Shallow Death Experiences
2026, April, Issue 197
Here it is,
Death at last!
We knew it was coming,
despite our denial,
despite our grasping,
despite our fantasies,
despite belief in this or that,
despite living our lives
in a way that was simply oozing with
ignorance, aversion and desire,
Clinging to this or that,
believing this or that,
joining this or that,
none of it helped in the least!
Spiritual Practitioners are genuine,
devoted to what is Ultimately Real,
discovering horizons
that have not yet been discovered,
navigating the winds of karma
while remaining perfectly at ease;
In these shallow experiences of mind,
no matter how great or intense they seem,
nothing comes close to that
Ultimate Reality
beyond any and all constraints that
we will most certainly encounter,
beyond description,
bright beyond bright,
awareness illuminated completely,
As It Is.
A poem by Robert Aho © 2026
People have lots of opinions about what happens when we die. Among those of us who have had Near Death Experiences, there is much less debate, simply because we’ve been there. The most common thread of agreement among those of us who have returned is that we witnessed something that we can’t really describe, something very bright, very loving and aware. That aspect of death is a very deep experience, it is something that goes far beyond our typical constraints of belief and concept.
When people describe anything else related to their death experiences, I would call that a shallow death experience. It can be anything, something similar to an out of body experience, to a void, to finding yourself among relatives who have passed away, to flying through the universe, to entering heavens or hells, to being ripped apart in an energetic dimension that simply boggles the mind. These are all shallow experiences, despite seeming very vast, comprehensive and profound.
It is important not to cling to any of that, if you want to have a rewarding transmigration. Even very pleasant experiences in the most wonderful of heavens can lead to great disappointment. None of this is real, they are all just appearances of mind, not much different than our physical relative reality here on Earth. We can believe anything that we want and we will encounter that in the death bardo—and then we move on. We go far beyond any of these shallow experiences.
When we are in the death bardo, we enter that with a mental body. We are no longer constrained by a physical body. So, as habitual beings, we still cling to this or that notion, just the way we did when we had a physical body.
We might find ourselves as a ghost, standing next to our corpse, not realizing why people can’t see or hear us. This can make us very upset, if we are not prepared, if we can’t remain at ease. If we become upset, we might transmigrate into a very dark void, and that can make us very upset. Then we might enter a heavenly realm, where we might find some temporary relief, until that starts to fall apart in our vision, and that will make us upset. And, that’s the problem. Even though we go a little further encountering something quite nice, it doesn’t last.
Hells might also be possible for some, though not very many, for a time, if we get angry about it, then that passes as well into something far more upsetting as this turbulent energetic dimension starts to manifest, where we start to see and feel all sorts of manifestations that can be too terrifying for us to even imagine while we are in this dense human realm. When that subsides, we might notice this bright light that everyone talks about. If we don’t encounter that with some level of awareness and stability, it might just seem like a flash of light. As vast as our experience might be up to this point, they’re all still quite shallow, because we haven’t had the ability to go beyond into the light, as Timeless Luminosity. These shallow experiences propel the unprepared being into the next lifetime, which is like another big dream, where we remain unaware, unenlightened, completely bound to cyclic existence for an eternity.
As vast as it may be, a shallow experience is all we can expect if we have not prepared for death. We might only glimpse that bright inexplicable light, which is so much more than everything we can imagine. Without preparation, we will simply fly flailing through the death bardo, completely helpless, propelled by our own unfortunate circumstances. A shallow experience will provide nothing of lasting value. We must step onto the Spiritual Path.
If we wish to navigate this rather vast beyond vast death bardo with some control, with some confidence, we must have sufficient preparation time with our Spiritual Practice. There’s no other way. We must be able to remain at ease, no matter what, as well as time to nurture our spiritual abilities. This begins with the Aspiration to Awaken.
It’s no coincidence that I returned from the death bardo with this simple message, that people must awaken. It’s difficult to understand why we must awaken, until we start to see just what is going on here. Now is the time to awaken.
Blessings of Source,
Rigdzin Robert Aho
Robert Aho is the author of Timeless Luminosity and The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes. Both books, written after his death experience, give advanced spiritual advice regarding the complete Spiritual Path, inspiration for living each day and words of encouragement, with the intention of helping people to stay committed to their Spiritual Path, as well as preparing for death. This ultimately leads to discovering your own power within, which lead to Awakening. Both books are available on Amazon, Zenith Bookstore, as well as various other sources.