Whimsical Tree © Lena Montecalvo

This week’s post is a repeat of one of our earliest posts, about how our loved ones can leave great gifts behind when they leave this physical body.

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Sometimes when loved-ones pass on—if only we open our hearts—we find they’ve left us gifts greater than anything we could have imagined. Here is a story of one such gift.

Lena has always felt there is more to life than we see with our eyes, so the possibility that her deceased parents might communicate their love to her, even after their deaths, has been easy to accept. As a young woman, she felt and smelled her father’s presence during her deepest sorrow after his passing. In later years, Lena has seen and heard the presence of her mother during some of her most difficult times.

But something Lena could not have predicted is the way her mother would help her make a new beginning and reveal a talent she did not even know she had.

“My mother was a talented artist who didn’t share her work widely. She was a little on the shy side and suffered depression in her later years. Painting water colours and folk art gave her great personal reward and comfort.”

After her mother passed away, Lena wrote her eulogy and concluded with words she’d found scribbled in one of her mother’s sketch books: “Mantra for new beginnings.” Then, needing to know something about her mother’s next journey, Lena consulted a set of rarely-used angel oracle cards.

“I said out loud: ‘Mom, if you want, and if you are able, please help me pull a card that will tell me you’re alright; that you are here with me.’”

Lena shuffled the deck and, “I pulled The Butterfly. I turned it over and read a comforting and completely fitting passage about ‘new beginnings’. It was clear: It was Mom.”

Later, she and her sisters sorted through their mother’s belongings as they prepared to sell her house and give away the things they could not use. For a reason Lena could not explain, she kept the art supplies.

“One night, I decided to try a tiny painting,” she says, and this led her in a direction she could never have predicted: “I had no idea I was able to paint!”

A few years afterward, “I have found I possess a definite and recognizable style, and it makes me happier than anything I have ever done.”

Lena is now an active participant in her local artistic community where she gives art classes and sells her own work. She also makes a few prints and cards of the water colours her mother left behind.

“I know for certain this comes from my mother’s inspiration. I feel her close when I pick up the brush,” says Lena. “It’s a perfect legacy to me.”

If you have an inspirational story to share about a comforting experience you have had with a loved one who has passed on, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at themeaningofforever@gmail.com. You can find out more about our project on our Website and our Facebook page. If you like this story, please click “Follow” at the right of your screen and feel free to share with others.

 

As far back as Sibyl can remember her father, a Presbyterian minister in Scotland during the 1940’s, told stories of suddenly seeing friends and relatives coming to say goodbye not long after they left this life. Always, he would say they were accompanied by a blue globe of light.

Sibyl longed to see this blue globe, but many years would pass before she did. In the meantime, she became a registered nurse, immigrated to Canada and began delivering babies at a hospital in Ontario. It was 1975 when that light finally appeared.

“Every time I welcomed a newborn baby into the world I became aware of the small blue globe of light that accompanied each baby at birth,” writes Sibyl. “My Dad, on the other hand, experienced the blue globe of light when his deceased friends came to say their goodbyes.”

So, she formed her own conclusion: “This blue light was present whether a human being was coming into this world or leaving it! I came to the realization that, regardless of faith or belief, a loving Divine Presence is always with us.”

More than a decade later, Sibyl made the sad journey home to Scotland to be with her mother who was dying of cancer. There, at her mother’s bedside, Sibyl saw that same blue globe—much larger this time and, although she experienced the agony of knowing her mother was about to pass from this world, she also felt “ecstasy knowing that this Divine Presence was there to lead her to her new home!”

A couple of months after her mother had passed away, Sibyl had three dreams in which she learned that her mother had a lovely home in the new world where she now lived. When Sibyl made her dream visits there, she was also able to visit her deceased brother.

“In the third dream I was shown how happy my Mom now was with her new life and friends. As I prepared to leave she reminded me in a kindly way that she was no longer my mother!

“This showed me that I needed to learn a certain amount of detachment and let my Mom get on with her new life.  I also knew that this bond of love that we shared in life would never die.”

Thank you, Sybil, for your wonderful story. For us at The Meaning of Forever Project, it illustrates three very important principles: 1. That each of us is accompanied by a Divine Presence whether or not we know it; 2. That, even though our loved ones may comfort us with their presence after they have left this life, there comes a time when they must continue to their next stage of unfolding as Soul, and it is important for us to let them go; and, 3. Even though we know this, we can also know that “this bond of love that we shared in life” will never die.

