quotation; from page21: ‘our astral body knows the astral world
well, as it is accustomed to travelling there all through our life,
usually when we are asleep.’
Some
extracts
else from
AFTERLIFE –
UNCOVERING THE
SECRETS OF LIFE AFTER DEATH
ISBN 978-0-399-16612-9
"A very good and
easily read book on this – for ALL
- important
theme,
from 2011."
".....The astral body is best described
as our mind, or consciousness. After the
energy from the etheric body is cut off after death, the astral body
returns to what are generally known as the astral planes. Here,
there are many different levels or planes of existence. Our soul is
guided to its appropriate level, according to our development.
Our astral body knows the astral world well, as it is accustomed to
traveling there all through our life, usually when we are asleep.
The astral body is attached to our physical body by a very fine
silver cord. This cord allows us to return to our body after astral
traveling at night. Once the cord is cut, in what we refer to as
death, our physical body perishes and our astral and physical bodies
separate permanently.
After the physical body perishes,
the life force is transferred to the etheric body for a short
period of time. This helps us to adjust to the new conditions. After
that the life force passes on to our astral body for the next stage
of its journey back to the spiritual realm. This process is a bit
like catching different forms of transport to get to our ultimate
destination.
The
earth plane is far denser than the astral plane and the higher
spiritual realms beyond that.
These planes also vibrate at much faster rates, which is why they
are invisible to us. Over a period of what we understand as time, we
acclimatize to our new state of being.
Our spirit is a form of energy
that powers our body during earthly life. When it departs the body
dies. You only have to see a dead body to realize the life force has
departed. The spirit, however, being pure energy, lives on. Believe
it or not, the soul can even be weighed. In one bizarre recorded
experiment, a man was weighed by his doctor just before and
immediately after death. The difference was found to be
approximately 3/4 of an ounce (21 grams).
Our higher self (Ego) is pure
spirit. It's that part of us which is immortal. The higher self
resides in the world of spirit and controls the other three bodies:
the physical, etheric and astral. This is different to the small
ego, which is essentially our personality, and which drops away once
we pass on. So, when we talk about being immortal, or of being pure
spirit, we're actually talking about our divine or higher self.
Once we learn how to communicate
with our higher self through meditation, we gain access to an inner
storehouse of wisdom and guidance. Our spirit guides utilize this
energy source to inspire and advise us.
We need never feel alone again.
***
So, where do we go when we
return to spirit?
There are several directions the
soul, now an astral body, can go after 'death’. Most souls are
guided gently by loved ones who have already passed over and are
waiting to escort them on their journey back to the spirit realms.
But others can refuse to move on from the earth plane.
They are held here by such things
as physical cravings, for example drugs or sex. They can also remain
because of a fear of the unknown. This fear of moving on is often
related to the way the person has conducted themselves in life,
perhaps believing they will be cast into some flaming hell to pay
for their sins. Some can't accept they have died, or are very
attached to a place or person, so they wander around lost and
aimless, sometimes for centuries of earth time. This is what happens
with ghosts and haunted places.
There are also those who find
themselves in a dark and eerie world, in the lower astral plane of
existence, closest to the earth. Souls are often at that level
because of their own beliefs that there is nothing after death or as
a result of their less-than-ideal activities in the life just ended.
This plane of existence has been
given many names. Many refer to it as purgatory. It is a part of the
"Bardo" in Buddhism, the Umbral region to Spiritists, and the
Gehinnom in Judaism. The great psychic Edgar Cayce described it as
the "Plane of Darkness," where the soul is cut off from love and
hope while it goes through a period of deep reflection. Whatever
label we use, it is essentially a kind of halfway house between the
earth plane and the spirit world. The soul experiences a sense of
lovelessness and hopelessness because at that stage they feel beyond
love and hope.
The soul that finds itself in the
lower astral plane goes through a time of intense reflection and
cleansing before being admitted into the higher realms of the spirit
world. There are several different levels on the lower astral
plane. This is most likely where the concept of "hell"
emerged. The good news is that there is actually no such thing as
hell
(well, physical seen, yes, it is an inner state, but
on the other side, the "inner" more creates the "outward
surroundings" and likeminded
are draged/pulled together by magnetic attraction, and as such, create a
collective “thought-formed”, but real enough “place”, as long as
this thought-form are maintained. Example link; the
book; A wanderer in the spirit land of Franzhesso.
And more in
this book of the Danish wiseman Martinus (1890-1981). Rø-rem.).
The only "demons" you come across
are those created by your own mental state, though they can appear
very real. Helpers and guides from the higher realms visit the lower
astral constantly to assist in healing individual souls. No one has
to remain in darkness forever, as we are part of a loving universe.
To put it in another way, no one is beyond love and hope.
American channel Carolyn Evers has
a fascinating account of how she contacted the spirit of Julius
Caesar in the lower astral. He had been stuck there since his death
in 44 B.C. Caesar talked of his guilt when he looked back on
a lifetime of killing, maiming, enslaving, looting and creating
misery for hundreds of thousands of people. He told Evers there is
no such thing as death. After his assassination he lived for many
years surrounded by what he described as a gray world, where he was
in a constant state of agony and mental numbness. As much as he
wanted to, he was prevented from progressing to the next level, even
though he knew of its existence.
