Other beliefs on death
I invite all to share any thoughts they wish to on subjects surrounding the passing from this physical world into the next, the Spritual World. Dealing with your own pending passing or that of a loved one is an experience like no other. But, it is an experience we will all face at one time or another. Facing this is truly the one thing each and everyone shares in common. There are no exceptions to this rule. Irregardless of individual Religion, culture, sex…….. we are all facing the same fate. We are all in our own individual little “life boats” floating down the river of life. Time is the only differentiating factor, the amount of time we have before we face the same inevitable conclusion to this physical voyage.
Irregardless of Faith, culture or anything else when it comes down to it we are all just people facing the same fears, dreads and worries.
I pray for, and want this to be a safe loving spot where people of all faiths and cultures can openly share their feelings. I can only hope that by being able to read and share in the thoughts of others of different faiths, cultures or what ever, it will truly help us all to understand, we really are just people, one no different than the other.
I invite all to share their individual, very personal thoughts, beliefs and fears. We are all in the “same boat”, can we help each other by sharing? I think so.
WARNING: It truly is my desire to have this as a safe and loving place. ABSOLUTELY, no comments will be allowed to remain, if I see them as being intended to be derogatory to anyone or any group. I will not edit comments merely delete them.
Please, let’s help ourselves by helping each other.
It is my desire to keep this page of my blog totally unbiased by my personal opinions. I hope and want it to be a “safe” haven where anyone and everyone can leave their individual thoughts and opinions. I do not want to limit or hamper anyone by possibly having them feel they must conform with my thoughts and opinions. As such I will not be responding to individual comments left on this page of my blog, beyond a simple thank you.
I freely state my thoughts on the main page of the blog.
December 13, 2007 at 6:24 am
I am really scared of dying- well, I am scared of ceasing to exist. I hope there is an afterlife, but that is hard for me to believe. Does anyone have anything encouraging to say about that?
December 13, 2007 at 8:01 am
Hi B,
This is a topic I love. I sincerely believe in an afterlife, as to what it is I don’t know. But I do believe that we just don’t die and thats it. Why I believe in this is because I have been lucky enough to feel and hear the spirits of my beloved ones that have passed. I know also because my cousin who passed away, knew our grandma was there waiting to take him with her. He was very comfortable and very strong in his beliefs in that before he died. His wife even said that she had a dream that she was looking down at her and Terry in bed before he died, and she seen grandma sitting in Terry’s chair smiling at her. She felt it was reassurance that Terry is going to be ok when he passes.
Don’t be scared to die, I believe we all have our spirits of guardian angels and loved ones waiting for us. I am not scared to die, but more of the fact that it is an inconvience for me at the moment with a young family etc…. Thats what I worry about.
My recommendation for you is to try this and I hope it works for you. Think of the one family member that you bonded with completely, the one that you confided in and loved without hesitation, When you go to bed at night, be totatlly relaxed and talk to them. Kind of like a meditation, have no other thoughts but them in your head. Talk to them in your mind, ask questions, talk about whats happening in your life, anything you want to yarn about as if your having a cuppa with them. Once you are asleep they will come to you and answer you in your dreams. I am convinced of it, I have done it many times, I have been taken to many places that show me they are ok. I love doing this little excercise and I do it when I really miss them, or feeling a little low etc.
I hope it works for you, it’s worth a try.
Jo
December 13, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Hi B. I think your fear is one shared by virtually everyone on this planet at one time or another. I can share only my thoughts and belief’s on this and hope that it may give you some comfort. I absolutely believe in my mind and in my heart there is an afterlife. I do have to say having such a strong belief definitely make dealing with my current health issues so very much easier. Is this something I or anyone else can scientifically prove to you, sadly not, I really wish it were.
But there is much in this world that can’t be proven, we just know it to be there and it is. This is a feeling or a believe held by the vast majority of people around the world irregardless of faith or religion. I am not aware of any religions or faiths that do not have this belief.
