Me: Erik, guess what we’re going to talk about today?

Jamie (giggling and mimicking Erik stroke his chin like a professor in deep thought): Uh, the afterlife?

I detect a “Dur” in that.

Me (excitedly): Yes! Oh my gosh. How did you guess that? Of course you know these things. Uh. Erik?

Erik: Yes.

Me: Do you create your own afterlife?

Erik: That’s partially true, but not 100% true. That’s like saying do you create you own life. Yep, you do because you have free will and you make your own choices, but there’s some thin web of energy that helps you stay within a certain structure. So mostly, yes, but…

Me: So, how do you create it?

Erik: A hell of a lot easier than on Earth.

Me: Do you somehow form it or prepare yourself for the afterlife while you’re living? Because some people who believe in Hell or think they’re going to have to battle demons before they get through them pearly gates (I say with my best Texas drawl).

Jamie laughs.

Erik: Yes, actually. Your beliefs that you create on Earth helps shape your entrance into the afterlife.

Jamie: Mm, he’s giving me a weird picture of when you turn on a faucet and the water comes out of it, but you turn it down really low, the water from the head of the faucet mostly stays connected, then starts to separate and turn into drips.

Me: Mm hm.

Erik: As you’re transitioning there’s—

Jamie (to Erik): Did you say “thicket”?

I laugh, not knowing where this is going.

Jamie: “Thicket of time”?

Erik: There’s a selection or time or a short window in your transition where you’re still maintaining a lot of contact to the faucet. You’re not streamlining. There’s no separation. You’re still holding on to ideas and concepts that you would have maintained or created when you were living. You kind of react as though you were. But then you get so far away from the faucet that you start to separate, right? You’re still you. You’re still water. You’re still the same water that came out of the faucet, but you’re not connected to the faucet anymore or the pipes or the structure of that life.

Me: Okay.

Erik: So, what you believe will play out during your crossing, but it’s almost inevitable—

Jamie (to Erik, giving him a thumbs up): Nice words today!

Me: Yeah!

Erik: I’m trying. It’s almost inevitable that you begin to question your environment, your surroundings, and you become more connected with, uh, let’s call it the “reality” of what the afterlife is. So, you don’t get to shape the whole damn thing, but you’re definitely in full control of your own transition.

(Pause)

Jamie: Oh, he’s still chattering.

Erik: It can be the tunnel of white light, lights on/lights off, dream-like. Whatever your crossing takes shape as is something that you’ve created for yourself—for you to experience in that way.

Me: Okay. Now, what is your afterlife like, our personal one? I know everyone has their own different afterlife, but Erik, what is your afterlife like? Can you describe it in great detail and not just one sentence?

I tease him because sometimes he doesn’t give me what I need—just one-liners.

Erik: Fuck! Does my mom know me well, or what—telling me to say more than one sentence?

Jamie and I giggle. Yes I do.

Jamie (still laughing): He’s just mouthing off a little bit.

Erik: Okay. Okay. What my afterlife is like. I still have my home where my family is on Earth as my home base. That’s where I go back for comfort and go back to check in. This is not true for every spirit, but this is the way I like to work. And I spend a bit of time learning how to interact with people on Earth to help them learn more about their life by showing them more about spirituality. You know, it doesn’t even have to have the word “spirituality” attached to it. It’s just helping them learn more about their perspective on life.

Jamie: Really?

Erik: Yeah. I like that one a hell of a lot better. Stick with that one.

I guess he thinks the word “spirituality” might turn people off.

Me: All right. Will do. Now, when you say you have this home base, is it a mock-up of your original home here? How do you create that?

Erik: It’s not a mockup. I go there. To the house.

Me: Oh. I thought you created your own afterlife house.

Erik: You can, yes. You can create pizza; imitate the taste and smell of pizza. You can recreate a career or a passion. You can do all of those things and more. There’s more opportunity where I am than on Earth. But no, I didn’t’ create my Texas home in Heaven.

Me: Okay. Tell me more about what it looks like, what your surroundings are like, etc.

Erik: Well, I spend a lot of time with the people who are connected to the blog—

Me: No, no. What does it look like, Erik? Trees? Meadows? Or… (Pause) Gas stations?

Erik: Woman!

Jamie lets out a big guffaw.

Erik: I was getting’ there! Since I spend a lot of time with the people who are engaged with our story and our blog, I spend a lot of time transcending space and time.

Jamie laughs. He sounds like Superman.

Jamie: I laughed because the way he said it was like, “Ah, ahhhh.” Very glorified.

She and I chuckle. So does Erik.

Erik: So, I spend a lot of time transcending space and time, and I don’t spend quite the amount of time of what you might think of as “sitting in Heaven.”

Jamie: He does these air quotes.

Erik: There are buildings, grass, landscapes, trees. Color. Color everywhere. Colors you’ve never seen before mixed with other colors. Swirls and dotted and effervescent.

Jamie (to Erik): Nice! Effervescent!

Me: Do you have a thesaurus with you, Erik?

Jamie (joking): I think he has a dictionary in his hand.

Oops, that’s what I meant.

Jamie licks her finger and turns a fictitious page.

********************

Dear Reader,
The journey on which you’re about to embark will take you through stories that are deeply personal and involves a relationship between a mother and her son.
As a physician raised by two atheists, I had no personal belief system about life after death. In a word, I was a confirmed skeptic. As my journey progressed, my mind opened. It is my sincerest hope that yours will open as well and that you will have a greater understanding of your own life and what’s to come ahead.
Although Erik sometimes paints a rosy picture of the afterlife, time and time again he stresses that suicide is not the answer to one’s problems. If you struggle, please understand that the information in my blog and my book is no substitute for professional help. Please click here for a list of resources for help when you find yourself considering taking your own life. Know that they are readily available when you feel that hopelessness and despair that many of us feel from time to time in our lives.
I refuse all donations and ad revenue on the blog. It is my dream to one day establish a nonprofit organization that delivers a variety of spiritual services for those who have lost loved ones to suicide and cannot afford that assistance on their own. It’s a mission of love, sacrifice, and dedication.
Love and light,
Elisa