Jan Price is one of the founders of the Quartus Foundation, a research and communications organization whose mission is to probe the mysteries of ageless wisdom and integrating their truths with metaphysical spirituality. The foundation is currently headquartered in Boerne, Texas near San Antonio. Ms. Price is a regular columnist in the magazine Whole Health and has written numerous articles for the Quartus Report and other magazines. She is also a speaker and has produced several meditation audiocassettes.

Jan had an unusual near-death experience after suffering a nearly fatal heart attack. Her experience is documented in her book, The Other Side of Death. In her near-death experience, Jan discovered she was destined not to linger in paradise but to return to the physical world and the body she had left behind. While many people are greeted by a "Being of Light" during their near-death experience, Jan was greeted by her beloved dog that died prior to her experience. Their new relationship while she was in heaven will amaze you. Her experience will show you what happens to your beloved pet when they cross over to the other side.

Her Experience

I remember being surprised as I observed the full heart arrest taking place. I suppose we never really think of ourselves as dying, but obviously I had died because I wasn't in my body anymore.

Then suddenly I felt something on both sides of me, not as we might describe a physical touch, but more as a feeling, a sensation of a presence - of entities, more than one. I could see their light as forms of energy, and I realized that they were angelic beings - loving, pure, holy, helpful. They were assisting me, and I felt an upward movement. Then everything was blue.

Suspended in the ocean of blue, golden streams of light - like stardust - began to pour through me. The light felt so good. If I harbored any lingering heaviness from my life on Earth, I knew it was being taken away. And as the radiation continued, I realized there was no longer any sense of gravity, no pulls from the past, only a feeling of being ethereal, gossamer in lightness. Then, like a sweet elixir, the shining rays infusing me washed into the surface a lifetime of memories, beginning with my birth.

(Jan is now greeted by her beloved dog, Maggi, and discovers they can communicate telepathically.)

As the density changed, becoming lighter and finer, I felt that I was being lifted to another level of awareness - and then I found myself in surroundings that appeared to be more substantial - Maggi was there. My beautiful dog, my beloved springer, came to me. She had died less than a month before, and John and I still ached from her absence.

I felt her presence, her love, and she appeared to me as she had when she was in physical form - only younger, more vital. She said, "You know that Daddy can't handle both of us being gone right now."

"Yes, I'm going back," I replied. "Will you come soon?"

"When it is time, we will know. Now I will show you wondrous things. Let's explore together."

If you are having difficulty accepting the idea that my first encounter on the other side was with a dog, you aren't the only one. While John thought it was perfectly natural, one of our daughters became a little upset when I told her about it. I think she would have preferred that her mother be greeted by Jesus, an angel, or at least by a family member. I did meet a Master Teacher - I'll get to that later - but Maggi came first.  After all, she had been close "family" for many years, and whoever is responsible for setting up the Welcome Wagon over there certainly knew what a delightful experience it would be for me to be greeted by her.

So Maggi and I were interacting on a finer wavelength, and although we had dropped our physical vehicles, our bodies were made visible to the senses through an image in the mind projected as form - and she was as real to see and touch as she was when I'd held her in my arms in the physical world.

My friend Maggi and I walked side by side as we had so many times in that other place of being. Without any effort we moved through a realm of ecstatic color. The pulsating, indescribable colors were fluid - energy waiting to be formed. Maggi showed me how to shape forms out of energy by pressing with my mind. If you want the form to hold, you press firmly. This is a highly mental realm, and form is created with no bodily effort. An image of that which you wish to create is held in mind, and through intense focus is brought into expression. You can lock it in, or release it.

Maggi and I played in the color field, stepping into various hues and feeling their particular vibration. The matchless quality of the colors fascinated me because I hadn't seen anything like them before, and cannot to this day find words to describe the beauty of the shades and hues. 

Maggi wanted to show me where she lived, which she said was patterned by much of what she remembered of the homes where she had lived with us. She had held the images in her mind, pressed, and created a place of residence. As she spoke of her home, we arrived there, which didn't seem strange at all at the time. Later I realized that it was a rather bizarre experience - not only the instantaneous "being there" in the space of a thought but also the idea that our dog actually had a beautiful home on the other side. Again, John later helped me to understand this when he said that Emanuel Swedenborg, a frequent visitor to the heavenly realm, wrote that animals do indeed have abodes in the spiritual world, pointing out that they "have such knowledge, for it is implanted in them to know of themselves their homes and dwelling places, as is evident from abundant observation.

As I stood in Maggi's dwelling place, I felt great joy. There was a fire in the fireplace, giving the room a warm, friendly glow. A wall of books - of course!  Beautiful paintings and oriental rugs. One whole side of the room was glass and you could look out on a vista of rolling hills, bubbling streams, and many trees.

