what might heaven be like?

What Might Heaven Be Like?

An essay by

Norman E. Sindlinger

Copyright 2014 by Norman E. Sindlinger. All rights reserved.

What Might Heaven Be Like?

An Essay

s there any point, value or purpose in thinking

about or postulating what the unknowable might

actually be like? As curious, sentient human beings

using only our highly developed intellect and language

skills, we engage in abstract thinking about all

manner of things that were once unknowable.

With our equally highly developed sense of con-

sciousness and awareness of self, that is perhaps

unique to we humans alone, such abstract thinking

sometimes leads to profound discovery and under-

standing.

Eventual proof of life after death in a place called

heaven may always remain elusive. For several quite

practical reasons; however, an unshakable belief in

everlasting life is exceptionally valuable during our

I

Norman E. Sindlinger What Might Heaven Be Like? | 3

earth livesbeyond purely religious and biblical

teaching and beliefs.

Perhaps nothing is more commonly experienced, in

life on earth, than the inevitability of eventual death.

As with humans, many intelligent animals experience

an intense sense of loss when death occurs of a mate

or child. Is it any wonder then that with our loss and

attendant grief we long to become reunited with those

whom we loved or had great affection or admiration

for here on earth?

At such moments, and even for a lifetime for many, an

intense feeling often develops that a spouse, parent,

child or close friend remains forever near watching

over them. What an infinitesimally small step from

there to a desire or intense belief of eventual reuniting

in a place known to so many as heaven.

If a strong belief in eventual reuniting in heaven, with

an everlasting afterlife, mitigates grief and comforts

those still living, isnt it at the very least a most

powerful course of alternative therapy?

To the atheist or fervent non-believer who decries the

very concept of everlasting life, of heaven or God

Himself, ask what possible benefits or comfort to the

grieving is derived from their non-belief. Is the

concept of reunited, everlasting life in heaven, any less

elusive than the powerful earthly bonding to another


that causes intense longing and grief itself when the

bond is broken in death?

For any society, group, family or couple to live in

harmony, they must believe that all manner of

systems and services will be available when needed,

and that direct or implied pledges and promises will

be honored when just or reasonable. In our daily lives

and throughout our lifetimes we entrust our well

being and often even our lives to many others because

we believe for the most part in their fundamental

honesty, integrity and skills. Is it any wonder then

that so many individuals throughout the world so

willingly believe with deep conviction in God and His

everlasting Kingdom.

Many of us, if indeed not most of us, are faced with

turning points in our lives wherein our entire belief

system hangs in the balance; to be changed positively

or negatively or simply to be greatly reinforced. For

some it may occur early in life, while for others it may

occur in their twilight years when the inevitability of

death is fully realized.

Whether life and death issues are faced in illness or

trauma or in natural passing with age, death is the

great equalizer for it will happen to all whether

ordinary, rich or famous, happy or sad and fulfilled or

unfulfilled.


My first such turning point came when I was twenty-

four and less than a month past my first wedding

anniversary. Nine hours after my wife Jacqueline gave

birth to our first daughter, following an unusually

long, difficult labor, our daughter Laura died.

Without any doubt or delay I told Jackie that our

Laura was now an angel in heaven. I still believe that

even more firmly following Jackie's death 49 years

later. My only comfort then and now comes from my

unshakable belief that I will be with them again in

God's Heaven for all eternity. I've spent many hours

over the years contemplating what it will be like when

my time comes to be reunited with them.

I believe that fate has a role to play at times, but I do

not believe in an all inclusive, unchangeable

predestination. I have never believed that God

intervenes in all aspects of earthly life, or that He

deliberately took our Laura from us after her so brief

earth life.

I do believe, without a moments doubt, that God looks

with special favor on the earth's true innocents, who

never had time to develop memories or experiences of

their own. I believe God made our Laura and others

like her one of his guardian angels. I also believe that

God gave Laura her everlasting life at that magical age

of four or five, so that Jackie and I will always have

her to love and care for forever. I also believe he gave


Laura our shared childhood memories for her very

own. Two events several years apart convinced Jackie

and me that Laura was indeed our guardian angel as

well as God's.

The first event occurred while Jackie and I were

walking along a hall, decorated with framed prints, for

a consultation with an oncologist regarding an initial

positive test for stomach cancer.

