Signs from Loved Ones: Is there life after death?

Keeping an open mind, I believe we recognize signs from our deceased loved ones, if we accept that it is possible.

In the book Hello From Heaven by Bill and Judy Guggenheim, the authors collected more than 3,300 accounts of people who claim they have been contacted by a deceased loved one. Their book highlights fascinating to read ADC (after-death communications) and illustrates numerous ways spirit has connected with people.

Birds and Butterflies

In our family we have pretty much agreed that seeing a red cardinal is a visit from our dad.  I don’t see them as much here in Florida, but that is our sign.  For my mom, we got a bit trickier.  She sends us rainbows and white dolphins.

When the butterfly landed on my beer can and started sipping as I sat in a poolside lounge chair in Thailand on the first anniversary of Mike’s death, I took that as a sign that he was still with me. I visited a psychic medium a few months after Mike died and she told me that he sends me blue jays.  Sure enough, I used to see one fly in front of my car on my 3 minute commute to work every day. 

Because of their ties to the spiritual world, many people believe birds act as messengers from deceased loved ones or guardian angels. 

Dimes and Feathers

One common sign people mention is finding white feathers in odd places. Immediately after my husband passed, his cousin and mother started finding dimes in the craziest of places. They felt strongly that these were signs from Mike letting them know he is still with us.

My mom believed that the golf balls that kept showing up in her path in unusual places was a sign from her husband. I have a friend who finds unique stones shaped like hearts that she feels her dad sends her. When it happens more than a couple of times, you start to believe it too.

Number Sequences

Another common occurrence is noticing numbers that repeat over and over again. 11:11 is a particularly significant number that is believed to mean your guardian angel is nearby and wants us to focus on positive thoughts. Within numerology, a repetitive sequence or pattern of numbers that hold personal significance and may signal messages from our spiritual guides. Angel numbers are numbers that repeat like 222 or 333 and you actually take time to notice them

After Mike died, I kept seeing my birthday numbers on the digital clocks. I thought it was very odd that I saw it so often. When I went on my first date after being widowed almost two years, the handsome man I met (and later married) also shared my same birthdate! I felt like that was a sign we were meant to be together.

Along with numbers, house numbers and license plates or letters may also are be significant to someone looking for signs.

Dream Visitations

After a loved one dies, many people wish they could have a visitation in their dreams. It can be very comforting to hear from loved ones that they are Ok or to even just see them looking healthy.

I had a dream where Mike was visiting me at my cousin’s beach house in Connecticut where I used to spend my summers as a kid. My (deceased) dad was in the dream too and he told me that Mike could stay overnight but he had to leave in the morning. We camped out by the front door under my light blue bed comforter I used to have on my bed in high school. It was a nice dream, but he did have to leave in the end.

Hospice workers often witness that as people get close to dying, they begin to mention visits from deceased. Some of those visits happen when the patient is awake and these episodes have been recorded in Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ research on death and dying.

Electronic Devices

Some people believe the spirit realm may use electrical energy This includes telephone calls and interesting messages left. The phone rings and no one is there. Maybe the cell phone rings in a dream and the deceased actually speaks to you. Did that sound like your mom’s voice? Are our loved ones trying to get our attention?

Lights may flicker on and off. Kitchen appliances turn on at odd times. TV or the radio comes on and it sounds like someone called our name first. It’s not unusual for people to connect a strange electronic connection with a deceased loved one.

Smells or Touches

Typical scents that people notice include perfumes or colognes, soaps and lotions, or cigarette smoke. The olfactory after-death communication is something that is inconsistent with the environment. In fact, there is no visible sign of where that scent could be coming from.

People will often say they felt like someone touched them, but no one was there. This feeling of being touched or feeling like someone is in the bed often is witnessed between asleep and awake times. The fact that so many people talk about smells and / or tactile feelings makes me think it could be real and related to a message from beyond.

Songs

Everyone has a favorite song that brings us back in time to a familiar memory and time. Some songs have more significance than others.

On special anniversaries or moments when you may not be feeling so happy, a song comes on the radio that makes you stop. This year on the 8th year anniversary of Mike’s passing, that song “Hello” by Adele came on the radio which I had not heard in years. It was playing all the time 8 years ago and those haunting words “Hello from the other side…” It felt like a little message from Mike that day.

Psychic Mediumship Readings

I spent an amazing summer weekend with the Forever Family Foundation in Connecticut the first year after my husband died. I had a positive experience bonding with other people going through grief. Several certified psychic mediums did group readings and I was fortunate to have Mike come through with messages for me during those sessions. I trusted the Forever Family Foundation to have vetted the certified mediums who interacted with us during our weekend, however, be careful of wasting money on psychics with little spiritual experience or limited recommendations.

After the weekend, I bought a book by