If you have a story about how you learned of the continuation of life, and how the love between Souls continues forever, please feel free to contact us: on Facebook, through our website, or by email at themeaningofforever@gmail.com

We would love to hear from you! You can follow our bi-weekly blog by clicking “Follow” to the right of your screen.

 

This post first appeared on The Power of Pets website maintained by Marybeth Haines. 

By Ruth Edgett

Sometimes in the world of humans and horses—if we’re lucky enough—we meet our horse of a lifetime. Ubetcha Maggie was that horse for me. I felt eternally twelve years old with her. Together we could run faster, go farther, have more adventures than either of us could ever do on our own.

Having begun life as a Thoroughbred racehorse, Maggie was 1,000 pounds of compressed energy, ready to explode at the least provocation. And she was my best friend. My road with Maggie, from timid purchaser to confident rider, had taken some bumps and curves but eight years into our relationship, Maggie and I had become a well-synchronized pair; we trusted each other absolutely. Maggie would even come to me in dreams. Once, as we were still sorting our relationship and I was learning a painful new meaning for the term “On again, off again”, Maggie appeared in a dream to say proudly, “I’m very fit!” to which I replied ruefully, “I know.”

Through dreams and inner experiences, I gradually realized that Maggie’s and my story may have had its start long before we met in this life. Perhaps we had been together in previous lives, too, and this one was a chance for two souls who loved each other to be together once again. It was that kind of love that saw us through Maggie’s last days, because I had a knowing that in this life—perhaps unlike past ones—it was my job to see her out. And I did. I was there the frigid January midnight that Maggie drew her last breaths and collapsed on the floor of her stall after a valiant battle with pneumonia.

With the physical part of Maggie gone, I felt like taking a rest from horses. Responsibility for another horse, and all the commitment and expense that entailed was not something I wanted to jump right back into. Yet, friends convinced me to continue riding, and there were lots of horses who needed riders. In fact, one lived right next door.

A family had moved into the horse farm nearby only the year previously. By the time of Maggie’s death, my new neighbour—we’ll call her Alice—had bought a horse for herself but learned through painful trial and error that Whisper was not for her. In the spring following Maggie’s passage, Alice offered to let me ride Whisper occasionally.

She was an entirely different type of horse than Maggie. Where Maggie was sleek and elegant, Whisper was big-boned and solid; where Maggie was excitable and explosive, Whisper was sensible and moved with deliberation; where riding Maggie felt a like floating, I could feel every jarring step Whisper took. Still, my first time on Whisper’s back felt right. It seemed as though she was asking, “how can I work with you to make our ride a good one?” Eventually, my friends began to comment on how well Whisper and I got along. I would respond, “She’s not Maggie, but she’s a good horse.”

One day, as I was grooming Whisper after a ride with Alice, we fell into a conversation. She loved Whisper very much but knew she would never feel confident enough to ride her again. Also, she felt Whisper was too fine a horse to be left standing in the pasture for the rest of her life. Although it hurt to give her up, she knew Whisper needed another owner. Alice said she’d talked it over with her husband and, “We’d almost be willing to give her to you,” she said. “A case of beer and a Toonie would probably do it.”

As she said this, I could feel a kind of silent pull from Whisper, as though she was pleading, “Please be my person…”

Still, I told Alice, “It’s too soon since Maggie. I need time.”

Soon after that conversation, I had a dream. I was in a pasture with all of Alice’s horses and someone was handing out treats, which the horses were taking turns to accept. I was standing beside Whisper, but Maggie was there, too. When it came time for Maggie to take her treat, she stepped forward like the others. But, instead of eating the gift she was given, she brought it to me. I remember thinking inside the dream, “How beautiful that she’s giving me this treat. It’s because she loves me.”

As I awoke, I knew what it meant: Maggie was giving me the “gift” of Whisper, and it was a gift of love. Soon after that, I delivered a case of beer and a two-dollar coin to Alice in exchange for Whisper’s bill of sale. That was eight years ago. Whisper is not Maggie, but I do not want her to be. Whisper is Whisper and what a wonderful partner she is. Together we run faster, go farther, and have more adventures than either of us could ever do on our own. I know, now, that I have been truly blessed with my second “horse of a lifetime”—and I know that Maggie approves.

When we share stories by contributors to The Meaning of Forever book project, love shows up as one of the abiding qualities in the variety of experiences people have with their departed loved ones. This seems to be true of near-death experiences as well, and as Dr. Joan Olinger writes, that feeling of transcendent love and the knowledge that life continues after expiration of the physical body are two lasting benefits cited by those who have died and been brought back to life.

