«The death is the enlargement into the infinity » Victor Hugo The belief in after life beyond the physical death is widespread, it appeared from the dawn of humanity.
100.000 years ago, Homo sapiens was already watching their dead around a fire surrounded with useful or symbolic objects.
All religions speak of a soul surviving our death and rising to a paradise out our space-time.
But can we identify tangible facts backing this thesis while avoiding any sensationalism or proselytism.
We will first analyze the experiences of imminent and shared death and then discuss the possibility of post-mortem contact.
12.1 Near death
So far the NDE experienced by millions of people are the closest experiences to what could be the last moments of life ...
or the first moments of death.
Clinically dead and unconscious patients who have survived, evoke increased consciousness, an exit from the body, an encounter with dead relatives before returning to their bodies.
In 2015 Pim Van Lommel published the most comprehensive
clinical study of this phenomenon and concluded to the
veracity of hundreds of testimonies.
This is that of Fabienne Raoul, nuclear engineer, without religious education and believing only in the tangible.
- At the age of 28 she has a heart attack,
- And temporarily joins another dimension wrapped in
love, kindness and wisdom.
- Where she feels alive in an amplified reality, richer
88
and more powerful than that of her daily life,
- She was welcomed by men and women, giving her a
sense of “going home”.
- Since then, she has multiplied synchronicity
experiences and premonitory dreams,
- As if her consciousness could connect to a global field of information.
- Her material beliefs have shattered and she is trying to understand what she went through.
- Fabienne Raoul sums up her experience with a
glimpse of what could happen after death.
Summary
Millions of people who are clinically brain dead see their consciousness increased as they enter another dimension.
They describe it as a place of love, knowledge and wisdom where time and space are abolished.
Are these exceptional experiences or is it a necessary path after the physical death.
12.2 Shared death
Shared death experiences (SDE*) are even more disturbing.
Indeed, in addition to the dying, they involve one or more conscious and healthy people.
SDE are reminiscent of NDE and occur when the dying
person’s family or caregivers feel that they are escorting his spirit into a new dimension.
The SDE can therefore concern several people and in this case the testimonies match perfectly.
Features
The EMP starts with the room deformation and then includes 89
the same components as those of an EMI, the ultra reality impression being again evoked.
Raymond Moody identified 7 characteristics of an SDE:
- The impression of change in the chamber structure.
- A mystical light illuminates the place and the dying.
- Hearing soft music by the witness and sometimes by
the dying.
- Decorporation, the subject interacting with the dying.
- A review of the deceased life including some unknown
passages for the bystander.
- The appearance of an unreal, heavenly landscape.
- Vision of relatives assisting the deceased mind to the Light.
As in near death experiences, people who have experienced a shared death one are transformed.
They have a greater respect for life, are less afraid of dying and are convinced of the existence of an afterlife.
Summary
SDE are reminiscent of NDE and occur when the dying
person’s family or caregivers feel that they are escorting their spirit into a new dimension.
The assisting persons may attend the deceased life review and once again the impression of ultra-reality is evoked.
12.3 Post-mortem Contact (PMC*)
It is a form of spontaneous contact with a deceased, not requiring the intervention of a third party and affecting in majority healthy people.
Here are Patricia’s and Bruis's testimony one:
90
- I saw my dad a few weeks after he died. I was dancing
with my little girls… he was looking at us and smiled,
when he noted that I saw him, he left. His face was
clear and his body blurred...
- I open my eyes...everything seems perfectly natural to me... like the visit of my deceased friend! I find him
rejuvenated,... he radiates happiness... He does not
speak with words but I hear everything he tells...
The PMC would be more common than the NDE, affecting
also all age groups, nationalities, ethnicities, social classes, educational levels or religious affiliations.
In 1995, Bill and Judy Cuggenheim recorded 3.300 stories, lived by 2.000 people and divided them into 12 categories:
- Kinesthetic: Sensation of presence.
- Hearing: Hearing an external or internal voice.
- Tactile: Impression of contact (caress, hug, kiss)
- Olfactory: Characteristic smell of the deceased
(perfume, spice, tobacco).
- Visual: Partial or total appearance.
- Visionary: 2/3 D deceased vision, eyes open or not.
- Hypnagogic: Appearance of the deceased at the
beginning or end of the sleep.
- Dream: The encounter of dead in a dream but it looks
ultra real, sensible and intense.
- Outside the body: Meeting of the deceased during an
out of body experience.
- Technological: telephone call, voice in a radio.
- Physics: Electrical equipment that switch on itself,
clock stopping at the death time.
91
- Symbolic: A symbolic sign sent by the deceased at a
significant time.
In 2011, in his PhD thesis, Jenny Streit-Horn revealed that a third of us would be likely having a PMC and in 75% of cases, it would take place the 1st year of mourning.
This would be a widespread phenomenon but less known to the general public than NDE.
It is difficult to accept these testimonies especially those belonging to the last categories, but their repetition and coherence imply to analyse them objectively.
In fact, the current criticisms of the PMC are reminiscent of those issued 30 years ago about the NDE, now listed and
seriously analyzed by the scientific community.
Summary
People in good health, awake or not, suddenly feel the presence of a deceased relative.
Sometimes a dialogue without the use of words would be
established, where important information could be revealed.
The appearance may be visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory or symbolic, often through an object in the latter case.
12.4 Mediumnity
Spiritism dates back to 1857, founded by Allan Kardec and based on the existence, manifestations and teaching of spirits.
The being is composed of the soul, the spirit and the body, the first is immaterial, the second interacting between the real world and the soul and the body is subject to the physical laws.
Some psychics would be able to establish contact with the deceased through the object manipulation, persons, visual or audible appearance.
Finding no report of reproducible experiences supporting the 92
mediumnity, we are in doubt and therefore unable to take a position in substance.
We will therefore content ourselves with quoting some
recognized mediums.
Whether it is an unusual mental capacity and/or a post-mortem contact, we cannot ignore this phenomenon.
The numerous testimonies, sometimes the precision of given messages and their soothing effects would deserve the conduct of a large multidisciplinary study.
Some famous psychics
Anne Tuffigo
Medium, writer and lecturer, Anne Tuffigo hosts programs on contact with the deceased and is divided between individual consultations and public mediumnities.
Sally Morgan
Known as the psychic of Princess Diana, Sally Morgan is one of the most respected medium in the world.
At the age of 20, she began to offer her services to friends and relatives. She has many celebrities among her customers .
Allison Dubois
Allison Dubois noticed from an early age her ability to make contact with the deceased.
She spent most of her career helping murderers capture.
John Holland
After close contact with the death, John Holland saw his spiritual abilities amplified.
Since then, he has helped people to connect with their deceased loved ones and to discover their spiritual journey.
Summary
93
Some psychics claim to establish contact with the deceased, transmitting soothing messages to their loved ones.
Given that they were no rigorous scientific studies of
determining if these are exceptional mental abilities and/or actual contact.
12.5 Conclusion
Millions of brain-dead people see their consciousness increased as they enter another dimension, described as a place of love, knowledge and wisdom.
SDE are reminiscent of NDE and occur when relatives or
caregivers feel they are escorting the deceased spirit into another reality.
The assisting persons may attend the deceased life review and once again the impression of ultra-reality is evoked.
Healthy people suddenly feel the presence of a deceased loved one and a non verbal dialogue could be established.
Some mediums claim to be able to contact the deceased, no study has been conduct to determine whether these translates exceptional mental abilities and/or real contacts.
94