We sat comfortably on one of the soft, velvety seats, content just to be together. I stroked her beautiful head and she laid her paws across my legs. To touch again was so precious, for there was so much love between us. Without spoken words we shared memories and deep feelings. Much communication over here was silent, although sound was sometimes used simply because it was so pleasant. My heart overflowed with gratitude for the opportunity to have this reunion - and see my loved one so joyously, vibrantly alive in what can truly be called paradise. Reluctantly, we left Mag's lovely home, for I felt an inner prodding to move on.

Next we went to a place she called the "lookout". It appeared to be only an overhang on a high cliff, but the view was intensely magnified. I could look into the world I had left behind as though peering into a monitor, if I chose to do so. No one spent a lot of time here, Maggi said, but some occasionally stopped by to check on what was going on in the earthly realm. I decided not to; I wanted to keep moving on in this world of exquisite bliss.

Sensing the questions forming in my mind, Maggi informed me that we would go where all the answers are. Quickly we approached a structure of supernal beauty. It was vast, of the purest white, and somewhat Grecian in architecture. Paths led into the structure from all directions, and I observed many people coming and going.

Over the archway through which we entered the structure, I saw the words TEMPLE OF KNOWLEDGE and felt a gentle power drawing me into itself. There were pillars of varying heights, becoming higher and higher toward the center.

Turning back to the interior of the temple, I saw that creative activities were taking place in different areas. There were a number of individuals sitting at easels painting, and I saw one man playing a flute-like instrument that emitted the sweetest of sounds. Farther on, dancers moved with ethereal grace, performing with a lightness impossible to the physical human form. As I watched in utter delight, I became aware that the musical background for this visual feast came from what I would call a celestial choir - an orchestra of voices creating "heavenly" music for the dance. This "Music of the Spheres" was indeed singing the praises of the Creator.

A little tug from Maggi reminded me that there was more here in the temple to investigate. Moving in toward the center, it was quieter, and the gentle power that I had felt earlier was stronger. Here were individuals, wise ones, it seems, stationed at intervals and waiting to assist those who chose to approach them.

I intuited that I should do so, and was strongly drawn to one on my right.

The Wise One

Masculine in appearance with a flowing beard and very penetrating, knowing eyes, he was dressed in a robe of white. There was a band of gold encircling him - not in the form of what we might think of as an aura but more like a shiny ribbon of golden light. He gestured that I should sit before him, and I immediately heard his words in my mind.  No verbalization was necessary.

There is much you wish to know, and you shall. All information is available to you. We will assist and instruct, and then you may move to the center and receive it yourself. I already know your questions. Be assured that all will be answered. As you adjust and understand how to work with mind on this level, you will automatically know what is needed as the desire arises.

Since your arrival here, you have been escorted through several different realms; there are many more, and nothing is restricted. Each person is free to experience fully, and the only governor is the state of the conscious mind. Deeply held beliefs are what come into visible expression here, just as they do on the dimension from which you have just come. Not everyone will have the same experience, for truly we create our own. However, subtle energies gently press on closed, restrictive minds, and like the rosebud's petals, they slowly open and expand and are soon willing to accept greater understanding. Then they are ready to move from their limited concept of life to the eternal adventure, for there is ever more to know, to do, to be.

Know this: No one is lost or left behind. Each individual unit of consciousness is of equal importance and can never cease to exist. Whatever has been played out in the world of dense matter forms the initial mold for life here, but no one is locked into that mold, and each can progress to higher and higher levels of being.

Be still and let me show you. There are cities out there as on the dense physical. Different levels of consciousness inhabit them. Observe. There are levels you would not feel comfortable on, but those who go there feel right at home."

Taking form before my eyes was the skyline of a great city. I could see three different dimensions of it simultaneously. The first had a dinginess pervading the atmosphere. There was a gloominess, and everything was gray, even the inhabitants, though I sensed that somewhere beneath the discoloration pulsed life and beauty. It brought to mind the lowest levels of existence in the world from which I'd come. Evil walked the squalid streets with malevolent bearing. No one here was up to, or expected, any good.

The second dimension was of the same panorama, but brighter and more colorful, and had a familiarity. Hope lived amid despair. There were neighborhoods with neat houses holding reasonably contented folk; shabby rows of dwellings housed those more discontented. Expansive lawns separated palatial homes from those of less grandeur. Within each sector was happiness and horror, love and hate, joy and sorrow - the dualities of life on a less that harmonious realm. It was a life accepted by many in the land I'd left behind as the only way life could be. Some knew better, more than just a few, and the hope that lived amid despair would at some time blossom into a better way of life.

Last in the trinity was a city of light, like unto John's holy city in the Book of Revelation. I saw the same skyline as before, but this time it was pure gold - with colors like precious gems, transparent glass, crystal clear. All who walked through the city brought glory and honor into it. Harmony and order prevailed, and the residents lived joyfully, creating that which brought forth beauty and fulfillment - a place of perfect peace, the peace that passes understanding.

