Sorry, I have to ask this....Afterlife question

[cstraub]

I just lost my favorite uncle today. He died of acute panceratitus (sp?). He was 82.

My question is have you ever had experience with a loved one visiting you after they had passed on?

I would love to hear your stories. I have a hard time believing there is an afterlife so maybe some of my fellows DISers can help me to believe.

 

[ilovepcot]

I've never had a loved one visit me after they pass, but MANY people tell me that they've had that experience. These are people I respect, who have a level head, plenty of common sense and have never lied to my knowledge. So, I have to wonder.

 

[Steffi]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I regularly dream about my sister/best friend who passed away in 1999 at the age of 32. I'm not sure I would go so far as to call these dreams "visits", but they certainly seem that way. During these dreams, we talk about what's been going on since she's "been away", how her daughters are doing, how my daughter is doing, etc. After we've talked about how everything's going here, it suddenly hits me to ask her where she's been (it's never quite clear to me in my dreams that she's dead), she looks away vaguely and that's when the dream starts to come to an end. The dreams always end the same, with me asking her if she has to go away again, and Sis smiling sadly and fading away.

So, I wouldn't go so far as to say I believe in an afterlife, or actual visits from loved ones who've passed on, but I would definitely say that a part of your beloved uncle will always be alive inside of you and in your dreams and memories. Lots of hugs to you.

 

[cstraub]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I regularly dream about my sister/best friend who passed away in 1999 at the age of 32. I'm not sure I would go so far as to call these dreams "visits", but they certainly seem that way. During these dreams, we talk about what's been going on since she's "been away", how her daughters are doing, how my daughter is doing, etc. After we've talked about how everything's going here, it suddenly hits me to ask her where she's been (it's never quite clear to me in my dreams that she's dead), she looks away vaguely and that's when the dream starts to come to an end. The dreams always end the same, with me asking her if she has to go away again, and Sis smiling sadly and fading away.

So, I wouldn't go so far as to say I believe in an afterlife, or actual visits from loved ones who've passed on, but I would definitely say that a part of your beloved uncle will always be alive inside of you and in your dreams and memories. Lots of hugs to you.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I do believe in an afterlife, though no visits from anyone yet. My condolences on the passing of your uncle, so very sorry.

 

[candykisses]

I''m sorry to hear of your uncle's passing.

I believe there is an afterlife. I also believe that my father stayed with me for awhile after he was killed. I know that some of you will read this and say what happened was due to extreme stress and that the visits were just my mind's way of numbing the immediate shock and pain. That could be.

My husband and father were hit by a drunk driver. My father was DOA and DH was not expected to live. The accident happened 3 hrs from our home. It's hard to describe the shock of hearing the news over the phone and the doctor saying to come ASAP if you want to say goodbye. It's hard to have to tell your mother and sister that the worst has happened.

After 7 days DH was able to be transported to a Pittsburgh hospital. He had to have spinal surgery and the list of his injuries was so long and so sad. I was told the surgery was going to be at 6AM. I don't remember sleeping, I must have.When I went to his room before they took him down, there were two women cleaning & changing the bed. I asked where he was and they said that he was gone.Hadn't anyone told me. I passed out. I thought they meant he was dead.

He made it through the surgery and I was able to see him at midnight. Oh my. I'll spare you what he looked like. He was in NICU & it was hot. I was tired, scared,I hadn't eaten, but I had smoked too much and drank too much coffee. I admit all that. When I started to the bed, my father was standing there. He said that everything was going to be alright. It would be hard, but Ray would not die. He said that when the accident happened they (Dad & Ray) were told that only one could go back. My Dad choose that Ray was to go back. He also said that he wasn't allowed to come back any more.

The nurse that was there said I looked like I was in a trance or praying because my eyes were open, but tears were streaming down my face and my lips were moving. For the second time that day I passd out.

Over the years there have been dreams, but nothing like that night. To me it was real. Sorry this was so long.

 

[thelionqueen]

I lost my grandmother in 1995, we were extremely close. I have dreamed about her many, many times since then and fully believe she was visiting me.

