Episode 149: The Benefits of a Near Death Experience - Without Having One!

On each episode, we'll discuss the reasons we now know that our loved ones have survived physical death.

we Don't Die dot com. And she showed about an hour or so presentation on PowerPoint of the images that she has been collecting from people she works with, say a parent. She does this over zoom. She asks for a picture of the loved one. If you can imagine, she's got a humidifier set up with all much a steam that comes out and over to the side is the picture of the loved one. She then films the vapor,

the steam, and then she'll go back through it. Now one second of film could be thirty two or sixty four different images, so she goes through them with a fine toothed comb. And what's happening quite often is the loved one will show themselves on her recordings on those different frames looking different. So, for instance, if it was a young person who passed, they can change their image

from how they looked when they passed. They show pictures of them as younger people, and they're able to show themselves as older people as if they are growing up in the afterlife. There were some images, and she must have had sixty or seventy different images of people that she has worked with over the past eight months or so since we did the last one, and she shows the picture that was sent to her, and then you

can see the other pictures. There are people that are say older, wearing glasses, having a mustache, showing themselves younger, no glasses, no mustache. People that perhaps had a picture of them with a straight face in the photo that she had received show themselves now with a big smile. Their faces seem to turn. There's different series of pictures that almost appear three dimensional to me. Sonya is one

of the best reasons to believe in the afterlife. Because of all the work she's done for over thirty some years, people cannot schedule a reading with her. She does not work that way. She believes she works with a team of scientists on the other side. So often she's.

can see some of the pictures. They're really quite fantastic. There is something called paradolia, and I know many people believe they have captured pictures of their loved ones, and they may have, right. So we were talking about EVP not too long ago getting the voices of people in the afterlife, and now this is pictures and what paradolia is. And I think this is important to know is that

our minds look for faces in things. So when we look up at the clouds, have you seen dogs or bunny rabbits or maybe even the face of your loved one. That's what our mind does. If you look at a tree and you look at the bark, ooh, maybe you can make a face out of it. There's funny things out there, like people saw Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary and a piece of toast. So not that the Virgin Mary or Jesus wouldn't appear in a piece of toast,

because maybe they would. But we want to look for intelligence that is coming through a lot of people send me pictures of what they believe is orbs, and I'm on the fence about orbs unless you can see a clear face of a loved one in there, or it's got some kind of intelligence like it has always following you around in pictures. It may be dust, you know, it may be an orb. I'm not the ORB expert, but you always want to look for intelligence in those images.

So when we look at Sonya's work, it is definitely intelligence because they are real people. They come in in color, most likely their facial expressions change, their age changes. It gives me goosebumps. And I so wish this was a video episode and I could just show you those pictures. You'll have to take my word for it. Like I said, good wee don't die dot com store page. You can check those out if you'd like to. I also want to answer a few questions that have come in. Where

have they come in? I have been checking out reviews that you guys have been kind enough to post on the Apple Music page. I don't know where else you can leave reviews of the show, or you can email me directly, of course, I love hearing your stories and your experiences and your recommendations. Sandra Champlaine at Gmail is my best way to contact me. Someone had asked me,

what about cremation? Does it impact our soul? Have I talked about cremation on other episodes, and I honestly don't think I have for any other reason except for there's nothing good, bad, or indifferent. Those in the afterlife and us going to the afterlife. We are all going to get there. I promise you that we are going to either be here or we are going to be there. There's no place we're going to be stuck in between the way we pass and what we do with our remains.

We do not need to be fearful that there is a right way or wrong way. I'm not in someone else's shoes.

certain countries can assist in that. I'm not the person to say what's right and wrong in your situation. No matter how we get into the afterlife, we are greeted by open arms, loving arms. We are reunited with family, friends, even our pets are there so as to if we are buried, if we are cremated, if we are I don't know, frozen to maybe come back to life one day. I don't know if they still do cryogenics. But whatever we do to dispose of our human body is fine.

