Man struggles to understand consciousness, for knowing this is to understand existence. I personally believe we will never really understand it because that is the essence of life.
Life is set up as a struggle with many bad life patterns, the need to control and have power being the worst. We see that played out every day in wars and politics. To succeed in live one needs to reject certain values and fight against them. Even after death, I suspect we will wrestle with such issues, but on a different level.
I look at an afterlife being a continuation of struggle, but with bigger issues.Does man continue to invent and learn and over an eternity come to rival God and be subject to being thrown out of heaven.Eternal life will have choices and consequences. What a journey we have instore.