John Schaefers- Shared Death Experience With His Father

Brian Smith  0:00  
Close your eyes and imagine what are the things in life that causes the greatest pain, the things that bring us grief, or challenges, challenges designed to help us grow to ultimately become what we were always meant to be. We feel like we've been buried. But what if, like a seed we've been planted, and having been planted would grow to become a mighty tree. Now, open your eyes. Open your eyes to this way of viewing life. Come with me as we explore your true, infinite, eternal nature. This is grief to growth. And I am your host, Brian Smith.

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Brian Smith  1:49  
Hi, everybody, this is Brian back with another episode of grief to growth. And today I've got with me a gentleman His name is John Shaffers. And John reached out to me he's had a really interesting experience actually set of experiences that are known as shared, shared and shared death experience, but also some experiences before that as well. So John doesn't have a bio, he hasn't done a lot of podcasts on this subject. It's just something he wanted to reach out and share his story because he thinks it's something that really people need to know. So no long intro today. And I just want to bring in John Shaffers. And we'll have a conversation. John, it's, it's great to have you here. So we were just talking before we started recording, you were telling me that you would have this experience that you want to share with people. And you found me on the internet and asked if I would help you share it you sent me a fascinating document is of things that have happened in your life leading up to this shared death experience. So just go ahead and tell your story and start wherever you like. Okay,

John Schaefers  2:49  
well, I think the background is important. I the reason I'm telling this is because my father died now, I'll state that up front that was in 2001. On May 5, and I Dad had just had a birthday. And he was celebrating his 76th birthday. And we were all together and my brothers teased me about going up and seeing my mom and dad so much pets, I would go up and check on them. Because you know they're older and I you know met him he needed help known or whatever I could do to help out and I get mama take your shop and and things like that. Just to get a get them apart for a while. And then anyhow, they tease me about it. So the last talk I had with my father was in the parking lot of that restaurant. And then the following weekend, which wasn't but a few days, I had to give a sh t test up at the high school. And so I'm up there giving the test early in the morning and around noon. It was all done. And I'm heading up. And I'm thinking well, maybe I want to check on my mom and dad. But since my brother is how do we so much about it, I decided to make a right hand turn and I debated it at the intersection for a good while. And then I finally just went home and I wanted to do mow my lawn. So that's what I proceeded to do. And I got on the lawn mower and riding lawn mower and I had about three quarters of an acre. So I had a lot to mow and I got done with the front yard I was moving on to the backyard and and all of a sudden I have these chest pains, really bad chest pains. And it's so bad. I had to stop the track. And I had a friend who is a physics teacher also. And he was riding a lawnmower and had a heart attack. And I thought oh no, this can't be you know, that's too coincidental. And I'm more worried, but then the pains go away. And then, of course, because of the European ethics that we have, you know, you got to finish the job. I continued on and kept just telling myself, well, there's only a little bit more, right. And so I continued, and I got almost all of it done. And all of a sudden, I started having no same pains again. And I had to stop the tractor again, and I really was concerned now, I thought, Whoa, what is going on, you know, and they hurt, that hurt really bad. And so I told myself, if I get done here, today, I'm going to go sit down and take it easy for the rest of the day. You know, it says, The warning sign, I gotta, I gotta eat it. And so I proceeded to sit there on the tractor, to the pains went away. And then I just, I just don't have it have a little bit more to go. And I did it. And I started put the tractor away. And here comes my wife. And of course, she has a honey to do list, you know, and I told her, I said, I told her, I said, I'm going out back, we're going to get something to drink, I'm gonna sit down, I said, I'm not feeling good. I said, I need to, I need to take a break right now. And what she accepted that, and then I went up back up in the yard, and it's like a little mini Park what I have. And so it was a bell elevated above the house, like, the hillside goes up, and then back. And it was a bright, sunny day, nice, beautiful day. And so I go sit under the tree with something to drink. And as I'm sitting down, and I just sit down, I am this feeling like some somebody's behind. And I, I don't know how to like this. It's sort of like, I guess sort of our survival skill was the human species, we become more alert for something like that, for some reason, survival skill, I guess. But I just felt like somebody would factor and I thought well, that there was some kids who were playing in the bushes way, way back in and it's not forcing the big trees, but they're scrubbing wishes all the way back and a few trees here and there. And I thought they're probably backyard play, and they had pink guns, and they were shooting each other, you know. And so I sat back down again, but then I got that feeling like, gosh, something's right. But somebody or something's behind me, and I turned around, and I looked, I didn't see anybody. And I, I looked to my left and right, and nothing. And finally I sat down. And, you know, I was really, really odd. 

