Hi I.AM.THE.END, I've been following along with your thread for a few days now and I wrote a comment a few days ago and I accidentally pushed the forward arrow and lost it and I was like "Dratz!" lol but I'm going to rewrite the thoughts now so here goes: I believe you are correct in your assessment that your brothers' spirit is present with you in your own body/mind/psyche and I'll tell you why.

First off I'd like to say that I am a recovering fundamentalist to set the stage for my mindset here:

In families it is often said, "You have your Grandfather's eyes, your Mother's nose, your sisters' vivacious spirit" etc. I DO believe that reincarnation is true, but I also believe that we are not alone in ourselves. Have you ever had a conversation with yourself (silently) and then YOU answer yourself? Who is that speaking to you? It seems that it is a separate entity, but then again one that can be so compliant, agreeable, or quiet at times that we doubt it could be anyone else but us? Then why does it sometime disagree with our own thoughts, or come up with something that never crossed our minds previously? You know what I'm saying? It seems possible that these are our ancestors' spirits/consciousness that are eternally connected with our own, and with the lack of a physical vehicle (body) they remain with us. A theory, but it does seem to have something there.

I have felt "presences" all of my life on and off, and especially now that my brother passed on in 2009. I, like Winter4Me, believe that my son could likely be the reincarnation of my brother Aaron. My son Judah was born in 2011, 2 years after he passed. I also have 2 older children who were born before he passes that he met and he was part of their lives. Grief washed over me and I was lost as lost could be. I named this son Judah. I did not begin believing that he was somehow related to my brother spiritually until he started walking and talking. The resemblance is uncanny within their personalities. My brother used to always pretend to be a puppy (when he was little of course) and my son does the same. Sometimes my son says things that just make me think, what? How could you be so like someone you have never met? Nor does he have the mental capacity to understand that I had a brother before he was born etc. He is a joy to be with and I am so grateful to be his mother. Be that as it may, my husband and the Father of my children has also noticed this phenomenon and commented, which is rare and out of character for him to believe such 'ridiculous' things, and even go so far as to suggest them. We cannot get past the striking similarities. Perhaps it is true, although unknown with certainty, that spirits indeed travel to Earth together and undertake this human existence together, especially families.

I have been studying Near Death Experiences and overwhelmingly that is what is being reported from the other side: that this is not only possible, but common. I take things with a grain of salt but if the shoe fits, wear it my dear. I think the comment I had written the other day was more spot-on but I hope you can decipher this jumble anyhow and perhaps it can add to our understanding. Best of luck on your quest for truth my friend.