethem.
That would be very, very scary.
And then you know the rest ofyour family too.
Yeah, I got the trachea likethree and a half weeks, like the
23rd, 24th day, and that's thefirst day he saw me.
So he never saw me on aventilator, which is probably
good.
SPEAKER_02 (10:50):
That's probably good.
SPEAKER_03 (10:51):
You know, luckily we have Zoom and FaceTime, and we
were able to do things likethat, but and we have eight
adult children, so there was alot of grandkids.
So you have eight kids, andyou're one of 11 kids.
So I'm one of nine kids, 11 withmy parents.
Okay.
We raised A, and we have now wehave almost 19 grandkids, but
then we probably had 16 or 17.
(11:13):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (11:14):
So then so you've got all your kids worrying about
you and your husband, and thenyou've got all your siblings,
your parents, and oh my gosh.
So you went through some prettysignificant issues through that
70 days in the hospital and acouple of experiences that you
had.
Are you willing to share thosewith us?
SPEAKER_03 (11:35):
First of all, I want to explain what they are, their
differences, because it took me,I think, two years after I got
out of the hospital to evenunderstand.
I hear that it takes about 10years to unpack everything from
like a near-death experience.
So I'm only four years in, so Ifeel like I'm still getting
more, which is so cool that Irealize things all the time.
But so there's out-of-bodyexperiences, and then there's
(11:57):
near-death experience, and thenthere's spiritual transformative
experience.
So they call that STE, NDE, OBEis the names.
Well, I didn't know they wereany different.
And my STE, the spiritual one, Ithought was an N D E.
Like I thought I had two ofthose till I realized they they
were different.
And the spiritual one, I'll I'llshare with you because I don't
(12:20):
know what your who yourlisteners, if they're spiritual.
I mean, God's my higher powermore than ever now.
And I respect anything anybodyelse believes in totally.
But when I speak, that's what itis for me.
And I was about, let's see, itwas in my spiritual experience
was my last experience, and I'llshare why.
So I had a cousin that's like asister cousin, and she sent a
(12:43):
text to my whatever sister wasthere that day and just said,
Hey, I had this really spiritualexperience, and I normally
wouldn't text it, but she livedin a different state, and she
says, I know Holly's not doingvery well right now, and I
really think she needs to hearthis.
Will you please read it to her?
And the gist of it was she hadbeen praying for my husband and
I, that our well-being, and allthese spirits surrounded her,
(13:06):
and she asked one by one whothey were and listed all their
names, and you know, basicallyletting letting me know how much
support we have from the otherside.
Ugh, still chokes me up.
And so I got put back insedation, and I remember being,
I was at first at reading, I'mlike, that's great, wow, how
(13:27):
special, you know.
But then I got ticked off.
I was like, my prayers werereally changing at that point.
I mean it was weeks in.
I mean, this is probably threeand a half, four weeks in.
I'm getting pretty burned outfrom fighting, you know.
And I was praying that to God,if if you're not gonna get me
better, then get me out of here.
And you know, kind of be carefulwhat you wish for.
(13:50):
The other thing I was thinkingwas, this isn't fair.
Why did she get that?
And I didn't.
I'm the one suffering.
And who comes when you're introuble when you're little to
scold you, mommy?
Well, my mama passed away about18 months before this.
I was in the hospital, and shehad been at my side on my right
side.
She'd come a lot, but I'd neverreally like, like I knew she was
(14:13):
there as a presence, but thistime she spoke to me.
And so she came to my side andum probably to put me in check,
my red-headed self, and shesaid, It's not, it's not your
time to be here, and you need tofight.
And when she said the wordfight, I'm laying in my bed, and
above me come all of myancestors who had passed away,
(14:35):
all in white.
So, grandparents, aunts, uncles,my brother had passed away in a
really bad car wreck, and thenhis wife had a car wreck a
couple years before that.
I had lost a grandbaby like justfive months earlier, at two days
old.
She was an adult though, she waslike early 20s, I would say, but
I knew it was her.
And um, that was really special.
(14:56):
And then they all startedchanting, fight, fight, fight.
And when as they did it, everytime the word would get spoken,
a whole new group of peoplewould appear behind them and
start chanting.
And now they're in streetclothes, so I understand they're
alive, you know, the white, thewhite people are all the passed
on, those street clothes.
(15:17):
And they just start, and I justkept going, you know, my husband
comes, the kids come, thesiblings come, the friends come,
and then I start seeing likethousands of people.
Like if you took a two-waymirror and could just look as
far as you could see people, andI just thought, wow, it was just
so defining for me to know thatoh, got it.
All I gotta do is fight.
(15:38):
I I'm gonna live, but I need tofight.
And that's the support team Ihave behind me.
And later I realized all thoseother people, I mean, it was
remember, we're hanging on tosocial media at that point, you
know, that was our lifeline.
And so my sister updating on myFacebook account, for instance,
was how they even knew if I wasalive.
(16:00):
And so hundreds of people wouldcomment on every time she'd
post.
They thought she was postingevery day.
