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I am in mourning as my 88 year dad with multiple ailments, including dementia, just passed about six hours ago. He had dementia for 10 years, but was dramatically worse when we brought him home from a rehab facility two months ago.
Due to the virus, and my slow acting in getting home hospice, he died in the hospital, without seeing us for the last three weeks.
Will his existence in the afterlife be free of dementia, or will his mental state be part of his new reality?
I am so sorry for your loss. I know it had to be difficult being apart from him in his final days. I truly believe that if we live an honest loving life, that when we move on to the afterlife, we will be free of pain and illness. I understand that others may think differently.
Knowing that my dear mom was free of her own pain from pancreatic cancer really helped me accept she was no longer with us. I can't imagine a loving God allowing the pain to last in the afterlife.
OP, all handicaps and ailments are associated with the physical body. So when people pass, it's their spirit that continues to live. Being free of the physical body, there's nothing to hinder it.
Your dad is happy (and probably relieved), where he is now. And don't doubt that he's watching over you, lovingly. He's still with you, though you can't see him.
Hey several people now dead I would like to have chat with them again, with them having full mental facilities they had in their prime. Thats the promise held out by many human religions. But in all honesty I highly doubt any afterlife. Except in memories of those still alive that knew them. Who knows, I could be wrong. Wont know until my death day comes. And not even then if dead is dead and I am just worm food. Unfortunately or fortunately that day is inching ever closer.
Hey several people now dead I would like to have chat with them again, with them having full mental facilities they had in their prime. Thats the promise held out by many human religions. But in all honesty I highly doubt any afterlife. Except in memories of those still alive that knew them. Who knows, I could be wrong. Wont know until my death day comes. And not even then if dead is dead and I am just worm food. Unfortunately or fortunately that day is inching ever closer.
I would suggest you make a pact with one of your closest friends or relatives, that when you pass, the conditions of that pact will happen.
I read some years ago that an elderly woman did this with a relative, and what she stated in the pact with her relative, happened sometime after her passing.
It had something to do with an object the deceased had hidden before passing.
The deceased told the living relative (not sure if this was through a dream, or actual spirit contact) where to find the object, and the relative located it after the deceased told the relative where the object could be found.
I have had a similar experience regarding a lost item, but it was not some sort of pact.
The spirit of my deceased partner showed me , through communication, where the lost item was.
Like I have told so many others, if you have never experienced a paranormal event, then chances are you would have a difficult time in believing they happen.
The afterlife is real, just as your human existence is presently real.
Many people experience something on a paranormal scale, and don't even know it.
I will give one example.
Have you ever driven your vehicle, and been distracted momentarily by something?
It may have been something you saw on a sidewalk, a store window etc.
You are fixed on whatever it is that distracted you, then suddenly you come back to reality just in time before colliding with something, or someone, and you are able to control the vehicle.
That is your soul with in, guiding you, and that is a paranormal encounter.
Most would never give this a second thought, but that is just one of many paranormal events that happen in our lives continually.
By design we humans have no recollection of our spirit lives.
We can only remember a past human existence, and that doesn't happen on a large scale.
The flip side of that is, spirits can, and do ,remember all their lives they have lived.
Due to his dementia, he probably thinks we deserted him since he was unaware of virus restrictions that prevent visitations.
I hope he understands now since the guilt is heavy.
Had I known he was this close to death, I would not have cancelled hospice just 10 hours before his passing. With a hospice order I could have visited him.
I did not want him to suffocate at home if a hospice nurse was not there at the moment since he needed periodic suction of fluid.
I'm very sorry for your loss. All any of us can do is tell you what our own faith or philosophical traditions tell us. I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and we believe our purpose now and in eternity is theosis, or deification: to eternally grow closer to a God who is infinitely beyond us. Which means it is a journey without a final end. This is a process we start in this life, but it will be our work in eternity. It's not going to be sitting on a cloud in a white robe strumming a harp. St. Athanasius summed it up this way: “God became man so that man might become God.”
Romans 8:21 promises that "... creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." Our bodies in the new creation will become deified as well, so any of these imperfections we're subject to will be no more in the sweet bye and bye. The church is silent on what our existence will be like before the resurrection happens, or the raising of animals like beloved pets (the Roman Catholics dismiss this possibility). One speculation I've read is that until the resurrection, it will be like a very vivid dream -- which seems like as good an answer as any -- and I happen to be one of those who believe there will indeed be animals in heaven -- that's how I read Romans 8:21 -- all of creation will be remade Somehow. Exactly how, we have no idea.
So yes, I believe your dad will be there for you, smiling and whole -- as will all the members of my family who have passed over the year. Take what you can of hope and comfort from what folks say in this thread, and don't let any negativity get you down. From The Apocalypse of John (Book of Revelations) 21:4, one of verses I turn to for comfort when I consider the death of those I've loved, and my own death:
Quote:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
I'm really sorry for your loss. The most important thing I hope I can urge you to do is to let go of the guilt. I am sure you made the best decision you could at the time. As none of us have a crystal ball, you really can't ask or expect anything more of yourself. If it is any consolation, just about everyone I know - all good people - feel bad or guilty about SOMETHING with respect to the loved one who has passed. Please don't do this to yourself, but try to focus on good memories of the past.
One consolation is that your father is no longer suffering and I hope this will bring you some comfort and peace. If you have any friends who have lost a parent, I urge you to get in touch with them to talk. That was of tremendous help to me when I lost my mother. I wish you all the best!! To better days ahead.
Unfortunately, orthodox western religion does not go into details and I think they let us down in this regard. If it is as they say, then they should know the details but it seems no-one wants to be too specific. However, there are a few religions which do give details in their Books of the Dead, but generally it is not the western ones.
Read some out-of-body accounts and see that those who go OOB often do meet up with deceased relatives and they are always fine. As some have said already, our body is but a 3D vehicle which we use to move about in this reality.
I have had many old and rusty cars in my lifetime yet I am not old and rusty myself. I left those vehicles behind a long time ago.
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He's still with you, though you can't see him.
