Miriam was convinced that after her adult son, Brandon, died last year, his spirit had gone to hell. Brandon was an atheist and Miriam, a devout Catholic, was sure her son was lost. What made her ask for a session with me was she had seen my YouTube video where I had said that, upon their passing, all souls go into the light.
“How can atheists go to ‘the realm of the light’?” she asked during our Zoom session. Her forehead creased with worry lines. “How is that possible, when religion tells us atheists are destined to go to hell?”
I’m always hesitant to delve into religious beliefs during a reading, because I believe a person’s faith choices are their own. I never try to convince people that the Divine smiles on me more than anyone else, or one belief system is better than another to worship. Yet, at the same time, when someone asks me a question, I feel it’s my duty to speak my truth.
“Miriam, this is what I believe, and if it doesn’t sit right with you, feel free to reject it,” I began. “I don’t feel hell exists in the sense of it being a place of eternal torment. What I said in my YouTube video is that anyone – atheists, agnostics, and those who follow other religions – who lovingly performs unselfish service while living on planet Earth will make it to the realm of the Light when they pass into spirit.”
I began to sense the presence of a young man, and in my mind I had the image of someone holding a finger to his lips, as if going shhhhh. I assumed he didn’t want me to acknowledge his appearance – yet.
“Well,” Miriam said, “I know Brandon tutored high school kids in math. He had also been a Big Brother to several children over the years.”
It’s unfortunate that some people associate atheism with hopelessness, or feel a rejection of the idea of the Divine also means a rejection of life itself. In many, many situations, that’s not the case at all.
“What’s most important in our lives is how much love we give to others. When we perform acts of kindness, it raises our etheric spirit-body. When we do something to help others, we make the world a better place for everyone. Including ourselves. Many atheists do highly spiritual work by helping others.”
“But he didn’t believe in God,” Miriam sighed. “I just hate to think that when he died, his soul encountered nothing, and had nowhere to go.”
“Again, Miriam, this is just my belief, but I think that just because a person rejects the idea of a divine intelligence doesn’t mean that intelligence rejects the person.”
Then I explained an idea I’d heard, that when we pass into the spirit world, we are greeted by someone or something, depending on our spiritual beliefs and level of comfort. For example, a devout Christian might be welcomed by Jesus. A Jewish person might see Moses or a highly-evolved rabbi. And an atheist might encounter a friendly energy, a formless presence that helps put the new arrival at ease.
As Miriam remained silent, taking that in, I received a clearer impression of the young man who had come to me previously. He told me he had a good heart, and saw helping others as a way to help himself. But dealing with a painful skiing injury and an opioid addiction that resulted from it, proved to be too tough for him, and depression became the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Using gentle words, I described the spirit presence to Miriam, who acknowledged the information with tears and silence. I let her know that Brandon was in a good place, where he was working out his issues with the help and support of a friendly team. As the end of our session, Miriam clicked out of Zoom, and Brandon returned to his comfortable sphere of light.
If you have any questions or comments on this subject or on any other spiritual matter, feel free to write me. And please visit me again!