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afterlife...

patty_cakes
12 years ago

Do you believe in an afterlife and if so, do you believe you get 'signs' from those who have crossed over? Have you ever had something happen that you consider to be a sign? Good/bad?

Comments (68)

  • PRO
    Diane Smith at Walter E. Smithe Furniture
    12 years ago

    I believe in an afterlife in that the energy has to go somewhere. How it manifests itself is open to personal interpretation.

    As for signs from a dead loved one. No, yes, maybe.... I think some coincidences are noteworthy and are interesting to ponder why they happened.

  • paintergirl94
    12 years ago

    Well said deedee!

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  • stinky-gardener
    12 years ago

    Natal, I am very sorry about the loss of your dear kitty. Sending you a hug!

  • kitchenkelly
    12 years ago

    I am so sorry too, Natal. Take care.

  • nancybee_2010
    12 years ago

    Natal, I'm sorry too. Here's to seeing him again someday.

  • mitchdesj
    12 years ago

    oh Natal, what sad news, so sorry about it.

    kitchenwich, my condoleances to you, it must be so hard.

    As for afterlife, I've never had any manifestations but part of me wants to believe there is something else .

  • mitchdesj
    12 years ago

    oh Natal, what sad news, so sorry about it.

    kitchenwich, my condoleances to you, it must be so hard.

    As for afterlife, I've never had any manifestations but part of me wants to believe there is something else .

  • Jeane Gallo
    12 years ago

    I believe in an afterlife. I also believe spirits sometimes hang around to comfort those they left behind. After my mother-in-law passed, the family was gathered at my brother-in-law's house. A touch lamp in the breakfast room came on by itself while we were all sitting in the living room. Also, the ceiling fan in the bedroom we were sleeping in started on its own. It wasn't one of the fans you turn on with a wall switch. It is the kind you have to pull the chain. And no one pulled the chain.

  • emagineer
    12 years ago

    I am a believer in "an" afterlife. Am religious in feeling there is a God seen in all beauty around us. The human being could not have created this. I feel what we have learned on earth continues to evolve in some way and that there is also life on planets not known.

    When my mother died I definitely felt her presence with me while traveling one time. I also feel the presence of my husband often. Both are comforting and believe this is more of my wanting them near.

    My off the wall take. At one time religion was a strong place in my life, but now it doesn't need 4 walls to be part of. I'm far more aware of flora, fauna and animals in so many forms and creations.

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago

    When everyone thought my mother was dying, and we were actually discussing hospice and morphine as much as necessary,(not in front of her, in meetings) my mother, who had been mostly unconscious started talking to her mother, who died in 1982, a sister and a brother who have been dead for about a decade. At one point she said "Well, where is Daddy?" (He died in 1952). There was some further conversation and then she started to say, "No, I don't Want you to take me to see him, bring him here, I am Not going....I don't want to, I Don't!" From that point, she recovered after what had been a downward spiral of several weeks and several days of unconsciousness and lived for three more months.

    I generally do believe in an afterlife, because energy is neither created from nothing nor destroyed. The type of infection that she had does cause one to hallucinate but this seemed so targeted that it reinforced to me that there must be something (imo).

  • lynninnewmexico
    12 years ago

    I totally 100% belive there is an afterlife. I always have and have never doubted. I also belive in the ability, under certain circumstances, for those who've passed on to come back to visit and even to contact us. Perhaps not everyone is able to receive these messages, but there are many who can.
    Have I personally experienced this? Yes, many times. My house has been "haunted" since before we moved into it 18 years ago. Before this time I NEVER belived in "ghosts" and would secretely chuckle and shake my head when someone talked about this. Now, though, I'm a firm believer they exist, but could care less about trying to persuade anyone else to believe as I do. You do or you don't. I can respect everyone's personal opinions on this; I just refuse to debate it.

  • patty_cakes
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I'm a true believer! Signs, definitely, mostly smells or sounds, but never a voice or a vision of a spirit. My most recent was a wind chime the person had hanging on his patio. My friend and I were talking about him after staging and selling his home the first day on the market, and got teary eyed. We were sitting on my patio, it was a totally still day, and we heard what was unmistakably *his* wind chime. I knew at that moment it was his way of thanking us, and telling us all was well.

