I am a retired college professor and consultant. The following is a series of three dreams that I had about a decade ago.

For stress relief and relaxation, I would go up into the Arizona Mountains to ride my trail bike and walk in the forest. Even through I considered myself atheist/agnostic and I was pretty sure that God was in the same category as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, I started to pray on my hands and knees. My prayers consisted of asking to be shown the other side. I wanted proof that there was more to my existence than this physical life, because material success did not bring me the peace and happiness that I had hoped for in my life.

I prayed this prayer for several years while alone in the Arizona Mountains. Then over a two-week period I had a series of three dreams that I now believe allowed me to see the other side. I did not realize it at the time, however, because I wanted physical proof that life after death existed.

The first two dreams consisted of being shown beauty that is beyond mere words. The forests were a beautiful living green and the lakes were an incredible bluish green that is impossible for me to accurately describe. I floated effortlessly over the scenery about 100 to 200 yards above the ground. In fact, during the second dream it was so beautiful that I went back to where I started, picked someone up in my arms and said, "You have got to see this." I carried this person effortlessly so they could share the beauty with me. I learned many years later that these are referred to as "garden dreams." They show us the other side of physical existence, what some call the astral world and others call heaven.

The third dream in this series was so profound and real that there is not a day when I don't think about it. It is so near and dear to me that it feels like it happened five minutes ago. In this "vision" I had while I slept, I met a woman about 45 years of age with shoulder length gray hair who was wearing a floor length gray gown. We were standing about ten to fifteen feet apart and were looking right into each other's eyes.

She had a radiant smile, which I cannot describe in words. She did not speak to me with a physical voice, as all communication was telepathic. It was like instantaneous communication. She had perfect understanding of my past and present feelings, emotions, and thoughts. She not only knew what I had done in my life but the reasons I had done them. She knew about my most selfish acts, even those that I will take to my grave. She understood the hardships in my life, and yet there was no judgment or condemnation, just perfect acceptance.

It should also be noted that there was no congratulations for anything good that I had done or for any successes that I have had as a college professor or consultant.

Then I floated towards her and she held out her arms. As we touched we began to vibrate into each other's bodies. This was ecstasy beyond anything I have ever known in my life. Then the dream ended before we "melted" together. Some people have told me when I share this dream with them that what I had experienced was a spiritual hug. I had never heard of a spiritual hug or even believed that we survived death. The thing I remember most about this dream is the total acceptance from this compassionate woman in a gray grown with a sweet smile on her face.

William Fechter PhD
Metasuccess1@msn.com

Posted Sept. 4, 2004