What Would You Take With You to the Afterlife? – Life, Death, Out-of-Body Experiences & the Journey of Consciousness

September 24th, 2014

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

beforeitsnews.com
By Matthew Butler

People save up for retirement, but how well do we prepare for the journey after?
Ancient cultures put great emphasis on the afterlife, because they knew
consciousness continued after death. They were right: Out-of-body
experiences reveal we really do exist beyond the body. Knowing this
truth should inspire us to seek in life what really matters and remains
after death – awakened consciousness.

What is the greatest mystery of life? According to a legendary Q&A in the Indian spiritual epic the Mahabharata, the greatest wonder is that countless people die every day, yet those left behind believe they will live forever.

There is a well-known saying that the only certainty in life is death, but our hyper-connected modern society is not exactly inspiring much reflection on what lies beyond the transient.

People put aside savings for retirement, and some take out life
insurance to take care of the loved ones they leave behind. This looks
after physical needs, but what about the needs of consciousness which
continues without the body? What preparations are made for its journey
after death – the ultimate journey of a lifetime?

Religious institutions offer a solution to their followers that
usually depends on adopting a set of beliefs rather than personal
spiritual discovery. On the other hand, some scientists will tell you
with equal conviction that nothing comes after death, so don’t worry
about it. Both of these points of view depend on belief, but what if,
when the final moment comes, you realise you wasted the great
opportunity your life provided? An alternative option is to discover for
ourselves why we are here, and what our place in the universe is,
while we are alive and have the opportunity to do something with the
knowledge we gain.

Ancient spiritual cultures almost
universally placed importance on the individual’s preparations and
journey into the afterlife. They clearly understood our existence
extended beyond our bodies, and that life and death were best seen with
the bigger picture of creation in
mind – as part of an ongoing journey of consciousness – with life
presenting an amazing opportunity for conscious evolution that we take
the fruits from after death.

This was bought home to me in an interesting way during a trip to a
museum exhibition showcasing ancient Egyptian afterlife cosmology; it
reminded me of the universal nature of the afterlife, and how Near-Death Experiences and Out-of-Body Experiences offer
us a glimpse into the reality of existence beyond the body, revealing
that awakening consciousness is what creation is really all about.

With our modern culture drifting more and more into shallow short-sighted materialism and faux metaphysics, the need to re-discover and live this deeper purpose to life, so cherished by the ancients, is more important than ever.

A Journey into the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife

A while back I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a
one-way self-guided tour through the ancient Egyptian afterlife, thanks
to a special museum exhibition featuring artefacts from the British
Museum collection.

The local museum was packed, and we had to wait in a queue before
being allowed in. Finally we entered a dimly-lit passage thronging with
people, winding past ancient Egyptian artefacts, artworks, tools,
scriptures, and mummies.

The exhibit started with depictions of ancient Egyptian cosmology like this. Here the sky goddess is held up above the earth.

It was arranged so that you went on an afterlife “journey”
vicariously, stage by stage, in the way the ancient Egyptians understood
it. It began with displays showing ancient Egyptian depictions of the
world’s creation, and culminated with the judgement of the soul and its
journey after death. In between you were shown artefacts demonstrating
how ancient Egyptians understood and prepared for death.

There were ancient scrolls of the pyramid texts on display, and
ancient art depicting the soul’s journey through the afterlife. A major
theme in their art was judgement and the “weighing of the heart”, where a
deceased person’s heart was weighed against a feather, and their fate
was dependent on their inner qualities and the sum of their actions
while alive. Toward the end of the exhibition they had a mockup display
of this, with a large set of scales on which you could weigh your
“heart” against a feather, while Egyptian Gods looked on from a mural.

After that, you passed into a depiction of the Egyptian paradise
before stepping outside into the sunlight. I doubt the effect was
intentional on the part of the exhibitors, but after passing through the
exhibition’s dark passageway with its ordered depictions of the
afterlife, judgment and then stepping into the light, I couldn’t help
but think of accounts of near-death experiences, in which people often
report passing through a dark tunnel toward the light, and experiencing
a life review where they see the consequences of all their actions.

Depiction of the “weighing of the heart”

The exhibit really brought home to
me how the ancient Egyptians understood they existed for a purpose that
went beyond everyday life. Death was a doorway to the next stage of
existence, and their lives were an opportunity to prepare for it. They
knew we do not cease to exist when we die, and saw the quest for
immortality through awakening consciousness as the real purpose to
creation.

From looking at artefacts from different periods, it was apparent the
ancient Egyptian understanding of death changed over time. It seemed to
me that originally, the emphasis was on living spiritually and
obtaining an immortality of the soul, while in later periods their
understanding declined into more literal interpretations of preparing
the body (rather than consciousness) for the afterlife through
mummification, and a preoccupation with the arrangement of one’s burial
and tomb with the right spells and amulets.

But I was vividly struck by how through that civilisation’s long and
varied existence, the importance of the afterlife always reigned
supreme, and being prepared for life after death was absolutely central
to existence. Death, and therefore life, was taken very seriously.

I
couldn’t help but notice a stark contrast between our modern culture
and theirs. It was a bit like being in some kind of time warp, where two
very different cultures collided. The artefacts of the Egyptians gave a
sense of the sacredness of life and creation, but the bustling, noisy
crowds of modern onlookers apparently saw this ancient preoccupation
with the afterlife as mere novelty and amusement. How different ancient
Egypt was to our modern society where the reality, and inevitability, of
death is given little thought or preparation, and the understanding
that consciousness continues after death is often summarily discounted
and ridiculed.

I highly doubt that many people who attended the exhibition paused to
reflect on whether they would continue to exist after death and, if so,
how? And why are we here anyway? This was driven home when, just prior
to reaching the scales of “judgement”, I noticed a whiteboard, styled
with papyrus veneer, with a pertinent question written at the top.