And all of a sudden, this, and I don't know how to describe, it was like a golden, sunny, enormous euphoria. It just overcame me. And just, I don't know, it was so uplifting, it was so bright and dazzling. And mesmerized. And it I just sensed this tremendous energy. And I don't know why we're the energy comes when I'm a physics teachers teach physics, mathematics and earth and space science. And I've taught computer science, anyhow, chemistry, biology, I'm in all those areas. Anyhow, they, they, they, you know, it was the only way to describe it is just sheer energy. And all of a sudden, I turn, because I still had this feeling like something's behind me. And I can see, like, people behind me. And some of the people are, and I just sensed this, I didn't see their faces, you know, like to recognize them. But I sensed them, I felt them that they were closer to me, who had passed away. And then further back further back, the lineage went back in time. I could see all like, I don't know, 1000s of years, people behind me, like my lineage was out there in in this area. And the closer the people were the more concerned or the more interested they were in what was going on. But the others were still there and they were pressed. And and then I slowly rotate back to the front, because I feel the presence of two entities. And I don't know how to describe it, but at the time, I felt like it was my father and his brother, his brother died a tragic death. And they were very close. They work together on lots of stuff and everything in it. And that was sort of like the middle one. 

And Uncle Bernard was he was the youngest one. And he had died in Ohio. And I had a premonition about that. Anyhow, they the I just sent them they're not couldn't see my father's face. I, you know, I didn't specifically like, well, there's my dad, but I knew it was Monday. And he was there. And he was saying to me, it's all going to be okay. Everything's gonna be alright. Don't worry about anything, it'll all work out. And I'm like, thinking through my mind. All right. All right, you know, like, No, that isn't gonna happen. I know how life is, you know, it's rough and tough. And, you know, he persisted, and he said, No, everything's gonna be okay, everything's gonna be fine, you'll see it's going to be, it's going to be great. And it was a calming to make me more restful, to make me feel more at ease. And, and like I said, it was just just as enormous euphoria over over me as it happened. And then as, as it started to fade into the foot, the energy just started to fade. I'm left there sitting there, sort of like mesmerized. And even though I since you know, his brother there, too, you know, they, he didn't speak to me, like, but he was there, he was present, I felt his presence there. And then as all this started to fade away, and next thing, you know, I'm, I'm looking Otto, rue the house to the sons off to the left. It's more, you know, the afternoon now? And um, it's I don't know how long it was, I couldn't I couldn't give you an idea. I would say maybe