Because near-death experiences are one more way to show that life continues, regardless of whether we have a physical container, The Meaning of Forever Project is also seeking stories about these experiences. Read Joan’s blog below to see how NDE’s can be a source of great comfort in grief and a means for releasing fear.

 

By Dr. Joan Olinger

What would it be like if you knew for certain that you do not die when your physical body dies; that, Instead, you continue as yourself, with your individuality intact?

We are so fortunate to be living in an age when people can be brought back to life, even after they are clinically dead; that is, when their heart stops beating and they stop breathing. Many of these people have told of their experiences in the time between their physical deaths and their resuscitation.

When my Father passed on a few years ago, I was deeply distressed. My distress was relieved to a great extent, however, when my brother told me that Dad once had a near-death experience after a heart attack. From then on, he was not afraid to die. Knowing of this occurrence gave me great comfort. It was proof that the essential part of my father—some call this soul—continues independently of his physical existence. My brother said our dad’s story helped him lose some of his own fear of death.

In 1975, in his groundbreaking book called Life After Life, Dr. Raymond Moody wrote of accounts by people who had been brought back to life, and he coined the term “near-death experience” (NDE). I read Dr. Moody’s book as a young woman and became very interested in NDE’s (See my May 11, 2017, blog about why The Meaning of Forever Project is so important to me).

About 15 years after reading Dr. Moody’s first book, I met a patient in her forties who had been pronounced dead and been resuscitated. Her near-death experience transformed her life. Having not done anything artistic since Grade 8, she became an artist and a poet, and won contests for her creative work. When I asked what happened during her near-death experience, she said it was very hard to put into words. Then she said she had gone through a tunnel, met with a brilliant, loving light, and that she was “in love” the way she and I were sitting in that room. I took this to mean that she had felt totally surrounded by love.

Dr. Pim van Lommel, a Dutch cardiologist and one of today’s most prominent scientific researchers of near-death experiences, is a contributor to a book called Surviving Death by Leslie Kean. In that book, Dr. van Lommel writes: “The NDE (near-death experience) is almost always transformational, causing enhanced intuitive sensitivity, profound insights and re-evaluations of life, and a loss of a fear of death.”

In his book God and the Afterlife, Dr. Jeffrey Long writes that near-death experiences often include the following: a) an awareness that the experiencer is no longer in their physical body, b) heightened senses, c) going through a tunnel, d) seeing a brilliant light,  e) intense and usually positive emotions, f) going to heaven or otherworldly realms, g) meeting with deceased relatives, friends or mystical beings, h) a review of the person’s life, i) learning special knowledge; and, j) returning to the physical body. He gathered this information scientifically through a questionnaire administered by the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, which he established.

In the process of working on The Meaning of Forever Project, I have had a chance to read many books, watch some incredible documentaries and talk with several friends who have had near-death experiences. Through this process, I too have lost my fear of death, and I take comfort in knowing that departed loved ones are just fine and enjoying their next existence.

Later, in another blog, I will provide an overview of the books listed below:

John Burke, Imagine Heaven. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2015)

Jeffery Long and Paul Perry. Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences (New York: Harper Collins, 2009)

Jeffery Long and Paul Perry. God and the Afterlife, (New York:  Harper Collins, 2016)

Leslie Kean. Surviving Death: A journalist investigates evidence for an afterlife, (New York: Crown Archetype, 2017)

Pim van Lommel. Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience (New York: Harper Collins, 2010)

If you’ve had a near-death experience that has helped you understand the continuation of life, or that has provided solace as you grieve the passing of a loved one, The Meaning of Forever Project would like to hear from you at themeaningofforever@gmail.com. You can find out more about our project on Facebook (here) or our web site (here). 

Disclaimer: The books listed here do not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of The Meaning of Forever Project.

DISCLAIMER: While The Meaning of Forever Project has taken an interest in the work of Dr. Mark Pitstick and his book Soul Proof; while we have posted stories of comfort by people who claim the ability to communicate with the departed, The Meaning of Forever Project does not endorse any type of mediumship, or other attempt to communicate with the dead. The purpose of The Meaning of Forever Project is to show those who are bereaved that they can let their loved ones go, knowing they continue to thrive in another type of existence. We do not seek to initiate contact with souls once they have moved on from this physical life.

When we began The Meaning of Forever Project to gather stories about comforting experiences with loved ones who have passed on, we had no idea how much had been written on the subject already, or on the larger question of life after death. Dr. Mark Pitstick’s book, Soul Proof: Compelling Evidence That No One Really Dies and How That Benefits You Now, caught our attention almost right away.

