Death and dying is seldom a cheery topic. Unless you believe that life continues on after the physical body is no more.
If you believed that when you die, all your hopes, dreams and aspirations die with you, life would have a lot less meaning and death would be something to fear. Everything you’ve spent your life working for would be gone in a moment, and so would you.
But if you believe—if you know—that dying is merely a transition from one state of awareness to another, it takes on a different meaning. As does life.
Life becomes a preparation to enter into this heightened state of awareness. Life becomes a reason to grow and learn, better ourselves and reach our full potential.
Spiritualism’s Teachings about Death
The religion of Spiritualism teaches that dying is a transition from being in the physical body to being in an ethereal or Spirit body. Spiritualism also teaches that an individual’s personality survives this transition and continues on living, learning and growing in the after life.
Spiritualism teaches that the physical body is the structure that houses the soul and is its vehicle for expression in the physical world. In death, only the physical body dies, not the soul.
The true essence of each person—our individuality—remains untouched and unchanged. Viewed in this light, death is not a loss of anything eternal. It’s merely another step on the journey through infinity.
Knowledge of Life after Death Through Mediumship
How do Spiritualists know that this happens? Through mediumship—by bringing messages from spirit friends and loved ones in which a medium can positively identify that person by name, description or event.
After this, there is little doubt that the personality survives death intact and ready to communicate.
In Spiritualist philosophy, death is also considered the doorway to an expanded outlook and a larger awareness of the totality of life.
In that sense, death is a necessary step in a person’s continued growth and development. It’s a release from the confines of the body and the limits of our finite minds.
The Transition of Death
Of course, even this understanding of death doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s a huge transition; and even the most enlightened Spiritualists go through the stages of grief—anger, sadness, loss, acceptance.
Spiritualism also teaches that we are all one. But this understanding also means that we are deeply connected to each other. Whether we are the ones dying or surviving we’ll still have feelings of loss, regret and remorse for all the things we have and haven’t done.
Just like a marriage, baby, new job or new house, death is a major life change—even if you firmly believe that you continue to exist and have an expanded awareness on the other side of it.
