Warning: This post discusses death and descriptions of the moments afterward, as told through past-life regression, mediumship transcriptions and other sources.  If you feel this post will bring up painful memories or fears, please consider carefully before clicking through.

---

PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V | PART VI | PART VII | PART VIII

Dr. N: All right, Sally, you have accepted being killed by these Indians.  Will you please describe to me the exact sensation you feel at the time of death?

S: Like…a force…of some kind…pushing me up out of my body.

Dr. N: Pushing you? Out where?

S: I’m ejected out the top of my head.

Dr. N: And what was pushed out?

S: Well – me!

-Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life between Lives, 1994, Newton, Michael, Ph.D.

This is Part II of a series of posts exploring death experiences and transition stories. Accounts are selected from over a century of mediumship transcriptions, channeling and life-between-life regression experiences. Selected excerpts focus on the moments leading up to physical death, transition and entry into the spirit world.  To read the introduction to this series of posts, please use the link above to open Part I.

In places where you see this symbol, […], I have skipped sentences and/or paragraphs from the original text for the sake of brevity.

Note: While I have found no indication that any of these original sources are fraudulent, I would always encourage the reader to determine the legitimacy of each of these sources for themselves.

Transition Experiences, Part II

“Sally”

Excerpt from a Life-Between-Life hypnosis session by Dr. Michael Newton.  Recorded in Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

Note: In Part I, we were introduced to the death and transition experience of A.D. Mattson, an older pious gentleman who anticipated death and ultimately passed into the spirit world in a peaceful and accepting manner.  The next subject, Sally, is young and her death was unexpected. Take note of the differences in their reaction to their transition.

“Sally” is actually an alleged past life of a male client of Dr. Michael Newton and accessed through past-life and life-between-life hypnosis.  Dr. Newton founded the techniques for LBL hypnosis, and subsequently created the Michael Newton Institute to help other licensed psychologists and therapists learn how to use the techniques in their own practices. Dr. Michael Newton recorded many case studies, such as this one, in his books Journey of Souls, published in 1994 and Destiny of Souls, published in 2001.

Dr. N = Dr. Newton, S = Sitter

Sally:

Dr. N: Are you in great pain from the arrow?

S: Yes…the point has torn my throat…I’m dying (subject begins to whisper while holding his hands at the throat).  I’m choking..blood pouring down…Will (husband) is holding me…the pain…terrible…I’m getting out now…it’s over, anyway.

Note: Notice that the subject leaves the body before physical death has occurred. According to Dr. Newton, ‘souls often leave their human hosts moments before actual death when their bodies are in great pain‘.  Transition experiences such as these and others suggest that for deaths that are painful or fearful, we have the ability to leave our bodies prior to actual physical death, which then separates us mentally and physically from the pain.

Dr. N: All right, Sally, you have accepted being killed by these Indians.  Will you please describe to me the exact sensation you feel at the time of death?

S: Like…a force…of some kind…pushing me up out of my body.

Dr. N: Pushing you? Out where?

S: I’m ejected out the top of my head.

Dr. N: And what was pushed out?

S: Well – me!

Dr. N: Describe what ‘me’ means.  What does the thing that is you look like going out of the head of your body?

S: (pause) Like a..pinpoint of light…radiating…

Dr. N: How do you radiate light?

S: From…my energy.  I look sort of transparent white… my soul…

[…]

Dr. N: And what does the process of moving out of your body actually feel like to you?

S: Well, it’s as if I shed my skin…peeling a banana. I just lose my body in one swoosh.

Dr. N: Is the feeling unpleasant?

S: Oh no! It’s wonderful to feel so free with no more pain, but….I am…disoriented…I didn’t expect to die…(sadness is creeping into my client’s voice and I want him to stay focused on his soul for a minute more, rather than what is taking place on the ground with his body).

Dr. N: I understand, Sally.  You are feeling a little displacement at the moment as a soul. This is normal in your situation for what you have just gone through.  Listen and respond to my questions. You said you were floating. Are you able to move around freely right after death?

S: It’s strange…it’s as if I’m suspended in air that isn’t air…there are no limits…no gravity…I’m weightless.

[…]

Dr. N: Can you control your movements – where you are going?

S: Yes…I can do some of that…but there is…a pulling…into a bright whiteness…it’s so bright.

Dr. N: Is the intensity of whiteness the same everywhere?

S: Brighter…away from me…it’s a little darker white….gray….in the direction of my body…(starts to cry) oh, my poor body…I’m not ready to leave yet. (subject pulls back in his chair as if resisting something).