Pitstick, who says he has sat with many dying people, and that his credentials include graduate training in theology, clinical psychology and chiropractic health care, takes an evidence-based approach to the idea that life and consciousness continues independently of the physical body. Initially a skeptic who had seen one too many deaths he could not make sense of, Pitstick set out to answer, in a logically defensible manner, the question that has been with all of us since time immemorial: What happens after we die?

His conclusion is this: “Life is, most fundamentally, comprised of energy and light that is ever-changing, but never-ending. And that’s what you really are—an indestructible being of energy, light, consciousness, spirit.”

For Pitstick, knowledge that life and love continue after death of the physical body not only frees him from the sometimes-overpowering weight of grief over lost loved ones, it also enables him to live his life more fully because he is no longer afraid of dying.

This concept of freedom from fear is the underlying motivator of The Meaning of Forever Project. While the outward focus of our book will be on taking comfort in knowledge that our loved ones continue after physical death, we know that by taking this wisdom to heart, we can also release the innate fear of our own eventual deaths. And, as Pitstick says, this is when we find the freedom to truly live.

In the weeks to follow, Joan will be reviewing and summarizing a number of books in which people who have had near-death experiences describe other-worldly encounters of great beauty and comfort–and, how those experiences have affected the way they have chosen to live the rest of their physical lives.

In that spirit, The Meaning of Forever Project is also accepting stories about near-death experiences, particularly those that can show how the experiencer’s view of grief has changed because of it.

You can find out more about Dr. Mark Pitstick and his book Soul Proof on his website.

For more about the ever-growing list of materials Joan and Ruth are compiling, please visit The Meaning of Forever Project Home and Resources pages.

To stay up to date on our latest posts, please “like” our Facebook page or follow our Blog by clicking the “Follow” button to the right of this post.

 

If we accept the above as true, it’s not a stretch to believe that a loved-one who has passed into that next “stage of experience” continues to love those left behind and may, possibly, try to let them know.

Contributors to The Meaning of Forever Project have experienced just that: feelings of love from the person, or animal, who has died. They have been visited in dreams, in visions, through sounds, the appearance of articles that hold special meaning, and in many other ways. Some have had near-death experiences that, by showing how life continues after death, help them deal with the loss of those close to them.

In our previous post, a dream experience allowed a grieving mother to hold her daughter once again. Another contributor wrote of feeling both ecstasy and grief at the time of her mother’s passing; one described how her much-loved dog returned to her in a new body; yet another described how sounds and discovery of small articles demonstrated that her grandparents and her mother continued to be with her long after their physical bodies were gone.

The common thread in all these experiences is love, a love that lives beyond time and space, beyond the physical bodies of those who share it.

Harold Klemp writes that soul is the essential, animating part of every individual, that this essence within each of us can never die, and that its defining nature is love.

“…Soul, knowing of its divine nature, sees beyond the ends of eternity and knows It can never be extinguished like a candle’s flame,” he writes in Spiritual Wisdom on Life After Death.

 In her book Surviving Death, journalist Leslie Kean applied objectivity and scientific method to her research into the possibility of an afterlife. Here’s what she says in her introduction:

“While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature that are neither understood nor accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.”

Kean documents what she calls “after death  communications” (ADCs) in the form of “dream visits”, moving forms or apparitions, effects on electrical items, lights, voices, sounds and smells. She says these ADCs sometimes come as a shock because they are often unasked for and may occur for people who would never consider such things possible. Kean acknowledges that many people—including herself—are uncomfortable talking about these phenomena.

“Because they come and go quickly, and are rarely documented, ADCs are not evidential in a strict sense. Yet, these experiences can be the most potentially life-changing link to belief in survival for their recipients, because the messages can be so profoundly personal and specific,” writes Kean.

You can find both Kean’s and Klemp’s books listed on the Resources Page of The Meaning of Forever website.

So, perhaps that the dream you had—or the fleeting image you saw, the sound of a voice long gone from this earth, or the feeling your dear one was there beside you—was not just your mind playing tricks on you. It may be that it was your loved one saying in a manner meant specially for you, “I’m fine in my new life, and I love you as I always have.”

At The Meaning of Forever Project, we value and honour any experience you may have had with a departed loved one that has made you feel loved and helped you move forward in your grief. If you would like to share that experience with us, please do at themeaningofforever@gmail.com

See our website, Facebook page and previous blog posts to find out more about The Meaning of Forever book project.

 

“Being a medium, I understand why we come here and when it’s our time to leave, but it doesn’t make grieving any easier,” says Rev. Louise Michaud, who writes about the passing of her daughter Chantal at the age of 29.

