Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
Death and Departure
Case 1
S. (Subject): Oh, my god! I'm not really dead--am I? I mean, my
body is dead--I can see it below me--but I'm floating ... I can look
down and see my body lying flat in the hospital bed. Everyone
around me thinks I'm dead, but I'm not. I want to shout, hey, I'm
not really dead! This is so incredible ... the nurses are pulling a sheet
over my head ... people I know are crying. I'm supposed to be
dead, but I'm still alive! It's strange, because my body is absolutely
dead while I'm moving around it from above. I'm alive!
THESE are the words spoken by a man in deep hypnosis, reliving
a death experience. His words come in short, excited bursts
and are full of awe, as he sees and feels what it is like to be a spirit
newly separated from a physical body. This man is my client and I have just
assisted him in recreating a past life death scene while he lies back in a
comfortable recliner chair. A little earlier, following my instructions during
his trance induction, this subject was age-regressed in a return to childhood
memories. His subconscious perceptions gradually coalesced as we worked
together to reach his mother's womb.
I then prepared him for a jump back into the mists of time by the visual
use of protective shielding. When we completed this important step of
mental conditioning, I moved my subject through an imaginary time tunnel
to his last life on Earth. It was a short life because he had died suddenly
from the influenza epidemic of 1918.
As the initial shock of seeing himself die and feeling his soul floating out
of his body begins to wear off a little, my client adjusts more readily to the
visual images in his mind. Since a small part of the conscious, critical portion
of his mind is still functioning, he realizes he is recreating a former experience.
It takes a bit longer than usual since this subject is a younger soul
and not so used to the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth as are many of my
other clients.
Yet, within a few moments he settles in and begins to respond with
greater confidence to my questions. I quickly raise this subject's subconscious
hypnotic level into the superconscious state. Now he is ready to talk
to me about the spirit world, and I ask what is happening to him.
S: Well ... I'm rising up higher ... still floating ... looking back at
my body. It's like watching a movie, only I'm in it! The doctor is
comforting my wife and daughter. My wife is sobbing (subject wiggles
with discomfort in his chair). I'm trying to reach into her mind
... to tell her everything is all right with me. She is so overcome by
grief I'm not getting through. I want her to know my suffering is
gone ... I'm free of my body ... I don't need it any more ... that I
will wait for her. I want her to know that ... but she is ... not listening
to me. Oh, I'm moving away now ...
And so, guided by a series of commands, my client starts the process of
moving further into the spirit world. It is a road many others have traveled
in the security of my office. Typically, as memories in the superconscious
state expand, subjects in hypnosis become more connected to the spiritual
passageway. As the session moves forward, the subject's mental pictures are
more easily translated into words. Short descriptive phrases lead to detailed
explanations of what it is like to enter the spirit world.
We have a great deal of documentation, including observations from
medical personnel, which describes the out-of-body near-death experiences
of people severely injured in accidents. These people were considered
clinically dead before medical efforts brought them back from the other
side. Souls are quite capable of leaving and returning to their host bodies,
particularly in life-threatening situations when the body is dying. People
tell of hovering over their bodies, especially in hospitals, watching doctors
perform life-saving procedures on them. In time these memories fade after
they return to life.
In the early stages of hypnosis regression into past lives, the descriptions
of subjects mentally going through their past deaths do not contradict the
reported statements of people who have actually died in this life for a few
minutes. The difference between these two groups of people is that subjects
in hypnosis are not remembering their experiences of temporary death.
People in a deep trance state are capable of describing what life is like after
permanent physical death.
What are the similarities of afterlife recollection between people reporting
on their out-of-body experiences as a result of a temporary physical
trauma and a subject in hypnosis recalling death in a past life? Both find
themselves floating around their bodies in a strange way, trying to touch
solid objects which dematerialize in front of them. Both kinds of reporters
say they are frustrated in their attempts to talk to living people who don't
respond. Both state they feel a pulling sensation away from the place where
they died and experience relaxation and curiosity rather than fear.
