Voices of Experience: At Heaven's Door

My lifetime of experiences and my scholarly research suggest that what awaits us at the end of this life is awesome, glorious, and loving, a reminder that there are gifts to be found at every stage of life, including its end.  ~ William J. Peters

In 2000, end-of-life therapist William Peters was volunteering at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco when he had an extraordinary experience as he was reading aloud to a patient: he suddenly felt himself floating in midair, completely out of his body. The patient, who was also aloft, looked at him and smiled. The next moment, Peters felt himself return to his body…but the patient never regained consciousness and died. Perplexed and stunned by what had happened, Peters began searching for other people who’d shared similar experiences.

Voices of Experience: Becoming Starlight

Aristotle taught that stars are made of a different matter than the four earthly elements ~ a quintessence ~ that also happens to be what the human psyche is made of. Which is why man’s spirit corresponds to the stars. Perhaps that’s not a very scientific view, but I do like the idea that there’s a little starlight in each of us.  ~ Lisa Kleypas

Soon after completing her graduate studies in psychology, Dr. Sharon Prentice longed to discover “the why’s” about her own intimate experience with death in the form of a Shared Death Experience (SDE), and that of others who had experienced something “weird, unbelievable, odd” at the time of the death of a loved one.  By sharing her own story, she hopes to replace fear with hope, and take away the vulnerability that is intrinsic in sharing these experiences: "When vulnerability morphs into strength, Starlight wins!" The following excerpt comes from her book, Becoming Starlight: A Shared Death Journey from Darkness to Light, and is reprinted here with her permission.

Pet Loss and Animal Communication: Suggested Resources

[Reviewed and updated April 6, 2023]

Source

. . . when we love animals and want to honor and effectively communicate with them, we must relate to them not only via their physical bodies and observable behavior, but also beyond biology and behavior--to acknowledge and communicate with them at the level of their souls. ~ Teresa Whalen

A reader writes: I am in therapy, and one of the things that I discovered in my sessions is that as much as I miss my cat on a daily basis, what hurts me the most and continues to haunt me is her untimely and totally unexpected death. She was just TOO young and I feel it was so unfair that she was cheated out of her life. Even today, I continue to worry about her and wonder if she is okay. Upon my therapist's suggestion, I have tried to repeat to myself that wherever she is (?) that she is okay, but I find that easier to believe some days than other days. I just so want to believe/KNOW that she is alright. And although I want to do some kind of memorial, I am not ready. Just writing this has brought new tears and I know that looking at her pictures still has the same effect.

Coping with Pet Loss, May 31 - June 6, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pet Loss: Do Pets Go To Heaven? http://j.mp/1FlqZY7 « Grief Healing Blog

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Pet Loss: Do Pets Go To Heaven?

Reviewed and updated September 9, 2025]

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.  ~ Will Rogers

A reader writes:  I have been grieving the loss of my cat for some time now, and the pain does not go away. I am still very sad and wondering what kind of help you can give me.  I keep thinking—did my Mittens go to heaven or not?  I had a very tight bond with this cat.  I miss her companionship every day and I miss her so much.

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 18 - January 24, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Brilliant! Denial and Disbelief in Grieving, http://j.mp/1ycXQKE « Open to Hope

We Are All Made of Stars: Katherine Thome on Giving Birth in Grief, http://j.mp/1xOYRd1 « Mutha Magazine

What Losing Your Mother Feels Like, http://j.mp/1xOAP1Q « Huff Post Women

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 4 - January 10, 2015

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Updated today: Professional Certification Programs in Grief and Bereavement, http://j.mp/zbmbtz « Grief Healing Blog

Behind the Veil, http://j.mp/1AAZBFM « Alive in Memory

A Ceremony for Cremation, http://j.mp/1tQCamV « A Good Goodbye ~ Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 27 - May 3, 2014

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

The Physical Side of Grief, http://j.mp/1ujNGd3 « Alive in Memory

One stop shopping! A Wedding Guide For Grievers: tips for remembering and coping http://j.mp/1lDi91O « What's Your Grief?

It’s Not My Fault! Grief and the fear of failure, http://j.mp/1s2YlXp « It's OK to Die

Understanding and Managing Grief, September 29 - October 12, 2013

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream:

The 4 Letter Word That Leads You Astray (And What to Do About It), http://j.mp/1gzhE5T « Huffington Post

Friday Favorites: Articles about Grief, http://j.mp/19uMLwn  What's Your Grief?

Lou LaGrand: Little Things to Do In Adapting to the Death of Your Loved One, http://j.mp/1attAkP « Ezine Articles

Coping with Pet Loss, June 30 - July 13, 2013

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Lovely Golden tribute: Otis Babaji 2005-2013, http://j.mp/1bvjHFJ « YouTube

What Happens After Death? http://j.mp/1bewsnO « New England Pet Hospice

Importance of a Meaningful Goodbye, http://j.mp/151kpFF New England Pet Hospice:

Understanding and Managing Grief, January 8 - January 14, 2012

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Effects of unresolved grief can be devastating, http://j.mp/Av3Qug

• How faith changes through grief « Memoirs from Widow Island, http://j.mp/x5V0Nh

• Gloria Horsley: 4R’s of Recovery For Those Who've Experienced #Loss http://j.mp/xHngHA
  
  
• Teen loses step-dad, now making a documentary, http://j.mp/Aa8ZTL by @jetlifefilm via @LosingParents
  
  
• How Twitter can act as a social support group in mourning and grief, http://j.mp/xsZqPz by @mysendoff

Understanding and Managing Grief, September 25 - October 1, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Lovely! What my Dad's dressing gown taught me about grief, http://bit.ly/mPOYbT by @Belinda_Pollard

• Great read! Making Sense of Surviving Your Friends, http://j.mp/oLlEjd by @friendgrief