Louise is an ordained spiritualist minister, a medium and spiritual counselor among other things. So, when her daughter left the physical world a week following a heart transplant, Louise knew the moment it happened.

Even though she was driving through the rainy night, still a long distance from the hospital where Chantal lay, “I felt my daughter’s soul leave her body,” recounts Louise. “As an intuitive, I knew she had passed, but as a mother I hoped I was wrong.”

Alas, Louise was not wrong. But she says that, since Chantal’s physical death, her daughter has continued to communicate with her. One night she heard Chantal very clearly tell her, “Mom, you have to write my story to help families that have lost a child.”

So, Louise did. And she says she did it with Chantal’s help. The result is A Daughter’s Journey: A Spirit from Heaven, which was published in October, 2014.

In spite of even this close communication, says Louise, “I believe that what we miss the most about our loved ones is the physical part of their being; not being able to see, feel or hear them again in human form. Yes, we have memories, pictures, videos; but, not having them by our side can be devastating…”

That is why one of her most precious communications with Chantal was in a dream about a year ago:

“I was having one of my moments missing my daughter and crying. I spoke to her and told her how much I missed her, and that what I missed most was holding her, hugging and kissing her.

“That night I had a dream that answered my prayers. It was a vivid dream, so real I could never forget it. I know Chantal and I were actually together.

“She gave me the most wonderful gift a mother could ever hope for: She allowed me to hold her, hug her and kiss her. It was so real, so emotional, and it gave me such comfort. I woke up sobbing but at peace.

“Chantal’s life had great meaning. She had a reason and a purpose to come here, and I know in my heart she was able to accomplish what she came to do. She taught me to be more loving, more caring, and more compassionate toward others. These wonderful qualities we should all possess, to help us to learn and grow spiritually.

“Chantal is always in my thoughts, and I get great comfort knowing she is around me, guiding me. My love for her grows stronger every day.”

You can find out more about Louise and her book here http://messagefromspirits.com/adaughtersjourney/

If you would like to share your comforting experience with a departed loved one, please get in touch with The Meaning of Forever Project at meaningofforever@gmail.com

 

 The Meaning of Forever Project is collecting and sharing stories that demonstrate how death of the physical body is not the end; that, as soul, we live on, along with the love we have shared.

We might call these new states—where those who have passed are allowed to meet with others they have loved—heaven. Sometimes, those of us left behind are given a glimpse of this heaven so that we can take comfort in knowing our loved ones have life beyond what we see with our physical eyes. We hope our project will help others catch that glimpse.

By Dr. Joan Olinger

I am so blessed to have been born into my family. My Mom and Dad always modeled being loving and kind to all of life, our fellow humans, animals, and plants. Both of my parents grew up on farms, and they learned to cherish all life. For them, everything was aglow with God’s love. From their example, I learned a desire to bring comfort to others.

Part of the immense blessing of my family was that there always was an interest in the continuation of life after death of the physical body.

Mom’s brother Keith died in his sleep at the age of 14. The entire family was shocked and despairing. But, during this despair, Keith appeared to a younger brother, Duane, as Duane walked to the barn to do his chores. Keith was ahead of him, entering the barn too. Duane ran after Keith, but couldn’t catch up. He searched the barn but couldn’t find his brother.

Still, Duane’s heart was so deeply touched by that experience he decided to become a minister. And he did fulfill that dream, ministering beautifully to his congregation for decades. All of Keith’s siblings became very active in their churches, too. Keith’s brother Ken, also became a minister and provided wonderful loving care to his congregations. Keith’s sisters, including my Mom, also ministered to others in their own loving ways. Many were directors of Sunday school for their churches, choir directors, or otherwise very active in their faith.

My Grandmother, Ethel Voas, had been profoundly grief-stricken by Keith’s death and reportedly took to bed for four years. Then, one night she had a dream in which her son came to her. He was with the old family dog who had also passed on. The two of them were herding sheep, just as Keith used to do as part of his chores. He greeted his Mother and told her he was fine. He said not to mourn him anymore. This experience transformed my Grandmother’s life. She arose from her bed, no longer grief-stricken or depressed and began to write beautiful poems about the continuation of life. (See our January 29 and March 9 blog  posts for some of Ethel’s poems and the consoling letter she later wrote to a dear friend who also lost a child.)

My Mother, Mary Voas Olinger, was also deeply touched by her brother Duane’s experience of seeing Keith in the barn, and by her mother’s transformation after meeting her son well and alive in a dream. One of my Mom’s great interests was walking through graveyards and reading the headstones to learn about the people remembered there. She was also a keen reader of the books written by renowned author and speaker Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, and even had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kübler-Ross one day after a speech. (See our website for book titles by Dr. Kübler-Ross and others who have shared her interest.)

