What Happens When You Die?
May 25th, 2006 by Erin Pavlina
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I’ve gotten a lot of emails asking me variations on this question so I thought I’d do an entire blog entry on this subject to help everyone understand what I believe happens. Remember I said “I” because this is my belief. Accept it if you want, reject it if you want, that’s all up to you.
How We Got Here
First we need to understand how we got here. Your consciousness, your soul, your energy made a decision to incarnate into a human body so that you could have experiences that you can’t get in the ether. You agreed and decided to take physical form to work on karmic issues, personal growth, or to help the planet evolve. You chose your parents, planned some major life events, worked things out with some other souls who would also be around when you were, and got busy gettin’ born. Then the veil was drawn over your memory so you could act out your life without knowing why you were there.
Your Life in a Nutshell
Now you’re living, having experiences, learning lessons, making a difference, running into people you’re supposed to, etc. You’re living. Your higher self is left to be the caretaker of your life plan and to nudge you along the way so that you have the experiences you arranged to have during your incarnation. If you can get in touch with your higher self and get access to that plan, so much the better! Otherwise you live your life the way most people do, bopping around from one event to the next, from one relationship to the next, from one job to another, etc.
Deciding to Die
You decide when your soul is going to go back to the ether. Yes, you read that right. You decide. It’s not random. You don’t just get hit by a bus or get cancer or slip in the shower. On a soul level you make the decision as to when you’re going to go home. You generally do this after you’ve fulfilled the course outline for your life, the one that your higher self has been hanging on to. If you’re lucky, you’ve fulfilled all the tasks on your “to do” list. If life overwhelms you, then perhaps you’ve decided to end it all prematurely. But most people go home when the time is right. You don’t have to decide how you die, just that you are going to and the universe takes care of the rest. So, you decide the when and the universe decides the how. When someone you know dies, take comfort in knowing that it was a choice. The sadness you feel is for yourself and how you will handle the loss of such a wonderful friend or family member.
Making the Transition
I think it was Woody Allen who said, “I’m not afraid of dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” :) People fear death because they don’t know what’s going to happen or what it’s going to feel like. It might hurt, it might not. But the point is that death really lasts just a moment. Try to enjoy the process. When death takes place you will leave your body behind forever. It’s just a shell after that. Whether you are buried, cremated, or stuffed and hung over a mantle won’t really make any difference to you. After all, after you shell a peanut do you bury, cremate or stuff the shell? No. You throw it away. It’s useless (or very nearly so). Wave bye bye to your body and look for a light, an angel, your deceased mother, or a kindly old man with chocolate chip cookies. ;) Someone will come to guide you to the “other side.” Enjoy the process. If you feel like you need to stick around a little to see what happens to your body, go ahead, but don’t get too attached.
Going Home Again
Once you go into the light (or follow the man with the cookies) you will probably experience a life review. You get to watch your life unfold before you, and you get to see how it all turned out. If you harmed people in your life, you will probably feel the pain you caused them. So be nice while you’re still here. This is done so you can properly understand how important it is to live consciously and with pure intent. But I’m not here to preach. After your life review the real fun begins…
Playing Around the Ether
After your life review you get to decide where you go and what you do next. Some people choose to incarnate again pretty quickly. Others take time for reflection on what they want to do next. Some decide to tour the ether, the galaxy, or other dimensions. Some decide to spend time catching up on family news with their deceased relatives. And some decide to hang around the living, haunting them, sending them dreams, and playing “stop the clock” for their grandchildren. If you’re one of the more highly evolved beings (like Jesus or Buddha), you get to meet with higher beings and archangels in the ether to discuss plans and future goals. What you need to know here is that once you get to the ether you have things to do, plans to make, and travelling to accomplish. It’s fun. Look forward to it. But know that there is serious business going on up there.
What About Joy
Yes, did I forget to mention the joy and the love and the total sense of peace you get when you arrive home? All is well in the ether. You’ll feel wonderful. Have that piece of chocolate cake you’ve been denying yourself for the last 10 years. ;) But seriously, it’s all good in the ether. They say you get to be 30 again. If you died before you were 30, you still get to be 30.
Then What?
So after you’ve had fun in the ether for a while then what do you do? Incarnate again to continue your spiritual growth, or stick around the ether as a guide for others, or … who knows? I don’t want to spoil all the surprises. You’ll see when you get there.
“But when do I get to meet God?”
After all that you’re probably wondering when you get to meet the Big Guy, the Head Honcho, the Cat’s Meow, right? You don’t have to look too hard. Just look in the mirror, right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait. There, you saw him/her/it. It’s really that simple people. You’re a projection of one aspect of God. If you believe in subjective reality then you’re just God focusing on you right now and that’s why it seems like you’re you and he’s him and she’s well… nevermind. The point is, God is within you. God is you. You are God. Learn that now and you can save yourself years of having to eat baby food. Big plus in my book.
