Death, eh? Our one common destination in life, our one common fear, the one thing we discuss the least. But it’s not that bad in the grand scheme of things. If you subscribe to reincarnation, then:

• You’ve died before – a lot of times
• Brutally!
• This time will likely be easier
• You’ll be back
• Forewarned is forearmed
• You’ve got this!

We live in relatively civilised times now, so whatever death you have in this life, it’s like to only be as bad as something your soul remembers from before, or likely, much less horrific. You’re less likely to be hung drawn and quartered, stretched on a rack, or die of the Bubonic plague on a slave ship in the Atlantic. Although some of us will have horrific endings, most likely you’ll get sick and pass away with pain meds and loved ones, or perhaps something more sudden like a car crash. It could be much worse. We are a privileged generation, when it comes to death.

Death isn’t the scary unexpected monster we think of it as. The Grim Reaper is a pretty decent, fair energy. It can be reasoned with. There are ways to make your death more pleasant, and to extend your life, if you ask the universe and do what it asks of you in return. Just like any spirit, you can make a deal with Death, and all it wants is what’s best for you. To work through your karma in this life, is to extend your lifespan, lessen the severity of your death, and improve the chances of you having an easier life next time around.

Once you’re on board with the whys and hows of death and rebirth, it takes the sting out of it. Life becomes a lot less scary, and so does death.

Don’t fear the reaper, dude!

 So, always look on the bright side of death!
Just before you draw your terminal breath.
Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true,
You'll see it's all a show,
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you! 
 
Monty Python's Life of Brian: 
Always look on the bright side of life 

Alternatively – as there’s always a flip side, don’t fear death but do realise your life choices do have a massive impact on what happens after it. Many cultures, be it the Egyptian book of the dead or the Christian Pearly gates have a process of determining where your karma is at, and where you go next time as a result. Reincarnation also has a process. How it works for you, is whatever you believe in the most. You’ll end up where you expect. If that’s nothing, it’s nothing.

Some believe that’s Heaven, a dimension of sorts where souls can go to chill, and indeed that it a thing according to my beliefs. Some believe that Heaven and Hell are a state of mind to live your life on Earth, and that too is a thing. As I understand it, the Heaven and Hell dimensional planes are like spiritual waiting rooms, where you and your soul family catch up and discuss your lives up until now, before you go back into ‘the game of life’ for your next round. A little reward, or a little justice, before going back to the task at hand. The brimstone and cloud imagery is something us humans picture to get our heads around it, and as for ‘eternal salvation/damnation’ well, yes and no – these planes exist outside of our dimension, and outside of time, so it’s hard to grasp the concept of ‘eternal’ as it doesn’t exist there.

Life’s not so much about obeying the laws of your religion or culture, it’s about having great experiences and paying back your karma. If you’ve not done many naughty things in your past lives, you’ll have an easier ride this time around, and if you live a life of crime and indulgence with that freedom, the tables will be turned in your next life.

As life is balanced, so will your life experiences be. After your soul’s kicked your meat suit’s bucket, it goes somewhere (likely the individual’s beliefs and expectations will affect this), and gets reviewed, before it is allocated another appropriate meat suit for it to inhabit.

So don’t fear death. It’s nowhere near as difficult as life. Make life work so that when it comes around to your death, you’re nice and relaxed with your choices. Think of life like packing your suitcases a week early before going on a holiday. Make sure you’ve got everything you need sorted in good time, and you’ve ditched any dodgy people, objects and emotions you shouldn’t be carrying, so you know you won’t get into trouble with spiritual airport security.

You don’t want them giving you a cavity search. They use red hot pokers!*

*this is a joke

**perhaps?