This family interest in death and what happens afterwards extended to me as well. My Mom’s fascination influenced my reading from a young age. As a kid, I was reading books like Death Be Not Proud by John Donne and William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Then later, as a twenty-year-old, I read Raymond Moody’s book called Life After Life about near-death experiences.

Like my Mom’s brothers I, too, went off to University to become a minister. Mom’s stories about her brother Duane seeing his deceased brother Keith in a vision impacted my life too. My focus in University did shift from being a minister to becoming a clinical psychologist, but my interest in the possible continuation of life after death remained unabated. When I worked as a psychology professor, I encouraged my students to write papers about death and had a grief counselor come and talk with my class. Years later, I was also able fulfill my dream and become a member of the clergy in my church.

When my parents passed on, I also learned a tremendous amount about what happens before and after death. Shortly before my father died, he told my brother about a near-death experience during which he had seen the light and completely lost his fear of death.  My Dad was changed by this experience and became very interested in spiritual things. He went with me and Mom to spiritual events and had me watch spiritual TV shows with him. My Dad was so transformed by this experience that he even changed his name to John, which means “loved by God”.

On the evening we had the memorial service for my Dad, my Mom told me the story about how her brother Duane had seen his brother Keith heading for the barn in a vision. My Mom had dementia, and she told me the story many times that night. It was very important to her that I understood my Dad was not dead, but alive in heaven. Her telling me that story again and again was a great gift to me, and it eased my grief.

My Mom lived about three more years after Dad passed on. Her dementia became very severe towards the end of her life. I would phone her every night because I knew that, soon, she would not be able to speak. I wrote down every word she said, so I could hang on to it forever and cherish her words. I know if people had heard us talking, they probably would have thought most of it was nonsensical. But the love that flowed back and forth between us was very real.

I would tell her I was sending her a million hugs and kisses and would ask her if she had received them. She would say that they landed on her right toe and went all the way up her back. We’d both laugh. We would tell each other how much we loved each other. For the rest of the conversation, I would just say “yes”, “thanks for telling me about that”, “that’s interesting”, because I couldn’t understand my Mom’s words. But I surely could feel how much we both wanted to connect and share love. It was an incredibly special time. I valued every moment. I knew my Mom might soon become totally unable to speak.

For most of my life, I have been a workaholic. With significant embarrassment, I now write that I haven’t always made time for non-work things, like important relationships, because I always felt I would meet up with someone later. But this time with my Mom was an exception. I made time to call her every night. This was a time of incredible closeness and shared love between us. It was sacred.

Then a time came when I’d call my Mom, but the nurses couldn’t rouse her from sleep. I guessed that she was coming to the end of this earthly life and booked a flight so I could see her one last time. Before I could get on the plane, she passed peacefully in the night. I was devastated that I had not reached her before she died.

On that flight back to my Mom’s place, I was weeping and wishing I could have seen her alive. Suddenly, I saw my Mom in a vision. I had been uplifted in consciousness and was seeing Mom in heaven. She was beaming from ear to ear. She appeared to be in her 30’s, and she was healthy. Standing next to her was my Father, who also was also beaming. Mom’s parents were shoulder to shoulder with her, all of them radiant with joy. In the background, I could see other relatives coming to join them. I then knew that Mom, Dad, and my grandparents were alive, healthy, and very happy in heaven. This experience was as real as any I had ever had.

This experience transformed my life and inspired me to create a book of similar stories with my dear friend Ruth Edgett, whose mother had also recently died. We call our project The Meaning of Forever, and we are collecting stories from people who have had comforting experiences with loved ones who have passed on. If you have a story to share, please contact us at themeaningofforever@gmail.com

In the process of gathering many special stories, we have run into more bumps and delays than I had originally anticipated. I also became very busy in my work and began to wonder how much to continue with in the project. Then I went to a spiritual seminar and contemplated on my dilemma. I asked my inner spiritual guide what to do. He replied, “Do what you love, and love what you do”.

I spend a lot of time talking with people about their experiences surrounding death of the physical body. I love doing this, because it fulfills my desire to bring comfort to others who are grieving, and I know that working on The Meaning of Forever Project is one way to do that. It is a very joyful way for me to live my parents’ legacy. I am truly doing what I love and loving what I do.

 

 

Sometimes the greatest gifts from our loved ones come after they have passed on. And, sometimes, those gifts are unspeakable to others; they cannot comprehend the communication of feelings or wisdom contained in our private symbols.

