Life After Death: A Renowned Psychic Reveals What Happens to Us When We Die - Softcover

Browne, Mary T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804113866 ISBN 13: 9780804113861

Publisher: Ivy Books, 1995

Synopsis

A renowned psychic and spiritual healer with clients all over the world, Mary T. Browne had her first clairvoyant experience at the age of seven. For more than thirty years since then, her visions of the other side and her communication with her teachers, both in spirit and on the earth plane, have helped to form not just her understanding of death, but her philosophy of life.
In this fascinating, inspiring book, Mary T. puts our lives into a much broader context than most of us have ever imagined. LIFE AFTER DEATH describes in detail exactly where we go when we die. Mary T.'s psychic connection to the spirit world and her ability to receive messages from those who have made the transition will inspire us to see death not as an ending, but as a new beginning.
Mary T. shows us that the spirit world is a place of harmony. It is a realm of beauty, light, art, music, literature, and friendship. We do love beyond the grave, and we will be reunited with our loved ones in the spirit world. The touching stories of those reunions will help ease the fear of leaving the physical world. Mary T. takes the mystery out of death, and leaves us with clear examples of the miraculous journey that lies ahead of us.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary T. Browne has used her psychic gifts to help clients all over the world. She has appeared on Weekend Today, CNN, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America Now, and Good Day New York, and has been featured in many magazines and newspapers including Forbes, Marie Claire, New York, Worth, American Health, Elle, Vogue, and The New York Times. Mary T. has taught at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, and the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. She has lectured in London, San Miguel, Mexico, New York City, and other major cities across the United States. Mary T. Browne lives in New York City, where her private practice is based.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

1
Transition
 
The one inevitable fact in our lives is that we will die—or, as I prefer to say, “pass over” from the physical world to the spirit world, or astral plane. The transition from the physical realm to the spirit is not an ending; it is a transformation to another state of consciousness. Rather than limiting ourselves to thinking on a material physical level, we expand to fill an emotional, spiritual realm without bounds. Once we are freed from the physical body and are no longer consumed with the needs of the physical world, we can soar to new heights of learning.
 
Think about it! How many hours a day do we spend taking care of our bodies? We must feed them, wash them, make money to house them, clothe them, and so on. Sleep alone takes up a quarter of our earthly time. If we do not take proper care of our bodies, they start to break down. Illness then invades them and it can take a great deal of time and energy to repair the damage. The body is a divine machine, a machine so complex that mankind is still learning ways to keep it functioning properly.
 
Physical life can be described by the Sanskrit word maya, which means illusion. Hindu philosophy teaches that reality is all that is indestructible and eternal. Everything that is changeable and subject to decay and has a beginning and ending is perceived as maya. Since we know that each earth life is temporary, it follows that it is not real. It is maya. Simply, things are not always as they seem to be. A Chinese proverb warns us not to judge the house by its beautiful paint job. The external illusion leads us to believe that we will find a stable foundation. Experience teaches us that this is not true. Mistaking the façade for reality, we are in a state of maya. Believing that physical life is the only form of existence is an illusion. Thinking that we are dead once physical life ends is the ultimate illusion.
 
What Happens at the Time of Death
 
There are many written accounts of near-death experiences. What they have in common is that the people who have them come back to tell us of their adventure. They reach the border without a passport. Immigration sends them back home to get the proper documents.
 
During their short visit they are able to feel the vibrations of this new land. They can see many of the residents, smell new scents, and notice the different scenery. They become fascinated, then disappointed that they are not allowed to stay at that time.
 
Physical death (passing over) is our passport to a new land. Life in spirit is governed in a truly democratic manner. You arrive into the realm that you have earned through your own actions. The amount of money and connections you have in the physical world hold no power in this land. Your character is your position. The wisdom you have gained in your earthly incarnation can pave the road to bliss. It makes no difference if you were the bank president or the bank teller in the physical world. What matters is the quality of your life on earth. We must prepare for this journey by living on the earth with dignity, integrity, service, love, and a sense of humor.
 
To state it as simply as I can: At the time of death the spirit body is released from the physical suitcase. A silver cord attaches the physical body to the astral body much like an umbilical cord connects a baby to its mother. When it is time to pass over, this cord breaks. In a near-death experience the cord is not severed; the spirit body releases partially from the physical one, but the physical and astral bodies remain connected. The spirit floats above the physical body and observes what is happening around it. Clients often report this experience after surgery or at the time of a serious accident, what we call a life or death situation. Usually they hear someone pronounce them dead, whether it’s the doctor in the emergency room or the police officer at the scene of an accident. Feeling as if they are floating, they can see themselves lying on the operating table, or possibly on a stretcher, and observe the activity around their physical body. Outside their body yet still in the physical realm, they can hear people trying to help them. Next, they seem to be going through a tunnel. At the end a beautiful light envelops them. Language cannot express the emotion the soul feels in this sacred vibration. Relatives and friends in spirit stand at the border and speak to them. They are told it is not yet their time to pass on. Souls who have not completed their earthly incarnation must return to the physical life. There is still work to be done.
 
Almost everyone who has a near-death experience returns to the body quickly. They do not have time to visit the spirit realms. But there are certain people who in their near-death experience are allowed to view parts of the spirit world. Later we will hear some of these accounts. Invariably no one wants to go back to earthly life. Don’t you find this interesting?
 
