How to get to Heaven without the dying.

What is it about our human nature that invites us to constantly contradict ourselves?

We all want the rewards — the growth, the abundance, the freedom — but what about when it comes to the struggles? The discomfort? When it’s time to let the old parts of ourselves die, those parts of us that can’t come along for the ride — we hesitate.

Why is this so?

It’s because our nature, your nature, urges you to manifest a reality where resistance doesn’t exist, where transformation comes without friction. But that’s not how this game works. Resistance demands something from you — it demands that you surrender, even when it feels like it’s pulling you apart. And that resistance? That’s not a sign you’re failing; it’s proof that you have a choice.

So, what’s your choice? Will you settle for a reality where you stay comfortable but never see your deepest desires come to life? Or will you embrace a reality where all your wildest dreams become yours, knowing it’s preceded by the kind of growth that transforms you into someone who can hold onto them?

You cannot build strong muscles without first ripping those fibers to shreds in the gym

You cannot build a stronger, more stable foundation for a skyscraper without first dismantling the original structure.

You cannot enter the gates of heaven without first experiencing death.

Creation requires you to destroy your old self before you rebuild the new.

The person you are now must die before the new version of you can live.

This is your mission. If you choose to accept, let’s continue

Sunday Service

When I was a young boy, Sundays meant spending a lot of time in church with my parents. Yes, Sunday Service. Most of those Sundays, I was downstairs in the youth church with the other kids, coloring pages and listening to simplified Bible lessons. But every now and then, I’d get the special privilege of sitting upstairs with the adults, listening to the full sermons.

Out of all the sermons I heard, the ones about heaven captivated me the most. Those are the only ones I can actually remember. Heaven was described as this radiant place in the sky, with massive pearly gates and streets paved with translucent gold. A place free of pain, death, and sorrow — a realm of eternal comfort and bliss. My imagination ran wild with those vivid descriptions, and for a while, I was in awe at the idea of such a perfect place.

But even as a child, I couldn’t help but think about death, or at least the little I understood about it. I noticed how sad people got when someone they loved passed away. It didn’t make sense to me. If heaven was this extraordinary place, far better than the life we live now, why did death — the gateway to heaven — make us so sad? And why did people spend their entire lives striving to get to heaven but seemed so afraid of dying to get there? I mean, if there is so much better than here, why don’t we jump off the top of this building right now??!

All jokes aside — that contradiction stuck with me, a question that lingered and eventually shaped my understanding of life.

But here I am, writing to you through this screen, sharing this very same phenomenon with you but from a completely different angle. This dynamic of death, rebirth, and resurrection isn’t just an ancient biblical tale — it’s the secret truth about your consciousness.

The title of this week’s newsletter captures the paradox of human desire: we crave the rewards, the growth, and the ultimate outcomes, but we resist the struggles, sacrifices, and processes that make them possible.

Putting it into context, the title of this episode reveals an uncomfortable truth about our human nature — people want the happiness, the success, the fulfillment, or the peace, but they run away from the challenges and discomfort that are the very path to those rewards.

“Death” isn’t just about the end of physical life — it’s the symbolic death of comfort, bad habits, limiting beliefs, and the ego. Death is not the end. Death is the end of the beginning. It’s metamorphosis. It’s rebirth. It’s the resurrection of the new you with a new state of consciousness — if you choose to accept your mission.

…and Heaven? It isn’t some far-off place in the clouds. No, heaven is right within your head swelling in the temple of your mind. Heaven is a state you create within yourself, and as your inner world shifts, it manifests into your outer world.

But there’s a price to pay: to walk through the gates of heaven, somebody’s gotta die! But hold on, I’m not talking about a physical death but a figurative one — I’m talking about your old self. Your outdated patterns, limiting beliefs, your victimhood, and all those tired, worn-out excuses that you’ve relied on to get by — all of that has to die.

Osiris of Ancient Egyptian religion. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Dionysus of Greek mythology. All of these stories have one thing in common: rebirth. The resurrection is a part of a bunch of ancient stories and myths — they are reflections of your story. Your old self, your previous state of being, will die time and time again throughout your life as you rise in consciousness. And each time, you have the opportunity to be reborn into a new, better version of yourself. But it only happens if you allow it.

The Path of Most Resistance

So, as humans, why do we not want to “die” in order to be reborn and experience a heaven of our own creation?

It’s simple. Because it’s uncomfortable and for most, it’s painful.

Most people tend to lean toward the path of least resistance, seeking ease and comfort. But complacency rarely leads to lasting happiness. To truly grow and overcome life’s plateaus, we must break free from our comfort zones and willingly dive into challenging and uncomfortable situations in order to break through that glass ceiling between us and our largest desires.