Bottom Line
Dying is going home. It’s the thing you yearn for deep in your soul. It’s the thing you know deep down inside but aren’t willing or able to remember. But until it’s time for you to go, remember to live your life on purpose, be nice to the other pieces of God walking around on our planet, and have a piece of cake for Heaven’s sake, it’s not gonna kill you. 
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May 25th, 2006 at 4:08 am
Great explanation about the process of death Erin. Speaking truthfully and honestly and even though I believe in the body as just a shell and that I, the soul/spirit is eternal, there is always that background fear of death that I find hard to eliminate. For example, if I choke on a piece of food, that survival instinct will always kick in where I feel like if I don’t breathe I will die.
I’ve never had a lucid dream, I’ve never had a trance or anout of body experience or anything of the like, maybe without those it makes it a bit harder to release the fear and accept the truth that I am a being that is separate from this body.
May 25th, 2006 at 4:30 am
You chose when you die - that’s an interesting idea. But then, how come some souls decide to “die” as newborns or even pre-borns? What kind of experience can it bring to one’s existance? Where is the accomplishment one is supposed to reach before dying?
Maybe this point is one of the sand grains in that belief.
May 25th, 2006 at 5:17 am
Alex, some babies choose short lives to teach their parents something. Some babies choose short lives because circumstances change and they won’t be able to accomplish what they intended to.
Amit: I think you’re right that it’s harder to release the fear of death when you haven’t gone out of your body and felt the real “you.”
May 25th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
This is a reassuring and inspiring article, Erin. I was already a firm believer in existence-after-life, but the thought that death could just happen randomly, any time, for no reason, had been bugging me. Now that I think of it, your view fits much better with my current set of beliefs. I guess that’s the trouble with fears: one tends to perpetuate them by trying not to think of them. So thanks for making me think.
One question, since we’re speaking of babies: How do you reconcile the belief that death is orchestrated by a person’s higher self with such occurrences as the infant’s spirit that you encountered during your Criss Angel MindFreak experience? Did its higher self make the choice to stick around and add spooky ambience to Room 24? (That would be rather a mean prank to play on the living.) Is it just some sort of psychic “echo” replaying the physical entity’s last moments, while its real spirit is safe and sound? Or do you think it’s genuinely a soul stuck in a bad place and separated from higher help? That last possibility is unsettling.
I suppose no one has all the answers, but you seem to have a lot of experience in this area. I’d like to hear your ideas.
May 28th, 2006 at 4:31 am
I have no problem with believing that one can choose to die - and that oneself or the universe or whatever will then make it happen. I see that all he time.
But is the opposite also true: Is it impossible to die when you not choose to?
In your blog entry “Ask Erin: Are ghosts dangerous?” you say that you nearly get killed by some kind of spiritual being. To quote you: “He began coming towards me and I knew if he touched me I would die (silver cord severed - game over).”. How’s that possible if it really is your choice to die or not?
May 29th, 2006 at 7:14 am
Inspiring article. I have not much knowledge in death. But your article made me start to think about it.
June 1st, 2006 at 11:37 am
This sounds like you’ve read the “Conversation With God” books written by Neale Donald Walsch. I personally love the books, wish more people understood these things so we can get this planet on a better road!
June 13th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Who was the first person to create themselves? They had no parents to choose. Who took care of them?
Why did Jesus say that he had to die for all of us to get to heaven? Do we all need to die for each other? Why does he speak of heaven when we constantly rebirth ourselves? Is there a heaven? If so, why can’t we just decide to stay there?
What makes my higher being smarter than me? How did it get there?
When my friends were trying to kill themselves, then they heard a voice call out, was that their higher self urging them not to? Was it their higher self that made them want to tell everyone they knew that God had saved them?
Why does the population size keep growing? Did it just take some gods longer to figure out how to make the decision to be born? Are some gods stupider, slower or more patient than others?
Help????
June 14th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
My nearest relatives are horrible people, criminals. If I don’t want to see them in the afterlife, will I be just as alone there as I am here?
June 14th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
There is no afterlife. You just go to Ether and choose to be born again to better parents and choose to have better relatives. Your higher being might have chosen the wrong family.
Or, maybe Jesus was right. Maybe we just believe he died for us and raised from the dead and we get to live with him now and forever. I’m just not sure what to believe??? I also heard that he never died after coming back to life. Just raised up to the sky. Does that mean he’s still alive???
June 14th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
I’m just wondering about those babies who were born to just end up starving to death or being abused or tortured during their stay here. What kind of life purpose to they have? To awaken gratefulness in those who have it all?
