Featured in many magazine and newspaper articles, he hosted his own radio show, The Glenn Klausner Hour and co-hosted, The Spirit Side of Life, both on Contact Talk Radio. Glenn conducts lectures and seminars and is working on his first book. For more information, please visit www.glennklausner.com.
Karen Christopherson
Michigan
My father-in-law Leonard had his first open-heart surgery when he was fifty-years-old. After ten years, the heart problems had recurred, and his cardiologist was strongly recommending repeat surgery.
Because his level of investment in his work was his primary source of stress at the time, he had decided on an early retirement. It was to be his sole year of retirement, because he died the following spring.
Leonard was a minister who had dedicated his life to spirituality and thus was completely unafraid of death. In retrospect, it became apparent to his family that he had “known” he would have only one winter in Florida and that he had made the most of every day there. Although he had always had close relationships with his sons, he had not previously taken the time to get to know his grandchildren well. This winter was an exception as he spent quality time with all of his grandchildren—taking each of them on special excursions and then developing individual photo albums of their time with Grandpa. He spent money on things he previously would have considered frivolous and unnecessary.
On the way home from Florida for spring break that year, all three of our sons remarked how they had never felt closer to Grandpa than they did at that time. One even expressed fear that his grandfather would die soon because he had really gotten to know him in a special way for the first time.
The following April, on his return to Michigan, Leonard stopped over for a few days' visit in Atlanta with his step-grandchildren. While there, he suffered further complications and had to undergo emergency open-heart surgery. Although the surgery itself was successful, he did not make it.
My husband Jim did not arrive at the hospital in time to see his father before he died. He phoned me around 9:00 p.m. to tell me of his father's death and of all the details he needed to take care of the following day.
At five minutes before midnight that evening, I was sitting on the edge of my bed reflecting on the day's events when I felt the presence of Jim's father with me. It did not surprise me since he and I had conversed many times regarding life after death and the differences between his traditional Christian views and my metaphysical ones. It seemed natural that he had chosen me as his venue to let us know that he was safe and secure on the Other Side.
I was aware of feeling slightly frightened at having Leonard present himself to me in spirit when I was alone in the house. Since I knew my husband would be open to and in need of his father's farewell visit, I spoke out loud, “Leonard, I know you want to let us know you're at peace and no longer in pain, but I would prefer that you go to Jim in Atlanta and in some way communicate this to him.” Instantly, I no longer felt his presence in the room.
I neglected to mention this event to my husband until he returned from his trip a few days later. As he was reporting the sequence of events over the last few days, I recalled Leonard's visit and asked Jim if anything had happened after 11:30 that evening. He hesitated and then said that at midnight he had had a profound spiritual experience. He related that he had gone to bed with his mind still flooded with concern for all the details he was responsible for taking care of the following day. As his mind was racing with concern for how he was going to accomplish everything, a general feeling of calm overtook him. He then physically experienced receiving a hug from his father along with the strong sense that he was not to worry and that everything would work out well.
Jim has no doubt that his father came to him in spirit as he so often had in life to comfort and reassure him and to tell him not to worry.
About Karen Christopherson, MSW, LMSW, CAAC
Karen is a relationship therapist and executive and personal life coach with extensive experience in corporate environments and private practice. For more information, visit her Web site at www.trilliumconsultants.com.
Phyllis Hotchkiss
Florida
http://duane-hotchkiss.memory-of.com/About.aspx
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/park/4746/brian.html
In October of 2005, my husband Duane, who was my friend, lover, and life, was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer. We were all very devastated when we heard the news. Duane was always so full of life, and to see him having to go through all of this was terrible. He remained positive, however, and was bound and determined to beat this. (He had already beaten both prostate and colon cancer.)
After various tests we found out that surgery was out of the question as the tumor was too close to the heart and bronchial tube, so the only option was to go through chemotherapy. He went through rounds of chemo; his last round was in January of 2006. He had a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan which showed that the cancer had spread to his bones and to his brain. I took him to Muffett Cancer Center to see if there were anything else that they could do, but there was nothing. His only choice was to go through another three rounds of chemo. After one round he ended up in the hospital. The cancer was spreading rapidly
I promised him that he would not die in the hospital so he came home and hospice came in. He passed away in my arms with his family at his bedside. He was always skeptical but knew that I believed in “visits from heaven.” Soon after our son Brian was murdered, my children and I began receiving many messages from him. So Duane promised that, if it were possible, he would come to us.
After Duane passed away, I started seeing butterflies, always two together. One day I was out in the golf cart getting ready to go to the pool. Two of the most beautiful butterflies were flying around the front yard together. I said out loud to myself, “Brian and Duane, if that's you, please give me a sign.” All of a sudden they both flew over to the golf cart and flew three times around it and then flew off. I knew that it was Brian and Duane.
One afternoon I was lying back in my lounge chair watching a movie on TV. I shut my eyes to rest them. All of a sudden I could feel a presence over to the side of the chair. I knew someone was there, but I was not afraid at all. I tried to open my eyes because I knew it was my husband, but I could not get them to open. I wasn't sleeping as I could hear the television and people mowing their lawns. All of a sudden I felt Duane take my hand in his; I squeezed his hand, and it was so real. He picked my hand up, brought it to his lips, and kissed my fingers. I felt his kiss and wanted so