What Happens When You Die?

What happens when you die?

When you die, you die. That’s it. That’s the end. You lose consciousness, you lose everything.

What a sad thought. You must be afraid of death then, if you think it’s the end of your existence.

Sad, yes, but it’s the truth. I’d rather be honest with myself for the sake of the truth than lie to myself to try to make myself feel better. And I guess I do fear death. I don’t think of it often as I find it useless to do so, but it is scary to think that this life is all there is, that when I die, it’s all over. But again, that’s the truth, so I accept it.

That’s honorable. But how do you know it’s the truth?

Don’t tell me you believe in heaven and hell. You think good people rise up when they die and live in bliss in the clouds with angels and gold and silver and pure happiness? You believe that bad people go to hell for eternity and slave away for the devil in a fiery, miserable existence?

Of course not.

Then what do you think happens when we die?

Whatever you believe happens when you die, will happen. If you believe you’ll rise to a blissful, cloud-strewn heaven with angels and fairies, that’s where you’ll find yourself when your physical body dies. If you believe you’ll descend to a fiery hell where devils beat you and burn you, that’s where you’ll find yourself when your physical body dies. If you believe nothing happens, then nothing will happen when your physical body dies. Your consciousness will sit in limbo for however long it takes you to realize that you’re still conscious even though your physical body is dead. This could be hours, years, centuries. Time is not the same in the non-physical as it is in the physical, so it’s not really valid to compare the two in that way, but I think you get the idea.

Surely a romantic concept, but I don’t buy it. Can you prove it?

I can’t prove it to you. I can only prove it to myself, which I have done many times over. I believe this as strongly as I believe I am here with you now, having a conversation. I can give you some examples which might at least convince you to explore the topic, which I hope will give you the desire to explore the non-physical for yourself, thereby proving to yourself what I myself believe. A nice side-effect of this will be an exponential increase in your everyday happiness. Eliminating the fear of death will undoubtedly ease your mind, and realizing that what awaits us after our physical death is beautiful and euphoric beyond words will make your physical existence that much more enjoyable. Instead of worrying your way through life, you’ll be better able to live in the present moment and truly appreciate everything this world and this life have to offer. You’ll realize your body is just an avatar, and your earthly existence is just a training ground for your spirit.

I want to believe, but I just can’t. What are the examples you were talking about?

Wanting to believe is the first, most important step. Cultivate that desire and never let go of it. As for examples, well, I could tell you about the neurosurgeon who was in a coma for seven days due to a rare form of bacterial menengitis. An entire portion of his brain was incapacitated during that time. This portion is believed to be what makes us human, what is responsible for consciousness, what allows us to have self-awareness. However, during the seven days, he had an extended out-of-body experience, and retains almost full memory of the entire experience. If our consciousness arises from our brain function, how would that be possible?

The brain is a powerful organ. Maybe we just don’t understand it well enough and some other part of it is responsible for consciousness.

Perhaps. I do think that his account of the experience, being a renown neurosurgeon, a lifelong skeptic, and a scientist, makes his story hold more weight than if it were told by someone without the same background.

Agreed.

I could give you many examples, but none would be the “proof” you need to believe. You have to experience it yourself and prove it to yourself. You can do so if you truly desire it. I’ll tell you a bit about my experiences and how I know, for myself, that our consciousness is eternal and we exist forever.

Every morning I wake up an hour before I have to get up, and I meditate. I choose that time of day because my body is still very drowsy, and it’s the best and easiest time to enter a deep trance state of meditation. The goal is to keep your mind awake while your body falls asleep. As this happens, your conscious focus leaves your physical body and the physical world, and you are able to “separate”, in a manner of speaking, from your body. When you achieve this state, you can end up anywhere, and I mean anywhere.

I’ve been to astral realms so incredibly beautiful that it’s almost useless to try to describe them. Some of the things I’ve seen are so stunning that I cried joyfully, uncontrollably, and you know I’m quite stoic. The flora shimmered with sparkling energy. I was in a blissful state you literally can’t even imagine. It’s other-worldly, because it is another world. Not even necessarily in our universe, or our dimension. As for whether or not this place was “real”, well, as real as this room is where you and I are, that place was even more “real”. That experience showed me that although this world can be beautiful in places, our physical reality is quite dull compared to the higher astral realms. I was sad to return here, but the memory of that place and others returns the joyful feelings to me whenever I think of them.

I’ve met independent beings too many times to count. They have told me things I never could have known about Earth, which I later verified as true. They told me of events that would occur, which did occur. I have met friends from the physical world in non-physical realms, and subsequently discussed the experiences with them, which were the same for each of us even though physically we were on opposite sides of the planet.

I could go on for hours with specifics, and although it would entertain you, I can’t prove anything to you. It’s my experience, my truth. You have to figure it out for yourself, and I hope for your sake that you do.

It really is fascinating to hear you talk about this stuff, but like you said, you have proved nothing to me. What would you suggest I do if I want to explore this for myself?

The internet is a wonderful tool. Anything you need to know is a couple of clicks away. Start by searching for “astral projection” and “out of body experiences”. Read all you can. Buy books, read forums, read blogs, read, read, read, and when you’ve read enough, including the “how to” stuff, try it for yourself. It’s an art and cannot be mastered immediately, although some are naturally more proficient than others. Have patience, and most importantly, keep an open mind and go in with no preconceived notions, beliefs, or ideas. Be open to any possibility and the truth will present itself to you.

I will do that. Thank you. Wanna grab a beer?

One of life’s greatest pleasures – yes sir!