What Do You Expect to see on the Other Side?...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Malachite	11 Mar 2002
We've had 'are you afraid of death'...so now, the bastard sequel.... Are you afraid of the afterlife? What do you expect to see? the Pealy Gates? THe Halls of Asgard? The embracing arms of the Goddess? or simply * * nothing...?

Kiama	11 Mar 2002
I love reading the typos some people have. So far, one of the best has been ArizonaGirl's 'Scared Space', but now we have Malachite's Pealy Gates..... Anyway... onto your post. When I die, I expect to enter a huge garden/forest thingy, where souls live pretty normal lives, only more spiritual and healing (Getting over previous life) until they choose to reincarnate. I also have this image of a next life applications office, here there is a list of all the thngs you eed to expereince in life in order for your soul to evolve. his list includes things like travel, marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, suicide, murder, accidental death, rich, poor, etc.... And you have to get them over and done with at some point. You basically choose when and where to be reincarnated based on what you've already experienced, and what you need to learn. So, this may not be true, but to me it makes sense. Of course, this view solves the Problem of Evil, cuz the evil thing actually falls on your own shoulders for choosing that life! I also expect to be closer to the Divine in this Garden Paradise, then, when I finally learn all my soul-lessons, I expect to be totally at one with the Divine. Kiama

piccolo	11 Mar 2002
I agree pretty much with Kiama. I have this beautiful log home I've built in my mind's eye, where I go for meditation, visualization, talking to my guides, loved one's who've crossed over, healing, visiting my animal friends that have died, lot of things. Since I agree with an Edgar Cayce statement that 'thoughts are things' I believe I really am creating this space somewhere for myself. I wouldn't be surprised at all if I found myself there after I die, at least to start with. After that I see myself driving off to meet God and the gang in a 1942 Coupe, with Billy Holiday on the radio. Black and Chrome. yeah the 'evil' thang-Sylvia Brown (another inspirational person I read) says this life is hard enough. There's no need for a hell. I dare say I've resembled that remark more than once in my life. Piccolo

Diana	11 Mar 2002
A lovely comfortable feather bed with a hot-water bottle in which to rest after the toils and tribulations of my present life :D A comfy sofa to chat on with my departed mother, father and friends. And on a more serious note, I expect to see my guides in order to discuss where I stand in my life, incarnations, karma and future lives. But please, only after I've had a nice long rest!

truthsayer	11 Mar 2002
i'm not sure what to expect but i know in my heart it's a place too wonderous and beautiful for my poor human brain to conceive an image. i know it's permeated w/ unconditional love and my soul sings at the thought.

Liliana	11 Mar 2002
I expect to see the tunnel and white light, sinceit seems pretty well documented. I see it entering into like a big white airport type place, with lines for whatever religion you were (Baptists please stay to the right of the white line, Wiccans to the far left lol) Then you check in at your religions station, then continue on to the afterlife specific to your religion. If you believe in reincarnation you'll have a meeting with the appropriate saint/angel/diety/etc to plan out your next life, like was said, and also toreview the last one to see if you need to repeatany of the lessons (hehe) After you learn all your lessons I believe your mind will be expanded enough to realize no religion is morevalidthan another, and you'llbe free to travel to whatever afterlife you feel like :)

Malachite	12 Mar 2002
Don't dis the pealy gates, ok....? I'm holding on for the halls of Asgard, lots of alcoholic beverages, and a decent section of eternity in Heimdall's mountains.... although i have now idea how i get there...presumably i have to ride across the fiery bridge on the eight-legged steed at some point, but there you go...

Kiama	12 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Malachite although i have now idea how i get there...presumably i have to ride across the fiery bridge on the eight-legged steed at some point, but there you go... Bad news Malachite: The Norse believed that you can only get there if you die by the sword... Which is why so many sons would kill their dying fathers with a sword on their death bed. I spoke to my Asatru frind, Hans, about this one, and he said that in this day and age, the sword is a metaphorical one.... Not quite sure where that leaves you! Kiama

Malachite	12 Mar 2002
Spoilsport. Anyway, I'm sure it can be arranged when the time comes :-)

amyel	12 Mar 2002
I've never thought of it at all. I figure when I go, the spiritworld/supreme being will direct me where I need to be. Maybe it will be an alternate universe, a la Buffy's dimensions. Maybe it will be "Heaven" or maybe even "hell" (forced to do large quanties of math, for example, despite the beauty and peacefulness of the surroundings would be hell for me, for example.) What I'd *like* is to be able to watch over and maybe even guide my loved ones, so they can still feel my presence. Recently, I have started to feel the presence of a friend who died just before XMas. I like the feeling. It's...strengthening, somehow.

