Death is a portal, but your joy is immortal

Travel with me for a minute...

My dear friend Sarah called me the other evening and as always, she managed to relieve me from my little sadness cocoon — almost as if her existence alone is medicine — she has that power sometimes.

I’d been going through a difficult time due to the uncertainty of my life and she, in ever-so-perfect-timing brought up the concept of fear, referencing one of the many books she was always reading. She mentioned something about Ancient Egyptians believing that we came to Earth to learn how to conquer fear in every shape, size, dimension, feeling, and weight that it might appear in our lives.

This got me curious. So I dug a little deeper, and what I found was even more awe-inspiring:

“Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?'” ― Leo Buscaglia

Let’s take the opportunity now to reframe the conditioned belief that ancient Egyptians were obsessed with death. They probably weren’t, although the many mummy-themed blockbuster thrillers might have you believing otherwise. Some say it’s been revealed that Egyptians were actually far more concerned with joy. They saw life on Earth as only one part of an eternal journey, and this little part didn’t end with death, but with everlasting joy. 

Fascinating, right? There’s more: they believed that when death came, it was only a transition to another realm (a portal, of course) where, if they got approval from the Gods, they would live in an eternal paradise known as The Field of Reeds (AKA The Field of Offerings or A'aru). The Field of Reeds was a mirror image of one's life on Earth, and the aim of every ancient Egyptian was to make their life on Earth worth living, eternally. The perfect afterlife was simply an ideal version of their Earthly existence (minus the small inconveniences, limitations, and human sufferings… all the good stuff stays).

What’s also amazing is that they offer guidance on how to get there! The Egyptian Book of the Dead (originally titled The Book of Coming Forth by Day, learn more about it here) is a personalized manual with a collection of spells (or prayers, mantras, affirmations—call them what you will) which enable the soul of the departed to navigate the afterlife.

Spell 110 is to be recited to claim the right to enter The Field of Reeds:

“I acquire this field of yours which you love, O Lady of the Air. I eat and carouse in it, I drink and plough in it, I reap in it, I copulate in it, I make love in it, I do not perish in it, for my magic is powerful in it.”

The 'Lady of the Air' referenced above is most likely Ma'at (goddess of truth, justice, harmony, and balance) or Hathor (goddess of beauty, sensuality, music, dancing, and maternity).

Anyway… Here’s the thing, it doesn’t really matter what I (or you) believe now, today. It doesn’t even really matter whether or not any of this is based on facts. Why don’t we step out of our own structures for a moment, let logic take a backseat, and put our imagination to work? Why don’t we marinate ourselves in another world, if only for a little taste? What can we learn from this world? And how can we apply what we’ve learned into our own world?

If The Field of Reeds is real, if life after death was in-fact just a paradisiacal mirror reflection of all that is joyful in your current experience, then I invite you to ponder on two questions: the first question is, 'Are you bringing joy?' and the second is, 'Are you finding joy?'