Full Text:
Q #604 What will be my experience after the death of my body?.
http://www.facimoutreach.org/qa/questions/questions107.htm#Q604
Q #604: If the ego invented the concept of afterlife, and nothing happens when the body dies, since it never lived, my question is: as long as I am not yet in the real world, hence identify with the self I think I am, what will be my experience after the "death" of my body?
A: When the body dies, the person you identify with as a body will no longer seem to exist.
If the mind is not healed at that time, the thought of separation that identified with this body continues as a thought.
Since the mind is not contained in the body, it does not change with the death of the body.
It changes only when it chooses the Holy Spirit instead of the separation.
It is this choice that eventually undoes the separation, and leads us to awaken from the dream of death where bodies seem to live and die.
As long as the mind chooses to believe in the thought of separation, this thought, along with the guilt that inevitably accompanies it, will be projected out in some bodily form (physical, esoteric, energy, etc.).
The result is the ongoing experience of the birth- death-rebirth cycle, until a different choice is made in the mind. The mind, therefore, is the place where the action is, and the only action is choosing.
While we remain asleep in the dream, our only purpose or goal, whether in the body or out of the body, is to learn to make another choice.
Therefore, to answer your question more directly, your experience after the death of your body will be the same as it is now: learning to choose.
In A Course in Miracles, Jesus tells us we are always learning, because we are always teaching: "âto teach is to learn âteaching is a constant process; it goes on every moment of the day, and continues into sleeping thoughts as well" (M.in.1:5, 6).
We may thus paraphrase "learning continues after the death of the body as well."
The important thing Jesus is teaching us is that we are not bodies, but minds with the power to choose.
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RE:
Q #604 What will be my experience after the death of my body?.
http://www.facimoutreach.org/qa/questions/questions107.htm#Q604
Q #604: If the ego invented the concept of afterlife, and nothing happens when the body dies, since it never lived, my question is: as long as I am not yet in the real world, hence identify with the self I think I am, what will be my experience after the "death" of my body?
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al: The basic question, What will be my experience after the death of my body? Per the DREAM WHICH CONTINUES BEYOND THE GRAVE, there is much conjecture. People having near-death experiences relate a number of versions with some degree of consistency in each version. The popular versions are about how the things one feared about death during what we call life are shown to be unfounded, and people see their reason and purpose for being here, and awaken to a whole different perspective about life in this world. People who communicate with the dead propose both similar and dissimilar experiences being described by their contacts. I would simply point out that what we call life in this world is an illusion, what we may experience and call a near-death experience is an illusion, what we may experience as a vision of heaven and heavenly beings is an illusion, all versions of after-death experiences are illusions, the experience of being guided by spirit (even such as I speak of about myself) is an illusion, magic, prayer results, miracles and atonement are all illusion. The very idea of "experience" itself is false, and is a multilevel thoughtform set used to express the false idea of separation, dividedness, and the limited forms and tools (such as time, space, energy, matter) that express these. So, when one inquires about what an experience will be about, the answer could really be anything, and the believing mind could make it truly seem to happen that way...or any other way.
Look at it this way: The idea of separation attempts to divide the even wholeness of the reality of life into uneven unwholeness...or life and death with gradations of wellness and illness in between to add definition to the seeming gulf or gap between. Views on life and death are many, and each has proponents vouching for the truth of these views...with most or at least many of those views based upon experiences or stories about experiences. Each of these stories gets heard by various size groups of people, and while there remains some cohesive similarity in their interpretations, invariably the interpretations are different from person to person, often eventually breaking off from the mainstream thought into factions. This is the nature of belief, the nature of experience and the closest to an answer one will get to the basic question asked above about after-death experience.
Although I have read on the subject of after-death and near-death experiences, have known people close to me who have had near-death experiences, visions of angels, Jesus, the void (with a voice), I am not interested in exploring all of these and making a decision to believe this one or that one, or several. Experience is the epitome of deception on both sides of the grave, and dying may produce experiences believed by many to be enlightenment and awakening to heaven, but these experiences are NOT that. These experiences are dreamside, and not entry into the reality of heaven. The first evidence that this is not so is in the temporary nature of the experiences.
This does not mean, however, that people have near-death-experiences or talking to the dead and receiving insights, or people being guided by the holy spirit or people from beyond (all in their experiential belief as to what "happened")...did not lead them into a fuller understanding of the truth as "does" pertain to reality. That may well the case, even though the "path" people may enter upon after such experience is an illusion and the "purpose" they believe in may well be illusory in nature, these are tools our mind (the holy spirit) uses to lead us toward awakening to heaven, the fullness of which awakening is beyond experience in time altogether. So, these comments are not intended to invalidate people's experience or say they are valueless, but to point out their nature, and the simple fact that, being of the dream, they can only have one value...that of redirecting the mind toward itself, and thereby opening its heart. This opening lets go of denial and allows the vision that is already the truth to not be hidden. Experience of this will say, I could not see, but now I can see....however, everyone can already see, for they are heaven and in heaven and thus could not fail to see, but only are in an invented denial process of attention distraction.