All these people report a euphoric sense of freedom and brightness
around them. Some of my subjects see brilliant whiteness totally surrounding
them at the moment of death, while others observe the brightness
is farther away from an area of darker space through which they are being
pulled. This is often referred to as the tunnel effect, and has become well
known with the public.
My second case will take us further into the death experience than Case
1. The subject here is a man in his sixties describing to me the events of his
death as a young woman called Sally, who was killed by Kiowa Indians in
an attack on a wagon train in 1866. Although this case and the last one relate
death experiences after their most immediate past lives, a particular
death date in history has no special relevance because it is recent. I find no
significant differences between ancient and modern times in terms of
graphic spirit world recall, or the quality of lessons learned.
I should also say the average subject in trance has an uncanny ability to
zero in on the dates and geographic locations of many past lives. This is true
even in earlier periods of human civilization, when national borders and
place names were different than exist today. Former names, dates, and locations
may not always be easily recalled in every past life, but descriptions
about returning to the spirit world and life in that world are consistently
vivid.
The scene in Case 2 opens on the American southern plains right after
an arrow has struck Sally in the neck at close range. I am always careful with
death scenes involving violent trauma in past lives because the subconscious
mind often still retains these experiences. The subject in this case
came to me because of a lifetime of throat discomfort. Release therapy and
deprogramming is usually required in these cases. In all past life recall, I use
the time around death for quiet review and place the subject in observer
status to soften pain and emotion.
Case 2
Dr. N: Are you in great pain from the arrow?
S: Yes ... the point has torn my throat ... I'm dying (subject begins
to whisper while holding his hands at the throat). I'm choking ...
blood pouring down ... Will (husband) is holding me ... the pain
... terrible ... I'm getting out now ... it's over, anyway.
Note: Souls often leave their human hosts moments before actual death
when their bodies are in great pain. Who can blame them? Nevertheless,
they do stay close by the dying body. After calming techniques, I raise this
subject from the subconscious to the superconscious level for the transition
to spiritual memories.
Dr. N: All right, Sally, you have accepted being killed by these Indians.
Will you please describe to me the exact sensation you feel at
the time of death?
S: Like ... a force ... of some kind ... pushing me up out of my
body.
Dr. N: Pushing you? Out where?
S: I'm ejected out the top of my head.
Dr. N: And what was pushed out?
S: Well--me!
Dr. N: Describe what "me" means. What does the thing that is you
look like going out of the head of your body?
S: (pause) Like a ... pinpoint of light ... radiating ...
Dr. N: How do you radiate light?
S: From ... my energy. I look sort of transparent white ...
my soul ...
Dr. N: And does this energy light stay the same after leaving your
body?
S: (pause) I seem to grow a little ... as I move around.
Dr. N: If your light expands, then what do you look like now?
S: A ... wispy ... string ... hanging ...
Dr. N: And what does the process of moving out of your body actually
feel like to you?
S: Well, it's as if I shed my skin ... peeling a banana. I just lose my
body in one swoosh!
Dr. N: Is the feeling unpleasant?
S: Oh no! It's wonderful to feel so free with no more pain, but ... I
am ... disoriented ... I didn't expect to die ... (sadness is creeping
into my client's voice and I want him to stay focused on his soul for
a minute more, rather than what is taking place on the ground with
his body)
Dr. N: I understand, Sally. You are feeling a little displacement at
the moment as a soul. This is normal in your situation for what you
have just gone through. Listen and respond to my questions. You
said you were floating. Are you able to move around freely right after
death?
S: It's strange ... it's as if I'm suspended in air that isn't air ... there
are no limits ... no gravity ... I'm weightless.
Dr. N: You mean it's sort of like being in a vacuum for you?
S: Yes ... nothing around me is a solid mass. There are no obstacles
to bump into ... I'm drifting ...
Dr. N: Can you control your movements--where you are going?
S: Yes ... I can do some of that ... but there is ... a pulling ... into a
bright whiteness ... it's so bright!
Dr. N: Is the intensity of whiteness the same everywhere?
S: Brighter ... away from me ... it's a little darker white ... gray ...
in the direction of my body ... (starts to cry) oh, my poor body ...
