When a Person Dies, Where Does Their Soul Go?

When a loved one dies we often wonder where their soul goes after death. Are they in a good place? What happens to their soul after they die? The answers greatly depend on who you ask. A scientist, Catholic priest, and Buddhist might all have different perspectives to help you find meaning in various ways.

Me, I am a medium and I communicate with the souls of loved ones who have passed. I base my answers on what they choose to share with me. And from that perspective, I’ll explain where a soul goes when a person dies.

When a person dies their soul goes to the afterlife. The afterlife is not a different place but a different state of consciousness also referred to as the non-physical world, the spirit world, or Heaven. So when a person dies their soul doesn’t leave us but transitions to another state of being.

The good news is that the afterlife is not some far-off place. When a person dies, their soul doesn’t have to physically travel anywhere. They stay right here with us.

Just because we can’t perceive souls directly from our limited physical perspective doesn’t mean they are gone. On the contrary. While the living have to physically travel to meet up, the soul is non-physical and doesn’t travel.

Think about it. Travel requires time and space. And since the afterlife is non-physical there is no time or space. A soul is simply present where and when it wishes to be. So while you have to ‘go travel’ to visit your living relatives during the holidays, your loved ones in the afterlife are literally only a thought away.

In short, the afterlife differs from our earthly existence in three major ways:

1. Where the soul goes, there is no time and space.
2. Where the soul goes, there is no negativity.
3. Where the soul goes, there is a greater non-individual awareness

1. Where the Soul Goes, There is No Time or Space

While it is comforting to know that our loved ones never leave us and exist beyond time and space, that concept can also be confusing. So in this article, I’ll explain in further detail what happens to spirit when you die.

When you die your spirit leaves your physical body and transitions to the afterlife. There, your spirit is greeted by loved ones who have passed or souls who comfort and assist you in adjusting to the afterlife. You review the totality of your life to gain deeper insight and growth.

You may believe adjusting to the afterlife takes a long time. But since there’s no time in the afterlife, the adjustment takes no time at all. The living need time to adjust to a loved one’s passing but for them, the adjustment is both instantaneous and effortless. From their perspective, there is no separation.

If trying to think of a reality beyond time and space gives you a headache, you’re not alone. Our brains just aren’t wired to think in a non-linear way. I don’t think we were meant to fully understand what it’s like when the soul goes to Heaven, because we still have our lives to live. But here’s what I’ve gathered:

When souls go to Heaven they transition to the non-physical realm of thought. Their experienced reality is created through their thoughts.

In a way, it is similar to dreaming, where we create our reality with our thoughts. But unlike dreaming we can only experience positive things in the afterlife (more on that later). And where dreaming is often less vivid than our physical life, the experience of the afterlife is much more vivid than our earthly experience.

When souls go to Heaven, they review their lives. They look at both the positive and negative consequences of their behavior. The goal is always to gain a deeper understanding, compassion, and spiritual growth. It is never to blame or assign guilt. And again, since there is no time in the afterlife growth from earthly experiences is instantaneous.

During readings, souls of deceased loved ones do recognize mistakes they have made during their lives. But their attention is towards compassion, healing, and how they have grown from the experience. There is no negative judgment toward self or others.

So for instance, during a reading an overly critical soul who has gone to Heaven can suddenly be supportive and fully recognize their mistakes. From our physical perspective, where it takes time to change, it can be weird to discover a loved one is now the best soul version of themselves. But then again, there is no negativity in Heaven, so how could it be any other way?

2. Where the Soul Goes There Is No Negativity

The afterlife is a realm of thought. But get this. Not all thoughts are a part of the afterlife. How does that work?

Negative thoughts and emotions only exist in our earthly existence. They are unique to the physical world. That’s because our negative thoughts and emotions are caused by limitations. When we want something and we can’t have it, negative thoughts and emotions arise. But when the soul goes to the afterlife, there are no limitations. There is simply nothing in the afterlife that could cause negativity of any kind.

I know many people believe in negative spirits or realms and I respect all beliefs, but it has simply not been my experience. I’ve never felt any energy that was negative in any way when communicating with the afterlife, ever.

The afterlife is based on positive thoughts and loving connections. I believe the afterlife feels the same for everyone. Every account of souls who have gone to Heaven is one of deep love and intense appreciation where all needs are met.

So does that mean the afterlife looks the same to everyone? Absolutely not. It looks different to each soul who goes to Heaven because we all have different needs. And during the course of our lives, we all have different ways we learned to meet those needs.

Therefore, the way each soul experiences the afterlife is in part based on what’s familiar and comforting to them. So if your favorite place on earth was the beach, chances are your experience of the afterlife is much the same.

The same goes for the self-image of souls. During my readings, souls always let me know they are healthy, vibrant, and at peace in the afterlife.

When you realize that when a soul goes to the afterlife they experience it in the best way they can imagine, you can already start painting a picture of what the afterlife will look like for you. But does that mean every soul goes to their own separate reality? No, it doesn’t and here’s why.

3. Where the Soul Goes There Is a Greater Non-Individual Awareness

The afterlife is based on loving connections and there is no time or space. So souls who are connected can visit each other whenever they wish. But the connection goes much deeper than simply popping in to say hi.

Souls are connected eternally. And they are fully aware of their loving connection without end. That feeling we get when we are part of a caring community is constant in Heaven. In fact, souls fully experience they are a part of something bigger than themselves; a greater non-individual awareness that is made from loving connections. Some people call this loving connection God, Greater Spirit, Divine Power, Source, or Infinite Intelligence. Whatever words we choose, this loving connection is the source of all things.

Being part of something greater than ourselves doesn’t mean we lose our individuality. Where the soul is our individualized perspective spirit is the greater non-individualized perspective. Think of it as a drop and the ocean. A single drop is an entity onto itself, just like a soul. But the drop is also part of the ocean, or spirit. It can be both at the same time.

When a soul goes to be with God, they shift to being fully aware of being a part of spirit. And their eternal loving connection to us is every bit as vivid for them as with every other part of spirit. Any separation is only experienced by the living in our physical experience.

So where does the soul go when a person dies? It stays right here with us but also becomes aware of what lies beyond the physical world. It is simply a much broader perspective.