This stasis only served to
intensify his anguish. He described the next step, which was denied
to him, as a state of happiness and beauty. Whenever a portal of
light opened for someone else to progress to this next level - he
rushed to it, but each time was refused entry. The frustration he
experienced at this loss of his power demonstrated graphically to
him what he had done to others during his life, by selling countless
people into hopelessness and slavery. His triumph as one of
history's greatest generals meant nothing in this drab gray domain,
as he was forced to relive again and again his cruel and heartless
actions. He felt not only powerless, but also suffered the ignominy
of a life that had brought so much pain and sorrow to so many.
Caesar finally came to realize that nobody was punishing him for his
actions. It was his own mind that was his
tormentor.
Caesar
talked of many of his generals, legionnaires and followers, who
chose to stay loyal to him and therefore suffered the same
consequences for their greed and cruelty, constantly reliving their
past deeds in the same gray mist. However, Caesar said all was not
hopeless, as advanced souls came down from the higher levels to help
with their education and healing. Evers revealed that the spirit of
Caesar's daughter, Julia, was eventually able to help her father
move on from his brutal past-life deeds and gain entry to the next
level.
The concept of "old souls" is
worth exploring. There is a tendency to think that old souls are all
wise. My guide M, confirmed that describing someone as an old soul
is not necessarily a compliment. We only return to the earth plane
to learn and evolve, so the older the soul, the more they had to
return as the lessons are not being learned.
***
The Vastness of
the Spirit World
Just
as there are many countries on earth, there are many planes
of
existence in the spirit world. The majority of us go to what
Frederic Myers calls the "Plane of Illusion." He locates this on the
third plane and believes it is the light at the end of the tunnel
many people describe that links earth with the afterlife.
Myers was a Professor of Classics
at Cambridge University in England more than a century ago.
Fascinated with the afterlife, he founded the first Society for
Psychical Research in 1882. Myers grappled with the question of
contact from beyond the grave, and when he died in 1901 his work
continued with communications from the spirit world.
To avoid skepticism he sent his
messages through a variety of people in England, America and India.
The messages on their own did not make sense, but when joined
together in jigsaw fashion, they formed a cohesive picture.
These communications continued for
some 30 years as Myers proved his messages were not created in the
mind of one medium. Quite often the person receiving their message
had no idea what it meant. From 1901 to 1932 more than 3,000 scripts
were communicated.
Like all those in spirit, Myers
had great difficulty in sending messages from the other side. "I
appear to be standing behind a sheet of frosted glass which blurs
sight and deadens sound, dictating to a reluctant and somewhat
obtuse secretary," he explained. Despite these difficulties, Myers
sent through an enormous amount of details of life in the spirit
world, all received by automatic writing.
According to Myers the "Plane
of Illusion" is very similar to life on earth.
He described beautiful, peaceful surroundings where people live in
communities in earth-type houses. They eat, drink, play sports and
even go to work. Life seems to continue from where it left off on
earth, but without the stress. Every pleasure the heart desires or
the mind creates is available here, and manifested by the
individual's thoughts, either consciously or unconsciously. So, if
someone wants a lovely house to live in, full of beautiful
furniture, they can create it simply by visualizing what they
desire. Myers explained this lifestyle is readily adopted by those
spirits who previously believed this type of existence is what
heaven is all about. Such a place
explains the large variety of descriptions we get via mediums about
life in the great beyond.
This sounds ideal - a real
paradise - but after a while it begins to pall and boredom sets in,
as everything comes too easily, without challenge. Myers says that
when the soul is ready it is then assisted to either find ways of
accessing higher planes or return to earth for another life.
During our time on the Plane
of Illusion we still have access to our families and friends on
earth and, at the same time, are in constant contact with our
spiritual guides, as our learning and spiritual growth continues. So
it would seem there are still certain responsibilities, even in
paradise.
The next level, the fourth plane,
Myers calls the "World of Idealized Form," where all desire to have
any earthly contact disappears as the soul explores avenues beyond
the confines of the earth plane. Reincarnation is now unnecessary
in this beautiful world "free of rigid intellectual structures and
dogmas." The mind, given new freedom, starts to learn how to create
an infinite variety of forms, to access energies and colors way
beyond our imagination. Only evolved souls are able to access this
and further higher planes. Essentially, Myers says, we have to earn
our place to be admitted.
The fifth level he calls the
"Plane of Flame." Here spirits take on “a body of a flame”
(symbolic), so they can explore the universe for cosmic
understanding without being harmed by temperatures or turbulence.
The exploring soul is able to return after each journey with a
fuller understanding of these cosmic reaches. On this plane we are
no longer in a form as we understand it; instead, we become what is
best described as an "outline." Each soul is now part of a group
soul, while still retaining aspects of their individuality as they
advance.