Perhaps this is why most people who have comforting experiences with their departed loved ones choose not to share them with others. In sharing, they may feel their experience diminished in others’ eyes, or they may even feel ostracized. (See more on this from a previous post.)

This is what happened to 11-year-old Lynn when she tried to share with her school mates a precious experience with her mother at the moment of her passing from this life. It’s taken Lynn 49 years to find the courage and faith to tell her story again. Here it is:

“Mom was going to the hospital for minor surgery. It wasn’t supposed to take long.  It was November 1968. 

“She had been rushing around preparing all the meals in advance, cleaning the house from top to bottom, organizing cupboards and drawers, making sure we had every possible thing taken care of while she was away. She had even rallied the neighbours to support dad and care for my brother and me if the need arose. 

“It was a Friday at noon when she left for the hospital. We were about to return to school after lunch. She gave us each a hug and a kiss and told us she loved us. 

“On Monday night after an anxious day in school, dad told us the surgery had been a success and that mom was okay. We wanted to see her but, in those days, the hospital did not allow child visitors. So, we stayed at home while Dad went to the hospital with our hand-made cards and little, artful gifts. 

“The next day Mom called just before we left for school and told us she missed us, reminded us to be good for the neighbours and said she would be home as soon as she could, possibly by the weekend. My brother and I left for school feeling little lighter and happier. We had been through the worst and Mom would soon be back to take care of our every need. 

“That evening, when Dad announced he was going to see her, we insisted on going with him. Even though we knew we would not be allowed into her room, we wanted to be as close to her as possible; so we waited in the car, which was parked facing Mom’s hospital room two floors up. 

“An hour later, as dad emerged, he pointed to her window. In the darkness, we could see her standing there, surrounded by yellow light.  She waved, and in our excitement, we jumped from the car to be sure she could see us flailing our arms and dancing about. We sent waves of love to her as we formed a heart with our arms to show our love. 

“Thursday began with dad being late for work, which meant we were all behind. Dad left in a hurry, telling me to make sure my brother and I were not late for school. The house was upside down that morning. It seemed we had been able to hold it together, but now we were in overtime and the game was falling apart. 

“As I was about to leave the house, the phone rang. I wanted to heed Dad’s warning, but at the last second my curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the phone. It was Dr. Williams, our family doctor. He wanted to speak to Dad and wasted no time on niceties. I told him Dad was at work, and he gave strict instructions to have him return the call. My legs turned to rubber. I knew this was very important, that something was wrong. 

“I had never called Dad at work before, but I found the phone number and gave him the message. I told no one else about this call.

“After school one of our favourite neighbours was at the house waiting for my brother and me. She had already picked up our pyjamas and told us we would be spending the night at her home because Dad was at the hospital with Mom.

“This was a treat as we rarely stayed away overnight. We had a fun dinner and everyone was so nice. Too nice. I began to feel there was something really, really wrong. 

“At bedtime I was assigned to share a large bed with my girlfriend. Before long the house grew quiet. I could hear adults whispering in another room against the ticking of the clock on the night stand. 

“My attention soon went to the large window next to me. It was a night full of stars with a bright moon. There were clouds in the sky that floated by ever-so-quickly. I became mesmerized by the light of the moon that felt like it was shining down on my face. The stars seemed to twinkle and wink at me. 

“I became aware that the sky was talking to me. Then I opened my conversation with God: With tears streaming down my face, I cried as quietly as I could, because I knew God was making it possible for me to talk to Mom. 

“I asked her if she was okay and, just as I asked this, clouds covered the moon and the stars. When I asked again, the clouds moved off and the sky was clear. I felt a sense of relief. I continued to feel the light from the moon on my face. I felt so loved. 

“Then I asked God: ‘Are you telling me she is okay?’

“Now clouds moved in from nowhere. They covered the entire sky. I was overcome with sadness and knew without a doubt that Mom was gone. Through my tears I saw the clouds once again move off—this time leaving the sky lit up by what seemed a trillion stars. I saw the brightest moon I’d ever seen. 

“I knew this was God with Mom. I knew she was not alone, that she was happy, and that this was her saying Good-bye. I was filled with love for her and bursting with the knowledge that this experience was only for me. I was living this moment beyond the explainable. 

“I lay there on my side staring out the window for what seemed a very long time. When I looked at the clock, it said 9:43.  

“An hour or more later my brother and I were wakened, told to dress and return home. We entered a dark and empty house. Our neighbour told us to go back to bed while she went into the kitchen and put on the coffee. 

