Final Gifts - Last Words of the Dying

[Guyver]

Greetings.  I am reading a book that I snuck away from my wife when she set it down.  It’s called, “Final Gifts - Understanding the special awareness, needs, and communications of the dying. “ The book was written by two hospice nurses after about ten to fifteen years of experience dealing with dying people.  The book itself goes into every detail about experiencing death, the death of a loved one, the emotional, physical and social needs that arise….but I was most interested and inspired with a particular aspect of the book.  That is, the last words of dying people.  There are so many stories of people who know they are dying…and as they are gathered with their loved ones, they begin to see “visions” of other people who have departed.  They seem to see a trusted friend or family member, someone loved…and they begin to speak as if the experience were real.

So, my question is…..could this be evidence of the afterlife?

In this thread I intend to post the last words of people in this book, from personal experience, and external sources about this phenomenon.  I hope to quote Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, and his final words.  I will begin with something personal.  My wife’s mother passed away this year, her name was Katherine, but everyone called her K.  She was beloved among friends and family and the community.  She was a master, pardon, Grand Master in the game of Bridge.  Anyway, her best friend Emma died from cancer over a dozen years ago, but as K was dying she looked up and smiled and said, “Oh….Emma!”

[Guyver]

Also, I welcome anyone who wishes to contribute to the topic. If you have stories like this, that confirm a dying person did in fact seem to be communicating with someone on the other side, I welcome your input.

[Grim Reaper 6]

15 minutes ago, Guyver said:

Also, I welcome anyone who wishes to contribute to the topic. If you have stories like this, that confirm a dying person did in fact seem to be communicating with someone on the other side, I welcome your input.

My mother saw Jesus in her room for three days, including the day she died. She was a devout Catholic who was a strong believer in all books in the New Testament. The day she died she again saw Jesus in the corner of her room, shortly after that she lost consciousness and died approximately twelve hours later without speaking again.

i was severely injured while on active duty in the Army. Myself along with others were MEDAVAC to Germany. During the flight I died twice, once for approximately a minute and a second time for approximately two minutes. To make a long story short I had no experience during the time I was dead, the only reason I know about it is because I was told about it by the my attending physician when I woke up in Germany. 

[Guyver]

These nurses have really done a good job with this book.  I haven’t finished it, but from what I’ve seen, I highly recommend it, and I’m sure Sherapy would be pleased with it and would endorse it.  Well, I take that back..I think that…it is my opinion.  She certainly would be one to resource if one were to question the validity of the book and what the nurses are describing.  @Sherapy

Anyway, what I wished to say is that these nurses have described death, the dying process, as being in two worlds at once for the dying person.  I would like to take that literally, because it seems like many people are speaking with the deceased, as they are dying, but still alive.

[papageorge1]

My thought is that during the dying process there is a loosening of the astral/soul body's tight interpenetration with the physical body and the dying person can notice astral visitors through astral sensing. At death there is a full separation.

I remember my grandmother telling me how her sister saw their deceased father at the very end and said...'pa, pa'.

[Ajay0]

My mathematics teacher, who has a highly rational mind, told me of an experience he had when his uncle died.

Due to the doctors prognosis that the uncle only had a few hours to live, he went to his uncles house at night and was talking with relatives outside the house. 

As per his account, there was a cow grazing peacefully and calmly on the shrubs nearby.

Suddenly the cow started jumping and making a commotion surprising the people there. A few seconds later, cries came from within the house that the uncle has died. 

My teacher found this coincidence highly bewildering and suspects that the cow may have seen something that the others could not.

[eight bits]

Many healthy living people think they are occasionally seeing or speaking with dead people; why would it surprise that some people with severely compromised central nervous systems do likewise?

6 hours ago, Guyver said:

So, my question is…..could this be evidence of the afterlife?

No, it is evidence that mortals think about death, maybe more so than usual when death is a salient topic for timely contemplation.

[XenoFish]

When my grandfather died I saw him, a stress response to grief. Spent years trying to evoke the dead. Only thing I learned is that the imagination can be potent and our dead loved ones only live as an abstract thoughtform in our heads. A memory-self. My grandfather, both grandmother's, and my dead baby brother aren't waiting for me in some other realm. 

[+Sherapy]

9 hours ago, Guyver said:

These nurses have really done a good job with this book.  I haven’t finished it, but from what I’ve seen, I highly recommend it, and I’m sure Sherapy would be pleased with it and would endorse it.  Well, I take that back..I think that…it is my opinion.  She certainly would be one to resource if one were to question the validity of the book and what the nurses are describing.  @Sherapy

Anyway, what I wished to say is that these nurses have described death, the dying process, as being in two worlds at once for the dying person.  I would like to take that literally, because it seems like many people are speaking with the deceased, as they are dying, but still alive.

Indeed, it is common during the predeath phase to hallucinate loved ones the hallucinations experienced in the pre-death phase can vary widely and can be caused by a number of factors such as medications, illness, or changes in brain function as the person moves towards active death phase. For some, it is comforting, for some it is scary but, it is typically as a result of changes in brain function as opposed to evidence of life after death.

