White Feathers As Messages From the Deceased.

I haven't published any white feather stories for what seems an age, then these three arrived almost together. It's often said things come in threes! The stories relate to people finding white feathers following the death of a loved one.

My dad passed away suddenly on Easter Sunday 2016, then my mum had a heart attack the same day from shock.

My brother and I were at the hospital and then returned to their house It was was really weird neither of them being there, But their dog, Missy, kept looking where dad usually sat, staring,

We locked the main doors and I sat down, and my brother was near the fire, I said, "I wish dad would give us a sign," At that moment the door keys jangled, My brother looked and I looked and I smiled.

We didn't tell mum as we didn't want to worry her but today she rang up and said, "I found a white feather," I went, Okay ..." She was so happy and she explained it to me about white feathers. I went, "Wow," So I told her what happened with the door keys and that has given her great comfort

I cant believe dad has gone but there must be a better place where we go [after death].

~Rosie Buttons.

My lovely husband passed away three weeks ago 14/3/2016. My house was cleaned through yesterday. Last night I went to get a coffee. And lying on the carpet was a large eight inch fluffy white feather, all the doors had been closed. It was placed so perfectly. He did tell me he would give me a sign that he was be OK.

~ Anonymous.

Normally, I wouldn't be submitting these comments. but feel I have to share my experience with a white feather.

My wife passed away three weeks ago, losing her 2 year+ battle with cancer. She was at home wih us under hospice care, and shortly after she died I was in the room with her alone. I asked her if she would send me some kind of a sign to let me know she was OK.

Two days later I went into her room and in the middle of the bed was a single white dove feather. No one else had been in the room but me, so I have to believe it was my wife communicating with me.

~ Anon.

10 Random White Feather Posts:
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
White Feathers As Messages From The Deceased
White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved
White Feathers From The Spirit World Stories
Meaningful White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
White Feathers As Messages From Her Baby Girl
Receiving White Feathers From The Dead
A Big Clump Of Feathers From The Spirit World
White Feathers After Someone Dies
White Feather Meaning: As Messages From The Deceased

Her Grandfather's Photo Fell From The Wall As He Was Dying

This is Belinda's experience at the time of her grandfather's death.

I have read many of your posts on white feathers and doves. This is my little experience I would like to share.

My Father died when I was a child so when growing up I became very close to my grandfather who was a kind, loving, gentle man.

On leaving university I had to move away from my home town near London and move to the Midlands where I had secured employment. On the day I left my grandfather had tears in his eyes and I must say that I too was tearful as I drove away.

I kept in touch but I didn't visit him as many times as I know I should have done. I had a new job, new friends and a new life.

One night in August I had this strong dream about grandfather, so vivid I could remember it in detail. He was saying goodbye to me and was waving. I was so unsettled I phoned him in the morning but an aunt answered and told me that grandfather wasn't well and was in bed. She suggested that I should come as soon as I could.

The next day was a Saturday so I drove down to London. The same aunt answered grandfather's door and she ushered me inside. She said, "He's been asking for you but he's now asleep. See him when he wakes up."

We went into the living room where, as soon as I sat down, there was an almighty crash. From the other side of the room I could see grandfather's photo had fallen from the wall. It had always been there next to grandma's photo for as long as I could remember. Something urged me to rush upstairs, which I did. Grandfather was awake, he smiled at me and then took his last breath. I was heartbroken.

I think somehow he made his photo fall off the wall so he could see me and say goodbye before he died. Now I'm full of regrets at not seeing him as often as I could have.

~ Belinda

Other Posts:
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
Reincarnation: Her Small Son Had Been Killed In A Previous Life During World War 1
The Biggest Coincidence Of All Is That You Are Reading This

The Heady Odour Of Flowers As A Message From A Deceased Loved One

Continuing on the theme of odours, smells or perfumes following the loss of a loved one. Here's Cynthea's experience.

Many years ago, when I was a pre-teen and my sister was about 6, we used to help my mother clean house on Fridays. One Friday she called us both into her bedroom and asked us if we smelled anything unusual. We both did and it was an odour of flowers. A heady odour. We all thought is was unusual because there were no flowers in her room or in fact in the house at all. It was late summer but cool so the windows were not open so it couldn't have come from outside.

On Saturday we got a call that my great aunt Lydia had been struck by a speeding drunk driver in the little town near us. Naturally everyone was upset and there was a lot going on as my mother had to go and pick up my grandmother to take her to the hospital, hopefully before my great aunt would pass away as her injuries were grave. My great aunt was her sister. The flower odour in the bedroom was forgotten. They didn't make it to the hospital in time and my great aunt had already passed.

Fast forward to the day of the funeral several days later. When walking into the room where my great aunt lay in her coffin it struck us right away ... there was the overwhelming odour of flowers! The very same odour we had smelled in my mother's bedroom! It is a very vivid memory that I have of that time period.

~ Cynthea

Other Recent Posts:
Walking Through Perfume Or A Smell As Proof Of Life After Death
Stepping Through A Time Slip And Into Her Previous Life
The Teenage Victorian Girl Ghost Called Gretchen

Out Of Body Experiences: Do They Prove Life After Death

Out of body experiences: many say these are proof that we live on following death, while others will completely dismiss such an idea. It is interesting though, that if you actually talk to someone who has experienced an OBE, and even question them, they will remain adamant about what they saw and felt. They 'know' that there is life after death.

Enough waffle. Here are two OBE experiences:

"In 1975, while giving birth, I had an heart attack. I remember looking down from above my body at the room and the peace I felt was amazing.

I then found myself in a very bright place. I wasn’t afraid at all, in fact I felt so much love.

