The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences

I was reading a long study by Dr. Pim van Lommel on the International Association For Near Death Studies website.

I don't want to repeat the eleven pages he has written - you can read this at the link above - but I thought I'd just publish part of his conclusion about Near Death Experiences (NDE):

"There are still more questions than answers, but, based on the aforementioned theoretical aspects of the obviously experienced continuity of our consciousness, we finally should consider the possibility that death, like birth, may well be a mere passing from one state of consciousness to another."

To reach his conclusion Dr van Lommel had carried out a clinical study of 344 patients who were successfully resuscitated after suffering cardiac arrest. About 18% of them had an NDE. The patients remembered details of their conditions during their cardiac arrest despite being clinically dead - even with a flat line brain stem activity.

I believe that we live on following what we call death but can understand why there are so many sceptics. Most modern science is on their side with various theories on how NDEs happen.

But - no matter what scientists and other 'experts' state - anyone who has actually experienced a NDE will be emphatic in what they saw and felt. Take this lady, for example, who wishes to be anonymous:

"Over the years, I’ve tried to find the words, but they don’t even come close to describing what I want to say. It was just the most-beautiful experience in the world."

She told her story to the The Columbus Dispatch.

At the age of 24 she had excruciating pain caused by a blood clot in her leg.

A very bright light filled the room and she found she was looking down on herself. Her pain had disappeared and she felt very safe and secure, as if arms were wrapped around her.

She witnessed thousands of scenes from her life and could feel the emotions of people she had either helped or hurt. A 'greater force' seemed to tell her everything she ever wanted to know but, unfortunately, she is now unable to recall what this was.

She became aware that her great-grandparents were accompanying her throughout what was happening. There were also other people she didn't recognise but she knew they were loved ones.

After a while she realised that she had to return to her Earthly life, but couldn't understand why.

She returned to her body and the pain and regained consciousness.

She talks of the love she felt during her NDE: "It was one hundred times more - thousands of times more - than love for your parents or your child. Multiply that by I don’t know how many times, that’s what it was like. Nothing comes close. I love my husband; I love my kids. But nothing comes close."

Needless to say she no longer fears death.

Kathi Beasley also experienced this same love with her Near Death Experience.

She said, "I was pierced by this incredible column of light that was iridescent, and it just filled me with the most unbelievable, unconditional love that I have experienced in my entire life. Nothing comes close, nothing. There’s no experience that I’ve ever had that is so deeply spiritual or meaningful to me at that moment.

It was filling me, filling me, filling me with love, filling me so much at one point I said, 'that’s enough, please stop, I can’t take any more, this is wonderful, but just stop,' and it did, it stopped."

Kathi realised she had to return to raise her daughter but even so she adds. "It’s so incredible and so beautiful you don’t want to go back,"

NDEs have been experienced for thousands of years. The first recorded is said to be in the 4th Century BC in Plato's The Republic.

But sceptics will tell you that the drug Ketamine produces all of the elements of an NDE when it is injected into normal, non-dying people - reference: Dr. Karl L. R. Jansen. But does this disprove that there is an after life? I don't think so.

What we believe, of course, is up to us as individuals.

Similar Posts about Near Death Experiences:
Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience
Where Is Heaven?
Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

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

Near Death Experiences And Electrical Brain Storms

Here we go again, another scientist has 'discovered' why some people experience near death experiences (NDE). It's simply an electrical storm in a dying brain they say.

Hang on though, a little while ago they were telling us it was down to carbon dioxide - see Are Near Death Experiences All Down To Carbon Dioxide?

Okay lets look at the current theory from a Doctor Lakhmir Chawla from the Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Chawla explains:

"We think that near death experiences could be caused by a surge of electrical energy caused as the brain runs out of oxygen. As blood flow slows down and oxygen levels fall, the brain cells fire one last electrical impulse.

It starts in one part of the brain and spreads in a cascade and this may give people vivid mental sensations."

It seems that the doctor monitored terminally ill people and in each case he found a tailing off of brain activity in the hour prior to death. This was, however, interrupted by a spurt of brain action lasting anything from 30 seconds to three minutes.

If the patient was to recover they would then often tell of NDEs with familiar memories of leaving their bodies, travelling down a tunnel, a feeling of peace and so on.

Research is also been carried out on NDEs by Southampton University in England. In one test they place pictures that can only be viewed from above on high shelves to see if patients can recall the images. If they can it suggests (to the researchers) a 'genuine' out of body experience. Unfortunately no data has been produced, as yet, for their findings. They are also asking 1500 patients to recall any memories following a cardiac arrest.

