Early in your book you say that “desire is crucial after death.” I know Buddhists often seek to leave desire behind. Is there any cessation of desire, of personality, and of the “I” in your belief system?

No. “I” never goes. Only “I am this or that” goes. Ultimately, enlightenment is for you to always be grounded in “I,” but the limited, “I am this or that,” goes. You had a sense of “I” when you were a baby. You had a sense of “I” when you were a teenager. You have a sense of “I” now. You’ll have a sense of “I” when you are an old person.

And can you talk about the role of desire in the afterlife?

It is the same as the role here. Desire is what causes potential consciousness to manifest as “this” or “that.” Now, you cannot suppress desire, but you can come to a stage where you have fulfilled all your desires and, therefore, there’s nothing more, or you can come to a stage where you transcend desire, or you can come to a stage where some desires are not important and others are, but desires are the mechanics of creation itself.

What do you think the world would be like if everyone understood and believed that the afterlife will be how you describe it in this book?

The main thing would be first, less fear and, therefore, more compassion, understanding, and love. There would be nothing to worry about, nothing to fight about, and nothing to really, ultimately suffer about because suffering is born of the illusion of separation. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)