The most important thing we can do is we can look out for those people that are left behind. I know one gentleman who died and each one of his kids took a little bit of the ashes and put it in a piece of jewelry. You know, whatever that is to help the living that's what's important. On the time we have together today, I want to do a few things. I want to talk about our why. Why is it that we're so interested in the afterlife. I want you to hear from doctor Bruce Grayson about people's

lives being changed by near death experiences. Really, you're not the same person you were as before you had the near death experience. I'd like us all to have this wake up call so that we don't come to the edge of our life and flatline like so many do with the near death experience. Let it give us life, Let it give us our purpose. Also, I think it's

time for a little story time. Many of us have been racing around through life and wouldn't it be nice just to sit back, relax, maybe make yourself a cup of tea and just listen, listen to some stories that can warm the heart. So that's what we are up to today now. My why of doing all of these episodes is at the foundation to help people with pa and grief and not only to be able to get to the other side of it. And by that I mean start asking yourself those important questions, who am I,

what's my life for? What am I passionate about. We spend our lives doing things we think we should be doing, but are we really going after what's important to us in life? When we take away the fear of death, my friend, we take away the fear of life, and you start realizing that you're one of a kind. Your life is for a reason. You're important, you are supported. We're here to experience, We're here to learn new things. We're here to share, We're here to love. We make mistakes,

it gets messy, we're here to forgive. But there's so much value to life. So for me, I know how difficult grief is, and I want to help people get out of grief or get to the other side of it, knowing full will that your loved ones are still alive, and then let's have powerful life while we're here. Now. Another comment I got on the Apple Music podcast review for Shades of the Afterlife. Great show, but it's too repetitive,

So I am listening. I truly am. I never get sick of telling you guys' stories about near death experiences. The scientists, the doctors, the lay people, all investigating the afterlife deathbed visitations, different kinds of mediums, the instrumental transcommunication,

automatic writing, EVPs, all of that. I never get tired of it, and I apologize if I repeat myself, But you know, sometimes I feel like somebody may just listen to one show and I want to make sure if something was said two and a half years ago, that perhaps I bring it back up again. I don't try to be repetitive. I do try to be different. I did think of something that may help. If you are truly a fan of the show and you wish to do a little financial support, and you certainly don't have

to don't have to. I want to offer you something if you go to Patreon dot com, p A t R e o N dot com. I started a site, so just type in Sandra Champlain what it is. It's all episodes of We Don't Die Radio, which is my nine year old podcast which now has over four hundred episodes of the Afterlife. It is mainly interviewing people, so it's not any commentary like this show is. Plus, we have currently around one hundred and fifty episodes of Shades of the Afterlife and you can see them all in

one place. Do a search, find the episode on the topic you want to listen to click on it and you'll be able to listen to it right away. So I think that might solve the problem not being repetitive and finding over five hundred and fifty hours of episodes with me talking about the afterlife. So let's go to the break now and then we'll be back. You're listening to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to Coast AM Paranormal podcast Network.

tocoastam dot com to send us your recording. That's Coast to coastam dot com.

author in inspirational speaker. He has donated his time and thousands of veterans have passed while he was at their bedside. He has been a giver. I also think of Anita Morjani, who had stage four cancer, who was at the end nothing more they could do for her, and during her near death experience, and she explains this well in her book Dying to Be Me, she gets an opportunity to see the other side. She gets an opportunity to see

the bigger picture. She makes a deal with the universe that she can come back, be healthy, well, cancer will disappear if she's willing to tell the story of who people are, what their life is for, and that there is life after death. And then I think of doctor Rajiv Parti, who was an anesthesiologist with the big car while several cars. It was about money, it was about big houses, it was about accumulating, and when people went

down through his anesthesia, he didn't care about them. He had his own near death experience due to an illness. He got a clear wake up call as to his impact on others. He came back with a newfound love of humanity, and as an anesthesiologist who puts people to sleep, he chose to wake people up. So now he's spreading the good word. I don't want any of us to have a near death experience. I want us to take the lessons of a near death experience and apply them

to our life. It is time to live the life we want to live. Certainly, we've got to pay bills. If you're in a job that you don't like, continue on with it to pay the bills. Tell you can find what makes your heart sing, but put in things for you. Most people pass and they look back on their life and they have regrets. BE like to not have those regrets. I do believe that in the hereafter we can continue our dreams, We can continue to grow

and to learn. But what if we packed this life with the adventures, the love, the experiences, the forgiveness, the failure, the success, all that that our souls are craving for. All those things are good for our souls, yes, But why there are really good is because anything that we have learned in this life, we have an opportunity to share with our fellow travelers and help them to have a good life. And I think that's the whole point

of life. So let's listen to doctor Bruce Grayson about what he says about people no longer being the same after a near death experience.

near death experiences reveal about life and beyond. Near death experiences are profound, subjective experiences that many people have when they come close to death, or sometimes when they are in fact pronounced dead, and they include such difficult to explain phenomena as a sense of life, leaving the physical body, reviewing one's entire life, encountering some other entities that aren't physically present that they sometimes interpret as deities or deceased

loved ones. When they return, they often are profoundly changed by this experience. The most common change we hear from near death experiences is that they are no longer afraid of death. They describe having existed without their physical bodies when their physical bodies were essentially dead, and yet they were feeling better than ever. Most near death experiences say they are more spiritual, but not more religious. They tend to look on organize religions as being simplifications of what

the spiritual world really is. That what's important to them is the interconnections, not the dogma that goes along with it. And they think that the type of deity they encountered, if they did, is not as limited as the God they were taught about in church. It's much bigger than that, much more inclusive. It leads them eventually to the Golden Rule, which is actually part of every religion. We have do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But they feel that this is not for them anymore a guideline we're supposed to follow, but a law of nature. The vast majority of the death experiences that we hear are pleasant, if not outright blissful. That sounds like a wonderful thing to happen, but it can create a lot of problems in your life. I've talked to lots of people who were concerned that their loved one now is not the same person that they married. Lives were based previously on something that they thought they shared that they

no longer shared. That can really disrupt the marriage, And there have been reports of a high rate of divorces among neo death experiencers. Furthermore, a lot of the families will say when a crisis happens, the experience may just take off and go see if they can help, without concern of just leaving.

someone else was totally unthinkable to him. He felt that he was no different from the people he was shooting at, and he had to eventually leave the Marines, which had been his lifelong goal to be a marine, ended up coming back to the States and retraining as a medical technician. And I've heard this again and again from police officers and military officers who retrained in social work, a medical care, clergy, teaching,

and so forth. Being a psychiatrist, and I've worked with people for about fifty years now, I know how difficult it is to help them make changes in their lives. You have an experience that takes place in a matter of seconds or a fraction of a second that totally transforms their attitudes, values, and beliefs and behavior. People have thought about ways of trying to induce an NDE like experience safely through guided meditation, hypnotherapy, psychedelic drug use, and

these attempts have pretty much not been successful. And when I talk with New Death Experience about this, they say that one of the most therapeutic things about the experience was the complete lack of control.

you feel better than ever. It often helps people deal with their anxieties, certainly their anxiety about death and dying, which often falls over into other areas of being anxious about other things in life as well, And when they come back, they realize you don't need to be in control all the time, and that giving up control, stop being so obsessional about being in control, makes life much more enjoyable for you, and it may help the rest of us in learning how to make our lives more

meaningful and fulfilling.

where she placed them. They were there precisely as he described it. We had done an earlier episode about veridical near death experiences, and these are those that can be verified. Here's another One man who had a near death experience as a child recalled the experience of meeting dead relatives. There were some ladies. They were so loving and so wonderful.

I didn't want to come back. I didn't see any pictures of them until I was an adult, and then I said, oh, yeah, they were my great grandmothers who had died years before I was born. Here's another and this is the doctor telling the story. She suffered a cardiac arrest during her stay in the hospital where I was the chairman of the psychiatry department. She was unconscious as the resuscitation team tried to revive her. According to a later report, she floated out of her body and

stood near the window watching the resuscitation. She observed without any pain whatsoever, as they thumped on her chest and pumped air into her lungs. During the resuscitation, a pen fell out of her doctor's pocket and rolled near the same window where her out of body spirit was standing and watching. The doctor eventually walked over, picked up the pen, and put it back into his pocket. Then he rejoined

the frantic effort to save her. They succeeded. A few days later, she told the doctor that she had observed the resuscitation team at work during her cardiac arrest. No, He soothingly reassured her, you were probably hallucinating because of the lack of oxygen to your brain. This can happen when the heart stops beating, but I saw your pen roll over to the window, she replied. Then she described the pen and the other details of the resuscitation. The

doctor was shocked. His patient had not only been comatose during the resuscitation, but she had also been blind for many years. That give me goosebumps. It did for me. It is time for us to take a break, so make yourself comfortable. Grab that cup of tea. It's going to be story time with Sandra when we get back. Feel good stories. You're listening to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to Coast A and Paranormal Podcast Network.

at Paranormal Date dot com. Slash seniors. Enjoy your search and have some fun at Paranormal date dot com.

all the time. Remember the children's the nursery rhyme, Row Row, row your boat gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream, so it is. It's an illusion. It's a very real one. There is pain and suffering, but if we try to fight it and row upstream, it's not so easy. Better to go with the current and do the best we can. So one of the

things is a breathing technique. It will help recenter us, it'll help us gain control, and if you do it a few times you watch, you'll really feel better and you'll feel less stress. So I'll explain it to you so you don't have to hear me doing it. But it is to breathe in deep and fill your lungs and belly with air. And before you breathe out, you take one more sip of air, so you breathe in deep, and then you do a you know, one more that

sounds terrible. One more sip of air and hold it and then just as slow as you can, just let it out. See how you feel before. Do it several times. It'll make a difference. The other good tip that I got is about dreams. I'm a girl who has the craziest dreams. You might too. Talking to a dream expert, she said, if we write down our dreams when we remember them first thing in the morning, just get them out of your head. They don't last too long there.

Write them down, don't look at them, but after having several dreams recorded, look to see the common denominators in your feelings. So it's not about what happened in the dream,

it's about how you felt about them. That our subconscious mind at night works out things, and if we can have a heart to heart talk with ourselves, analyzing the dreams a bit, working out the emotions that appear in our dreams, working out why they're occurring in our life, coming to some understanding, we have more room at night for other kinds of dreams, and wouldn't we all like

to dream of our loved ones. May not hurt to talk to your loved ones before you go to bed and see if they'll come into your dreams, but I do find and I've been doing it since last episode. I've been writing down dreams, and my dreams have gone from reoccurring stressful dreams to just kind of crazy nonsense dreams. So we'll see where they go. I'll report back. Let's get into some story time. When my little daughter Grace passed away, I was devastated, simply beside myself with grief.

I didn't know what to do, where to turn. I couldn't eat or sleep. I had been through so much and it simply was not fair. I was so angry with God, the doctors, with myself. Everyone. Gracie had Treacher Colin's syndrome. She had a cleft palate, was missing bones from her cheeks and chin, and her ears were little nubs with no outer openings. She had dealt with all of these problems, including many surgeries to overcome them, and

like a trooper. At the age of three, she was a happy, little blonde delight and all she wanted in the world was to keep up with her five year old sister Katie. Unfortunately, we discovered another roadblock. She had very little enamel on her teeth and her baby teeth began to break down. To protect them, she needed to have her teeth capped. The only way for the dentist to work on her was to give her gas. Otherwise she fought like a bear and wouldn't let him work

on her mouth. The third dentist appointment, she suddenly stopped breathing. Despite all of their efforts, they couldn't bring her back. I was shocked. I followed the ambulance to the emergency room at the Catholic Hospital, where they left me in a room with her. I cradled her in my arms and begged her to wake up, but that was not to be. My sister came to the hospital right away, so I wasn't alone, Thank goodness. Finally, I had to let my baby go and walk away. I have never

ever had to do anything so hard. People quickly gathered, family, friends, neighbors all came to offer support, but there was none to be found. I became ill with the migraine, nausea and vomiting. I curled up in my bed and closed my eyes, praying and wishing I could go back in time, Wishing I hadn't taken her to the dentist that day, Wishing she would have been born without so many challenges, wondering if the jeanes that caused all of her problems came from me, but no one knew the answer. The

migraine passed, but not the grief. The funeral had to be arranged, so many things to attend to. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. Every time I tried to sleep, I would see her in that tiny white coffin and jerk awake. I couldn't think of anything else except my five year old who still needed a mama. She didn't understand why her little sister was no longer there, and wanted to know when she was coming back. Then one night, a miracle occurred. I had dozed off, and instead of seeing

