MagiStream

Hey, everyone.

As you all may or may not know, I have experienced (unfortunately) a lot of familial death recently and in the last couple years. I apologize if anyone finds my approach insensitive, although I would also be interested in hearing your perspective as well.

I just kind of want to know how everyone feels about death, funerals, what you think happens, what you think should be done.... Discussion and analysis is something I accel at, so it comforts me. I just ask that everyone is kind and considerate in the discussion, as it is a very difficult subject for everyone and there is no right way to say goodbye to a loved one.

Below are a list of questions to get you thinking about the subject. Feel free to answer them, nor not. But I'll be answering them as well.

What do you think happens when someone dies? This is a much larger conversation, of course, but I mean for the point of this conversation. Do you believe their spirit is still around? Immediately gone to an afterlife? Reincarnation? Can they hear us shortly after death?
I believe in reincarnation, personally. But I also support the idea of a greater core of energy in the universe we all borrow from, and we just have to return it one day. So in a way I do kinda think that departed spirits can hear us.

What do you think SHOULD be done when you send off a loved one? How do you want to be sent off? (How do you think funerals should be conducted?)
I hate open casket funerals, honestly. Their body is just flesh now, and whatever made them THEM isn't there anymore. But the whole presentation of death emulating life is super disturbing to me. I can't look at dead bodies, not because they disturb me, but because I don't want that to be the last memory I have of a loved one. I want to remember them while they were alive. Not some creepy imitation of who they were.
I personally wanna be cremated and don't anyone dare look at a preened up, fake version of me. Ugh...


How do you cope or grieve about death?? How is your process different from others that you know?
I'm having a hard time answering that myself. I'll answer it later in this form eventually.

Love all of you for your support. Thank you~

--EDITED because I accidentally got drunk at Remy's Inn before posting this--

I think it is a great topic but maybe you could edit your post as per HoS rules? You typed it 'drunk'

Woops! Didn't realize this... O//o

Sorry. Thanks, Brad! lol

Editing now...

Hard subject and maybe that's why people are a bit squeamish to answer. Death isn't exactly a favorite topic for anyone. Still I think it is an important part of life and something we cannot be blind to as it happens to each and everyone of us in the end.

What do you think happens when someone dies?
I don't have a clue really! Nobody knows and those that claim to know give me red flag vibes.
That said I've had some paranormal encounters and have experienced some things in trance that make me doubt there is nothing after death. How it all connects though is a mystery to me. I have my beliefs but that's all they are; beliefs based on weird experiences. Not exactly hard scientific facts or repeatable tests I can show to anyone.
I have some past-life flashes but don't know whether I fully believe in reincarnation. I'm an animist and adhere to the wheel of life so maybe I will be reborn (human or non-human), maybe I'll join the ancestors or maybe I'll just be absorbed into the universe as a whole.

What do you think SHOULD be done when you send off a loved one? How do you want to be sent off? (How do you think funerals should be conducted?)
The most important thing for me is that the person is remembered. Good memories should be cherished and life happenings learned from; both positive and negative. What is done to the body (ie. cremation, burial etc.) is very personal and differs per religion. I do not believe that it all matters one bit and it should be solely left to the individual. The last wishes of the deceased should be honored where possible.
I have worked in the funerary business for a short time as a post-mortem caretaker and I always did my utmost best to not make the deceased look too alive, as that is just plain scary and not at all good for actual grieving, but simply natural and at peace.
As an artist I still get around the funerary business a little, painting coffins and urns and I take great joy in portraying both people and animals in this funerary art. With my partner we also restore monumental graves and this really makes me feel closer to these people and I just feel a sense of...I don't know peace.
Respect is the key word with me and hopefully the person working on me will do his or her utmost best to send me off the way I want to. For now I'd like a pagan burial in a "nature graveyard". Preferably underneath a nice big tree.

How do you cope or grieve about death?? How is your process different from others that you know?
I think psychologically my grieving is pretty much standard. Whether you believe in an afterlife or not you are still missing somebody bodily in the here and now. I probably differ in that rather than trying to contact the deceased for my own gain I try and help them 'cross over' in my own way. See if I can help them in any way so they find their place; where or whatever that is.