So far as I'm aware my parents have never believed in an afterlife. I remember asking my dad when I was very young what happened when we die, and he said there's nothing. And I was utterly shocked and dismayed.
So I was surprised when a few years ago talking to them in a pub they seemed very open to the idea of reincarnation. This might be just about the only time in my life I'd broached the subject of an afterlife with them. They had never really seem interested in talking about that sort of thing, or anything philosophical at all really. And they weren't interested in religion, although my mam said she believed in God (even if not an afterlife). When they'd previously rejected an afterlife, I don't think it was due to any strong feeling, just a kind of underlying supposition.
So where did my belief in an afterlife come from if not from my parents? When I was a child, it was just a deep feeling. I don't think I ever truly believed my dad when he said there's nothing. It was just a very deep feeling that there's an ultimate purpose to all things including our lives. I used to have a fair few experiences of psi too as a child, almost never have them now.
