ANNOUNCEMENT:  As You Die is now available not only as a CD, but in VHS video and DVD formats. All scenes are from nature, a few of people, and an animal, but mostly just nature. And it is stunning. I saw it myself for the first time two weeks ago, and I am so grateful Focus Worldwide Network is now the new distributor/producer. They did a wonderful job, very spiritual. Focus, by the way, is a non-profit, and "As You Die" is non-denominational. I am very dedicated to getting this production out to as many hospitals and hospices as possible, as well as to anyone else who might need it. I hope some of you take this on as a project, in seeing to it that the presentation reaches those who it could help. "As You Die" is the only presentation on earth which talks a dying person through physical death as he or she dies, and the soul's separation. It has been tested for fifteen years with hundreds of people. The tape really does what it is designed to do - alleviate the fear of death. With some people, it helps them to die easier and more comfortably. I am amazed at how many families use this for their own grief, playing it even a year later for the reassurance it brings and the healing that comes with it. You can obtain a copy for yourself by accessing Focus Worldwide in Louisiana through their website at www.focusvideos.com, by calling them at (504) 840-9898, or by writing Focus Worldwide Network, 106 Metairie Lawn Drive, Metairie, LA 70001. By the way, I called them several times during Hurricane Ivan's track up from the Gulf. They were spared any damage, their building held firm and so did those homes of their employees. (Focus is located just outside of New Orleans.) Please, please, please, get "As You Die" into the right hands and quickly. Thank you, PMH

QUESTION:  Hello again. This time I have a question and for me a puzzlement. Perhaps you will share your thoughts. Watching and listening to Reagan's demise due to Alzheimer's, I heard two things that glued me. Not that they hadn't been in my mind before, and they have nothing to do with personalities.

(1)  At a point early in his illness it is reported that someone showed Reagan a picture of the White House, and he said that he recognized it and knew it was important in his life but he didn't know how or why. And, of course, in the running of the illness, he eventually lost all touch with this realm from all appearances.

(2)  Just before making the transition, he looked into the eyes of Nancy in apparent full recognition. She reportedly made the remark that it was the best gift he could have given her. I don't doubt any of this.

When one has lost all apparent contact with this reality, is it because that essence is gone partly away and is no longer close enough to stimulate the physical brain? And would there be a final coming close enough of essence just before final departure to stimulate the brain to allow it to transmit a message, verbal or other, to those nearby? Thanks for your thoughts -- Gerry

PMH Atwater's reply:  Gerry, no one knows for certain how this works, but here is what I have seen and sensed. During the dying process, the soul of the individual goes in and out. I have yet to be around someone whose essence, as you called it, stayed intact within the body the whole time. The soul is very busy getting ready. As time progresses, the soul stays away from the body for longer and longer periods of time, as if to get the body used to the change of frequency (energy vibration) this causes. Haven't you noticed this yourself when around someone who is dying? There are days when you absolutely know the soul is there. The individual's skin is a healthy color, he or she responds and interacts, and you sense a "fire" inside. That fire is life! We are Divine Sparks from the mind of the Creator. That spark of divine fire that we are is what animates us, gives us that creative "juice," that drive, that will to participate in and respond to life, that special energy that accomplishes things. When that fire is gone, even when it is absent for a while, you know right away. No one has to tell you. You can look into the individual's eyes and you can see it for yourself - no one is home, no one's there, the body is vacant, still alive but uncreative. Any response during those times would be wooden, habitual, organic - nothing more. When the soul is back inside the body, the creative fire is back and the individual is lively to the degree possible at that time - but still lively, responsive.

The same pattern happens with pregnancy. Sometimes the soul is present within the forming fetus and sometimes it is not. It goes in and out, preparing. The idea that the soul enters the body at first breath after birth is false. It can enter the fetus body at any time, even at conception. Again, I have yet to be around a pregnant mother (or with my own pregnancies) where the soul remained "in residence" once it entered the body form. The soul goes in and out. My research with child experiencers of near-death states suggests, though, that the soul often makes residence around the beginning of the third trimester. That's the big reason, as far as I am concerned, to discourage and avoid third-trimester abortions. In all probability, it's not just a body form being removed, but a living responsive soul who can think, intuit, remember, and has all faculties in operation, even with its eyes closed. Read my book, The New Children and Near-Death Experiences, and prepare yourself to be surprised. Once you read this book, it will forever change how you regard abortions. (Before you have one, check with the soul of your baby. It has a say, too, which may be cooperative with you and agree to leave, or it may not.)

As we prepare to enter a body and as we prepare to leave a body, the same basic pattern holds true, and principally the same basic process.

As for the clarity just before death, this is natural and to be expected with most people (not everyone, but the majority). Most people, either a few days before death occurs or in some cases a few hours before death occurs, are suddenly perky, wide-awake, responsive to the degree that they can be, and often possess full memory - EVEN IF THEY ARE ALZHEIMER PATIENTS! It's as if, just before final passage, we are energized enough that we can say goodbye or at least have a last look around. I have seen this happen with so many adults and children, that I have come to expect it. My sister is a nurse, one of those cracker-jack "experts" who usually knows more than the doctor in charge at any given time, and she agrees with me. And, during this wake-up time, the one about to die shines. There's something about the face and head. Not only do they seem to wake-up, they light-up. When this happens, the light is usually strong enough to light up the room as well, or at least a few feet around them. I regard this as a sign of sacredness, the soul's way of bringing comfort to loved ones and affirming that all is well, it's okay to leave, the soul is on its path - no accidents here - what is happening is right on with what is supposed to happen - even if the dying person is a child or someone injured in an accident.

I invite the readership and people everywhere to reconsider what they think they know about death. In order to really get a handle on all the many disparities and puzzles, what seems so unfair or difficult about death, we must consider the soul and the soul's will. You cannot even get a grasp on death and the purpose it serves without opening yourself to the existence of the soul.

You, me, everyone - we are not our body. We are a soul, a divine being. We are neither male nor female, black or white, old or young. We are a soul, a divine being, who came to earth, took on a body, developed a personality and lifestyle through the process of meeting opportunities both negative and positive, learned and grew in that learning, tackled a "mission" or had a job, contributed to life's many processes, enhanced the energy of the earth plane or decreased it, joined with others in a myriad of relationships and for many purposes, and then left through death's doorway. We are each far more than the face we see in the mirror. We are more than that, stronger than that, more powerful than that, and the life we have chosen to lead at this point in time matters. We matter, each of us. I urge you to read We Live Forever: The Real Truth About Death at your earliest convenience. It is the smallest book I have ever written, the friendliest, and the most intimate. I call it a "love" book - love of life, real life, what we really are.

Thank you all for your kindness. I'll see you next time.