A near death experience (NDE) completely changed my life nearly 5 years ago. That event marked the beginning of my quest to understand and fulfill my soul’s purpose. Working in the engineering field for 25 years, the NDE woke me up to begin following winks and nods from the Universe until I became a certified life coach. A few months later I accepted an invitation to my first public speaking engagement on May 14, 2016. |
On Monday, May 9th, while waiting in child’s pose for my hot yoga class to begin, I heard, in my mind, “Old friends yet who have not met.” I noted the phrase in my meditation journal and forgot about it.
On Wednesday I was notified that I WON a ticket to the conference in a drawing held by Romana Powers!! I thought…...I guess I am SUPPOSED to be there! Then I panicked because I still had so much to do for my own presentation. Also, I am an introvert and had just willingly chosen to eliminate the possibility of any “alone time” for the next several days. In other words, I was way outside my comfort zone.
You may ask why I would want to push myself just to hear people talk about death and dying. Initially I really just wanted to connect with others who had near death experiences. It’s not often that I run into anyone who can relate to my NDE so this seemed like the jackpot opportunity.
So many outstanding contributors touched my heart and soul with their understandings at the conference. Gary Malkin talked about the power of music and clearly illustrated how easily peace can be found simply by choosing the right “vibration.” Larry DeRusha spoke about his NDE and how his consciousness shifted in a manner very much like my own, illustrating the power of thought. He led a powerful interactive exercise in recognizing our personal energy fields and how they interact with others’. Suzane Northrup gave a wonderful presentation with examples of how the “dead” communicate with us, especially within the first three days of passing if we can remain calm enough to receive their messages. Bishop John Shelby Spong spoke about the origin of the concept of “hell” and how this fear-based mechanism for controlling the masses does not serve the greater good where unconditional love is essential. Medium Thomas John gave a gallery style reading that would have made a believer out of even the harshest skeptic. No wonder he is the “Medium to the Stars!”
There was SO much more to the Afterlife Awareness Conference than I’d expected! It wasn’t really about death and dying. It was about tapping into the peace and beauty found in the transition from one world to the next. It was about making the transition a beautiful experience for those in the process. It was about the fact that there IS life after the physical body ceases its functions. It was about the reality that what we call “life” is just a dream from which we awaken once we are on the other side of the veil! It seemed to me that those who’d had near death experiences were actually in the minority in this crowd. The conference was really a means to bring peace, joy and love to anyone on a personal journey toward elevated consciousness!
For me, even more magical than the conference itself were a number of personal experiences over those four days. Romana Powers asked me if I’d like to write this guest-blog post. I love to write and have my own blog read it here! I was already planning a new post about the Universe granting me this ticket, but the chance to write for someone else?! What a gift for me!
Since my NDE, I’ve been working to expand my intuitive skills. I’d been seeing the white light of auras for some time but hadn’t ever seen colors. I saw colors in Larry DeRusha’s aura during his presentation! Very unexpectedly, not even trying “to see,” from his head I saw green, blue and violet radiating upward. I was so excited I nearly popped out of my seat!
I met Gina Walker from Dutch Harbor, Alaska at the conference. We shared an incredible number of “Oh my gosh, ME TOOs!!” It seemed as if we’re living parallel lives in very different parts of the world. We struck up a fast friendship and discussed collaborative efforts. We wanted more time together and agreed to meet before the conference resumed Sunday morning. Driving to meet Gina, the phrase from Monday returned….”Old friends yet who have not met.” I thought this must have been foreshadowing my meeting Gina. The Universe confirmed it. Giina was wearing a blouse that showed a tattoo I hadn’t noticed before. It was the Japanese kanji for “family,” a monkey dangled by its tail from the bottom of the symbol. How does this connect to me? My husband’s work often takes him to Japan and I’ve been fortunate enough to join him. We dearly love the country, culture and people of Japan. Why the monkey? Gina said she calls her kids “monkey.” Guess what? ME TOO!!!
With all the excitement of the conference, I didn’t have time to stress or worry about my public speaking engagement. The presentation went off without a hitch and I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the audience. I allowed myself to be swept up in a current of life moving faster than I believed I could handle and the rewards for letting go came back to me in spades.
I would like to thank Romana Powers for ticket to the Afterlife Awareness Conference, the opportunity to share my thoughts with you in her blog and all the wonderful things that result from her acts of kindness and generosity!
-Nancy Paddock