 

 

Guyver, Hospice welcomes volunteers if you have an interest this way you get an up close first hand experience of the common elements of pre death and active death. 

Edited July 23 by Sherapy

[Piney]

1 hour ago, Sherapy said:

Indeed, it is common during the predeath phase to hallucinate loved ones the hallucinations experienced in the pre-death phase can vary widely and can be caused by a number of factors such as medications, illness, or changes in brain function as the person moves towards active death phase. For some, it is comforting, for some it is scary but, it is typically as a result of changes in brain function as opposed to evidence of life after death.

 

 

Guyver, Hospice welcomes volunteers if you have an interest this way you get an up close first hand experience of the common elements of pre death and active death. 

The gamma waves start spiking as your brain tries to cope with the shutdown it knows is happening. 

[+Sherapy]

11 minutes ago, Piney said:

The gamma waves start spiking as your brain tries to cope with the shutdown it knows is happening. 

Yep, as you I have been thru the process so many times with patients it is biological and the body knows what to do. It is a process of shutting down the body the process usually starts with consciousness ( the brain is an organ responsible for bodily functions) declining as the body begins to shut down its functions, hallucinating is to be expected.

Edited July 23 by Sherapy

[+Liquid Gardens]

11 hours ago, Guyver said:

So, my question is…..could this be evidence of the afterlife?

I think I'd need some kind of relaying of information that only those in the afterlife could know (which I recognize is very difficult to verify and capture even it were true).  When my grandfather was on his last days in the hospital, one of my uncles mentioned how he heard him I think saying something about how it was time for my uncles to get ready for school, even though my dad and all my uncles were middle-aged by that point.  Since I don't think this is evidence that he was time-travelling back to when my uncles were kids, then I likewise don't know why I would think people are actually seeing people in the afterlife.  Plus I already have reasonable explanations about why if these people are hallucinating why it would take the form of their passed loved ones.

[jmccr8]

I suppose for many that have been raised believing in an afterlife that it may just be the brain invoking an image to calm the person as they pass on. I don't have any expectations so am prepared to go out the way I came in, alone. 

[Will Due]

24 minutes ago, jmccr8 said:

the way I came in, alone. 

 

Really? 

Wasn't your mom there?

 

 

[jmccr8]

1 hour ago, Will Due said:

 

Really? 

Wasn't your mom there?

 

 

HI Will

When I was born I had no idea where I was or where I was going and until my eyes opened a couple of weeks later is when I saw things unknown

[XenoFish]

https://www.tryhealium.com/2022/09/01/gamma-brainwaves/

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3982026-human-brains-show-larger-than-life-activity-at-moment-of-death/

[Bendy Demon]

1 hour ago, jmccr8 said:

HI Will

When I was born I had no idea where I was or where I was going and until my eyes opened a couple of weeks later is when I saw things unknown

Pretty much everything an infant sees is 'unknown'...to them.

[lightly]

 I got there a little late when dad died….but ma told me that for awhile before, he perked right up and was talking like his younger self.

[Bendy Demon]

14 minutes ago, lightly said:

 I got there a little late when dad died….but ma told me that for awhile before, he perked right up and was talking like his younger self.

You know, I have read that this happens sometimes. Shortly before a person passes they suddenly have that last burst of energy before sliding back.

I don't know why it happens though.

[Guyver]

Thank you all for reading and responding. Unfortunately I can’t find my book written by Chief Joseph, “I will Fight No More Forever.”  I’ve looked about everywhere for it.  Must be lost.  Anyway, it’s been a long time since I read it, andI don’t want to miss quote him.  Basically, he told his family when he would die, which was the next morning, and said something about some trusted friend who told him he would meet him there…something like that. Anyway, here’s a quote from the link on the bottom.

 

Vision-like experiences

People nearing death may report encounters with people who are already deceased or describe having been places or seen things not visible to others. These experiences, often referred to as visions or hallucinations, are not typically a drug reaction or mental illness. It is a common symptom of the end-of-life process, and may even provide comfort, reassurance, or a sense of connection to the spiritual realm. The dying may turn their focus to “another world” and talk to people or see things that others do not see. This can be unsettling, and loved ones may not know how to respond.

 

https://kokuamau.org/the-last-stages-of-life/

[Guyver]

14 hours ago, eight bits said:

Many healthy living people think they are occasionally seeing or speaking with dead people; why would it surprise that some people with severely compromised central nervous systems do likewise?

No, it is evidence that mortals think about death, maybe more so than usual when death is a salient topic for timely contemplation.

Yes, I’m sure this is the probable explanation….it’s just that some of these cases are really bizarre.  I’ll quote this one from the book when I get that far in, but the gist is that a lady was dying and on hospice care for about a week or so I’m guessing…anyway, she hadn’t seen her sister for some time, and while she was dying at home with hospice care, the family got news about her sister having passed away a short time before.  They chose to not to tell the lady because they didn’t want to upset her.  As she was dying she saw two people coming to greet her, and she called out their names.  It turns out one of the people was her sister, who had passed away without her knowledge just a short time before.