All the scientists are no doubt genuine and, who knows, perhaps one day they might be able to 'prove' that there is something in NDEs which shows that a continuation of life after death is possible.

Meanwhile stories such as those of Iris Lemov, see Near Death Experience Changes Woman's Life, may have to suffice.

My personal opinion is that most near death experiences are genuine. As for an electrical storm in a dying brain, I would have thought this would produce many, many varied and completely random reactions and memories - whereas NDEs often follow a similar pattern.

Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience

You may have heard this story before about Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience (NDE). It has seemingly been around for a while but it's new to me.

I got to hear about it for the first time because the BBC video, as below, was recommended to me. It impressed me and, though there seem to be skeptics about Pam's NDE, it all seems genuine to me.

Everything is explained within the video so there isn't much for me to add. But the film was made by the BBC (UK's major public television network) and features staff (doctors and nurses of unimpeachable credentials) involved in the medical operation that led to the NDE.

Pam was dead for a while, all of the instruments had no output. Her body was completely shut down, as was her brain. Somehow though she was able to describe what happened after she had left her body. It wasn't simply leaving her body though as she went on to experience a full NDE. She describes this ...

"There was a sensation like being pulled, but not against your will. I was going on my own accord because I wanted to go. I have different metaphors to try to explain this. It was like the Wizard of Oz - being taken up in a tornado vortex, only you're not spinning around like you've got vertigo. You're very focused and you have a place to go ...

At some point very early in the tunnel vortex I became aware of my grandmother calling me. But I didn't hear her call me with my ears ... It was a clearer hearing than with my ears.

The feeling was that she wanted me to come to her, so I continued with no fear down the shaft. It's a dark shaft that I went through, and at the very end there was this very little tiny pinpoint of light that kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

The light was incredibly bright, like sitting in the middle of a light bulb. It was so bright that I put my hands in front of my face fully expecting to see them and I could not. But I knew they were there. Not from a sense of touch. Again, it's terribly hard to explain, but I knew they were there ...

Okay, here's the video, see what you think. It's about 10 minutes duration.


Sadly Pam Reynolds died for a second time on May 22, 2010 following heart failure in Atlanta.

More NDE Posts:
Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience
Black Elk On Peace And At The Door Of Death
Near Death Experience Changes Woman's Life

Near Death Experience In The Stars

I'm back on the life after death theme again today with a Near Death Experience. This is the story of a small two-and-a-half year old girl called Durdana Khan. At the time she was living in the foothills of the Himalayas, where her father was an army doctor.

Dardana had been ill for several months and was gradually deteriorating. She was becoming paralysed but what was wrong with her wasn't fully known.

One day, while working, her father received an urgent message from his wife telling him that something had happened to his small daughter.

He hurried home. On arrival Dardana was in a cot outside with his wife. He realised straight away that 'she was gone'. On hearing this her mother lifted her daughter's limp body from the cot and carried her into the house and laid her on her husband's bed.

Her father, in his capacity as a doctor, carried out routine emergency procedures but felt that it was a lost cause. But he kept saying to her, "Come back my child, come back."

As an absolute last resort a heart stimulant was given to the her by administrating nikethamide drops. The couple watched their daughter, sadly and with heavy hearts, as the drops trickled down her cheeks.  But, after being 'dead' for about 15 minutes, something amazing happened. Dardana opened her eyes and told her parents that the medicine was bitter. Gradually the little girl recovered and the parents also recovered from the trauma.

Dardana's mother asked, "Where did my little daughter go the other day?"

Remarkably the little girl replied, "Far, far away, to the stars."

"Indeed," asked her mother, "and what did you see?"

"Gardens." was the answer.

"And what did you see in the gardens?"

"Apples and grapes and pomegranates."

"And what else?"

"There were streams, a white stream, a brown stream, a blue stream and a green stream."

"And was there anyone else there?"

"Yes, my grandfather was there and his mother and another lady who looked like you.. Grandpa said he was glad to see me, and his mother took me in her lap and kissed me."

"And then?"

"Then I heard my Daddy calling, 'Come back my child, come back.' I told Grandpa that Daddy was calling me and I must go back.  He said we should have to ask God. So we went to God. He asked me, 'Do you want to go back?' I said, 'I must go back.' And down, down, down I came from the stars, on to Daddy's bed."

Durdana was asked what God was like and her reply was one word, "Blue."