I admit my original beliefs and thoughts about God and Heaven were given to me by various preachers or ministers. I was told what I should believe and that is what I did. But, through actual life experience, those beliefs have been firmed up and altered somewhat. I look around me at everything I see in the world, and I don’t mean anything man made. I see all the beauty and the complexity of nature, the interact, the beauty of all of the plants and animals, could all of this sort of happened by accident? I think of our own human bodies. So fragile, while at the same time so durable and strong so complex in its inner workings. So complex and amazing our educated doctors and scientist are just beginning to understand a small part of most of it. Could something this marvelous have happened merely by accident. I just can’t believe that.
I think it is all to amazing, to complex to have just happened. I believe all was designed and created by God, a very Loving God. I believe, the “real” us is contained within what we like to call our soul. It is the spark of energy, the light that ignited this physical body, keeps us going and makes us who we are. God placed that spark of energy, (us) into our physical bodies. Our bodies are actually just “housing” for that spirit while we have our physical experience here on earth. The real us is indeed that spirit housed within the physical body and are actually two separate things. For me a comparable would be, you are living in a house. The house totally burns down and is gone, but you escaped unhurt. Your body may die but you, the real you escapes unhurt.
I know I am rambling as I am so apt to do, it is just I have so much to say on this topic. I will send you a short email, if you should so chose, were can “chat” more.
On the purely physical side, I have found and have it listed on my blog roll an amazing site, Near death experiences it is something you may wish to check out. It details the experiences of many that have briefly passed over and have returned to share their stories.
December 14, 2007 at 11:29 am
Hi B,
It was clear as day. When I asked the woman if she had a grandmother who knitted, the woman grinned and said her mother’s mum was an avid knitter. You see, we do carry on. And the beauty of death is that we offload our physical burdens from this life before we begin again, so it’s freeing and joyous and safe.
‘Scared of ceasing to exist’ is such an intriguing way of putting it, almost as if you already feel like you are slowing down. There is an afterlife; that I believe in the depths of my soul - I believe that the confusion comes in with the actual word ‘afterlife’. We are really on a continuum of life - much like Bill said - our body houses the spirit and the spirit is eternal. Some people can remember all of their past lives on this planet and so have a very deep understanding of this concept. Perhaps we can look at it as an ‘afterbody’ instead; in other words - after I’ve been in this body, I wonder which body I’ll create next?
I did a reading for a woman on Tuesday and saw her maternal Grandmother who had passed away a long time ago standing behind her showing me her knitting
Lots of love to you B xx
December 27, 2007 at 7:07 am
At times the wisest of answers
lies in these simple words:
i do not know
I do not know what happens after death
of whether the soul remains awake
of whether soul and body awaits
to be awakened in the last day
I do not know what judgment looms before us
or what mercies await us in our Father’s
loving arms
I only believe in this -
that death can be likened unto sleep
and that it is in the nature
of life to go on
night may come
but day comes as well to awaken
winter may fall
yet spring comes again
whence flowers bloom into their full blossom
I only believe in this-
that perfect love casts away all fear
and therefore, there is no fear in love
Glady and peacefully then
can I sleep
Joyfully and sweetly then
can I wait for the morning
http://www.itakeoffthemask.com
January 5, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Life and Death in Balance
It is interesting that most human beings, particularly when they are younger, live life as if they were immortal. Most people do not think of the prospect of dying, or have varying degrees of experience with it over their lifespan. This leads to what one may call short-term selfish behavior that has suboptimal results from a social standpoint. The outcomes in single-shot games (any interaction among two or more individuals where individual interests can be modeled in relation to a feasible outcome) do not often result in cooperation, but if the game were repeated many times from an endpoint of sincerity (an example being the extremely common occurrence of reflecting back on one’s life when one is on one’s deathbed) then one could have more cooperative outcomes.
If you reflect on the above, dear reader, many corollary observations follow, much like what Gautama Siddhartha started to realize as he observed sickness, disease, desire, and death in his rounds of the city as a young prince.
1. Younger human beings are more likely to be more self-directed in their dealings with others relative to older people who are increasingly confronted with their mortality, as well as that of their peer group.
