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Heaven And Hell Are Right Here, Right Now
Of this, I am sure.
“It’s not true that you go to hell or to heaven after you die. You live in hell or you live in heaven, but now. Heaven and hell only exist in the level of the mind.”
Don Miguel Ruiz, via MoveMe Quotes
Let’s set aside the speculation for a moment and focus on what’s guaranteed—this moment. For what happens after death is and will forever be purely speculative. How could we ever know for sure? And even if your faith convinces you otherwise, what’s always going to be more certain than faith is the current reality of now; nothing can be more real than reality itself.
So, let’s start here, in this moment that we can’t argue or deny, and let’s look at how we’re living our lives. Are we living in heaven or are we living in hell? Or, maybe a better question, have we learned how to live a heavenly life despite our circumstances or are we living a hellish life and are a victim of our circumstances? For, as Ruiz points out above, heaven and hell only exist in the level of the mind.
A simple exercise: what if, at the end of your life, you could only pick one moment in which to live for the rest of eternity and that was heaven? What moment would you pick? And conversely, what if hell was living in one of the worst moments of your life? That would be awful. Here’s the point: we’ve all already experienced both heaven and hell in our lifetimes. This is proof.
The daily practice should be figuring out ways to maximize the number of heavenly moments while simultaneously minimizing the number of hellish moments. Not by wishing, hoping, and praying for better circumstances—but, by learning, growing, and acting despite them. Heaven requires an active participation whereas hell usually results from a passive acceptance.
Think back again to the heavenly moments that came to mind in the exercise above. What you might notice is that you enjoyed them so much because you were actively and wholly engaged in them. Your eyes were clearly seeing; your ears, carefully listening; your nose, dutifully smelling; your skin, delicately receiving. There is no past or future, worry or anxiety, fear or anger, hate or distraction—just a complete interaction with a complete moment.