Durdana went to Karachi with her mother for convalescence. At her Uncle's house she saw a photo and shouted out, "Mummy, Mummy. This is my grandpa's mother. I met her in the stars. She took me in her lap and kissed me."

This all happened in 1968. Twelve years later in 1980 the family moved to London, England where her story was featured on BBC television. The producer of the programme suggested that Durdana should try and paint what she had seen while when she was 'in the stars.' One of the pictures is at the top of this post. (Photo right shows Durdana and her father in 1980).

After the story was shown on television a Mrs Rachel Goldsmith asked if she could see Durdana and the pictures again. This was agreed and when the lady saw the paintings, which had only been shown briefly on television, she said of one of them, "My God. I've been to this place."

Mrs Goldsmith had also had a near death experience and is positive that she had been to the place painted by Durdana. The two of them discussed the scene and also what was round the bend of the river and therefore not included in the picture.

Durdana has been quoted as saying that she was happy while in this after life and only returned out of a sense of duty. She felt as if she was 'everywhere at once' and could 'reach whatever she wanted.' Physical objects appeared ethereal and had no substance. There was no source of light so everything was 'visible through it's own luminescence.'

As to what this all means is up to the individual to decide.

Further Reading:
Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience
Black Elk On Peace And At The Door Of Death
Where Is Heaven?

She Died But Was Visited By Her Living Daughter

Many people who describe their Near Death Experiences (NDE) talk of seeing Heaven, perhaps their 'dead' relatives and so on but it was different for Amanda Cable who told her story to the Daily Mail.

Amanda didn't see her deceased loved ones but instead saw her young daughter, who was very much alive. But let's start at the beginning.

Amanda developed a severe pain in her side, which gradually got worse. She was visited by her doctor who immediately called for an ambulance and she was whisked away to hospital.

The hospital discovered she was pregnant but the baby was ectopic and had therefore developed inside the fallopian tube instead of the womb. As Amanda had lost a lot of blood she was kept in hospital. This was particularly upsetting as her young daughter, Ruby, was about to start school and she so wanted to be with her on that special first day.

It wasn't possible to go home. The next day she could hardly breath and suddenly all hell broke loose. She heard the doctor telling her to, "Wake up, stay with me." She heard an alarm bell ringing and the doctor was now shouting, "She's tachycardic"

Her bed was immediately rushed to the operating theatre. She says, "I remained strangely aware of everything around me. I remember the entire medical team swearing. I fought to stay calm and thought of my three children ... who were unaware their Mummy was dying ... death was beckoning me."

It was then that she felt, "my entire body being sucked into the white light. I found myself in a white tunnel and knew I had died ... there was a wonderful sense of calm."

Amanda tells of how she felt no fear and knew she would soon join her loved ones who were already on the other side. She felt ready to accept this.

She became aware of someone near to her and imagined it might be her late grandmother but instead - much to her surprise - it was her daughter, Ruby!

Amanda explains, "Ruby was wearing her new school uniform and had her hair tied neatly in bunches. I'd never seen her in her uniform and she'd never allowed me to put her hair in bunches."

It seems young Ruby was in control of the situation as she told her mother to follow her down the white tunnel - at the end of which was a gate. Amanda knew her relatives were on the other side. Her little girl instructed her to step through the gate. As she did so Ruby slammed the gate shut rapidly behind her. This action jolted her whole body. Amanda says, "I am sure it was at this moment that the defibrillator pads were were being used by the medics and shocked my heart back into rhythm."

She knew then that she would survive.

Her husband was allowed to see her later and had with him a photo he had taken of Ruby. There she was wearing her new school uniform on her first day but, most noticeable, was that her hair was in bunches.

Ruby had allowed her father to put her hair in bunches for the very first time - exactly as Amanda had seen while she was with her in the white tunnel.

And finally in Amanda's own words, "I will never be able to understand what happened on that fateful day. But I no longer harbour a fear about death. And at the same time, I have stopped being scared of life. I have never looked back since."

Similar 67 Not Out NDE Stories:
The Over Powering Love Of Near Death Experiences
Black Elk On Peace And At The Door Of Death
Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience

Black Elk On Peace And At The Door Of Death

Today we have a couple of the sayings and experiences of Black Elk. He was a famous Wichasha Wakan or Medicine Man of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) and was said to have been at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. He writes about Peace and a Near Death Experience.

"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes from within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men."

- Black Elk

As a child Black Elk was very sick and near to death. He had a vision, Sioux style, which today we would no doubt describe as a Near Death Experience, NDE.