What would you take with you to the afterlife?

Good question. A pen hung from the board, inviting people to write
their response underneath. The answers ranged from the sentimental, to
the mundane, to the silly.

How would you answer the question?

Some wanted to take their friends
and family with them, while others wanted to take things like their
iPhone, make-up, favourite band, football team, favourite rock star,
chocolate, alcohol, and so forth.

A “time machine” was perhaps the only clever response. I could see
the benefit of that if you realised you had wasted your life. I don’t
think it’s really an option however.

This brought home how we don’t take death and the meaning of our
lives anywhere near as seriously as we should today. The ancients knew a
lot more about life and death than we do. We have lost their ancient
wisdom, and with it the understanding of the amazing opportunity our
existence in this universe presents.

This is a serious problem. Our consciousness will continue to exist
without the body. But if we don’t question our existence and why we are
here, we will not awaken consciousness and we will never reach our true
potential.

Near-Death Experiences and the Reality of Existence Beyond the Body

Existence after death is not something the ancient Egyptians
invented. Concepts of an afterlife are so common across geographically
isolated cultures around the world that it cannot simply be dismissed as
a coincidence. There may be cultural differences in the details, but
the understanding that we continue existing without the body has been
pretty much universal for thousands of years.

In fact, the burial of the dead and the realisation of an afterlife
are considered some of the most important hallmarks of cultural
development in Stone Age people. It was a sign of intelligence
distinguishing people from animals, and paved the way for the
development of more sophisticated civilisations.

The medieval painting ‘Ascent of the Blessed’ by Hieronymus Bosch
shows the light at the end of the tunnel common to NDE accounts

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) provide compelling anecdotal evidence
that the afterlife mythologies of the world share a real common source
and that consciousness exists beyond the brain.
In NDEs, people who are clinically dead or close to death go through
experiences that follow a pattern with universal traits, which they
recall after being revived.

These include an out of body experience, where they leave their body
and realise they are separate from it, perhaps seeing their body lying
beneath them. Then they may go on a journey, which may feature common
aspects like travelling through a tunnel, and a life review, where a
person is shown everything they have done, and feels the effects of
their actions toward others, whether good or bad.

Although some scientists speculate that these phenomena may be caused by the brain, the reality is that these experiences have occurred when patients are clinically brain dead,
and it has not been proven these experiences are produced biologically.
Furthermore, there is no ultimate proof that consciousness is produced
by the brain anyway, although this is a strongly-held assumption among
those entrenched in materialistic beliefs.

NDEs challenge rigid materialistic beliefs about life. In light of the prevalence and commonality of NDEs, some scientists now
suggest that consciousness interacts with the brain rather than being
produced by it. Rather, the brain is a conduit through which
consciousness can express itself, much like the way a computer is a
conduit for the internet, but the internet continues to exist when the
computer is switched off.

NDEs are increasingly reported in the modern world due to
improvements in health care leading to more people being revived, but
they are also an ancient phenomenon. Research by the scholar Gregory Shushan found
there are universal afterlife experiences which underpinned both modern
NDE accounts and ancient afterlife mythologies. His research involved
an in-depth comparative analysis of afterlife conceptions of five
ancient civilisations (Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt, Sumerian and Old
Babylonian Mesopotamia, Vedic India, pre-Buddhist China, and
pre-Columbian Mesoamerica) and compared them to modern NDE accounts. He
demonstrated that, although there were some variations in the details
based on the cultural origin, there were specific recurring similarities
that reappeared too consistently to be mere coincidence, suggesting
that, “afterlife conceptions are not entirely culturally-determined and…
appear to be universal or quasi-universal to some degree”.

Life is an Opportunity to Awaken Consciousness

Realising that you are consciousness, and continue to exist without
the body, awakens you to the bigger picture of life. It puts your whole
life in perspective.

In an NDE life review, people tend to see that what really matters in
life is not how much money they made or what they achieved in a given
field, but how they treated other people, and whether they acted with
love. These experiences tend to change people’s lives, inspiring them to
be more spiritual.

Discovering you exist beyond the body can be a life-changing revelation

We do not need to have an NDE to verify that we exist without the body, or to have life-changing experiences. Through astral projection, we can have wilful out of body experiences and use these mystical experiences to learn about ourselves and make positive changes in our lives.

Realising that we exist beyond the body can open the door to
awakening. You realise that what really matters in life is not what we
gain physically, but developing consciousness. Then the question, “what
will you take with you to the afterlife” becomes much more meaningful.
You can’t take physical things with you when you die like your iPhone,
but you can take consciousness. Then you see that the focus on the
afterlife in ancient cultures was not a preoccupation with death, but a
deep understanding of life, and how to live it in the most meaningful
way to bring spiritual benefits to yourself and others, the effects of
which continue after death.

States like anger, greed and hatred have their consequences in the
world which are bad enough, but who wants to take these states with them
to afterlife? If these states don’t bring happiness here, why drag them
along after death? Expressions of consciousness like love, wisdom and
inner peace are much better qualities to carry within. By awakening and
expressing consciousness in a world filled with ignorance, hatred and
darkness, we not only help to make the world a better place, but
continue to carry these spiritual qualities in our consciousness when
our body is left behind.

Understanding this is so important today. We live in a society
bombarded with elite-controlled propaganda and entertainment that not
only hides the darker agendas working in the world, but blankets people
in ignorance, keeping us from uncovering the deeper potential of our
consciousness and empowering ourselves by striving to awaken – which
enables us to break free of the grip of darkness that exerts its influence over humanity. Failing
to wake up to this agenda has it implications in the world, and also
for our consciousness, and it’s consciousness that really counts, both
in life and beyond.

So what would you take with you to the afterlife?