The understanding that I have, is that our Creator, Great Spirit, or however you may name it, loves each one of us unconditionally, and would not willingly punish us for doing or not doing anything (its hard enough to navigate in this world without having to undergo that!!!).

But that said, we are learning to be responsible creators ourselves, (our thoughts and actions do create our reality - despite appearances sometimes to the contrary!). So anything we do that does not honour ourselves or another part of life entails the forming of a karmic debt, which is recorded in our being and has to be released at some time or other, for us to be released from its limitations. We have, in the process, to learn the spiritual lesson that is involved.

So when a human being dies on the physical plane, they have the opportunity to go for a Life-Review process (some may elect to 'hang around' for a while, or be too frightened by the plane they find themselves upon to do this). But eventually the spiritual significance of everything they have done while embodied is gently examined, and the lesson of each placed before them. To many, this may seem to be an experience they would rather forget, for obvious reasons! The Tibetan traditions call this life-review "Bardo", and as far as I know, this is a real thing.

Then the consciousness of the human goes on to enjoy meeting with others of like mind in the Temples of Instruction and Healing that exist on the inner planes, preparatory to taking their places among embodied relatives' unseen ancestors and guides.

It used to be that they would go on to eventually prepare to re-incarnate and try the lessons and tests of physicality again; I understand that this has changed, as there is no longer room for a vast and extensive astral plane on which to house discarnates. They are being pressed into the heart-holograms of those who are embodied who have some of their genetic lineages, as ancestors.

This change is due to the Earth Mother taking her evolution and ascension in hand in recent years, and making the necessary changes to her inner planes and their organisation, in line with planetary ascension, soon to progress to entry into the Photon Belt, or aura of the Great Central Sun.

You can see, there's a lot of interesting stuff to learn about here!

Blessings-
Pounamu