The following is what he saw at his point of near death:

"Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all , and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy.

I saw ahead the rainbow flaming above the tepee of the Six Grandfathers, built and roofed with cloud and sewed with thongs of lightning; and underneath it were all the wings of the air and under them the animals and men. All these were rejoicing, and thunder was like happy laughter.

As I rode in through the rainbow door, there were cheering voices from all over the universe, and I saw the Six Grandfathers sitting in a row, with their arms held toward me and their hands, palms out; and behind them in the cloud were faces thronging, without number, of the people yet to be."

I find it interesting with NDEs how they are sometimes tailored to the beliefs and perhaps upbringing of the person concerned. It's good to see things from a different perspective.

A Peace Perspective Dalai Lama Style:
The Simple Secret Of The Way To World Peace

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

Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection And Travel

Having read recently on the subject of Astral Projection I noticed how many of the experiences come about in crisis situations, such as while in intense pain, when seriously ill, while under a medical operation, following an accident and so on.

Not all, of course, are experienced under such conditions but I thought today I'd give a reasonably well known case which was. In this instance the astral projection came about while being tortured.

The person concerned is Ed Morrell who was tortured in an Arizona State Penitentiary. He describes some of his experiences in the book The 25th Man which shows him as the author. In fact it was his wife who actually wrote the book as he was illiterate. Jack London also made him the hero of his novel The Star Rover.

While in the penitentiary Morrell was often subjected to various forms of torture. It was under this torture that he experienced astral projection for the first time.

It appears that refractory prisoners were tied into two strait jackets which were then soaked with water. As these dried they shrank in size, so much so that the prisoners felt they were being crushed to death.

The first time this happened to Morrell he felt as if he was smothering and lights danced in front of his eyes. Suddenly he felt himself to be walking around outside of the prison as if he was a free person. He had managed to leave his pain wracked body.

He was a difficult prisoner and was often tortured in this way. When this happened the guards were amazed as to Morrell's reaction to the subsequent pain - he appeared to fall asleep. Though some say he had learned self hypnosis.

It was during this 'sleep' that he was able to 'walk' freely and explore the streets of San Francisco. In other words he became free of his physical body to travel wherever he wished.

Morrell was able to verify his astral projections by telling others of what he had seen including a shipwreck in San Francisco Bay.

His travels, while under torture, where even verified by the then Governor of Arizona, George W.P. Hunt. He was able to agree that happenings which Morrell had seen and described were absolutely true.

It's strange though that once Morrell was no longer subjected to torture he lost the ability to leave his body. It's as if astral projection in such cases is an escape mechanism when the body can't take any more.

The circumstances are similar to Near Death Experiences (NDE) such as the case of Iris Lemov which I wrote about in my post Near Death Experience Changes A Woman's Life. The difference being that with Astral projection there is free movement to travel wherever we wish. With NDEs it is usually where someone experiences what happens after, or just prior to, death.

I guess the importance of Astral Projection and NDEs is that it shows quite clearly that we are not simply physical beings. The body is just a temporary home.

Further Reading:
Near Death Experience Changes Woman's Life
Astral Travel By Hypnotherapy
How The Virgin Mary Had A Child But Remained A Virgin

Near Death Experience Changes Womans Life

I guess a lot of us have ideas about an afterlife, so this story of Iris Lemov's Near Death Experience (NDE) will hopefully be of interest. It was sufficient to change Iris's whole outlook on life.

Mrs. Lemov was in hospital for an operation - nothing major but something which had to be carried out. Everything appeared to go well until, that is, she was returned to her hospital room. In Iris's words:

"I was brought back to my room after surgery and was speaking to my nurse, when a strange separated feeling between my body and my brain occurred. High above my body I floated wondering why so many doctors were around the bed."

Her heart actually stopped beating, she looked down on her pale face and then everything went black.

The next thing she recalled was being in a black tunnel, there was a light at the end of it - sound familiar? She continued:

"I felt frightened and excited as I neared the end of the tunnel. I felt peace, without pain and free. The light at the end of the tunnel was bright but easy on my eyes."

Once through the light, "It was a sight to behold. There was velvety green grass and calmness. Music coming from nowhere made me feel comfortable and I began to feel as if I belonged. I saw figures coming towards me who called my name. This man with a white beard told me to go back and said, 'Your family needs you, enjoy your life.' This beautiful man was my grandfather who died two years before I was born."

