View this answer on Musing.io

This is not a question that can be answered due to the lack of empirical evidence to support the claims of anyone trying to answer while stuck in this plane of existence.

That said, it is a very intriguing thing to ponder for sure. I've been fascinated with spirituality my entire life. I was born into a staunch conservative Christian household, but I was never able to simply adopt the beliefs of my parents because I had questions. Questions that I didn't feel my mother, father, or any pastor could answer sufficiently.

In my life I've gone from being highly committed to my spiritual practice, to completely agnostic, and then back to being interested in spirituality to differing degrees. A few years ago I had a particularly intense experience during a pranayama (breath work) session that really opened my mind up to a different way of interpreting the teachings of the various spiritual traditions that are observed in this modern era.

As far as I can tell, Heaven and Hell do exist, but I'm not convinced that they are places one would go in the afterlife, but rather these are ways of expressing states of being. One can "go to hell" at any point to "atone" for a decision they've made, or one can dwell in heaven right here, right now on Earth. All based on how we choose to live our lives.

An example would be I am visiting a holiday party at a friend of a friend's home and while there I run across an expensive watch in his bathroom drawer. I had no intent of stealing when I accepted the invitation to the party, but at the moment, I am not in complete control of the voices in my head, and my demons shout down my better angels. I put the watch in my pocket and rejoin the party as if nothing happened. The next day I find the watch in my pocket and kind of marvel over what I've done, but at the same time I'm also confronted with guilt associated with the act I've committed. Over time the guilt builds, and I have to resolve it in some way--there's always a price to pay or reward to reap for every action we take in our lives.

Even if I somehow manage to resolve the guilt internally and decide that it was a good idea to have stolen from my now friend, that isn't a get out of Hell free card. I feel the Universe has a way of sorting out the good/bad/right/wrong that occurs, and perhaps I come down with an illness, or something else happens in my life that generates illness or another type of "unfortunate" circumstance in my life. This is hell in my opinion.

At the same time, I have observed people who I feel live highly admirable lives. They steadfastly adhere to a moral code that is unshakable. They are disciplined with their time, and they are almost always in a heavenly mood. This is heaven in my opinion.

I believe that modern religions are helpful in the sense that they inspire many of their followers to live by a set and mostly accurate set of morality that is a public service to us all, but at the same time they create toxic tribalism that pits followers of one way of thinking against the others because they all market themselves as the one truth or "the only way" when in fact, they are all tools that can lead to self realization and peaceful interaction between humans and nature. This simply isn't true. There is almost certainly no "one way" to live/pray/believe/etc. We are all wonderfully unique and will have our own relationship with Spirit/The Universe/God/etc.

The key is to develop the ability to hear the call of our soul, and to follow that call.

Hope this adds new perspective, thanks for asking!