Thoughts on life after death

Thoughts on Life after death 

‘We are destined to wander this world, performing our work of harvesting light from the shadows and finding what fleeting moments of pleasure we may, but driven ever forward by this sense of emptiness, seeking the final spiritual experience which is our ultimate destiny.’

Jimmy Henderson 

Scientific evidence reveals that the physical universe operates under laws governing creation, disintegration and renewal. However, it has also been demonstrated that energy is never lost and new systems form from the dust of long-dead stars. If the argument of quantum physics is accepted that the expanding physical universe is merely a mirror for a universal consciousness, it stands to reason that this consciousness is also evolving (expanding) to re-emerge in new forms as well.   

However, the question still remains as to what we will actually experience after death when our physical bodies reach their end and disintegrate. Research has shown that our normal mental processes are dependent on the brain and nervous system, which will obviously fall away with our passing. However, what is often overlooked is the principle of self-awareness, a level of consciousness in which the mind is able to reflect upon itself and become self-sustaining. From a purely evolutionary point of view, it seems unlikely that such a hard-won faculty which has taken millions of years to evolve would simply disappear into nothingness at the passing of the body. After over 30 years of studying the mind I am personally of the opinion that self-awareness, once attained, like energy, can never be lost and will continue in another form even after the passing of the physical body, bringing with it additional experiences, all directed towards the further expression of the universal collective. 

So exactly what are we likely to experience? Psychological research suggests that our minds are able to construct our present sense of reality as well as structure the images in our dreams. In this regard, the phenomena of lucid dreams reveal that we are able to maintain a certain level of self-awareness during our dreams and can even be partially conscious when dreaming, under certain conditions, especially with a practiced mind. It is therefore likely that in passing through the veil of death, we will initially enter a dreamlike state until our consciousness is able to re-assert itself and recreate some semblance of reality. 

This suggests a period of adjustment. However, it is also possible that the preexisting memories, images and patterns of thought that have been imprinted in our consciousness when alive, may re-assert themselves at this time, allowing us some degree of order. In other words, we may find ourselves in somewhat familiar surroundings, which will reduce any possible trauma during the adjustment period. Determining factors will be the quality of our consciousnesses and the contents of our minds at the time of passing. In other words, our beliefs, thoughts, memories and subconscious scripts gathered whilst we were alive, would probably determine what is initially experienced after our passing.

In the light of the evolutionary process, it also seems likely that any new awareness will have to be purged of anything that is destructive or presents an obstacle to our further progress (unresolved issues). However, this content may not always be pleasant, especially in the case of a mind filled with hate and violence. We can therefore understand how religious concepts of heaven and hell may have been formed, with each of us having to pass though and confront our memories and mental images of our past actions, which could be quite distressing. 

To facilitate this adjustment, focussing on a spiritual personality, or an inspiring and uplifting belief or idea (such as heaven) could therefore provide the positive intent to assist one to pass through the metaphorical ‘valley of darkness’ without becoming lost in the experience, thereby allowing one to pass freely into the higher realms of the collective mind.

Jimmy Henderson is a cognitive specialist, philosopher and metaphysician and the author of a number of books on mind-development. See his page 'Jimmy Henderson' on  Amazon.com