Iris added, "If we could all have the opportunity of seeing my valley during the course of our lifetime, how much more purposeful our lives would be."

Though Iris Lemov had been technically dead she survived and returned to full health. There does appear to be a right time for life and for death.

There are countless similar stories of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) on record. Many in the medical profession, however, put these down to some sort of psychological, chemical or biological action (see here). The mind or brain, they reckon, simply plays a trick on us - but why would this happen? For what purpose?

I remember reading somewhere of a medical nurse who sometimes saw apparitions at the time prior to her patients dying. She saw figures and in one instance the patient, who was clinging to life, smiled and said that she had just been visited by her dead sister. This tied in exactly with what the nurse had witnessed.

Like so many things about our lives it is up to us to decide what we wish to believe.

Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

I came across this Near Death Experience (NDE) when I was doing some research on my surname Perry. The story is about the recollections of an old officer, a Captain David Perry, who lived way back (1741 to 1826). He was involved, as a soldier, in both the French and Revolutionary wars of that period. He kept the experience of his NDE to himself for thirty years.

The following is Captain Perry's story in his own words, in the style of that time - he seems to have liked very long sentences!

"While I was on board the vessel, it appears to me that I died - that I went through the excruciating pains of the separating of soul and body, as completely as ever I shall again, (and such a separation must soon take place) and that I was immediately conveyed to the gate of Heaven, and was going to pass in; but was told by one, that I could not enter then, but in process of time, if I would behave as he directed, on the set time I should have admittance.

It appeared to me that my feet stood on a firm foundation, and that I stood there for the space of about a half hour. In this time there appeared to be a continual flowing up of people, as we suppose they die; and none stopped, but all passed off, one way or the other.

Just at my left hand, there appeared to be the opening of a great gulph, and the greater part of the grown people seemed to pass off there. Once in a while one passed through the gate into the Holy City.

One person appeared, with whom I had been intimately acquainted, and it appeared to me that I knew him as well as ever I did: it was Doct. Matthews - [and whether I saw him or not, he died, as I afterwards learned, while I was sick on board the ship].

The one that talked with me, told me about the Revolutionary War, and showed me the British vessels in the harbor of Boston, as plainly as I saw them when they came. And during the first year of that war, I was down there in Gen. Putnam's regiment, and I went on Roxbury hill to see the shipping in the harbour, and they looked exactly as they had been shown to me many years before.

This transition (as I firmly believe) from life to death, and from death to life, which took place nearly sixty years ago, is as fresh in my mind now as it was then; and not many days have passed from that time to this, which have not brought the interesting scenes I then witnessed, clearly to view in my mind. But I never dared to say any thing about it, for a great many years afterwards, for fear of being ridiculed. But about the [last of February or first of January, 1763], peace was declared between England, France and Spain, and the people rejoiced exceedingly on account of it.

I told them we should have another war soon. They asked me why I thought so. I told them the British had settled peace with their foreign enemies, but they could not long live in peace, and they would come against us next. But I never told my own wife, nor any other person, of what happened to me on board the vessel, as above related, for nearly thirty years afterwards."

More info on Captain David Perry

Source: The Captain David Perry Web Site, © 1999 by Denise G. Jones, Chapter 5 - Used by Permission.

Did This Doctor Visit Heaven?

Out of Body and Near Death Experiences are easily explained away by scientists. Surgeons often hear such tales and take them with a pinch of proverbial salt. The same goes for anyone who claims to have visited Heaven.

Such experiences are said to be caused by a malfunctioning cortex or maybe nerve cells being deprived of oxygen or even the brain causing hallucinations, because of some form of immense stress.

These sort of opinions would likely have been put forward by say, a neurosurgeon like Eben Alexander. But because of a personal experience Eben has now changed his mind and claims he has seen Heaven for himself and now believes in God and an afterlife.

Dr.Alexander contracted a rare form of bacterial meningitis whereby the area of his brain which controls emotion and thoughts - his entire cortex - actually shut down. He was in a coma for a week and doctors believed he wouldn't recover.

It was during this seven day period he claims to have visited Heaven.

Alexander explains: "According to current understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent."

So what was Heaven like?

His first memory is of  "roots" over his head and having no knowledge of his past life. Sights and sounds appeared to merge together and began spinning and clearing away the surrounding murkiness.

The next thing he was aware of was flying over a meadow. He couldn't speak and had no awareness of his body. He felt he was simply a "speck on a butterfly wing" along with millions of other butterflies in a swirling "river of life and colour".

