Butterflies and Rainbows: Symbolic ADCs
>From the book "Hello From Heaven!" by Bill Guggenheim & Judy Guggenheim.
Please visit her site <A HREF="http://www.after-death.com/">http://www.after-
death.com/</A>
C H A P T E R 14
Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
--Jesus of Nazareth
Many people reported receiving a sign which affirmed that their deceased
family member or friend had survived physical death and continues to live in
another dimension of existence. We call these symbolic ADCs or ADC signs. They
are a relatively common type of after-death communication.
Some people are sent a sign spontaneously as a gift, while others ask or pray
to receive one. Depending on their belief system, they may ask their deceased
loved one to give them a sign, or they may pray to God or the "universe" for
one.
Typical symbolic ADCs include butterflies, rainbows, flowers, many different
species of birds and other animals, and any number of inanimate objects.
Whether a sign comes immediately or takes days or weeks to arrive, most people
intuitively recognize their sign right away and feel it was intended just for
them.
ADC signs provide much hope to those who are grieving deeply, especially
bereaved parents and the widowed. But because they are a symbolic form of
communication, the receiver must interpret his or her own experience and
assign personal meaning to it.
Hello from Heaven!
In the first four accounts of symbolic ADCs the experiencers received a
butterfly as their personal sign.
Caroline is a secretary in Illinois. She had this informative experience after
her 24-year-old daughter, Lindsey, was killed by a drunk driver while riding
her bicycle:
After my daughter's Catholic funeral service, we went out to the cemetery.
While Father was saying the final prayers, a big white butterfly landed on
Lindsey's white casket and stayed there the whole time.
When the service was over, Sister Therese hugged me and said, "Oh, Caroline,
did you see the white butterfly too? A butterfly is a symbol for the
Resurrection!" I never knew that meaning before, and this put me at peace.
The butterfly is the most frequently mentioned ADC sign. It is a spiritual
symbol for life after death because of its metamorphosis, or transformation,
from a caterpillar that crawls on the ground to a beautiful, almost ethereal
creature that flies through the air. It has also become a symbol for personal
growth and spiritual rebirth.
Margot, age 31, is a clerk for an antique store in Washington. She had this
lovely ADC after her uncle died of cancer:
We were at my Uncle Teddy's funeral in our Catholic church. I was praying
during Mass and thinking of him. All of a sudden, this butterfly came
fluttering down the aisle and stopped right by us. It was a real pretty orange
and brown one.
It fluttered around us, then turned and went up to where my sister was playing
the piano. It did a twirl, then went over by the casket and up by the altar.
Then the butterfly just flew off.
It was wonderful! It was a miracle! As long as I have gone to that church,
that is the only time I've ever seen a butterfly inside. Of all the churches
in the world, how many do you think had butterflies in them at that moment in
time?
Elisabeth K�bler-Ross often speaks of the numerous drawings of butterflies she
saw in the barracks at concentration camps in Europe. These lasting symbols of
hope had been scratched into the wooden walls by courageous children and
adults during the Holocaust.
Today, pictures of butterflies can be found throughout almost every hospice.
This symbol is also used extensively by many grief counselors, spiritual
centers, and support groups for the bereaved.
Fran is a retired bookkeeper in Ohio. She was elated by this encounter 5
months after her 17-year-old grandson, Johnny, died from complications of
spina bifida:
I was sitting at my kitchen table looking out the glass storm door. A large
monarch butterfly flew to the center of the glass. As it stayed there
fluttering, a strange sensation came over me.
I called my husband and we went to the door. The butterfly turned and flew to
a large flower box at the far end of our deck. It fluttered around the flowers
as we stood and watched for several minutes.
I felt my grandson was here. Mentally, I said, "Johnny, if you really are
here, please send the butterfly to the door one more time."
Immediately, the butterfly flew to the center of the glass, right to my face.
It fluttered there a few more seconds. Then I received a telepathic message
from Johnny saying, "I'm alive and I'm okay." The words were very clear.
This experience left me with the feeling that I'll see my grandson again -
that there is life after death and that love is eternal.
