A quick overview about how we end up in hell long before afterlife, with a couple of suggestions what to do to avoid hell on earth
In folklore, hell is a place in the afterlife where souls are tormented and tortured for their misdoings in the course of life. It’s believed that those who end up there, stay in hell for eternity, or at least until they redeem their sins. Hell is portrayed as a place where God is absent, heaven is a state of eternal love and union with God. In different Religions, the idea of hell may vary, but in essence, it’s the same. For Christians, hell is the place in the afterlife, while for Muslims Jahannam (hell) and Jannah (heaven) coexist with the temporal world. It’s also believed that the bridge of As-Sirāt goes above the mountains, rivers, valleys, and oceans filled with feces. Across that bridge, every resurrected soul needs to walk to enter the realm of heaven. What is paramount in avoiding hell is to ascend beyond greed, vanity, and other wickedness. Although we can’t reach perfection, if we're honest in our efforts we’re in communion with god.
In the essence of all Holy Books, the thriving of humans here on earth is presented as paramount. One point intertwined and present in all stories is the importance of attaining resilience, self-sufficiency, and bravery which leads to living a better life. A couple of days ago I opened a random page in I Ching and started reading.
“Waiting can be done with patience or worry, it doesn’t affect the outcome. All things take time to develop and the eventual outcome is never altered by your attitude while waiting”
To all of us, it’s well known that we should be patient and that impatience is bad. But we take it for granted. It’s after we tire ourselves out with worry that we start appreciating what we already know, which we have previously written off as cliche.
You will fulfill your ambitions and needs when the circumstances align and the time is ripe. Some of it will fail, but if you are receptive and have the right attitude, another possibility will open up.
The Call (Genesis 12:1)
The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives And your father’s house To the land which I will show you "
When God commanded Abram to take the journey, Abraham was 99 years old, despite being old he went on a journey without any questions.
All of us have intuition. You can call it a God, Guardian Angel, or whatever you like. But there’s rarely a single person who can’t sense when the time is right to move on. You may decide to ignore your gut feeling and not do it. If you do so, you will end up in hell. Failure can be hard to accept, but hell is not failing. Hell is never trying to do what you want, despite being scared.
Intuition is a gift from God each of us has. That is to know with your being rather than with an analytical mind. Use your intuitive thinking not to reach new dimensions but to discover those already inside you.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
You don’t bring any material possession in this world and you can take none. All the possessions you have are merely tools. None of these will guide you toward what you’re looking for. Wealth can’t alleviate the existential crisis and give meaning to a meaningless life.
To feel the full joy of living, reliance on what is before us is necessary. When we understand that we are coming before every thought and every psychological state we can attain peace. We are the sky, everything else is the clouds. They can cover the sky, but can’t change the quality of the sky, or its color.
Beggar and the box of gold story
There once was a beggar who sat on a box by the side of the road for many, many years.
Day in and day out, swarms of strangers would pass him on their way and the beggar did what all beggars do: ask for money.
One day a traveler was passing through town and the beggar shouted “Please give me some money!”
The traveler said, “Sorry, I don’t have any money to spare, but I am curious about your box.”
“What about my box?” the beggar replied.
“Well, what’s in it?”
The beggar responded, “I don’t know, it’s just an old box I found here that I’ve been sitting on for years.”
Persistent in his inquiry, the traveler once again asked what was in the box.
The beggar replied, “I’ve never looked.”The traveler said, “Why not?”
“Because there is nothing there!” the beggar howled back.
The traveler said, “Well let’s take a look, shall we?”
Finally, to appease the traveler’s insistence, the beggar split the box open, and amazingly, a treasure of gold burst onto the ground. He’d be sitting on it for years and never even knew it.
And off the traveler went.
What treasure are you sitting on?
Although our journey can be complicated, in its essence, it looks like this:
Resistance
Resignation
Acceptance
Transcendance
All roads lead to the same destination. That’s you. All start and finish with you. The question is, what are you going to do about it?