Do you believe in god? Do you believe in heaven? What do you picture in your mind's eye when you see yourself or your loved ones in heaven after they've died? Are you or they running around in white robes with a horde of other people in white robes? Are you and they cavorting around basking in the glow of god's love? Does everyone have wings or are wings reserved for the "special ones?" What do you see beyond that? Are there relationships in heaven? Or is there no need for relationships between people? Do people eat? Is everyone loving and happy and peaceful? Is there no fighting for anything because no one needs anything and everyone loves everyone else? What would that be like, do you suppose? Would that make you happy? Would you like to live that way for all eternity? What would there be to look forward to? More of the same? What does "being with god" really mean? What would it be like?
Maybe heaven is literal. Such as when we look up into the heavens and see all those stars and galaxies and other "heavenly" bodies. It looks peaceful...but it isn't. It's like here on Earth. Look around you. Seems pretty peaceful, doesn't it? Then you watch the evening news...rampant with war and crime stories going on all around the world every day every moment. Then take another look around you...there is conflict everywhere with everyone...those little flashes of irritation, aggravation, impatience, frustration, even anger at times. That's life. That's how it is in our own little world, in our neighborhood, in our state, in our country, on our world. And that's how it is throughout the cosmos.
This is my idea of what heaven is...
Everything in the entire known and unknown universe is made of the same material. This material is made up of many different elements. Each form in the universe consists of different combinations of these elements. All the elements continually reacts with all the other elements they encounter. Elements break down, each has its own lifespan depending on its makeup. After it breaks down, it never disappears. Never. Instead, it mixes and combines with other elements to create new forms. If you can't imagine this, think of all the modern things we've "invented." Plastics, for instance. We used the elements that are available and we mixed them with other elements and we have plastic. It consists of all the same elements but in different combinations. We take cotton balls and silkworms and we make fabric. All of our modern inventions is exactly what's going on throughout the universe...only on a much smaller scale.
I believe that when our current physical body dies, its elements combines with the Earth's elements. For the next hundreds or thousands of years, we will become rocks or sand or water but we will still be a part of the planet. Then in millions or billions of years from now when the Earth itself reaches the end of its lifespan, we will become a part of another form. Maybe it will be as part of the next star or comet or be the seed of another conscious lifeform on another new world. Then for the next millions or billions of years, that's what we'll be.
We will literally become a part of the heavens. We do live on forever. We are in "heaven." We will never be bored. We will continue to Be, continue to evolve. There is no boundary to what we can be or will be. That is all left to chance...to what other elements are present at the time our current elements are ready to be reformed. We may not be reformed into a conscious form but we will be reformed. We will always exist. Nothing in the universe really dies. Nothing disappears into nothingness. The universe wastes nothing.
I believe that this is what awaits us. Evolution for us is to finally become, in actuality, a part of the Bigger Picture. And it doesn't matter whether or not we're good or evil in this tiny and very temporary part of our existence. That's of no consequence in the larger scheme of existence. But it IS important to our current existence. So each of us should just learn to appreciate that during this portion of our existence we are actually conscious of being. And we should make it as nice as we can for all the people in our lives including those we don't know but who also live in our world. We should not waste any of our short existence making life miserable for anyone else. What would be the point? Break everyone down to their base elements and we're all made of the same stuff and that includes plants and animals and rocks and water and anything else you can think of. The only difference is in our appearance. All rocks look different, similar but different.
So, in this sense, life never ends. We will return to heaven...literally. I believe that Carl Sagan was and is right. We ARE the stuff of stars. We ARE related to everything we see and don't see. We ARE a part of everything.
This is my religion. This is what my intelligence and my logic tells me. This is what makes sense. To believe in anything supernatural doesn't make sense. To be supernatural means to be outside and apart from the universe. For me, that cannot be unless there is another, larger universe existing on an even more unbelievable timescale. That would mean there are universes within universes unto infinity. But then, that wouldn't be bad either. It's a heck of a lot better than the idea of heaven and hell which is such a shortsighted and limited way of looking at life. The idea that we either go to hell and burn in agony forever or go to heaven and frolic aimlessly with silly smiles on our faces forever is not very appealing to me. I rather look forward to becoming a part of the Bigger Picture, a part of the beautiful heavens I see whenever I look up into the night skies. I LIKE being a part of all that...now and forever.
Which future would you prefer?
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