    The smell of my Mom's blueberry muffins is undeniable, especially when it wakes you out of a dead sleep and you run to the kitchen thinking you may have baked them and left them in the over. My youngest DD has also experienced the muffins as well as my late MIL's overpowering Rose perfume. IMO, these 'signs' are a way of comforting us and letting us know they are still in our presence.

  • neetsiepie
    12 years ago

    I absolutely believe that there is something beyond this life, I don't believe in Heaven, but believe that our energy, our lifesource, continues on.

    I've had several experiences with ghosts and many in my family have medium tendencies. I also had a very intense experience when my father passed over, and in the cemetery after he'd been buried, I was sitting next to his gravesite, overcome with sorrow. I suddenly heard windchimes and my sorrow was lifted. There were no windchimes in the cemetery, and these were clear and bright. I went to my parents home and told my my what happened, and she said that it had to have been Dad, he loved windchimes, so he sent me a sign.

  • dgranara
    12 years ago

    Patty, I was just gonna talk about smells! Just the other day I was walking upstairs in my house and my sister said, "it smells like Grammy." Which, to us, is a sweet mix of clean laundry, Jean Nate and coffee. I've smelled this combination several times since her passing and I just know it's her "visiting." As far as an absolute afterlife, I don't know what to think. I just know I love these visits.

  • sedeno77
    12 years ago

    What if this is the "afterlife"? What if this is "Heaven" or "Hell"? Could we have known the present people in a past life?

    The one thing I know is - that we know Nothing!

    Everything else is pure speculation.

  • User
    12 years ago

    "Do you believe in an afterlife.."
    Yes, very much.

  • mitchdesj
    12 years ago

    Danielle, Jean Nate, just reading what you wrote brought back that smell to me,
    it's been so long.......

    Do we choose to believe in afterlife because we can't bear to think this is "it"
    as we know our life to be.?

    My parents are still alive and I never lost anyone very close to me so I don't know that feeling of tryng to recapture a memory of someone I miss.

  • sheesh
    12 years ago

    Someone upthread asked something about how we non-believers think these "visits" happen. My answer - I have no idea. They are certainly pleasant, though. "Seeing" and "hearing" my father again was a joy, however brief. The memory makes me happy.

    I wonder why, if spirits can make themselves felt, why they don't just come out of lurkerdom. Why do they leave hints, but nothing tangible?

    My house makes many unaccounted for noises, and occasionally I smell something odd. Often I could swear I put something in a certain place, only to find it in another. We joke about our "visitors," (the previous owner's mother actually died of natural causes in her bed in the master bedroom in this house in 1988. We moved in to the same room in 1994.), but I couldn't live in my house if I truly believed in spirits. If they can be pleasant, can't they also be evil? Terrifying? I don't see any reports of "evil spirits" visiting us, only benevolent ones. You know, spirits guiding us to the right decision, or the right direction, that sort of thing. When we speak of evil spirits, we never mean a person who did us ill in real life, do we? Why couldn't that happen? Some cultures blame droughts and floods and all bad things on evil spirits, but we don't.

    I also absolutely hate the idea that someone, even a spirit or a god, is reading my mind! How unnerving is that, never to have a private thought? No. I don't believe in an afterlife, or spirits good or evil, or heaven or hell. But there is no reason to know. When we are dead, we are simply dead. We will be no better or worse off for believing or not believing.

  • homebodymom
    12 years ago

    I absolutely believe in an afterlife. However I believe that getting to that level of existance has to be earned while here on earth with kindness, good deeds, and love. Guess I am more spiritual than religious.
    I was bedridden with grief after the loss of my grandmother. No one was home- DH had taken my DDs to the park. Had a full glass of water on the night table. Out of no where, the glass completely shattered. Water and glass everywhere. There was no ignoring the mess, so I HAD to get up. I guess she had enough of watching me laying in bed crying over her.....I knew it was her- Fit her personality to a tee! " Enough already" "Get out of that bed and take care of those babies!"
    Oh, how I still miss her :o(

  • alisande
    12 years ago

    My daughter Gillian, who died ten years ago, is very bit as loving and creative in the spirit world as she was on this earth. I've been blessed with many signs from her, and many dream visits. A number of friends, both hers and mine, have reported the same.

