My Mom died at the age of 81... the day after 9/11. She believed that when you die...

[MiddleFingerMom]

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... all the people and animals that you so dearly loved who had passed before you would be
waiting with open arms to once again envelop you with all their love that you had felt for and
from them when they were still here.
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I don't share her belief system, but there are some days that it's VERY nice to believe that it
just might be so.
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[warrior1]

1. ((((Hug))))

[BuelahWitch]

2. I tend to believe that too, MFM

Is it real? I don't know, but it's a comforting thought and makes death a little less fearful.

[physioex]

3. I don't know why death itself should be feared.....

But death is the end of your journey and we should focus more on the journey than the destination. BTW I am just talking in a broad sense, not referring to current events.

[Auntie Bush]

12. I try to believe that too.

I'd love to think/believe someday I'll see or be reunited with my husband, my dear son, my parents and my beloved pets. But it's so hard to know if I believe that or if it's just wishful thinking.

[angstlessk]

4. I remember my first question in Catholic school when the priest

came to the class room to take questions...it was "Will I see my kitty when I go to heaven?"

He said no...and I was pissed at Jesus...then I find out the Catholic church has 'The Blessings of the Pets'....with this knowledge, when I was a kid...I might still be a Catholic....though I doubt it.

[RKP5637]

5. I miss all of my pets and friends that are gone, in fact, I think of them

often. I wish there were a grand reunion of some type, but I don't share her belief system either.

[Tumbulu]

6. My mother's plan was to GET Schwarzenegger and Bush

as soon as she died. If she could she was going to get a group together in heaven to go after them, or just hang around long enough to do enough to them before moving on, as she was not so sure of the mechanics of it all. Every day she made her plans of what they or she would do, how things could be done by the invisibles. It was really rather fun. She loved Maria Schriver and kept wanting her to dump that fool. She thought that even Laura Bush had voted for Gore- "how could anyone vote for Bush!"

After she moved on I kept watching for little signs of success....and I keep wondering if she will succeed in getting Bush into jail. Maybe she has grown tired of it all and is just having a nice time in heaven.....playing fun games with all these new ones coming in.......oh yes she was also going to get rid of guns everywhere ruining our lives! Go Mommy- we still need you!

[roguevalley]

7. I love your mama, Tumbulu. :D

Whatever consolation this can give you, I give two situations. There are more but these are most recent.

1. I had a near death experience. You do go somewhere and its beautiful. It also takes all the fear of dying away. I have no fear anymore.

2. My sister had to put her mastiff down, sweet Hooch who I loved and he loved me. I was lying on the bed dozing Saturday last and I felt a punch on my chest, like he used to do with his nose to get your attention. I opened my eyes and a big nose was in my face, his nose. I could see his eyes all bright and sparkling, happy. Then I blinked and he was gone. I looked at the clock, 1:47 in the afternoon. A feeling of great joy, of happiness and relief flooded me a split second and was gone. This Monday I was told that Hooch left the world about the same time as he came to me.

I wish you to know that I am merely among tens of millions who have had the same experiences. I hope it gives you peace. It did me.

Hugs, RV

"I looked to be happy and I was."

[Tumbulu]

9. Thanks roguevalley

I love her too and also loved your stories.

Thanks for sending peace!

[roguevalley]

10. back at ya, honey. :D

[Auntie Bush]

13. Wow! I love to hear stories like that...helps me to be a believer.

I have had quite a few of those type of experiences myself...ie messages from my beloved son and furry doggie angel. I don't know why I still question a life hear after.

I hope all those who lost loved ones in the shootings...are believers.

[pacalo]

15. Roguevalley, see my post #14 down below.

[Zoeisright]

8. I'd like to believe that too,

but it just doesn't make any sense.

[roguevalley]

11. that's okay. We will all find out one at a time. :D :D :D

[Arugula Latte]

16. A brain experiencing trauma, near-death, sickness, etc., can produce many

sensations and experiences that masquerade as reality. Yes, many people like to think that they are traveling in a tunnel of light to find peace, but odds are it is a chemical reaction, not actual travel.

[MiddleFingerMom]

17. That's part of the reason why it's called faith. I don't share that belief either, but...

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...it DOES provide comfort for those who do... and I doubt the beliefs of any of the
people here will ever harm me in the least.
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Sometimes, I remind myself to lighten up -- and think about the VALUE of decrying
what offers others comfort (especially at times like these) -- and I find very little
real value.
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I'm an atheist... and I try to self-apply the atheist commandment: Don't be a dick.
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[pacalo]

14. I believe that, too.

My best friend, my mom, died two days after Thanksgiving. She was also 81.

The night before she died, she didn't sleep at all. For hours, she was "talking" to some friend or relative that she was apparently envisioning. She mentioned names of people I had never heard of & friends who had passed on years ago. At one point she had a hearty laugh, which was especially unusual because she was very weak from not having an appetite.

She died very peacefully at 12:10 the next day.

Witnessing my mom's conversations affirmed to me that there must be an afterlife & that her friends & relatives were "there" to meet her.

She was close to dying a few years ago, & she told me later that it was the most peaceful feeling she had ever had, that she would never be afraid of dying after experiencing it.

That gives me comfort.

[lunatica]

18. My mother had a near death experience which changed her mind

She was never religious in the least. As a matter of fact she turned her back on religion or any belief in God when she was very young. Her experience didn't make her religious either. It just made her believe, from experience, that death of the body isn't the end.

That happened 40 years ago. She died in 2010, unafraid.

[MiddleFingerMom]

19. I had a near-death experience once when I went to the ER -- luckily it wasn't at all busy...

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... and they took me right back. With the preliminaries out of the way, the doctor came in
and had been talking to me for less than two minutes when I faded out. Somehow, I KNEW
I was dying (and I was... they had to resuscitate me), but the visual effects were that of
the rectangular light that was the treatment room receding away from me along with the
doctor's calm voice that was reassuring me that they had me and would not let me go).
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I had always wondered if I would be hypocritical if I knew that I was about to die and start
begging for forgiveness. No such thing. Though I'm in no hurry, I've had a WONDERRFUL life
and my overwhelming thought was a repetition of "It's OK... it's OK... it's OK."
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I learned that when dying, I wouldn't channel Jesus, but the short-sentence chapter-ending
style of none other than famed atheist Kurt Vonnegut.
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[lunatica]

21. My mother's experience was similar

She was not religious so no religious icons showed up to send her back. She just 'knew' she had to return and she really didn't want to. The main thing she felt was the complete release from the pain she was in and the feeling that everything was OK.

[Jersey Devil]

20. A poem for your Mom

and my sincere condolensces.

May she meet all her pets at The Rainbow Bridge:

http://www.rainbowbridge.com/Poem.htm