10 minutes, you know, maybe less, maybe 15? I don't know. But I just felt I sat there for a while. And then it was sort of like, collecting my thoughts. And, and the most important thing was that, immediately, I started thinking about where does energy come from? What caused this? Where was this originating from, because it was an enormous amount of energy, the only thing I could think about, that could even come close would be the energy of the sun. I mean, that's how powerful this felt to me, sitting there. And in I know, that sounds ludicrous. But it I just felt like it was a universal power. And I was totally overwhelmed. And I'm trying to put all this into the slots, you know, trying to figure out what happened here. What is this? What did it mean? But I assure is, shoot know, that this religious concept that we get taught no matter what religion, it's not, right, the what's coming, or where we go, there is something and it's not like, we're being told, it is completely different. And I haven't gone back to church. I have, I have my spirit, that meaning I believe in God. And I think God is something more pervasive than anybody can even describe. I think, I think it's, it's a power like an energy. And we go to this place, and it's not like, oh, have you been good? All you know, any other hoops we gotta jump through. It's completely different. That's how that's the feeling I have, and I'm not as afraid of death. Now. For some reason, that was conveyed to me also, that other words, like, this isn't it's a natural part of thing if this was going to happen. You know, we'll see you too. And when my dad died, I said, sort of like in the movie of the Gladiator. Not yet. In other words, I'll see him again someday. And so when anyhow, I came out of this fog, it like, and I got up. And well, first of all, I heard my wife called me, and I came out of this fog, and I went down the hill. And I wasn't running or anything. I just went down the hill. She's She said, Your brother case on the phone. He wants to talk to you. So I went down and, and in hand, and she handed me the phone and he said that dad just died. And I was struck, I had to sit down. I had to sit down on the ground. And so I took the information when he gave me you know what happened where he was up at the hospital. And here, dad, because I didn't go up. He went over and volunteered to help My brother, fix a part on his Pool Heater pump. My dad was a mechanic, he was really good, he can fix any gas, you know, gas, dryers everything. He knew how to do pipe, plumbing, everything. So anyhow, his family used to build homes. Anyhow, the I, like I said, I was floored, and I couldn't relate to my wife, I didn't feel at the time. Like, this is something I want to share with my family. 

Because this was like my dad's time or their time. And so I didn't tell my family. But my brother told me that dad was out in the backyard. This is important that the story, my dad was out in the backyard. And he was working on the heat pump. And he took a break and came up and saw my brother's wife, who gave him a glass of water, and she was getting a shower, gonna go get a shower and go shopping. And so he went back out there to work, she came out just to check on one more time. And before she left, and here he was out there. And he had had a heart attack and was holding the tool. And the part and this is still on his hand. While she screams, the neighbors came running. And they tried to get his the paramedics arrived, and they tried to get his heart started. And that's when I felt, I think the heart attack, I felt the pain. And then they tried to start as hard again. And then they took him to the hospital. And they couldn't get them couldn't, couldn't save the second time. So the first was his heart attack the payments they felt. And then the second one was when they tried to revive him to get his heart going again. And so eventually, I did share with my brothers and sisters. And of course they look at you very funny, you know, a, you could tell a stranger, and they're going to be more susceptible to believe what has happened than your own family? Because it's sort of like, well, why would he pick you? Or why would they why would he go to you and I want to and I love my dad and I respected my father. But but it wasn't like I was the closest I would say my brother Keith was was closer to my dad, they were like buddies always around each other. And, and then that had to do with me going off being the oldest and going to Vietnam and all that. But But I think that he he, you know that for some reason He came to me. And you know, I I still haven't put all the pieces in place. But I in general, that's that's what happened.

Brian Smith  18:01  
Yeah, that's. So that's, that's amazing. It's really incredible. So I want to ask you a few questions. So had you heard about experiences like this before this happened to you? Not like this,

John Schaefers  18:13  
nothing like this. The simultaneous thing, the only thing I had heard before is my mother had pains in her chest when her father died. She knew when her father had died. And then eventually someone contacted her, but she had had pains in her chest also, when this happened. So, you know, that's the only closest thing that I know of?

Brian Smith  18:40  
Yeah. Are you familiar with near death experiences? Have you heard my

John Schaefers  18:44  
night? No, I had heard about them, you know, and occasionally I heard on TV somebody had, you know, come on, either Oprah or somebody showed that I happen to catch, you know, but it wasn't like I was into this or anything like that, you know, I do have I do I have had premonitions about a number of things. So maybe I'm a little more attuned, more receptive of feeling wise, you know, do something, you know, and maybe that's why I was chosen. You know,

Brian Smith  19:18  
I'm curious about your what were your spiritual beliefs or your religious beliefs before this happened with your father?

