According to the Annals of Epidemiology, we are 14% more likely to die on our birthday than any other day.
This suggests that people can delay dying until a significant date. In fact, this fact has been known for some time. Several studies since the 1980s have found patterns in mortality statistics. One found that death rates among Jewish men dropped by 25 per cent before Passover. In Chinese women, there was 35 per cent decrease in death in the days leading up to the Harvest Moon festival. In both cases, death rates peaked in the days after the holidays.
People who were about to die have held out until a family member arrived at their bedside, their last grandchild has been born or graduated, or some other important event has happened. One famous historical example is that of Thomas Jefferson (3rd US President, one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence). As he lay dying, aged 83, he turned to his doctor and asked “Is it the Fourth yet?”, and received the reply: “It soon will be.” He held out for several more hours, dying just before 1:00 AM on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration.
His dear friend and fellow Declaration signer, John Adams, the nation’s 2nd president, died on the same day, also apparently determined not to go until he ushered in the Fourth of July.
This type of evidence suggests that the human mind has control over when the moment of death occurs. We have seen many reports of happily married couples or soul mates dying within weeks of each other, or even on the same day. The recent case of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds is a good example. Debbie died one day after her daughter Carrie.
I also have heard reports of Hindu gurus gathering their students around them and saying, “Today is a good day to die.” They then cross over to the non-physical, where their souls continue to exist, while their physical will pass away.
We may not be able to choose “how” we die, as in the manner of death (heart attack, stroke, traffic accident) but we can choose when we die when we are ready to cross over.
This suggests that people can delay dying until a significant date. In fact, this fact has been known for some time. Several studies since the 1980s have found patterns in mortality statistics. One found that death rates among Jewish men dropped by 25 per cent before Passover. In Chinese women, there was 35 per cent decrease in death in the days leading up to the Harvest Moon festival. In both cases, death rates peaked in the days after the holidays.
People who were about to die have held out until a family member arrived at their bedside, their last grandchild has been born or graduated, or some other important event has happened. One famous historical example is that of Thomas Jefferson (3rd US President, one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence). As he lay dying, aged 83, he turned to his doctor and asked “Is it the Fourth yet?”, and received the reply: “It soon will be.” He held out for several more hours, dying just before 1:00 AM on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration.
His dear friend and fellow Declaration signer, John Adams, the nation’s 2nd president, died on the same day, also apparently determined not to go until he ushered in the Fourth of July.
This type of evidence suggests that the human mind has control over when the moment of death occurs. We have seen many reports of happily married couples or soul mates dying within weeks of each other, or even on the same day. The recent case of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds is a good example. Debbie died one day after her daughter Carrie.
I also have heard reports of Hindu gurus gathering their students around them and saying, “Today is a good day to die.” They then cross over to the non-physical, where their souls continue to exist, while their physical will pass away.
We may not be able to choose “how” we die, as in the manner of death (heart attack, stroke, traffic accident) but we can choose when we die when we are ready to cross over.
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