This question comes up a lot and the answer depends on the spirit.  Sometimes a spirit is ready to go and does not see the need to stick around.  Perhaps all of his friends and relatives have already passed.  But often, spirits do attend their own funerals.  Their reasons for doing so are often very personal.  But they generally involve the need to help loved ones cope with the physical passing.

My father’s friend, Pat, showed up in our house right after his passing, before his funeral.  One of the things he referenced was delight in the fact that the family did not “cheap out on him” with an aluminum casket.  He expressed happiness about the solid cherry one they chose for him.  He said, “Having an aluminum casket was like wearing plastic shoes at your wedding.”  A few days later my father attended the funeral and confirmed Pat’s cherry casket at the viewing.

During Pat’s visit, he brought through a younger brother that had passed many years before him.  The visit was two-fold:  Pat wanted to let his family know that he was happy with his funeral arrangements and he would be at the funeral.  In addition, he wanted his brother on the Earth plane to know that Pat was with his younger brother in the afterlife and that message needed to be shared with other family members, as well.

A very good friend of mine, John, passed after an arduous battle with cancer.  Within minutes of his physical passing, his spirit visited our home.  Like Pat, John wanted his family to know that he would be there with them at the funeral.  For the first couple of months after his passing, he visited with information for his family.  Of course, he conveyed his delight in the funeral. Hundreds of people attended and his wife had a DVD playing continuously in the funeral home lobby and halls with pictures of John and family and friends set to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

I delivered his information and requests, which included sending a dozen white roses to his wife exactly one month after his passing. John was a little more demanding in his requests than other spirits and because of our friendship, I could not refuse his requests.  But at one point I reminded him that he needed to move on.  He assured me that part of his task at hand was to make sure his family got through the transition of his passing.  My son had a toy camera that John liked to set-off each time he visited in spirit form.  John asked me to send to his wife. I did (with a tremendous amount of trepidation) mail the camera to his wife.  Seven years later, he still sets the camera off for her and uses it as a way to communicate with his family.

Spirits can attend their own funerals and often do so.  But even after crossing over to the other side, they always have the ability to come to our aid.  So you may want to think twice about not buying those pretty roses for Aunt Edna’s casket, even if she wasn’t your favorite aunt.  Rest assured that the funeral is never really the ending of our relationship with our loved ones.  It’s just the beginning to a new spiritual one with them.  Our loved ones are only a thought away.

Love and light,

Anysia