I was watching something last night that reminded me of a concept that I’d encountered before but never given serious thought to: Heaven is what you make it. Basically, whatever you think the afterlife is going to be like, is what it will be like. So whether you believe in heaven, hell, reincarnation or something else, that’s what will happen to you when you die.

It’s an interesting concept. As far as I know, most faiths that believe in a heaven-like place see it as a predetermined space, it simply is what it is. What I got to thinking about was this: If the afterlife is what you believe it is, then shouldn’t you take the time to make sure it’ll be something good? If whatever you believe happens after death is true, you wouldn’t want it to suck, would you?

Personally I don’t believe in heaven or hell. I believe that when you die your physical and spiritual energy just disperses out of your body and goes back to Source. Of course, any of us could be wrong. If our spirit gets sent somewhere when we die, I’d sure like it to be a good place. I’ve never given it any deep thought until last night. Now I’m wondering if I should come up with a clear idea of what heaven would be, just in case.

When I think about it though, dispersing back into source wouldn’t be so bad. Sure, I wouldn’t get to experience anything anymore, but I’d be dead, so would I really know? And since I think of that breaking down as something natural and beautiful, would it be a bad thing if I was aware of it happening to me? I suppose though, given a choice, I’d like to spend my afterlife in some Elysian paradise being happy for all eternity. Maybe even watching over and helping humanity.

Something else crossed my mind concerning all of this. In my wandering metaphysical studies I’ve also come across the idea held by some, in which your idea of heaven or hell becomes your mortal life. It’s a little complicated, but basically, if you believe you’re going to hell (or some other bad place), then you’ll live a life that will conduct you to such a place. If you believe you’re going to heaven, you’ll have a life that leads to that.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, because I know plenty of people who are sure of their spot in heaven who live really horrid lives which, if I believed in hell, I’d be sure they were headed for. One could speculate though that if they don’t have a really clear idea of heaven and what it takes to get there, that might affect their lives. Also, if they’re not as sure as they claim and spend enough time fearing hell, they might be sabotaging themselves.

I’m not sure how I feel about it all, but it is interesting to think about. It might be interesting to think about what heaven would be like for me if I had a choice in it. I’m okay with the breaking down into source energy though. What this does make me consider though is what effect it would have on my life if I took the time to imagine what heaven on earth would be. If I imagined what a perfect world and perfect life would look like to me, could I summon that into reality? It’s certainly an interesting concept.

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter