Life is eternal. Love never dies.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when my sister asked me to go with her to the Afterlife Conference this past weekend in Norfolk, Virginia. I didn’t know if we’d be chasing ghosts, listening to lectures on angels or what. But I went. She said, “This’ll be good…”
She was right.
For nearly four days we listened to traditional clergy, hospice doctors, paranormal researchers, psychologists, grief specialists, shamans and professional mediums all give unique views on death, dying and what lies beyond. We met parents who had lost their children, family members mourning a loved one lost to suicide and war vets struggling to understand massive wartime loss.
We attended speeches by researchers like Dr. Raymond Moody whose ground breaking 1975 book, “Life After Life,” detailed over a hundred clinical studies of patients who had experienced “clinical death” and had been subsequently revived. The work established him as an authority in near death experiences and helped change the world’s view of the afterlife. Remarkable.
Tears often weld up in my eyes when I listened to tender stories from a hospice chaplain who described patterns he’d observed as he waited with his patients during their last days.
I heard professional medium John Holland console a mother as he brought messages from her deceased child including specific and unique details no one but she knew.
I was amazed by a psychological technique that had been developed in the mid 1990’s by Dr. Allan Botkin in a Chicago Veteran Administration Hospital to help the most severely traumatized Vietnam vets find closure with their experiences. His work led to a revolutionary, effective – but non-traditional – method called “Induced After Death Communication.” Fascinating.
Throughout this remarkable conference, one theme repeated.
Life is eternal. Love never dies.
Whether we heard it from a rabbi, pastor or shaman the message was clear. Life is eternal. Love never dies. Doctors, critical care nurses and psychologists reported the same. Life is eternal. Love never dies. Over and over again, the mediums delivered the same message.
Life is eternal. Love never dies.
I don’t know if you believe in mediums, the paranormal or the validity of near death experiences. You may not believe in traditional western medicine. Whatever your beliefs, I hope you consider the consistent message we heard in our conference.
Life is eternal. Love never dies.
