The following material was excerpted from two of P. M. H. Atwater's books – "Beyond the Light:  The Mysteries and Revelations of Near-Death Experiences" (Avon Books, New York City, 1994), and "We Live Forever:  The Real Truth about Death" (A.R.E. Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 2004).  It is based on first-person commentaries from over 3,000 adult experiencers of near-death states.  To learn more about the near-death research of P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D. access www.cinemind.com/atwater.

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO DIE

          Any pain to be suffered comes first.  Instinctively you fight to live.

          That is automatic.

          It is inconceivable to the conscious mind that any other reality could possibly exist beside the earth-world of matter bounded by time and space.  We are used to it.  We have been trained since birth to live and thrive in it.  We know ourselves to be ourselves by the external stimuli we receive.  Life tells us who we are and we accept its telling.  That, too, is automatic, and to be expected.

          Your body goes limp.  Your heart stops.  No more air flows in or out.

          You lose sight, feeling, and movement – although the ability to hear goes last.  Identity ceases.  The "you" that you once were becomes only a memory.

          There is no pain at the moment of death.

          Only peaceful silence. . . calm. . . quiet.

          But you still exist.

          It is easy not to breathe.  In fact, it is easier, more comfortable, and infinitely more natural not to breathe than to breathe.  The biggest surprise for most people in dying is to realize that dying does not end life.  Whether darkness or light comes next, or some kind of event, be it positive, negative, or somewhere in-between, expected or unexpected, the biggest surprise of all is to realize you are still you.  You can still think, you can still remember, you can still see, hear, move, reason, wonder, feel, question, and tell jokes – if you wish.

          You are still alive, very much alive.  Actually, you're more alive after death than at any time since you were last born.  Only the way of all this is different; different because you no longer wear a dense body to filter and amplify the various sensations you had once regarded as the only valid indicators of what constitutes life.  You had always been taught one has to wear a body to live.

          If you expect to die when you die you will be disappointed.

          The only thing dying does is help you release, slough off, and discard the "jacket" you once wore (more commonly referred to as a body).

          When you die you lose your body.

          That's all there is to it.

          Nothing else is lost.

          You are not your body.  It is just something you wear for a while, because living in the earth-plane is infinitely more meaningful and more involved if you are encased in its trappings and subject to its rules.

WHAT DEATH IS

          There is a step-up of energy at the moment of death, an increase in speed as if you are suddenly vibrating faster than before.

          Using radio as an analogy, this speed-up is comparable to having lived all your life at a certain radio frequency when all of a sudden someone or something comes along and flips the dial.  That flip shifts you to another, higher wavelength. The original frequency where you once existed is still there.  It did not change. Everything is still just the same as it was.  Only you changed, only you speeded up to allow entry into the next radio frequency on the dial.

          As is true with all radios and radio stations, there can be bleed-overs or distortions of transmission signals due to interference patterns.  These can allow or force frequencies to coexist or commingle for indefinite periods of time.  Normally, most shifts up the dial are fast and efficient; but, occasionally, one can run into interference, perhaps from a strong emotion, a sense of duty, or a need to fulfill a vow, or keep a promise.  This interference could allow coexistence of frequencies for a few seconds, days, or even years (perhaps explaining hauntings); but, sooner or later, eventually, every given vibrational frequency will seek out or be nudged to where it belongs.

          You fit your particular spot on the dial by your speed of vibration.  You cannot coexist forever where you do not belong.

          Who can say how many spots there are on the dial or how many frequencies there are to inhabit.  No one knows.

          You shift frequencies in dying.  You switch over to life on another wave-length.  You are still a spot on the dial but you move up or down a notch or two.

          You don't die when you die.  You shift your consciousness and speed of vibration.

          That's all death is. . . a shift.

Although copyrighted, Dr. Atwater gives permission for this material to be copied – as long as proper credits are given, the books it comes from and her website are mentioned.  Thank you for your courtesy.  PMH