The International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) Santa Barbara invites community members to it next in-person meeting, 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at Unity of Santa Barbara, 227 E. Arrellaga St. I.

The speaker will be author and oceanographer Ingrid Honkala
 who, as a child, had a near-death experience (NDE). Her talk will be followed by a Q&A session.

Honkala was born in Bogota, Colombia, where she grew up with her parents and three sisters.

“From the moment she drowned in a tank of cold water at the age of nearly three, Honkala was aware of other dimensions of life than those most of us normally experience,” according to IANDS.

“She was also gifted with the wise input of beings of light, who gave her invaluable insights and assistance as she faced the challenges of growing up, falling in love, and finding her professional destiny as a research scientist and oceanographer,” event organizers said.

Despite hardships she accomplished her dreams, becoming not just a successful marine scientist, world traveler, author, international speaker, and a mom, but also a mentor and a “giver of light.

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When she was 19, the beings of light told her, “Someday your life experiences will talk for you and you will pass our teachings to others,” IANDS said.

In her autobiography “A Brightly Guided Life: How a Scientist Learned to Hear her Inner Wisdom,” Honkala, who holds a Ph.D., reveals how after having her near-death experience (NDE), the first glimpses of heaven were revealed to her and the doors that allow her to communicate with beings of light were opened.

Since then, myriad experiences that many could call as mystical and perhaps impossible have crossed her path, IANDS said.

“To accomplish this purpose, she has been guided through journey of challenges, awakenings and miracles where along the way she became the vehicle to help others to rise up from some of the deepest states of hopelessness and bring them back to life,” event organizers said.

For more, visit www.iandssb.com.

Parking for the meeting is available behind the Unity complex, in a lot accessible from East Valerio Street.