You may not receive a lot of replies here because folks here don't really like to answer these kinds of questions, but do love to explore their own philosophical points of view. Generally, people are encouraged to try to find their own answers, to explore and to see what kinds of insights they receive on their own. But, I will oblige you with my own points of view, which are not very spectacular, but just how I see it right now.

1) Sometimes we remember our lives here. But, sometimes we become immersed in experiences which are beyond those which we have here, which consume us, and teach us about very expansive emotions and ways of being which seem very "far out" from this earthly perspective. We are not always fully focused on what we have experienced here, but it is recorded for all eternity. That seems like a scary thought until you realize how much actual love, and I mean LOVE there is, in reality, so that there is more than enough to contain all possibilities and all outcomes.

2) Our actual friends and family greet us. They are in an expanded state in other ways, but when we are greeted by them, they are who they say they are.

3) I do not believe we are forced. I believe we have reasons to be here, whether we remember them or not at a given moment in time.

I cannot tell you exactly why I believe these things, but I think the evidence speaks for itself, in many places, from what I have gathered.

Yvvak wrote on Jan 30^th, 2014 at 8:09pm:

I think that once you truly "arrive" on the other side your entire life from birth to death will be available for you to review. The circumstances of your review, I do not know, but I believe, from numerous near death accounts and other types of information available, clearly a record exists which is so detailed that you would be amazed, and you can step into any part of your life which is meaningful at the time and, not only relive your memories, but also understand exactly how you affected other people around you, as if you were actually living in their memory.

It is my understanding that we, as souls in the afterlife, can access this information, but the "rules" of how that takes place, I don't know. There is also a lot of other information which is stored in some kind of archival fashion, and some people who come back from near death experiences state that they were gifted with incredible amounts of information, all at once, but were unable to bring it back with them to this earth plane.

I believe that our restrictions here are for reasons which we will remember when we return to our afterlife homes and that the challenges here serve a purpose. Additionally, records indicate that, once we return, it seems as if we were only gone a moment. And, further, records indicate that the "real" spirit which is us is already there, and that this life is somewhat like a preplanned event, a sort of movie that we are participating in, but that we also have a certain amount of free will involved. Certain events in our life are "meant" to be. This is not something many of us generally learn as we conduct our lives here, which I think is unfortunate.

It is also stated that there is not only this world, but many other environments which we can learn from. Perhaps some souls never leave the place that we call the afterlife to come here, and others never return to this place, but the possibilities for growth and further experience seem endless and exciting to me. It is said that some people reincarnate several times in a row closely together because they can "finish" learning a few things they wanted to know.

It is also said that if we wish to rest, that's exactly what we can do. We can sleep, we can revisit favorite experiences and places, we can be alone or with others, etc. etc. The more I find out the more incredible it all seems, and wonderful. But, it does also seem that we have a job to do here, a purpose, so I want to stick around to see what the whole story is, at this point in my life.

Hi,
As for your third question about reencarnation, I think it is not "a choice" but a energetic pull back to Earth if your Higher Self/your I-There/your Soul is not sufficiently developed and still have attachments of any kind to this physical reality on Earth. The attachments are not necessarily material, usually they are B.S. (Belief Systems) and of emotional nature.
If you don't want to come back here, start working NOW in developing a higher connection with the Source and preparing yourself to leave this place for good.
Good luck... that is the Original Plan nevertheless.

Yea, I guess I did sort of cop out on these questions. I appreciate everyone's answers, but it does seem like the best option would be to find them out on my own. Still, it's nice to see where everyone stands on the situation.

recoverer wrote on Feb 4^th, 2014 at 8:28pm:

Hi Don-

You said-

Emanuel Swedenborg and Robert Bruce (state) that memories go dormant soon after death.  ES adds that God occasionally restores memories temporarily to aid spiritual progress.  At such times, a short window seems to open up for ADCs, as souls recall their loved ones. 

I'm reminded, however, that Bruce was able to contact his deceased engineer friend Ed Carter for many years after Ed died.  During those years Ed was helping Bruce develop his afterlife communication device (for board members who may not recall this, Bruce was working on a telephone system that would enable anyone to literally call up a deceased friend or loved one just as we call someone now).

Hopefully Bruce will let us know how long he was in contact with Ed before the communication was no longer possible.

Also Bruce was able to contact RAM after his death, and I recall that it was also for an extended period of time before contact was lost.

So maybe circumstances vary.  I think for most of us, we seem to get some kind of ADC but only for a relatively short time. 

R

I too do not agree that the explanation for how few ADCs most people have shows we lose memory in the afterlife.  I think we have many communications at a subliminal level for which we are not aware in a direct sense.  We may be guided to take a walk or follow a hunch.  The hunch may be given to us by a loved one.  Perhaps few people get a face to face chatty communication, but guidance comes in many forms. 

Also, I believe we have free will, and our memory will persist if we choose to remember.  Much of the "play" of of life, the characters, actors, etc. are unimportant in the astral.  Earth is a place to experience separation and a different existence, but it is doubtless not the focus of people in a spiritual plane. 

There are innumerable accounts of people descrbiing indirect guidance, synchronicities, etc. that they believe are from deceased relatives.  Granted these are difficult to verify on the earth plane, but perhaps earthly verification is not the point. 

Belief in separation, loneliness, ego - these are all things we lose as we learn about love.  Why then would we want to involve ourselves with the earthly karma or interactions of our loved ones?  We can't live their lives for them, for if we could, what would be the point?  We may be there to guide them, but any insight must be theirs and theirs alone.   Would we warn them if we could about disasters?  I'm sure we would - if our thinking was based on the earth plane alone. 

What is it like when our consciousness expands to the astral and sheds the body, and earthly ties to our ego?  How does that affect us?  What if any etheric restrictions, laws and restraints are there on communication with those still in the physical plane? 

More questions than answers.  But for myself, I tend to disbelieve that our earthly memories go dormant.  In fact, Swedenborg mentioned only those things go dormant for which there are no spiritual correspondences.

M

Houdini had his own ego, issues and path.  His lack of return to the physical plane is not an indictment against spiritual memory for the masses.

The reception of an afterlife communication likely involves factors from both parties, namely that the incarnated person in the physical world is receptive to the communication and open to it, that their belief system does not block them.   Then the person in spirit must do their part as well.  I can envision multiple reasons that clear communications do not occur.  It has been likened to trying to get the attentionof some standing behind a 10 foot wall of thick frosted glass.  You might be able to make out a silhouette, or hear a muffled sound.  How frustrating.  Yet some  ask why we don't hear more often from the deceased. 

Robert Bruce's experience is his own.  Filtered by whatever his beliefs are, and his interpretation of what he learned, heard or saw.  I mean that as no slight. 

Just to say that to generalize and say "ah yes, well Robert Bruce or ES say our memories go dormant after a little while when we die, so that is as it must be.." seems odd to me.  There have been accounts of ongoing communications from the deceased to others spanning years.  One worker on a communication machine lasted years, and the account was posted on this forum. 

So I think the knowledge about memory in the afterlife is not quite known.  I suspect if we are tired to the earth plane and our loved ones and events, we may retain memory.  But that is my gut talking.