I hear it all the time, andmaybe, maybe once a week, maybe
twice.
She said, because there wasn't alot of change.
Some weeks, nothing.
I wasn't better and it wasn'tworse.
And I think those were all thoseprayer chains I was on.
All those, all those peoplethere were the ones that were
(16:21):
praying for me in behalf of mebecause of other people.
And I saw all of them.
And so, anyway, that was kind ofa a really cool experience.
The out-of-body ones, they'refunny.
I mean, they're kind of creepytoo, just to sum some of those
up.
I went back in time most of thetime in out of body.
So, out of body is when youbasically are out and you leave
(16:42):
and you go on a journey.
So, like some people can do thatin meditation, astral traveling,
different things like that.
I knew nothing about any ofthat.
Well, with me, I knew I was sickand I knew that body.
So sometimes I would see my bodyin there and I would be able to
watch it, and I knew I wasn'tdoing well.
But I think I thought if I wenton my journey, I wouldn't get my
(17:02):
body back.
So I just took my whole bed andwe went on my journeys and I
took it with me.
And so I didn't stay in my bedmost of the time, but I was, I
remember most of the time I hadmy bed.
But I went back about into apioneer house, and it's only
about 15 minutes from where Ilive right now.
I knew I had been there before,and I thought it was a relative.
(17:23):
It ended up being a great,great, great grandfather's home.
And he lived there some of thetime, off and on.
I always went to this littlePerwin, Utah town and was in
there.
And I mean, there was some weirdstuff that happened there, but I
did go present time a coupletimes, and there's some stories
around that, and then, but Inever did go in the future.
Like it was always out of body,was either right at that time,
(17:44):
something was happening, butsomewhere else.
Like, for instance, one time Iwas in the hospital and a couple
doors down from me, myex-brother-in-law, his brother,
was also in the ICU.
Same thing.
He'd pulled out his ventilator acouple times, and I knew he was
a smoker, just not healthy, andstuff.
And I remember standing at hisdoor looking in his window, and
(18:04):
I knew he was gonna die.
Like, just to know that be andhe did, and um, just some
experiences like that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:11):
But anyway, and and these out-of-body, did is that
what you experienced first?
Because you said like thespiritual experience is what you
experienced on the end, right?
That was your last one of thethat was my last experience.
SPEAKER_03 (18:21):
No one might live.
Yeah, the out-of-body wereprobably the first three ish
weeks or so.
The near death I know was it wasbetween my first and second
intubation.
So, like day anywhere from daysix to day 10 because when I
went on that one, so I'll tellyou, I'll I'll sum that one up.
Sorry, I have to think how totell it short.
(18:43):
There are long stories.
So that one I left in my bed andI was going down the hospital
hallway this time, and I got up,like sat up kind of, and shook
my finger at the nurse's stationand said, I rescind my DNR, I
rescind my DNR, which is do notresuscitate, which I don't even
know for sure if I had one.
I know I had to sign a bunch ofthings for them to put the
(19:05):
ventilator in me, like halfdead, you're signing things.
And so that was my journey.
And I go down the hallway, andall these other beds are going
down the hallway with me, whichnow I know were other people
dying in the hospital becausehalf of the people were dying.
So I ended up in this bigstadium.
I call the Stadium of Light, andI tell this whole story in my
book, but all these stories.
(19:25):
But they I'm in there withthousands of people again,
probably hundreds of thousands,but I could tell like people
were stacked on each other andthey were all wearing like
really white or light clothing,and I could see feet.
So I knew nobody was like on theground, and there was all this
communication goingtelepathically, like light
speed.
So if I if I had a thought, Ihad an answer before my thought
(19:48):
was almost even complete.
Like it was just I have a giftof knowing before it's probably
enhanced, yes.
And if people listening havethat gift, you know what I'm
saying.
When people say, How do you knowthat?
You just know when you havethat, that's just one of your
gifts.
You just know something.
It's not that you're psychic oranything like maybe you are, but
just say it.
I I was just like, you just knowthings.
(20:09):
It was like that, it was likethe gift now of all knowing, and
you could just uh experienceeverything.
So I had a concert in there, iswhat I called it.
It was angelic music, and I Iknew the words to every song,
even though I'd never heard thembefore, but I think the the
knowing is why.
And then I saw a live review,and then I was told, and I'm
(20:30):
telling you really quickly thisstory.
I was told to do a couplethings.
I was told to go start thisnonprofit called Adventure
Bucket Wish with no otherassignment, nothing attached to
it, no mission, just the name.
And I was told, remember thatthat partnership I wanted to do
when I pitched?
I was told not to partner withthem very clearly.
It was like, that is not thehighest and best thing to do for
(20:52):
the company.
It's going to take you longer,but it needs to be yours.
Do not do it.
And it's interesting because Ifound out just this last year a
bunch of things now of why, why.
You know, sometimes you justdon't know what you don't know,
and later you find out andyou're like, man, I'm glad I
followed my intuition, or man,I'm glad I listened to that
answer, to that prayer that Ididn't want, you know, things
(21:13):
like that.