1a. Among younger people, those with a higher relative experience of mortality will tend to behave less selfishly.
1b. Societies with higher and healthier lifespans will tend to be more self-interested, everything else being equal.
1c. In societies where there are subpopulations with significantly different experiences related to the prospect of death, there be a higher degree of intra-group coherence in those groups that have higher prospects of dying.
2. Higher education and wealth, which correlate with health and longevity, are likely to result in more self-directed behavior.
2a. In some cases, where the education effects outweigh wealth effects, behavior may be more altruistic (the informed ability to reflect on the consequences of death).
In short, reflecting on the prospect of dying (or not being able to do so) is what what defines us as human beings and causes many interesting patterns in social interaction, and our individual decisions in regard to those interactions. We often think that death is a consequence of how we live, but what is substantially more consequential is the prospect of dying for life.
January 6, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I am not afraid of die physically. We all will one day, because the body decays. I think we are imortal beings, and that we come back; the proof to me is that there are great pianists, mathematicians, people with a certain abiligy to speak many languages, etc., or people with certain abilities at their young age that they could not have learned those things in their present lifetime.
I also think that the passing it is an individual act, and I mean that the individual has to confront it by himself. People can support the individual, but he, or she must come to grips with reality, as it is a natural process. Perhaps, I think that because I am a Nurse.
I believe that people that we love, who already passed come to help us in our passing.
I’ve witnessed people, before dying, mentioning names of people that had already passed, as if they were present in the room.
I’ve read stories of people who came back with the ability to remember facts of the past.
January 7, 2008 at 7:25 am
Who Gets To Go To Heaven?
Does everyone go to Heaven? On the surface we could take this lightly, but since we will all die eventually, maybe we need to take a more serious look. So, does everyone go to Heaven? Most would say no, but also most would probably believe that the majority of people will go there. They would continue to say that only those who have done major ‘bads’ such as murder, stolen bigger things like robbed banks or peoples homes, hurt people, or other similar things will not get to Heaven; but that most people are relatively good and will go there. Still others believe that as long as we are a member of a Church or have been baptised either as an infant or as an adult we will go to Heaven. Where do these conclusions come from? Is it passed down through the generations in our families of what they believe, is it taught in our Churches, is it passed along from friends and acquaintances. Like many other important decisions we make in our lives, it is important for you to know what is true and what is not.
As part of your upbringing you generally were taught, that as children if you are good you get rewards and if you do bad things you can get punished or have rewards taken from you. Even as an adult out in the world, things generally work this way, promotions, careers and jobs are gained or lost depending generally on how ‘good or bad’ you are at handling situations in our lives at home or at work. This way of thinking follows us so closely that we tend to carry it into our spiritual beliefs. At this point it would be important for you to see what God has said in His word, called the Bible.
You should be careful at this point that you are objective to what the Bible says on this or any subject for that matter. You need to be willing to acknowledge if and where you may be wrong in your beliefs
. The Bible says in Rev 21:27 ‘only those written in the Lamb’s book of life’ will see Heaven. Jesus told the disciples about two men who died in Luke 16:22 ~ 26, one went to Abrahams bosom and the other went into torment. To find out what it takes to get your name written in the Lamb’s book of life you need to know what will not get your name written there.
Some believe that being a good person such as helping the poor & needy, going to church, becoming a church members or member of good volunteer groups, etc. will earn them a right to Heaven. In Eph. 2:8,9 it says ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast’. First it is by God’s grace and nothing of yourself that you can ever get to Heaven; God’s ways are not like our ways in which doing good things or ‘works’ as God calls it has no merit in helping you get to Heaven. If you could earn your way there through any sort of good deeds or works; then how would you know when you did enough good things. Also and even more important, if you could earn your right into Heaven then there would have been no reason for Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sin. What He endured on your behalf would have futile. SIN, what me; let’s look at this a little later.
