My mother and I were blessed to visit one-on-one with Dr. Raymond Moody, author of “Life after Life,” while driving to Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. We met on the freeway just out of Salt Lake, which gave us about 45 minutes up and back to visit. Among other things, we talked about life happenings. My mother is a social worker, and Raymond is a psychiatrist, so they hit it off immediately, discussing experiences of common origin in detail. As an observer of the discussions, I was fascinated at the level of love which exists between mental health professionals and their patients–truly an inspiring feeling.
As you may know, I love to learn and observe, believing life’s lessons are discovered by interactions with others. Our conversations that day led me to ask Raymond to describe some of the commonalities of those who had near-death experiences. A very strong spirit attended his words, validating for me that he spoke of true principles.
One commonality is that when individuals experience an out-of-body occurrence, they no longer feel their own feelings; they feel how others feel about being with them. Let me try to explain: If you and I were visiting here in this life, I would be cognizant of my own feelings toward our interaction. Maybe this emotion is more than awareness of personal feelings, perhaps even a sense of self-interest. With the same interaction now viewed from the “other side,” however, the experience is completely different. I would no longer feel my personal emotion but how you felt about how I interacted with you. Those having an out-of-body experience know how their actions are felt from the other person’s perspective.
Our impressions are exactly that–impressions. We might see the world completely differently if, first, we could learn to think of others and how we make them feel. We cannot understand others without appreciating what may be on their minds. What if we knew they are in a fight with a loved one, have lost their employment, are fighting an addiction, are grieving, are considering suicide, have never felt true friendship, just need someone to care for, or simply need a hug? I know we all run into people who have these and similar issues on their minds. We may even be dealing with some of these life circumstances. How would we want those we interact with to treat us if it is?
I hope I can take the understanding I gained on this lovely drive with my mother and Raymond into my daily life. I don’t need to have an out-of-body experience to feel what others have already enjoyed as a life lesson in my heart. Instead, I have learned from them through Raymond. I am sure these individuals treat others differently after their incident, just as anyone would. Life is not about “how we feel” but “how we make others feel.” Let’s not require we see the “other side” to learn this life lesson.
By the way, when we think of others, there is no better feeling!
Jaren