I'm not ready to leave yet, (subject pulls back in his chair as if he is
resisting something)
Dr. N: It's all right, Sally, I'm with you. I want you to relax and tell
me if the force that took you out of your head at the moment of
death is still pulling you away, and if you can stop it.
S: (pause) When I was free of my body the pulling lessened. Now, I
feel a nudge ... drawing me away from my body ... I don't want to
go yet ... but, something wants me to go soon ...
Dr. N: I understand, Sally, but I suspect you are learning you have
some element of control. How would you describe this thing that is
pulling you?
S: A ... kind of magnetic ... force ... but ... I want to stay a little
longer ...
Dr. N: Can your soul resist this pulling sensation for as long as you
want?
S: (there is a long pause while the subject appears to be carrying on
an internal debate with himself in his former life as Sally) Yes, I can,
if I really want to stay. (subject starts to cry) Oh, it's awful what
those savages did to my body. There is blood all over my pretty blue
dress ... my husband Will is trying to hold me and still fight with
our friends against the Kiowa.
Note: I reinforce the imagery of a protective shield around this subject,
which is so important as a foundation to calming procedures. Sally's soul
is still hovering over her body after I move the scene forward in time to
when the Indians are driven off by the wagon train rifles.
Dr. N: Sally, what is your husband doing right after the attack?
S: Oh, good ... he isn't hurt ... but ... (with sadness) he is holding
my body ... crying over me ... there is nothing he can do for me,
but he doesn't seem to realize that yet. I'm cold, but his hands are
around my face ... kissing me.
Dr. N: And what are you doing at this moment?
S: I'm over Will's head. I'm trying to console him. I want him to feel
my love is not really gone ... I want him to know he has not lost me
forever and that I will see him again.
Dr. N: Are your messages getting through?
S: There is so much grief, but he ... feels my essence ... I know it.
Our friends are around him ... and they separate us finally ... they
want to reform the wagons and get started again.
Dr. N: And what is going on now with your soul?
S: I'm still resisting the pulling sensation ... I want to stay.
Dr. N: Why is that?
S: Well, I know I'm dead ... but I'm not ready to leave Will yet and
... I want to watch them bury me.
Dr. N: Do you see or feel any other spiritual entity around you at
this moment?
S: (pause) They are near ... soon I will see them ... I feel their love
as I want Will to feel mine ... they are waiting until I'm ready.
Dr. N: As time passes, are you able to comfort Will?
S: I'm trying to reach inside his mind.
Dr. N: And are you successful?
S: (pause) I ... think a little ... he feels me ... he realizes ... love ...
Dr. N: All right, Sally, now we are going to move forward in relative
time again. Do you see your wagon train friends placing your body
in some kind of grave?
S: (voice is more confident) Yes, they have buried me. It's time for
me to go ... they are coming for me now ... I'm moving ... into a
brighter light ...
Contrary to what some people believe, souls often have little interest in
what happens to their bodies once they are physically dead. This is not callousness
over personal situations and the people they leave behind on
Earth, but an acknowledgement of these souls to the finality of mortal
death. They have a desire to hurry on their way to the beauty of the spirit
world.
However, many other souls want to hover around the place where they
died for a few Earth days, usually until after their funerals. Time is apparently
accelerated for souls and days on Earth may be only minutes to them.
There are a variety of motivations for the lingering soul. For instance,
someone who has been murdered or killed unexpectedly in an accident
often does not want to leave right away. I find these souls are frequently bewildered
or angry. The hovering soul syndrome is particularly true of
deaths with young people.
To abruptly detach from a human form, even after a long illness, is still
a jolt to the average soul and this too may make the soul reluctant to depart
at the moment of death. There is also something symbolic about the normal
three- to five-day funeral arrangement periods for souls. Souls really
have no morbid curiosity to see themselves buried because emotions in the
spirit world are not the same as we experience here on Earth. Yet, I find soul
entities appreciate the respect given to the memory of their physical life by
surviving relatives and friends.
