I hold to the notion that we as human beings are creators, occupiers, and consumers. The portion of that concept that applies here is the
occupier. I believe that we occupy a body - the ghost in the machine, perhaps - but this body is a house after a manner of speaking. The original occupant is the self. Circumstantial occupants dwell along with the self in this house, and often are unwelcome houseguests - parasitic mooches.
These would be acquired behaviors, habits, and perhaps even illnesses: things that have an impact upon the self.
The subconscious mind is, in my view, the closest link to this admittedly vague and fluid concept of self. I believe it is the interface and the gateway between the brain, which is the control center and the master bedroom of the house, and the self. The subconscious is strange because it seems to exist outside of time, oblivious to the past and to the here and now.
With all of that said, it doesn't amount to a hill of beans as to what happens to the self after death. The body never truly dies - it is simply reassimilated. The same applies to the self, I think. I don't believe it is the end of existence for the owner of the house that falls apart - rather, to quote Monty Python: now it is time for something completely different.
What that might be, I have no clue. Reincarnation? I am inclined to think that is the most plausible possibility, though I don't necessarily share the hindu or new-age concepts regarding that. Perhaps, when we die, our self is shuffled through various wavelengths of an infinite spectrum, and incorporates elsewhere.