Life After Death - Mediums, Ghosts, Heaven or Nothing?

I remember years ago, reading books by Doris Stokes, who was quite a famous medium, I believe…

I think she was outed as a fraud.

Germanshepherdsmum

I think she was outed as a fraud.

Yes, I thought so too.

I've told this story on here before, but I'll repeat it for those who haven't read it.
I worked as nurse in charge of the night shift in a nursing home.
One night, while having a break, a carer from the floor below came up to ask me a question. While we were talking she said that a man was standing behind me. She described my maternal grandfather exactly as I remembered him. She even told me that his hair turned white by the time he was 40.
I couldn't wait for morning to come so that I could go home and ring my mother and ask her.
She told me that my grandad was 40 when she was born and she only knew him with white hair.

I might be a bit strange, because I don't believe in 'life after death' as such, but several things that I have experienced in the past have led me to consider that the past and the present might somehow overlap at times, either fleetingly or over an indefinite period of time, leading to encounters with what we could only really describe as ghosts.

I do have a church background which very much frowned upon to speak of anything like this.

Never seen a ghost (and don't want to!) but a weird thing happened after my mother-in-law passed away in her own home and two days later there was such a strong smell of her perfume being Tweed which she always used and the smell was in my bathroom. Just couldn't work it out, didn't like Tweed personally but very odd and weird.

A friend did see a medium who knew details she could not possibly the known, friend came out as white as a sheet, tragedy was foretold and it happened. Her husband had cancer and died young, whether you believe or not I do not want to know in advance of tragedy and having to worry about it.

I’m not sure about any afterlife but if there is one I want to come back as a man, I’ve done the woman thing and want to find out what I’m missing.

I grew up thinking elderly relatives could speak with their dead relatives. Gt gt grannie and her daughter, my great aunt were mediums.
My dad didn’t go with any of that but his strong Christian faith sustained him. He believed in an after life. Mum more of a pick n mix, no doubt her dna link to those mediums played a part. She believed in reincarnation, much in the Buddhist tradition

My youngest daughter saw a medium in India, abiut 10 years ago on her gap year travels. This Indian medium told her a lot of detail about our family he couldn’t possibly have known

I don’t know but occasionally I feel the presence of my husband strongly

I do believe in the afterlife although I know, to many, this is illogical. Have never seen a ghost or experience any feelings of a presence but have experienced a few very odd experiences following the deaths of DH and my dear Dad.
A few weeks after DH died very suddenly and only in his early fifties a dear friend convinced me to go out for lunch and we then visited a second hand book shop - rickety staircase, thousands of books, endless book shelves. The books were almost without exception stacked so only the spines were visible (so they could store as many as possible I imagine) but on the first bookcase there was one book placed so the front cover was showing. The book was called the same name as DH (not a very common name) and there was a drawing of a dog under the name (DH absolutely adored dogs).
A few weeks later, whilst driving across to visit my friend, I was very upset and still reeling from the loss of DH. I decide to stop the car as I approached the crossroads to give me a chance to calm down and decide whether to turn back or carry in with the journey. A few seconds later I wiped my eyes and the car facing me at the crossroads had a personalised numberplate - my husband's name. I know both could have been coincidences ...
Also other incidences Including one involving my toddler grand daughter. She has always gravitated towards one photo of late DH even though I have several different photos of him and others on display. It was taken not long before he died. If I moved it she would find it and wander round holding it ( this started when I moved house and she was about 1 Yr old). I told her once it was Grandpa, kissed the photo and put it back, thinking no more of it. She only has a few words - Mama, Dada, all done, etc but she does say grandpa which is odd as apart from the first incident with the photo his name wasn't really mentioned. Every time she visits she gets the photo, carries it round, says grandpa and kisses him. A few weeks ago I was changing her nappy on the wide window shelf and she was standing up looking out of the window when she started waving. Very clear view of drive and absolutely nothing there ( we live at the end of a private drive in the countryside). I said "who are you looking at? There's nothing there." and she turned with a big smile and said "Grandpa" before turning back and waving. Who knows? Maybe she could see something I couldn't - I would love to think she could.

I have seen 2 ghosts, one was a man I knew of but had died before I met him. The second was a friends cat that had died.
When my granddaughter was about 5 she asked my daughter if she would be her mummy the next time she came here
One day we were all walking along our seafront when the same granddaughter casually announced that she had died out there( pointing out to the estuary)
The funny part is, she is the original water baby. Never happier than when she is in the water.

Not quite the same thing but..... we got our puppy exactly a year ago, from the very first night she slept all night with the exception of one night. She woke us up at 4am, my husband got up to her and my phone rang within a couple of minutes to say a very dear friend had died that evening. My friend died suddenly, she had not been ill. I find this very odd.

Agree with Baggs, also think there are a lot of fake mediums etc out to make what they can. Nothing in nature is wasted we go on some how even if it’s as star dust.

Shinamae

I remember years ago, reading books by Doris Stokes, who was quite a famous medium, I believe…

This..

I believe that our energy survives physical death and I do believe in "ghosts". I have had a number of strange experiences over the course of my life, one of which I will never speak of.

