April 12, 2019

What Happens After We Die?

by Joe Geidel

What happens after we die? It’s the unavoidable question that we’ve been asking since the dawn of our species.

Well… we should all have some idea of what happens since we were once dead for billions of years. Some of you may understand what I mean when I suggest that we were dead prior to our birth. It may be better to say that we were asleep.

All parts of our physical being have existed since the physical emerged, they simply weren’t conjoined in the form they are now. One of the great thinkers of the 20th century, Carl Sagan, said that we were quite literally made up of “star stuff” — he was absolutely right. We are incredible cosmic recycling projects.

So when we die, we should take comfort in knowing that our bodies will return to where they came from.

…but what of our awareness?

This is what keeps people up at night. What about the thing which makes me “me”? In order to understand this question, we must pose another. What is awareness?

Awareness IS.

This is to say that all physical things have emerged from pure awareness.

In Judeo-Christian scriptures, it is believed that God spoke the universe into existence. What I am saying is that what the ancient prophets, sages, and mystics called “God”, we today know to be awareness.
It’s the base of existence. The ground of all being. What Paul of Tarsus spoke of in Athens,

“For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)

Some may argue that awareness cannot possibly exist beyond conscious individuals. This is an impossible claim to make. Not only do we as a species know very little about the science of consciousness, but in making this claim you must possess the ability to leave the body and return to realize that there is nothing independently aware beyond the self (which in and of itself would invalidate your claim). What definition of awareness would you employ in your search? Scientists aren’t even sure if things that appear to act as if they are alive are aware. Are viruses aware? Maybe. The science of consciousness is limited, however the pursuit of truth in all of its forms is always a worthwhile cause.

I am not attempting to prove anything. In fact, I do not claim to definitively know anything. In doing so, I have become much like the captive of a river, powerless — merely a witness. I only speak of what I have seen. There is great difficulty in interpreting the mystery. Yet, as one acquaints him/herself with philosophical, spiritual, and theological thinkers throughout history, they begin to see that individuals have independently arrived at similar conclusions about the nature of reality.

Our bodies are vessels for what lies within and beyond, our essential energy, what many have called the soul.

This is something difficult to understand from a scientific perspective. Certainly, it cannot be proven utilizing our senses. You can only come to know this ultimate reality in the moment it presents itself. Finding the truth is an experiential process. In order to observe the truth your mind must be open and your heart filled with love.

We are one with all.
Separateness is an illusion.

In fact, all the differences we perceive about one another as human beings is a part of this great illusion. We are fundamentally the same. I am in you, as you are in me. While we may find that our interests and inclinations are different, it is simply because we are all aspects of the ONE. So he likes red and she likes blue, the ONE loves both equally. Both views are valid.

The ONE is awareness.

The awareness which has created all and has always been is present in us and IS us.
How can we know our true nature?
How can we meet the ONE?
It is so close to each of us. Be ever so still in the present moment. As it is written in the Tao Te Ching, empty yourself.

The ONE is everything and nothing.
The Great Paradox.
The Void.

A great ocean in which we are droplets of. Tides turn and roll, rise and set. So as the body returns to its origin, so does awareness. Yet, as the paradox is, they are neither separate and have never left their origin.

Death is an illusion. It is merely a transformation to a higher state of being and non-being. Complete and total unity, as it is now.

So be at peace.

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