Many others believe that being a member of a Church or being baptised will earn them a right into Heaven. There is not one single verse in Bible that backs up Church membership as an avenue into Heaven. Also when it comes to baptism you will notice that if you examine the verses (Acts 18:8, Acts 10: 47,48, Acts 8: 29~31 & 35 ~ 3
closely that you need to here God’s Word, believe next, and then get baptised. Baptism is an outward expression of obedience, not an act that can have any power to earn you any right into Heaven.
The only thing that keeps us out of Heaven is sin. Everyone sins or has done something wrong in there lives. It could be saying bad words, stealing of any kind - yes even the “little things ”, wrong attitudes toward others, and on and on. The Bible says in Romans 3:12‘There is none who does good, no not one’ and in Titus 3:5 ‘not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us’.
In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said to His disciples ‘Unless your righteousness (holiness) exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’ If you were to read accounts of these Scribes and Pharisees you would see the extremes they went through to try to uphold God’s law. Also read carefully 1 Cor 6:9~11 .
So how can you assure a place in Heaven? You need to be rescued from penalty of sin. The Bible says you must be born again. You need to recognize that you have sinned and fall short of the mark that God has set for us. In Romans 10:9,10 it says to ‘Confess with your mouth(a sinner), believe (trust Jesus) in your heart…’. In Act 4:12 it says ‘There is no salvation in any other that you might be saved…’ The Bible is clear that there is no other way to get saved from Hell apart from recognizing you are a sinner needing salvation.
Jesus said in John 14:6 ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ Jesus also said in John 3:36 ‘He who believes in the Son has everlasting life and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides ..’ Also in John 1:12 the Bible says ‘As many as received Him He gave the Right to become children of God’
Some have said that God is loving and would not send anyone to Hell. Actually it is us by our own refusal to except Jesus as our Lord and Savior and not admitting that we are a sinner in need of salvation that sends us to Hell. God offers us a way to salvation through the work of His Son Jesus Christ, but it is us who either except or reject this.
If are someone who has done a lot of bad things and believe you could never receive God’s forgive ness, there is good news. You could never do anything so bad that God would not forgive you if you truly ask it from your heart. If you truly mean it from your heart; ask today for Jesus to forgive you, tell him that you are a sinner and need His forgiveness, tell Him that you know that He went to the cross and died for you sins and that you are ready to give your life to Him. If you truly meant this from your heart and you turn to Him, He will forgive you and except you as one of His. Thank God for His love and grace He has extended to you.
January 8, 2008 at 6:32 am
I am afraid of dying and more specifically afraid of anyone close to me dying. Ever since I was a child (my parents had me a bit later in life) I thought my father was going to die. I mean I know he is going to die but I thought it would happen any minute! I lived with that fear for the longest time…it still creeps up on me now and I am 22yrs old. I realise I am lucky to have my father with me this long! Death in my book is defined and complete SADNESS! I know there are many like me but most people around me seem to handle it much better. There was this guy I worked with that passed away in a car accident. I freaked out! It is unreal to me that I have a photo where I am sitting right next to him and I can actually remember his voice and everything he said to me that day. I dont know why I have this weird feeling that death means you dissapear, and maybe if you dissapear then you were never really here to start with. I have to stop myself from thinking too much…where was I before I was born??? where do I go when I do??? These questions just chew your brain up untill your willing to watch a 5yr old childs cartoon show to get your mind off of everything. These are really my basic thoughts on death at this point in my life. I have a lot I need to work on!
January 11, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Don’t be afraid. life will continue only in a diffrent sort of way. I can promise, if you continue to search , the best remedy for fear is unconditional “LOVE”.
If you’re able there is an interesting book out there called the Diary of Divine Mercy. By Faustina Kowalaska. page 310 article 187, 7th paragraph from the top, will give you an impression of the next level of life.
Just google the titile.
Perhaps this can help a little. Have a great day.
January 11, 2008 at 4:26 pm
ALso another great book and a quick read, from the great author CS LEWIS
The titile called THE GREAT DIVORCE. An allegory that can cause alot of reflection on a life. Less than 200 pages and every year I re-read this story and ALWAYS come away with a diffrent perpsective.