I looked up and a man had come out of somewhere. He was so bright to look at and as he came closer the love I felt from him was overwhelming. I felt he knew me and I knew him. It's difficult to explain the feeling.

He came over and sat next to me. He was like my father. He started to speak to me and I to him. He didn't move his lips, but he was speaking to me. I won't go into the whole time but I remember him asking me if I wanted to come with him or go back.

I knew I still had to finish giving birth and I had little girls at home. He told me I would have great suffering.The next thing I knew was that I'm yelling and I'm back in my earth body.

I had died but my son was still inside me. I gave birth. They told me they wanted to keep my son and me in hospital because there might be brain damage to my baby.

There wasn't any damage, to him or me. Till this day, 39 years later, I can tell you that the time I spent with the beautiful man [in Heaven] and the things he spoke to me about have helped me through everything. It changed my life. Without question there is a Heaven. I know because I have been there and it is more than wonderful!"

~ Sabra Victoria

"I have actually experienced Heaven. I am eighty years old now, but when I was 19 a man knocked on my door one night and when I answered he pushed me backwards onto the floor and proceeded to strangle me.

Everybody that I had ever known flickered through my mind with a goodbye. Suddenly I was at these gates. There was overwhelming gold - everything was gold. It was beautiful but ... some neighbours came to my house and pulled this person off me and I had to come back! It was so hard coming back after what I had seen. Definitely there is life after death! source

~ Leigh

But ... scientists will argue that such experiences have a biological basis. They claim that the same parts of the brain are activated in near-death experiences as in dreams and that people who report them are also able to slip into a dream state more easily than others. Such statements, however, will not sway those who have actually experienced Heaven.

Other Posts About Out Of Body Experiences:
Out Of Body Experiences
OBE: An Out Of Body First Experience
OBEs And Out Of Body Loving Experiences

So, Where Is Heaven?

"So where is Heaven?"

I've read quite a few Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and though, often very descriptive, they never say 'whereabouts' it is they actually visited. Travel descriptions and pictures are all well and good but it's also nice to have a map. Especially if you think you might one day pay a visit yourself.

Usually people say that Heaven is up above us: we go up to Heaven and down for Hell, but that must surely now be an outdated view.

I was pondering this conundrum - not that my bags are packed or anything - but it would be nice to know where certain people are now residing.

When my best friend died his wife gave me quite a few of his books, many of them I still haven't got round to reading. I did, however, open up one yesterday called, The Magic Of Angels. This is a publication from the Seekers Trust who my friend was associated with. They are a spiritual and healing group in England.

The book is written by C.A. Simpson but the fly leaf states, "Based on the teachings of Dr. Lascelles received through his medium the late Mr. C.A. Simpson." Think of that what you will.

Anyway, here is what the book says about the location of Heaven:

"Heaven, we are informed by the great teachers and masters, does indeed exist, but it exists in the here and now, not in some other place some other time.This leaves us with the conclusion that it must occupy the same place as this earth.

One of the first precepts of philosophy is that two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time. But they can. If one interpenetrates the other as the odour of roses interpenetrates the air, or as water interpenetrates a sponge, then two things can occupy the same place.

This leaves us with the problem of invisibility. If Heaven is here and now interpenetrating not only us ourselves, but everything else on earth, how is it that we are not aware of it?

Perhaps the problem is one of hyper-physics whereby one atomic system can exist within another. This would indicate that there is nothing supernatural about Heaven and that it is a manifestation of a greatly extended nature, vaster and more intricate than science at this stage is capable of measuring.

After all, frontiers of nature have been pushed back so far that many things which are regarded as normal and acceptable (e.g. radio waves for instance and the whole range of cosmic rays) would have been looked upon as both impossible and supernatural a century ago."

Regarding Heaven and it's residents the book states:

"As for the inhabitants of Heaven we might consider Dr. Lascelles' assertion that Heaven is a mirror of this world. If a mirror, then the inhabitants of Heaven would be recognisable, but so also would the buildings, roads and artifacts. Normality would have to be the keynote."

So, according to a dead doctor - who should therefore have the inside info - Heaven is running alongside the earth side by side, intermingled, so to speak. The dead are with us but denseness or vibrational levels mean we can't see them.

And what do the dead in Heaven wear? Clothes - fortunately! To quote the good doctor:

"The inhabitants of Heaven wear clothes. It is noteworthy that period costume appears to be the mode more than modern gear. This again suggests that what we call Heaven is, in some mysterious way, furnished by our own consciousness ..."

And regarding the variation in NDE visions, this would be dependent on what part of Heaven was seen. Just as our earth varies from country to country and continent to continent, so does Heaven.

Did this answer my question: "Where is Heaven?" Probably not entirely but I've always felt that there are different 'layers' surrounding the earth getting finer and finer. The level we reach after death depends on our personal level of attainment. If we are none too fine, back we come to our earth level for another lesson. This way I can believe both in Heaven and reincarnation.

But there again, it could all be something completely different and one day we'll simply wake up from our dream. The only thing I feel certain about is that we are all immortal.