Anyway, so then I was just sentback.
And when I came back, um, Ididn't get a choice.
And so here I am back in mybody.
My sister Jill was in there withme.
I was doing better, and so sheleft and ran an errand, came
back, and then I came out.
And she said, I had to spell onan alphabet and I had to point
at the letters because and Icould barely do it because I
(21:35):
just didn't have any energy.
Sometimes it took two hours forone word, and I'd be so
exhausted.
I'd be like, forget it.
Just put me back in a coma, youknow?
SPEAKER_02 (21:43):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (21:44):
And so I'm spelling to her K I D, and she's like,
trying to help.
Oh, you want me to tell yourkids something?
No, N A P.
And she's like, When you spelledkidnap, she says, First, I
looked around the room and I waslike, What just happened?
They I just ran an errand, youknow what?
She goes, I wanted to get thegarbage can and throw up.
(22:05):
I was so like, what happened?
Right then, she didn't.
That's all she got.
And then the doctor walked inwith the nurse to exhibate me
because I was doing greatbecause I'd just come back, you
know.
And they took the tubes out, andthen she said you could talk,
but not very well.
There were still spirits in myroom, but nope, I realized
quickly nobody could sand butme.
The doctor leaves, and then it'slike that's kind of the end of
(22:26):
that part, but I never couldfigure out like why was I
kidnapped?
Why did I just come from heavenand now I'm saying I got
kidnapped?
I didn't find that answer outtill two years later.
Wow.
So you want that story?
Yes.
What is the answer to?
Leave us hanging.
This is like the best.
It was almost like anothernear-death experience, even
though it was under hypnosis.
So, first of all, I incorporatedwithin about between three and
(22:50):
four months the nonprofit, gotthe 501c3 in like 25 days.
So many miracles to my story.
I mean, I never had medicalinsurance my whole life till two
months before and ended up witha million-dollar hospital bill.
Like just lots of thingshappened, some crazy stuff.
Not crazy, but special things.
Okay, so then I had what I callthe two years of hell, which was
(23:11):
really only about a year andeight or nine months.
But you know, it's eternity whenyou're going through it.
Everything went wrong.
You think everybody wouldgravitate to you because you
almost died, and it was like Irepelled everyone, and I had
family issues.
I had stuff going on withgrandkids and DCFS, and I had to
hire two attorneys.
And I mean, every bad day in mylife times a thousand is what it
felt like every day.
(23:31):
I prayed every day I would havedied.
I was like, why would you saveme to put me through this hell?
I know now, looking back, thatthey were lessons I had to learn
and lessons I had to go throughfor the philanthropy work I'm
choosing to do and the, youknow, that I'm planning, you
know, that's a plan.
So I get it now.
But at the time it was awful.
So after the two years, I foundIANS, which is International
(23:52):
Association for Near DeathStudies, and I went to their
conference.
I had a I went as a vendor, andso I learned a little bit.
That's how I found out aboutother OBEs and STEs, and that's
how I found there was adifference.
So that was great.
And then I asked my friend ifhe'd do a hypnosis session.
I had been trained already, so Iwas very well well aware of the
(24:13):
process.
He agreed, and so here's therest of the story.
So we go to do it on thenear-death experience, and it
takes I'm thinking I'm going torevisit this greatest concert
I'd ever been to in the stadiumof light.
Oh no, I end up in thein-between, is what I call it.
It wasn't dark and it wasn'tlight.
So the dark is on the right, andthe light is on the left, and
(24:35):
there's matter floating around,which also was in the stadium of
light, and you but you could seethrough it.
So it's like my senses areenheightened in the stadium of
light, but there was also likematter, like clear, but you like
fog, but you could see throughit.
Everything was really clear.
In between, it was like cobaltblue and silver and gray and
black and all this icky colors,dark colors.
(24:56):
And so then he said, What isthere an entity there?
We realized there is.
He, through me, talks to theentity, finds out his name's
Darby, he wants my light, hecan't have it, he can't go to
the light, he just wants mylight.
So he took me.
Well, there's the kidnapping.
I still didn't figure this outtill about a year ago, believe
(25:16):
it or not.
That's why I got kidnappedbecause when I went from the
hallway of the hospital to thestadium, skybox, I felt like
there was this there was stuffmissing.
Well, he took me then.
So I didn't get to the stadiumuntil later.
That was the end of the story.
SPEAKER_00 (25:32):
Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite
Resilience Podcast.
We hope you had some aha momentsand learned a few new real life
ideas to fuel the flames ofpassion.
Please subscribe on yourfavorite streaming platform,
like or download your favoriteepisodes, and of course, share
with your friends and family.
We look forward to seeing youagain next time on Reignite
(25:55):
Resilience.
All of us reach a point in time where we are
depleted and need to somehowfind a way to reignite the fire
within.
But how do we spark that flame?
Welcome to Reignite Resilience,where we will venture into the
heart of the human spirit.
We'll discuss the art ofreigniting our passion and
(00:28):
strategies to stoke ourenthusiasm.