Just wondering…..
Cheers, Langoustine
July 25th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Erin, from reading this my bad case of Thantophobia has decreased some. My entire life I have had this extreme fear of death. In fact I do some of these things to stay alive as long as I can: take large sums of vitamins, avoid smoke, wear seatbelts, drink large sums of green tea, ect. Sometimes the fear of death simply makes me go insane. I have not bypassed a single day without thinking of what lies after one departs from the physical world. Now, by reading this wonderful story my Thantophobia has decreased by a significant amount. Although nothing will totally cure it, this report sure has helped it.
July 25th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
I am not at all going to do this. Though, it never hurts to ask does it? If someone kills themselves, where do they go? Is it the same as someone dying naturally, or what? Also, what about animals, what fate lies for them after they die?
August 8th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
This is to answer Janet (well, at least give my input, I don’t know why I feel compelled to answer since this is not my expertise at all):
Who was the first person to create themselves? They had no parents to choose. Who took care of them?
This is always a good question. Who was first? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, to give you my view on this I believe that at first the souls kind of occupied this planet in energy form. In viewing the life that it gave they chose to incarnate as animals at first to experience life. However, this was too far from what their truer forms were like so they (we, I) tweaked things a bit (put a little push in the evolutionary chain.) They still saw the natural order of things and wished to maintain it so they tried to evolve through this process. Who took care of who? Well, at first all souls lived as one, even in the flesh. There really were no parents. After the process was down the ideal of “family” shifted from the whole to the few that were linked by parentage. So, after the evolutionary change was complete enough for them they began to choose solely to enter through birth instead of manifesting in energy form. This also began the road to individualism where we started to think of ourselves and me and you instead of we/I.
I hope I didn’t ramble on. I’m sure there is much more to it than that. This is just something that makes sense.
Why did Jesus say that he had to die for all of us to get to heaven? Do we all need to die for each other? Why does he speak of heaven when we constantly rebirth ourselves? Is there a heaven? If so, why can’t we just decide to stay there?
First, and please don’t take offense to this at all, you have to read the Bible with the frame of mind of a politician. I read the Bible and take the Word from it so don’t think I am bashing it. However, through many many many generations there have been books removed from it and added to it for political and personal reasons (there is a reason that certain churches are among the richest establishments in the world.) Also, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of translations done. With that said, Jesus was a great spirit that truly did not need to come back to earth to learn anymore. He (it) was already at the level in which he was in the presence of the source (heaven). He simply saw a need to come back and help to guide his fellow soul(s) to find their way back onto the path of enlightenment. So, in essence, he died for our sins because he chose to come back to help right the wrongs that had been taught.
The reason we keep coming back is because we simply have not gotten to that level of growth that we strive for. We were created of the source, from the source to be “like” the source. In essence, to be gods. However, with our free will we still have to learn to not abuse this great gift so we choose to cycle through until we feel we are there. Or we choose to come back to help others to get back on that path. So I believe you can choose to stay behind for as long as you want (I also beleive that time is non-existant so you can literally stay there for eternity but be gone for mere minutes.)
Think that one through. I have and it hurts! LOL However, if you are not at the level in which you can be with the source/God then you will not be satisfied so you will choose to come back until that is accomplished.
What makes my higher being smarter than me? How did it get there?
This one is a bit easier for me. Your higher being is pretty much the accumulative experience of all of your lifetimes and even those of your fellow souls. You will have your individual experiences in there but it has access to all that has happened. Thus, it is smarter than your current physical mind. Your higher being is your soul that was created by God/source so that is how it got there.
When my friends were trying to kill themselves, then they heard a voice call out, was that their higher self urging them not to? Was it their higher self that made them want to tell everyone they knew that God had saved them?
This very well could be the case. It could be their higher self or their chosen guide for this life. Either way, it was something spiritual and they simply were not ready to leave.
Why does the population size keep growing? Did it just take some gods longer to figure out how to make the decision to be born? Are some gods stupider, slower or more patient than others?
Population keeps growing because it is the natural process. More and more souls are choosing to come here now because I believe that there will be a great time of need or awakening to happen. Also, this may be too much, but it is my guess that the source simply did not choose one location in this vast universe to plant life. School is in session in more locations than this one. You also must think of the vastness of the source too. What limitations on the number of souls it could create exist? Limitless?
Also, not all souls had made the decision to try and grow. Quite a few of them remain in the ether as guides until they are ready to begin their multiple journey’s.
Help????
I hope that helped. I know this is Erin’s page but I didn’t see a response. I am hoping that you get the chance to read this Janet. I can understand the confusion and need to find answers.
I wish you the best of luck in your journey.
September 14th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
Guys, guys, guys,
Reading the above is like ( with the greatest respect to you all) seeing lost sheep. You know there is more to life than this but have no guidence or direction.