Here's What A Few Other People Think Of Heaven

Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.
~ Richard Bach, in Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Nothing is further than Earth from Heaven: nothing is nearer than Heaven to Earth.
~ Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth

If our Creator has so bountifully provided for our existence here, which is but momentary, and for our temporal wants, which will soon be forgotten, how much more must He have done for our enjoyment in the everlasting world?
~ Hosea Ballou

Heaven, as conventionally conceived, is a place so inane, so dull, so useless, so miserable, that nobody has ever ventured to describe a whole day in heaven, though plenty of people have described a day at the seaside.
~ George Bernard Shaw, A Treatise On Parents And Children

He who seldom thinks of heaven is not likely to get thither; as the only way to hit the mark is to keep the eye fixed upon it.
~ Bishop Horne, Aphorisms and Opinions of Dr. George Horne

The number of levels in Heaven is the number of verses in the Qur'an. Thus, when a reciter of the Qur'an enters into Heaven, it will be said to him: 'Go up one level for every verse that you can recite.' Thus, no one will be in a higher level than the one who has memorized the entire Qur'an.
~ Muhammad

Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.
~ Andrew Jackson

Name something you like. I bet it's not in heaven. Sex? Sorry, lust is a sin. Can't have it. Your career? Nope. There's no money in heaven; nobody needs to work. Besides, as far as I can tell from studying the scriptures, all you do in heaven is pretty much just sit around all day and praise the Lord. I don't know about you, but I think that after the first, oh, I don't know, 50,000,000 years of that I'd start to get a little bored.
~ Rick Reynolds

Other Randon Posts:
Near Death Experience Changes Womans Life
Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection And Travel
Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

He Felt Dirty After Being With The Aliens

Bill Herrmann claims that he was carried on a tubular beam of blue-green light into a flying saucer, this was on March 18, 1978. He was then examined by aliens from another star system and afterwards dropped off, terrified, in a field several miles from home.

About a year later he obeyed a telepathic summons from the same humanoid creatures and met the craft for another trip up the blue-green beam and into space.

Herrmann has been hypnotised several times to help him remember his experience.

He first saw the saucers or UFOs in late 1977, but in March 1978 he watched a metal disc, about 60 feet in diameter, as it manouvered near his home north-west of Charleton, USA.

Herrmann told the Herald-Journal in 1981:

"It [the flying saucer] dropped abruptly from the sky. Suddenly it was right in front of me. I fell backward. The next thing I knew there was light all round me, green and blue, and I felt myself being tugged upward.

I couldn't remember anything. I didn't know where I was. A terrible fear came over me and I stood weeping for what seemed a long time. I felt dirty. I felt like I can't describe it. I felt like I had been around something I shouldn't have been around."

Under hypnosis he recalled an examining table within the flying saucer, also flashing lights and creatures who looked like human fetuses with enlarged heads and eyes. They had spongy white skin and wore rust coloured jumpsuits. They were about 4.5 feet tall.

Bill Herrmann under hypnotic regression

Herrmann also tells of a further visitation. On April 21 1979 he claims a pair of aliens materialised briefly in his home. Then on May 16th he saw the spacecraft again from his home and received a telepathic message that he was to meet them at a nearby industrial estate.

Once at the rendezvous a blue-green tube of light again carried him inside the craft and he found himself on the examining table. Herrmann said of this, "I felt repelled by their appearance. But I felt inferior in their presense."

The aliens/occupants of the craft told him that they were from a world near twin stars, more than 30 light years away, where their entire civilisation was devoted to interstellar exploration.

Herrmann claims the saucer/craft travelled to Florida. Here they whizzed him past the Kennedy Centre and showed delight at the primitive vehicles on the ground.

He went on to say that the aliens told him that Earth governments had resisted attempts at friendly contact, but they insisted they meant no harm and their purpose would eventually be made clear.

And that is Herrmann's story. Below is a YouTube video of one of his hypnotic regressions. It's quite lengthy.


Other Alien / UFO stories:
UFO And Alien Sexual Encounters
Aliens May Cause Death Disease And Displacement
10 UFO And Alien Stories

Remembering Our Life Prior To Us Being Born

I have had some response to my recent post Where We Were Before Birth: Our Before Birth Experience. This included reports of people who could remember something of the time prior to them being born.

Before I enlarge a little on the subject here are two further experiences. The first is from 'seagreen' who left the following comment.

"My son told me that when he was 3 or 4 years old he vividly remembered having a dream about being a fish under the water looking up to the surface. He said he saw me as a little girl and a man on the bank. He immediately knew I was going to be his mother.

He was about 12 when he told me this. He was very serious when he related the dream to me. He asked me how would he know I was going to be his mother. I don't remember the context of what triggered his memory of this dream but he did say he never forgot it because it seemed so real."

~ seagreen

The second Before Birth Experience is from someone who wishes to remain anonymous.

"I was glad to read your blog as I have thought about my own experience of an awareness before birth. I have mentioned it briefly to others but they just write it off as imagination or a dream, but to me it was and is real.

What I remember is being with who I now know to be my great grandfather. I have seen photos of him and recognise him from these. We were together in a silver room along with a few other people, none of whom I knew. My great grandfather told me how he would stay with me as I was reborn.

I knew who my parents would be and that they were waiting for me. I felt apprehensive about a new life as I had been very happy where I was, but I cannot describe or remember any details of this. My only memory is of the silver room and the love of my great grandfather.

He told me it was now the time and I felt like I was surrounded by light.

It was when I was about six or seven that I remembered all of this following seeing a photo of my great grandfather. This somehow triggered the memories.

I know it all sounds unbelievable but I know I was somewhere prior to being born.

Thank you for writing about this."

Another comment left on my original post mentioned the Bible and how it indicates that our souls were there before we were born.

In Jer. 1:5, God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." This is a biblical implication that we existed in some form before we were born. There are numerous non-scriptural references to the pre-existence of our souls.

Reading experiences such as these sort of makes sense. If, as many believe, there is a Heaven or an afterlife then it makes logical sense that there must also have been an existence before we started our stint on Earth. If we are indeed immortal then we must have also been around in the past - as we will be in the future. There is no beginning or end.

My own personal belief is that our 'souls' arrive with our first breath and leave with our last. As for our parents I've always been under the impression that we choose who we wish these to be. I can't say why I think this way or where these ideas came from.