    I am not at all religious, but I can say with certainty that our energy survives in another form.

  • User
    12 years ago

    Kitchenwitch, I am so sorry for your loss.
    I, too, lost my husband very suddently almost three years ago.

    Yes, I absolutely believe in an afterlife and have had personal experiences that indicate so, but I don't know exactly what it is or will be like.

  • wodka
    12 years ago

    Kitchenwitch, I also am sorry for your loss, and can somewhat relate to how you are feeling. I lost my sweet husband of 40 years in April, after a very brief and aggressive battle with cancer. I will never be the same person without him. (On a side note, to anyone struggling with loss or grief, I highly recommend "Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working through Grief" by Martha Whitmore Hickman. It has been a Godsend to me.)

    I choose to believe in afterlife, perhaps for selfish reasons, because I want so badly to be with him and see him again, as well as my dad and my sister.

    My dad has been to visit me - I dreamed he was on my back porch. He loved golf and our house faces the golf course. He died before he got to see our house, built in 2007. Anyhow, he was on the back porch, taking it all in, and I asked Daddy, is that really you? And he said, yes, touch me. And I felt him. And I remember saying, Mama is going to be so happy!

    I'm embarrassed to say one night, I drank too much wine. (And no, I was not drinking when I saw Daddy!) I've been hoping my husband would come to visit for months, and this was the night. Instead of endearing, sweet words, he said "Did you drink that whole bottle of wine?!" It was so real to me.

  • wodka
    12 years ago

    Sorry to hog the conversation, but I have to share one more thing.

    After my earlier post, I read my meditation for today, October 8, 2011, from Martha Whitmore Hickman's book. It is divided into three sections: A quote from someone famous or not so famous, then her interpretation of the quote, and then a one-sentence thought for the day. How ironic that it touches on today's Garden Web question:

    "We have only to believe. And the more threatening and irreducible reality appears, the more firmly and desperately must we believe. Then, little by little, we shall see the universal horror unbend, and then smile upon us, and then take us in its more than human arms." -- Teilhard De Chardin

    Mrs. Whitmore Hickman then says: "How we long to believe in a Creator who loves and guides us - and our loved ones - in continuing life and possibility! It is almost too good to be true. Do we turn away from belief because we don't want to fool ourselves with false hope? Are we afraid of believing, because we might be wrong? Think of all the scientific truths that would never have been discovered had someone not risked that a hypothesis arrived at by intuition and speculation was worth experimenting with. But how to test the hypothesis of belief? In our sadness and despair, can we act and think as though faith is an accurate mirror of truth; that there is, out there in the darkness, a hand that reaches out to us in compassion and love? It's worth a try."

    Then, lastly, the thought for the day:

    "I will take the risk of believing and see where it leads me."

  • alisande
    12 years ago

    After posting earlier this morning, I thought I would provide an example. Many of my daughter's early signs involved animals, and some were more dramatic than this one. But this sign seems appropriate for GardenWeb. Plus I can link to it. :-)

    The Sign in the Old Well

    This topic has been discussed in GW's Grieving Forum many times. Here's a thread on

    Pennies From Heaven

  • natal
    12 years ago

    Wodka, I'm so sorry. You've been so quiet this year. I guess that explains it. Thank you for sharing the wine moment. ;)

  • natal
    12 years ago

    Marlene, Stinky, Kelly, Nancy, and Mitch ... thank you for the kind words. I hadn't intended to say anything, but when I saw this thread the words just came out. If ever there was a sign ... Patty's thread was it for me.

  • nancybee_2010
    12 years ago

    wodka, I am so very sorry for your loss.

    alisande, you have my deepest sympathy for the loss of your daughter.

    My heart goes out to both of you. Your posts are an inspiration.

