Heaven? a place? Where is it?
What if heaven never existed? And just a myth? Some religious teachings teach the belief in the existence of heaven as a result later if we do everything that is in their teachings. So far, not many can say that has proven its existence. Several testimonies tell of their experiences when they were in a near-death experience. Some are only a few minutes, but some are hours.
From their stories some things are similar, among others:
They see their physical body from outside their body
The lightness that arises when they can break through all physical limitations including time
The difference in the comparison of time between the human realm and the spirit realm
A very bright light that enveloped them
A passage that must be passed to get to the light, sometimes in the form of stairs, can be a bridge like a rainbow
'Someone' or someone who meets depending on the beliefs held, there are those who meet Buddha, angels, or Jesus
Feeling calm, peaceful, and not wanting to return to the physical body because it is more comfortable and happy there
Travel around different parts of the world
They were asked to return because their work on earth has not been completed
More understanding of the deeper meaning of life because it is explained according to each capacity
From the stories that exist about heaven on average, it can be concluded that we as humans are here only temporarily. There are missions assigned to us to complete before we are asked to return to our original homes. In the process, of course, some have succeeded in carrying out their duties and some have failed as well. Those who succeed can return home and get another assignment, or stay home for a while with another task.
The problem is that many of us don't even know what our task in this world is, and without that knowledge how can we do it well. Most of us do not find out specifically what our duties are on this earth so that we live simply without understanding the main purpose of our existence on earth. Wouldn't it be nice if we understood each other's duties so that we could find the best, fastest, most efficient way to carry it out?
To whom should we ask our duty on Earth? Shamans, doctors, lecturers, psychics, motivators, notaries, presidents, environmental heads, tax consultants, psychologists, or who??
The most correct is probably to the conscience of each of us. Because it is this conscience that connects us to the Creator. Try to take a day to examine our lives so far. Sort by when we were under 5 years old. What catches our attention every time. Are there things that seem easy for us to do while others have a lot of difficulties doing them?
The current school system makes more of uniformity of abilities so that we lose our natural abilities. And with the many distractions of science being taught, very often we are trapped in learning more about something that is not our element. As a result, in the long run, we fall into something that limits our creativity more than optimizes our true abilities.
So again, if heaven doesn't exist, then where will we go after death picks us up and we leave this physical body? Where will our souls return to? Is there a new home for him, a new place to live? Or just return to one with the source of the Spirit of the Creator. If heaven didn't exist what would you do now? A basic reflection that is very important to digest, but is often neglected due to human routines that are stuck with their physical needs.
The lead image source by: https://unsplash.com/photos/0juC5JIhPks
I read and tipped your article but for me, there is no heaven, there is no soul, there is no creator and there are no "tasks" or "duties" that you must perform.
What there is is planet Earth. Galileo fought the Church who argued that Earth must have been the centre of the Universe. It is not. The Church was wrong... But then again, the Church based their assumption (always) on this existence of the Perfect, of God who knows everything and created everything. It doesn't make any sense. The Earth is just planet #3 around a random star in the Milky Way...
Angels? You mean creatures with wings that look like humans? They don't exist. The Bible itself describes them in a different manner. They look scary the way the Bible describes them. They're good for myths and legends, just like Dragons.
Compassion, ethics, morals, love, war, hate, famine, death, disease. That is the world we live in. Beautiful and painful.
Near-death experiences are just that: people almost dying. Why would heaven have to be white? All white with no contrast or white with some black and grey here and there? What do people do in Heaven? Honestly the more you seriously think about it, the more you see all religions in the same light.
I once asked a believer friend of mine if insects had souls. She was a bit lost. She said yes. And I assumed that bacteria also had souls. I kill so many bacteria when I rub my eye with my finger. I'm not trying to be mean... my eye is just itchy.
Did I just kill many souls? How can we live on this planet without killing? It is impossible.
Look at the Gargantuan military budget of the United States. They spend 800 Billions $ per year on weapons. They are the nation that follow Jesus the saviour and they do "God's work" in Afghanistan? They export "Peace and Democracy". I think it has nothing to do with religion. It is just profit making for the military industrial complex. But it wraps itself in the righteous morality of the Church. Same for the "business" of religion worldwide. It is a lucrative business.
Look at the insane number of child abuses in Churches. Wouldn't a life spent seeking god make you a better person? Or at least give you the strength and basic morality of not sexually harming kids. It seems sometimes that the relationship is inverted; The Pope is a rich man! Very rich! Why is the Vatican so rich?!
My philosophy, without religion is that we should do the best we can here on Earth, to help each other and build a better world: enough food for all, no wars, control famine and disease.
Once we die, it's over! We just are returned to the dust from which we came. Thus we allow new life to form. As Antoine Lavoisier said: Nothing is lost, nothing is created, all is transformed.
But that is my view of the world. I respect religions but they have caused a lot of problems on Earth and they are still causing wars. Because fighting to prove that your god is the real one or to have your feet on the "holy" ground, to me, is just stories that mankind tells itself and it does not make a better world.
I would have stood shoulder to shoulder with Galileo in front of The Inquisition and I would have argued just like him that Earth is not the centre of the Universe. I may have been tortured by the Church for daring to go against their beliefs because it is what was needed for humanity to progress.
Sorry for the long comment!