Further Reading:
Where We Were Before Birth: Our Before Birth Experience
10 Stories About Reincarnation
The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences

Top Ten Posts For February On 67 Not Out

So, that's two months gone of 2014, time flies. Here are the Top 10 most viewed posts for February on 67 Not Out. Some old favourites are still getting lots of visits, but there are a few new intruders - including, surprisingly, at number one.

1. A Sighting Of The Bank Of England Black Nun Ghost
I was on a short visit to London and was walking alone in the late evening along Threadneedle Street, near to where the Bank of England is positioned. Suddenly, without warning, this lady was walking towards me, I don't know where she had appeared ... Read full story.

2. Photo Taken Of Father Showed His Missing Daughter
Michael Dick hadn't seen his daughter, Lisa, for over 10 years. This was since he had separated from his first wife. Determined to make contact with her again Michael travelled to ... Read full story.

3. The Ghost Who Chased A Thief
A few years back, before I lived with my partner, I was living at home with my parents for the summer after University. They were going away on holiday and left me with the responsibility of looking after the house. I didn't mind being alone but I asked a girlfriend to stay over ... Red full story

4. The White Dove As A Messenger Of The Dead
This white dove would not move to let me by. I made noises, waved my hand, stared at the dove - nothing happened. Finally I went in the back door of my house. I looked out the window and this one lone white dove was still on the front steps at 4pm and 5pm and 6pm. At 7pm that night I received an urgent phone call ... Read full story.

5. The Mysterious Skull With The Golden Wreath Of Protection
I photographed this skull with a gold wreath while in Crete. It was discovered while excavations were taking place and is believed to have been that of an athlete. In the second large photo below a coin is also shown which was found inside the skull's mouth. This is a silver tetradrachm ... Read full story.

6. The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
By white feathers I mean how they can often be found following a loved ones death. This has certainly been my own experience. I lost three people close to me in a short period of time ... Read full story

7. Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories
The following are the Top 10 Coincidence and Synchronicity Stories over the last year - based on the number of readers (hits) each has received ... Read full story.

8. The Unusual Contact With Her Dead Mother
My mother broke her hip quite badly following a fall and we thought it best that she move in with my husband and I. As she couldn't walk she passed the time watching television, but most of all she loved to knit. In fact she never seemed to stop even for her favourite TV soap. She knitted gloves ... Read full story.

9. The Ten Secrets To Living A Long Healthy Life
It's a story about a Greek war veteran, Stamatis Moraitis, who was living in Florida, USA when, in 1976, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He recalls that several doctors confirmed the diagnosis and gave him only nine months ... Read full story.

10. The Mysterious Shell Creatures On Cornish Beach
I snapped the above photo on Sunday and I'm wondering what it is - erm, not what it might look like as Karin has already made one suggestion, which I'll ignore! We went to Pentewan Beach, Cornwall to see if there had been any storm damage ... Read full story.

Ohio Man Claims He Visited Heaven During Near-Death Experience -

This recent video tells the story of Brian Miller and his Near Death Experience (NDE). It's not one of the best but it's another case of where a person is told that he still has 'things' to do before he can move on.

Other NDE Story Posts:
The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences
NDE: Returned From Death As She Had Three Things To Complete On Earth Before She Could Leave
Author's Experiences Led Her To Believe In Life After Death

Precognitive Dreaming Of The Eye Of The Needle Brought Him Success

It's sometimes strange how posts come about. I've mentioned that Karin used to do a lot of dress making and designing. We were talking about this as she has recently bought herself a new sewing machine.

"Wonder who made the first sewing machine?" she asked. I thought it was Isaac Singer but, as with many inventions, there are varying opinions.

Elias Howe

A popular choice as the inventor of the sewing machine, I've found out, is Elias Howe of Cambridge, Massachusetts and at the very least, he was a sewing machine pioneer. But, whatever, for the purpose of this post there is a synchronicity story of how he dreamt of the design for the needle of his machine.

Back in the early 1840s Howe was puzzling with the design of the needle and this is supposedly how his design came about:

His original idea was to follow the model of an ordinary needle, and have the eye at the heel. It never occurred to him that it should be placed near the point. He might well have failed altogether if he had not dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in a strange country.

Just as in his actual working experience, in his dream he was perplexed about the needle’s eye. The king gave him twenty-four hours in which to complete the machine and make it sew. If it wasn't finished in that time death was to be the punishment.

Howe worked and worked, and puzzled, and finally gave up. In his dream he was taken out to be executed.

He noticed, however, that the warriors carried spears and that they were pierced near the head. Instantly came the solution to his problem, and while the inventor was begging for time, he awoke.

It was 4 o’clock in the morning. He jumped out of bed, ran to his workshop, and by 9 a.m a needle with an eye at the point had been rudely made.

After that the design was pretty straight forward and on September 10, 1846, Howe was awarded the first United States patent (U.S. Patent 4,750) for a sewing machine using his design. One of the essential features was a needle with the eye at the point.

By the time Elias Howe died in 1867 he was a multi millionaire - as was Isaac Singer.

Other Dream Posts:
Ancient Egyptians And Their World Of Dreams
The Precognitive Dream Of An Air Crash
A Precognition In A Dream And A Ghost With A Fetish

80 Percent Of Elderly People Have Ghostly Visions Of Their Deceased Partner

Image by DreamersNight

Those ghostly visions, which some bereaved people experience shortly after their loss, are simply hallucinations. Well that's what scientists would have us believe.

I came across a study on this subject headed by Agneta Grimby of the University of Goteborg, Sweden. One of the things that struck me was how common these 'hallucinations' actually are.

The study found that over 80 percent of elderly people experience hallucinations associated with their dead partner one month after bereavement. These ghostly visions are very vivid. Almost 'a third of the people reported that they spoke in response to their experiences. In other words, these weren’t just peripheral illusions: they could evoke the very essence of the deceased.'