The sixth level is the "Plane of
Light" where the inhabitants are evolved souls. By this stage these
souls have lived through all aspects of the created universe and
they have completed their growth. They have left behind all need for
matter and form and exist purely as white light. Here, pure reason
reigns supreme. Emotion and passion, as we understand it, are
absent. These souls are now white light and, according to Myers,
"the pure thought of their Creator."
The seventh "Plane of the Spirit
Realm" is the domain of God or the Creator. Myers, who was not a
religious man, describes this final plane of being as dwelling not
only out of time, but outside of any universe. He describes it as
"the passage from form into formlessness. It is an existence that
has no need to express itself in a shape, however tenuous, however
fine. The soul who enters into the seventh state passes into the
beyond and becomes one with God."
My guide M confirmed that the
vast majority of souls from earth are living in the third plane.
However, there are several different sub-spheres to this plane,
where the soul can learn and progress before finally reaching the
fourth level, the world of Idealized
form. This only happens after many incarnations.
***
A chapter of the book is about his
friend Rachel, who was in the process of an early leaving this
world. As the author is clairvoyant he had watched her and
communicated with after just after she left this level, and so been
able to give comforting help to some of her close friends about her
new energy (when she passed) and her vital appearance. This was very
comforting to them after seeing her suffer so much. I was then
reminded by a mutual friend that Rachel had always loved dancing and
used to conduct dance workshops, so it was apt that I saw her
dancing at her own funeral. There was no doubt a new door had opened
for her.
Rachel and I had known each other
for many years. She had been the catalyst for my spiritual awareness
to commence when we were both very young. We were appearing in a
stage production of Daughter of Silence in the early 1960s.
Rachel was the star of the show and I was playing a small role. I
was very smitten by this beautiful girl, so when she asked me if I
would like to go to a spiritualist church with her, I eagerly
accepted. At the time I would probably have accompanied her to a
biker gang rally I was so infatuated!
The spiritualist meeting was the
first I had ever attended and it had a big impact on me. I realized
for the first time in my life that contact with the spirit world was
possible. My mind and intuition had been opened. The medium stood on
a small platform in front of the congregation. One by one, along
each row of the audience, the medium passed appropriate messages to
everyone present. From their reactions I knew the messages were
genuine.
Rachel was given reassurance from
a friend who had died tragically in a motorbike accident, which
brought tears to her eyes. I remember being given a very encouraging
message about my future and being told that I was "one in a
million," which was very surprising. Rachel thought it was just
letting me know I was only one of many. Maybe it was my ego, but I
chose to take the other interpretation at the time and that message
has provided inspiration for me ever since.
Through my association with the
spiritualist church, and with my own numerous experiences over time,
I've come to realize just how alive the dead are. The details of
their journey are fascinating and offer us lots of clues to what
life is like on the other side.
It seems many souls want to stay
with their loved ones until after their funeral, and before
beginning their journey back into the world of spirit. There is
often a lot of concern felt by the deceased for those left behind,
particularly if their loved ones are deeply grieving for them. And
sometimes souls are still in a state of confusion at the time of
their funeral, not fully realizing they have died.
The evolution of the soul itself
plays an important part in what happens next. Advanced souls, once
freed from their physical body, intuitively remember where they are
heading. They waste no time in hanging around once they have
completed their earthly life's work. However, some people are so
sick and weak,they need help from those in spirit to make their
transition, as this too requires energy. Others can become very
confused after long illnesses or extended medication. Like most of
us going on a major trek, we want to rest up, so we can get the most
out of it. Rachel knew intuitively she was close to death and chose
to spend her final days resting peacefully.
Spirit helpers are always there
waiting to assist us in our crossing. Family members and other loved
ones who have gone on before us know when we are about to cross over
and are waiting to welcome us home again. Help is always on hand. It
is up to us to accept it.
Sometimes family and close friends
report brief contact in some way with the person who has just
"died." They may experience a strong feeling, a familiar
perfume or fragrance, or hear unusual sounds, while others actually
see the departed, or receive symbolic signs. This apparently
depends both on the soul itself and those who are open to contact.
There are many ways those we love
communicate with us. For example, we may hear their favorite music
in unexpected places. When my partner Judy passed over, I kept
hearing the song I associated with her being played on radio for
months afterward. Several times I had to pull over and stop the car
as I fought back tears. I still have an emotional reaction when I
hear Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful."….
|
We
come into this life like an actor with an assigned contract to play a role,
he explained. Then when our life ends, "off goes the garment which is the
body and then the essential energy goes back to where it was, to rest and
get ready for the next role." Frederic Myers, one of the founders of the
Society for Psychical Research in the 19th century, was said to
communicate with a number of mediums after his death, and described in
some detail the different levels of the afterlife. The one that most
people go upon their arrival is called the Plane of Illusion, which bears
much similarity to one's earthly life. In the next level, the World of
Idealized Form, souls move away from the earthly plane, and usually can no
longer be contacted by mediums. At this level, they don't have to
reincarnate if they don't want to, Eaton noted. 
