Ghosts Among Us - James Van Praagh [11]
Aunt Cassie passed away in her late eighties. She literally sat down in her living room chair and died. Because she was the last of her generation to leave, all of her nieces and nephews showed up for her funeral. It was a wake like no other. As I sat with my back against a wall, talking to my sister Lynn and cousin Ruth, I joked, “You know, Cassie will have to make an appearance.” Suddenly all three of us felt an icy-cold chill run through our veins. We looked at each other in amazement. I glanced upward and saw Aunt Cassie standing there with my mother and the rest of my aunts and uncles. Cassie was pointing at us and laughing. She wore a white dress with a green print. She looked stunningly young, and quite different from the stiff body laid out in the coffin. I heard her saying to me, What? Did you think I would miss my own funeral?
I shared my vision with Lynn and Ruth. My cousin looked at me and remarked, “You are so weird!” The three of us shared a laugh. We were happy that Cassie was finally back home with the family she had missed so much and had wanted to be with for such a long time.
After the funeral, what’s next for ghosts? It depends on a number of factors. Was death the result of a prolonged illness? Did the person have strong religious beliefs? Was the person afraid of dying? Was the person in an accident or murdered? Was the person a child? Because our consciousness doesn’t die at death, we carry our mind-set of thoughts and beliefs with us to the other side. As in life, so in death. When we cross over into the other dimensions, we continue to create experiences through our thoughts, the same way we did in life.
ENTERING THE LIGHT
The newly dead are usually drawn to a brilliant white light. What exactly is this white light, and why do most sense it at the time of death? Scientifically, when all colors come together as one, they become white. I believe that this white light is at one end of the dimensional spectrum and blends all colors of the light spectrum. I believe that this “end of colors” is the threshold to another dimension, and it’s interesting that the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” seems to refer to it exactly. The other side of the rainbow is the end of the spectrum of color as we know it. Perhaps that is why this song strikes a chord with so many people and is still so popular more than a half century after it was written.
When I was a child, I had a vision of this white light and thought of it as the hand of God. It was a feeling of joy and pure unconditional love. It seems to be the same for those who have had near-death experiences. They are drawn to this luminous light and feel utter peace as they go toward it. Like me, some have characterized the light as God, while others, with no particular philosophy, have called it the “all-knowing” or “home.”
Suffice it to say that the white light is indeed a doorway or a porthole, and once you go through it, you have entered the spiritual dimensions and arrived home. Not once when doing my work have spirits ever said to me that they wished they could come back to earth and live again. The spirits with whom I communicate are usually thrilled that they are in the light and would want it no other way. Their biggest regrets have to do with not realizing the truth about life when they were alive on earth. They often comment that, had they known, their lives would have been very different.
BLUE THUNDER
I find it fascinating to listen to various ghosts discuss how they experience the other side. For one thing, they seem to have an overwhelming sense of being free. When they realize they have passed over, they immediately go to their grieving