The researchers added that these 'ghostly' visits were said by the recipients to be a 'helpful and comforting experience.'

It's interesting that the Scientific American summed the subject up by saying:

"We often fall back on the cultural catch all of the 'ghost' while the reality is, in many ways, more profound. Our perception is so tuned to their presence that when they are not there to fill that gap, we unconsciously try to mold the world into what we have lived with for so long and so badly long for. Even reality is no match for our love."

So looks like - according to the scientists - we don't live on after death and therefore obviously can't communicate with loved ones who have died. But how can they explain things such as:

From Angeladtao: "I was talking to a man who had lost his son in Iraq today. His wife had seen the son after death as a warm, concrete presence who reassured her that he was happy and well. They are both atheists, so there was no complicating factors about religious beliefs here. I have heard other similar experiences."

He goes on to tell of his theory:

"My view is that our bodies, if you go down to the molecular levels, are made of atoms which, in turn, are made of energy. Therefore, we are essentially beings of energy. Mass is a relative term when you look at it that way. Our skin is made of atoms (thus, energy) which, for some reason unknown to me, manages to contain our atoms within it in a human shape.

Our thoughts are energy generated from atoms in the neural pathways. Why is it that when our life ceases, this unknown force that contains our atoms in its human shape fails to continue to do so? That is a question for another day. Yet, the energy that composes us is never lost, and its mass is still present in our universe (E=MC2). I think that there is another force/power/influence that allows us to maintain our human shape when alive that withdraws at death. However, the energy pattern of our consciousness is still present.

My explanation (and it is, of course, only a suggestion) is that our 'personalities' or 'souls' are still very close to the state of being that it was just a part of and can pull together enough atoms to re-make a temporary body for just a fleeting moment when they sense the strength of grief of a loved one (more energy). What happens after that, I leave to others."

Here's another example:

"During the Second World War my granny woke my father in the middle of the night convinced that another of her sons, Stanley, had just been fatally wounded and was calling to her for water.

My father was able to reassure her that her son, and his brother was thousands of miles from the war front convalescing in hospital after an earlier, non-life-threatening wound.

However, granny, usually a very strong character, was inconsolable and convinced she had received a communication from her dying son.

In actual fact my Uncle Stanley died that very night of a wound received at the Battle of Knightsbridge. Unbeknown to his family he had recovered from his previous injury and returned to his unit, and died that night in a German field hospital of blood loss - and hence in great thirst."

It's up to us as to what we believe or want to believe. I personally believe we live on after death.

Other Posts:
The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences
NDE: Returned From Death As She Had Three Things To Complete On Earth Before She Could Leave
10 Ghost Story Posts

We All Go To Our Own Version Of Heaven When We Die

Cafe Society - Heaven For Some People

A while back I published a post We Create The Afterlife We Desire in which I wrote:

"Could it be that, just as our dreams are individual, so is death, dependent on the actions and thoughts while alive in our physical body? Some may undergo fantastic adventures. Others may suffer from recurring nightmares, trapped in some form of hell created by their own minds. While others may experience a kind of paradise conjured up by their expectations."

I was looking at something by Joseph J Weed, a former Rosicrucian Grand Councillor. His thoughts seem to be similar to mine (or even mine to his!):

"The events of transition [death] are different for each individual and depend upon the state of consciousness and perhaps training. Some go to higher realms and are ecstatically happy while they study and train there. Some live in surroundings they have dreamed of living in, a creation of their desires while alive. This may be a cabin in a forest, a home on a beautiful farm, a cottage by the sea - in other words a heaven of their own making."

But, according to Weed, there are some souls who also remain earthbound. They fight death, even after death, and refuse to believe they are not 'alive'. He gives an example of someone he saw on the astral plane.

"I had known this man in life. He was handsome and charming and traded on these qualities ... he loved night life and cafe society and succeeded in acquiring the reputation as a playboy.

[During] World War II in 1941, he took up his commission in the Navy and became one of the first U.S. casualties when his ship was torpedoed and sunk in early 1942.

I encountered him in the astral realm. He was one of a party in a night club a very real-appearing creation of his own desire, and had no notion he was already dead in the physical sense ... he was drinking, dancing and joking and flirting in cafe society surroundings, fully convinced that the places and people were real and that he was still among the so-called living.

To cut things short Weed visited the man for about three years [in the astral realm] and saw that the man gradually became worried and anxious and looked unhappy. He was permitted to assist him and visited him once more.

"When I spoke to him he seemed to be in a stupor and it was difficult to get his attention. Finally, I succeeded in rousing him ...

I said, 'Steve, I want to help you. Do you know you are dead?'

Dumbly. he nodded slowly and then said, 'I have been thinking so for some time. But I don't seem to be dead. Nothing much has changed. I'm so confused.'

Weed explained to him how he was reliving the existence that had appealed to him most but could alter the situation with an act of will. Opportunities would then develop - and this is what is said to have happened. Steve was able to move on.

This may all sound far fetched but if we look at Near Death Experiences they vary in what the person actually sees. Christians experience something different from, say, Muslims - because of their beliefs.

As with everything there is no reality just our realisation of how things are. We are all responsible for what happens to us, whether on Earth or in 'Heaven' - well, that's my theory at the present time!

 Reference: Wisdom of the Mystic Masters

Other Heaven Stories:
We Create The Afterlife We Desire
Where Is Heaven?
What Version Of Us Will Go To Heaven?

NDE: Returned From Death As She Had Three Things To Complete On Earth Before She Could Leave

Here's a near death experience story I came across recently that somehow rings true. It's also interesting that the person concerned returned to our world because she had three more 'things' to do before she could move on. This follows the idea that we all have a purpose pre-determined before we are born. We have lessons to learn or projects to accomplish. Here's the story, see what you think.

