*Proof of Heaven was a book written by a neuroscientist, Eben Alexander, on his near-death experience with the after-life. It was a book both Carl and I read before his death on August 28, 2014.
I am here in Boston for the Boston Early Music Festival, a “week-long extravaganza of early music,” and I am revisiting many of the places my late husband, Carl, and I visited together: the Boston Commons, Church of the Advent, the home of Edith Ho, and the Legal Seafoods restaurant. And it is no wonder that last night I had a dream in which the sight and sound of Carl was so incredibly vivid, and so realistic, that I thought for sure he is trying to communicate with me.
I was sitting around a picnic table in a park with Simon Crookall (Hawaii Opera Theater) and Stephen Strugnell (Chamber Music Hawaii) discussing Carl’s upcoming memorial concert in the fall. All of a sudden, Carl joined us at the table, and he was looking healthy and wearing a green shirt. I asked him, “Are you for real?” He reached under the table and squeezed my hand. I remember his hand was strong, and I took hold with both of my hands.
I asked Simon and Stephen, “Do you see Carl?” and they both said yes.
[Why I had both of them in the dream is a mystery, because although I had asked both of them about a possible date conflict, that has been the extent of their involvement.]
Later, I was driving the car with Carl in the passenger seat, and Tim Carney in the back. I asked Tim, “Do you see Carl?” and he said no. Now, Tim will be conducting the concert, so I guess it’s okay that he was in the dream.
At that moment I was in that state of semi-consciousness between sleeping and waking, and I was aware that I could hear Carl breathing because the rhythm of it was different from my own. Gradually, though, the sound of his breathing faded away.
After some brief research via Google, I found out this experience is called a “visitation dream,” and some experts say it is part of the bereavement process. There seem to be no end to articles on the subject, but read this one:
Dream Visitation: Why the Deceased Show Up in Your Sleep
I guess Carl is enjoying himself in Boston!
Now that I’m a regular hospice worker, I don’t doubt the reality of these experiences. I see it with some frequency when people are close to death, even when my own questioning mother talked with her mother and brother as she was in the final hours of her life. What a great moment for you and thanks for sharing.