The slices of life I was seeing existed on both sides of the veil, I realized, and as I watched, the populations were shifting. A subtle but certain movement from the densest to the brightest was occurring. As misconceptions were altered on one level, a change took place on the next. Whether in physical form or on the other side of death, a change in perception benefited all. Truly our deeply held beliefs not only affect our own life experience but that of others.  We are intricately connected to all that exists throughout eternity.

The Wise One continued speaking. "Throughout the vast unlimitedness of All That Is, the creative energy - that which is called the Spirit of God - is expressing itself as you, me, and everything else. Wherever we are, the God-source is, and we are always somewhere."

"Sometimes I am in places where God doesn't seem to be, as in the middle of a heart attack," I responded. "Surely God is not there."

"Yes. Wherever we are, the Source, God, is. A heart attack isn't bad. It is just an experience accepted on a certain level of being. We are so unlimited that we can limit, restrict, contract. Such power is awesome, for it is our very nature to create. We are constantly expressing in some way.

"Now go into the innermost part of the temple. You will find it easy there to open your mind and listen. Much knowledge will be received, but you will not be consciously aware of all of it at the moment. It will be assimilated and brought into remembrance bit by bit after you return to the body. More understanding is needed there, and you will have the opportunity to share. Beloved old friends will continue to work with you, as we have in the past."

They called themselves the "beloved old friends."

"Yes, I am one of them," he said. "This is why you were drawn to me. Remember what we have taught you and stay open to receive.  Now go, for soon you must return.  Our love is ever with you."

Her Higher Self

I sat, quietly at ease, and had the sensation that tiny fingertips were caressing my crown. I felt my mind open like the petals of a flower. Then softly and tenderly came the knowingness, the connection with all that is. In moments of meditation I have touched this level before, but never with such completeness, clarity, intensity. Here, in this celestial silence, all was perfectly clear, understood. Here was fulfillment. All knowledge was mine, and I could draw it into conscious awareness as needed. On all levels we can tap into Universal Mind, but it's easier here because of the more subtle energies.

In the center of the universe I stand encircled by divine being. In this I live and move and have my being. I am in this world, and of it. The world of natural order, ease, and joy.  Eternal goodness flowing, doing, being all. There is only joy; waves of love support, sustain. I am in God, not outside.

I am in love, consciously at peace with all there is. In God, I love and move and have my being. In love, I live and move and have my being. In peace, I live and move and have my being. There is nothing else. There is no outer. All is in the circle of God, Love, God Love. GOD LOVE.

The Kingdom of God is within me. Yes. But more important, I am in the Kingdom of God. The Spirit of God is within me, but more important, I am in the Spirit of God. The love of God is within me, but more important, I am in the love of God. All there is is God. I can be nowhere else. I cannot be separate from God. There is nowhere else. There is no place else. There is no else. There only IS.

Now, before me, shimmering, iridescent light began to take a particular shape. A woman of breathtaking beauty appeared as I watched in awe, and even after the full materialization from pure light to visible, substantial form was complete, nothing was static. I continued to see a "quivering" of her structure, as though looking at a fluid, rippled reflection in a pond. Her movements were of pure grace as she positioned herself directly in front of me. Her hair was dark, her face pale, yet with color.

"Look into my eyes," she said with a gentle but commanding smile. As I did, I felt myself being absorbed. I was no longer just the entity I knew of as me, but more, so much more. The eyes I stared into were mine, the eyes of my soul.

In deep humility, I accepted that which I was shown. "Oh my, I am all of that - so beautiful, glorious, wise, loving, kind, powerful. I didn't know. I had no idea."

As though looking into a kaleidoscope, I saw myriad lifetimes and experiences. Oh, the wonder of me. This powerful creative energy could take on any form it chose, and right now it was expressing as a woman called Jan, so of course I would perceive it as feminine.

Words from beyond my own thought processes began to pour into my mind. "You have been only casually thankful for your gift of life. Be thankful each day for this great gift. Most people go through life never really appreciating it. The purpose of life is joy, and with spiritual understanding the physical senses are enhanced. Savor fully the loveliness of each experience. Self-awareness is the prayer of the heart, and to pray without ceasing is to play. Play with the joyful abandon of the child, absorbed in the delight of each moment. Let go of obligation and duty, and live for the pure joy of being.

"Take my hands," she said, and the sound of the voice was like music. As we made the connection, waves of ecstasy washed through me, and I took on the fullness of this magnificent being that I am an extension of. No longer was I observing this shimmering radiance. I was it. The glory I had in the beginning, I thought, I have now and ever will have. Complete in my individuality, I understood the old admonition "Know thyself."

A gentle pulling caught my attention, and I heard the melodic voice once more. "Hold on to as much as you can as you make the descent back into the body and resume personality."

I felt myself moving backward rapidly, feet first, as though I was being sucked into some vortex. Like a distant chime, I heard the words, "Remember, pray without ceasing. Play, love, laugh, live for the joy of it. Have fun. Happiness is holy."

As I approached the physical form, I passed five individuals who seemed to be assisting me. Maggi was still with me, and the last thing I remember seeing was her sweet face."