"I think there should be more research and more scientific work done on possible life after death and any connections to another dimension we know nothing about. I am saying this as I have a personal story concerning my mother.

She 'died' when I was eleven years old. She killed herself by taking an overdose of tranquillisers that our family doctor had prescribed to her. My father's boss had stopped in to see if my dad was at home and noticed my mother laying on the floor. He called an ambulance and she was rushed to the hospital.

The doctors and nurses had her hooked up to the life support systems and heart monitor and were not able to get any pulse or brain activity. They had given her electric shocks to get her heartbeat back with no avail, nothing worked. They placed a sheet over her body and came to see my dad and told him she was clinically dead.

The priest came and asked if she was Catholic and would give her the last rights. He entered her room and began giving them but did not realise she was still hooked up to the monitors. The machine came back to life and started to blip and showed a heart beat. He told the doctors who rushed back in and brought her back to life.

As they checked her and asked her questions she seemed to have no brain damage or effects from the entire time she was transported to the hospital, which took roughly 30 minutes. She had 'died' for about five to ten minutes. She remained in the hospital for a few days and was omitted to the psychiatric part of the hospital for counselling for depression.

My mother was released after a week and came back home and continued to get counselling for a period of three or four months for her depression. Things worked out for her and she was able to manage in a much better way. It was not until I turned about twenty years old she confided in me about something very personal.

She told me she could remember everything about her death and that she remembers taking the pills and falling asleep. She remembers my dad's boss looking over her, the ambulance attendants checking her and picking her up and taking her into the ambulance.

Here is the weird part she actually tells me she was watching them all do this from above - she is looking down at them and she is watching it all.

Now I kind of thought this was a joke or, you know, maybe the medication she was on or something, or possibly some kind of connection to these people when they were dealing with her. Yet this gets better.

She tells me she can remember the hospital and the doctors working on her and she can remember the moment she died. She felt this tremendous warmth rush over her and could see a light appear in the distance and it was like a tunnel. It was calling her somehow, telling her to go into it to follow the light.

She told me she felt the most incredible feeling of happiness and love and started to go to the light. She was going towards it through this tunnel and all of a sudden there were four beings at the end of the light and they stopped her. They told her that it was not time for her to leave. She needed to complete three more things here before she could be accepted.

She told me that she did not want to leave and pleaded with them to stay, because she felt so wonderful and wanted to stay. They continued to instruct her to remain as she had to complete the three things on Earth before they could accept her and she would know, in time, what these three things were. All of a sudden she awoke and noticed the doctors checking her and asking her some questions.

It was pretty freaky that she could remember all of this and see everything that was happening. I was not sure what to think of this and I told my mother I had heard that some scientists and doctors had worked on this kind of thing. They said that the light that people see is just the last few electric impulses our brains have before we die. My mother insisted that this is not so and that she really experienced a spiritual meeting and conversed mentally with beings and now saw everything in a different way. She told me that she now has no fear of death and if she were to die she would be completely happy and know there is another life after death.

Now I have heard other people having the same experiences and our family ancestry is native, we are Algonquins and Ojibwe by blood. In the native cultures you hear the elders and other native people speak of spirits who talk to them or send them messages of how their life path should be. They have out of body experiences. They make important decisions based on what they should be doing in life before they can meet with their ancestors in the other world.

I tend to believe my mother and I think when it is time for me to die I would like to be happy knowing that there is something more to my being than just living on Earth and dying never to be heard of again." Source

~ RB

Other Near Death Experience Stories:
Author's Experiences Led Her To Believe In Life After Death
The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences
Near Death Experience In The Stars
Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience

The Guardian Angels From Somewhere

Here's a questioning small piece from 89 year old Coralie of Manchester that got me off on a disjointed train of thought.

"The idea of Guardian Angels is interesting, but why does 'religion' have to come into the equation?

"Should there be beings who look like us humans but have wings etc.? Here's another view.

"When we sleep, we leave our bodies and go - where? Into another dimension? Are we being shown what happens when we don't return to our bodies, when we 'die', for want of a better word?

"I'm quite sure that I've been watched and helped all my life. Everything I've needed - not wanted, but needed - be it good or bad, has been given to me.

"Who or what is doing this watching or guiding we cannot possibly imagine because we're only human.

"I've been near death many times, especially during the war, as we all were then. Perhaps we're being experimented with.

"I also know that I return to my somewhat ancient body every morning for some reason. I've lived almost 90 years, seen and done everything, so why do I keep returning? Maybe one day I'll find out."

I agree with Coralie that the subject of Guardian Angels is interesting. A recent survey by the pollster ICM recently found that 31% of British people - and 41% of British women - said they believed Guardian Angels existed.

Gemma Arterton

We also have the likes of actress Gemma Arterton, Hollywood's Denzil Washington and UK television presenter Gloria Hunniford all saying that they believe in Guardian Angels. It's almost the in thing to be part of. Just look at how many angel tattoos are wobbling about on various celebrity bodies.

I've never personally seen such an angel - a real one that is - but I do have the feeling that I am sometimes looked after or helped along the way. Last year when I had kidney surgery it felt like I was being comforted prior to the operation. Karin couldn't believe how I was joking with the doctors and nurses and how relaxed I was. (It wasn't drugs!) Somehow I knew there was nothing to worry about.

I read a few days back that Gloria Hunniford claims to have a parking angel which helps her find spaces for her car. I've got one too! I wrote about this in a post How To Get A Car Parking Space Using Coincidences back in January 2011. It works along the lines of: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find ..."

Books on angels, such as Lorna Byrne's Angels In My Hair are big sellers. I believe it has sold well over half a million copies.

