Don't Forget Us, Say My Dead Friends

A couple of friends died recently, and now, one week later - I am wondering where they are.

Are they no place? Simply a pile of bones, void of spirit and consciousness.

Or do they still exist in a spiritual form? Capable of thought but without physicality?

Nobody is a true expert at God, the universe or the beyond.

Not the Pope.

Not the leaders of nations.

Nobody.

And so - in a sense, we are all experts with our own version of the afterlife.?

But I wanted to find out what the latest science can tell us, if anything. And I was shocked by what I've learned.

Critical care experts at the New York University Medical Center are pretty sure that death is not the endpoint. It is, in fact, a "process".

We've all heard the story that when a person dies, they see their entire life flash in front of their eyes. In fact, say the experts, what people actually experience are moments that reflect their "humanity" - incidents when they did wrong to others, or the contrary - when they were kind to others. There is no recollection of career moves or great vacations. Instead, it's all about human feelings - lost love, friendships, abandonment and emotional pain.

In effect, the research says we judge ourselves in those final moments, analyzing what kind of person we had become.

And, even more startling, the "person we had become" may not have originated from our brains. More likely, the brain is an intermediary - or a conduit to connect our physical life with something else.?

That "something else" can be called our soul, personality or the essence of who we are.?

It explains why the late Glen Campbell was able to sing his heart out, even with severe Alzheimer's disease. Or why people who were declared clinically dead and came back to life had thoughts while they were "gone". And it may even explain why people sometimes sense the presence of a loved one, long after they've passed (something that has happened to me).

The University doctors make the remarkable assertion that there may indeed be an "undiscovered entity" that goes beyond the mind. A kind of lingering existence that transcends death.

“Endings are not always bad. Most times they're just beginnings in disguise.” ― Author Kim Harrison

One of my friends had a brilliant mind. The other genuinely cared about people.

I can't help wonder if even now, the "brainy" one is doing his best to figure out why he's still coming up with ideas, or that my caring friend is showing empathy for people in pain - even though he, himself, feels none.??

Both are begging not to be forgotten.

Nobody on this planet, including the smartest among us, can make the claim, for certain, that there is no God, no "life beyond" and no eternity.

We don't have all the answers. And we need to be smart enough to acknowledge that.

Tonight, I look into the heavens and see a future where we'll all know the truth.

Until then, my friends are still around.?

Inside my heart, my memories - and yes, in God's arms.