A symbolic ADC can be distinguished from an everyday event by a combination of
the timing, the setting, and the uncharacteristic behavior of a butterfly. But
usually experiencers must rely upon intuition to identify the significance of
such subjective experiences.
Al is a retired New York police officer now living in Florida. He had this
unforgettable contact 10 months after his daughter, Diana, died in an
automobile accident when she was 17 years old:
On the Fourth of July, we were up at our summer home in Pennsylvania. I was
there with my wife and her aunt, her uncle, and her cousin. We were sitting
out on the lounge chairs, and I was having a cigar.
This butterfly just happened to be flying around. I looked at it and right
away thought of my daughter, Diana. I thought, "If it's you, Diana, come down
and tell me." And it did!
Immediately, the butterfly landed on my finger! It walked up and down on my
finger, then onto my hand, back and forth. I could even see its little feelers
moving. I couldn't believe it! My wife sort of looked at me - I think she knew
what I was thinking.
I finished my cigar and got up. The butterfly stayed right on my hand. I
walked all the way to the house, went to the kitchen sink, and drank a glass
of water. The butterfly was still with me - I couldn't believe this!
I said, "Well, I gotta go take a shower. You gotta go outside." I opened the
door and went out on the deck. I sort of pushed the butterfly with my finger
and it flew off. I watched it fly away, down the yard.
It was just unbelievable! Never had a butterfly landed on me before. Then I
went in to take a shower and cried.
I really didn't know that the butterfly had any significance to The
Compassionate Friends until I went to their annual conference a few days
later. During the opening ceremony, I realized, "Oh, my God! Their symbol is
the butterfly!"
Founded in 1969, The Compassionate Friends has more than 650 local chapters
throughout the United States and Canada. It is the largest self-help
organization for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents in the world.
For further information about TCF and other organizations that serve the
terminally ill and the bereaved, see the Resources section at the end of the
book.
June teaches science at a junior high school in Illinois. She and her husband,
Lyle, interacted with a close relative of the butterfly soon after their son,
Chad, died of a heart attack at age 16:
June: About two weeks after Chad died, I was in the kitchen, and my husband
called and said, "June, come out here!" I went outside, and there, in the
middle of the day, was this large moth. It was a chartreuse color and about
five inches across. I had never seen such a gorgeous moth!
Lyle: I found the moth out in the backyard. I picked it up and put it in my
hand, and it didn't fly away. I've never seen a moth act like that before.
Then I placed it on a branch of a bush.
June: We called our sons, Cory and Clay, to come look at it too. We all
watched it quite awhile, and finally it fluttered away.
Later, I looked it up in a book on butterflies and moths and was dumbfounded!
It was a luna moth, and luna means moon in Latin. Chad's hobby was astronomy,
and he wanted to be an astrophysicist. The family the luna moth belongs to is
saturniidae, and above Chad's desk is a picture of Saturn!
Therefore, we all think Chad sent us this sign to let us know he is in a new
life.
ADC signs often contain multiple levels of meaning. June's curiosity caused
her to delve deeper and learn a great deal more about her son's message than
was apparent at first glance.
The next three accounts contain rainbows, the second most common form of ADC
signs.
Ellie is a data processor in Michigan. She received a splendid gift 5 months
after her 26-year-old son, Don, died in an automobile accident. Her account of
an OBE ADC with him is in Chapter 11:
On my birthday in December, I was driving home from work. It was a cold, gray
day, and I was feeling kind of blue because Don wasn't there.
As I was driving down the street, I happened to look up. There in the sky the
gray clouds had separated a little bit and made a perfect circle. Within the
circle I saw the bands of the colors of a rainbow.
It certainly is uncommon to see a rainbow in December in Michigan. I sensed
immediately that Don sent me this rainbow for my birthday. It was my son's
gift to me! I said out loud, "Thanks, Don! I got your message!"
As we're all aware, even on the most overcast day, the sun is still shining
brightly behind the dark clouds. But when we're feeling sadness, it's
important to remember that a sparkling rainbow may be up there too, perhaps
right above our head!
