Heaven by any other name is… well, heaven. Or maybe it’s nirvana, or paradise, or the promised land. The truth is that heaven is a concept more than it is a place. In fact, to consider it a physical location is probably just plain wrong.

So, what about those streets of gold, the pearly gates, or the reference to “my Father’s house?”

The handicap we have is that we are trying to describe a concept that we have no experience with, by using familiar human terms. It is the limitation of human vocabulary that is our biggest stumbling block. It is like trying to describe a rainbow of colors to someone who was blind at birth. It is like trying to describe music to someone who was born deaf.

In trying to communicate the concept of heaven, we fall back on familiar terms because we have no words to describe something we have yet to experience. Even the word “heaven” is too vague.

If we review a number of NDE (near-death experience) reports, we will recognize that the vocabulary doesn’t exist for those who report such an event. It is fairly common to encounter a statement about colors that the person has never seen – colors that have no name in human terms. It is even more common to hear a description of experiencing a sensation of love beyond anything ever encountered in human life – a love so overwhelming that the person cannot begin to describe it.

If we analyze the description of the “afterlife” as related by various denominations and alternate beliefs, we will find a wide variety of interpretations. And, most of these interpretations view the afterlife as a place, a physical abode. When we reflect on the NDE descriptions of the domain we call heaven, we find that the “landscape” is unique to each individual. That suggests that heaven is partially defined by the wishes or expectations of the individual, making it even more difficult to attach a label or description to that final destination.

Another hint of the roadblock to understanding is the reality that each word in our vocabulary represents an image or thought. When it comes to describing conditions beyond death’s door, abstract is the key phrase. How do you describe a state of being that has no earthly/human counterpart? How do you describe a vision that is sensed rather than seen? How do you repeat a message than is received telepathically rather than heard?

If we have trouble visualizing the afterlife, it may simply be that our earthly vocabulary contains no terms that can describe that stage of our existence. Perhaps heaven’s vocabulary isn’t comprised of words, but sensations and understandings. Perhaps heaven’s vocabulary cannot be spoken but must be experienced.