However, the story I have involves my father. His mother (my grandmother) passed very unexpectedly, though she lived a long life. My father NEVER believed in any kind of afterlife, or that they "visit" from the other side. In fact, after she passed I told him to have faith..he shrugged it off with a "whatever".

Well, about 3 weeks after her death, my father was vacuuming in a room he was in at least once per day (BTW, my father is the absolute cleanest person on the planet earth..seriously). As he was vacuuming for the second time that day (no joke) he heard a loud thud behind him. He turned around and across the room (no where near where he was vacuuming or where the vacuum was plugged in) a small statue fell on the ground. He turned around, and without thinking, put it back where it belonged which was all the way against the wall on the dresser. He then stood there in shock. He realized that the statue was given to him by my grandmother, and that it had been in the same spot since he got it, which is about 18" from the edge of the dresser where it had apparently fallen from.

He told me that he was absolutely confident it was her for 2 reasons. One, he didn't believe in this sort of thing and secondly, it would take something very monumental to change his mind. This was it. He said he finally felt complete peace and happiness.

Another story involves my husband's mother. About 2 weeks before she died (her death was expected) she had lost her wedding ring. She had my husband literally tear the house down looking for it to no avail. My husband moved in with her at the end of her life to take care of her. He stayed in the basement.

She had chronic emphysema and could not walk up more than 2 stairs. The flight of stairs down to the basement was 14 steps.

On her death bed, she confided to my husband that she was grief stricken that she would die without her wedding ring (her husband died 4 years before). He assured her he would not stop looking for it. He did search endlessly but did not find it when she passed.

The day after she died, my husband went into the freezer (which he was in nearly everyday) to get some steaks. The freezer was in the basement where he stayed. He opened the freezer door, and in the very front of the top shelf was his mother's wedding ring.

The significance of this is that she hadn't been down those stairs in over 4 months and he doesn't remember when she would have ever been in the freezer since he did all the cooking.

Some will say coincidence, I think not.

 

[fanofpan]

I am sure that My Mom visited both my Daughter and my Brothers son, when she passed on. My Mom lived with us when she died last year. It was 6 in the morning when my DH came and woke me up to let me know that she was gone. She had Kidney Cancer and had been in a coma for 3 day's. My 10 year old Daughter came in a few minutes later and said that grandma had come to tell her goodbye and that she loved her. I called my Brother a little later, to tell him our Mom had passed away, and he said "I kind of wondered" as his 9 year old son had just went into their room and told them that Grandma just said she was ok and happy. I believe my mom came to my Daughter because she knew how hard it was for my dd to be losing grandma. My Mom had talked to her a few weeks before she died, and tried to help bring my DD some peace of mind, because she would spend a lot of time crying about Grandma not feeling well and we knew she only had a short time left at that time. Although my dd does still get sad at times missing her Grandma, the fact that my Mom did go to see her the morning she passed away, has helped my dd feel a little more at peace.

 

[NMAmy]

My dad stopped by for a visit the day after he died. Not long before his stroke, he had been giving me a hard time about this picture that I had of him up on our entertainment center. It was taken of Dad when he was 16 and he'd been grumpy that day and told me, "Why don't you have a better picture of me up there--or better yet, just take it down completely?"

He had a stroke and was in the hospital and nursing home for about 3 months before he died. I was upstairs, DH was in the basement when suddenly we heard this loud crash from the main floor of the townhouse. I came down the stairs and my dad's picture (the one he disliked ) which had been sitting in the same place for nearly two years was now in the middle of the living room floor. It was the only picture out of about 8 that had fallen and it was right in the middle of the shelf--no windows or doors were open and there was no one else in the house. I looked at the picture and said, "Hi, Daddy." DH kind of chuckled and said, "Well, he couldn't reach that picture before to make you take it down, now he can." (My dad was in a wheelchair for the last few years of his life.)