I beg you now, read the bible, just once and then have a re think. If you don’t understand it ( and there’s a lot to get through ) there are so many commentaries that can help.
I pray that like me you will one day know the truth. Jesus loves you and wants to have a one to one personal relationship with you right now. Give him a chance and stop making up stories fairy stories.
With love and Gods blessings,
Dave
September 14th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Dear all,
Sorry for my first introduction, upon reflection, it does seem a little abrupt.
You see 4 years ago I believed that we where born and then died and that was it. Then I attended an Alpha course held at my local church to explore the meaning of life. I was intending to convert all these “sandal wearing, God botherers” to my way of thinking or at the very least cast doubt on there beliefs. As I went week after week to argue my point, I came away with doubts of my own and finally decided to give God a chance to reveal himself, and this is what I found out.
God created the world for his created children to develop in. He wanted children for the same reason we do, to love and care for. Now, he didn’t want robots who would do as they where told and to love him because he commanded it, so he created them with free will that he could not change. Everyone was to be given the choice to love and obey him or not, just like our children. So when he created the first man and woman, He gave them a world to live in, everything was theirs, all except one thing, this one fruit tree, he called it the tree of knowledge. That’s like putting a child in a room full of toys and sticking a bowl of jelly babies right in the middle, set up for failure. God had to do this to test them, he knew they would fail but even then he had already made provision for the humane race to have free will but to obey and love their father as we love our own earthly parents. He said to them if you eat from the tree you will die, bearing in mind at this point the earth was created perfect, without death or sin. God then allowed satin to cast doubt upon Gods love for them by daring them to disobey God, much like someone daring you to do something as a child, you where told not to, by your parents but listened to the other kids, only years later do you realise why it was wrong. Anyway because of this folly, the two people who represented the whole of mankind had to start the ball rolling for the longest learning curve ever. The curse of sin entered the world and they where banished. Between this time and 2000 years ago there was a lot of testing and teaching by God, he gave them rules on how to live there lives but no matter how they tried they couldn’t shake of this curse of sin. God knew this, so he did something that was always in his plan. He sent Jesus who wasn’t born into sin, as his father was the Holy Spirit, so he was without sin (quite a big point), you see the only way to combat sin, was if a sinless man was to be sacrificed. So God sacrificed his own Son so that we could start the journey back to a full on relationship with him. This is what it is meant by Jesus died for you, If you where guilty of a crime and sentenced to death and the Judge then said that he would take your place, you would be gob smacked, not only that you would probably want to thank him or if someone pushed you out of the way of a bus and saved your life you would probably feel obligated to that person and would strike up a life long relationship with them. Jesus underwent torture, ridicule, he was outcast, betrayed and finally endured the most horrific of deaths but because he had defeated even death its self by that act, he rose again as he said he would and is now waiting for you to thank him by accepting him into your life and through prayer having a one to one personal relationship with him. God wants his children to return to him, not because he says but because we want to. He has paved the way and all we have to do is accept.
Sorry for going on a bit but it’s quicker than reading the Bible.
Just to summarise;
After sin entered the earth it was like carrying a chalk board on our back and everything we do that is sinful is written on it, mine was huge.
No man or army could defeat death, although scientists are trying, bless um! So God sent his only Son to die in our place.
We still have the promise of eternal life but we must be sin free therefore if we acknowledge what Jesus did for us he will wipe the slate clean. This can only be achieved by accepting him as your savour and asking him to forgive you for all those passed sins
God always intended for us to be immortal and live life in peace and harmony, but he set his standard. If you go to a fancy restaurant and the dress standard is a tie and jacket, they won’t send you away because you have neither, they offer you a tie and jacket. It is up to you whether or not to accept there standards.
Finally, Jesus will return to earth one day and a new earth will be created just like it was at the start, no death, eternal life with the Lord our God and much more than our pea sized brains could ever comprehend.
Well that’s it my friends, I’ve kept it as short as I can to do it any justice. I wouldn’t expect you to run screaming to the nearest church for forgiveness but if you have been inspired by these words then I encourage you as a matter of urgency to get it right in your own mind and if you feel that this is the truth then before you go to sleep tonight, pray in your head or out load, “Jesus I recognise now what you did for me on that cross and that I am blinded by sin. Please help me to confess my sin to you and forgive me for the things I have done Amen. Eternal Life or eternal death is just a heart beat away, don’t leave it too long. Have you ever tried to back date life insurance?
Go on go and see your dad. He loves you.
With love,
Dave
September 25th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
a lot of speculations.
October 18th, 2006 at 7:07 am
And Micheal Kinney’s isn’t? Dave’s explanation makes much more sense to me.
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