This is a ‘past lives’ one.

A friend and her family on holiday visited a site of Greek or Roman ruins where none of them had ever been before. The little grandson was only about 4, had yet to start school. As soon as they entered he said, ‘I used to,live here!’ and went on, very happily, to point out the remains of his house, and his friend’s house - he even gave a slightly garbled but appropriate name for him - and the pool (bath) where they used to swim, and the cave where they used to hide.

Needless to say, the rest of the family were seriously spooked!

When they left, he said, ‘Thank you for bringing me home!’

Within a year or two he had no recollection of the incident at all.

When I worked in a theatre we used to joke about the ghost in the cellar who used to turn the beer off. It certainly seemed to get switched off at inconvenient times, when no one had been down to the cellar. One night when we had a dance in the theatre my friend took some photos. In those days they had to go away to be developed and when she got the prints back one of them had a strange, white, vaguely human looking shape among the dancers. She asked the man who developed them about it and he said he couldn't explain what had caused it. Of course we thought there must be a simple explanation, but you couldn't help wondering.

Witzend

This is a ‘past lives’ one.

A friend and her family on holiday visited a site of Greek or Roman ruins where none of them had ever been before. The little grandson was only about 4, had yet to start school. As soon as they entered he said, ‘I used to,live here!’ and went on, very happily, to point out the remains of his house, and his friend’s house - he even gave a slightly garbled but appropriate name for him - and the pool (bath) where they used to swim, and the cave where they used to hide.

Needless to say, the rest of the family were seriously spooked!

When they left, he said, ‘Thank you for bringing me home!’

Within a year or two he had no recollection of the incident at all.

I've never forgotten you telling us about that before Witzend. It really is seriously spooky!

It’s probably a comforting thought for many but personally I believe there is nothing after death but the memories you made with others.

I believe in an after life, having lost my first husband in an accident and a best friend to cancer both far too young. Both came back in very real dreams which I have never forgotten. I have also felt my mother’s presence twice. The first time when I was very sick and the second time thanking me for something very personal to her that I had done the previous day. My father made his presence felt a few days after he died. It’s very comforting.

I've always been quite spiritual. I grew up in an old Victorian vicarage (a house my parents bought from my great uncle before I was born). As a teen I was convinced it was haunted. I could never walk up the first flight of stairs, only run - convinced I would be chased. I just didn't like being downstairs on my own. There was a small landing in the middle which I was always relieved to arrive at. I recall waking up to see a human form, dressed in black, leaning over looking at me. As much as I never felt threatened, I always felt there was something around. I've always had the feeling that someone is looking out for me. If I can't find something, I'll suddenly think to look in a random bag or place and there it is. Silly as it may sound, I'll always thank whoever might have helped me.
As much as I say I'm not religious, I wonder if there is something "on the other side". I absolutely believe in ghosts - too many things have happened to me for there not to be "something".
I went to see Derek Acorah many years ago and thought he was the biggest fraud (as he was ultimately found out to be). He told people in the audience they had a bad knee, when they very visibly had a walking stick with them. Or they had bad eyes and were wearing glasses. He was famously outed on Most Haunted when an anagram of a name he produced spelled something like "Fake Derek Acorah". I have also seen Derren Brown who is an absolute MASTER of illusion and mind games. If you ever get the chance you really should go and see him.
That said, I have had a friend who went to a spiritualist church and had a reading..She was told a friend called Seawoozle was in a tricky place, needed some guidance and that her grandad was watching over her, singing a particular song, which I forget. I called my parent but they poo-pooed the idea. Who knows what's out there, but I've had too many "out there" experiences for there not to be something.

And after my adopted grandma died (an elderly lady who lived in the village I grew up in, who didn't have grandchildren of her own) I very definitely heard her voice one night as I was in bed, not long after her funeral, saying "tell Rosie the flowers were lovely".

I love Derren Brown.

MissAdventure

I love Derren Brown.

Have you ever seen him live? He really is something else. He's amazing. An incredible artist too.

No, I haven't ever seen him in person, but he absolutely fascinates me.

I love anything to do with magic, mind games, hypnosis, and always have done since I was a small child.

I used to tell my mum about the ghosts in our house, apparently, too.

Funnily enough, OldandProud, the friend whose grandson it was (he’s a teen now) also has a nephew who used to come out with the most extraordinary things when he was very small. His parents used to ask him how on earth he knew whatever it was - they couldn’t understand it.

He would just reply, quite unconcerned, ‘Oh, I learnt that when I was here before.’
But again, after about 5, it all stopped.

Another one - a BiL was married to a Singaporean Chinese and when one of their (now adult) daughters was 3, my dd was staying with them in Singapore and pushing her on a swing.

The child started talking about the house being on fire, and her daddy being very ANGRY!.
Dd was startled and concerned to say the least, since BiL was always so utterly laid back. So she said, ‘I’m sure your daddy would never be angry like that!’

3 year old said (as if dd should have known!), ‘No, not that daddy, I mean my other daddy, before.’

Singaporean SIL thought nothing unusual in all this, said she’d come out with similar before. But again, nothing after 4 or 5.

Apologies if I’ve posted all this before!