Below him were waterfalls, pools and "indescribable colours", and above him were clouds that were "big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against a deep blue-black sky".

Far above the clouds were flocks of "transparent, shimmering beings", making arcs of gold and silver across the sky. "Indescribably gorgeous" hymns and chants wafted down from these beings - "higher forms" of life which, as he gathered his thoughts later, he could only describe as "angels".

Travelling with him was what he took to be his guardian angel: a young woman with high cheekbones, deep-blue eyes and golden brown hair. She was wearing orange, indigo and powder blue clothing.

"Her thoughts were things like, 'You are loved. You are cherished for ever. There’s nothing you can do wrong'".

Together they moved on to "the core, an inky darkness that was also full to brimming with light." Here there was "a beautiful warm awareness of the divine which was clearly what we would call God".

After being in a coma for seven days Dr Alexander awoke. He is now back to being a doctor but spends part of his time investigating how "we are much more than our physical brains".

Obviously many will think Dr Alexander's story to be just that: a fantasy tale. To doubters he says that he has two points to make:

(1) Firstly, to his knowldege, no one else has made such claims while his or her cortex was shut down.

(2) His experience happened while his body was under intense medical observation every minute that he was in his coma.

So, is this proof that Heaven does exist and we have nothing to fear from death?

Dr Eben Alexander has written a book of his experience, which is available on Amazon:
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife

Similar Heavenly Posts:
Where Is Heaven?
The Bird Angel Who Comforts As Someone Dies
Near Death Experience In The Stars

Where Is Heaven?

Rosa Celeste: Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest 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 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.

Heavenly Quotes:

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

Further Reading:
Near Death Experience Changes Womans Life
Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection And Travel
Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

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

Are Near Death Experiences All Down To Carbon Dioxide?

In yesterday's post I wrote about an example of a Near Death Experience (NDE) and how this changed a woman's life.

To balance things up I thought I'd put forward the sceptics view of such experiences today. The journal Critical Care has just published details of a study carried out by a team of Slovakian scientists on patients whose hearts had stopped following a cardiac arrest.

The scientists have reached the conclusion that any near death experiences (calmness, travelling through a tunnel towards a bright light, meetings with dead people etc.) are all down to carbon dioxide! An excess of the gas, they say, alters the chemical balance of the brain and this, in turn, fools the brain into seeing these things.

The Slovaks reached these findings after studying 52 people who had been resuscitated after their hearts had stopped. The patients which had an NDE, or something similar, were those who had a higher concentrate of carbon dioxide.

They explain that, though the heart and breathing may have stopped, the brain can survive for several minutes unharmed. It is during this period when the NDEs or out of body experiences occur.

A British expert Dr. Sam Parnia told the Daily Mail that high levels of carbon dioxide indicates that a patient had a 'good resuscitation'. In other words the doctors had ensured a good flow of blood to the brain, and these are the people more likely to remember out of body experiences.

So there you go it's nothing mystical at all, it's all down to carbon dioxide!

I'm not saying they are right, of course.

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?

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

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

White Doves Acting As Messengers From The Dead

I published a post a while back about The White Dove Being A Messenger Of The Dead. This told of Dan's experience with a white dove when his aunt died.

In response to this post other 67 Not Out readers have responded with their own experiences similar to Dan's. Here are two of them.

"I went today and placed a memorial garden stake on my best friend's grave who died two months ago today (I just now realized that the date was significant).

While I was there I prayed and asked to feel her presence. I wanted assurance that she was in Heaven and happy now.

When I left, I did not feel any particular assurance, other than having a good feeling from visiting her burial site and placing a memorial, with her photo, so people can remember her beautiful smile.

When I returned home, there was a white bird sitting near my driveway between her old house (we used to be neighbours) and mine.

When I got out of my car to investigate (I was afraid it was someone's pet bird) I discovered that it was a white dove.

I immediately felt assurance that my friend was in Heaven and she had sent this white dove as a message to let me know that all is well."

"My husband and I where on the way to see my mother and we saw three doves flying in formation.

The three doves where flying so close to my car that I almost had to pull over. I was so afraid they where going to hit my car but they stayed right by the side of it.

My mother was in good health when we arrived.

On our way home, however, we heard on the car radio of an awful car accident locally, where three people had been killed. I don't know if there was any connection with the three doves but it was on the same stretch of road."

Other 67 Not Out Blog Posts:
White Feathers Comfort The Bereaved
A Secret Freemasons View Of Old Age And Death
Near Death Experience In The Stars