Mateo06	12 Mar 2002
I expect it to be on a big fluffy cloud with angels and dogs running around. but truthfully i am afraid of eternal life after death. I mean forever is a long time it hurts my head just trying to think about it. I can't even fathim (sp) forever. I would much rather it be you go to heaven for a cup of coffee and a chat with long lost loved ones then you get reincarnated for a new lesson.

Moonklad	12 Mar 2002
I expect to rise out of my body, enter a tunnel of light and then from there I think basically things will be so far removed from this life that they would be indescribable. I do believe that we will somehow join our energy with the Great Spirit. I don't think there will be a separation of religions..in fact I think..overthere..we will definately all be equal. One thing I definately hope for is music to be there. Without music..this life..or the afterlife would be pretty meaningless. Hey..I will make you guys a deal..if you see me there..remind me of this post and we will laugh about how far off or close our imaginations were! LOL Moon

slinky_jo	12 Mar 2002
I once spoke to my mother about this, and her theory is that we get reincarnated - but have no recollection of the death, or the transmitigration (is that the word??), or of the new birth. I tend to agree with her, esp' as most of us here have have past life experiences - ie "induced" experiences, that is we don't consciously remember being alive before. I think this happen so we don't get frightened - I don't think we are supposed to know unless we go looking for it. I hope this post has made sense?! ???

New River	13 Mar 2002
i think of death as being our spirit's heaving a huge sigh of relief to be free of this dense body and racing toward home and all we know and love. embracing light and color and sound like we remember it could be. free of trying to create pale images of what we know it could be like. embracing all we have ever known and want to learn. greeting the spirits we have grown to know and love over our entire existence. checking in to see how we really did on this life. reveling in the good, learning from the not so good...... and being able to create whatever our thoughts desire. thought does create and nowhere is it as easy as on the Other Side. love, light and hope, New River

kayne	13 Mar 2002
Hmmm... I really like the sound of all of these but in my heart I just don't know... I kinda' like the idea that what ever you believe in life will be what happens to you after death. Just the way you always expected it to. However, if you can never make a choice or if you come to the conclusion that you just *stop* then you are ripping yourself off of a lot of fun really... I don't know. I want it all. Maybe I will just float around in limbo for a while, that will encourage me to come up with something pretty grand for my afterlife in a hurry...

fairyface	14 Mar 2002
well.. I don't know what is in store or me but I do know that the godess will keep me safe and with that I don't ever think about. xoxoxo Fairyface

Liliana	14 Mar 2002
The only reason I said wed be seperated by religion upon death is because I believe death is supposed to be a calming, peaceful experience, and we all know there are some people who just cant handle the fact that people of other religions arent going to burn for eternity. Its kind of a presortment, after you gothrough it everyone whocan handle it will be equal and be able to roam where they please :) Or maybe Ive seen that joke about tiptoeing past the one room in Heaven because thats where the Baptist are and they think they are the only ones here hehe

Bings	14 Mar 2002
I have never thought about the actaul surroundings when asked this question. I always just think that I expect to see my Daddy and Grandmother again. Dianne

Malachite	14 Mar 2002
I guess in one sense, there doesn;t actually have to BE anything, just an eternal sensation of cosy....I've always tended to think that hell is eternity having to remember the bad things you've done...I'm not sure you actually need HellFire and Brimstone...

Malachite	14 Mar 2002
Liliana: (did i get that right yet?;)) Do they have escalators?...please say they have escalators!

