Susan notes: Three years ago, on June 20, 2009, Neda Agha Soltan died in revolutionary Tehran. The following day, I watched in horror as her dying moments were replayed for the world to see, and I became a supporter of the Green Movement for change in Iran.

Today, Neda will be mourned by hundreds of thousands worldwide, and we will hear the echo of her silent death in the street in Tehran.

My mother's sister Jean died just a few hours ago. She was 85, and she had Alzheimer's.

She had been hospitalised last week after she fell out of bed at the care facility where she had resided for the last five years.

She was known affectionatley to her sisters, brother, nieces and nephews as "Auntie Jean'o" or "AJ." She was a good soul with a kind heart. 

Susan notes: Every day I get a Note from the Universe, courtesy of www.tut.com. They are often exactly what I need to here at exactly the right time. This one in particular was dead on (pun definitely intended!).

1. They're not dead.

2. They're sorry for any pain they caused.

By Catherine Pastille

They were trying to save her life.

That’s why the attending medical staff had ushered me away from my mother’s bedside, leaving me to stand alone in the middle of the hospital corridor.

I felt as if an invisible umbilical cord was being shredded. It was quite strange. Although I was an adult, I became aware that there was something quite powerful that connected us, and I sensed it being pulled away from the center of my body – I could feel it, in physical way.

The doctors asked what I wished them to do – resuscitate? Use a ventilator? Let her go? I was at the center of what felt like an approaching storm – one I knew I could not avoid.

It was then that I saw her coming toward me with open arms; and when I did, I knew in an instant that this was no ordinary moment…