RE:
A: When the body dies, the person you identify with as a body will no longer seem to exist.
This is not true. The person you identified withi will seem to exist, and without its landmarks (idol imagery) to prove to itself and remind itself of its existence as this person, it will go through any number of so-called afterlife experiences, and yet, the memories will mostly clear from the mind without such reminders. Certain fundamental learning memories will remain as abstractions and occasionally the other memories will also remain. It is this thought (belief in the false self...or as the post called it, the (personalized) thought of separation) that constitutes the desire to experience more of the illusory world, and thus draws itself back to its beliefs of earthly manifestation in limited bodily form, typically as rebirth. Remember however, that these are all illusions and can be very different in nature, and do not have to be according to some rule or idea of birth, death, rebirth, etc. Any illusory idea the mind can invent can find means of illusory _expression_...just a little caution.
RE:
If the mind is not healed at that time, the thought of separation that identified with this body continues as a thought.
al: true
RE:
Since the mind is not contained in the body, it does not change with the death of the body.
al: not quite - The mind cannot change at all....ever....for it is your true self, rather than just the tool of your self often suggested. It is not you AND your mind anymore than it is you AND God. The mind has power, and thus is real...the only reality. What we typically think of as power is not what power is. The only power is peace.
RE:
It changes only when it chooses the Holy Spirit instead of the separation.
al: untrue - The mind cannot change and choosing is impossible. The mind...YOU...actually ARE the holy spirit and no amount of choosing can make you different, joined, nonexistent, or right. That is like an infinite universe that covers every single possible space and dimension declaring that it chooses to be what it is. It already is whatever it is!!! The idea that choice is the power of mind is entirely, utterly and completely false. This seems to be true because of our misconceived idea about what power is. We invent multiple, divided, separate objects in our attempt at separation, and then we choose them. Without these false idols or false witnesses to our world and reality, choice would make the mind stare....like um uh, choose what??? People will tell you that now that you've chosen the dream and the ego, that you are in a world where choice is real, and thus you MUST choose in order to leave it by awakening from choosing correctly. This idea is also entirely false. Choice IS the idea of separation; it is attempting to offer more attention/love to part of the whole and less attention/love to the rest. That is what specialness is. Since this choosing is the problem, and since it is directly founded upon the error of attempted inattentiveness, it can never be the solution to the problem of its making. The glad tidings is that attention cannot be withheld from any of the whole, for love will not allow dividedness to any of the sonship. That is the single limit to the mind, it cannot "truly" deny itself, but only invent distractions with which to cover its eyes, and employ seemingly endless ploys of stubbornness to keep its inventions in place. It is insane to believe that the power of truth can be denying truth...and that is what choice attempts to do. It says, yes, I can choose wrongly or incorrectly, and I can also choose the truth...trying ever so cleverly to imbed the idea that choice is both possible and necessary. It is not, and neither you nor I, nor ACIM, nor even God itself can make it possible or necessary. But the mind in its infinite freedom does have the absolute right to deny itself, but its loving inherent limitation is that it cannot make that denial thought real...and thus choice is impossible forever. It may seem logical and true in the dream and seem to be proven out in numberless experiences, but it still is NOT true. The holy spirit cannot choose because it has nothing to choose. It can but know itself by looking upon itself wholly and seeing itself wholly...and any denial can only produce counterfeit copies, imagery and conceptualizations of partiality, specialness, and separation that are not so, are not real, and cannot interrupt attention or seeing in any way whatsoever. Such "failure to see" is an illusion, a mind trick...and a very effective one.
RE:
It is this choice that eventually undoes the separation, and leads us to awaken from the dream of death where bodies seem to live and die.
al: It is not the illusion of choice and choosing correctly that undoes the illusion of separation, but is in fact the relaxing and relinquishing of that choice. While to the mind conditioned to believe in and participate in choosing continually, this will seem to be yet another choice, it is not, and indeed cannot be. This truth is reflected in the metaphor that says the father takes the final step for you. This final step (so-called) is the only step of awakening, the rest is you becoming willing to allow it. You can choose and choose again until whenever you like, choosing wrongly, less wrongly, etc., and believing ever so strongly in your learning and progress...but the final step cannot be seen until you are willing to let go of that pride and allow all that learning to hit the trashcan, and allow your true self to reveal the truth to you, far far far beyond anything you ever learned. This illustrates the difference between belief and faith.