John Schaefers  19:25  
Well, when we were little, we would go we went to the Methodist Church. And then and, well, our, my family was all over the place, so to speak. We they were depending on who they married and whatever, you know, extended family and that, but we, my dad was Catholic. And my mother, of course, was Methodist. So she won that battle win. And he was with that because he used to get his fingers wrapped all the time and kept and he didn't have a good experience with the nuns. So he encouraged us to do that. But that was a Catholic Church near where we were, and the Methodist Church was far away. So then we, we just sort of stopped going after a period of time, because once we moved from Pittsburgh where we had a church Foundation, and then we moved to 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, and at that time in 1957, there was not it was a farm farm field where the housing development was going in. And we live, we were one of the first families to move into that. And there was no churches. And so we moved away from that. And then, but it's like, when my when my dad died, the minister, they asked some minister to say a few words for my dad. And he marveled that we hadn't gone to church, and yet we were such good people. You know, that we had good convictions, and we quality good people, you know, and you don't, I don't think you need that. Go to church thing. In all cases, you know, that everybody has their own, you know, thing, right. And I think that in our case, we just tried to do what was right, you know, and that we had the initial bringing up, and of course, Mom and Dad were there to steer us. But we didn't go to church church, and then I'm married my wife, and she is Catholic. And so I would go to church with her, you know, and I would do what I could there. But then after, after this happened, I, I didn't want to go in and I just, it doesn't feel I don't, this doesn't feel right to me anymore. Because I think that there's something else there. It's different.

Brian Smith  21:58  
And so what were your thoughts about the afterlife before this happened? I mean, did you did you believe in what the Church says, Oh,

John Schaefers  22:07  
I always had hoped that there would be an afterlife, you know, I that's my, you know, like, well, there, it just came in, you know, I was, like, hoping that would be the way it would be. Because, you know, what else is there, you know, you either have to have a little hope in that area. And of course, if there is an afterlife, you know, you want to do the most you can to be the best you can be and you know, you don't want to be a bad person, no matter what you know. And you know, what, you know, there's no, you have to be who you are. And that can change. And so by the afterlife, through the church, it first of all, it's a little foggy, what they think, you know, they're too busy trying to make out like, You're a criminal or a, you've been bad in order to be good, you know, to get to good. And if you're not bad, I mean, if your premises I'm doing the best I can, you're not a bad person, and you don't think of things as negative, you know, you think, try to be more constructive the positives in life. And so therefore, I just had fun on my own belief that there is a God, you know, I had this feeling there is a God, I, you know, I couldn't I wasn't satisfied with any religion, no matter no matter whose it was. And, you know, and I did learn about, you know, my sister married a Jewish fellow. And so we have all, you know, they're all in the family. But, so I've tried to share this with my family, I wrote it down, gave them copy, sent them emails with the information, you know, and I've done that. And the most I get is, like, acknowledgment that I sent it the most, I could hope for you now and it but at least I have to get out. And that's the best I can do. So,

Brian Smith  24:03  
so this this, you described it as a kind of a golden energy, is it something that you saw or that you felt was it in your objective eye or your minds I

John Schaefers  24:13  
know, I felt like I was surrounded by this word is described as like a euphoria, like a tremendous amount of energy. And it was, it was like a golden yellow ish atmosphere, and it was just so uplifting and so mesmerizing. You know, that that what I was in it, and then when it went away, it just sort of dissipated. It just sort of just gradually just hit on them left. There's, you know, back to where reality is and thinking what happened, you know, what was that you know, so and tried to figure it out. And then yet I'm accepting whatever Whew, but I'm still questioning what happened. You know, it was that kind of feeling.

