Hello Savanthar,

this is something I have thought about a lot. Since you are someone who believes in the afterlife as such, I dont have to go into why we can still have a soul even though it is not apparent if you get hurt a lot in the head (or have bad dementia of any kind).

I`ve come to these conclusions:

Either your soul is never hurt AS your soul, but since we are meant to live this life to the max in this body, you truly do feel the degeneration and get hazy and "lost" before death. Then, after death, your soul would be complete and healthy again (just like physical injuries are, I hear, cured), but you are so used to the dysfunctional state of mind that you cannot readily move on or "think yourself" into a better place because you have become unused to this kind of thinking. In this case, a retrieval or helpers will eventually get you and show you the way to a better place (or a place of healing?). Some things I read in Bruces` books seem to suggest that this is, indeed, the case - think of the old woman with Alzheimer that he helped retreive who still "sat" in the afterlife in "her" chair surrounded by the weirdness she had become accustomed to. The helpers took on the appearance of old-people`s-home nurses and helped her get on (although it is not said where she went, possibly only the helpers and she know).

OR you are healed straight away and resume your "normal" thinking and soul-life you had before you became too ill. While this seems an attractive option, I think the first option is far more likely since the spirit world seems to be shaped largely by your own thinking you have at the time of death.

OR, and I believe this will be true for some people, you have become one with the world-soul already before death by "becoming like the children". I sometimes wonder if these "mentally ill" old people who sit around quite happily and smile a lot and are gentle, but just are not "who we are used to" have not really just moved on to a different state of being which they will maintain (only better) once they have lost the physical body.

Or, indeed, there is no soul except what is contained in our physical brain, but in this case, this world is too sad a place to think about in the first place and it won`t help anyone to believe this.

Hope this could give you some positive paths to think

Christiane

Hi Savantha,

the idea that you outline above is beginning to be taken seriously by scientists. I can recommend Pim van Lommel's book 'Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience' which has just been translated into English. As a cardiologist who has been studying NDEs for years he goes into some detail (some of it is quite heavy !) about a possible non-material conception of consciousness which he feels is a more appropriate model for the NDEs he documents. There are many other credible scientists thinking along the same lines....

I have always loved the Car model, Ginny. Excellent. I always thought of the ego as the chauffer and that letting that chauffer decide where to go was the big mistake we seem to make much of the time. Even though we are the passenger in the backseat we can't take a back seat to our destination.

Beau

I believe emotional attachment will play a key factor. Say a supposedly sane fundamentalist is emotionally attached to his (or her) beliefs when he dies. Until he is willing to let go of his attachment he won't be able to seriously consider another viewpoint.

The same can apply to a person who has psychological difficulties.

A person with psychological difficulties might be able to move to a higher level faster than a fundamentalist, if despite his psychological difficulty he has an open mind and good heart.

Helpers can help spirits with open minds and good hearts, even if some of their thoughts are out of balance.

Dr. Who wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2010 at 8:14am:

I fully believe that mental illness ONLY exists in the physical body.  I think it's a breakdown of something in the physical body which deteriorates the filter/connection between the physical body and your consciousness.

The only reason it would carry over into death would be if you believe it does.  Apart from that, you would be absolutely free from any illness after passing. 

Just my two cents. 

Savanthar,

I don't know if this can bring much comfort, but the medications for various disorders (most can be attributed to brain chemical imbalances as far as I'm concerned) are helping tremendously in today's world compared with back in the 60's and 70's.

Have you been to I think it's called NDE.com?  Fascinating site.

Much love,

Ginny

Mental Illness is a pretty broad term. There are Illnesses and Behavioral Disorders. I think they stem from the brain and that once one is free of the body the bio brain has no influence, but that is not to say that the influence it had on the mind for all those years alive does not play a part. I would imagine that it certainly does and that might be a big reason there are guides to help one come to terms with the new situation.