And now here are your hosts,Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass.
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
Welcome back to another episode of Reignite
Resilience.
I'm your co-host Natalie Davis,and I'm so excited to be back
with all of you today.
And joining me, of course, isyour co-host Pam Cass.
Hello, Pam.
How are you?
SPEAKER_02 (00:53):
I am fantastic.
It is a clear blue sky outside.
It's gorgeous out.
So it's perfect.
This is my weather.
This is my jam right now.
So I'm happy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
It is.
It's like a true fall day.
Like it truly is fall.
The sun is shining.
I mean, the be the week startedoff a little gloomy, which is
always hard.
SPEAKER_02 (01:08):
Yeah.
It's hard to have a Monday likethat.
So we're skipping that and we'repretending like this is the new
Monday.
SPEAKER_01 (01:14):
This is the new no, I don't want that either.
No, I'm just kidding.
Just kidding.
Just kidding.
We don't need two Mondays in aweek.
We're good too.
No, we're good.
Oh my gosh.
Well, I am so excited.
We have a very special guestthat's joining us today.
I'm going to turn it over toyou, Pam.
Why don't you tell ourlisteners?
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (01:32):
Yeah, I'm excited.
So today we have joining usHolly Porter.
She is a CEO of Holly PorterInternational, guiding leaders
and entrepreneurs to createtransformational impact
worldwide.
Surviving a near-deathexperience reshaped her mission
and fuels her passion to helpothers rise with resilience and
purpose.
(01:52):
She brings over two decades ofbusiness, retreat, and real
estate experience to inspirepeople to expand their vision
and prosperity on a globalstage.
Welcome, Holly.
We are so excited to have you.
And I'm gonna pass it to you tojust kind of share some of your
story with our listeners.
SPEAKER_03 (02:12):
Oh, well, thank you.
I'm so excited to be here.
You ladies seem fun.
I like fun.
That's like my motto.
If it's not fun, I'm not doingit.
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
Don't sign me up for it.
Exactly.
I'm not the person.
Yeah, I like that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:24):
I about fell with that motto though, because
during COVID, we were justtalking before, I almost died.
And it's like, that was not fun.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (02:33):
That was not fun.
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
Yeah.
But that experience reallyshifted so much in my whole life
up until now.
I mean, it's been four yearsago.
Most people, you know, we allsuffered from it.
It's nobody's in fact, I'venever been able to have anyone
challenge me on the statementthat I can't think of anything
that the whole world didn'tsuffer from so quickly at the
same time.
unknown (02:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Yeah.
Everyone, you know, and maybethey didn't get it, but they
were affected by it somehow,some way.
It's something I almost likefeel bad for the people that
write the history books becausethat's gonna be some wild crap.
SPEAKER_02 (03:09):
Absolutely.
And I and I think we will seethe results of it for years and
years to come.
Like we won't, because I bothNatalie and I had kids in school
during COVID.
And so just kind of seeing howthis generation of kids is have
adapted and changed over it andthe kids that have come through
it.
And and so, yeah, it's gonna,it's gonna be really
interesting.
(03:29):
It was definitely the the greatworld unifier because it's the
only thing that everyone wentthrough.
Yeah.
Or divider.
Or divider.
One of the two.
Yes, exactly.
I think there was a period oftime where I felt like it did
almost bring everybody togetherwhen I would get on and they'd
have those concerts that werevirtual, and people all over the
(03:50):
world were on these concertssinging.
And Andre Piccelley, when he wason the I think it was the
Vatican steps, and he sang AvaMaria, and the and then they
panned over all the cities andthey were empty.
And it was such an eerie, weird,beautiful thing.
So yeah.
Yeah.
So share your story about COVIDbecause that's yeah, I mean, I
(04:14):
had it, but I had very mildsymptoms.
Everyone was so different on howthey were impacted.
SPEAKER_03 (04:18):
So yeah, no rhyme or reason to it for sure.
I never even thought I'd get it.
Not that I thought I was aboveit or anything.
I just was super healthy.
And in fact, I had zero medicalrecords at the hospital when
they when I checked in.
And within the first 30 days Iwas in the first hospital, there
was 422 on my app.
(04:40):
So, like just in 30 days.
So they just had no baseline togo by, you know, to have to go
through like the anxiety of notbeing able to breathe.
I mean, I just it's funny thenurses would say to my sisters,
like, are you sure she wasn't onanxiety medicine?
And they're like, She was on nodrugs when she walked in here.
And they're like, She's reallybad.
(05:00):
And you know, I couldn't reallytalk.
And it was like, let me takeyour oxygen away and let's see
how you react.
Yes.
Yeah, I agree.
So I was home for I got I gotthe Delta Virgin at a
conference, and they did all theright things.
I mean, sure, I probably huggedpeople because I'm a hugger, but
you know, I just I wasn't gonnalive in that fear anymore.
(05:21):
We were just starting to getback to things.
It was a conference I went toevery year, and I got the Delta
Virgin, came home on theairplane.
I always think how many people Iinfected on that plane.