But what do those doubting Thomas experts say on the subject? Professor Of Psychology at Goldsmiths University says:

"A lot of these people are genuinely seeing these things. For example, mountain climbers who have lost their bearings sometimes report seeing a figure guiding them out of the danger.

It may be a psychological defence when faced with danger. Of course, we don't hear from those whose guardians led them off the edge of a cliff!"

Neuroscientists have tried to explain away visions of this nature. In 2005 Swiss researchers found that sending a small electric current through the left temporoparietal junction (a small area at the back of the brain which retains visual memories and sensory information) resulted in patients seeing ghostly figures.

Brain scans taken of Tibetan monks showed mystical experiences tended to occur when sections at the front of the brain were very active, while those involved in navigation and spatial orientation were calm. This led to the assumption that there is a physical difference in the brains of those who experience such visions.

Going back to those celebrities who say they have seen or have a Guardian Angels. Believers often say that the vision ends with the angel passing on a message or sign in the form of white feathers. I've written many posts about white feathers.

Gemma Arterton has been quoted as saying that she has feathers which follow her everywhere.

The televison presenter and author Judy Finnegan says she found white feathers in her house, which she believes were evidence of her friend Caron Keating, who died of cancer, returning as an angel.

Those experts will claim that such phenomena simply reflect the human need to find patterns and significance in otherwise random events. Huh! I can disagree as I have seen white feathers over and over after the loss of loved ones.

It's up to us what we believe and sometimes I'm happy to look upwards and say 'thank you' following some help or even just for finding a car parking space. I must admit though I'm not exactly sure who or what I'm saying thank you to - but I feel it's a power for good.

Other Feather And Angel Posts:
10 White Feather Story Posts As Examples Of Messages From The Dead
The Bird Angel Who Comforts As Someone Dies
The Guardian Angels Waiting To be Summoned

White Doves As Messengers From The Dead

A post I published back in February 2012, The White Dove As A Messenger Of The Dead, has been getting quite a lot of views over the last several weeks. Here are some readers' responses.

"A friend of mine passed away about 15 months ago and died fairly young at 32 years old. He was hit by a car while walking home one day.

"Yesterday would have been his 34th birthday (7/1/13) and I posted a message on his Facebook page that went something like this: 'Happy Birthday! Please show me a sign that you have received this message.'

 "As I was driving to work this morning a big white dove appeared out of nowhere. I thought I was going to hit the bird as it caught my attention but it swooped to the left and flew closely alongside me for a few seconds as I drove down the highway.

"It was there for a bit and then vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. I turned my head to see where it was and quickly looked for it in my rear view mirrors but it was gone.

"When it disappeared the first thing that came to my mind was my friend. Yes it may have been a coincidence but I have never seen any doves in this town.

"It was the biggest dove I had ever seen. It was almost the size of a seagull but  it was definitely a dove and possibly a sign from my friend that he indeed had received my 'Happy Birthday!' message."

~ A.O.

"I think I was saved by an angel yesterday.

"I was riding bikes with a friend along the L.A river on a bike path and we stopped under a bridge. I saw a white dove fly and sit on a ledge under the bridge and was staring at me the whole time.

"That night I was getting a ride home and was in the front passenger seat and a car came flying out of an alley. I saw it happen in slow motion as the car almost hit the side I was on. At the last moment we swerved out of the way just before the car hit us.

"I don't know if the white dove meant something but I feel it was my Guardian Angel."

~ George Daniels

"My wonderful brother was seriously ill in hospital. We didn't know if he would survive.

"I had been at the hospital for most of the day, sitting holding his hand. It got late, I'm not sure exactly but it must have been nearly midnight and the nurse on duty suggested I go home. I didn't want to do this but she persuaded me to do so.

"As left the hospital I made my way to the car park and had to put some money in the machine. As I did so a beautiful white dove flew down and sat on the sign for the hospital. The car park was reasonably well lit so I'm sure it was a dove.

"After I had paid the car park fee I walked to my car and as I sat in the driving seat my mobile rang. It was the nurse saying I should come back to the hospital.

"As I reached my brother he actually smiled at me and then passed away.

"Later when I left the hospital again the white dove was still sitting on the sign. Though my husband says it must have been my imagination the dove seemed to look at me and then he flew away. I feel it was either my brother's spirit or some sort of sign from him."

~ Belinda Wilson

"My friend told me how her auntie and uncle were being harassed by a young, rowdy, anti-social drug dealing family and their customers living across the road.

"So I visualised the auntie's place guarded by two huge angels at the front door and two at the back gate. I placed an identical angelic quartet guarding the other hostile household on the principle that those who menace others often do so out of a deep seated fear of their own vulnerability.

"Anyway, by a curious coincidence white feathers started getting found round the house and things calmed down."

~ alanborky

In July 2008 my step father died of a very aggressive cancer, melanoma. A few hours before his death, I looked out his window at the hospice centre he was at and I noticed a few white doves near a base of a small tree.

After I left, a few hours later, I got a call from my mom that he had passed.

Later that evening I went for a walk with my family down the street, looked up and noticed a few white doves flying above me. To this day, I do not recall seeing white doves flying around.

I always wondered about this dove sighting experience. Just thought I would share.

~ anon

Thank you to all of the writers of the above stories. Your comments are always welcome.

Other Similar Posts:
A White Dove As A Message From Her Dead Mother
White Doves Acting As Messengers From The Dead
10 White Feather Story Posts As Examples Of Messages From The Dead

We Create The Afterlife We Desire

I was pondering what the afterlife will be like. I've read and written about near death experiences in the past and there often seems to be similarities within these stories - but there are also differences, which many writers brush aside.

For examples those with a Catholic upbringing may encounter a St Peter like figure at the Pearly Gates whereas a Muslim may experience themselves in green gardens with fountains while being attended by dancing girls, as described in Islamic literature.

