Understanding Deathbed Visions: Oh Wow, It’s Beautiful!
People have asked, “What was happening when my loved one was pointing to or conversing with someone I couldn’t see shortly before his death?" This is what I discovered in my investigation.
It’s common that dying people are welcomed by their loved ones in spirit days, hours, or even minutes before their death. These experiences are known as deathbed visions or pre-death visions. I actually prefer the term “pre-death visions,” but I typically use “deathbed visions” because it’s the more commonly used term.
Deathbed visions are when loved ones in spirit visit a dying person shortly before their death in order to welcome them back to the spirit world. In this way, the dying are greeted by deceased family members and friends (even pets) to prepare them for their forthcoming transition from human to spirit and thereby ease any fears or anxiety they might have about death.
In most deathbed visions, the dying person will see or hear (often both) their deceased loved ones on the other side. Some describe this experience as their loved ones letting them know that they won’t be alone when the time comes to make the transition.
Sometimes all that’s said by the dying person is one word. Here’s a tender example from an interview I did with Dr. Lani Leary on Afterlife TV. She was with her father when he died. This is what she told me.
“I... got on his bed, held him in my arms, and just gently caressed him and sang to him. His eyes were closed, and they were closed for about 30 or 40 minutes. I was just there breathing with him very gently, telling him the very few things that are important at the end of his life: I love you. Your life mattered. I will never forget you. Thank you.
“After about 40 minutes, his eyes opened wide and he looked at the corner of the room. He said his nickname for my mother, ‘Duchess.’ I said, ‘Of course she’s here,
Dad. You can go to her. Just let go and go to her.’ He took his last breath. I was singing a favorite Hawaiian song to him. He took his last breath, and he died in my arms. It was gentle. It was his death. It was a perfect death.”
It’s common that pre-death visions and communications can last for several minutes at a time and happen several times a day. Sometimes the people in spirit aren’t talking, but the dying person recognizes that they are present in the room. The person might be staring in the corner of the room with a smile or even pointing in that direction. Usually, when there is communication, it happens telepathically (by thought)—from spirit to human and human to spirit—so no words need to be spoken out loud, but it’s not uncommon that the dying person will talk out loud to the spirit or spirits they see.
To visitors who are in the room when a person begins talking to spirits that only they can see, it can appear like the dying loved one is hallucinating. And of course, some doctors and nurses erroneously believe that’s what’s happening. To witnesses, the messages the dying person is getting might appear lucid and cohesive, while at other times, they might seem disjointed and erratic. This often creates confusion among family members as to whether their dying loved one is experiencing a hallucination or true spirit contact.
Regardless of how it might seem to witnesses in the room, the communication from spirit always comes through clearly to the person receiving it. It is such a wonderful gift to the dying that eases their fears and reduces their anxiety around death that it should always be welcomed and accepted.
I should note, too, that family or friends who are visiting and are in the room when a deathbed vision takes place sometimes share the experience. Don’t be surprised if you are visiting a dying loved one in the hospital, for instance, and all of a sudden you sort of go into a dreamlike state and share the experience that your dying loved one is experiencing. This is called a shared-deathbed experience and can be quite beautiful and comforting.
When I was a teenager, my friend’s father had a shared-deathbed experience from afar. His mother died hundreds of miles away, yet this man dreamed of his mother transitioning into the spiritual dimension. He explained to me that his mother came to him in the dream to let him know she had passed. He could see her clearly in the dream, and he could feel what she was feeling. He said he could feel the joy she was feeling, including the love and peace that surrounded her and flowed through her. Upon awakening at two o’clock in the morning following the dream, he had a knowing that his mother had died. He learned a few hours later that she had, in fact, died at that exact hour.
Pre-death visions are a gift to the people dying as well as the loved ones they leave behind. It’s compelling evidence that we continue on after death, and it’s reassuring to know there are deceased loved ones on the other side waiting to celebrate their homecoming.
I’ll end with a famous deathbed vision that was described in a eulogy spoken at the Memorial Church of Stanford University in October of 2011, which was published in the New York Times. The eulogy was given by Mona Simpson, the sister of Steve Jobs, who was with Jobs during his passing. She explained, “Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times. Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister, Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve’s final words were, ‘Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!’”
Bob Olson is the host of Afterlife TV, author of two books, Answers About The Afterlife and The Magic Mala, and creator of the reputable directory of vetted psychics and mediums, BestPsychicDirectory.com. His newest venture is Bob Olson Connect, a Substack newsletter where you can read his stories, listen to an audio of each article, and ask him questions or share your otherworldly experiences.
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