I personally have had so many things happen to me over time that I have no problem believing that there are other planes, very close to ours, but difficult for almost all of us to detect. I believe that we are only separated by something like thin veils from these planes. I also think people who can perceive these things are probably tasked with something very precious and important: Keeping human beings accountable, and reminding folks there's very likely something that follows this life. But whether it is simply leftover electric energy or something intelligent and able to act meaningfully, I couldn't say.

Nobody has ever shown up in my livingroom and announced there definitely is a heaven, hell, or purgatory, either. Or whether the correct religion to follow is any one particular choice. So I can't advise anyone, there.

My Mom was a believer, and accepted it as natural and normal for spirits to visit or linger; Dad was a scientifically minded skeptic about everything he couldn't categorize or quantify. So I suppose I have just a bit more of my Mom's easy acceptance of it all.

(I will add: I'm much more skeptical of say, UFO phenomena, as that is much more easily attributable to human activity. Cryptids, the same. I am not an across-the-board paranormal enthusiast. As I mentioned, I have never gone looking for anything but possible explanations for what's happened to me.) That is not to say people haven't had valid experiences! I've just had fewer exposures to events in these other fields. I can only ever speak for myself.

And I haven't seen a difference in the number of my experiences, based on the changing phases of my illness. I know hallucinations, auditory and otherwise, can happen with some forms of brain disorders. But the experiences I've had remained fairly consistent over many years, whether I was sick or well. Most have been completely benign, like the cigarette smoke incident.

And these days, the encounters I have feel more comforting than anything else.