This post includes an excerpt from my book "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes.” The book refers to life after death as the Other Side of Through.
Many people believe in life after death. For them, death is a comma, a pause proceeded by a dash into another dimension of life. Others say that life, as we know it while living, is all there is to existence. They consider death to be a period at the end of the final sentence in their life stories.
One day, my patient named Mabel (pseudonym) received a birthday card from her church members. This led to an interesting conversation about life after death.
“Were you active in your church?” I asked.
“Well, not too much. I helped out with a few fundraising activities like the annual church bazaar. I usually worked at the ticket booth. I didn’t want to be too active because I have my own personal views about religion. I don’t see religion the way most of my church people see it, so I stayed kind of low-key. Religion is fine, but I don’t believe in God. I only believe in Jesus.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Jesus was a person in real life. People saw him and wrote down what he did and what he said as part of history. I know that Jesus existed. He was right there walking and talking in front of people. Nobody can deny that. But God is different. Nobody has really seen him. Nobody knows how he looks or even what he is. That’s why I don’t believe in God. But I definitely believe in my Jesus.”
“What about heaven, Mabel? What do you think of that?”
“If there is no God, then there is no heaven. It wouldn’t make sense to have a heaven without God. That’s how I see it.”
“What do you think happens after people die?”
“What do I think happens? Nothing. They get buried, and their problems are over. Their problems end, and ours continue.”
Mabel’s belief about life after death was one of numerous opinions that people have. Many have thought about the possibility of immortality. They connect it with a soul, reward, and punishment. Some have lived their lives according to those beliefs. For those who believe in an afterlife, there is often a spiritual motivation linked with nature’s cycles of birth and death. They embrace the mystery with faith and decide there is no spiritual death, only a change in their immortal soul’s experience.
Of course, a lot of people say they don’t know what to believe. Scientific research on near-death experiences and other death-related phenomena continues to accumulate data to shed new light on discussions about life after death. Ultimately, people have to decide for themselves what they want to believe.
© Frances Shani Parker
In this KVVU TV video, three individuals, who believe they traveled to heaven during near-death experiences, explain what happened. Did they really cross over to the Other Side of Through? Was it real or a hallucination caused by an oxygen-deprived brain? You be the judge.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
Many people believe in life after death. For them, death is a comma, a pause proceeded by a dash into another dimension of life. Others say that life, as we know it while living, is all there is to existence. They consider death to be a period at the end of the final sentence in their life stories.
One day, my patient named Mabel (pseudonym) received a birthday card from her church members. This led to an interesting conversation about life after death.
“Were you active in your church?” I asked.
“Well, not too much. I helped out with a few fundraising activities like the annual church bazaar. I usually worked at the ticket booth. I didn’t want to be too active because I have my own personal views about religion. I don’t see religion the way most of my church people see it, so I stayed kind of low-key. Religion is fine, but I don’t believe in God. I only believe in Jesus.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Jesus was a person in real life. People saw him and wrote down what he did and what he said as part of history. I know that Jesus existed. He was right there walking and talking in front of people. Nobody can deny that. But God is different. Nobody has really seen him. Nobody knows how he looks or even what he is. That’s why I don’t believe in God. But I definitely believe in my Jesus.”
“What about heaven, Mabel? What do you think of that?”
“If there is no God, then there is no heaven. It wouldn’t make sense to have a heaven without God. That’s how I see it.”
“What do you think happens after people die?”
“What do I think happens? Nothing. They get buried, and their problems are over. Their problems end, and ours continue.”
Mabel’s belief about life after death was one of numerous opinions that people have. Many have thought about the possibility of immortality. They connect it with a soul, reward, and punishment. Some have lived their lives according to those beliefs. For those who believe in an afterlife, there is often a spiritual motivation linked with nature’s cycles of birth and death. They embrace the mystery with faith and decide there is no spiritual death, only a change in their immortal soul’s experience.
Of course, a lot of people say they don’t know what to believe. Scientific research on near-death experiences and other death-related phenomena continues to accumulate data to shed new light on discussions about life after death. Ultimately, people have to decide for themselves what they want to believe.
© Frances Shani Parker
In this KVVU TV video, three individuals, who believe they traveled to heaven during near-death experiences, explain what happened. Did they really cross over to the Other Side of Through? Was it real or a hallucination caused by an oxygen-deprived brain? You be the judge.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
