The Cycle Of Life

Knightofalbion said:
He was gravely ill at the time, he awoke from a comatose state, expressed that statement, then shortly after lapsed into a coma again from which he did not regain consciousness, so they were his last words.
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"It's very beautiful over there." In the Spring of 1929, Thomas Edison traveled from his home and laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, to Dearborn, Michigan, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his invention of the electric light as well as the opening of both the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. After being introduced by President Hoover, Edison delivered a brief banquet speech and then collapsed. The president's physician quickly rushed to Edison's aid and determined that he was suffering from severe pneumonia. Edison returned to Menlo Park but never fully recovered. He collapsed again in August, 1931, and was bedridden for the last two months of his life. He sank into semi-consciousness, and his second wife, Mina, remained by his side. On Edison's last day, she leaned close and asked, "Are you suffering?" to which he replied, "No, just waiting." Edison then looked out of his bedroom window and softly spoke his last words.
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  • It is very beautiful over there!
    • These have sometimes been reported as his last words, but were actually spoken several days before his death, as he awoke from a nap, gazing upwards, as reported by his physician Dr. Hubert S. Howe, in Thomas A. Edison, Benefactor of Mankind : The Romantic Life Story of the World's Greatest Inventor (1931) by Francis Trevelyan Miller, Ch. 25 : Edison's Views on Life — His Philosophy and Religion, p. 295
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Knightofalbion said:
Thomas Edison died at 9 p.m. on October 18th 1931 in New Jersey. He was 84 years of age. Shortly before passing away, he awoke from a coma and quietly whispered to his very religious and faithful wife Mina, who had been keeping a vigil all night by his side "It is very beautiful over there". http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html
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LOL - the War of the Quotes!

There was also one reference that claimed he was looking out the window as he said it, so maybe he was just referring to Mrs. Satterwhite's lovely bush.

The way I see it, there are two points that come into play here: first, it's extremely difficult to attribute any quotes to historical figures. They are so often wrongly attributed, modified or simply made-up. If Edison's wife was the only one in the room that would open his last words to the word of a single person - not exactly like making a speech to an auditorium full of people.

Secondly, Edison has been lionized over the past 80 years as a saint, when he was nothing of the sort. There is hard proof of his stealing patents, intimidating or just plain buying-out competitors, electrocuting animals and even pushing for the first electric-chair execution in Sing Sing just to make a point, treating his workers like dirt ... it's a long list, all documented, but if you wanted to say the man was a wonderful capitalist and driven to succeed then I would agree.

But attributing his supposed last words in a way that make him out to be a saint, which is how the majority of the literature does it, is just too much for me to handle. I know he was ruthless, cunning, deceitful, proud, arrogant, vain ... those aren't exactly the traits of someone I hold in high esteem. As is usual with our "heros" the myth is much, much larger than reality.
 
An extract from a NDE account given by a lady called Mary.

"Horses and dogs were playing together and when they stopped they seemed to stare a hole right through me and then went back to playing.
I was told they were checking to see if I was the person they were waiting for that had loved them while on earth..."
 
American Bryce Bond underwent a NDE after being taken seriously ill and rushed to hospital.

'He remembered suddenly passing through a long tunnel toward a beautiful light and then...

"I hear a bark and racing toward me is a dog, I once had, a black poodle named Pepe. When I see him, I feel an emotional floodgate open. Tears fill my eyes. He jumps into my arms, licking my face. As I hold him, he is real, more real than I had ever experienced him. I can smell him, feel him, hear his breathing and sense his great joy at being with me again....

I feel the presence of my dog around me as I ponder these two questions. Then I hear barking and other dogs appear, dogs I once had. As I stand there in what seems to be an eternity, I want to embrace and be absorbed and merge. The sensation of not wanting to come back is overwhelming...."

But he did come back because it wasn't his 'time'.
The doctor told him he had been 'dead' for over ten minutes.

[Bryce was also greeted by all of his relatives who had passed on before him.]
 
A gentleman approached me at a book-signing event in Seattle to tell me about the shared death experience he'd had with his wife several years earlier.

She had just completed a round of chemotherapy and was not feeling well.
There was no reason to expect her to die anytime soon, said Dave, which is why he was so surprised to 'hear' her voice as he stood in the kitchen.

"I knew she was dying because I could 'hear' her talking directly into my ear," he said. "She was saying, 'I've just died, but that's okay. Everything is fine. Please don't worry.' "

Dave walked into the bedroom and found what he feared: his wife lying dead in bed.

What he didn't expect to see was his wife's mother (in spirit) leaning over her daughter and welcoming her to the other side.
"Her mother had died thirty years earlier and I saw their bond renew right before my eyes," said Dave. The mother and daughter hugged and then "swirled up and out of the room."

It was a great relief to Dave, who said that there was cheerfulness in his wife's voice that "lifts me up and keeps me going every day."

- From 'Glimpses of Eternity' by Dr Raymond Moody
 
maggis said:
Thanks so much for all your goodwill, I didn't realise that
so many people would read it and I didn't mean to imply that
i'm miserable as I'm not, things could be a lot worse and there are millions
in dire circumstances.
I told a lie, I am a bit down at the mo', I found one of my 2 cats behind
the shed on Sat morning, He was fine the night before so am guessing
that it may have been a heart attack, he was 12 and in good health ( so I thought):(
We''ll miss him very much and we still have his twin brother and our much loved dog to lavish
with attention
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Prayers for your husband there Maggis, and hopes for continued improvment. And for you as well to keep your spirits up in the midst of such trials.

philippians4_23c.jpg
 
Knight, I tried it again this Easter day, and it worked fine, must have been my Kindle. After watching the video, I went back to the beginning of the thread, and read several of the post.
If I can find a couple of the recommended books, I will read them.
Thank you.
 
Having a NDE awakened and changed me in many ways. It also brought me to full understanding that nobody is here on earth 'by accident', that we each have a purpose, something we came here to do in this lifetime, before we return 'home'....
When I look at the world today, it seems that more and more, people are living out their lives as if their sole purpose is to 'get', rather than concentrating on living their soul purpose ... which is to give
- Jules Lyons
 
Just did a quick run through of your posts and those of others. Nice idea to share those links Knightofalbion and so good for folks to understand that others have been there before and returned to tell of its joy. Actually I'm mailing off a copy of Dr. Alexander's book, Proof of Heaven, to my mother tomorrow. She recently 'lost' her two oldest sisters and she is 78 herself, so I think the good Dr.'s book will suit her very well.

Have a nice day!
 
I always thought life was like a river..some of us get caught up on branches and are lost...and then we all gently float our way to the sea!!
 

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