Recognizing Signs From the Afterlife

Some may say that the idea of recognizing signs from the afterlife is paranormal, metaphysical or just plain crazy. I used to be one of those people, until I lost my 24-year-old son. My thinking changed as I began to receive multiple and varied signs, which were far beyond mere coincidences.

These signs from my son have been an indescribable blessing which have helped me achieve peace and healing.

I believe our loved ones remain around us in spirit form and use whatever means of communication they can to help us move through our grief. I encourage you to be open to, and on the lookout for, signs your departed loved one may be sending. Don’t let a precious sign go unnoticed!

Signs May Come in Various Forms

Signs can come in many forms from dreams to living things or inanimate objects like coins, feathers, electronic devices, lights, songs, cars, meaningful letters/numbers or even rainbows. Living things can include butterflies, birds, flowers or animals. Some report feeling a touch, hearing their voice, or seeing their image.

Also, frequently the bereaved person will report feeling their loved one’s presence around them.

Distinguishing a Sign From a Coincidence

First, trust your intuition! Don’t allow your logical mind to talk you out of a sign. Second, ask: does it resonate with me? Perhaps trigger a memory or thought connected to your loved one?

Third, is the occurrence either rare, unusual or, if a living thing, go against the natural order? Fourth, is it accompanied by a thought your loved one may be communicating to you? Fifth, did you get chills while experiencing it?

My Son’s Signs Came Through Butterflies

Allow me to share some of the extraordinary signs I was blessed to receive and explain why I feel they were truly a sign and not just a coincidence. Since the signs I received were frequently through butterflies, I will start there.

Some Christian writers have used butterflies to symbolize Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The butterfly’s life cycle begins after hatching into a caterpillar where it crawls on a plant while eating and growing. When mature, it proceeds to the chrysalis stage where it shrouds itself in a casing for several weeks. In this stage it is seemingly “dead,” with no visible signs of life.

Eventually, a beautiful butterfly emerges from the chrysalis in its new life-form with wings and the ability to fly. In keeping with the Christianity metaphor, it goes from life to death and finally into a form of re-birth or “resurrection.”

The First Sign From the Afterlife

The first sign I had was at the graveside service for my son. Many of us were holding white balloons in honor of his 24 years on this earth. When the eulogy was complete, we stepped out from under the canopy and released them in unison.

At that same moment, a monarch butterfly flew under the canopy, over our heads and joined in the middle of the balloon
cluster as they floated upward into the heavens.

Why do I think this was a sign? The precise timing and unusual flight pattern added to the symbolism of the butterfly gave me no doubt that this was not a mere coincidence.

Butterfly Helped Me Relax

In the beginning of my grief journey, I was overcome with severe anxiety including a racing heart. One day I noticed an inexplicable sight while walking in our neighborhood. A small white butterfly caught my attention because it was wildly flapping its wings while sitting in the dirt.

As I stopped and stared in disbelief I “heard” the thought from my son, “Mom, calm down!” I then realized that the speed of that butterfly’s wings felt similar to my rapid heartbeat. Mesmerized, I watched as the wings gradually slowed and my heart simultaneously followed suit – appearing to stay in sync.

I began to feel lighter and calmer because I felt certain that it was a loving message from Kevin. I feel this qualified as a sign because it was an example of a living creature behaving abnormally combined with the thought from my son.

This Monarch is a Sign from the Afterlife

Another butterfly anomaly occurred a few months later as we were hiking on a trail by a little brook in Colorado. My husband and I sat down on some rocks to enjoy the view when we noticed a monarch flying back and forth three feet away while appearing to look right at us.

This odd behavior lasted for several minutes before landing in the dirt. It then began walking back and forth, continuing to stare at us. After ten minutes, and having captured our full attention, it flew away. Even my no-nonsense physicist husband could not deny that something extraordinary had just happened.

Again, due to the abnormal behavior from the butterfly and the time and effort expended to get our attention, we both felt certain it was instigated by our son.

The Blue Butterfly

A year later, while visiting a butterfly farm in British Columbia, I had attempted to photograph a blue morpho butterfly for over a half hour. This spectacular butterfly has an iridescent blue color on the top side of its wings but the bottom side is brown with black spots.

Every time it landed on a flower or piece of fruit it immediately closed its wings, showing the moth-like bottom side.

Exasperated, I gave up and told my husband of my frustration. At that point Joe silently asked our son to help me get a photo.
Ten seconds later that same butterfly flew over to us and landed on my husband’s cargo pants, opened its wings and kept them open for nearly two minutes while I took many photos and videos.

After the butterfly flew away Joe told me about asking for Kevin’s help. We believed this to be a sign for two reasons; the unusual behaviors making it vulnerable while while keeping its wings fully open on clothing for that length of time, as well
as answering my husband’s thought-request.

Be sure and look for additional articles in this series where I will describe various other types of signs our loved ones in spirit can send us.

Linda Zelik is a bereaved mother and author of From Despair to Hope: Survival Guide for Bereaved Parents (1): Zelik, Linda: 9781543968484: Amazon.com: Books

Read more by Linda Zelik on Open to Hope: https://www.opentohope.com/how-to-tame-the-grief-monster/