January 13, 2008 at 2:57 am
Before I begin writing what it is I am going to write, I just want to let you know that I will keep you in my prayers.
I just stumbled upon your blog today, I don’t know what books you have read on the subject-but when I was going through a dark, depressing questioning phase in my life, I read the book,”Saved by the Light” by Danion Brinkley. It’s based on his near death experiences. I found that very comforting. Also, “Don’t Kiss them Goodbye” by Allison DuBois is another good one.
January 30, 2008 at 2:17 am
Hi Bill…I know it has been a while. Sounds like you’ve been well, hanging in at least. I noticed you have added things to your site…well I actually just wrote something and upon visiting your site I thought it pertains to your request….
http://enreal.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/conversation-with-death/
namaste bill
February 23, 2008 at 12:40 am
‘There never was a time when I did not exist, nor you. Nor will there be any future where we cease to be’
Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita.
February 23, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Hello Bill,
I’ve only just recently started a blog and in my explorations landed on your blog. Bless you for journalling your experience. I have no doubt that those who come across your blog are touched by it in the way they most need at the time. What a gift you are giving the world.
I’m a life coach… After reading a number of your posts, I must say YOU are a natural… Nice life coaching, Bill!
My thoughts on death: I believe that when we die, we understand our entire experience on earth. I bet we even say, “Man, I wish I’d remembered that while I was there!” And I suspect many of us will add, “I didn’t need to be so hard on myself. I was so busy trying to be better, I didn’t quite notice the beauty of me.” Yes, even those times where we are particularly critical of ourselves, when we’ve made ‘mistakes’, when we haven’t behaved the way we thought was ideal… all this I think we will see had an ideal purpose for us.
Four people very close to me have died. My mother when I was nine, my brother when he just turned 30, his son, whom I was very close to, when he was 21, and most recently my Dad who lived to the grand wondrous age of 81.
And through all this, I learned a crazy amount about afterlife, and our connections to our loved ones on the otherside. So many things that some people consider paranormal, metaphysical, ’strange’, ’scary’ and impossible, I have gotten to experience in the most gentle, loving, and even fun ways. The more I accepted what I was experiencing as real, the more I’ve gotten to experience.
Being with my Dad his last days in hospice were some of the most powerful days of my life. The entire family was there, an eclectic mix of people with varying beliefs. We all agreed when my daughter said: “nobody, no matter what their beliefs, could have gone through this and not know there is so much more after this life.” (Thanks, Dad!)
And so I just wanted to add myself to the list of people who have no doubt that there is an afterlife, and that our connection to our loved ones who have died is much closer than most people think. And most importantly, when we die, we go to a very very very very nice place.
May 5, 2008 at 12:22 am
I am not so much afraid of dying as I am afraid of getting sick. I dont know what i would do with myself with that impending doom over my head. i feel as if dying wouldnt be bad but its the idea of not being around to see things happen that would break my heart. how do you cope?
Hi Connor, you ask a very interesting and a very difficult question. I am with you on not seeing the actual dying part as all that terrible. By that I simply mean I have my strong beliefs in the afterlife and am comfortable within myself as to where I am going after death. I have to really focus and concentrate on that belief or the daily struggle could be so much harder, so much worse. On a day by day basis I do have my highs and lows on this feeling and at times must struggle to keep my head together so to speak.
I do not as such fear what I believe is to come after but I do fear of am nervous about the actual physical process. I confess to being a total wimp when it comes to pain.
With no doubt at all the thing I fear or dread the most is the thought of leaving my loved ones behind. Worry about how they will make out, will they be OK with out me in their lives. As I have reflected more and more on this I realize of course they will be alright, it will take a bit of an adjustment period but they will be just fine.
Connor, I could carry on and on about this, I have decided instead to do a post on this very subject. I thank you for giving me this thought and I do hope you will feel free to comment on the post with I hope to have up tomorrow or the next day.
Thank you my friend.
Bill