All participants in a 2016 study (McCormick and Tassell-Matamua, 2016) described some form of personal growth from after-death communication (ADC) and spoke about a sense of spiritual reassurance, benevolence, a desire to learn and share with others, a sense of expanded awareness, a sense of purpose, and a shift in values and beliefs.
As after-death communication contravenes our day-to-day notions of reality, time, and place, it provides experiencers with a refreshed perspective of the world, our place within it, and our relationships to others. This in turn can assist in the process of resolving grief by diverting our thoughts away from those associated with loss of the bereaved and towards ongoing relationships and other life-affirming thoughts and processes.
Further aspects of personal growth following an ADC were an overwhelming loss or reduction in the fear of death and a strengthening of beliefs about the afterlife. A belief in the afterlife is associated with greater recovery from bereavement regardless of the cause of death (Parker, 2002).
A reduction or loss of the fear of death in turn is related to involvement in compassionate activities, higher levels of self-esteem, a deepening of spiritual focus, and belief that one is living a more meaningful life (Tassell-Matamua and Lindsay, 2015). These changes in turn can assist the bereaved individual with the grieving process.
References:
A full list of references is available in the Reference Material section.
- McCormick, B. and Tassell-Matamua, N. (2016). After-Death Communication: A Typology of Therapeutic Benefits. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 34(3).
- Parker, J. S. (2005). Extraordinary experiences of the bereaved and adaptive outcomes of grief. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 51(4).
- Renz, M. (2016) Hope and Grace – Spiritual Experiences in Severe Distress, Illness and Dying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Sanders, M.A. (2007) Nearing Death Awareness – A guide to the language, visions, and dreams of the dying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- Tassell-Matamua, N. and Steadman, K. (2015). Of love and light: A case report of end-of-life experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 34(1).