I'm so sorry for your loss. I miss my dad a lot but I'm glad he stopped by to tell me goodbye.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh yea, many visits from my family. The first time was from my Grandma who hung around family for a long dang time. It wasn't just me either!
My grandma even woke my cousin from her sleep. The kitchen had caught on fire and she woke her in time to stop it.

Is it real? I don't know but I was not the only one in the family to experience visits from grandma.

 

[Marseeya]

I have dreams about a particular loved one who died (my first love) and it feels very real. I always wake up so sad because the dream couldn't continue.

 

[GailT]

sorry for your loss, I have never had that experience and I wish I could meet my mom and dad again while I am still here. I know I will see them someday though, right now they are angels watching over me

 

[MsDisney23]

I am so sorry for your loss. I also believe in an afterlife.

 

[lemondog]

I am sorry for your loss.

I do believe in an afterlife, and that our loved ones visit us. I believe many times that is in our dreams...sometimes we remember them, sometimes we don't. I lost my grandmother in 2001. I dream about her often, but twice the dreams were "different" and I knew immediately after I woke up that she had come to visit me.

My mom believes that pennies represent my dead grandmother. Just last week my mom was worrying about something and she said "Momma, please give me a penny so I know you're around and everything is okay." That afternoon she went to get the mail and there was a letter in there that said "A penny for your thoughts" with a brand new penny taped to it!!!!

 

[Mamu]

We all want to feel our life doesn't end with death. Depending on how we believe death is final, although some believe in reincarnation. What ever our beliefs are loved one do leave us with wonderful thoughts, smells and images of their life.

There are certain times when I can feel the presence of that loved one. Maybe it's my imagination, that power of reproducing a certain memory, whatever it is I can feel that person near me and no one could convince me that their not there.

 

[KelNottAt]

Both my grandfathers visited me a few months after they died (1988 & 2003). They both came to me in dreams.

My paternal grandmother just died on Dec 23, 2005. No visits from her yet, but I have dreamt about her. But that's just a dream, not a visit...there is a difference. I'm sure she'll come, just like my Papas did.

Very sorry about the loss of you uncle.

 

[LBAK]

My now 10 yo DD gets visits from her grat grandma. She started getting these visits at 7 yo. Gran comes to her and stays behind her right shoulder. Not sure why She always tells me that Gran comes when she needs her.

My mom died 23 years ago when I was 19 and she would let me know she was around. I smelled her perfume or the coffee maker would just start and I could have sworn I actually heard her voice once. I took great comfort in her checking in. After the 1st year I never felt her presence in the house again but I know she is looking over us.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I don't know if I believe in an actual afterlife. What I do believe, is that we spread positive and negative energy/influence throughout our lives. When, after you've passed on, someone thinks of you fondly, or effects someone elses life in a positive way because of what you taught them, then you are bringing a little bit of heaven to them and yourselves. With that theory in mind, the oposite would be true of evil, negative people.

I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Maleficent13]

Yes. I believe I have had some visits from one of my grandfathers. They are very similar to the kind that Steffi describes, except in mine I know he is dead.

It is very personal and not something I talk about much, but if you want to PM me, feel free. And I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[minkydog]

When my Dad was dying, he told me about my grandmother's cat, Nappie, who died years before. When Granny died, Nappie "came for her"--walked right up on the bed and cuddled up. Grandaddy saw it, too. Then when Grandaddy died, my father witnessed Nappie again, cuddling up with Grandaddy. So when he was himself dying he was terrified that Nappie would show up.

At the very end, when Dad was no longer coherent, my sister & I were sitting with him,just waiting. We had said our goodbyes and I told him that his mom & dad would be coming to see him tonight, and to go with them. In the quiet, i heard a soft "meow" under the bed. Since I don't believe in this stuff, i didn't say anything. As we sat there, I saw the small footprints of an animal tentatively stepping across the bed, from the foot all the way up to the head of the bed, where it walked back and forth several times before settling down on Dad's shoulder. At which point Dad breathed a long sigh of relief. No agitation now, just quiet. He died peacefully about 2 hours later.