Observations placeholder
Bozzano, Professor Ernesto - Psychic phenomena at the moment of death – 01 Introduction and 1st case
Identifier
027221
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
….scientific research methods require us to notice that in the cases of apparitions of death on the deathbed, we encounter a circumstance which cannot be easily clarified by the hallucinatory hypothesis. That is, if the thought eagerly turned towards the dear ones was the determining cause of the phenomena in question, the dying person, instead of suffering exclusively hallucinatory forms representing the dead ….the patient should be subject more often again to hallucinatory forms presenting him with living persons to whom he is strongly attached, which does not occur.
On the contrary, we can see that there are no examples of a dying person who sees supposed ghosts of the living, or addresses them in the same way that these visions, these dialogues occur with the ghosts of those who have died.
We are well aware of a few cases of the dying who had ghost visions believed to be living persons; but in these cases it was invariably found that the persons in question had died well before, though none of the assistants, nor the patient himself, had any knowledge of it.
It must be admitted that these considerations are of great inductive value in the sense of the spiritual interpretation of facts, although the experimental demonstration of the legitimacy of this explanation is very difficult, because of the very nature of the facts in question. In any case, these considerations help to highlight the desirability of a new, more careful analysis of the cases we are dealing with. Now I am going to present a number of examples relating to each of the different ways in which the cases falling into this first category are manifested.
A description of the experience
Ernesto Bozzano - Psychic phenomena at the moment of death [110 cases suggesting survival after death]
First category - Cases in which the apparitions of the deceased are perceived solely by the dying person, and relate to persons whose death he knew.
1st case. - In The Life of the Rev. Dwight L. Moody, an ardent evangelical propagandist in the United States, written by his son (p 485), we the following account of his last moments:
He was suddenly heard to murmur: "The earth is moving away, the sky opens before me; I exceeded the limits. God is waiting for me. Do not call me back; all this is beautiful; it looks like a vision of ecstasy. If this is death, how sweet it is! "
His face revived, and with an expression of delightful rapture,
" Dwight! Irene! I see the children "
(he was referring to two of his grandchildren who were dead).
Then, turning to his wife, he said: "You have always been a good companion for me".
After these words, he lost consciousness.