Hi everyone,

I do live in Minnesota, I never knew this person, and I am not political. But, not too long after MN Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife, daughter, campaign member(s), and flight crew died in a plane crash in northern MN, I had an afterlife experience during my sleep, that I recalled when I woke up. A friend of mine was in it, whom I will call "my friend."  He was my employer over ten years ago, we don't call or get together, but when our paths cross, there is a bond between us, and up until last week, we hadn't seen each other for probably three years. I had to look online to see when the plane crash occurred, and it was Oct. 25, 2002.

Last week on Tues., Dec. 14th, when I saw the date, I remembered it was "my friend's" birthday. I extended birthday wishes to him in my thoughts. Then, the memory of the afterlife experience came back to me, which I had completely forgotten, and I had always wanted to ask him if he knew Paul Wellstone. I thought of "my friend" very strongly after that, to the point where I sought guidance if I should call him. The day came and went, and I never called.

The afterlife experience as I recall; I was standing in a small lobby of a lodge. There was a front desk to my left, but I was not behind it. Paul W. walked in first, with his family behind, possibly others, but my focus was on him, and they were carrying luggage. I greeted him warmly, I think I hugged him, chatted a bit, and pointed to an adjoining room that I will say was a bar, and told him that if he needed anything, to just ask "my friend" and he would be happy to help him. I distinctly recall seeing a long bar to my right, with stools, "my friend," the bartender behind it, and across the  isle was a row of dark wooden booths. That's about it, except I recall sitting in one of the booths at one point, and kind of silly, but I recall sailing down the aisle on a stool with wheels. Must of been playing. 

Last Thurs., Dec. 16th (thought of you Alysia , hehe, my b-day was yesterday!) I had an early morning tanning session scheduled, a couple errands after, and then a busy day at home, packing and preparing for our 1800 mile journey south, the following day. I was feeling impatient, but it was too early to leave for my appointment, when the thought came to run to the drycleaners near our home before tanning, and get that out of the way. I was chatting with a young man helping me there, who knows my sons and was asking about them, and writing out my check, when I felt someone way close to me, looked, and it was "my friend" grinning from ear to ear. I shouted out his name, told him I couldn't believe it, told him I thought of him so strongly on his birthday, and came so close to calling him. He said he had taken a job out my way, so that's why he was in my neighborhood. I told him we were leaving town the next morning, that I had an appointment, but we stood and hurriedly tried to catch up on things. Before I left though, I had to ask if he ever knew Paul Wellstone. He said no, but without hesitation, he asked if I had watched the televised memorial service. When I nodded yes, he asked if I remembered the man that stood up to talk, who caused quite a controversy, turning things into a political rally with many people extremely uncomfortable (including me watching), and some even walked out, and I said I remembered, and he said that man is his cousin. Among the family members and friends who attended the service, were also the Bush's, Clinton's, Ted Kennedy, and others, and they looked quite uncomfortable too. ??? To make it simple, I explained to "my friend" that I had had a dream shortly after Paul W. passed, and that he was in it. He kind of nervously laughed, and said, "I wasn't the pilot, was I ?" I told him no, and said it was just a very interesting dream, and then I hurried off to my appointment.

As far as my energy level, I was soaring, I was off the charts with all the synchronicities! While tanning though, it took a while to register as far as the possible enormity of this man being his cousin, and "my friend" being in this experience, and the seeming link. I also thought maybe "my friend" was There because he is Jewish, as was Paul W., and that may be a part of it. But then it hit me as far as it being his cousin at the memorial service, and I don't know since I live in MN, if this was televised nationally, but I know it was on the national news, and my husband said he just recently read an article about this man, and well, it was a pretty big thing.

Thanks for listening.  I hope I got this quote setup thing right. The quote came from a book my son, Michael, gave me for my b-day, a Tom Robbins book, Skinny Legs And All, if anyone is familiar, and I liked it. My son inscribed the book, and he wrote among other things, "Get ready for a strange ride with this one!"  Hmmm. Take care everyone.

["The Messiah will only come when he is no longer needed-  Franz Kafka"]

Dear Debbie,

Your post is entitled 'Afterlife Sychronicities."  Coincidences can be infuriating because they seem to mean something important, but the exact meaning is so often elusive.  Recently, Eleanor died in a fiery car crash.  She was a saint in the best sense of the word.  I was her pastor for 3  years and she regularly attended my Tuesday night prayer meetings.  Then I got cancer and ended my tenure as her minister.  She called me the night after my life-threatening surgery.  She was always sending loving notes to people in crisis.  Fortunately for me, the cancer seems to have gone into remission. 

After a 7-mile speed walk, a note was posted to my car's windshield informing me that Eleanor had just been killed in a fiery car wreck.  I was devastated.  Her son Nick, depressed after the failure of his marriage, had recently committed suicide.  She found him at the end of a rope after she got home from attending a friend's funeral.  When she was killed, her car was full of comforting cards she had just purchased to encourage suffering people in my former congregation.   I was angry at God for allowing her to die in such a horrific fashion. 

But then I had lunch with her sister Joan and her brother-in-law.  They told me that at the moment of her death, her livingroom clock stopped.  What made this especially meaningful to me was that the same clock had stopped near the moment of her son's suicide and near the moment of her husband Nick Sr's death by heart attack.  As a young wife and mother, Eleanor had lost her husband just when she had 3 small children to raise. 

Joan told me that a few days prior to her death, Eleanor had a dream in which her husband came down her stairs and asked her to dance.  Several of her deceased loved ones were present in the house.  She declined, saying, "I'm not ready yet."  This reaction was odd because she loved dancing.  To me it seems obvious that she sensed that dancing was a symbol fo her joyous transition to the next life.  She would never have declined such an offer in real life.  I quickly realized that, despite her recent tragedies, her fate and the fate of her son was somehow being incorporated into God's plan for her family members.  I derived comfort from these coincidences and my anger at God soon subsided.  Synchronicities often point to profound mysteries that we cannot understand.  But the experiences that attest to the truth that life ultimately makes sense are more important than our inability to put these experiences within a secure theological framework.

Berserk

Dear Polly,

Given your mother's premonitory dream, you might be interested in a unique finding of the NDE research conducted by Karlis Osis and Erlander Herardsson.  Their research  is discussed in their book, "At the Hour of Death."  This book is very dry and technical, but it is still my favorite NDE book. 

These medical researchers compared 500 NDEs from the USA with 500 from India.  Several of their findings are very interesting.  For example, they found that none of the Indian NDEs included the subject of  reincarnation.  In both the American and indian samples, relatives typically either performed a "take-away" mission or reassured the  patients that they would not die.  This was striking because in neither Hinduism nor Christianity is it taught that family members will assist the dying in their transition.  In other words, the NDEs did not follow cultural or religious preconceptions.   

But by far their most unique and intriguing finding is this: the relatives' message in dreams and visions was more reliable as a prediction of survival than the medical prognosis.  In other words, if the relatives  said their loved one's time was up, that loved one would die even if the medical prognosis was positive and the illness apparently minor.  Conversely, if the relatives assured the patients that they still had several years to fulfill their life purpose, then the patients would survive even if the medical prognosis was terminal.  What determined the patients' fate was the apparition of the relatives rather than the medical prognosis!

Berserk

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Hi Berserk,

That's amazing!  I will definitely check out the book you recommended.  After my Mom had the dream she told me she felt she was going to die and she was ready since my grandmother would be there to greet her.  

Speaking of dreams...I had 2 precognitive dreams that predicted the deaths of both my parents.  My father died in 1989 when I was in college.  He hadn't been sick and I had just seen him the day before.  That night, I had a horrible dream where he died.  It was so disturbing it woke me up at around 5:00 am.  A couple of hours later, the phone rang and it was my mom telling me my father had died from a sudden heart attack at around 5:00 am.  

A few months before my mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, I had another disturbing dream where I saw my mom dying from some type of illness.  The dream wasn't specific as to what she died from.  At the time, I just felt it was one of those weird dreams we all have sometimes and passed it off.  After she was diagnosed, I was upset with myself that the dream hadn't been more specific because I thought that maybe if I had known sooner (that she had cancer) I could have done something to prevent it.  

Now I realize both dreams were not meant to prevent either of my parent's deaths, but more to warn me and prepare me.  I guess their deaths happened as they were supposed to.  I have no other explanation.

Polly