Hi JackRabbitSlims!
This is going to be a long post because, by necessity, it covers a lot of ground. I hope you find it interesting or informative though. I'm honestly trying to answer your question as best I can.
I would say, although I can offer no material, first-hand proof, that it accepts you whether you accept it or not. I think the real issue might be that you wouldn't realize you were there because you don't believe in it. There
are reports of people being dead for many years and not realizing they were. They may have known something happened to them but they didn't deal with it or couldn't understand it.
For myself, I believe in an afterlife and reincarnation because it makes sense to me. One of the common threads of all belief systems, including Pagan and Wiccan, is the presence of the opportunity to set things right or correct mistakes. There are no errors, mistakes, or negative events in the life we live that cannot be redressed. There is nothing of any consequence that we get only one chance or shot at. If we make a mistake or error; or if we start down a negative path; there is always the opportunity to try again or to correct the mistake.
Curiously enough, this is also true in Nature. Mother Earth certainly takes steps to correct problems as well. But it takes a conscious effort to change things. Change is motivational-based. Therefore, there has to be an intelligence behind it. And emotions. To change things you have to:
A) WANT to change things.
B) Have an idea or ideal as to how you want things to be.
C) Believe you can.
So then you get into the issue of making Ethical or Moral choices because then you perceive things as being 'Bad' or 'Good'. One way is better for you than another. Now you've got a chain of Existence:
A) Material, or physical;
B) Mental, or intelligence; and
C) Spiritual, or moral/ethical.
But what ties all these things together? What is it that brings these things into symbiosis and harmony? What makes them work together? Many believe, as I do, that this is the Soul.
This would make Soul the essence of your Being; the base of Who You Are from which all other things grow or come to exist in you life. The aspects of
physical existence then become Mental, Spirit, and Soul. The sum of this would be Consciousness.
We know that all these aspects of consciousness operate outside of time and space. The science of mankind agrees with this. One of the classic examples in Physics answers this very question. In High School Physics they pose this problem: If you throw a baseball up in the air, how fast is it going when it hits the ground? The answer, according to the science of Physics, is: Zero. At the exact instant that ball contacts the ground there is no movement because, by scientific definition, an instant is of Zero Time. Aside from that is the question of how you decide when 'contact' is made? What defines 'hitting the ground'? When the first fleeting molecules of the ball meet the first fleeting molecules of the ground? But the ball will travel beyond that point! When the ball molecules come in contact with a sufficient amount of ground molecules that the ball is 'stopped'? And at what point is it exactly stopped? In any event, no two instances of a ball 'hitting' the ground would be the same anyway since the positions of the molecules involved are constantly changing.
Now apply this same, simple question to
everything. It's a dilemma to be sure. Amazing how quickly we humans can make seemingly simple things complex, isn't it? Science has a propensity for painting itself into corners. The tighter they try to grasp things, the more things slip through their fingers. I say that because there is an easy answer to this whole question:
It doesn't matter. We accept that the ball hits the ground. We acknowledge that contact has been made despite the fact we cannot tell where or when.
How does this apply to a Soul or Consciousness? Because we know it exists and operates outside of Time and Space. We cannot tell how or where or even when but we accept that it does exist. Therefore, the Soul is not a product of the Material, Physical world.
The Soul is housed in or inhabits a Physical form so that it can experience the Physical world. It follows then that even though the physical body will eventually cease to exist the Soul or Consciousness aspect of your being does not because it is not a product of this physical universe or dimension. It exists as a part of some other dimension.
What does that have to do with the dimensional aspect we call Afterlife or The Borderland? It ties directly to the concept of reincarnation and the fact there is no mistake or error we make which cannot be corrected. We strive all through our lives to become better beings. That is essentially what our lives revolve around. We wish to better ourselves and be of service to our fellow 'human' beings so that they too can better themselves. But can we attain that in the span of one human lifetime? No. Especially since we lose our awareness of other planes or dimensions of Being when we inhabit a physical body. Not even Jesus did that. Jesus was simply the last or final reincarnation of a being who finally succeeded through many lifetimes on the earth (This is supported by the Bible too BTW.).
Our betterment is a product of many lifetimes. Sometimes we succeed in growing, sometimes we backslide. But we always learn. How do we retain this learning from one lifetime to the next? Through the Akashic Records which document the activities of every individual through every physical lifetime they experience. We access these records and the lessons recorded within them through our Consciousness. The manifestation of these lessons is our Conscience and our Fears. How does the transfer of this information take place and how do we establish a communication connection between ourselves and these Akashic Records? During our time in The Borderland between reincarnations. We review these records and see where we gained, where we lost, and decide what aspect of ourselves we want to work on improving in our next incarnation. This also leads directly to the concept of us choosing our own parents. We choose the parents we do because they offer a suitable base from which we can address the issue we have chosen.
Are we aware of other beings we knew while on the earth while we are in The Borderland? Yes. And we interact with those beings there just as we did on earth. In fact, there is strong evidence to suggest that beings quite often tend to reincarnate together and remain part of each others lives during their times on earth. The Soulmate concept is part of this. But people we had problems with in our past lives also can reincarnate at the same time and become part of our earthly lives over and over again. This is done not to seek revenge but to bring about peace between them.
So we can look at The Borderland or Afterlife as a waiting area, a gathering area, a library of knowledge, or even a study hall of sorts.
Of course I cannot support any of this with material proof but it does seem logical to me, and it seems to answer a lot of questions. Believe it or not as you will. Regardless, I hope you can find your faith. Hopefully this provided some food for thought in any case.
Blessings To You!
One Walker.
We have seen what Power does.
We have seen what Power costs.
One is never equal to the other.
)