For many baby boomers reaching the midpoint in life, the question of life after death poses some interesting beliefs and may even evoke comfort for those who have lost a lifelong spouse or loved one. In 2007, AARP The Magazine surveyed over one-thousand people over age 50 to find out their thoughts on the afterlife. Of the group surveyed, nearly three quarters (73%) agree with the statement “I believe in life after death,” with women being the more likely to hold the belief (80%) over men (64%).

The fascination with life after death, and reaching out to those who have passed gives us hope that our lives were meant to be; that somehow we continue to live on. AARPs survey showed 88 percent of respondents believe “They'll be in Heaven after they die.” And more than half reported they believe in spirits or ghosts (60% women and 44% men). Boomers in fact are a lot more likely to believe in ghosts (64%) when compared with those in their 60s (51%) or 70s or older (38%). Additionally, the study says the belief is not entirely based on hearsay. “Thirty-eight percent of those responding to the poll said they felt a presence, or have seen something that they thought might have been a spirit or a ghost.”

Dr. Annette Childs has spent over 20 years working with the dying and their families to document several stories that appear to substantiate these beliefs. A well known expert in near death experiences and altered states of consciousness at the end of life, Dr. Childs, a Ph.D. in Psychology, and a licensed therapist, has authored three books on the subject, a must read for anyone with the universal question about life on the other side.“Annette is well known all across this country and internationally, yet the gifts she brings to the dying is like a light under a bushel,” explains Deb Girard, Circle of Life Hospice. Dr. Childs, who resides in Reno, helps people find a way of understanding that life and death are a “progressional, transformational process that doesn't represent an end but a beginning,” Girard said. Dr. Childs has taught countless professionals in end-oflife issues, and come this spring she will be offering these classes locally through One Candle.net. The series is a carefully honed culmination of her life's work. Attendees often claim these day long events to be 'life changing' in their informational impact. The information shared is applicable to all; helping professionals desiring continuing education, the grieving, and those who are seekers.

“Education is paramount to decreasing our fear about death,” Dr. Childs explained. “Death is a predictable process.” Although none of us have a crystal ball there are markers along the pathway. In helping to understand these markers, Dr. Childs enables the ill to come to terms with the process. “Once people begin working with me, they are astounded at the peace that comes with looking at death head on. Sadly, they are often not referred or willing to come my direction until quite late in the process.” One terminally ill woman told her, “If I had known this stuff when I was living, it would have absolutely changed the way I lived my life.” For this woman, “Physically it was not an easy process, but helping her understand the predictable events that we know lead to physical death helped her prepare,” she said. “Fear is not a factor.”

For baby boomers approaching the mid-point, who are possibly planning their retirement and a nest egg to support them into the remaining years, the question of life after death is more in their thoughts especially since the years pass so quickly. Dr. Childs has little reservation in talking about a window in the world beyond. “The farther you look the more you see,” she explained. “In her book “Halfway Across the River,” she provides short stories of cases where the dead have given “messages of hope from the other side.” The belief that people can communicate and leave signs is more than wishful thinking, and is comforting for those left behind.

Much of Dr. Childs work involves what she calls Nearing Death Awareness. It's similar to the near death experience, which tends to happen with sudden death. “The aging and the terminally ill experience a change in consciousness with nearing death awareness, which is kind of an elongated near death experience,” she explained, “it has many of the same features of the near death experience… the sense of travel, the visionary experiences of seeing deceased loved ones and pets, but usually lacks the tunnel, all consuming white light and boundary where they are sent back”

Dr. Childs explains that families need to be educated about the process. They may think their loved ones are hallucinating and ask for their medication. Or they may ask for the medications to be reduced because they think their loved one's state of consciousness is getting clouded, especially if they start talking to someone unseen.

Much of her interest in working with the dying began early in life. “I can't remember a time in my life when I was not consumed with awe at the mystery of end of life. Sometimes people will grimace when I say this, as if I was afflicted at a young age with some eerie malady. The source of my natural wonder at the dying process is really much more innocent and beautiful than that.”

Dr. Childs was raised in a multi-generational family where elderly and ill family members were cared for. “There was no fanfare or drama… we just cared for our own. I grew up watching my grandmothers, my mother and her sisters nurture not just the little ones…but also the aged and the dying ones. It was the natural exposure through the generations of my family to end-of-life that made me deeply internalize very early on that death waits us all.”

As a Bereavement and Community Educator at Circle of Life, Dr. Childs will be teaching that, “Grief is not an illness or an event that needs to be stopped. It is the natural reaction to loss. It needs to be understood, respected, and experienced.” There will be support for bereaved families through education, resources, and a strong educational component concerning the afterlife sciences or the academic study of the continuation of consciousness after physical death. “This leads very naturally for me to teach about a common grief experience known as “after death communication” which studies show occurs for approximately 60 percent of the bereaved. “The bereavement program that I am creating at Circle of Life gives the grieving a safe place to explore and share these types of 'other world' experiences,” adding, “it is to our advantage to learn this in our living, rather than wait until the crisis of end of life is knocking at the door.”

Dr. Childs is offering seminars for professionals and interested lay people March 10, 11, and 12th at the Grove in SouthCreek. Register online at www.onecandle.net or by calling (775) 853-4142. Her books Halfway Across the River, Will You Dance? and Lit from Within can be purchased at Sundance Bookstore, 1155 W. 4th Street, Reno, NV, (775) 786-1188.

To find out about future Bereavement Support Services she will be offering at Circle of Life please call (775) 827-2298.