What Happens After We Die?

Written by Frank Schwarz

Q: We cannot know what happens after we die. Neuroscientists claim that consciousness ends with brain activity but admit this realization can be psychologically unsettling. The idea of an afterlife provides comfort, a way to cope with fear. Isn’t it wiser to focus on the here and now and make the most of the time we have?

A: Focusing on the time we have now is wise no matter what we believe about the afterlife. But the deeper question is this: What is consciousness?

Is consciousness simply neurons firing in the brain? Or is the brain more like an antenna—receiving and transmitting something greater: the spirit that is our true being?

Science tells us energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. If that is true, then what about the energy of our consciousness? Could it mean that we are eternal beings—created in the image of an eternal God?

Consider this word-picture: a baby in the womb. In the womb, life feels natural, safe, and complete. But the child is not designed to remain there. Birth is frightening—a violent break into an unfamiliar world. Yet it is the very reason the child exists.

What if life in this world is the same? We grow, learn, and find meaning here, but we are not meant to stay. Death is not the end—it is the transition, the birth into eternity. We fear it, just as an infant fears leaving the womb. But once consciousness enters eternity, it becomes clear: this is why we were created.

If we love truth, do good, and walk in fellowship with God in this life—the “womb of eternity”—then the transition is peace and grace. But if we love lies, live only for ourselves, and reject what is true, then the transition is painful, because we are unprepared for eternal reality.

This life is preparation for eternity. In the womb, growth is automatic. In the world, growth requires choices: to love what is true, to do what is good, and to be what is right.

Modern Relevance: Is truth relative, or is it eternal? Our culture often treats opinions, feelings, and desires as truth. But eternity will not bend to our opinions. Truth is reality—unchanging, unshakable. The journey of life is to discern truth from lies, light from darkness, purity from corruption. When death comes, we are birthed into the place we chose by what we loved.

Jesus came into the world as a tuning fork—The Way, The Truth, and The Life. His life shows us how to align with God’s truth. His death redeems our failures and restores harmony when we fall short, so that in eternity we resonate with God. We don’t have to be perfect; we simply need to tune our lives to His—loving what is true, doing what is good, being what is right.

It does not matter what you believe if what you believe is false. What matters is truth. And truth will matter forever.

Frank Schwarz

Like JR Norman, I have wanted to be a writer since my senior year of college. I spent decades writing without seriously pursuing publication.

My first published work is a book about God that is not religious. My second book is a fictional novel about truth. I’ve always loved irony and am guilty of overthinking everything.

I came up with the idea for Welcome to The Grand Illusion in 2024 and began researching how to write a novel. Today’s publishing industry makes it easy to write and self-publish a book. What happens after that is where it gets complicated.

I self-published a short book I wrote in the 1990s called Believe God. I did this simply to learn the process of publishing a book. However, since Welcome to The Grand Illusion is a nontraditional book, I chose to work with a hybrid publisher, and the original version was released in December 2025. I soon realized that the hybrid publishing experience was not what I had expected. I ended up redoing almost everything myself and relaunching the book.

I was writing books because these unique ideas have been rattling around in my head most of my life… and now I can share them with others. Not to convince anyone of anything, but to share the joy of thinking… thinking differently.

The Welcome to The Grand Illusion project officially launched in June 2026. After early reviews said the blog posts read too much like a manifesto, I revised the book several times. My goal was to tell the story of one man’s search for truth and understanding, and the current version is much closer to my original vision—a rookie mistake, perhaps, but a useful one.

The Welcome to The Grand Illusion project is not just the book, ebook, and audiobook. It is philosophical fiction written to start a conversation. The website keeps the conversation going—not providing answers, but asking questions inspired by JR Norman.

The vision includes a trilogy of books:

  • Welcome to The Grand Illusion–The World Is Not What It Seems (Available now)

  • Grand Illusion Flatland–The World is Not What We Perceive (Available late 2026)

  • Grand Illusion Eternity–The World is Only the Beginning (Available early 2027)

The goal is not simply to tell a story. The goal is exploring truth, meaning, and the human search for understanding reality in a way that encourages readers to think. Rather than tell readers what to think, fictional stories invite conversations—declarations of truth invite arguments.

JR’s journey draws heavily from experiences and questions that have shaped my own life. Like many first novels, the line between autobiography and fiction is intentionally thin. I have always been one that needs to understand; after a lifetime of asking questions, I finally found an outlet to turn these questions into a conversation.

The ASK JR page on the website will address selected questions and comments from readers. JR Norman is a fictional character. Likewise, THE REAL and THE FORCE are fictional concepts created for the story. They are literary tools for exploring philosophical, scientific, and theological ideas that may encourage readers to think more deeply about truth, reality, and the human search for understanding.

If the book or website sparks a meaningful conversation, share it with someone else. The goal has never been to win arguments. The goal is to become better at asking questions worth exploring together.

Truth is rarely found in arguments; it is more often discovered through conversation.

https://www.WelcomeToTheGrandIllusion.net
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