A few days ago, I had the pleasure of talking with a friend about a wonderful experience she had.  She gave me permission to pass this on.  During the last few months of her mother's life, she and her mother developed a ritual together.  She would massage her mother's feet.  While she did this, they would sing a few special songs that her mother had sung to her in childhood.  One of the songs was somewhere over a rainbow  At the funeral, she asked that this song be played.  As the family was leaving the cemetery, my friend looked up. In the sky, there was not just a rainbow but a double rainbow.  For this family, a rainbow now has a very special association. 

For many of us, our faith in God is what comforts us when someone we love has died.  That may also mean a faith in an existence after death or faith in a continuation of the “Soul”.  We hope that we will someday be reunited with that person we loved and lost.  We hope that they are not gone forever but have transitioned to another place of existence. Most all cultures have some sort of an after life, incorporated into their belief structure.  The early Egyptians had elaborate rituals to prepare the body for its journey.  Now, with the reporting of Near Death Experiences, we seem to have some possible proof. 

What happens, though, if you feel you have received a sign from your loved one?  Can you trust it to mean this person is okay?  Recently, there has been a lot of talk about After-Death Communication or ADC. An ADC is understood to be a spiritual experience that occurs when a family member or friend who has died, contacts a person directly and spontaneously.   Many of our members have been reading a book called Hello from Heaven by Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim.  Hello from Heaven is a study of the field of After-Death Communications.  The authors collected firsthand accounts from more than 3,300 people who believed a deceased loved one had contacted them. Their research was collected during a seven years period of time.  Because it has been mentioned so often on the site, I felt it was important to read this book and share a little about it.  I will make no claim as to its accuracy, nor is this an endorsement of the book.  However, I will say it presents a lot of food for thought.  Those who have read it, report that it was uplifting and hopeful.  They felt that it gave them comfort.  For some, it provided courage to face a terminal illness. 

As we've talked each week in our grief chat room, we've all mentioned our hope for personal signs that our loved ones are still with us.  If you read the message board, many people have included their experiences.  Certainly, my friend has no doubt that her experience was a sign. 

I wrote this article not to try to convince you one way or the other.  For all those who say those who have gone before us can reach us in dreams and visions, you will find others who say they are wish dream or visions. 

My personal belief is that some of these experiences are too coincidental to discount.  I do believe communication is possible. 

Six weeks after his death, my father appeared to me in a dream, it was an unforgettable experience, and it forced me for the fist time to think about life after death. 
--Carl G. Jung 

Whatever your belief, though, here is my caution.  Our need for confirmation is sometimes so great, that we can become victims of others taking advantage of our desire for hope.  Hello from Heaven does a good job of reporting what they acquired from their research.  There are sites on the Internet set up especially for After Death Communication.  Beware, please of a few things.  Anyone, truly interested in your welfare, will not ask you to pay to receive communication.  Also, be open to the addictive nature of trying to be reunited with your loved one.  If you get a sign, that is great.  Treasure that experience and hold it in your heart.  But if you spend your time searching, you aren't spending your time working through the grief.  You remain in the past and this can inhibit your journey to healing.