The Passageway

/ roughwighting

church, spirituality, PixabayWhen Dorie talked to her minister about the passageway, he pooh-poohed it. “We don’t believe in things like that,” he said in a patronizing tone. “New agey – has nothing to do with religion.”

She’d been 12 at the time and asked him because, while kneeling in church praying with the rest of the congregation, she felt an acute ache in her belly and collapsed. She found out afterwards that Mr. Cunningham, the largest man in the church, had to pull her limbs out from in between the prie dieu and the stone floor. He carried her like a limp lamb outside.

When Dorie regained consciousness, she cried, “No. I want to go back.”

Her parents decided she was delusional and put her to bed for a week.

During that week, she laid with her head on the pillow staring at the ceiling, willing herself to return to the glorious passage she’d entered. Light had beamed on and within her. Soft voices soothed her. She felt lighter than a feather and an inexpressible feeling of joy surrounded her. Pure bliss, that’s what she kept whispering to herself. passageway, spirituality, spencerpierson

No one in her family or the church believed her, and in fact, they didn’t want to hear about the passageway. So within weeks, and then years, Dorie kept the secret passageway to herself.

But now, 50 years later, Dorie was waiting, waiting, waiting for the opportunity to once again enter the invisible door. “Another round of chemo, a different combo, should work this time,” Dr. Templeton suggested. Dorie, a mom of three, grandmother of one, wife of a loving husband and friend to many, shook her head no.

She refused further treatment. Her family argued with her and tired of her whisperings morning, day, and night, “The Passageway.”

One morning, weak and tired despite days in bed, Dorie pulled herself out from under the sheets and walked over to the window, where an early sun gleamed down at her. She closed her eyes and fervently prayed, “Now. Please.”

pink sky, clouds, spirituality, heavenSuddenly, she heard it. That familiar (though it had been decades) sound like a quiet vacuum, sucking her into its dark hole. Time collapsed and she wound up and through the passage, light and airy, as warm as a womb. She floated as the voices whispered a welcome. Something approached her – a being? – and she became suffused with a joy so blissful no word sufficed.

Finally, she’d found the secret passageway once more.

105 thoughts on “The Passageway”

    • Unfortunately it can take a lot of effort to go back and remember what we saw and knew as children. But it’s an effort well worth it! By the way, I am enjoying your new book immensely. Xo

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  8. That is brilliant Pam…. How did you know about the Hummmmm……. noise……? Only I have experienced that being sucked out, up and beyond…. When we have nothing to fear, we will willing release ourselves into our next great adventure… ❤
    Sending love and Hugs my friend….🙏💚

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  10. Ooohhhh, the passageway. Some of us may have glimpsed it in its different disguises. I totally know it’s there, but sometimes forget how close it is to us in every moment. Or just feel it’s been lost and have somehow forgotten…

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  14. Good morning, Pam, When I see your post in my inbox, I pause and get ready for the journey.

    I do wonder about dreams or when in a feverish state, are we accessing another level of consciousness. I have a friend who was exceptionally sick as a teenager from mono. She was feverish, delirious and she could not go to school for 6 months. She told me about some of her strange “dreams” at that time. We will not be carrying our human bodies with us. “…light and airy, as warm as a womb.” Goosebumps. Breathtaking imagery. Moving. Bliss. ❤️

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    • Everyone’s time is different but how nice for Dorie to know what she was waiting for and expecting and what was there for her when the time came. I’m so glad you enjoyed my interpretation of Dorie’s passage. Thank you! 🙏

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  23. Captivating writing Pam. I confess to having fainted more than once in church as a pre-teen and being dragged out. Almost wish I had such a beautiful memory. I hope at a time
    Decades from now such a beautiful transition from this life will happen. A warm and hopeful thought.

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  24. I buckle my seatbelt when I click on your post, knowing I will go somewhere adventurous, meaningful, or mystical. This was all three. The comments only enhanced my appreciation for what happens in the transition to the great beyond.

    I believe there is life beyond this one, as C. S. Lewis discovered in his Narnia tales, and as Emily Dickinson proclaimed: This world is not conclusion/a sequel stands beyond.

    Thanks for the taste of bliss on this gloomy Friday, dear Pam! Joy and peace too . . .

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    • Thank YOU for the reference to CS Lewis as well as the Emily Dickinson quote. Two intellectual spiritualists who inspire me on many levels. The hardest thing when writing “mystical” is knowing that these kinds of stories may turn people off. But my hope is more people get turned on to the idea of what is beyond. 🙏💜

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  26. I sure love your writing, Pam. I seldom am disappointed when I see one of your posts. Even those who aren’t religious may have wondered about what the future holds.

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    • Thank you so much for enjoying my, at times, odd or unexpected stories. 🤭 I don’t think we need to be religious to know that a Passageway exists. We just need to close our eyes and feel the Spirit (Energy) of love within us. 💖

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  27. My nephew’s wife works in a hospice. I wonder what she thinks, and I wonder how many peaceful deaths she sees. She’s a gentle, sympathetic person. I’m sure she does her best to help people find the passageway.

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    • I have immense respect and gratitude to those who work in hospice care. I know of several who do this work and they have an added sense of spirituality. Many thanks for your lovely comment.

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