Brian Smith  25:06  
I'm gonna imagine being a man of science as you are, you're probably trying to figure it out. Oh, yeah. What was this? How did this happen? Yeah,

John Schaefers  25:15  
yeah. And, you know, after it after the funeral and everything, you know, I've gone back and thought about it a number of times too. And it's really kind of hard to use. There's nothing to examine, you know, all you have is what, what you have, you know, so, and like I said, I've had many, many premonitions about things like my before my uncle died. Just give me a couple. Yeah, I had a dream, a lucid dream, where I dreamt that I was throwing this party at our house in Ohio. And when I gave the party, and it was went, well, everybody was leaving, but I didn't see my, my dad or my uncle leave. And I thought, Well, where are they? And then I saw my dad and mom. Okay, but I still didn't see my uncle. And the basement started to fill up with water. And I thought, Where's all this water coming from? What were Why is it filling up the basement. And that's, that's the way the dream ended. Well, he died three days later. And, and everyone at the funeral cried, you know, they were heartbroken. And that water was a symbol of was when I figure a for shadowing of the tears, the enormous output of

Unknown Speaker  26:43  
grief myrn

John Schaefers  26:45  
and one to fall flat out his wife, I think it was about me a number of years later, I get a sort of fell out of touch with her. Because, you know, they, after someone passes after so many years, you they they go in a different direction, so to speak. And, and I had moved back to Pennsylvania. And I had this dream, where someone was at the foot of my bed. And it was my uncle. And he's telling me call and June, call in June, talked in June, tower that you saw me that you talk to me. I at the dream was over. I wake up and I'm like, No, how am I going to call my aunt and tell her that this happened? I'm going to upset her. I'm going to you know, it's just it's not right. I shouldn't do this because it would hurt her feelings. You know, maybe this is, you know, just a crazy dream that I you know, but as the day went on, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It just wouldn't go away. And it kept coming back to me back to me. You got a car. Finally I gave it. I called her and I told her about the dream. And eventually, I talked to her about it. And she was getting ready to move to West Virginia. And I talked to her and told her and she says, You know what, today today, today's date is? I said no. She says this is his birthday. And I don't remember ever celebrating his birthday going on. I mean, he they he lived in Ohio. We live in Pennsylvania. And when I moved to Ohio, he was in and out, you know you helping me build the house that we were building in Ohio. But it was his birthday night. And I didn't remember that. You know, I mean, it didn't come occurred to me. Right. So that's, that's one, the kind of thing that has happened to me, and there have been a number of others. So

Brian Smith  29:00  
you mentioned several dreams that were that were very vivid, that were going to happen and I think you've said you jumped a lottery number at 1.0. Yeah,

John Schaefers  29:11  
I did that. And I hit that too. Yeah. And, and, and just just last week, I hit the wall I hit for 5000 on my birthday. I played a number as in March and then a year the other day, about two weeks ago, I hit another four digit numbers now they're hard to hit. And I hit two three digit numbers in a row. And then box one here the other day too. So kind of lucky, I guess in that sense, but they think the premonitions and things are really something like like, before my dad died, I had a huge dream. My dreams are like Technicolor, they're like in Technicolor and they're like movies, I don't know how else to explain. But they go on and on and on, and detail. And the problem is, and I don't write it down right away when I get up and I kept a diary through the years, and, and I like the ones that are very lucid, I write them down and try to remember as much as I can. And some of them don't seem to make any sense until later in life, you know, or later down the road, something might happen that gives you that that conflict. Let's see, if I have any here. I'm looking over I had one with my mom. And yeah, the funny thing about my dad died, he had just gone to the doctor, and he was given a clean bill by the doctor. So yeah, that tells you a lot of a lot of

Brian Smith  31:05  
does your mother have any, any other premonitions or any other experiences, like when her father passed?