  • wodka
    12 years ago

    natal and nancybee, thank you. And alisande, what beautiful words. Thank you for sharing them. Your daughter was beautiful.

    Also, natal, I meant to include I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. Do you know who Sylvia Brown (I think that's the psychic's name) is? She's appeared on CNN and other talk shows. Real abrupt, has long fingernails. I might be losing a little credibility by saying I've watched her before, but I would like to believe what she says about the afterlife is true. That our life here on earth is our Purgatory and that when we die, we all go to heaven. Not only that, but we're all in our bodies that we had when we were in the best shape of our lives, and our beloved pets are there.

    Okay, I admit, it might be a crock, but what a wonderful thought. The only problem I have is that if we ALL go to heaven, I hope they put my evil step-mother-in-law on a different wing than my husband and me! I tolerated her the entire time she was in our lives, but after my husband died, she said some unforgivable things, to hang up on her and never speak to her again lifted so much baggage from my shoulders. I most likely am out of the will, but it was the best money I've ever spent.

  • paintergirl94
    12 years ago

    Alisande, I am so sorry for your loss. But it is comforting that someone like you believes. Thank you for sharing your story.

    And Wodka, you are an inspiration.

  • natal
    12 years ago

    Wodka, love your sense of humor! ;) My sister is into Sylvia Brown. She (my sister) sees "signs" in many things. I don't disbelieve, just haven't been privy to many in my life.

  • OrchidOCD
    12 years ago

    When I was 13 (many moons ago) my favorite grandfather had a massive stroke and was in a coma for several days. He came to me late one night, and told me it was time for him to go, said he'd always love me and watch over me, and said goodbye. I had been asleep, but awakened with him standing at the end of my bed. I was fully awake when he talked to me (and lucid enough to wonder how he'd gotten 230 miles from the hospital). After he faded away, I laid back down and for the next two hours or so just remembered our times together. Then the phone rang, and we were told he'd slipped away.

    No one will ever convince me that was a dream. I know he was there, I know he said goodbye, and I've felt him with me at other crisis points in life. I'm not religious in any way, but like patty_cakes, see the infinite in the beauty that surrounds us. Over the years I've noticed that after loosing one of my beloved pets, the others take up some of the lost ones unique habits, as if they're carrying the torch onward. I do think there is an afterlife, but I don't think it's restricted to any species, creed or affiliation - I think it just may be a universal plane change or something of the sort. In any case, I know I've felt those that have gone before in one way or another, and I wouldn't trade those moments for any amount of gold. And yes, I know all about wish fulfillment theory, and I may be deluded, but I've had too many 'moments' while wide awake and lucid to believe it's all my imagination...

  • patty_cakes
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Orchid, you've said it all very well~~it's just a continuation of the universe and the way things 'work'.

    I'm also a true believer in synchronicity or 'there is no such thing as a chance meeting.' It's 'brought' people to me in times when I needed to hear a certain something to make the comparison of what was happening at that time in my life. It's also put me in places where i've had the opportunity to make a difference in some else's life. My mind is open to endless possibilities. ;o)

  • kitchenwitch
    12 years ago

    Demifloyd I know a bit of your story and I just can't imagine being away from home at that dreadful time. You are a strong woman, and wodka obviously you are too, I'm so sorry. Alisande, my sympathies for your daughter. Your words are lovely and I've heard of pennies from heaven, thanks for the reminder, I'll be looking for those, now. Natal, my kitties are getting old, I feel for you - it's heartbreaking to lose someone we love no matter who.

    We take comfort in feeling that those we lost are still around us, and that we'll see them again and what's the harm, there's no risk. I was raised Catholic, but I'm recovering and have a spiritual way of living. It's hard for me to accept that we are simply organisms reproducing here for no reason. There is a soul, essence, spirit, energy, or whatever that lives through us for some reason.

