Getting Started

Very little is known about dying process in western society, largely because it is not studied.  The reasons for this have to do with our classical, scientific perspective.

Cutting-edge, or quantum science has closed the gap between the disparate viewpoints of "science" and "religion."  For the last couple of hundred years or so, western thought has viewed “life” as biology, which resulted from a long series of highly improbable accidents that occurred in an otherwise dead universe.

Quantum science now contends that our universe is an illusion of sorts... a manifestation of “unified consciousness.”  In other words, our universe and everything in it is a product of Mind.  From this perspective the entire universe is alive.  In other words, “life” is consciousness.  Or one might say, life begat biology and not the other way around.  (For more on this I recommend reading Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D. and John Hagelin, Ph.D.)

In practical terms, what this boils down to is that the true nature of life (including the question of “life after death”) is now a scientific and not just a religious issue.

For clarity in this blog I shall refer to the words of a fellow hospice nurse who, when asked to define the difference between “spirituality” and “religion” replied: “I have always thought of religion as something that is taught, while spirituality is something that is felt.”  I have found this statement to be eminently practical and profoundly insightful.

As a nurse working with dying people I have observed many wondrous things, and pondering those things led to a personal study of dying process itself.  I have found that dying process leads us to a deeper understanding of who we really are.  It is a learning process really, and typically involves phenomena that we would call “paranormal” or “extrasensory.”  In dying process paranormal is normal. 

While reading about all of this is interesting to the intellect, the real juice comes from direct experience and observation.  And that is what this blog is all about… people telling their story. 

Dying people seeing and talking to deceased relatives or other “unseen” entities is seldom spoken of in everyday conversation.  Yet it is not the least bit uncommon.  We fear being labeled “crazy” or “superstitious,” but you might find it reassuring to know that what hospice nurses call “near death consciousness” is as common as dying itself, which is as common as dirt.

It is my fondest hope that, through this blog, people will avail themselves of the opportunity to share, to learn and to feel not-so-all-alone.

The following is an example that came to me by way of an email (sent by someone who purchased my books.)

This lady told me that towards the end of her grandfather’s dying process he began talking to someone she and the rest of her family could not see.  She said her grandfather would speak, then wait, as if listening to someone reply to what he had said.  She and her family could not see who he was talking to, but they did notice something very peculiar.  It seems their grandfather had a dog that stayed with him in his bedroom.  When he was speaking (the woman’s grandfather) his dog would look at him.  When he was silent (apparently listening) the dog would look towards the unseen person… an empty space in the room.