I expect most of us hope we will all be treated equally when we die and any near death experiences should, therefore, be identical but this appears not necessarily to be the case. Surely there can't be segregation for varying religions and beliefs.

If we consider our dreams, now they are all different, dependent on our personal memories, hopes, fears and desires - born from the 'personality' of our unconscious mind if you like.

If we look at lucid dreams - where we realise we are actually dreaming - we can almost manipulate happenings. I can remember in one particular dream I told myself I didn't have to worry about what was happening because I was only dreaming. So I relaxed and observed, like watching a play at the theatre. And sometimes even our everyday lives can appear like this in certain situations.

Could it be that, just as our dreams are individual, so is death, dependent on the actions and thoughts while alive in our physical body? Some may undergo fantastic adventures. Others may suffer from recurring nightmares, trapped in some form of hell created by their own minds. While others may experience a kind of paradise conjured up by their expectations.

Of course, another possibility is that our 'surviving' personality re-enters another physical body and once more wakes up to the physical world. This may be via an embryo or a newly born baby but could also take over the body of a living person - some would call this possession.

All of this is speculation. It's also conceivable that in our dream-like existence. following death. we are open to spiritual influences from a realm far beyond what our human mind can imagine or comprehend.

Whatever happens to us following death I feel does seem to depend on our own beliefs and attitudes. If we close our mind to possibilities we may become trapped within our present fears and limitations. It could well rest with us to create the afterlife we desire.

Other Heavenly Posts:
Where Is Heaven?
The Sixth Stage Of Dying Is The Afterlife
Did This Doctor Visit Heaven?

The Sixth Stage Of Dying Is The Afterlife

It's interesting how many of us have a fear of death and often don't want to even discuss the subject. The medical profession have even dreamed up a word for the condition: thanatophobia (from the Greek word for death, Thanatos).

It got me thinking about this after I'd read a little more about Elisabeth Kübler-Ross the Swiss American psychiatrist who was a pioneer of near-death studies.

According to her research there are five stages a terminally ill person can go through - though other 'experts' will disagree with these findings. In brief Kübler-Ross' stages are.

1. Denial and often the avoidance of others. The person will say such things as, "It can't happen to me," and, "I won't talk about it."

2. The denial turns to anger: "Why me? Why not someone older, less useful."

3. Next comes a form of bargaining: "If I do as I'm told, you will make me better won't you?" Or maybe something like, "I'll do anything for a few more years."

4. Depression sets in: "I'm going to die soon so what's the point?"

5. And finally comes acceptance: "It's going to be okay." This is the interesting stage for an outsider because this is the time when a dying person may hear voices or see visions of dead relations or friends who, seemingly, have come to escort him or her into a new existence. They may also talk about recurring images of tunnels, lights, feelings of peace - which are similar to those who have had out of body experiences.

Kübler-Ross believed these out of body experiences to be genuine proof of an afterlife. She encountered many such stories where patients clinically 'died' but were subsequently resuscitated. According to her findings many were quite consistent about leaving the body and experiencing great happiness, even excitement. Many never wanted to 'come back' but usually did so because of a sense of responsibility for a loved one who would be left behind.

This all sounds very happy clappy, but Kübler-Ross also based her beliefs on her own personal experiences of leaving her body. She felt she had discovered that consciousness can leave the body under certain circumstances as it does finally at death.

One of her own experiences happened on night when she was finding it difficult to sleep. Suddenly:

"I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life ... I went through every single death of every single one of my patients. And I mean the physical pain, the ... agony, the screaming for help. The pain was beyond description. There was no time to think and no time for anything except that, twice, I caught a breath, like between two labour pains ... I pleaded - I guess with God - for a shoulder to lean on, for one human shoulder, and I visualised a man's shoulder that I could put my head on.

"And a thunderous voice came, 'You shall no be given." ... I was reliving every single death of my patients.

"Again a voice thundered, 'You shall no be given.'"

Kübler-Ross realised that she had to go through - whatever it was - alone and that no one else could do this for her.

Following the suffering she experienced came an incredible re-birth:

"Everywhere I looked in the room - my legs, the closet, the window - everything started to vibrate into a million molecules. Everything vibrated at this incredible speed ... Behind was a sunrise, the brightest light you can imagine ... the light was full and open, like the whole sun was there ... the vibrations stopped, and a million molecules, including me ... fell into one piece ... and I was part of that one. And I finally thought: 'I'm okay because I'm part of all this'"

What she experienced is what many would call cosmic consciousness, being part of an alive universe - where everything is included from birds to leaves from pebbles to, well, everything there is.

Kübler-Ross, however, went one step beyond this: she also saw spirits of the dead.

In one particular case an ex-patient, Mrs Schwartz, made a visit to thank her for the work she was doing. Nothing strange there perhaps, but Mrs Schwartz had died! As proof Kübler-Ross got her dead ex-patient to sign and date a note. The handwriting has seemingly been compared by experts to that of the dead woman and was verified to be the same.

On another occasion she tape-recorded the voice of a deceased patient called Willie. She said of this:

"I understand that this is very far out, and I don't want people to be less sceptical. I am sceptical myself. The scientist in me needed Mrs Schwartz to sign a paper, though I knew she was in my office. And I needed a tape recording of Willie's voice. I still listen to it and think it's one big, incredible dream. I am still filled with this incredible sense of awe and miracle."

According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross we have no need to fear death as there is also a sixth stage to the process of dying: the afterlife.

"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose, there are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from."
~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Posts on Out Of Body Experiences:
OBEs And Out Of Body Loving Experiences
OBE: An Out Of Body First Experience
Out Of Body Experiences