I've had lifelike dreams in which I've died, and honestly, dying from stabwounds or having a great fall are probably the easiest ways to go. In one of my dreams, as soon as I died, I opened my eyes and found myself in an incredibly peaceful place. After reading this thread I now believe that you wake up in your astral body in the Summerlands. It's quite a nice place. :)
Maybe I had that particular dream because I was fretting too much on what really happens when you die. I know now, and to be honest, the Summerlands is a great place.
I'd just like to point out something that I forgot to add. Vampires can't go to the Summerlands. : As soon as you die the Universe decides for you where to put you on the timeline. (If you have the misfortune to be a Vampire.)
In the religion that I created, it's not necessarily the soul, but the aura that contains your vital data (what you've done in the past, who you are, essentially like a "spiritual DNA" soto spek.). Also, it's a little off topic, but when the world ends from the war beteen the good gods/godesses and the evil ones, this planet will be frozen, but, just before she dies, the Goddess of the Aura (my "chief goddess, so to speak) will release all te preserved auras and they will recreate the world. (Just think,your future-world self might end up walking on their present world self and not even realize it!)
The summerlands is a resting place. It looks very much like earth in it's beauty but you do not have to deal with hunger and things connected to the physical body. I found them to be relaxing for the soul and a great place to talk with other beings for different times and places.
As Resonance said, it's Earth in its natural beauty. You may wake up in a clearing in a forest by a lake, or you could wake up in an endless field of grass.
