Grief is Often Misunderstood by Religions

Healing from grief, is an illusion. In fact, personally I am of the opinion that you cannot heal from grief. It is a journey and an experience that requires integration. It is a normal aspect of life. Yet, it can be more difficult than you think. However, it is often worse when you are bound by expectations and perceptions of others; when the religion you follow is ignorant of grief and bound by dogma. I have lost count of the times that I have been approched by loved ones left behind who are suffering more because of the ignorance and lack of understanding from their church or religious order.

If you have never suffered the pain of grief, it can be hard to empathize with the suffering that someone experiences when the loss of a loved one is the only thing on their mind. No amount of frivolous statements offering plastic coated comfort can help. And to compound matters, your religious beliefs may preclude you from experiencing the reality of the continuation of life after death.

In some world religion teachings, it seems that a belief in the afterlife is not at the forefront, and the attitude towards death can often do more damage than good. When someone is not allowed to move through the process of grief and is forced to carry out a ritual that is not in alignment with the individual’s soul, damage can set in very quickly. The grief experience is often worse and healing is an even longer way off.

You must learn to move through grief

Grief is your greatest teacher

Hearing that you may not be able to heal from grief is naturally hard to accept but can be explained in a better way. Grief is part of life in this earthly plane of learning and understanding. It is an emotion that teaches us great lessons, such as love, divinity, compassion and above all – forgiveness. It is not something that you heal from but is an emotion that you must experience in order to learn lessons and to grow spiritually.

Grief, however, will always travel with you, but in time, it will become a part of you. Like a child who cries, you learn to comfort it through the conditional love that you show. As the child of grief becomes a part of you, your loved ones in spirit will be able to see through the fog that your grief created. They want to communicate and let you know they are well and around you. But if your belief is not in alignment, you create blocks and distance yourself from them.

When belief stops you from healing

When your religion or circumstance, including learned environments, have a tunneled vision of life, it is often quite impossible for you to experience any form of communication with your loved ones on the other side. Did you know that all they want is to show you they still live and are unhindered from the shackles that earthly life confined them to? If you could see how happy they are, if you could awaken to the loving messages they continually send you, then you would know that life continues and not be hindered by man’s weak perceptions that often do more damage than good. You can then progress toward experiencing and moving through your grief and learning what you need to learn a little faster.

If you follow a particular religion that places no emphasis on the afterlife, then you risk causing more suffering to yourself and others around you. Some religions such as Buddhism, Baha’i Faith, Bon, Atheism (sort of religious belief) and Confucianism, do not place much emphasis on the afterlife. Therefore, when someone experiences loss and it has a crippling effect, they are hindered from moving through the grief process in a way that could help them suffer less. When their loved ones try and communicate with them in the subtle ways of the soul, it often goes unnoticed and unnecessary suffering continues.

A grieving individual may not follow any particular faith and still have an unyielding fear of a life hereafter. This normally stems from ingrained beliefs from family members or through educational theories. Whichever way, this grieving person tends to suffer just as much as the individual who follows a particular faith.

Imagine Less Grief

Imagine if you will, not feeling the fear, loss and pain that comes when you can no longer see the smile on the face of your loved one, hear their voice or see signs of them around you. Imagine if that did not exist and instead, understanding that your loved ones can and do communicate with you.

Learning the language of the soul enables you to accept your grief, comfort your grief like your child and feel your loved ones as alive and vibrant as they were in their earthly life. The truth is, your loved ones do communicate with you. In the quiet of your mind, in the spark of your soul, exists the energy of love, the eternal bond that never breaks, that comforts you during difficult times. You need not suffer anymore. Allow yourself to move through grief. Do not be imprisoned by dogmatic beliefs.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press and has since joined the PDN group.