Tommy Kapai: Beautiful Pink Room beckons

John Lennon is one of many celebrities to envision an after-death experience.

When you are sitting at the bedside of a loved one, knowing his or her time has come to leave this world, the question of where they go - or if they are already there - comes to mind.

You whisper in hushed tones, yet they are already behind the beautiful forever and their touch, albeit limp, is the only connection to their physical consciousness.

So where is it that we human beings go before we finally pass? Garth George asked the same question in his touching last column on Saturday.

Do we have near-death experiences and why do some come back and others let go and carry on to the beautiful forever?

Recently I spoke with an ambulance driver here in Tauranga who has talked to many patients in his ambo who have come back with a story from the other side, and the interview by Kathryn Ryan on National radio, with Dr Penny Sartori (http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20140312) provided me with an overview of intellectual answers that were not predicated by religious or spiritual beliefs.

Dr Sartori, an Irish nurse for most of her working life, has just written a book on the five years of clinical studies she has completed on near-death experiences and her scientific conclusions are worth a listen.

In many of her interviews with patients who have had near-death experiences, the same stories seem to be told and in many of the celebrity stories I have researched for this piece - told by Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Sellers, Bill Clinton, Jane Seymour and Sharon Stone - their journeys to the other side have a recurring theme.

All of the interviewees go to a place of intense beauty and most are greeted by their loved ones and the picture painted of "the Pink Room" is a comfort that all who are suffering would find solace in.

It seems, by their stories, the Pink Room is like the launching pad when the decision not to turn back is made.

Many of them speak of a deeper understanding of death and almost all say there is a cause to banish the fear of death that we all carry - some more than others.

I must admit to be vaguely excited about the Pink Room where the sting of death carries no pain and the overwhelming sense of peace and love are present everywhere.

I have heard Van Morrison sing about it and the Dalai Lama and Jesus preach about it, but to hear an Irish doctor approach the subject from a scientific perspective is so cool that it, in Van's words, "stones me to my very soul".

The Pink Room is a place worth preparing for, in my opinion. So let's take a tour and see who is there waiting when I knock on the door.

Firstly the colour is as described - a soft pink like that of a rose quartz crystal or Himalayan rock salt.

There is no spoken language just words from within all laced together in a korowai of love and laughter.

Sounds good to me so far. Why would I want to turn back?

There to greet me is my mate Dave McCartney with a dozen pink flamingos at his side and an orchestra made up of 10 guitars, seven Spanish angels and a choir of soul singers who sing the gospel like it was a passport to the other side - and all you needed to do was listen to have it stamped.

I want to continue the tour and team up with my Dad and mates, who I have missed more than they could have ever known; to see them again and laugh until we cry tears of joy at the fear we all carried about death.

The temptation to stay just a little bit longer is intoxicating. I am almost hooked.

Imagine there are no deadlines , just John Lennon as large as life on the front cover and a headline 'Let it be'.

And the kicker, if I needed one to stay, is a sign in the corner of the Pink Room, etched out in pounamu and surrounded in a cluster of pink diamonds.

Nau mai kite ruma mawhero - Welcome to the Pink Room.

Pat Spellman and my aunty will be happy.

See you on the other side. See you in the Pink Room.

broblack@xtra.co.nz