Disclaimer: I’m not writing a religious post!
At church today, the priest spoke about suffering — “suffering is a means to life.” He also said, “death is not an end, life is changed through death, it continues.” The religious idea is that we are promised eternal life by Jesus.
I enjoy researching consciousness. In the last 90 days, I found articles theorizing that consciousness could be non-local — source. The idea is that consciousness may be some quantum entangled thing and it might persist long after our bodies die. I’m ultra-simplifying and robbing you of the nuance — for more, read the link.
Here, I have two ideas — one religious belief and one scientific theory. Both ideas point to the idea that our consciousness might/does survive our death. Perhaps this is where the ideas of angels or spirit guides come from? Maybe this is the experience we have when we believe our ancestors are talking to us? Maybe this is what our parents mean when they say “grandma and grandpa are looking down on you and watching over you.”
As I come to terms with the hospice situation of my dad, I experience comfort knowing that both ideas might be true. That death isn’t the end… it’s just a change. Nothing comes from nothing, everything comes from something… the end of one begins another.