The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

I suppose there is nothing like the death of someone to get you to think about the afterlife or if there even is something beyond our human existence.
According to the gospels, this is what Jesus taught -- The kingdom of heaven is here; it's right now. It's at hand.
It's a little odd that we westerners tend to look at the teachings of an ancient middle eastern man from a western perspective rather than from an eastern or middle eastern one. Eastern religions and philosophies teach us to be present; to live in the moment. It seems like quite a shift for us westerners to grasp this idea of mindfulness, but could this be what Jesus was talking about? What if heaven isn't a place we go when we die, but it is where and how we are living now?
And is the same thing true for hell?

The simple truth that I've come to in my own personal journey of faith is that I really don't know and am not equipped to tell you what you should believe. That's a huge shift from being a Southern Baptist Evangelist or even just from being an evangelical Christian that believes he has all the answers about your eternal salvation. 
I'm interested in your beliefs and philosophies on life, death, heaven and hell, but I can promise you I will have questions if we discuss them. My questions aren't to contradict nor criticize, but rather to understand how you have arrived at your beliefs.

I realize this is a short and unfulfilling post about religion or religious beliefs, but it's all I can weave together this morning. There are lots of thoughts in my head that I just don't know how to write in words or if there really are words to adequately share them. 

Two life philosophies that I am willing to share --
Live in the moment (be present)
Love your neighbor (everyone is your neighbor)

John