By Dr. Raymond Moody
Dying people glimpsing heavenly realms of light just prior to passing away—Medical personnel seeing patients’ spirits leave their bodies at the moment of death—Electric lights or household appliances switching on and off all by themselves in homes where someone has recently died—Birds appearing in some astonishing way that bystanders intuitively link with the recent death of a loved one—Visionary encounters with the deceased—Are these messages from beyond, signs from the departed?
Fantasy Novels?
They sound like incidents from fantasy novels. Yet, these real-life occurrences are familiar to many of us. Those who work with the terminally ill and their families witness incomprehensible, seemingly miraculous happenings on a regular basis. Still, we are often understandably reluctant to discuss such events with a public that is still ill prepared to accept them, and maybe harshly judgmental.
Comfort and Confirmation
This situation is sad. After all, the profound spiritual experiences of the dying bring great comfort to those who are afraid of death. They also ease the misery of those who are grieving over the loss of loved ones. The phenomena may well seem incredible to anyone who is hearing about them for the first time. However, I can personally attest to many, virtually identical cases from my own experience.
As a medical doctor-psychiatrist and philosophy professor, who has been actively studying the extraordinary experiences of the dying since 1963, I have been privileged to interview thousands of individuals from all over the world that returned to life after teetering on the brink of death.
Planet-wide, people in that situation return to tell the same story of getting out of their physical bodies. They report that they rise upward through a passageway or tunnel and emerge into a brilliant, comforting light of love and peace. There, they encounter and converse with the spirits of their departed friends and family members. They see their entire lives reviewed instantly in a full-color, three-dimensional, panoramic vision.
The Purpose of Life
They also meet a loving being of light that helps them relive every, single action of their lives, and teaches them that the purpose of life is to learn to love. When they return to this world, they are never again afraid of death. Their experiences convince them that what we know as death is simply a transition into another dimension—a supernatural world beyond this one.
Worldwide Phenomena
By now, almost everyone has heard of these endlessly fascinating, inspiring near-death experiences. Medical doctors on every continent, except Antarctica, have studied and reported on cases of the phenomenon in their own societies, and the near-death experience has been the subject of innumerable books, medical journal articles, television documentaries, talk show programs, and popular, Hollywood movies.
Hidden Aspects
There is much more to the story which the public does not yet know, however. There are many other kinds of extraordinary experiences that take place on death’s doorstep that are equally astonishing, inspiring and uplifting. These experiences have not yet fully entered public awareness—and that is what I do—bring it to attention
Bedside Experiences
For example, it is not widely known that bystanders attending at the bedsides of the dying often have their own experiences practically identical to near-death experiences. As the person in the bed passes away, the bystanders themselves sometimes leave their own bodies They rise upward toward a light with the spirits of their now-deceased relatives and friends. They say their goodbyes and return to their own bodies having accompanied the dying part way to the other side. Those who report these empathic death experiences feel that they actually co-shared the deaths of their loved ones. Not infrequently, medical personnel taking care of the dying experience this phenomenon, too.
Over the years, dozens upon dozens of doctors, nurses, hospice workers and family members have told me that they sometimes see patients leave their bodies at the moment of death. Occasionally, they even see the spirits of patients’ deceased loved ones come to escort the dying to the world beyond. These and many other areas of intellectual and spiritual phenomena will be discussed when I present at MCNJ’s June Conference.
Dr. Raymond Moody was a speaker at our conference— PEACE, THE PATH, AND THE PRACTICE: Developing Psychic Skills for Peace.