10/16/2024
The Grace of Deathbed Visitations
Just as it does at birth, the veil between the worlds thins at death. The other side can become more present, to the dying person, and to those around them.
It's common for people to see, hear, or sense the presence of benevolent, otherworldly beings around a death. These may be ancestors, spiritual figures, animals, or simply amorphous energy forms. They're here to support and es**rt the dying person on their journey, and they can bring great comfort and reassurance.
When a death comes through illness or aging, there's more time to notice this dimensional shift. As a dying person's body shuts down, they release their attunement to this world and begin to resonate at the frequency of an ancestor. They become a sort of tuning fork in the field, allowing the whole ancestral realm to be more easily perceived and engaged.
Dominant culture separates us from death, so many of us haven't been taught how to recognize these visitations, much less how to engage with them and the healing they can bring.
Not every deathbed involves visitations but, in my experience, when dying people and their families learn to identify the signs, and are given permission to validate what's happening, the visitations intensify. It's a matter of giving them a place to land.
A deathbed is a liminal zone, a threshold between this world and the next. It's a profoundly sacred space, and when we consciously meet it that way, beautiful things can happen.