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I do not agree or disagree with experiences which others have had. As a former ambulance paramedic I have seen people pronounced dead at the scene, taken to the county morgue, where the coroner confirmed that they were dead, made out a death certificate, and then that person awakened in the morgue with fantastic stories about the afterlife. I have seen lots of people die, and a number of them came back with incredible stories.
I used to hang out with a group of people, and we all, including myself, had out-of-body experiences while sitting in quiet meditation, Everyone in that group, including myself, had various accounts of what is beyond this physical realm. Other people’s experiences are their experiences and not necessarily a reference for what I might experience.
While human beings have more in common than they do that is different, still we all have our uniqueness. I feel it is the same way in the afterlife. Whether there is a heaven or hell, in my opinion, depends on how we react to what we are seeing or experiencing. There are homeless people that are living on the streets who are not suffering. I learned a long time ago not to suffer over what may be perceived as suffering.
I have tolerated a lot of pain and lack in my life without being miserable about it. Suffering, in my opinion, depends on perception; it is subjective. The story is told about when Alexander the Great invaded India he said to a Mahatma there “if you do not tell me where the gold is I will kill you,” and the Mahatma replied “I did not know that I was powerful enough to make you kill me.” This is a different reaction then most would have.
To me heaven and hell are only labels we use in the English language to describe pain and pleasure. Yogis in India can sleep pleasantly on a bed of nails, or walk on hot coals without feeling pain. If a person has a strong unshakable sense of inner peace, they will not be reactive, even in what may be perceived as “hell.” The saying is; “life is not about what happens to us rather life is about how we react to what happens to us.”
Peace
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