What happens when I die?

Yes, the body dies, but I am not the body. In ignorance, we deeply believe that I am the body. Anyone believing to be the body is going to be pleasantly surprised when they finally let go of the body (or when the body let's go of them).

My first teacher, Adyashanti, said that the closer we get to the truth the more contradictions arise. This is one of those moments because it is also true that nothing dies. The body is not what's alive. Consciousness is alive. If this is not clear, go to the experience of 'Being Alive' now and see clearly, experientially, that the source of our aliveness is Consciousness.

It feels like my understanding of death went deeper today. Today I had the deep feeling-understanding that 'death' will be a pleasant, wonderful, loving, amazing experience. It is wonderful to feel this and I will try and explain how I came to this realization.

This understanding came naturally, however, it didn't come by luck. It was the result of years of contemplation. My contemplations were not focused specifically on death, but on the nature of reality and self.

The shift in understanding was the direct result of something scientist Bernardo Kastrup said that really clicked.

He explained that materialists have a hard time explaining something....psychedelics cause people's brain activity to decrease/stop! This makes absolutely no sense if you believe that conscious experience is generated from brain activity. It should be the opposite since psychedelic experiences are incredibly rich, insightful, and lucid. For example, psychedelic experiences can feel like everything is revealed as if turning on a light. (Actually, for me, it was something like the Star Trek episode called 'Spock's Brain'). Suddenly I am now able to see and understand everything! I've had these experiences with Ayahuasca.

The fact that I was having these incredible experiences while my brain activity was slowing down to a stop now makes perfect sense. This sweet realization happened at the intersection of understanding that there is only one reality, and the remembrance of past psychedelic experiences.

The realization that I am trying to explain is difficult to understand unless you are open to the possibility that this current experience is 100% mental (as a way of communicating that the substance of everything is Consciousness).

As a metaphor, think of this human experience as a tiny whirlpool within a vast ocean. In other words, the totality of this human experience is the result of mind activity happening within a greater reality (Consciousness). It is this understanding, combined with past psychedelic experiences, that gives me a glimpse into what might happen when the brain activity slows down and eventually stops. This is more than just conjecture.

Physicist, Bernardo Kastrup, invented the whirlpool metaphor, which is also used by non-dual teacher Rupert Spira. (Isn't it interesting and wonderful that scientists and spiritual teachers are now using the same metaphors to communicate the truth?)

Think of this human body-mind experience is a contraction or a narrowing within Consciousness, like a whirlpool in the ocean. While the human brain or mind is working, we are only able to see a very narrow slice of reality called time & space. It is only when the brain slows down, or when the whirlpool starts to fall apart, that we are then able to experience other possibilities of reality that were previously hidden. They were always there, but we were not able to see them. Some people might refer to this as the unconscious realm....a realm that we are somewhat able to access when we sleep. Ayahuasca enabled me to experience the unconscious realm in a way that would otherwise be impossible. Far and away beyond the night-time dream experience.

Eventually when the body dies, the 'whirlpool' falls apart and we understand that we were always part of the same indivisible whole. We see that we were always here. We see that I was always what I am. We understand that I could never have been anything else other than Reality itself. We understand that the world was an illusion. A dream.

Of course no one can say exactly what will happen when the body dies but I am certain that I will be awash in love. Why? Because that is my essence.

I can't say anything else with as much certainty as the feeling of love, but when the contracted localization of Consciousness has been relaxed, it is logical to assume that other experiences within reality will be revealed (that are absolutely nothing like this one). It is also logical to assume that there will be an understanding that I just imagined that I was this person, like awaking from a dream. It is absolutely possible to have this experience before we die...as they say in Zen, die before you die.

I am not in a hurry to die. Just the opposite. This life is a celebration. I also believe that Consciousness knowing itself within this human experience is the evolution of Consciousness. I also believe that we are being guided to this understanding. Kind of like playing the kid's game "you are getting warmer....now you are getting colder" We know that we are getting colder when we suffer. So I am going to cherish this life, and honor it the best I can.

The concept of death frightens most people. I would be afraid too if I believed that I shared the destiny of the body. I prefer the truth. Whatever happens after the body dies will be exactly what I choose to happen. At the level of reality, its not a significant event. If fact, it's not an event.

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