I had no idea that I had it.
I tested finally, like this wasSunday night, tested Tuesday.
I got up Tuesday morning beforeI found out I had it, and I had
a pitch to a company.
I was starting a new companycalled Retreat R, and it was for
(05:46):
retreat leaders, and I waspitching to a company to partner
with, and they had a billionairebacker.
So, like, I was not gonna cancelthat.
You know, when you you know youever put your we're women, so
you put your makeup on and it'smelting off as fast as you know.
SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
Make your hair bigger and more makeup and more
lipstick, and you're good to go.
Let's go.
Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_03 (06:03):
It was Zoom, it was about nine people, and I just
said, Hey, full disclosure, I'mjust not at my best today.
I think I've got the flu, but Ididn't want to reschedule.
We'd already rescheduled once ortwice, and I'm like, no, this is
happening.
So I went ahead and did it, andyou know, I knew they loved it.
I knew it was gonna go further,but then I ended up down.
We were in a in an RV, fifthwill, waiting for our house to
(06:26):
close that we had undercontract.
We had sold our house, and so wewere living in my dad's
backyard, which sounds weird,but it it's like a spa.
I mean the guy, it's likestaying at a resort, you know.
It was really we weren'troughing it too bad, but it was
such close quarters, and so Ibrought it to my husband.
He had it for a couple days.
We were in there for a week,wouldn't let anyone come in or
talk to us other than the phone,leave us food on the floor on
(06:48):
the steps.
I don't remember eating it, Idon't really remember anything
that week.
And then day seven, I I justwoke him up about 4 30 in the
morning, and I'm prettyintuitive anyway.
But I was like, I knew I was introuble.
Felt like an elephant sitting onmy chest.
I said, We need to go to thehospital now.
We didn't call an ambulancebecause we didn't want to give
it to anybody.
And so he drives us theresomehow because he was about two
(07:09):
days behind me in his journey,and he never got hospitalized,
but he was on oxygen, had bloodclots, and so drops me off at
the front of the hospital, goesto park, and they already had me
on my way to the ICU that quickby the time he got in the door.
So they're like, Yeah, you can'tgo see her because you have
COVID, you you can't go upthere.
(07:29):
So I didn't see him for threeand a half weeks, and that was
really tough.
I feel sorry for the peoplethough, before that, couldn't
have any visitors, people diedalone, and so there were a lot
of like tender mercies in mystory, even though it was hard
and challenging.
I could have one person every 24hours.
I have twin sisters just youngerthan me, and they just stepped
right up to the plate.
(07:50):
They lived in the same town,they're the busiest ones in my
you know family of 11.
They were just there.
I mean, they were there 24-7.
And it's funny for asindependent as I am, I needed
them there.
Like, I don't know if it was forthe hope to give me hope for
accountability to help with the,you know, make sure there's
nurses doing what they'resupposed to be doing, when
they're supposed to be doing it,just all kinds of crazy things.
(08:12):
And so I had 70 days.
I got checked in.
That was my first day of 70 inthe hospital, two hospitals.
I had two intubations, atrachea, sepsis, another
life-threatening infection.
I don't know the name too, butthey said that probably would
take me out more than the COVID.
So you knew it was bad.
You know, just hanging on fordear life.
They kept me in a coma probablyabout 30 days off and on,
(08:35):
self-induced.
And I was really glad because Ihad lost all five senses.
So when let me tell you whatthat looks like.
Oh my gosh.
Your senses, how important theyare.
If you wear glasses and theybreak, or contacts and they rip.
Yeah.
(08:55):
My hands, they they tie them toa bed, like they tie them when
down below when you're on aventilator because they don't
want you to pull it out.
SPEAKER_02 (09:03):
Yeah, that would make sense.
SPEAKER_03 (09:04):
Yeah.
So they had my hands tied, so Ihad couldn't touch anything, and
then taste and smell were gonefrom COVID, and I'm way past
legally blind.
And so I without correction, Icouldn't see who anyone was
unless they're about eightinches in front of my face.
And then they all were wearingyellow hats and masks and
everything and glasses.
Most of them I was sit lookingat some pictures the other day,
(09:26):
and I'm like, all my respiratorypeople had glasses on.
I don't know if they were maybethey were safety glasses for
COVID.
I don't know.
But they all looked the same.
I mean, you can't tell who'swho.
So that was it was scary, youknow.
And then the ventilator tooklike 90% of my hearing away, so
everybody sounded like theCharlie Brown school teacher.
It was a scary place to be.
(09:47):
So when I was put in on sedationand stuff, I was I was happy
because I was going to someawesome places and didn't have
to deal with reality.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
So okay, so 70 days in, lost all your senses
basically.
And then was your husband everadmitted into the hospital?
Or did they he just do it athome?
He just kind of went.
SPEAKER_03 (10:09):
Yeah, he, I mean, he could have been, but you know,
we like I didn't go for a weekbecause I didn't want to be in
there.
I'm more of a natural healer,and I mean, I got every drug on
the planet.