  • tinam61
    12 years ago

    As a Christian, I most certainly believe in afterlife. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I also feel it is each person's own personal experience, and the importance lies there, not on what denomination, etc. It has been important to my husband and I to be part of a church, but not a particular denomination. We have varied a bit from how we were raised LOL. Priority for us was to be part of a church that ministers to others, and we have found that. One thing that attracted us to our church is the fact they minister to ANYONE, although they do concentrate in the community, but anyone in the community. Not only those who attend the church - or attend any church. Helping others is a big part of my religious beliefs. And now you probably know more than you wanted re: me and religion. LOL

    Back to the question at hand. I have felt at times that my mother is with me - although no smells, no words, no visions, etc. Just feeling like she is with me.

    My sympathies to those who have suffered a loss.

  • bestyears
    12 years ago

    alisanda -I just clicked on your blog, and have now added it to my list of blogs to peruse whenever I get a spare few minutes. I love your writing and your spirit.... I'd love to hear more about your daughter and the signs you've seen.

    Here's my story:
    When I was 9 months pregnant with my first child, my amazing, sweet, loved-beyond-measure Nana passed away. She lived 3000 miles from me. Fortunately my husband and I had had a wonderful visit with her when we stayed at her house for a week long visit three months prior. Nobody knew she was even ill at the time, so it was just our usual good time. I was beyond heartbroken, but because I was so far into my pregnancy, I couldn't fly, and so didn't go to the funeral. My son was born twelve days after she died. I waited desperately for a sign, for years, because I always felt she and I were so connected. Nothing for the longest time, and then finally, five years later, I had a dream.... in it, my husband and I and the kids were all in church for Easter or something. It was really, really crowded as we filed into the pew, lots of excuse me, sorry, excuse me...like this in every pew. Suddenly, I see my Nana!... She's a few pews over, we are facing each other, but separated by three of four rows of people, and our eyes meet, and I am just ecstatic to see her. But there were so many people in between us, that I then quickly lost sight of her again. I was nearly panicked trying to find her again, just desperate to find her again. But I couldn't. I found the spot where she'd been in line, everybody else was still there, but she was not. Here's the part that makes me believe it was not just a dream. For those few seconds that our eyes held each other's, all I could see was her beautiful face -which somehow had all the years of wear and tear, the fatigue of cancer...just wiped away. She still had gray hair, still looked the same in every way, except she just had no wear and tear on her. It was at once the strangest-and-most-peaceful thing to see....

  • OrchidOCD
    12 years ago

    Patty_cakes-I also am a firm believer in synchronicity, and that what happens (people, events, life) usually has a reason. It's not always easy to find the reason, but things that often seem nonsensical at the time later seem to have been an important pivot - maybe that's the wisdom in the 'glass half full' view of life! I also am open to possibilities - after all, every facet of our modern lives is available because someone at some point decided to try what was previously impossible. 300 years ago our modern science and technology would have been considered diabolical or magic - who's to say what the next 300 years of science may uncover that is currently considered fantasy or imagination? Maybe we'll be able to observe! :-)

  • sayde
    12 years ago

    What orchidOCD said.

    We don't know what we don't know.

    The brain is by far the largest uncharted territory.

  • alisande
    12 years ago

    Thanks, Bestyears. I've had many dream visits from those I love, and many dreams about them, and I believe it's not difficult to tell the difference.. There's definitely something special about a dream visit, even if the dream doesn't include a significant conversation or hug, etc. I'm certain your Nana found a way to bring you peace.

    Here's another sign from my daughter Jill involving plants.This one happened very soon after she died.

  • User
    12 years ago

    First of all, to those who have shared of their losses in this thread - I am so sorry and my heart goes out to each of you. It hurts so badly to lose a loved one, I know.

    I was raised in a church and taught from an early age that a person who believes "a certain way" goes to heaven. One who does not adopt the belief system perishes eternally. When you have that drilled into your brain in your formative years and beyond, it tends to become your own belief system. Years later, though, I'm not prepared to say that I truly believe what I was taught. I have far too many unanswered questions - too much of what I was taught seems patently unfair and does not hold true to the concept that "God is Love" ... so I just honestly don't know. I want to believe in an afterlife where we will be reunited with those who have gone before, but I no longer can say I know with certainty how we get there, or even, truly, if such a realm exists.

