What happens after we die?

The ultimate question that has no concrete evidence to serve as proof of its answer – what happens after we leave this physical existence we call life? I don’t know the answer any more than anyone else, but I do have an image of what it might be like — and the loss of three prominent figures in entertainment (Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and, most shockingly, Michael Jackson) within the past week brings the topic to mind more than usual.

As I stated in a previous post, my spiritual beliefs are a mixture of my traditional Protestant upbringing and elements of Eastern religion, plus a generous splash of other philosophies for which I have no specific name.

A movie that captures some aspects of my vision of life after physical death is What Dreams May Come (starring Robin Williams). In it, the afterlife is pictured as a place with hyper-vibrant colors, favorite locations and people who love us. Travel is accomplished by merely thinking of where you want to be. Our appearance can change at will to reflect our desire or purpose at the moment. It’s an interesting vision of what could be, and the movie is a wonderful love story, as well.

Another more comprehensive view of the afterlife is given in two books by Stewart Edward White — The Betty Book, in which White’s wife Betty relates information from the “other side” as a trance medium, and The Unobstructed Universe, written after Betty’s death, in which another trance medium relays Betty’s stories to her husband from her new perspective in the afterlife. Both are fascinating reading, and give one much to consider.

Those two books resonate so clearly with my own thoughts and desires as to what lies ahead of us after our life on this earth is done. I dearly hope Betty’s reports are what it’s actually like, because it sounds like such a busy place where we can grow and learn so much more than we can in our earthly bodies, where we are limited by our human minds and physical senses.

I see earthly life as a classroom, where we agree to come before we’re actually born into our human life. I think some lessons are more easily taught in earthly form than in the spirit life, and that’s why we choose to come here.

The difficult circumstances we encounter here are perhaps our best teachers. For example, one person may have been horribly burned, but their spirit and determination to live a fulfilling and joyous life in spite of their suffering and disfigurement. They may devote their life to helping others with the same affliction. Another person may have experienced the same condition, but constantly bemoan their fate and become bitter and hateful. They may even take their own life because the burden of their life is too great for them to bear.

I would say that the first person took the lesson and passed the test, and the second may need to repeat the lesson, perhaps in another life, before they truly “get it” and can go on to learn other lessons. It is our reaction to our circumstances that is the measure of how well we are learning the lessons.

I’m sure each of us knows someone who has endured great trials — physically, emotionally, financially, or otherwise — and handled it with grace and fortitude. I’m sure we can also think of someone who constantly complains about their lot in life. Have you ever wondered why some people have a “golden touch” and everything comes easily to them, while others toil and sweat, and never seem to get ahead? Perhaps one is learning how to handle success without becoming prideful, and the other is learning how to deal with failure without giving up — each of those lessons can be as difficult as the other!

I think we use the time between earthly lives to analyze our earthly experiences and “digest” the things we’ve learned here. I believe there is a “life review” that we go through — not a judgment, but an analysis from a higher vantage point of the events of our lives, and our reaction to them. Then we can make plans to go over the lesson again, or move on to another subject.

I believe our ultimate goal is to reach unity with our Creator, and with each lesson we learn, we come a little closer to that goal. Some spirits are great shining lights and others are little twinkling stars who may some day become shining beacons in their own right. Some may stubbornly refuse to learn their lessons, and make excruciatingly slow progress. It’s up to us how fast or slow we progress.

I don’t know what’s ahead for me, but I hope I’ve been a decent student in this life. I admit to being curious as to what’s on the other side, and although I’m not looking forward to the process of dying, the concept of death itself doesn’t scare me nearly as much as did in years past.

Tags: life after death, religion, spirituality