Mindy is a postal clerk in Wisconsin. Her daughter, Kimberly, died of sudden
infant death syndrome when she was 7 months old:
Before Kimberly was born, we painted a huge mural of a rainbow and sunshine on
her wall. Her whole bedroom was decorated with rainbows. And a lot of the
gifts she received had rainbows on them. Kimberly was our rainbow kid!
Ever since she died, on her death date and on her birth date, there are
rainbows here. It's sunny, it rains, the sun comes back out, and then there's
a big rainbow in the sky! That's Kimberly's way of coming to us and reassuring
us that there's life after death.
Last year on her death date, we went to her grave. As we were leaving the
cemetery, a big rainbow appeared in the sky in the east. It gave us shivers
and chills and brought tears to our eyes - and smiles too!
The rainbow is one of mankind's oldest symbols of hope and eternal life. It's
no surprise, therefore, that many bereaved people report seeing a magnificent
rainbow on various anniversary dates following their loved one's death.
Belinda is a banker in the Yukon Territory, Canada. She had this symbolic ADC
after her husband, Lou, died of cancer at age 65:
I had three children who were all married, and I had eight grandchildren. Lou
had always wanted to have a little, blue-eyed, redheaded granddaughter because
my three children and I all had red hair, but none of the grandchildren did.
A week before Lou died, my younger daughter, Shelley, phoned and told him that
her pregnancy was confirmed, and she would name the baby after him. He was so
excited he gave me some money right away to buy a present for the baby,
knowing he might not be alive when the child was born. Within a few days, Lou
went into a coma and died.
Eight months later, a little granddaughter was born with blue eyes and red
hair just like her mother. When I got the call, I drove to the hospital, but I
was upset and crying because Lou wasn't there to see this baby.
As I approached the hospital, a rainbow appeared over it! I felt the rainbow
was a sign from God that Lou knew this was the little, blue-eyed, redheaded
granddaughter that he had wanted so badly. It was a miracle!
Even eight months later, Belinda intuitively recognized the rainbow connection
between her beloved husband and her newborn grandchild. While most people
believe their ADC sign is a direct communication from their deceased loved
one, others regard it as a gift from God on behalf of the one who has died.
Walter, a 58-year-old real estate broker in Arizona, had this transcendent
moment after his wife, Arlene, died of cancer:
It was a misty, rainy, totally overcast day. There was no sky visible
anywhere. I spread Arlene's ashes around a tall ponderosa pine tree up in the
White Mountains and said a prayer. Then I walked back to my car about forty
feet away and said another prayer.
As I stood up, a shaft of bright, golden light came through the clouds and
shone around the base of the tree. It only lit up that particular spot where
Arlene's ashes were. The light did not illuminate anything else.
It was an amazing experience - it was just incredible! I thanked the good
Lord. I knew it was God letting me know that Arlene was with Him again.
Several people reported seeing a beam of bright light suddenly shining on a
particular object or place as Walter did. Some of these accounts describe a
ray of golden light illuminating a casket during a funeral service or
highlighting a memorial stone at a cemetery.
Flowers frequently play a significant role in symbolic ADCs too, as the next
three accounts reflect.
Joanne is a secretary in Missouri. She was given a consoling sign after her
28-year-old son, Matthew, died by suicide:
Right after Matthew's funeral, I removed a gorgeous mum from his coffin. Mums
last a very long time, so I took it home and put it in some water and placed
it on my kitchen windowsill.
A couple of weeks later, the mum was totally dead. I remember thinking, "I
can't bear to part with this." And I chastised myself because I couldn't even
throw away a flower. But I put the mum in some fresh water anyway.
The next day the mum was totally alive again! I took that very definitely as a
sign that Matthew was trying to tell me he was okay.
Flowers are very popular not only for their natural beauty, but for their
powerful emotional and spiritual healing properties as well. In this instance,
the revitalized chrysanthemum became a symbol of life after death for Joanne.