Grace in her coffin. I found myself walking along a wooded path. The grass was thick and green. I could smell the flowers that speckled the ground, a soft breeze blue, and it felt good. In the distance, I saw a tall, black, wrought iron fence. As I approached, I saw people walking around on the other side. It looked like they were having a picnic. Leaned against the fence, just watching. Then I saw a child pulling a man toward me. As they drew closer, I recognized them. It was my father

in law and Gracie. My father in law had passed away the month before Gracie was born. I always regretted that he never got to see her, But now I saw them together. They stopped about a foot away from the fence. Gracie's face had filled out. She looked exactly the way I pictured she would once she had had all of her surgeries. She was a perfect little girl, and she looked so happy. She waved me with a giggle,

and then they turned around and walked away. I immediately awoke with the knowledge that I had just seen two angels. My little girl was in heaven with her grandfather. She was happy and well and I had nothing to fear for her. Some may say I dreamed of what I hoped to be, but I know it was no dream, and while I still grieved, it was tempered with the relief of knowing my baby was in good hands. And

that was by Susan Hawthorne. Here's another I never had a dog, and at first was weary of surprising our young sons with a chocolate Labrador Retriever puppy for Christmas. Until I met that little bouncing ball of silky brown fur. Gracie won me over instantly. She was beautiful and affectionate. She had loads of personality that made her tons of fun,

and boy was she ever smart. Her first summer with us, for instance, Gracie discovered that she could cool off by lying on an air conditioning vent in the kitchen floor. One day, I thought the first floor was too cool compared to the rest of the house, so I closed a couple of events downstairs, including one of those in the kitchen. Gracie's routine didn't occur to me until she walked over to the vent to lay down. Immediately she noticed the lack of airflow. She stood up and then

studied the rate for a moment. I watched in wonder as then she plunged her claws into it, pulling it out and calmly flung it aside. She settled down onto the open space and the floor and looked at me with a triumphant grin. Okay, Gracie, I get it, I said, smiling at her. From now on, I won't mess with your vent. Every summer, that was her favorite resting place. We all grew close to our furry family member. We loved her, and she adored us in return. Gracie always

seemed to sense what we needed. When my husband was coming home, even at unusual times, she would tell me he was on his way by running to the window to watch for his approach. Sure Enough, within five minutes he'd enter our neighborhood. She knew to move slowly around elderly grandparents. If you could use some fun, she grabbed a frisbee ready to play. If you wanted your space,

she rested and awaited your call. If you were sick or sad, she placed a huge paw on your arm or snuggled up beside you, comforting you until you recovered. Such a good girl, I told her, you always know how to help. She seemed to understand everything I said. For ten years, Gracie added to the joy of our family. But one Sunday evening mid July, the dreaded moment arrived. Our beloved Gracie was passing away, and we were heartbroken.

My grief was overwhelming. I cried for days, and every time I walked into the house I ached with sorrow. I was used to a lovable big dog with nuzzling nose and wagging tail, running to welcome me, charging through the kitchen, her nails clicking on the vinyl floor. As she tried to stop, she would often slide right into my feet. Her greetings had been clumsy and charming, hilarious and heartwarming, all at the same time. I missed them.