• Three Ways To Help Children Turn Bad Grief Into Good Grief, http://ow.ly/6vvUL by @BarbaraASimone

• Helping Children Deal with Grief, http://ow.ly/6C8ug by @BarbaraASimone

• Coping Strategies for Bereaved College Students, http://j.mp/ofUIpD by @JeffsPlace

Coping with Pet Loss, September 25 - October 1, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Did My Cat Go to Heaven? | Open to Hope Foundation http://j.mp/qABDW4

• Works for pet loss too! On Grief and Grieving: Losing Friend Support, http://dlvr.it/nc80Q via @houstonfunerals

• Helping your child cope with pet loss: Sac Paws Pet Connection, http://j.mp/oiWCDo

• 3 new children's books on pet loss, http://tinyurl.com/3vccggd by @Books_Heal_Kids via @ecmmason

• Jon Katz's new book explores life after pets die, http://reut.rs/n05eLU via @_lizzy_ @reuters

After Death Communication, Continued

In earlier posts (After Death Communication and After Death Communication: A List of Resources)  I’ve shared my own special interest in this topic because, in my role as a grief counselor, I support grief-stricken individuals in their efforts to maintain loving connections with their deceased loved ones ~ including such post-death encounters as After Death Communications (ADCs).

I am drawn to and continually amazed by ADC stories, as the bereaved discover and describe the many ways their deceased loved ones still manage to communicate with them, sending messages of comfort and hope from beyond.

In addition to the resources listed in my earlier posts, I want to recommend two more books I’ve just finished reading. Both authors beautifully acknowledge the power of love in navigating their way through grief to hope, and describe in detail how they cultivated their ability to recognize the ongoing presence of their departed loved ones.  Their stories are personal, convincing, uplifting and life-affirming.

Understanding and Managing Grief, July 10 - July 16, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• 3 Steps to Cultivate Hope, Compassion and Healing http://bit.ly/p7BGl8

• We knew that! Pets Provide Emotional, Social Support to Owners, http://bit.ly/qQGu81

• Thoughts on Memories, Grief and Loss | World of Psychology, http://bit.ly/p5dpwP

• Helping Another in Grief, http://ow.ly/5yLgz by Grief Counselor @griefhealing via @Selfhealingexpr

• Resilience and Helping Children Survive Divorce, http://t.co/lKZ1GO9 via @huffingtonpost @NewGrief

After-Death Communication: A List of Resources

After Death Communication (ADC) is one of the most frequently discussed topics in my online Grief Healing Discussion Groups, and it is one I've written about in an earlier post.

In an online TVGuide article I read that, in a segment broadcast on his program, television's Dr. Mehmet Oz "had quite a wild time watching [famed psychic medium] John Edward do his thing. In fact, the good doc says the experience changed his life!"

What are we to do with all this interest in ADC?

Caregiving and Hospice, November 7 - November 13

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• What to do when a loved one expresses a wish to die? http://nyti.ms/aaPWpy via NYTimes.com

• Sooner Or Later author interviewed about EOL care on WGN, http://bit.ly/98w8sc via @DrDignity

• Traveling With a Senior This Holiday Season? http://bit.ly/dqmiQ1 by @ShelleyWebbRN

• Facing terminal illnesses realistically, http://nblo.gs/at09N via @St_Patricks

• MUST watch Frontline documentary, "Facing Death" is online now. Also on PBS Nov 23, 9pm ET, http://to.pbs.org/d6KNvq via @ctsinclair

• Is There Life After Death? TIME, http://bit.ly/a6sH4

• On Veterans Day, may we all remember that freedom isn't free, http://bit.ly/a9zUZA

• The Heart of a Caregiver, http://bit.ly/9gH7KH by @LeezaGibbons

• Stories or Questions Heard Over and Over and Over Again? http://bit.ly/d1Cwbk « ElderCarelink blog

• Hospice launches DVD to help dispel care fears, http://bit.ly/cJTsDF via @hospicepharmacy

• Hospice Care Is Not the Same as Palliative Care, http://bit.ly/ckzPf4 by @angelamorrow

• Facing death can bring out the best in people, http://bit.ly/9oZFTV via @hospicepharmacy

• Hospice of the Valley's Susan Levine: Hospice care provides calm sense of dignity, http://bit.ly/cLqmJR via @hospicepharmacy

• Caregiving takes financial, as well as emotional, toll on families, http://bit.ly/bopOve via @Florence247

• New Facts and Figures on Hospice Care, http://bit.ly/9Yb26e via @NHPCO_news

Understanding and Managing Grief, November 7 - November 13

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Article in MORE MAGAZINE on grief and healing, http://bit.ly/cxgCur by @Joannefunch

• Self guided e-book writing program helps in grief, http://ow.ly/38Ywz via @StoryForHealing

• Navigating Loss: Dealing with the Pain and Letting Go, http://ow.ly/38vrx via @StoryForHealing

• Is There Life After Death? TIME, http://bit.ly/a6sH4

• We're all made of stardust! My Grandson The Rock via NPR, http://n.pr/cnUPDR

• Open to Hope Foundation > Daughter Feels Little Support for Mother Loss, http://bit.ly/cnnYIT

• Brian Vaszily: First Class Flyers Who Complain about Pretzels, http://bit.ly/d04vo3

• Surviving A Loss From Suicide, http://bit.ly/cerIoz via @afspnational

• Please visit us at Open to Hope's new website!  Same name, new content, and easy to navigate! http://bit.ly/97Gf4P via @opentohope

• I Will Never Be the Same After My Father's Death, http://bit.ly/9NrRP0 via @HelloGrief

• Can broken times help us grow? Great read by Elizabeth Lesser "Broken Open" http://bit.ly/bI5mhU via @Joannefunch