Raymond is a 59-year-old industrial designer in Illinois. He became a widower
when his wife, Cynthia, died of cancer:
Cynthia and I had a Christmas cactus that was a little forlorn thing. It had
never bloomed or shown any particular life. We kind of jokingly called it
"Cynthia's plant."
After my wife died, I went on a trip and came home on her birthday. When I
opened up the house and went around to look at the plants, here was this
Christmas cactus bursting with a profusion of flowers!
Usually a Christmas cactus blooms around the holiday season. But Cynthia's
birthday is on June 14!
Symbolic ADCs can be viewed as nonverbal greetings from our deceased loved
ones. It's as if they are saying, "Hello from heaven! I'm all right, I love
you, and I'm watching over you and your life."
Darlene is a special education teacher in Massachusetts. She was thrilled by a
life-affirming sign from her husband, Martin, who died of a heart attack at
age 40:
Martin was a person who knew nothing about outdoor work or gardening. He
managed to mow the lawn, although once he sliced through the cord of the
electric mower.
One afternoon about six years before he died, he came home with a stick in his
hand. He said, "Darlene, this is going to be a flowering plum tree." I said,
"You've got to be kidding!"
He planted that stick right outside the kitchen window. Sometimes he talked to
it, and lo and behold, it began growing. It grew into a beautiful, large plum
tree, but never once were there any buds or flowers on it.
Martin died on Thanksgiving Day. The following Easter morning, I got up and
went into the kitchen and looked out the window. I was totally set aback!
There were millions of bright pink blossoms on Martin's tree! It looked
magnificent!
My husband never believed in life after death or in God. So I found it
interesting that this happened on Easter Sunday. There's no question the
flowering plum tree symbolizes his new birth.
Experiencers regard these events as signs that their deceased loved ones are
all right, while skeptics believe they are just coincidences. If reality is in
the eye of the beholder, perhaps both views are valid.
The next three accounts demonstrate how various species of birds and mammals
can also play an important role as ADC signs.
Pamela, age 43, is a librarian in Virginia. She experienced this stirring
good-bye from her father after he died of a stroke:
After my father died, we took his ashes up to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.
It's full of holly, evergreens, and mountain laurel. We played one of his
favorite songs and threw his ashes off the top of the mountain.
Right at that time, three red-tailed hawks came up from the very bottom of the
gorge. They flew straight up, side by side, almost like an airplane formation.
When they got just above us, they separated like a trinity. One bird flew to
the left, one bird flew to the right, and one kept going straight up. It was
astonishing!
I've hiked that gorge for years, and I've never seen three red-tailed hawks
together. To me, this was my sign from my father. It was a final salute, the
final "So long! Wish you well!"
We heard many accounts of symbolic ADCs that involved birds. Other species
included blue jays, Canadian geese, cardinals, crows, doves, eagles,
hummingbirds, ospreys, owls, pigeons, and robins.
Mary Kate is a bookkeeper for a business in Washington. Her husband, Stewart,
died of leukemia at age 48:
Stewart's dream from childhood was to have his own airplane, and after we
found he had leukemia, we bought one. Those five years we had with that plane
were the happiest he had ever been. Stewart loved flying and the freedom he
had in the air, and he loved the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Around three weeks after his death, I was planning to go back to work for the
first time - and I was dreading it! I was sitting at my dining room table just
crying and crying.
Then I looked out at our deck. The biggest seagull I have ever seen in my life
was perched right on the corner of the railing, looking in at me as if to say,
"You can make it!"
I live about 350 miles inland from the coast, and I had never seen a seagull
in my yard or on my deck - ever! So I got in the car, and the seagull followed
me all the way to work!
Time and time after that, while going to work, I would look up and see this
seagull following me. It was so clear to me that this bird was sent from
heaven to uplift my spirits and give me the courage to go on.
I feel Stewart was there with me at that time looking over me. It made me
realize that he is okay, that he's not suffering anymore, and that he's free
to fly through the heavens like he did when he was here.
Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull has inspired millions of readers to
consider the possibility that life is eternal. After Jonathan dies and enters
a new world, he encounters a teacher who encourages him to work on his lessons
of kindness and love.
