Researching ghost stories has prompted me to dig more deeply into the meaning of our brief span of life and whether or not it can truly end. Since our life energy is a form of matter, and because science tells us that matter can neither be created nor destroyed but only transformed, the sting of death may not be that bad at all. And, as I have just hinted, bodily death may indeed be necessary for our growth as eternal beings; in a dimension, time, or place where our consciousness can be re-formed and re-evaluated. Research in Western parapsychology asserts that the death of the body likely is not the end of our consciousness—a theme promoted for millennia in Eastern cultures.

            The continuity of life in some form has traditionally been the province of the world’s religions, each seeking to inspire and connect (or re-connect) humanity to the Source of All Life, commonly known as God. Nevertheless, science (which many religious folk once felt was opposed to the concept of a deity) is providing much research on subtle energies and on the nature of consciousness, dreams, bioelectric fields and even on the essence of time.

            Stories that once were ignored by Western media and tossed in the newsroom waste basket now often become syndicated feature stories, spread around the world. Consider this incident from 1992.

            On April 10^th of that year, on U.S. Route 95 outside Needles, California, singer, actor and performer Sam Kinison’s Pontiac Firebird was struck head-on by the pickup truck driven by a young man who had been drinking. Why Kinison took that route instead of his usual shortcut through Laughlin, Nevada, was never determined. Kinison and his new wife, Malika Souiri, were being tailed by two of Kinison’s friends, Carl LaBove and J. J. Wall, in a van.

            In the minutes after witnessing the collision, the friends quickly turned onto the shoulder of the road and jumped out, where they saw Kinison struggling from the wreck. LaBove rushed to his friend’s side and propped up Kinison, who didn’t seem to be seriously injured. The actor appeared to be staring down the highway in the direction from which he had just come, then suddenly spoke to someone, though LaBove knew it wasn’t him, “No, not now,” Kinison said laughing. Then in another minute, he chuckled again and said, “No, not yet,” almost in a pleading tone. He laughed once more, then sagged perceptibly and said, “Okay, okay,” whereupon he died immediately in his friend’s arms. What forces were at work there, invisible to the two friends and Kinison’s injured wife? It is my guess, based on dozens of interviews with near-death experiencers, that the welcoming committee from the other side appeared to Sam, as they will for us all. I do not believe that anyone dies alone.