He was on oxygen for a littlewhile and he had some blood
clots, and I think he would havegotten better faster if he
wouldn't have been worried aboutme.
Yeah, but our kids are race, sowe're empty nesters, and so it's
(10:31):
just him, him and me.
And and then to know your, youknow, your significant others in
there and you can't even seethem.
That would be very, very scary.
And then you know the rest ofyour family too.
Yeah, I got the trachea likethree and a half weeks, like the
23rd, 24th day, and that's thefirst day he saw me.
So he never saw me on aventilator, which is probably
good.
SPEAKER_02 (10:50):
That's probably good.
SPEAKER_03 (10:51):
You know, luckily we have Zoom and FaceTime, and we
were able to do things likethat, but and we have eight
adult children, so there was alot of grandkids.
So you have eight kids, andyou're one of 11 kids.
So I'm one of nine kids, 11 withmy parents.
Okay.
We raised A, and we have now wehave almost 19 grandkids, but
then we probably had 16 or 17.
(11:13):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02 (11:14):
So then so you've got all your kids worrying about
you and your husband, and thenyou've got all your siblings,
your parents, and oh my gosh.
So you went through some prettysignificant issues through that
70 days in the hospital and acouple of experiences that you
had.
Are you willing to share thosewith us?
SPEAKER_03 (11:35):
First of all, I want to explain what they are, their
differences, because it took me,I think, two years after I got
out of the hospital to evenunderstand.
I hear that it takes about 10years to unpack everything from
like a near-death experience.
So I'm only four years in, so Ifeel like I'm still getting
more, which is so cool that Irealize things all the time.
But so there's out-of-bodyexperiences, and then there's
(11:57):
near-death experience, and thenthere's spiritual transformative
experience.
So they call that STE, NDE, OBEis the names.
Well, I didn't know they wereany different.
And my STE, the spiritual one, Ithought was an N D E.
Like I thought I had two ofthose till I realized they they
were different.
And the spiritual one, I'll I'llshare with you because I don't
(12:20):
know what your who yourlisteners, if they're spiritual.
I mean, God's my higher powermore than ever now.
And I respect anything anybodyelse believes in totally.
But when I speak, that's what itis for me.
And I was about, let's see, itwas in my spiritual experience
was my last experience, and I'llshare why.
So I had a cousin that's like asister cousin, and she sent a
(12:43):
text to my whatever sister wasthere that day and just said,
Hey, I had this really spiritualexperience, and I normally
wouldn't text it, but she livedin a different state, and she
says, I know Holly's not doingvery well right now, and I
really think she needs to hearthis.
Will you please read it to her?
And the gist of it was she hadbeen praying for my husband and
I, that our well-being, and allthese spirits surrounded her,
(13:06):
and she asked one by one whothey were and listed all their
names, and you know, basicallyletting letting me know how much
support we have from the otherside.
Ugh, still chokes me up.
And so I got put back insedation, and I remember being,
I was at first at reading, I'mlike, that's great, wow, how
(13:27):
special, you know.
But then I got ticked off.
I was like, my prayers werereally changing at that point.
I mean it was weeks in.
I mean, this is probably threeand a half, four weeks in.
I'm getting pretty burned outfrom fighting, you know.
And I was praying that to God,if if you're not gonna get me
better, then get me out of here.
And you know, kind of be carefulwhat you wish for.
(13:50):
The other thing I was thinkingwas, this isn't fair.
Why did she get that?
And I didn't.
I'm the one suffering.
And who comes when you're introuble when you're little to
scold you, mommy?
Well, my mama passed away about18 months before this.
I was in the hospital, and shehad been at my side on my right
side.
She'd come a lot, but I'd neverreally like, like I knew she was
(14:13):
there as a presence, but thistime she spoke to me.
And so she came to my side andum probably to put me in check,
my red-headed self, and shesaid, It's not, it's not your
time to be here, and you need tofight.
And when she said the wordfight, I'm laying in my bed, and
above me come all of myancestors who had passed away,
(14:35):
all in white.
So, grandparents, aunts, uncles,my brother had passed away in a
really bad car wreck, and thenhis wife had a car wreck a
couple years before that.
I had lost a grandbaby like justfive months earlier, at two days
old.
She was an adult though, she waslike early 20s, I would say, but
I knew it was her.
And um, that was really special.
(14:56):
And then they all startedchanting, fight, fight, fight.
And when as they did it, everytime the word would get spoken,
a whole new group of peoplewould appear behind them and
start chanting.
And now they're in streetclothes, so I understand they're
alive, you know, the white, thewhite people are all the passed
on, those street clothes.
(15:17):
And they just start, and I justkept going, you know, my husband
comes, the kids come, thesiblings come, the friends come,
and then I start seeing likethousands of people.
Like if you took a two-waymirror and could just look as
far as you could see people, andI just thought, wow, it was just
so defining for me to know thatoh, got it.
All I gotta do is fight.
(15:38):
I I'm gonna live, but I need tofight.
And that's the support team Ihave behind me.
