What Happens When We Die?

What do you believe happens when we die?  I think no matter what we believe, dealing with the death of loved ones is so hard. Even if we know in our hearts that they are still with us, not being able to see them or talk with them can be agonizing for us.  We have regrets, deep sadness, even feeling like maybe they were taken from us too early. There are so many feelings we have to deal with.

Feelings Around Death

I’ve also found that hearing about the death of others can bring up the still raw pain of the death of my own loved ones.  I have relived the passing of one of my dogs over and over in my mind a million times, I swear.  So much uncertainty over the choices I made for him.  So many regrets as I think of other things I could have done.  But really, why do we torture ourselves like this? Why can’t we just remember all the great times – the happy times – and be content with that?  I think it’s because for we humans at least, death is final. And we certainly don’t want anyone we love to leave on a negative note, or too early.

I have done a bit of reading on life after death by people who were resuscitated.  I’ve also followed  mediums who talk with people who have passed over.  It’s important for me to understand and formulate my own beliefs about what happens to us.  I think it’s good to do that.  Death can be something that is so scary to us, but if you can find a level of comfort in it, it’s really not so scary.

Going Home

I believe death, or the time after it, is really like going home.  It’s a rejoicing on ‘the other side’ as you return back.  I think being a human (or any other creature on this planet) is a mission and an adventure that you go on for a reason.  I think we do it many many times to learn and grow.  And then we return home to remember, assess our journey, and take in the lessons.  We meet up with our loved ones again and celebrate too.

Living in the Light

Personally, I don’t believe there is a ‘hell’ per say.  I think that people do that to themselves on earth really.  That is, they put themselves through hell sometimes.  I think we create our own hell.  I think the love is always there for us, but often we deny it to ourselves.  We look away from the light.  But when we die, we go back to the light and remember that we are loved.  The trick is to get to that point WHILE you are a human on earth.  To dig deep and remember that you are loved, and that the light is always there for you.

We are certainly supported on our learning journey here on earth too.  I think it is no coincidence that dog is God spelled backwards. Seriously, if you can’t see that your dog is teaching you about and showing you the same unconditional love and joy of life that you had (and will have again) on the other side, then you aren’t paying attention.  They are one of human’s greatest teachers here.

It’s a Journey of Many Lifetimes

So why are we here?  I truly believe that there is good and bad here on earth so that we can figure out the difference.  We learn to not only decipher it, but follow our gut, and also to love ourselves and treat ourselves with the same respect and dignity we learn to treat others with.  Somewhere in our soul’s memories of our many lifetimes, we remember our lifetimes in different bodies, with different colored skin, different circumstances, different countries, different levels of wealth or poverty and more.  All of our many experiences resonate with us in our soul, and we learn about compassion and love for others.  We grow to know that we are all one, and need to love and support each other. The more journeys we have here as a human, the easier this becomes, and the more aware we are.

Lessons and Karma

What about when we die?  What happens in between these lifetimes?  I believe that you assess your life after you die.  You look at your growth.  At what you learned.  You review whether or not you accomplished what you hoped to accomplish in that lifetime (experiences, lessons, actions, etc.).  Then later this information is used to plan your next lifetime on earth.

I think there’s a level of ‘karma’ to it all as well.  If you murder someone, you will likely be murdered in your next lifetime, so that you can also experience what you inflicted on someone else.  At least that’s what I believe.  There should be no judgements here though, as I believe we’ve all done horrible things in past lives and lived out the karma of that already. That was part of our learning and growth about good and bad.  If you are reading this you are likely an older soul anyway and have ‘been there, done that’ many lifetimes ago.

Karmic Lifetimes

When I used to do animal communication work, I conversed with a very angry and agitated tiger at the zoo one time.  He told me how frustrated he was to be locked up in a cage when he was meant to roam free. When I asked him why he felt he was given these circumstances, he told me that he used to be a wild game hunter in his previous lifetime.  Ah, got it.  Now it made sense to me.

So sometimes, even when you feel sorry for what a being is going through, there is a karmic reason for it.  While it doesn’t mean you let everyone and everything suffer – you should definitely save any person or animal you can of course.  (There may be a reason for that to happen as well!  Perhaps their ‘lesson’ is complete and they are ready to be saved.)  But it would be interesting if we could all understand the ‘why’ of certain circumstances, because there is always a why.  Nothing happens without a reason for it.  I believe we even agree to it all prior to beginning our lifetime.

Remembering Past Lives

In documentaries and articles I have read, there have been times when children have been born and totally remember their last lifetime.  Some children can even point out locations where they lived, remember names, etc.  If you remember the Men in Black movie and the memory wand they used to erase people’s memories – I kind of imagine that children like this missed the memory wand!

While I don’t remember my past lives, I’ve brought evidence of them into this lifetime, as I think we all have.  They can sometimes take the form of irrational fears, recurring dreams or nightmares, or strange phobias – all stemming from something that happened in a past lifetime.  I’ve even seen evidence of this in my dogs and their reactions to certain things.

Visits from Our Loved Ones

I’ve had friends and family members who saw their loved ones after their death and conversed with them – in person (they appeared in front of them) or in their dreams. They felt it was real in either case, and the experience gave them immense peace.

I’ve also seen many signs from loved ones after they passed.  One of my dogs who passed even followed me around the house for a day after he died.  I could hear the click click of his nails on the wood floors, but would turn around and there was no dog there.  I knew he was just keeping an eye on me and letting me know he was there as I mourned.

What do You Believe?

So, what do YOU believe? What do you think happens to us after we die?  Have you had any experiences of your own with this?  And how does it all affect your beliefs about why we are here?  I think it’s so important to have your own beliefs about it all.  Because really, what is the purpose of life?  And do you feel that you are serving the purpose you came here to serve in this lifetime?  Or living out the lessons you needed to have?  What experiences do you feel you still need to have or want to have?

Regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs, I always encourage people to do their own exploring on this topic.  While it might help you formulate your spiritual beliefs, it will definitely bring you more peace with not just the passing of your loved ones, but also with the idea of your own passing one day.  I believe it’s all quite a beautiful and magical process really.  It’s so beyond our imagination as humans, but it’s wonderful to imagine.

I’ve heard people say that ‘heaven’ is actually all around us.  That life on earth is just a hologram, and we will see that when we die and move out of our solid form.  Amazing.  Let go of the fear and explore these ideas, because it will bring you so much peace to say the least.  And hopefully it will also help you find your purpose or experiences you are meant to have in THIS lifetime.

Other articles you may enjoy – Developing Your Own Spiritual Practice and Following Divine Guidance

You might like to read this book – What Happens When We Die: A Psychic’s Exploration of Death, Heaven, and the Soul’s Journey After Death by Echo Bodine

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