Is it just dirt and worms and the end of consciousness? I don't think so. But, that said, it's all a mystery.
If you really think about it, isn't the hope for something mysterious after our brains stop being active as naive as Lollipop Land? We invent these things just because the though of not existing is terrifying not just to kinds but to adults and some of us would rather believe or hope for something unlikely instead of facing what is most likely the case - when you die all the processes enabled by the physical attributes of your brain, including consciousness, would cease to exist.
I’m not “hoping for” something mysterious.
Looking at it critically from the outside, it seems like this is the most likely explanation for your assertion in the matter even if the hope is subconscious. You appear to be quite the serious and insightful thinker, but I don't think you are putting that assertion of yours under any real scrutiny and the only good reason to refrain from that is the fact that holding on to the idea is comforting exactly the same way as Lollipop Land is comforting to your son.
Sure, it is conceivable that our consciousness would somehow transcend death, but so is Lollipop Land with all its imaginary and absurd detail. The question is what evidence or reason do we have to assert that either is even possible. And in both cases there is no mechanism in reality that we know of that would make either possible, so why would we assume that they are? So if you have belief in a mystery here, what is it but hope that something that is highly unlikely would be true because it's comforting. To me it certainly does not look like a reasonable belief.
What reason do you have to believe in this mystery that wouldn't apply to Lollipop Land? They are versions of the exact same thing and emotion, one is just a bit more refined, vaguer and more culturally familiar, so it would sit better with an adult, that's all.
You may be right. Though, to me, there are important differences between entertaining the possibility of the continuation of consciousness versus that of the existence of lollipop land. I’ll get to that in a second here.
I appreciate your directness here, and to be honest, thought about what you’ve stated a lot today. What reason do I have to consider that consciousness may continue? No one I know who has died has interacted with me that I know of, and if they have, I likely wouldn’t even be able to know, were such an interaction a possibility.
My reasons:
There are things that have happened to me in conjunction with others more than once in my life that lead me to believe there is something to the idea of collective consciousness and transmission of information beyond normally identified means. A sort of intelligence, if you will. I have, however, at present, no way to prove this. Still, in answer to your question, I have had no such intimations or experiences in regard to the possible existence of a “lollipop land.”
Even today, there is not a single scientist in the world who understands even what consciousness is. The body does not generate it (at least this cannot be proven), and an entire functioning body being present does not equate to life/consciousness. You can have all the elements present: brain, heart, lungs, oxygenated blood, electric current, etc, present, and still not yield or render consciousness.
Quantum physics/mechanics continues to show more and more that everything is basically just light manifesting as information and then physical matter.
These are not proof of any sort of afterlife. They are, however, qualities that can be observed and considered. “Candy Land” has no such qualities that I am aware of.