And later I realized all thoseother people, I mean, it was
remember, we're hanging on tosocial media at that point, you
know, that was our lifeline.
And so my sister updating on myFacebook account, for instance,
was how they even knew if I wasalive.
(16:00):
And so hundreds of people wouldcomment on every time she'd
post.
They thought she was postingevery day.
I hear it all the time, andmaybe, maybe once a week, maybe
twice.
She said, because there wasn't alot of change.
Some weeks, nothing.
I wasn't better and it wasn'tworse.
And I think those were all thoseprayer chains I was on.
All those, all those peoplethere were the ones that were
(16:21):
praying for me in behalf of mebecause of other people.
And I saw all of them.
And so, anyway, that was kind ofa a really cool experience.
The out-of-body ones, they'refunny.
I mean, they're kind of creepytoo, just to sum some of those
up.
I went back in time most of thetime in out of body.
So, out of body is when youbasically are out and you leave
(16:42):
and you go on a journey.
So, like some people can do thatin meditation, astral traveling,
different things like that.
I knew nothing about any ofthat.
Well, with me, I knew I was sickand I knew that body.
So sometimes I would see my bodyin there and I would be able to
watch it, and I knew I wasn'tdoing well.
But I think I thought if I wenton my journey, I wouldn't get my
(17:02):
body back.
So I just took my whole bed andwe went on my journeys and I
took it with me.
And so I didn't stay in my bedmost of the time, but I was, I
remember most of the time I hadmy bed.
But I went back about into apioneer house, and it's only
about 15 minutes from where Ilive right now.
I knew I had been there before,and I thought it was a relative.
(17:23):
It ended up being a great,great, great grandfather's home.
And he lived there some of thetime, off and on.
I always went to this littlePerwin, Utah town and was in
there.
And I mean, there was some weirdstuff that happened there, but I
did go present time a coupletimes, and there's some stories
around that, and then, but Inever did go in the future.
Like it was always out of body,was either right at that time,
(17:44):
something was happening, butsomewhere else.
Like, for instance, one time Iwas in the hospital and a couple
doors down from me, myex-brother-in-law, his brother,
was also in the ICU.
Same thing.
He'd pulled out his ventilator acouple times, and I knew he was
a smoker, just not healthy, andstuff.
And I remember standing at hisdoor looking in his window, and
(18:04):
I knew he was gonna die.
Like, just to know that be andhe did, and um, just some
experiences like that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:11):
But anyway, and and these out-of-body, did is that
what you experienced first?
Because you said like thespiritual experience is what you
experienced on the end, right?
That was your last one of thethat was my last experience.
SPEAKER_03 (18:21):
No one might live.
Yeah, the out-of-body wereprobably the first three ish
weeks or so.
The near death I know was it wasbetween my first and second
intubation.
So, like day anywhere from daysix to day 10 because when I
went on that one, so I'll tellyou, I'll I'll sum that one up.
Sorry, I have to think how totell it short.
(18:43):
There are long stories.
So that one I left in my bed andI was going down the hospital
hallway this time, and I got up,like sat up kind of, and shook
my finger at the nurse's stationand said, I rescind my DNR, I
rescind my DNR, which is do notresuscitate, which I don't even
know for sure if I had one.
I know I had to sign a bunch ofthings for them to put the
(19:05):
ventilator in me, like halfdead, you're signing things.
And so that was my journey.
And I go down the hallway, andall these other beds are going
down the hallway with me, whichnow I know were other people
dying in the hospital becausehalf of the people were dying.
So I ended up in this bigstadium.
I call the Stadium of Light, andI tell this whole story in my
book, but all these stories.
(19:25):
But they I'm in there withthousands of people again,
probably hundreds of thousands,but I could tell like people
were stacked on each other andthey were all wearing like
really white or light clothing,and I could see feet.
So I knew nobody was like on theground, and there was all this
communication goingtelepathically, like light
speed.
So if I if I had a thought, Ihad an answer before my thought
(19:48):
was almost even complete.
Like it was just I have a giftof knowing before it's probably
enhanced, yes.
And if people listening havethat gift, you know what I'm
saying.
When people say, How do you knowthat?
You just know when you havethat, that's just one of your
gifts.
You just know something.
It's not that you're psychic oranything like maybe you are, but
just say it.
I I was just like, you just knowthings.
(20:09):
It was like that, it was likethe gift now of all knowing, and
you could just uh experienceeverything.
So I had a concert in there, iswhat I called it.
It was angelic music, and I Iknew the words to every song,
even though I'd never heard thembefore, but I think the the
knowing is why.
And then I saw a live review,and then I was told, and I'm
(20:30):
telling you really quickly thisstory.
I was told to do a couplethings.
I was told to go start thisnonprofit called Adventure
Bucket Wish with no otherassignment, nothing attached to
it, no mission, just the name.
And I was told, remember thatthat partnership I wanted to do
when I pitched?
I was told not to partner withthem very clearly.
It was like, that is not thehighest and best thing to do for
(20:52):
the company.
It's going to take you longer,but it needs to be yours.
