A lot of people don’t like John Edward, and for that matter neither do I… however, I would like to quote something he did say because I think it’s a wonderful thought on how to describe our consciousness in this physical reality and what happens to us when our physical body dies.

Think of the physical body and soul like a glass of water.

What happens when you leave a glass of water sitting on a table? Well, it naturally evaporates. It doesn’t just disappear though, it simply ‘changes state’. The energy and matter that makes up the water just changes into something different.

That’s the same as the human soul. You don’t evaporate, but you do leave your body. And you simply change into something different. Being that your soul is energy, it’s still there it’s simply in another form.

So now, you have an empty glass sitting on a table. The empty glass is akin to your empty physical body now that it’s dead.

The only thing that dies when you die is your physical self, the thing you see in the mirror. Everything else lives on. Your senses, your emotions, your thoughts. They all stay completely alive. Because THAT is the real you.

I don’t, however, believe that we “leave” these bodies in the sense that we were ever in them to begin with… but we do “leave” these bodies as in our consciousness can no longer operate within the confines of our physical body.

So then what happens to you after you die?
Is there really a heaven?
A hell?
Purgatory?
The Summerlands?

What exactly happens to you after you die?

My thoughts on this subject revolve around what I now refer to as the “Wider Reality”.  Within that concept is the idea of a “collective consciousness” area.  This is an area of consciousness where your thoughts and expectations shape what you will see.  I believe that when you die it’s, for all intents and purposes, a permanent Astral Projection, because now you don’t have a body to go back to.

Having said that, remember when I said that what you think happens? Well, in a nutshell, a devout Christian expecting to see the Pearly Gates will most likely see them. A Wiccan expecting to see the Summerlands will see just that. Whatever you happen to believe, you will see.  This particular area of consciousness is generally referred to as the “Belief System Territories”, a term coined by Robert Monroe who first discovered these particular areas.  Basically, you will gravitate towards the collective area of consciousness set aside for groups of people sharing the same beliefs.  These areas were initially created by individual and group beliefs of people and groups who have existed or do currently exist here on Earth.  You’ll stay around in these areas until you realize what they really are… a “self created construct”, at which point you’ll move on again and shift to another area of consciousness, known as the “Transition Area”.

The “Transition Area” is simply that… an area where you can do whatever you want, while you get used to the idea of living in a subjective reality once again.  Eventually you’ll have to decide if you want to go back to Earth (or somewhere else physical) or go elsewhere and move on.  While you’re there though, you’re free to do whatever you want… you can continue whatever research you might have been doing, you can explore the non-physical in all facets of it, you can create your own little “area” for yourself, or you can do absolutely nothing at all.  It’s entirely your choice at this point.

So anyways, that’s my theory of death and what to expect after you die. The next step is to see if I’m correct.