I missed her terribly. After arriving home on a hot afternoon a couple of weeks after she passed, I poured a glass of iced tea and stood in the kitchen sipping it. When I caught sight of that vent that she'd always laid on. A tear rolled down my cheek. Oh, Gracie, I sighed, how I wish you were still here. I heard the air conditioning kick in, and then something special happened. Tiny puffs of brown gracie fur began to rise from

the vent, and they gathered into a little ball. I watched, mesmerized as the ball of fur became bigger and quickly rolled across the kitchen floor toward me, mimicking the enthusiasm that Gracie had shown before. Like her, it stopped right at my feet. I picked up that small bunch of fluff, and as I smoothed it between my fingers, the heartache began to ease. Here was reassurance that Gracie's love would

always be with us. Her legacy would live on in our hearts, in our memories, in the ways she had helped shape our family. Message received Gracie loud and clear, and that was by d Riley. Don't let anybody tell you it was just a pet. If you have a four legged friend, pass, I tell you those animals make their way into our hearts with all that unconditional love, sometimes deeper than we let any human being. The more

we love, the more it hurts. But I do think our capacity to experience love is really important while we're here. So I'm happy to report our loved ones do go on, and so do our fine feathered, four legged, furried, etc. Friends. Let's go to the break and then we'll be right back with some more stories. You're listening to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to Coast AM Paranormal podcas Past Network.

our control. Don't be hard on yourself. If you have not yet taken me up on my offer for a free copy of my book, please take it. Chapter ten is about surviving grief. It's about what we can do to help move through the grieving process, bring back our neurotransmitters to a healthy level again. And our neurotransmitters are what controls all those impacts of grief, like the feelings of sadness, of rage, of uncontrollable crying. You may have some guilt, you may feel numb, you may feel you're

losing your memory, and so much more. So remember go to we dootdie dot com at the bottom of the page and to your email address. What it says. It's the first few chapters, but it's the whole book. So let's get back to some stories so that we know just how close our loved ones are. This story is by Charlene. A bottle of Shallamar perfume sat on my mother's dresser. The art deco Shallamar bottle was filled with an exotic fragrance, a blend of night blooming flowers, vanilla,

and mysterious musk. The blue glass stopper was its signature. A tidy ribbon encircled the bottleneck, much like the scarves or pearls that often graced my mother's neck. Our home was perfumed by shalamar on a regular basis. I remember being upstairs in my bedroom when suddenly the scent wafted in silently but powerfully into our rooms. I knew Mom was getting ready for an evening out with Dad. Often, my sister and I would watch her getting ready. Lying

across her bed, we watched as she dressed. The finishing touch was her ceremony that never varied. She dabbed on her special scent behind her ears and at the base of her throat. We always giggled. When she stroked that final dab onto some intimate places. Our giggles turned into full blown laughter as she said, you never know who you're going to meet, and as she switched out the door, she left a scent of shalamar in her wake. We

have continued to laugh through the years. My daughter recounted the first time she was introduced to my mother's wit and wisdom at the tender age of ten, very seriously. She had watched her her grandmother going through the ritual, and it really amused the little girl. Her own daughters squealed with delight as they listened to their great grandmother's story passing down from the mother, and so it continued

through the generations. Mom tried a different scent once. Her new choice was Forever Crystal, popular at the time of the TV hit show Dynasty. The beautiful Linda Evans played the part of Crystal, the second and nice wife of the oil tycoon Blake Carrington. The flowery perfume was the total opposite of Mom's classic fragrance, and because it underpowered the personality of my mother, it lasted for only a

brief time. Forever Crystal was Forever no more. My parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary marked an especially special time for us. A surprise party planned by her four children was a huge and emotional success. Our friends came from Afar, as did family that had scattered to different parts of the world. We all watched in awe as Mom danced with Dad, her great and only love of her life for so

many years. The singer crooned their special song, Yours, while Dad sang softly to Mom, Yours till the end of life story with tears streaming down his face. After my Dad passed, the scent of Shallamar no longer lingered. The bottle remained untouched. Now the four of us sat together surrounding our mother as she lay quietly in her hospital bed. No scarf, no lipstick, no curls. However, she was more beautiful than ever. I bent over for one last time

and caught a subtle scent. I called my sister over, and she too was amazed at the fragrance. As it became stronger, My brother, returning from the coffee shop, was perplexed when he smelled the familiar but still unidentifiable scent. The nurse opened the curtain and sternly asked, who has sprayed perfume? And my sister and I glanced knowingly at each other. It was the scent of Shalamar, the scent to last through the ages, had permeated our entire surroundings.