Do not do it.
And it's interesting because Ifound out just this last year a
bunch of things now of why, why.
You know, sometimes you justdon't know what you don't know,
and later you find out andyou're like, man, I'm glad I
followed my intuition, or man,I'm glad I listened to that
answer, to that prayer that Ididn't want, you know, things
(21:13):
like that.
Anyway, so then I was just sentback.
And when I came back, um, Ididn't get a choice.
And so here I am back in mybody.
My sister Jill was in there withme.
I was doing better, and so sheleft and ran an errand, came
back, and then I came out.
And she said, I had to spell onan alphabet and I had to point
at the letters because and Icould barely do it because I
(21:35):
just didn't have any energy.
Sometimes it took two hours forone word, and I'd be so
exhausted.
I'd be like, forget it.
Just put me back in a coma, youknow?
SPEAKER_02 (21:43):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (21:44):
And so I'm spelling to her K I D, and she's like,
trying to help.
Oh, you want me to tell yourkids something?
No, N A P.
And she's like, When you spelledkidnap, she says, First, I
looked around the room and I waslike, What just happened?
They I just ran an errand, youknow what?
She goes, I wanted to get thegarbage can and throw up.
(22:05):
I was so like, what happened?
Right then, she didn't.
That's all she got.
And then the doctor walked inwith the nurse to exhibate me
because I was doing greatbecause I'd just come back, you
know.
And they took the tubes out, andthen she said you could talk,
but not very well.
There were still spirits in myroom, but nope, I realized
quickly nobody could sand butme.
The doctor leaves, and then it'slike that's kind of the end of
(22:26):
that part, but I never couldfigure out like why was I
kidnapped?
Why did I just come from heavenand now I'm saying I got
kidnapped?
I didn't find that answer outtill two years later.
Wow.
So you want that story?
Yes.
What is the answer to?
Leave us hanging.
This is like the best.
It was almost like anothernear-death experience, even
though it was under hypnosis.
So, first of all, I incorporatedwithin about between three and
(22:50):
four months the nonprofit, gotthe 501c3 in like 25 days.
So many miracles to my story.
I mean, I never had medicalinsurance my whole life till two
months before and ended up witha million-dollar hospital bill.
Like just lots of thingshappened, some crazy stuff.
Not crazy, but special things.
Okay, so then I had what I callthe two years of hell, which was
(23:11):
really only about a year andeight or nine months.
But you know, it's eternity whenyou're going through it.
Everything went wrong.
You think everybody wouldgravitate to you because you
almost died, and it was like Irepelled everyone, and I had
family issues.
I had stuff going on withgrandkids and DCFS, and I had to
hire two attorneys.
And I mean, every bad day in mylife times a thousand is what it
felt like every day.
(23:31):
I prayed every day I would havedied.
I was like, why would you saveme to put me through this hell?
I know now, looking back, thatthey were lessons I had to learn
and lessons I had to go throughfor the philanthropy work I'm
choosing to do and the, youknow, that I'm planning, you
know, that's a plan.
So I get it now.
But at the time it was awful.
So after the two years, I foundIANS, which is International
(23:52):
Association for Near DeathStudies, and I went to their
conference.
I had a I went as a vendor, andso I learned a little bit.
That's how I found out aboutother OBEs and STEs, and that's
how I found there was adifference.
So that was great.
And then I asked my friend ifhe'd do a hypnosis session.
I had been trained already, so Iwas very well well aware of the
(24:13):
process.
He agreed, and so here's therest of the story.
So we go to do it on thenear-death experience, and it
takes I'm thinking I'm going torevisit this greatest concert
I'd ever been to in the stadiumof light.
Oh no, I end up in thein-between, is what I call it.
It wasn't dark and it wasn'tlight.
So the dark is on the right, andthe light is on the left, and
(24:35):
there's matter floating around,which also was in the stadium of
light, and you but you could seethrough it.
So it's like my senses areenheightened in the stadium of
light, but there was also likematter, like clear, but you like
fog, but you could see throughit.
Everything was really clear.
In between, it was like cobaltblue and silver and gray and
black and all this icky colors,dark colors.
(24:56):
And so then he said, What isthere an entity there?
We realized there is.
He, through me, talks to theentity, finds out his name's
Darby, he wants my light, hecan't have it, he can't go to
the light, he just wants mylight.
So he took me.
Well, there's the kidnapping.
I still didn't figure this outtill about a year ago, believe
(25:16):
it or not.
That's why I got kidnappedbecause when I went from the
hallway of the hospital to thestadium, skybox, I felt like
there was this there was stuffmissing.
Well, he took me then.
So I didn't get to the stadiumuntil later.
That was the end of the story.
SPEAKER_00 (25:32):
Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite
Resilience Podcast.
We hope you had some aha momentsand learned a few new real life
ideas to fuel the flames ofpassion.
Please subscribe on yourfavorite streaming platform,
like or download your favoriteepisodes, and of course, share
with your friends and family.
We look forward to seeing youagain next time on Reignite
(25:55):
Resilience.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com