    It's the human condition to ask these questions, to ponder, to just not know. Even a dear pastor friend recently expressed doubt and uncertainty about what awaits in "the beyond" - or even if "the beyond" exists at all.

    I guess my current thinking is that I do hold fast to certain aspects of the faith I was taught long ago, but have no issue with saying that I doubt, wonder, and hope - pretty much all at the same time.

  • tinam61
    12 years ago

    You make perfect sense Jen, and it is natural to question. I find it hard to believe in a group who believes that only certain ones will be in heaven. I believe there will be black, white, jew, baptist, catholic, etc., etc., etc. (AND ANIMALS) in heaven. I don't believe God discriminates in those who accept him.

    It all comes down to faith, because it certainly cannot be explained or known - at least during our life.

    tina

  • User
    12 years ago

    Thanks for understanding what I was hoping to convey, Tina.

    In thinking more about this, I have to say that sometimes I'm really just blown away at the thought that if there is an afterlife - some other realm where all souls reside - it's probable to assume that we'll be in the company of people who lived ages ago. Does that strike anyone else as a totally mind-blowing concept? Our "essence" mingling with the likes of those who walked the earth during the middle ages, even prehistoric times? I love thinking about that. It thrills me and freaks me the hell out simultaneously. ;-)

    I also think that if there is an afterlife, my loved ones who have gone before now know what lies beyond. That comforts me tremendously. Since losing my dear grandparents earlier this year, I have such a peaceful calm within me whenever I think of them, and I have to think that somehow this is an assurance from beyond that they do indeed know something so wonderful that it's beyond comprehension.

  • bestyears
    12 years ago

    alisande -thank you for the link, and the kind words about Nana. I have to tell you, I felt at once breathless and goosebumpy when I read about your flower garden and the link to your mom. Oh, oh. You are a gifted writer... I'm going to look for the book you referenced. Have you read Many Masters Many Lives?

  • alisande
    12 years ago

    Yes - I like Brian Weiss a lot. And thank you for your kind words.

  • theroselvr
    12 years ago

    I'm sorry for everyone's loss.

    Alisande;

    I had something similar happen to me last year after cleaning with Tilex; my airway closed. I've never had anything like that ever happen even when I used to clean for a living.

    The other is I have a similar memory of honeysuckle with my dad; but it used to grow behind our gas station in Watchung. Honeysuckle has always comforted me; I've worn it (perfume) since the 70's; use Honeysuckle candles & shower gel. After I lost my dad; I always had a candle burning.

    Ever hear of Cleomi? I had it planted at our station & it was my dads favorite flower; not sure how it ended up at my old house. I've never actually planted it at the new house either but every year since we've been here; it comes up in the weirdest spots. There's always 1 at my mailbox where I can see it from my computer; then in the one garden I have that has 2 roses I planted for my dad. What's funny; I've collected the seeds every year & walk along the woods next to my house; throwing the seeds but they never come up.

    The other plant that just appeared is humming bird plant; mostly purple ones; in a few choice spots; red.

    There have been days when the electronics in my office all went haywire at once. House & cell phone; 2 computers; printer & fax. Don't recall what started 1st but the house phone on my desk started to vibrate; I have never found a vibrate feature even on the phone. My Windows MotoQ cell started rebooting; then it seemed like one at a time the stuff in my room started cycling- printer & fax machine started spooling. I knew that it was my dad; I always associate electrical with him. Even at the old house; every time we'd say we're going to stay; something electrical would happen to "remind" us why we needed to sell.

    Every now & then I will smell my dad; different versions; his usual smell then the day of the viewing where the coffin opening was surrounded in roses & baby's breath

    In addition to the penny post; pretty sure there's one about greeting cards there; which I've had happen.

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    Lori A. Sawaya
    12 years ago

    Smells, scents, etc.

    We took a "ghost adventures" type tour of a famous, very old cemetery here in town. Was not in the mood to go, got there and had to pee and of course no bathroom, it was cold and I was not impressed nor amused.

    But decided I could stick it out for an hour. Trudging down the paths listening to the stories and the history all I could think was that I wanted to go home.