John Schaefers  31:12  
I think I think mom did have from time to time. But she would, I guess, like, pick it up, put it off, like, you know, she didn't, like, you know, tell us a whole lot about it or whatever, you know, I had a dream and I was looking at my notes here, I don't know where it's at, I don't have in front of me. So I'll just try to do it off the cuff the best I can. The we took my mom, she during COVID terrible for the senior citizen, she was 9293. And you couldn't get in to sleep. During COVID, you know, no one could go in the building, you know, to see and that was terrible. That was like six months of, you know, no interaction, so to speak with the family, we would go outside and see you're outside the window. And you know, and wave to her and drop things off. And you know, I would go over daily, my sister lives in California. So she couldn't, she couldn't be there all the time. So in my other sister far away, too, so I'm close. I am retired, so I could spend time with my mom and help her out. Anyhow, the my sister decides to bring her out to California to get her out of this COVID. Jail, so to speak. So she we rented a private plane. And we took her to California, and which was no no easy feat during the COVID either. And we get her out there and she's okay for a good while. And I have a dream where, and I wish I have in front of me here, I can't remember all the details. That that basically, I have this dream that there's a river and the separating, and there's the squall and there's squaw is being influenced by this warrior. And the lawyer wants to, like control her. And take her and the jest of the dream is that he, he, she goes to him, she crosses the water. And, and I'm on this side of the water. And there's like ice, it's cold. And in the dream, there's like these seven, seven warriors. And I see the the the analogy is, Mike, there's six of those children in the family. And anyhow, mom goes to him. She gives in and goes over to the other side. And this happens a day or two before she passed away. She decided to end her life. And I didn't know that at the time. The dream was I had the dream. And so it's more. There's more detail. If I had it, I could refresh my memory about it. But it's just amazing that this powerful warrior was my father on the other side. And he's trying to entice her to come across that that's pretty powerful. Very powerful. And then of course To the ice and the cold, you know, the lack missing. You know, in fact, the other night I had, I have not had hardly anything from my mom. And I thought I would feel the presence of my mom. But I have nots, and she died in 2020. And, but last night, I had a dream that she was there and dad was there. And I went and gave her, I was so surprised to see her I ran and gave her a big hug. And I realized while I'm doing this in my dream that I didn't do it enough. And that, that's kind of dream that I have.

Brian Smith  35:39  
And so do you. You mentioned you hadn't heard much my mother since she passed in? 2020? Do you? Do you have communications or any any experiences with your father since he passed? Yeah,

John Schaefers  35:53  
a number of times, I've had things happen. Like I said, I keep I keep the dream book. And I'd have to refer to, you know, to it to see all the things that have happened. But pretty much I have a sense that he's there around me, or he's concerned. That's that sense. That nothing like nothing like the experience I had when he died. And but the lucid dream about my mom and the Warriors and crossing the river or getting to the other side. That to the tribe on the other side. See, there's, there's, there's more over there. The the ones who have passed on, you know, so that those, those are pretty powerful. So just the other day, you can just sort of like I sense His presence there. He's here, he's letting me know that, you know, the things are okay. That's, that's, there's no specific one I can remember without looking records.

Brian Smith  37:07  
Yeah, you know, it's really interesting that you reached out to me when you did, because I was some of you probably saw the interview I did with William Peters of the shared chair crossing. So there's an organization called Share crossing where people share their

John Schaefers  37:20  
Yeah, that I saw that. Yeah, okay. Okay.

Brian Smith  37:25  
So yeah, the shared death experience is not nearly well known as near death experience, but it is fairly common, more common than, than most of us have been led to believe. And some people don't even know that it's possible that we can have these experiences before at the time of someone's passing or after someone passes, that we can kind of at least go and part of that journey with them and share in that in that crossing. And as I listened to you talk, and your I was asked what your mother having experiences, because a lot of times this sensitivity seems to run in families. So it sounds like you might have picked up that that gene from your mother. Maybe that's why you're the one that's getting this.

John Schaefers  38:07  
Yeah, I think probably like one Easter we are one winter day we were forget we were coming up was an Easter enrollment. It was a winter day. And I had this terrible, horrible feeling. And I just couldn't shrug. And this was in Ohio, and it was starting to snow. And I just just dread like I didn't want to leave the house. And finally, we got my wife. That's go, we gotta go. We can't wait any longer if we're gonna get there. Excuse me. So I get in the car and we go, we drive here. Right after we pulled out of that out of the driveway at the bottom of this hill was too steep hill. The people up the road crashed into the guardrail, right where we would have been. So it's funny little things like that have happened. And, you know, a premonitions like I've learned that it's better. If something slows you down. Take it because there might be a reason to slow down. So, a premonition, I guess you'd have to call it you know, that you feel or sense something's going to happen, you know,

Brian Smith  39:27  
and I know that you sent me these premonitions have been going back for decades.