As we approached the doctors office Jackie suddenly

stopped, audibly gasped while staring at a large print

of a young girl in a garden.

Thats our Laura in the picture, Norman, exclaimed

Jackie with excitement. It has to be her. She looks

just like me when I was four years old.

The little girls body and profile in the painting was

indeed a remarkable likeness of photographs I had

seen of Jackie at the probable age of four.

Norman, I know shes watching over us. I can almost

hear her telling me that your bone marrow test is

going to confirm that you dont have cancer. I just

know it.

The nurse who had been leading us to the doctors

office, stopped turned to face us and said, The doctor

is waiting for you.


As I grasped Jackies hand, she was trembling with

excitement as she said, June Dudley is the artists

name. We have to find out if a copy of the print is still

available. I just know that is Laura in the garden and

everything is going to be okay now.

Several days later the bone marrow test came back

negative. In the meantime we learned that June

Dudley was a very well know, prolific artist, and that

her print of the painting Grandmothers Garden was

still available. We immediately ordered our copy.

A number of years later, following Jackies release

from the hospital after a serious illness, we were

sitting on a bench at the Manasquan inlet watching

the boats return from the days ocean fishing. Jackie

was quite depressed and unusually silent as a young

girl approached us holding the hand of her probable

grandmother.

Jackie suddenly became transfixed as the young girl

and her probable grandmother were about 20 feet

away from us. We both realized at the same instant

the remarkable resemblance of the young girl to

another photograph of Jackie, at about the same age,

walking on a boardwalk with her grandmother.

Neither of us moved or said anything when the young

girl suddenly stopped, stared directly at Jackie and

began yelling, Mommie. Mommie. Mommie.


The young girl pulled hard against her grandmothers

hand trying to reach Jackie. The grandmother quickly

turned around and began walking away pulling the

little girl along who stumbled along half turned to

stare at Jackie while she kept calling out, Mommie.

Mommie.

Within seconds the little girl was out of our sight

hidden by parked cars along the inlet. Jackie and I

were both so startled that we delayed only a few

seconds more before jumping up from the bench to

find the little girl and her probable grandmother.

When we reached the sidewalk and had a clear view

they were gone.

We rushed along the walk looking into parked cars

along the way, but we were unable to find them. In

mere seconds from the time they were hidden by

parked cars, they had vanished.

We left the inlet soon afterward to drive home too

stunned to discuss what had just happened. Unlike

the excitement and joy of discovering the little girl in

the painting of Grandmothers Garden, we remained

silent and never discussed the incident. Weeks later,

Jackie too was gone.

More than ten years ago now, Jackie was given the

opportunity to see and hold Laura for the first time.

Now I am blessed to have two guardian angels


watching over me. They sustain me with their

presence that I always feel during these years of

loneliness and long nights.

I am comforted that they are finally together, and I'm

certain that in heaven they don't feel my anguish;

because, I don't believe in heaven that there is any

sense of loss or regret, nor is their time linear as on

earth. I believe our separation will be for them as brief

as the passing of a single day.

I often wonder in some detail what Heaven will be like

beyond the overwhelming joy of our reunion. In

addition to all of my previous reasoning, I believe in

an afterlife because I believe in God, and because I

believe that He gave man, woman and child a soul

that is not destroyed by death if properly nurtured or

is truly innocent.

I also believe that the primary nurturing of ones soul

is through the act of a deeply committed love to at

least one other person or righteous cause. I believe

that souls so nurtured will live on after lifes journey

on earth ultimately comes to an end.

In Gods scheme of things, human life on planet earth

is a mere blink in time compared to the life of our sun

that provides the warmth and energy to sustain life on

this or any other planet with life in some possible far

off world. To me the concept of a soul with


indestructible energy living on after death of the body

requires less of a leap than contemplating the

magnificent complexity of the universe and the body

of a single human being.

It seems less of a stretch to believe in the thoughts,

memories and energy of a human soul living on, than

it is to contemplate that it all began with a

singularitythat tiny speck of unimaginable, infinite

density holding all the energy and matter in our

universe, that would burst forth forming billions of

galaxies, each in turn containing billions of stars, and

an untold number of solar systems with orbiting

planets and moons.

The concept of nothingness preceding the Big Bang

of Gods creation is for me a far more difficult concept

to grasp than of an eternal soul. If all of this; then why

not heaven too?

