DISCLAIMER: While The Meaning of Forever Project has taken an interest in the work of Dr. Mark Pitstick and his book Soul Proof; while we have posted stories of comfort by people who claim the ability to communicate with the departed, The Meaning of Forever Project does not endorse any type of mediumship, or other attempt to communicate with the dead. The purpose of The Meaning of Forever Project is to show those who are bereaved that they can let their loved ones go, knowing they continue to thrive in another type of existence. We do not seek to initiate contact with souls once they have moved on from this physical life.

When we began The Meaning of Forever Project to gather stories about comforting experiences with loved ones who have passed on, we had no idea how much had been written on the subject already, or on the larger question of life after death. Dr. Mark Pitstick’s book, Soul Proof: Compelling Evidence That No One Really Dies and How That Benefits You Now, caught our attention almost right away.

Pitstick, who says he has sat with many dying people, and that his credentials include graduate training in theology, clinical psychology and chiropractic health care, takes an evidence-based approach to the idea that life and consciousness continues independently of the physical body. Initially a skeptic who had seen one too many deaths he could not make sense of, Pitstick set out to answer, in a logically defensible manner, the question that has been with all of us since time immemorial: What happens after we die?

His conclusion is this: “Life is, most fundamentally, comprised of energy and light that is ever-changing, but never-ending. And that’s what you really are—an indestructible being of energy, light, consciousness, spirit.”

For Pitstick, knowledge that life and love continue after death of the physical body not only frees him from the sometimes-overpowering weight of grief over lost loved ones, it also enables him to live his life more fully because he is no longer afraid of dying.

This concept of freedom from fear is the underlying motivator of The Meaning of Forever Project. While the outward focus of our book will be on taking comfort in knowledge that our loved ones continue after physical death, we know that by taking this wisdom to heart, we can also release the innate fear of our own eventual deaths. And, as Pitstick says, this is when we find the freedom to truly live.

In the weeks to follow, Joan will be reviewing and summarizing a number of books in which people who have had near-death experiences describe other-worldly encounters of great beauty and comfort–and, how those experiences have affected the way they have chosen to live the rest of their physical lives.

In that spirit, The Meaning of Forever Project is also accepting stories about near-death experiences, particularly those that can show how the experiencer’s view of grief has changed because of it.

You can find out more about Dr. Mark Pitstick and his book Soul Proof on his website.

For more about the ever-growing list of materials Joan and Ruth are compiling, please visit The Meaning of Forever Project Home and Resources pages.

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If we accept the above as true, it’s not a stretch to believe that a loved-one who has passed into that next “stage of experience” continues to love those left behind and may, possibly, try to let them know.

Contributors to The Meaning of Forever Project have experienced just that: feelings of love from the person, or animal, who has died. They have been visited in dreams, in visions, through sounds, the appearance of articles that hold special meaning, and in many other ways. Some have had near-death experiences that, by showing how life continues after death, help them deal with the loss of those close to them.

In our previous post, a dream experience allowed a grieving mother to hold her daughter once again. Another contributor wrote of feeling both ecstasy and grief at the time of her mother’s passing; one described how her much-loved dog returned to her in a new body; yet another described how sounds and discovery of small articles demonstrated that her grandparents and her mother continued to be with her long after their physical bodies were gone.

The common thread in all these experiences is love, a love that lives beyond time and space, beyond the physical bodies of those who share it.

Harold Klemp writes that soul is the essential, animating part of every individual, that this essence within each of us can never die, and that its defining nature is love.

“…Soul, knowing of its divine nature, sees beyond the ends of eternity and knows It can never be extinguished like a candle’s flame,” he writes in Spiritual Wisdom on Life After Death.

 In her book Surviving Death, journalist Leslie Kean applied objectivity and scientific method to her research into the possibility of an afterlife. Here’s what she says in her introduction:

“While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature that are neither understood nor accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.”

Kean documents what she calls “after death  communications” (ADCs) in the form of “dream visits”, moving forms or apparitions, effects on electrical items, lights, voices, sounds and smells. She says these ADCs sometimes come as a shock because they are often unasked for and may occur for people who would never consider such things possible. Kean acknowledges that many people—including herself—are uncomfortable talking about these phenomena.

“Because they come and go quickly, and are rarely documented, ADCs are not evidential in a strict sense. Yet, these experiences can be the most potentially life-changing link to belief in survival for their recipients, because the messages can be so profoundly personal and specific,” writes Kean.

You can find both Kean’s and Klemp’s books listed on the Resources Page of The Meaning of Forever website.

So, perhaps that the dream you had—or the fleeting image you saw, the sound of a voice long gone from this earth, or the feeling your dear one was there beside you—was not just your mind playing tricks on you. It may be that it was your loved one saying in a manner meant specially for you, “I’m fine in my new life, and I love you as I always have.”

At The Meaning of Forever Project, we value and honour any experience you may have had with a departed loved one that has made you feel loved and helped you move forward in your grief. If you would like to share that experience with us, please do at themeaningofforever@gmail.com

See our website, Facebook page and previous blog posts to find out more about The Meaning of Forever book project.