If death is so terrible and frightening, why do people who have glimpsed the other side all tell us the same thing? “The experience was wonderful.” “I have never felt such security and peace.” “There is indeed an afterlife.”
 
People who have had a near-death experience are never the same. They gain a new sense of freedom because their fear of death is gone. They understand the sacredness of life, and life takes on an even deeper meaning. They realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to learn, to grow, to improve, and to serve others.
 
Whenever I hear and read these stories, this part of the Twenty-third Psalm goes through my head:
 
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
 
Is it not possible that “the valley” is actually the tunnel that those who have almost passed over traveled through?
 
YOU WON’T BE ALONE
 
Despite the promise of a blissful afterlife, most human beings are frightened of taking the journey from earth to spirit. The thought of separation from our earthly friends and relatives or of missing life’s joys is inconceivable. Please be comforted to know that nobody passes from the earth to the spirit alone. At the moment your spirit begins to leave your body, you will see someone standing in a shadow, extending a hand to help you cross the border. It will be a clear image of a loved one who has gone on before you. In the rare case when no one close to you has passed on, a spirit helper trained in assisting people to make the transition will be there for you.
 
I have been at the bedsides of many people shortly before their passing. I always know their time is close when they start telling me they’re seeing people who have previously gone over. Sometimes they’ll have long conversations with their mother, a grandmother, or other loved ones.
 
If you are not familiar with the metaphysical world, it is easy to assume that the ill person is having drug reactions or hallucinations. I assure you this is not the case. The spirit body is simply beginning to make the transition. The patient can genuinely see the spirits who are waiting for him. Being half on the earth and half in the world of spirit, the dying person begins to relate to both worlds. Just as it takes time to give birth to a soul, it takes time to leave the earth. Death is birth into the realm of the spirit.
 
Nicky
 
I kept a phone next to my bed in case my dear friend Nicky needed to talk. He and I lived in different cities and didn’t see each other daily. Nicky had been seriously ill for some time and we, his friends and his family, knew that he did not have long to live. He had been released from the hospital and was with his sister. As he grew weaker, he would call me and say, “Nana is here.” His grandmother, “Nana,” had passed on a few years ahead of him. They had been very close and he sorely missed her.
 
Ten days before his passing my phone rang at three A.M.
 
“What are you doing?” he asked.
 
“Waiting for your call,” I joked.
 
“Nana is here, but she is not close enough.” He seemed a bit agitated.
 
“Is she saying anything to you, Nicky?”
 
“No, she just is here. I wish she would come closer. It is so good to see her.”
 
“Don’t worry,” I comforted him, “she will come closer soon.”
 
“Okay,” he said, “that’s all, good-bye.”
 
Knowing that his time was near, I arranged to visit him at his sister’s home. On my last day with Nicky on this side of life, we spoke for seven hours. He was quite weak and lay on the couch, holding my hand. The illness had taken a toll on his body. He was thin and pale and looked much older than his forty years, but he still possessed a wonderful sense of humor. With his gift for one-liners, he could make even the most horrible situation hysterically funny. That day was no exception.
 
“Well, if only the good die young, I guess I’ll never get out of here,” he joked.
 
I explained to Nicky that the Greeks had coined that phrase as a compliment. The Greeks knew that upon death the soul moved into a higher plane of existence and they felt that to pass over young meant that you had fulfilled your earthly duty. Their philosophy left no room for sentimentality about death. Yes, the loved one was missed, but the Greeks held the unshakable faith that all would be reunited in due time.
 
Becoming serious, he said, “Tell me again, Mary, what will happen when I leave this body?”
 
“Think of the blue Tiffany box,” I told him. “Inside it there’s a very special present. The box is lovely, but once you remove the gift, it’s no longer needed. You throw away the box but the contents remain intact. Your physical body is the box. Your spirit body is the contents.
 
“When it is your time, you will feel yourself floating above your physical body. Nana will be standing so close that you’ll see her extended hand. As you reach for her, you will not feel in any way lonely. You’ll look down at your poor, sick body and feel amazing relief, total freedom. All your physical pain and fear will leave you instantly. It will be fascinating to look at your physical body and know for certain that it is not the real you. The voices of those around you on the physical plane will grow fainter. You will see their reactions. For a moment you will want to assure them everything is all right. Yet you realize that in time they, too, will feel this harmony. As the silver cord that attaches your physical and spirit bodies is severed, you’ll move through a dark (but not scary) and tranquil space. At the end of this tunnel will be a beautiful light. You will move toward the light. Nana and other friends who have gone on before you will stand at the border to greet you. Across the border is a world of amazing beauty. You, Nicky, are fortunate, since you’re already aware of life after death. Your metaphysical studies have prepared you for this journey. You will clear very rapidly.”
 
“Clearing” means releasing any pull toward the earth plane. Faith and education make the transition much easier. Understanding the metaphysical is not a necessity, but it’s helpful. Anyone who has lived a good life will also clear with little trouble.
 
“Your spirit friends will be rejoicing,” I continued. “They won’t be dressed in gloomy black. Black is saved for those on earth who still see this transformation as depressing and tragic.
 
“For a short time you’ll feel the vibrations of the sadness of your earth friends. Though you will feel sympathy at their grief, you will lack sentiment. The knowledge that grief is a normal and necessary part of life will prevent you from worrying about the reactions of those on earth.”

About this edition

• Publisher: Ivy Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0804113866
• ISBN 13: 9780804113861
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 192