Author Topic: Do you believe in the afterlife?  (Read 50207 times)

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Offline Sandra61

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #75 on: May 13, 2019, 01:09:28 PM »
What a lovely way to sum all this up, Karena.

Joannie, I have never had anyone cremated in my family, but I don't think I could feel the person I had lost was with me in the ashes either. I have never really understood the desire to be cremated and prefer the option of burial, not sure why, I suppose it's just what we have always done in my family.

Anyway, whichever you choose, I think just relates to disposal of the shell the person you have lost inhabited.  They don't remain there after death though. With that in mind, I have never viewed the body of a lost loved one after death, as I don't feel that's where they are anymore. They have moved into another type of existence. I had to wait for hours with my mother's body at the hospital after she died waiting for my brother to arrive, but I didn't feel she was in her body anymore. I could see she wasn't. I hoped she was aware I was in the room, but am not sure if she had already moved beyond that space or not. I talked to her a little in case she had not, but I couldn't feel her presence there.

I do believe in an after-life and I am religious, though not rigidly so. Religions are largely man-made so all have their faults. I have lost several people close to me now in my lifetime and I know life goes on after death because of the things I have experienced. I have smelt the perfumes of female friends and relatives I have lost when there was no explanation that could explain my being able to smell any scent at all. I have asked for and found feathers in places where no rational explanation could explain their having got there. My dad worked with furniture and his workshop had a specific smell of the polishes and chemicals he used to use when working and I smelled that strongly on the stairs one time at home shortly after he died. We also had a problem with a padlock he had used to lock up a ladder in the back garden and could not find the key to get it undone so we could bring in the ladder and just as we were saying we would have to give up looking for it we heard a noise out by the ladder and found one of the links securing the ladder had snapped inexplicably at that moment so that we were able to bring it in. My mother told me some weeks after he died, that she heard him telling her he may as well go now, presumably as he felt there was nothing more he could do to help us by then. So all these things signify to me that the person does not die when the body does.

I dreamt about both my dad and my mum after each of them died too. The first dream was of my dad, lying on the bed in his favourite clothes looking very relaxed and telling me he was fine and I should not worry about him and then again to tell me he was going back to visit the place he came from and hoped we did not mind. I dreamt my mum spent time cuddling me for a while and then walked sadly away through an archway under a building. I have no idea what the building was but had the sense she was saying goodbye and taking her leave of this life and moving on to the next level of existence, whatever that may be. The dreams were very vivid and have stayed with me. I don't usually remember my dreams, so I feel sure they were not ordinary dreams.

I am sure they live on in some other form and I miss them, but I think they turn up now and then, when I am in some kind of trouble and feel certain in my own heart and mind that death is not the end of life. I know you feel differently and you may be right, but even though our beliefs differ, I do not think your husband inhabits his ashes, so I understand that you do not feel he is with you in those. That does not mean that he is not with you though. If nothing else, he lives in  your love for him and in your memories of him. I am sure you can hear what he would say or advise in certain circumstances, just as I can hear what my mum or dad would say. You are where you are in your life partly due to him and so even that is a tribute to his existence in the world.

Whatever you believe, he will always be a part of your life and your memories. In a way, that is a way of living on, because you will never forget him. Life is cruel, Joannie and you should have had many more years together, but you had the time you did, so treasure that and concentrate on looking after you now.  :hearts:

Offline Dee

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #76 on: July 29, 2019, 04:57:41 PM »
Yes, I think so, I don't think anyone knows how or why but I do believe there is enough evidence from people to suggest that we certainly do not know. It may be that it means God to you or Buddah or else but there are things that I have seen that help me know that I don't understand it but it's there.
Tim had a dream, two days before he dropped dead, my mum who had died 2 +1/2 years earlier was beckoning him from the top of the stairs, smiling and telling him to come up from the hall to her. He was freaked out by it he said," I never dream about your mum".
I remember, when young, understanding that time is not linear, I don't know why I thought that, but I distinctly remember thinking " yes, that's the way it is, I can see into tomorrow and yesterday because it's all-round".
So maybe it's not afterlife but part of life, a swirl of life that is hard to see as we go by our lives.

Offline mac

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #77 on: August 26, 2019, 06:14:55 PM »
I an totally confident that this is not our only life; there is a so-called afterlife beyond this one.    :smiley:

The bodies we live in die but our 'real selves' do not.  Many individuals have 'an inner feeling' this is so but aren't sure why.  It does not matter if we don't understand and it does not matter whether we are religious or spiritual - survival applies to us all without exception.

When we lose a loved one we naturally miss their very physical presence and that can't be changed.  But understanding they are not gone for ever can help us deal with their loss.