If the concept of an everlasting soul and heaven is

only the creation of mans fertile imagination, but is

the glue that binds the fabric of religion to one of a

significant moral/value system, is that not in itself of

great value? For many it is a win/win situation. For

me heaven and an eternal soul are deeply held beliefs

based upon my personal experiences and thoughts,

and it sustains me for my remaining earth journey

without my beloved wife and daughter physically

beside me.


I think that each soul must begin as an extension of

ones individual mind. Thoughts that once resided in a

physical brain as electro-chemical impulses, and

stored in neurons for living permanence, are

transformed at earth lifes end into pure energy that is

eternally indestructible, but subject to heavens

filtering. In heaven there can no longer be any

physical needs or strong negative emotions as in

earthly life.

I believe that being one with God in heaven means

that at least some of His knowledge of the future is

shared as it pertains to loved ones still on earth. As

mentioned earlier, I believe that there is no longer any

concept of linear time or linear memories. All that

being true, means that there is none of the moment to

moment, day to day, year to year anguish for those in

heaven watching over their loved ones on earth.

There is no concept of waiting for a rejoining of loved

ones. I do believe that God sits in judgment that is,

with one exception discussed later, not directly

condemnatory in that those entering heaven may do

so at varying levels of fulfillment and joy.

I do not believe in a hell as a place where someone is

subject to direct physical pain and suffering, as

typically conjectured throughout the ages, but rather a

state of being without full knowledge of heavens

glories. I do believe that there are permanent


consequences for the most egregious acts while living.

I believe in the trinity of love, forgiveness and

appreciation as the essential qualities upon which God

must base His judgment of each individual. In reality

then, does it not become self judgment while alive on

earth, for these values form the foundation upon

which all joy is based?

For someone to experience true love, he or she must

also have in full measure empathy, devotion,

selflessness, understanding and sacrifice. True love

cannot exist without practicing the fine art of

forgiveness, and it is a fine art. It is easy for many to

overlook minor transgressions in a relationship once

they are taught the values of compromise and

accommodation to achieve basic harmony. It is quite

another matter to truly forgive major transgressions

or even grievous ones.

It is one thing to find them impossible to forget, for

we are subject to human frailties while on earth. One

should not regard forgiveness as only an act of

compassion, but rather as a stopping point at which

further rumination and thoughts of vengeance cease,

so that a relationship or life may continue and even

flourish. All too few people or nations cannot put the

past aside even if it absolutely guarantees that positive

change or accommodation will never be achieved.


It is impossible to know and experience true joy

without being able to appreciate what God has given

so many of us, and it is indivisibly embedded in love

and forgiveness. If there is one single quality that

separates man and woman from beasts, it is our

awareness of the miracles surrounding us in our

universe, nature and our own bodies.

Man alone was given the twin gifts of intellect and

consciousness to appreciate the world God has given

us. The better we appreciate the finer qualities of

anything the more knowledgeable we become. With

knowledge comes the desire to understand even more

in a never ending quest to feel the pure joy of knowing

and appreciating the wonder of Gods universe.

How sensual might heaven be? I would think that

heaven is filled with sensuality, but in a different

sense than that of sex. I cannot imagine anything

more sensual than the conjoining of two souls, who

knew each other so well on earth separately, as when

they become one and there is no longer any need to

interpret what the other is thinking or feeling.

I recall well the excitement of first love, new love and

final love when merely brushing against each other

delivers waves of wondrous feelings. I recall the

feelings of deep warmth and contentment when my

wife and I of nearly fifty years held hands or stroked

each others cheek.


Magnified many times over, that must be how it feels

in heaven to be with your love for eternity. Visual,

hearing and awareness senses will become so

heightened and refined that any scene from earth lives

will be recreated in exquisite detail and nuance.

Scenes from heaven and throughout the universe will

be experienced with sensuality as never before.

What will be remembered? Certainly all of the

moments of happiness and joy of a lifetime on earth

will be recalled at will, but not with the dim

remembrances of our earthly lives. Scenes will

actually be relived as long and as often as desired. The

moments of earthly sadness may be recalled through

heavenly filters with a depth of understanding

unknown when they originally occurred.