Just then, our mother made the grand, final exit, and we could almost hear her say, you never know who you're going to meet. This next story is by Kate On December tenth, two thousand and seven, the bottom fell out of my world. My mom died, a sad end to her nearly twenty year struggle with rheumatoid arthritis. Mom was smart and funny, kind and beautiful. She charmed everyone who met her, even through her illness. Worked tirelessly to

find forever homes for cats and dogs. Not a week goes by that I don't meet someone who knew Mom. And they always say things like, I was just thinking about your mom the other day. Then they'll tell me the story of her thoughtfulness or compassion or humor. What a legacy she left, remembered so often, so fondly, and so well by so many. But a little over a month after we lost her, all I could think about

was how much I missed her. We talked on the phone several times each day for years, saw each other several times a week, living just a few blocks apart. The hole in my life was enormous, raw and exhausting. I was lying on the living room sofa a few days after what would have been Mom's seventy third birthday. I wasn't asleep, but not fully awake either. Suddenly I felt a firm, steady pressure against my mouth. It was so strong that I could feel my lip pressing into

my teeth. I opened my eyes, wondering what it was. When I reached my hand to my lips. I knew it had been Mom kissing me good night, just as she'd done when I was a girl. I smiled through my tears. I didn't tell my husband, who sat across the room. He'd say I'd been dreaming, so I kept it close to my heart and felt comforted more than words can say. The next day, my whole family gathered at my mom's house for the sad task of sorting belongings. I found myself alone in mom's bedroom with my sister

in law. She's a spiritual and philosophical person, so I shared my experience with her. I know it was Mom kissing me good night, I concluded. We hugged and cried a little. Later that night, back at the home she shares with my brother, she told Tom the story. Only then did he tell her the very same thing had happened to him the same night and around the same time. He'd been in bed, somewhere between waking and sleeping when he had felt a surprisingly strong pressure on his mouth.

I could really feel it pushing against my teeth, he told me when we talked. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone either, not knowing what to make of it, but I'm certain it was Mom reassuring us that she was okay, proving there's life beyond bestowing one more gesture of her unending love. In the days and years since, I've often thought of that kiss, and have selfishly wanted more, of course, but the memory never fails to soothe my grieving heart and always makes me smile. Amazing when she was here

with us, Mom is amazing. Still love never dies, and that's by Kate Fellows. I often think of how difficult it must be for our loved ones to let us know that they are Oh kay. I'm sure there are different things that need to happen to get the message through strong and clear. But if we can take time to quiet down, maybe do that breathing exercise a little

more often be in the present moment. You may just feel a touch from them, or they're perfume, or sometimes just a random thought comes by if sometime you were together, or sometimes just out of the blue, you think of them. They work through our feelings, they work through our imagination.

And perhaps they give you a little kiss, or they patch you on the head, touch you on the shoulder, letting you know they have never left you and they love you. And now imagine them taking a few steps back, and how does that feel within you. The more you practice with them, the more they practice with you. As I told you earlier, if you'd like to support my work on Patreon, I welcome you to do that as a gift back to you. You'll have all episodes of both of my shows in one place where you can

click on all links you can search. Also, my new episodes will come to you before they come out to the rest of the world. This show is hosted by iHeartRadio, so they hold the copyrights to it, but I can give you some bonuses and wonderful things from time to time. So just go to patreon dot com type in Sandra Champlain if you would like to support the research and

sharing that I do. As always, our home base is we Don't Die dot com, where you can come to our world famous Sunday gathering with medium demonstration included and so much more. Remember I said earlier how important it is to live and experience. William shed said a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. And Mark Twain said, twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do.

So throw off the bow lines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sales, explore, dream and discover. I'm Sandra Champlain and you've been listening to Shades of the Afterlife on the iHeartRadio and Coast to Coast AM Paranormal Podcast Network.