Offline GHOST

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #78 on: August 28, 2019, 05:17:06 PM »
I
« Last Edit: November 15, 2022, 04:19:34 PM by GHOST »

Offline Dawnee

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #79 on: October 14, 2019, 12:54:49 AM »
Yes I do believe in the after life. The day my husband passed, I could still feel him and that night I felt the end of the bed go down. I saw a medium that April and she pulled me out of the crowd and spoke about toung and cheek soul mates then told me it's very rare for real soul mates to exist. I was then told that my husband and I were the rare ones, I had been with him thousands of years before and I would be for a thousand more.she also said he was there with us. He told her things she couldn't possibly know. He said he loves me and will see me when it's my turn. He told her he wanted me to get a ring made from his ashes in my favorite color purple, which she wouldn't have known. He's not in pain anymore and that was comforting for me. I felt a lot of love from him that evening and I can't wait to run into his arms. So yes I believe :hug: xx

Offline Penelope

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #80 on: November 24, 2019, 08:58:46 AM »
It’s such an interesting subject and one I reflect on a lot. My own experience regarding the afterlife has been one I never expected really. I will share a few here. I was told when I was in my early teens by family members, that I use to talk to my dead cousin. I don’t have any memory of this, except the fear of walking down a certain path, which actually goes by the cemetery she is buried in. I never understood when older where that came from. But apparently I would see her and she would ask to play with me. I never knew her in my lifetime alive, she died 8 years before I was born of cot death. But I was seeing her as older. At first my mum thought I had an imaginary friend. Till I told her it was Zoe and she started to freak out. Apparently I would talk about Zoe a lot. Again I don’t recall it myself. However when I was 17 I was with friends and we visited one of my friends old school friends, after bumping into them in town. We went to their flat. I didn’t know him, I met his sister and realised they all lived in the flat. As we were leaving I saw a woman stood with the coats. Her hair was platted and she was dressed for bed. She looked in her 40’s. We were saying goodbye and I looked at her wondering who she was. Then she clocked me looking at her, and her jaw dropped. I looked at my friends and then looked back. She was gone. When we left I mentioned her to my friend. He asked me to describe her. He told me I just described his friends mum, that she died when he was 15 after having an epileptic seizure in the garden and drowned in the pond. She had been hanging out washing in her nighty and dressing gown. I didn’t know what to say to that. I have dreamed of my grandad after he passed who ordered me to learn guitar lol, I dreamt of my great anti Kath and we sat and chatted, she had a green light coming off her. Never had I seen that before. I had a visitation dream of my best friend, offering me to go with her. I was 16 then and she had been dead almost a year. I have had a number of dreams of her since. Just before my fiancé died I dreamt she was preparing a place for us. She said “don’t worry Pen, it’s all going to be okay” my fiancé told me “don’t you be going anywhere Mrs “ I was almost 9 months pregnant. Then he died and I couldn’t stay in our house, so I was laying on a friends sofa, my new born baby was in his mosses basket next to me. I felt a draft breeze over me and it almost felt like my fiancé touched my lips and stroked the right side of my face.

I don’t profess to being anything like a clairvoyant. I actually love science because I like proof, which I don’t feel I get with religion. I don’t believe there is a god, though I think people who hold such faith must have wonderful trusting hearts. But I believe there has to be something. Einstein says we are made up of energy, and energy can’t die so where does it go?  I would be kind of stupid to ignore the things I have seen. That or I am hallucinating lol

Maybe by teaching people to have faith, prepares the mind for transition. Like anything we master, it’s a skill that is learnt. So maybe if your mindset is “there is nothing, then nothing it will be?” But naturally all this is just ideas and we can only truly know once we die ourselves

Offline Jackie - Richard

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #81 on: November 24, 2019, 12:28:10 PM »
Yes i believe there is better to come, i believe in an afterlife...I have been reading some books by Joni Eareckson Tada, ( born October 15, 1949 ) is an Evangelical Christian, author, speaker, radio host, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organisation, "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community,"and have been taking some comfort from them, from her...She is an american lady who is a quadriplegic, she also paints with her mouth, a very inspiring lady...I too have a disability of MS...
« Last Edit: November 24, 2019, 12:33:59 PM by Jackie - Richard »

Offline Tiddles

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #82 on: January 09, 2020, 05:10:54 PM »
Has to be something our bodies die but where do our spirits go?

Offline Sarahj

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #83 on: January 22, 2020, 10:04:21 PM »
This topic is something that i do think about for a few personal reasons as listed....

*my baby son BEN was stillborn 24 years ago on 1st APRIL and the thoughts of meeting him again is priceless, words can't even describe.

*my father died suddenly on our first foreign holiday JULY 12th 2005 and about 3 days after i was lying in bed and felt someone stroke my head as if to say it's ok and try to reassure me, it was such an amazing feeling.