The darker memories will be viewed more abstractly

as lessons learned, of knowledge gainedfor trauma

and tragedy often prove enlightening; because, it was

at such times while living that we turned to

spirituality to pull us through.

May we learn in heaven? That is no doubt one of the

principal virtues of an everlasting life. In heaven it

should be possible to meet with anyone else who ever

lived, and exchange thoughts without language,

intellectual or cultural barriers. Gaining knowledge

and sharing experiences in such a way is never

ending, and for eternity a soul grows closer to God.


In turn, such cumulative experience and knowledge

make God more powerful as He learns what his

ultimate creation is capable of achieving. I do not

believe that God, his universe and all those who dwell

within exist in a static state. I believe that this is

evolution as He intended it to be; always expanding

and never ending in an endless quest of perfection. If

heaven were to be reduced to a theme, in my

judgment it is the seeking of perfection in all things

large and small.

Perhaps the most difficult imagining of what heaven

might be like is that of what happens to the innocents

of earthly life? The truest innocents are those who

have been conceived and stillborn, those whose lives

were measured in mere hours, days, weeks or months

and then died before they could gather memories or

thoughts to call their own.

I also believe in the innocence of those who through

their infirmity were never able to reach true

awareness. I choose to believe that the innocents are

not simply discarded never to reach heaven. I choose

to believe that they become Gods favorite angels

precisely because of their innocence.

As angels or perhaps as God's special envoys to whom

he gives extraordinary gifts of empathy, compassion

and understanding so they may welcome, comfort and

offer love to those who never knew the joys of love in


earthly life, or were abused or disenfranchised or

without hope.

But what place in heaven is there for the unloved,

disenfranchised, desperately poor, the physically or

mentally challenged or those so weakened from

hunger, disease, abuse or oppression that they

become stripped of all hope? Are they too treated as

innocents?

I believe that when they reach heaven and are freed

from the bondage of their earthly circumstances, God

grants each an unusual capacity to love one another,

gives each the health and intellect to know fulfillment

and the companionship of His special envoys.

Is heaven an instant utopia filled with nothing but

pleasurable moments without reason to strive for

anything? Based upon the diversity we see in each

other, in nature and the entire universe, I believe that

it is highly unlikely that heaven is confined to only one

level. That would be too sterile for God I think.

I believe He created man and woman to always strive

for betterment. Earth is the initial rough and tumble

arena that is often too harsh, too filled with suffering,

too unfair and too often unending cruelty. This is

mankinds environment where we first learn to feed,

clothe and protect ourselves and to love.


This is where we learn the benefits of cooperative

behavior as a precursor to becoming civilized. This is

also where we retain the primitive brain-stem that

drives the destructiveness of envy and brute force to

take what others have by any means necessary.

I believe that the earthly curse of unbridled envy,

competition and survival of the fittest does not exist in

heaven. In heaven admiration replaces envy, and

striving for purity of thought, love and knowledge

replace competition. Just as there is no need of a

physical body in heaven, there is no need for that

troublesome relic of the earthly mindthe brain-

stem.

I believe that the driving force for attaining increasing

purity is love. I believe that the intensity of love and

degree of freedom from envy experienced on earth

directly influence the level each soul attains when

entering heaven; thus, there is significant incentive to

love, forgive, be as free of envy as humanly possible

and develop a strong faith while alive on earth. With

such a regimen, one does not have to wait for heaven

to achieve real contentment and be at peace.

I believe that it may be exceedingly difficult to

advance from one level to the next; because except for

the innocents, the desire for purity of thought and act

may require significant practice while on earth.


Nurturing of the soul on earth is hard work initially,

but eases with time and practice.

In my concept of damnation, God does make

judgment based upon intolerable, egregious acts of

the once living, giving them the unalterable

knowledge that they may never advance, feel

compassion, experience love or have contact with any

other soul, including those most like them.

As mentioned previously, I belief earthly preparation

may be a prerequisite to retaining an unending desire

for the increased knowledge, purity of thought and

love of a higher level.

Absent this preparation, I believe that advancement to

a higher level may be quite difficult; because, with the

exception of those forever remaining alone and in the

first level, in heaven there is no pain, discomfort or

stigma felt for not advancing.

It would seem to require a possible, but enormous

leap of insight, to realize that something may be

missing or more beneficial when for all above the first

level, you are already experiencing the joys of

paradise.

what might heaven be like?

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