“My room was at the end of a long hall at the back of the house, facing the front door. We had been home for only twenty minutes or so when that front door opened. It was Dad with a few of the other neighbors. I jumped out of bed and began running toward him. He stood still as soon as he saw me. I stopped too. We both began to cry. I ran to him with my younger brother right behind me. He hugged us both and told us he was sorry but Mom was gone. 

“The house quickly filled up with neighbors, and my brother and I sat quietly while Dad explained that Mom had caught a cold on her way to X-rays the day after her surgery. The cold had turned to pneumonia and then double pneumonia. By Thursday afternoon she struggled for each breath. The strain on her heart was too much. The doctors told dad that she had a cardiac arrest and was technically dead but they were able to resuscitate her and—just as they thought she had stabilized—she had another heart attack. They could not resuscitate her a second time. All this had occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. 

“This was my affirmation that my experience with the moon and stars earlier that night was, indeed, my direct contact with God. It was the greatest spiritual experience of my young life.

“When I returned to school a week or so later, my first assignment was to write a story. I wrote this one in hopes of sharing my wonderful experience. When I read it aloud to my Grade Six class everyone, including the teacher, went silent. Years later a good friend told me how much my story had scared her and many of our classmates. 

“I wrote the story again in Grade Eight and, after reading it, my teacher told me she was concerned that I was introverted and that I spent too much time alone. The wonder of my experience was lost on all of them.”

All the same, says Lynn, that experience profoundly affected the way she has lived her life since.

Recently, while taking part in a spiritual study group, Lynn came upon a quote from a spiritual teacher that said sometimes we procrastinate out of fear. This struck her as timely, since she had been planning to contribute her story to The Meaning of Forever Project but had been putting it off.

 Finally, though, Lynn was able to find the courage and the trust to share her story once again. We’re glad she did.

 If you had a special spiritual experience with a departed loved one that you’ve felt timid about sharing, please consider sharing it with us. Here, you will find others who have had similar experiences, perhaps felt similar fears, but who have found that in the remembering and telling of their stories, their lives have been made that much richer.

 To find out more about The Meaning of Forever Project, please see our Website, our Facebook Page and take a look at previous posts on our blog. Feel free to email us at themeaningofforever@gmail.com

 

 

As my mother neared the end of her time on earth, she became steadily more confused. 

She had been a devout Christian all her life, but I had taken another spiritual path. We had talked about this often, she comfortable in her beliefs and I in mine. But, as her time grew shorter, she seemed to be searching.

When I would take my place by her bed and pick up her hand, she sometimes asked, “Will you be there when I wake up?”

I did not know how to answer, because it was not clear if she meant that she wondered whether I would still be in the room if she dozed off and came awake again; or, if she meant something deeper, like would I be there when she “woke up” on the other side of life?

Not wanting to make a promise I couldn’t keep, I would answer, “I hope so,” and leave it at that. But, her question worried me.

Even though she’d lived more than 90 years within a religion that teaches eternal life and the eventual rewards of Heaven, I sensed that my mother was beginning to doubt whether she would see those rewards.

Many years previously, I had explained my spiritual path to her, and how I believe that each of us is an individual Soul, an eternal spark of God, and that the most important part of each of is is not the body but that Soul.

“I don’t have a soul,” I had told her, “I am a soul.”

So, as Mom’s days on earth neared their close, I struggled with a way to help her feel more comfortable with the idea of passing over from one kind of life to another. Her question, “Will you be there when I wake up?” stayed with me. Why couldn’t I help her peacefully face the end of her life?

At home, the night before she closed her eyes for the last time, the answer came in the form of a short verse. 

The next day, my sister and I sat with Mom as she drew her last breaths. My words had come too late to help her while she was still in a conscious state, but as I took my place beside her after she stopped breathing, I was able to recite those words:

 

We will walk together

Across that border

And I shall have your hand

 

We will be unafraid

For there will be great love

And wonderful light

 

You will be met by those who have gone before

 

They will enfold you

And show you your life

Like a map

Lain out at your feet

 

And you will know

Why you lived

And why you died

 

And who you must be from now on

I cannot say for sure whether Mom could hear those words, or whether they meant anything at all to her. I do know that, between the time that she stopped breathing and the time the nurse arrived to make her passing official, Mom’s eyes fluttered open for the briefest of moments, as if she were saying she’d heard.

Later, as we planned her funeral, my sister suggested that verse be included in the service, and so it was. Whether it comforted Mom on her way out, or whether it comforted others coming to mark her passing, I cannot say. But I know it comforted me, and I know that she woke up to a fine welcome on the other side of that border. 

To share your story with The Meaning of Forever Project, please email us at themeaningofforever@gmail.com 

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