Is there life after death?

I was recently reading a book called ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Colm Keane. The book deals with deathbed visions and near death experiences. I know some people think that when you die that’s it but I’ve always felt there was something else.

From a young age I’ve experienced ‘different things’. We used to live in a very old house in the UK and quite often a boy would stand beside my bed. He didn’t speak and I didn’t feel threatened, he was just there.

When I was 21 I had my tonsils out, it wasn’t known at that time that I had a bleeding disorder so I lost a lot of blood. I also was really ill after the surgery. I was at home in bed and I needed the toilet so I got up and opened the bedroom door. I was faced with friends and relatives who had all passed away. I wasn’t scared or anything but I didn’t know what was going on. I turned to look at my bed and I could see myself in it. I knew that if I left the room I wouldn’t be coming back. Needless to say I went back to bed. In a way I found this a very comforting experience.

My dad died in 2009, he’d been sick for a long time so in a way it was a relief that he wasn’t suffering anymore. He was in hospital when he died and I got a phone call to say he had passed away. I phoned my mother to tell her but got an answering machine telling me to leave a message, this happened twice but they don’t have an answering machine.

I drove to her house to tell her the news. As we sat through the night drinking tea and talking the dog was sitting beside my dad’s chair. The chair was creaking as if dad was sitting there. We also got an overwhelming smell of  cigarette smoke and the aftershave dad used to wear years before when he was well.

I’ve often felt dad was near me over the years, although not recently. Dad was a photographer and whenever I felt nervous about taking photos I would get a heat on my back as if dad was pushing me forward.

So those are just a few experiences that I’ve had, there are more but I don’t want this to turn into a book. What do you think? Do you think when we die that’s the end or do you think there’s something else?