As we saw in the last case, there is one basic reason for many spirits not
wanting to immediately leave the place of their physical death. This comes
from a desire to mentally reach out to comfort loved ones before progressing
further into the spirit world. Those who have just died are not devastated
about their death, because they know those left on Earth will see them
again in the spirit world and probably later in other lives as well. On the
other hand, mourners at a funeral generally feel they have lost a loved one
forever.
During hypnosis, my subjects do recall frustration at being unable to effectively
use their energy to mentally touch a human being who is unreceptive
due to shock and grief. Emotional trauma of the living may overwhelm
their inner minds to such an extent that their mental capabilities to
communicate with souls are inhibited. When a newly departed soul does
find a way to give solace to the living--however briefly--they usually are
satisfied and want to then move on quickly away from Earth's astral plane.
I had a typical example of spiritual consolation in my own life. My
mother died suddenly from a heart attack. During her burial service, my
sister and I were so filled with sadness our minds were numb at the ceremony.
A few hours later we returned to my mother's empty house with our
spouses and decided to take a needed rest. My sister and I must have
reached the receptive Alpha state at about the same time. Appearing in two
separate rooms, my mother came through our subconscious minds as a
dream-like brush of whiteness above our heads. Reaching out, she smiled,
indicating her acceptance of death and current well-being. Then she floated
away. Lasting only seconds, this act was a meaningful form of closure,
causing both of us to release into a sound sleep of the Delta state.
We are capable of feeling the comforting presence of the souls of lost
loved ones, especially during or right after funerals. For spiritual communication
to come through the shock of mourning it is necessary to try to relax
and clear your mind, at least for short periods. At these moments our
receptivity to a paranormal experience is more open to receive positive
communications of love, forgiveness, hope, encouragement, and the reassurance
your loved one is in a good place.
When a widow with young children says to me, "A part of my husband
comes to me during the difficult times" I believe her. My clients tell me as
souls they are able to help those on Earth connect their inner minds to the
spirit world itself. As it has been wisely said, people are not really gone as
long as they are remembered by those left on Earth. In the chapters ahead,
we will see how specific memory is a reflection of our own soul, while collective
memories are the atoms of pure energy for all souls. Death does not
break our continuity with the immortal soul of those we love simply because
they have lost the physical personhood of a mortal body. Despite their
many activities, these departed souls are still able to reach us if called upon.
Occasionally, a disturbed spirit does not want to leave the Earth after
physical death. This is due to some unresolved problem which has had a severe
impact on its consciousness. In these abnormal cases, help is available
from higher, caring entities who can assist in the adjustment process from
the other side. We also have the means to aid disturbed spirits in letting go
on Earth, as well. I will have more to say about troubled souls in Chapter
Four, but the enigma of ghosts portrayed in books and movies has been
greatly overblown.
How should we best prepare for our own death? Our lives may be short
or long, healthy or sick, but there comes that time when we all must meet
death in a way suited for us. If we have had a long illness leading to death,
there is time to adequately prepare the mind once initial shock, denial, and
depression have passed. The mind takes a short cut through this sort of progression
when we face death suddenly. As the end of our physical life draws
near, each of us has the capacity to fuse with our higher consciousness. Dying
is the easiest period in our lives for spiritual awareness, when we can
sense our soul is connected to the eternity of time.
Although there are dying people who find acceptance to be more difficult
than resignation, caregivers working around the dying say most everyone
acquires a peaceful detachment near the end. I believe dying people are
given access to a supreme knowledge of eternal consciousness and this
frequently shows in their faces. Many of these people realize something
universal is out there waiting and it will be good.
Dying people are undergoing a metamorphosis of separation by their
souls from an adopted body. People associate death as losing our life force,
when actually the opposite is true. We forfeit our body in death, but our
eternal life energy unites with the force of a divine oversoul. Death is not
darkness, but light.
My clients say after recalling former death experiences they are so filled
with rediscovered freedom from their earthbound bodies that they are anxious
to get started on their spiritual journey to a place of peace and familiarity.
In the cases which follow, we will learn what life is like for them in
afterlife.