Kaleidoscope Eyes	18 Mar 2002
I'm gonna pass on speculation, as I just don't have a clue. I just started reading an interesting book yesterday, by the 18th Century Swedish visionary, Emanuel Swedenborg. It's called "Heaven (and its wonders) and Hell." This is a very beautifully done 2000 edition, translated by George F. Dole and published by the Swedenborg Foundation. I've only finished the long introduction and one chapter, so can't comment knowledgeably, but it looks like it's going to be an interesting read. Just thought I'd throw this out in case anyone is interested in looking into one of the "modern" age's more celebrated accounts of the afterlife. In a more humorous vein, this thread calls to rememberance one of the most hilarious cartoons I've ever seen, which appeared in Playboy magazine back in the 'seventies, I think. Gahan Wilson was the artist. In the cartoon are pictured a number of shabby-looking men standing around a dreary walled courtyard, wearing patched, threadbare robes and sporting stubby wings. The men are unshaven, bored-looking, and a few are smoking cigarettes. There is trash and empty beer cans lying around. The paint has obviously peeled from the walls, and from behind, on the top edge over the door, you can make out the free-standing letters, "H-E-A-V-E-N." One of the letters is partially knocked off. The caption has one of the men saying to his companions, "I dunno; somehow I thought there'd be more to it than this." It still cracks me up when I think of it. :)

jade	18 Mar 2002
good question. i don't know what i'll 'see' after my physical body dies. i guess the best explanation is i don't expect to see. i expect that my perception will be very different. hmmm.......good topic. no real answer jade

mystic	19 Mar 2002
Hmmm. The question of all time. After living through numerous past lives and having no recollection of them, I would guess that we make a decision to go back to earth as we know it to experience more. We must think about what our bodies contain. Lets assume a few basic things.....like a brain (which is a container for our thoughts), and a soul (which contains our life force / energy) When we die our physical thoughts are left behind in our brain, but our energy can not be destroyed. This energy has a state. It floats off and either seeks the next life, hangs around because of an aggitated departure, or continues on to the next level....now obviously everthing is not know about energy, so there may be a lot that we don't know...but one thing is certain, our energy lives on......the power of our soul strenghens each and every life we live...... The boundries are limitless........

Hush	19 Mar 2002
humph. i have a vague knowlodge of what happens, heh. i can remember past lives, and on an unrelated topic, do you thinki we're *supposed* to remember? i mean, are we supposed to forget them and to move on but somehow some of us found a way of beating the system and remembering? or are we supposed to remember and learn? if so, why dont more people? but anyway, you die, you live between lifes - whether you're stuck haunting, choose to haunt, choose to hang around in a parallel life between lives or if you can totally let go of everything in life and go onto a 'nirvana' type state, or one of the other bizillion things you can do (:D) and when its the right time or you want to you reincarnate. im still a little hazy on my *own* ideas, hehe.

cjtarot	19 Mar 2002
hi all, OK..here's my opinion.. When I pass over, I will be met by my loved ones who have passed and escorted to Heavan. In Heavan, I will meet God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and then given an assignment..be it to watch over a soul here on earth or to return to earth to bring love and light to someone who is still here. The actuall suroundings will be warm white light, beautiful music, and above all, filled with love. AND YES, ALL WILL BE THERE. Who cares what religion you are, as long as you are a good person. You asked..and bty, thanks for asking..love to hear others opinion. I am sure none of us will be disapointed..except for the guy who thinks he will be alone w/ his GOD cj

Kaleidoscope Eyes	25 Mar 2002
I just hope there'll be dogs, cats, and all the beloved critters I have known. I especially want to play with my little dog Lucy again. *sniff*

purplelady	26 Mar 2002
I'm sure I've gotten most of this from books: When I die I will have access to the "Akashic Records". That is a huge Library where everyone's life who has ever lived , every moment (or at least any moment of even small significance) is recorded in the akashic records. You will be able to see , or veiw, any of your past lives , Maybe even future lives, and maybe the lives of others if you so choose. I will be able to understand these lives in their totality much better than I can now. I won't have an ego in the same way that I do now...........but I will still be my soul , or essence, I will know my true soul or essence without my physical body. But I think if I am on the astral plane I will still have a body like I do now , but it won't be "physical". I will meet people I was close to in my life who have already passed over (however I may suspect they are really an angel or another soul just playing this role for me! I read that somewhere!). I probubly will meet people who I didn't know in physical form in my former life. I may even meet a "soul mate" or someone who I only know between lives. I might need to spend time healing , or learning. And I think maybe there is a "judgement" in that I veiw the life I just left. Not to be punished , but to learn , and maybe learn of the effects I had on other people. To decide what I accomplished and what I still need to learn and accomplish. I think it may be very very beautiful, and that I may understand A LOT more than I do now.

floracove	30 Mar 2002
Family The peacefullness to rest awhile and then onto more work. Again....Again...Again and again....

The What Do You Expect to see on the Other Side?... thread was originally posted on 11 Mar 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.