*my mum died just 5 months ago from a long battle with cancer and i long to get a little sign, a sign either to say i am here, i am ok or i am here with ben and your dad.

For now my breaking heart is swarmed with images of my 3 angels together until we meet again, free from pain... i just long for a little sign, its just what keeps me sane and keeps me carrying on with life.

Offline Karena

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #84 on: January 23, 2020, 12:00:29 PM »
 :hug: sometimes maybe we long for that so much we look in the wrong places because we have predetermined ideas of what it will - sometimes we see it and dont understand what it was until afterwards - it will come in time though.

Offline elleReynolds

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #85 on: May 14, 2020, 10:08:38 AM »
Hello, I know I am a firm believer of sleep visitations, my beloved came to me in my sleep on two occasions, just after I lost him, I feel it was so different than a dream .
Hey,
I lost my Fiancé on the 3rd April, and my world has shattered.

Offline Katiecrossdress

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #86 on: July 11, 2020, 12:14:12 PM »
Hi just to say I do . I know that god exists when I was 19 I was struggling and asked Jesus into my life . I felt a wonderful warmth in my heart which never lasted but now I have faith . I am not religious I just believe . God can hear you , so don’t ever feel you are alone . I am a male to female crossdresser which not everyone understands but I think it’s my way of coping with my loss . I go out dressed as have had abuse but always say a little prayer that god will keep me safe . I know all about emotional pain as I am adopted , my brother used to hug my mum when I was younger . I lost my Dad when I was 17 in 1986 and my mum in 2012
I am weak but I am strong because god walks with me .

Offline Pep

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #87 on: July 11, 2020, 02:20:26 PM »
Hi Katie...

Sad you losing both parents...

For me... maybe... i like to think my family are watching down on me and are very proud of what i have achieved. For now im just getting thought my bereavement a bit at a time.

I say to myself that i am strong. My wife looks at me and ask me what it means. She hasent suffered loss of close family like us so I dont expect her to understand. The trouble was that i just couldnt explain my strength either. Its like i am being strong on behalf of my sisters as they were only young. I dont know... i'll work it out one day.

Anyway... the reason why i have replied to you is because in my first post (30, 25 and 16 years later...) i said i loved the lyrics in "Waltzing Along" by James. I want to you read the lyrics and listen to the song. If you enjoy listening to music that is???

I hope you enjoy it.

But i have just realised something today after ive listened to it for the 1000th time since its release (and im not making this bit up) he sings near the end "By this heart-felt song"

My first sister was married to a guy with surname 'Heartveldt'. I was just in tears. Sometimes in life you just want to believe (and in my case) that my sister told James to write that into his song.

It may not be the "I believe in after life too" response you were hoping for but i am 100% with you when you say you are strong too. And you know what... you dont have to post why it is you think you are weak but you are clearly showing strength so play that tune and keep reminding yourself of that.

Offline Katiecrossdress

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #88 on: July 11, 2020, 02:54:03 PM »
Thank you I will take a listen xx

Offline Joey

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Re: Do you believe in the afterlife?
« Reply #89 on: October 05, 2020, 03:22:56 PM »
I think life is somewhat like a Rorschach inkblot test.  You see in it what you want to see and that isn’t a demeaning or depressing comment, rather why life is so wonderfully complex and varied.  The most resonating comments I have heard on the contemplation of life are: “We come out of this world, we didn’t come in to it…”, “You can’t get intelligent life out of an unintelligent universe” and one of my favourites, “Love knows no death”.  I don’t have a strong view on what happens after we pass, but, maybe the Buddhists have an insight here with their beautiful complex sand mandala’s and the astonishing act of wiping away these highly intrinsic and beautifully complex patterns once they have finished.  All the same sand particles remain, just not in the beautiful unique arrangement.  But whatever happens after we pass, it will be natural just like coming out of this world was natural and therefore, maybe we shouldn’t get anxious as whatever happens naturally is the right course of events.

I lost my beautiful wife and best friend 3 years ago and I think about her every day and I always hope that wherever she has gone, she is safe and happy.  She always said she would make contact however, we all have our definitive views of what such contact looks like.  I brought my wife back to the UK from the USA where we were living to be interned with her parents.  I was not looking forward to that day, putting the ashes of the person you love into the ground is something that changes you irretrievably and why I think about life and death so much.  So, the day before this event, my brother tried to give me a change of scenery and take me out for dinner.  He tried his favourite places but they were all booked, he had luck with only one place and we drove there with his wife.  When we got there, I realized I recognized the place, it was where my wife and I had our first date.  When I was inside, I saw the place where we sat and it suddenly occurred to me, it was also the same date, 28 years ago to the day. 

We see in life what we want to see and on that day I chose to see beauty.