Why? Because it is on the path of greatest resistance that transformation happens. While this path brings moments of frustration, pain, and discomfort, these feelings are temporary. Instead of avoiding tough decisions and obstacles, we should embrace them. The resistance isn’t punishment. It’s not showing you that you are doing things wrong — it’s your golden ticket, the perfect opportunity that you’ve been searching for to finally transform yourself from the person who wants it to the person that has it.

It’s a paradox. The path of least resistance is how it will arrive for you, but it’s after you complete the path of most resistance to reach it.

We have been programmed to avoid problems and despise the setbacks that come with them. We have been conditioned to refute and rebut any and every opinion and argument put forth by the people in and out of our lives.

I present you with another challenge. The million dollar paradox. Suppose God themselves comes to you in your 3D reality and says to you that they will give you one million dollars every single time someone pisses you off or hurts your feelings but there’s just one caveat. You must completely let go of any reaction to the event in question. You cannot hold onto resentment, bitterness and victimhood. Simply put, you cannot take anything personally.

I bet you would take this challenge without a second thought! You’d probably wake up early in the morning and visit everyone that you know in life and at work that can piss you off in record time — simply because you know there is a reward for you fighting against your reactive nature. There’s a huge reward for your emotional discipline.

This is the game of life. This is how the fabric of reality works in your self transformation adventure, except you can’t quite see that million dollars waiting for you behind the veil. You can’t quite see the love and adoration just yet. But it’s there, waiting on you, and you’ll see it when you believe it.

Seeking comfort and avoiding difficult choices only produces temporary gratification, which will in turn lead to long term dissatisfaction. In contrast, the bigger the obstacle, the greater the reward.

So with this new understanding, you can no longer be a victim. You can no longer ruminate over your problems, your circumstances or if your efforts and techniques aren’t working the way you want them to. All of these difficulties are there to usher you into the best phase of your life but you can’t take your old self on this journey any longer.

The gates of Heaven won’t allow in your victimhood. It won’t allow resentment, bitterness, jealousy, a lack of forgiveness and any vindictive energy. That is the energy of your old self, which begs the question: Will you let your old self die so you can experience your own resurrection?

Destroy and Rebuild

Self-transformation is no different than the journey of an athlete striving to build a strong, statuesque body. When an athlete lifts weights or gets deep into intense training, they push their muscles to the limit until the fibers within them begin to tear. An athlete experiences this discomfort and pain over and over again during the process. This discomfort isn’t a sign of failure — it’s a necessary part of growth. The strain placed on those muscle fibers causes micro-tears, which the body repairs and rebuilds stronger than before.

The key to progress within this life is found through embracing the discomfort, not avoiding it. Each grueling session of lifting heavier weights, running faster, or enduring longer pushes them closer and closer to their goal. Over time, what felt impossible becomes easier and easier, and the pain of growth fades as their body adapts and strengthens.

This is the essence of metaphysical transformation: the willingness to endure temporary discomfort for long-term rewards. Just as the athlete’s perseverance leads to a body others admire, so too does embracing life’s challenges lead to mental and emotional strength, and that leads to a life that others will admire as well.

Manifestation Youtube can be a little too pre-occupied with the fascination of creating a reality where there is never any discomfort, never any tough decisions to be made, never any resistance — and there lies the problem. Manifestation isn’t for avoiding resistance, it’s for overcoming them.

Discomfort isn’t an obstacle between you and the reality you want — it’s the bridge to choosing said new reality.

Heaven Awaits

So, what are you willing to let wither and die in order to reach your own personal heaven?

For my entrepreneurs: You want your business to thrive, but the voice in your head (the opponent) tells you that everyone is out to scam you and that you’ll lose all of your money. So, you don’t invest back into your business, opting to do it yourself or postpone doing it at all.

The opponent has won another round.

For my hopeless romantics: You want a lifelong marriage but you can’t let that stagnant, friends with benefits or that friend zone situation die. You are in relationship purgatory for days, weeks, years…hoping that this one person calls you up from the minors to play in the big leagues.

The opponent is now up 2–0. Another round won.

Are you going to let your opponent win and get a clean sweep on you?

These are examples of the resistance and your opp will do anything to convince you that you can’t win — that is what stands between you and the gates to heaven on earth.

Here’s the challenge I’ll leave you with: Are you willing to step into the fire of transformation, knowing that the heat is what shapes you? Are you willing to let go of the comforts, the beliefs, the bad habits, and the fears that hold you back, to become the person you’ve always known you’re supposed to be?

I can promise you this: your discomfort is only temporary, but the rewards last forever. This stronger, wiser, and more fulfilled version of you is waiting on the other side of that resistance. The life you dream of — the success, the happiness, the peace — isn’t some fantasy. It’s within your reach.

But you have to be willing to “die” to who you are now so you can rise again into who you’re meant to be.

Trust me — you won’t just like who you become. You’ll love the life you’ve created, and you’ll know deep down that every step, every ounce of effort, every moment of discomfort, was your stairway to heaven.

I am Shaun and you are neither Here Nor There.

Thank you for reading.

— Shaun