Far away in Switzerland in the mid-nineteen twenties, triplets were born to a family that expected only one child. Weighing in at about two pounds, Elisabeth Kubler was not expected to live. But the love and care of her parents coupled with the indomitable spirit of Elisabeth herself gave the world one of its noblest daughters.

Best selling author (she has written over sixteen books), lecturer, teacher, physician and philosopher, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is perhaps the world's foremost authority on death and dying -- yet there is nothing somber about Elisabeth

John: You have been close to death many times. Did you not have any fear of it?

Elisabeth: Death never frightened me. It is as much a part of living as anything else. I have faced it so many times it is no longer an enemy.

John: Do you believe in the continuation of life after death?

Elisabeth: I not only believe it, I know it. I have always seemed to know it. I also know that life is forever.

John: There is and "unreasonableness" to death. It seems to come in the strangest and most unexpected ways. Do you think we choose our time or is it pre-assigned?

Elisabeth: We have certain tasks that we came to accomplish. These tasks also contain within them much learning for us. We learn from each other and also teach each other. Our time is not pre-assigned. When we finish our tasks, then we go. Children who die young are some of our greatest teachers. We are allowed to die when we have taught what we came to teach and when we have learned what we came to learn.

John: Can we communicate with loved ones who have gone on?

Elisabeth: If you are ready and if you are at a high enough spiritual level. It can be done through dreams and also through other methods. I always tell bereaved parents, after they have given up their heaviness and resentment, to say, "I really need to see you in my dreams. I need to know that you're okay." If there is a lot of sadness and anger, the one who has gone on cannot come through. But if the conditions are right and there is enough faith, the contact will occur in dreams.

John: I described an incident in my book, When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat, wherein I met my father who had died a year earlier. He said to me, "Son, when you are facing a difficult problem and need my help, go to sleep and we will meet under the tamarind tree in the little village by the river. There we will see what we can do about your problem." For me, it was an extremely moving and comforting experience. How real does that seem to you?

Elisabeth: Yes, I remember that story in your book! It's a fantastic book and I've given many copies as gifts. The experience with your dad was more real than real! The story was delightful and very moving and will help so many people.

You see, our life on this planet is about ninety percent illusion. We create it the way it appears to be, but there is much more to it than that. You met your dad on a different level of reality, but it was as valid as anything else you do. Keep meeting him; he will help you and continue helping you.

John: Sometimes I also feel the presence of my wife around me. She died when she was only in her thirties. There are times when I think I hear her voice. Today, the message was, "Don't worry. It will all turn out better than you can imagine. You must get rid of sadness and bring more joy into your life. Then and only then will you hear me more clearly." Was this just my imagination?

Elisabeth: Oh no, not at all! It really happened! When you get rid of the heaviness around you, you will begin to have more and better communications. Even now you can have dialogues with her.

They always want us to be happy. She had accomplished her tasks on earth and now she wants to help you accomplish yours. You do not need any special preparation. All you have to do is be yourself as brilliantly as possible and all the other things will follow.

John: What do you think about spirit guides? Do you have any?

Elisabeth: One day a woman in Virginia asked me into her house and wanted to know if I believed in fairies. I told her that I wasn't turned on to fairies but would like to know about my guides. I believed that there were such things as guides, but up to that time I had never seen any.

She handed me a Polaroid camera and asked me to take a picture of any part of her garden. I thought this was a strange request, but I took the shot nevertheless. As the picture developed, imagine my surprise when I saw a fairy right in the middle of it!

John: You actually saw it?

Elisabeth: Yes, of course! There it was, pretty as ever, looking at me. So that afternoon I though to myself, if a camera can take pictures of fairies, then it certainly could take pictures of guides! So I took my husband's expensive camera, went up a small hill, looked into the woods and said aloud, "If I have a guide, I'd like to see him or her materialize in a photograph."

I pointed the camera at the trees, took two pictures, went home and forgot about the whole thing. Weeks later when the pictures were developed, there, on one of them, was the figure of a tall American Indian with a hand stretched out towards me. Needless to say I was thrilled! That was my first encounter with one of my guides.

John: Didn't these experiences precipitate some bad press?

Elisabeth: Oh, you wouldn't believe it! There were some people who thought that a physician should not be involved with such things and so, rumors started. They tried to discredit me and to destroy my career.

It was really bad. And then, one day, I said to myself that I must stop their nonsense. I was going to be giving a lecture in New York City to approximately 5000 people, and I knew that more than half the audience would only be there to see who this weird Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was. Before the curtain opened, I sincerely asked my guides to help me. As I started to walk out on the platform, I strongly felt their presence with me. It was one of the best speeches I had ever given. And from that day on, all the controversy died away. My guides had again helped me through a difficult situation.

John: Have you had any experiences with out-of-body travel?

Elisabeth: Yes, I have had spontaneous personal experiences with out-of-body travel. Many of them were so vivid and so beautiful that I became extremely moved. These experiences seem to happen by themselves. All I have to do is trust.

John: As a child, did you feel that you had psychic abilities?

Elisabeth: Such things were never discussed. I always felt different and I always knew I was protected. As a little girl, I had a secret place in the woods where I would go to communicate with the animals, the trees and the shrubs. I even used to do something like a sun dance. I have always been close to Nature and I think there is much we can learn from it.

Note from John Harricharan: We can go on and on with questions and answers but, this writing, which started out to be an article, would end up being a book. So I will stop here. I trust you've had a glimpse of the world of Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I further trust that your journey through this life will be a grand and glorious adventure, full of all good things.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' research

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross is recognized as one of the leading authorities in the field of death, dying and transition. It can be said that she is the one responsible for creating this field of study. She is the author of several books including: On Death and Dying and Life Lessons. Another book of hers, On Life After Death, collects for the first time information drawn from her years of working with the dying and learning from them what life is all about, in-depth research on life after death, and her own feelings and opinions about this fascinating and controversial subject.