I want to tell you all, who have been so kind, what my grandmother has told me. I am not going to comment on it and leave you to draw your own conclusions.

In 1946, the poor woman lost her first child to whooping cough and her husband and father to an accident (soldiers had taken away the warning signs that a bridge was destroyed in the middle - hundreds died that day).

She did not know what had become of her husband and was very distraught, but she was pregnant with her second child.

Eight months later, she got notice of his death. Of course, she was devastated. The only thing that comforted her, she says, was seeing him in a dream surrounded by a blinding, lovely light and very happy.

But she did not see him before she knew he was dead, only after, although he had been dead for months. Nor did she ever see him again afterwards, and she says she did not feel his presence either.

This was long before R. Moody and his books.

Thank you for sharing this, Chrwe.

Regarding what you said about
"But she did not see him before she knew he was dead,
only after, although he had been dead for months. Nor
did she ever see him again afterwards, and she says
she did not feel his presence either."--

The rational logical brain/mind is involved even with our perceptions of the non-physical afterlife. Logic is controlling because it has an inherent structure built in--this fact plus this fact equals this fact, etc.  Receiving the death notice allowed your grandmother to accept that her long lost husband was dead.  And since she now had to accept that he was officially dead, it was only one step to allow his spirit to show itself -- once. Then her logical mind imposed its structure again and closed her connections beyond the grave.

;) I sense a family resemblance.

Bets

Thanks for sharing, chrwe. I love these kinds of stories. Seeing him in a dream, surrounded by blinding, lovely light, and very happy, might not be the picture a person would 'naturally' paint for themselves of a loved one, especially after an accidental death, which would leave the poor woman to wonder always about his suffering, and wondering what to tell her unborn child. Logically speaking, wouldn't it be 'natural' to have a 'nightmare' rather than such a beautiful vision? One which gave her so much comfort? And yet, this vision, the one in which he was in a wonderful place, and happy, is the one which she was given. So, what is one to think? Because I am 'familiar' with (having experienced it, in a dream) the particularly 'happy' feeling (coming from the deceased person) which accompanies what I consider to be a 'visiting' relative who is in a 'better' place, I believe your grandmother had a 'real' visitation, in her dream.

chrwe, to me things like this should be commonplace...no less wonderful and magnificent, but we should accept them and expect them as the natural order of things.  I seek a humanity that resumes its understanding of its spiritual context and makeup, the amazing capabilities of our fellow humans, the endless support of our loved ones on the other side, and the wondrous place from which we come.  All it takes is the eradication of fear and the acceptance of what is.