Forum
Extraordinary Experience of the Bereaved
This did not happen to me, but it did happen to a friend of mine and I'll try to relay it as she did. Next door to my friends home, there was a family which included a 6 year-old boy. He died in a tragic accident and about 2 weeks after his death, his mother was extremely distraught and crying in her living room. For some reason, she shoved her hand under the sofa pillow and pulled out a drawing, colored with crayons, that this 6 year-old had made. It was a self portrait. He had a big smile on his face and he had drawn an arrow from his body pointing up to a huge bright sun in the sky. This really helped my neighbor as she felt it was a sign that he was OK. Submitted by Marilyn (Cincinnati, OH)
Near-Death Experience
I was 5 years old and swimming in a small backyard pool. My mom was hanging up laundry behind the pool and my sister and our friend were chatting animatedly on a raft. As I swam underwater like a frog, I suddenly realized that I couldn't get up for air because the rafts were jammed together, and I was too weak. I was very scared at first, and then I felt a complete calmness and lack of fear. I knew I was going to die. Then, I was out of my body and watching it all from above the pool. No one knew I was lying on the bottom, dying. I could see everything, including my mom with a wooden clothes pin in her mouth. Next, I was enveloped in a loving white light. That's when my life review began. I couldn't see the pool anymore but felt like I was in empty white space. My entire life flashed before my eyes in what seemed like seconds. Yet, there was a complete understanding that surrounded it - like I knew volumes in those few brief moments. I saw every single thing that had ever happened to me, including a birthday party and small details of my life that I had forgotten about. I no longer felt like a child but like a soul analyzing the experience. I could sense female beings behind me, like stern but loving teachers. They watched, as well, and helped me see how I had not been very kind to others in my five short years - I had a fiery temper to match my red hair. As soon as I came to this realization, the review was over and I was, once again, watching the scene from above the pool. I thought again, "I'm going to die. No one knows I'm down there." I could suddenly see through the rafts and my tiny body lying on the bottom of the pool, motionless. Then, my sister stopped talking, perking her head up as if she heard my thoughts. "Where's Kathy?? she asked frantically. "Where's Kathy! Oh my God, she's down there!" She must have seen me because the next thing I remember I was gasping for air. Then, I was out of the pool and my mother squatted down to my level. "I almost died!" I told them. My mother assured me that I "did not almost die" and that "I was perfectly fine." I never stopped insisting that I almost died and never forgot the memory. From that moment on, I became totally driven with my writing. I went on to author four spiritual/metaphysical books and now dedicate my life to helping others. My dad also told me recently that I nearly drowned at the age of four, as well, when he found me lying on the bottom of a lake. I now feel this was a "failed attempt at an NDE" by my soul, which obviously wanted me to have that experience. I wonder if God sometimes plucks children off earth and briefly takes them back to heaven so they will remember their earthly purpose. It was not until years later that I realized that my childhood memory was actually a near-death experience.
I believe the most important lesson from my NDE is that we need to treat others with love and kindness. My spirit guide also taught me that it doesn't matter if you help people through books and traveling the world or if you help save a dying plant - both are equally important. What matters is the act of helping others and to "walk with love in all you do". - Submitted by Kathryn Diamond (Galway, NY)
Please visit: www.rachelsmagicswing.com or www.kdiamondbooks.com
Near-Death Experience
I am a nurse and was working in the Emergency Department when a 28 year old man came in for stitches on his face after falling in the bathroom. He lived with his parents and they came in with him. His parents explained that their son had permanent weakness and brain damage after being in a car accident a few years before. They told me that is why he fell in the bathroom, from the weakness. They then went on to say it was a miracle he survived the accident as his breathing and heart stopped shortly after the paramedics got to the scene. They were told he was dead. I have heard about near-death experiences and was curious to see if maybe this man had experienced one so I asked him if he remembered the accident. He smiled at me and nodded his head yes. He then slowly recalled what happened - he remembered being "outside my body watching as the paramedics tried to get me breathing again - they were working so hard crawling in the car. I felt fine and tried to tell them that but I couldn't get their attention". He also remembers "talking to my uncle and my grandfather - we had a nice conversation. I am not afraid at all of dying." His experience is very similar to what I've read about in books. - Submitted by Martin C. (Marysville, OH)
After-Death Communication
I was an only child and very close to my mother. I took her death very hard. A few months after she died, I was lying in bed trying to sleep but couldn't. I opened my eyes and there she was - at the foot of my bed smiling at me. She didn't say anything but she looked years younger than when she had died and seemed to be lit up, glowing almost. I know she was trying to tell me she was fine. It felt wonderful to see her and helped me a lot in the years ahead. This experience happened 20 years ago and I've never told anyone about it until now - I didn't want people to think I was crazy. - Submitted by Mary H. (Columbus, OH)
Nearing-Death Awareness
I work for a transport program and a few years ago, I was helping to load an elderly man onto an airplane so he could go for a heart transplant. He was gravely ill but awake and alert with a good heart rate and blood pressure. His family was present and visibly upset, crying. I asked his daughter if I could help her in any way and she said, "No, no one can help us right now. My dad is acting crazy, he's delirious. He keeps talking about the soldiers he sees in the corner of the room. They are from WW II. He keeps telling us they want him to go with them. He seems OK otherwise. I just don't understand it". I thought to myself how sad this was - maybe he really was seeing the soldiers and needed to talk to his family about dying, but they weren't able to have this conversation. - Karen C. (Columbus, OH)
After-Death Communication
My husband died from a heart attack when he was only 52. He was very healthy and had just retired from the military, so we were looking forward to the years ahead. His death was completely unexpected and, as you can imagine, devastating. We have three grown children that I am very close to. Shortly after he died, I was in bed with my eyes closed but not asleep. I felt a very gentle kiss on my lips and I knew, without a doubt, that it was him. I did not see him, but I could clearly feel his presence. It was wonderful and very comforting. When I told my children about this they looked at me funny and told me I must have been sleeping and it was a grief-induced dream. I know it wasn't. - Submitted by Laura G. (Detroit, MI)