RE:
As long as the mind chooses to believe in the thought of separation, this thought, along with the guilt that inevitably accompanies it, will be projected out in some bodily form (physical, esoteric, energy, etc.).
al: true (with the caveat that these unreal ideas arise from their faulty foundation of choosing and believing in the choices)
RE:
The result is the ongoing experience of the birth- death-rebirth cycle, until a different choice is made in the mind. The mind, therefore, is the place where the action is, and the only action is choosing.
al: The typical result is as described above, and is the result of choice (the idea of separation itself). This seeming process is not ended by a different choice, but by letting go of choice through proper use of mind to look, see and realize what it knows and what it is, making choosing obviously unnecessary and impossible. The mind IS the place where the ONLY action is...the action of extending love...or creating love continually. For those deeply conditioned in choosing and its graven images, it will seem that the power of mind is choosing, but it is not and could never be, for the indivisible oneness of mind's reality prevents choosing entirely, making it only an option of invention and illusion.
RE:
While we remain asleep in the dream, our only purpose or goal, whether in the body or out of the body, is to learn to make another choice.
al: You are not literally asleep or dreaming, but are in heaven fully awake, aware, seeing all truth of knowledge of peace, love, and joy. You have employed your freedom to attempt to deny self and are counterfeiting your attention to do so, and the seemingly resultant images and world will continue until you in your freedom become disappointed in these images, and in your attempt at attacking yourself. This resistance is futile, and yet is perfectly allowable in love as long as you want it. Rather than learning to make another choice, consider looking at yourself in order to know the truth about yourself. Rather than deciding what your purpose is, look at yourself and discover your purpose inherent in the truth about your being. Rather than making a goal for a future that can never be, look now at that which always was...and truly is now.
RE:
Therefore, to answer your question more directly, your experience after the death of your body will be the same as it is now: learning to choose.
al: Your experience will be whatever your very inventive, fearful, angry, bliss-seeking mind "decides" to invent next. Choosing brings learning and all learning is false, even when it speaks "about" the truth...not the other way around.
RE:
In A Course in Miracles, Jesus tells us we are always learning, because we are always teaching: "âto teach is to learn âteaching is a constant process; it goes on every moment of the day, and continues into sleeping thoughts as well" (M.in.1:5, 6).
al: Choosing brings learning, which is more accurately called invention of structured imagery and concept. Teaching based upon such choosing and learning takes the objects of choosing and divides them more and more intricately, make a world that seems divided, separated, complex, and often very dangerous...and yet one that promises to give joy, bliss, ecstacy, fulfillment and so on. The keeping of these promises consists of giving you experiences to prove its veracity, feelings cloaked in denial to hide their pain and make them seem desirable and fulfilling, and thoughts bolstered by such feelings that seem right because they trigger feelings patterns we have agreed to in our learning. This defines the illusion of earthly fulfillment, encompasses the ideas of spiritual progression, and constitutes self-righteousness...evidenced by what so many have done in the name of this false god.
"True learning" is willingness to allow the undoing of error (undoing of choosing) and the undoing of its seeming results (undoing of learning, experiential foundation and the world of the limited dying body). And "true teaching" is sharing what one understands as the belief system shifts toward alignment because the mind's willingness about its attention shifts toward acceptance. Thus we find that true learning is what true teaching shares...willingness toward attentiveness, which is unconditional when fully embraced....this is love (one way to talk about it). Both true learning and true teaching do go on day and night, and that is pure meditation...or what I have termed simplistic meditation for a way to talk about it. Learning (false learning) and teaching (false teaching) attempt to interfere with the steady stream of lovelight that is present always. Willingness to accept the stream of pure light through pure meditation upon it (looking) is the true learning that undoes error for it IS the undoing of error, and also undoes the dream because it erodes and erases its foundation. In the seeming dream, both learning and true learning, and teaching and true teaching are found, one attempting to interfere and seeming to do so, and the other seeming to flow back into aligned full attention with lovelights law of truth. When the dream is eventually let go of (as pertains to perception of time), all of these fade away, for neither dreams of attack or dreams of healing make sense to the mind fully attentive to reality without denial. Fortunately, this is not a return to reality or even a return to seeing reality....even though it seems to be this while watching the illusion. Instead, this is a return to accepting our own perfect will as our guide that shows us the truth and obviates the insanity of denying that truth.
RE:
We may thus paraphrase "learning continues after the death of the body as well."
al: true
RE:
The important thing Jesus is teaching us is that we are not bodies, but minds with the power to choose.
al: More accurately, spirit within us (just as it did for Jesus) is showing us that we are whole and thus wholly infinite and peacefully powerful as loving extensions of the reality we share. We are mind, that by the power of love to be completely free, has attempted to choose, and which also has the same freedom to not choose. Only the latter exercise of freedom is true and real and faithful to fulfill in love and peace and joy. Gladly we find that the former is but illusion wherein we focused inappropriately, narrowing and concentrating to further narrow our vision...but in the end of our stubborn pseudoattack tirade, we found this to be totally impossible, and quite unpleasant and disappointing.
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altarlight
The inner light can answer any of this world's queries and resolve any of its problems. Beyond all of these concerns, the inner light will show you who you are and your relationship to all...and bring you an understanding of love and peace that transcends ordinary human thought processes. Discover what it truly means to "love one another" and to "see peace."
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