is fundamental to life<\/strong><\/a>. We know our bodies will die and decay, but our consciousness \u2013 the essence of who and what we are \u2013 will remain. We have good reason to believe that we live on after death.<\/p>\nBut what will that life be like?<\/p>\n
As I write this, I feel the weight of my body in my chair. I feel the cool air circulating through the room. It\u2019s not yet dinner time, but I\u2019m starting to get hungry\u2026 and I know that if I go too long without eating I\u2019ll get anxious and if I go longer my thinking will be impaired. Our experiences are mediated through our bodies.<\/p>\n
Meditation and journeying give us a glimpse into what our experiences will be like when we no longer have bodies. These spiritual practices have real, demonstrative, this-world benefits, but they also have the benefit of preparing us for life after death. We know what to expect, because we\u2019ve already experienced it.<\/p>\n
Death is a process of transition<\/h2>\n
Death is not a point in time \u2013 there is no \u201cmoment of death.\u201d Rather, death is a process. We can observe and measure this physically. Responsiveness declines. Heartbeat and breath slow and then stop. Brain activity ceases. Eventually, decay begins. While there are numerous examples of people who were declared dead and then came back to life, at some point that is no longer possible.<\/p>\n
Death is also a spiritual process. People with near death experiences often report rising out of their bodies and observing activities from above. People who are near death speak of ancestors, angels, and even Gods coming to escort them into the afterlife.<\/p>\n
We do not simply go to sleep here and wake up in the Otherworld. There is a journey from here to there. Meditation and journeying are practice for that journey. Do it now while you can come back (and must come back \u2013 the living belong in this world) so that when you do it when you can\u2019t come back (at least, not quickly and easily) you\u2019ll be familiar with the route and the markers.<\/p>\n
And you won\u2019t fear the process of death, because you will have experienced something very similar while you were alive.<\/p>\n
We have things to do in the Otherworld<\/h2>\n
The Charge of the Goddess \u2013 which is not scripture but often functions in a similar way \u2013 speaks of \u201cpeace and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before.\u201d That\u2019s a beautiful way of expressing what most of us expect to experience once we\u2019ve completed our transition into the next life.<\/p>\n
But permanent vacation gets rather dull after a while. And no matter how long we live, there\u2019s always something we didn\u2019t do, didn\u2019t experience, didn\u2019t learn, didn\u2019t build.<\/p>\n
So yes, I expect a time of rest and reunion. And then I expect a time of review. What did I do well? What did I do poorly? What do I need to do better next time?<\/p>\n
Some of this review will be difficult. Much of this life is difficult \u2013 why would you expect perpetual ease in the afterlife? There are things I\u2019ve done I should not have done \u2013 not rules I broke but people I hurt. There are things I did not do that I should have done \u2013 times when I hurt others or myself through inaction, and also experiences I denied myself out of fear.<\/p>\n
This is not hell\u2026 though it may feel like hell to those who have much to answer for. It\u2019s not punishment \u2013 it\u2019s honesty. It\u2019s cause and effect. It\u2019s learning from your mistakes so you don\u2019t make them again next time.<\/p>\n
At some point, the review will be over. And then it will be time to do the things we can do there but not here. I don\u2019t know exactly what that is, but I believe it is intended for learning and growth.<\/p>\n
And then it will be time to come back to this world and go back to work on the things we can only do here. I think some of us have some input into where and when we are reborn, but I do not think we get to choose all the details, and we certainly don\u2019t sign up for specific suffering<\/a> like some people claim.<\/p>\nWe are immortal<\/h2>\n
The fear of death is caused by fear of the unknown. While it\u2019s not healthy to dwell on death or to spend so much time thinking about the next life that you forget to live this life fully and completely, it is good and necessary to figure out what you belief and what you don\u2019t. More specifically, meditation and journeying help familiarize us with the Otherworld and with the path from here to there.<\/p>\n
The fear of death is caused by toxic religion. Unpack your religious baggage, learn to spot the lies, and learn to spot the truth. Theology matters \u2013 develop a good Pagan theology, especially around death and the Otherworld.<\/p>\n
Someday our bodies will die, but the essence of who and what we are is immortal and will live on. We will leave the ordinary world and move into the Otherworld, the world of the Gods and ancestors. We will have a time of rest and reunion, and a time for review and for planning. And then we will return to this world to start the process over again.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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<\/a><\/p>\n