    Finally get to one of the last stops on the tour and it felt like I walked into a cloud of Emeraude - the perfume that used to be popular a long time ago. My grandmother went thru gallons of that stuff. I look just like my grandmother, been told that my whole life.

    The smell was so strong it was overwhelming. Just as I was about to ask my husband if he smelled anything, I glanced down and to my left was a rather large, rather elaborately decorated tombstone with "GRANDMOTHER" in all caps across the top.

    A cemetary in the desert, consisting of rocks, dirt, tombstones and more dirt. Not a flowering anything for miles and miles. I have no explanation but it was as real as real can be.

  • lynninnewmexico
    12 years ago

    I'm enjoying the interesting stories here. Funclors . . . what an amazing one! Thanks for sharing it with us.

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    Diane Smith at Walter E. Smithe Furniture
    12 years ago

    We had an experience a few years ago when we felt a loved one who died was watching over us...

    My dh had not been feeling well for weeks and finally went to the Doctor. The Dr. thought dh might have appendicitis and told him to call if he felt worse. No blood test, didn't take his temp, just sent him home.

    I could tell dh was feeling worse that evening (he insists it's nothing!) and called the Dr. No answer and no message service.

    I go to the local Walgreens to see if the pharmacist could recommend something over-the-counter. I listed my husbands symptoms and the pharmacist points his finger at me and firmly states "leave this store and take your husband to the emergency room NOW!"

    I dropped what I had, rushed home and dragged my husband to the hospital and you guessed it...a burst appendix.

    In the past week, we had just received my dear father-in-laws ashes and they were sitting on a shelf in the living room.

    For decades my father-in-law was a pharmacist for Walgreens.

    Dh and I both believe his df was watching over him.

  • hhireno
    12 years ago

    There are so many interesting & moving stories here. I'd like to share a story.

    Family lore has it, that when I was a kid about 3-4 yo I was afraid of worms. I wouldn't even ride my trike over them, I'd stop and yell "Wurm!" (that's how it sounds when you're a little kid with a Boston accent) and expect someone to move it out of my path.

    A few days after my Dad died, which was in February, I went to the gym as usual. I get in my car in my garage so I didn't really know the temperature or outside conditions. I arrive at the gym and it's an unusual early spring-like day for Pa. There are worms all over the parking lot and I thought "I should call Daddy and tell him I saw the first worms of the season", because it was something I would normally do. And then remembered, oh, I can't call him.

    I proceed into the gym & do my work-out. I wear headphones to block out the noise of a full gym & rehab place. When I take off my headphones, I notice the song on their radio station was Bobby Goldsboro "Honey I miss you". It was an old favorite song of my Dad's. Now, that is not a song I had ever heard on the radio before or at least not since 1970!

    But there it was, and on the same incredibly early in the season day that I saw "wurms!". I went home & called one of my sisters to tell her I think I heard from Daddy and he's okay.

    Was it really that? I don't know but there's no harm in thinking it.

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    Lori A. Sawaya
    12 years ago

    Dh and I both believe his df was watching over him.

    It was an old favorite song of my Dad's. Now, that is not a song I had ever heard on the radio before or at least not since 1970! Was it really that?

    I'm sold! It's just so darn hard to simply chalk stuff like this up to mere coincidence.

    Aside from the actual *event* what I remember is how incredibly present I felt - like I've never so purposefully looked at a tombstone before. It isn't so much about the uncanny event per se, rather how it happened and what it feels like to be in the moment as it's happening. The feeling makes a bigger personal impression than the details and the story. You understand why people say these are experiences they'll never forget.

  • theroselvr
    12 years ago

    Hate to spoil the worms... I at one time wondered if it was a sign- when my dad got sick & was moving; hub & I dug some plants of his to take to the new house & we dug up a few buckets of his worms. His worms were different then ours; his stayed closer to the surface & were like baby snakes.

    I know the worms don't only do this at my house because they're on the sidewalks here; committing suicide. I think the soil gets so wet that they're drowning & they're moving to drier ground. This is when I notice it; after the ground is saturated. I've also noticed it after Scott's comes; it rains. Not sure what kind of pesticide they've spread.