By Natalie Smith-Blakeslee
Medium and Bereaved Mom
What happens to those who pass?
For thousands of years men and women have pondered the idea of life after death…we approach and retreat, we want to know, but yet in many ways we are afraid to find out. We obtain glimpses or glimmers, as I like to call them, from people who have had near-death experiences (NDEs).
IANDS, the International Association of Near-Death Studies, investigates and supports the men, women, and children who claim they have crossed over the veil to the Other Side. These people and many others, including me, can and do give verifiable PROOF that there is another side and that we continue from this lifetime to another.
During the 1970's, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Raymond Moody, Jr. and George Ritchie brought NDEs to public attention. This was an enormous breakthrough in our cultural predisposition to avoid death and dying until the inevitable happened to us. Since then, we, as a society, have become more accustomed to the idea of death as it relates “passing” from one existence to another. Both the general public and scientists alike are now realizing that we've had it all wrong. Perhaps, there is no death after all.
Requiring proof, or knowing something beyond any doubt, is human nature. For those of us who have been privileged to experience a “visit from heaven” or who have had an NDE, these events are usually enough to convince us of the reality of a life after death. For those of us who haven't, our search for evidence continues.
In Visits from Heaven, Josie has found the light and the truth; she has compiled incredible, verifiable proof that there is communication from the Other Side. As a medium, I have always known about the reality of an existence after this one. But aside from being a medium, I am also a bereaved mom. I sit on both sides of the fence knowing the pain I must endure without my daughter Carrie who passed from leukemia. At times, I wondered if I could ever get through the agony of losing my child. Even though I knew that she was still around me, I couldn't accept her death at first.
But the more signs I received from Carrie, the pain began to lessen bit by bit. Of course, the pain will always be there, but my daughter has given me the strength to go on with my life. She even communicates with me and my family through signs to reassure me that I am on the right path in relating her messages to others.
I know the joy I feel when I receive signs from my daughter as both a mother and a medium. I know the joy these “visits from heaven” bring to those who have lost loved ones. This book has touched me in very many ways, and I know it will touch you as well.
Josie Varga has put together a book that will soothe your soul and prove to you that, although there may be tears, there is no death. Life does not end. This reminds me of a poem by John Luckey McCreery (1835-1936), entitled, “There is no Death.” The concluding verse reads:
And ever near us, though unseen, The dear immortal spirits tread; For all the boundless universe Is Life—there is no dead!
I think by the time you finish reading this priceless book, you will agree with me. Someday, I will see Carrie once again. Someday, we will all unite with our beloved.
The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to keep a person's body preserved after death so that the soul or “ka” could continue to have a place to live. Death was seen not as the end but rather a temporary cessation. Therefore, a mummification process was used to protect the body.
There exist no records that document exactly how this process, which is said to have taken seventy days, was performed. However, it is known that the body's internal organs, with the exception of the brain and heart, were removed and placed in containers called canopic jars. The heart, believed to be the center of intelligence, was left in place while the brain was most likely discarded. The body was then covered with a type of salt called “natron” before being wrapped in linen strips and placed in a coffin.
Although everyone would eventually die, the “ka,” it was thought, would continue to live on. However, for a short time immediately following death, the soul would be at rest while the physical body was mummified. The deceased could then join with his “ka” which, after being reconnected with the “ba” (his personality traits), would be resurrected as an “akh.” This, the Egyptians held, was the soul's rebirth in the afterlife.
Today, many still believe in the existence of an afterlife. In a study released in 2008, the PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life reported that 92 percent of all Americans believe in God while 74 percent believe in life after death. If I had been conducting this survey, I would have added one more question which is: If you believe in life after death, do you then believe that it is possible for the deceased to continue to communicate with the living from beyond?
An after-death communication or ADC is a term coined by Bill and Judy Guggenheim, the original researchers of this phenomenon and authors of the groundbreaking book, Hello From Heaven, to mean”…a spiritual experience that occurs when someone is contacted directly and spontaneously by a deceased family member or friend.” It is direct because it does not include any intermediary or third party such as a medium. It is also completely spontaneous because the deceased always initiates the contact.
Although I am among the 74 percent of Americans who believe in life after death, I never thought that I would ever write a book on the topic. Truthfully, you might say that the idea was actually given to me during a very special “visit from heaven.”
The epilogue of my first book, Footprints in the Sand: A Disabled Woman's Inspiring Journey to Happiness, contains an inspirational e-mail written by my husband's friend and former boss, Rich, who died during the World Trade Center attacks on September 11. In it, Rich talks about the passing of his father but more so about the importance of living life to its fullest. About five months after the book's release, Rich came to me in a vivid or seemingly real dream that would not only forever change my view of the afterlife but would also strengthen my faith in God.
In the dream, I saw myself going through this long hallway. I had no idea where I was, yet there seemed to be a force pushing me forward as I eventually made my way through a doorway at the end. I walked into this room and looked around seeing a bunch of desks and windows. Although I say “walked,” it was more like I glided as I do not remember my feet ever touching the ground. I should also mention here that I actually felt myself moving. It was as though my soul was out wandering while my body remained in a deep sleep. All of a sudden, Rich appeared before me. He was wearing glasses and smiled reassuringly at me as he telepathically communicated, “Josie, thank you for mentioning me in your book.”
I had never met Rich in person when he was alive on this earth. I had only spoken to him on the phone and knew him through pictures, yet I had no doubt that this was my husband's friend standing before me. I looked up at him squinting because it was hard to look straight