John Schaefers  39:33  
Oh, yeah. When I was in the Navy, we were. We were in the Philippines, and we were supposed to go. Eventually, we were supposed to go up to Japan. But I had a dream that we had a flash priority message to proceed to the Sea of Japan. And in my dream I saw reds and blues and all The colors like I usually dream, but it was turmoil, conflict like. So I told the guys when I came out of the dream was so lucid. And I remember more of the detail at that time than I do today. And I told them about it. And they all laughed. It couldn't have been five minutes later, we received the flash priority message to proceed at the Sea of Japan. And we ended up going up the Iranian Moscow, Russia. And in I can't explain that, you know, how could I sense that, you know, so. And, you know, maybe there were some things, you know, that might have insinuated that we were going to go there, but as being I was in combat, combat information center, rendering, and cleared for secret. Work with electronic countermeasures and things and, anyhow, that when the Russian bombers would pass over us, they would turn their fire control radar on we knew that, and they shadow this their destroyer of shadow this wherever we went, and of course, we were shadowing them, you know, it's round and round around. And that's, that's, that was a little scary, because, you know, we were more concerned about their ability, you know, to fight a war than, than some other countries, you know. So, but, yeah, that was a premonition I had, and they, I've had like deja vu. And I've had, like, I took one time when I was a little I told my mom, I said, Dad's coming home. She says, No, he's not, he's at work. He's good. He's working a double shift. He'll be home later. And I said, No, no, I just sensed that he's coming home. And here, he came home, the power went out at the plant, and they sent them home. Just little things like that, you know, and one time I went to the Civic arena, which is, which was the glue, that they called it back then. And when I got walked in there, I could tell you where the restrooms were, where it like the layout, and I had never been there before. And I don't understand that, you know, and I mean, Huck, how would I know that, you know, where, which way to turn and how to go. And it was amazing. And it lasted for a short time. But then, you know, it was there. I just had this uncanny sense, like, like, I've seen or done that before, you know. So, you know, these are, these are some things that have happened, you know,

Brian Smith  42:42  
so what would you like for people to take away from the course experience with your father, but the collection of your experiences? I mean, this is, again, this has been decades, you've been having these types of experience.

John Schaefers  42:53  
I guess that that one time, just to put it in perspective, one time I went with my girlfriend, and we went to a $14 lady who could foresee things, you know, and I walked into the room. And she immediately told me, told me, I was patriotic. I wasn't wearing any patriotic stuff, nothing. There was no clue. And then she proceeded to tell me what was going to happen in my life, some things, you know, and some of them became true. But what will most impressed me was that she was sensitive. I could feel her sensitivity. I don't know how to explain it other than that, but I could sense her ability to sense.

Brian Smith  43:42  
Other things. You can use your senses.

John Schaefers  43:45  
Yeah, yeah. And I just felt like she was really extremely sensitive to attune to things. And either it's a skill or it's an innate ability that she had, but I won't I was in her presence. I felt that not too many people in I can honestly say, I feel something like that with them. It's unusual. That was very unusual. So to put it, to put it bluntly, I think some people do have these things happen. And they are more tuned or maybe more sensitive. They're more capable of picking this up this vibrations, these insights that whatever, you know, we want to give the name to. So other than that, that's just just an ordinary person. You know,

Brian Smith  44:48  
what, you know, I think it's really interesting because, you know, the stereotypes of a military guy, a guy of science, you know, you know, and then But then you're so sensitive and so attuned to that and have been for again a long time and writing down your dreams, and which is very important to remembering them and having more of those lucid types of dreams and paying attention is all very important. And, you know, picking this stuff up,