Dr. N: It’s all right, Sally, I’m with you.  I want you to relax and tell me if the force that took you out of your head at the moment of death is still pulling you away, and if you can stop it.

S: (pause) When I was free of my body the pulling lessened.  Now I feel a nudge….drawing me away from my body…I don’t want to go yet…but, something wants me to go soon…

Dr. N: I understand, Sally, but I suspect you are learning you have some element of control.  How you would describe this thing that is pulling you?

S: A ….kind of magnetic….force…but….I want to stay a little longer.

Dr. N: Can your soul resist this pulling sensation for as long as you want?

S: (there is a long pause while the subject appears to be carrying on an internal debate with himself in his former life as Sally) Yes, I can, if I really want to stay. (Subject starts to cry) Oh, it’s awful what those savages did to my body.  There is blood all over my pretty blue dress…my husband Will is trying to hold me and still fight with our friends against the Kiowa.

Here, Dr. Newton uses calming techniques and moves the scene forward in time to when the Indians have been driven off by the wagon train rifles.

Dr. N: Sally, what is your husband doing right after the attack?

S: Oh, good…he isn’t hurt…but (with sadness) he is holding my body…crying over me…there is nothing he can do for me, but he doesn’t seem to realize that yet.  I’m cold, but his hands are around my face…kissing me.

Dr. N: And what are you doing at this moment?

S: I’m over Will’s head.  I’m trying to console him. I want him to feel my love is not really gone…I want him to know he has not lost me forever and that I will see him again.

Dr. N: Are you messages getting through?

S: There is so much grief, but he…feels my essence…I know it.  Our friends are around him….and they separate us finally…they want to reform the wagons and get started again.

Dr. N: And what is going on now with your soul?

S: I’m still resisting the pulling sensation…I want to stay.

Dr. N: Why is that?

S: Well, I know I’m dead…but I’m not ready to leave Will yet and…I want to watch them bury me.

Dr. N: Do you see or feel any other spiritual entity around you at this moment?

S: (pause) They are near…soon I will see them…I feel their love as I want Will to feel mine…they are waiting until I’m ready.

Dr. N: As time passes, are you able to comfort Will?

S: I’m trying to reach inside his mind.

Dr. N: And are you successful?

S: (pause) I…think a little…he feels me…he realizes….love…

Dr. N: All right, Sally, now we are going to move forward in relative time again.  Do you see your wagon train friends placing your body some kind of grave?

S: (voice is more confident) Yes, they have buried me.  It’s time for me to go…they are coming for me now….I’m moving…into a brighter light…

There are two interesting concepts illustrated through Sally’s transition experience. First, as mentioned, Sally was able to leave her body prior to physical death, which is important for those who fear a painful death.  Near-death experiencers involved in accidents of various kinds will often decribe leaving their body before impact and prior to physical death, if it occurs.  Near-death experiences and out-of-body experiences have commonly been known to occur even when a person is in no physical danger, but there is extreme fear of harm.  These so-called, ‘fear-death experiences” seem to operate on the same premise: If prolonged mental or physical pain serves no other purpose, we can release our consciousness from the body and observe from a detached point of view, often in the company of guides.  We will explore this further in future posts.

The other interesting aspect of Sally’s transition is the honoring of free will.  Sally feels the gentle suggestion from her guides that she should come away from the scene and move into the light, but she resists and is allowed to stay until she is ready.  Because the death is sudden and unexpected, Sally feels she needs time in that moment to connect to her grief-stricken husband and give as much comfort as she can. Spirits often describe staying on the earth plane at least through their funeral, which is similar to Sally’s desire to stay until she is buried.  There are times when spirits will resist moving into the spirit world altogether; preferring for one reason or another to stay on the earth plane.  We commonly refer to these spirits as ‘ghosts’, though they are certainly not bound to the earth in the traditional sense of the word.  Although guides will continually attempt to aid the spirit or help them work through any psychological resistance they might have to moving into the higher dimensions, the evidence suggests that a spirit’s free will is paramount.

---

Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives
by Dr. Michael Newton

Available on Amazon – Click Here to View

---

Next: Part III >>

In Part III, we will look at the death and afterlife of Billy Fingers, as described by his sister Annie Kagan in the book The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How my Bad Boy Brother Proved to Me There’s Life After Death.  By all accounts, Billy is a high-level soul who had a very difficult and painful life.  Unlike Sally, Billy is relieved after his death, and returns to describe his unique and unusual immediate after-death experience.