John Schaefers  45:16  
I even dream about famous people. I don't understand that. But it's like they come through to me sometimes. But the, the, the Yeah, it's, it's, it's interesting at times, but as I get older, it's not as it's not as there as it used to be, you know, I don't seem to, you know, it's not like I'm getting a message every day or something like that. But I do I still sense I still see in color, I would say the dreams are probably a little shorter than they used to be. Yeah, but it's still there. And from time to time, something comes through. I know that and there's, there's one other event in my life that has happened and, and it's multiple events, and I don't know if I want to tell you about it or not. But I've had another occurrence of something that has happened. And it this has pretty well laid the reason for a lot of what I've done, and the fact that I feel that we're all worthy. Everybody has, has a reason, you know, for living our purpose, or no matter what it is good, bad or ugly. But we all have some direction that we're going. And I think everybody's going

Brian Smith  46:40  
well, I appreciate you sharing the messages your father shared with you, because I think that's that's a very common message from these these types of experiences. And that's everything's going to be okay. And again, from our human perspective, we kind of scoff at that and say, Oh, you don't know. You don't know what my life is like, you don't know what I've been through. But ultimately, everything will be okay. And that's why I think when when our loved ones get that higher perspective, maybe they kind of forget a little bit what it's like when we're out when we're here or going through it.

John Schaefers  47:10  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I, you know, I, I can't be harsh on them. Because I would find I would be skeptical of them, too, you know, if it hadn't have happened to me, right. But I just keep trying to let them know, and let them ask me questions, you know, yeah, turn it over them.

Brian Smith  47:32  
What I always say in terms of what I do, because I tried to spread this message, and I appreciate you, letting me share this, your message is it's our job just to plant seeds. It's not our job to make them grow. We can't make them grow. So Right. So we can we can put it out there. Because like the maths questions, and then we can be there when they're ready. To to inquire or not. Because either way, they're gonna find out one day, and it'll be okay.

John Schaefers  47:58  
Yeah, I guess it's like the teacher in me. Because a lot of people say, Oh, well, you know, we got to teach us math in this grade level. And this affected my philosophy on teaching, too, is sometimes the mind isn't ready for certain concepts. And so forcing a child to maybe they didn't do well in math today. But one year from now, they're excelling in this, because the mind is ready for that then, even before that, we no matter how you beat that horse, it isn't going to go in there. And that as a teacher, I could see everybody has their own development. Time Frame. Yeah. So that's, that's, that's a lot of people say individual conversation of, you know, teaching, it's more more on when is their timeframe? When are they going to be able to master you know,

Brian Smith  49:00  
it's kind of hard sometimes when our when our eyes are opened up, but we want to share it with everybody, right? We want everybody to know what we know. And we have to just said so well. Everybody in their own time, you know, and that's that's a lesson that I've had to learn as I've gotten older, it's like, you know, everybody in their own time and you're, we you're what you're doing is you're making this available to people. And you're telling your story. And I appreciate this again, so much because I think these stories, while they're for us individually, they're also for us collectively. I think these lessons are important for everybody to hear and to know that these experiences happen to quote ordinary people.

John Schaefers  49:40  
Yeah, when my mom told me about her experience, I listened you know, and I couldn't put that in perspective until it happened to me. But But I but I think it's important that my mom told me and I think it's important for me to to get that message out too because other people may cross this threshold may explain in something like this, you know, yeah. So,

Brian Smith  50:02  
but in a way, you're probably bringing some comfort to your family members, even though they're not really well logged, except right now. But when something tragic happens in their life, they'll remember what what John said. Or when they are ready to make their crossing, maybe they won't be so, so fearful because remember what John said, I think we're again is planting the seeds in people's mind something that they can draw on when they need it.

John Schaefers  50:30  
So thanks for letting me share with you and get get it out. You know, for people you know, that they can learn. Learn more, maybe.

Brian Smith  50:39  
Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you reaching out to me and I've enjoyed this time together enjoyed getting to know you, and it's been great. Well, thank you, Brian. All right. Have a good rest of your day.

John Schaefers  50:50  
You too take care.

Brian Smith  51:17  
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai