The Dead Saints Chronicles: A Zen Journey Through the Christian Afterlife

by David Solomon

  There was so much to explore and to see and so many other souls to meet and talk to. I wanted to familiarize myself with Heaven (home) once again and move freely from place to place and explore its great halls and draw in its knowledge. I felt content where I was and in no hurry to explore. I was with those that had meant the most to me on Earth and I wanted to stay in their presence for as long as I needed to. We were all one in GOD’s design and our souls were there to reconnect. 4

  The Mansions of Heaven

  Concerning Heaven, Emanuel Swedenborg writes, “All of Heaven is differentiated into communities on the basis of differences in the quality of love.”5 They consist of all those who have lived in the goodness of love according to their own spiritual life on Earth. Heaven is a place of peace, harmony, pure Love and Light, and it is bigger, more multi-dimensional than you can possibly imagine. It is a celestial universe filled with many kingdoms.

  Jesus said in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus was saying, after your arrival in Heaven, you have a mansion to live in especially prepared for you. Other translations describe these mansions as rooms, dwelling places, or homes. On a grander scale, these Afterlife dwelling places are cities, universities, and at its highest level, the City of God. But how many dwelling places of Heaven are there?

  Barbara had an encounter with Jesus when she collapsed from a serious bout with the flu when she was 21. In a remarkable question and answer session with Jesus, she describes Heaven thousands of grey layers and dimensions comprising the ‘in-between worlds’ before Heaven is reached. At first, Jesus tries to explain the complexity of where she is, but Barbara asks the Lord to simplify it so she could understand:

  I looked around and noticed a white figure to my left side. There was no mistaking who this figure was. It was my Lord Jesus. As I stared at Him, I sensed there was another world above us. I knew this was where God was and I was not allowed to view any part of His world. I felt a familiar connection between God, Jesus and myself. It was Love that connected us. We were all the same and yet we were different. After my Life Review He told me I had to return back to Earth. I knew He was right but I wanted to stay here because there was so much unconditional love and besides I had so many questions to ask Him. He told me I could ask Him questions before returning to Earth.

  My Questions: [To Jesus]

  First Question: Where am I and what is this place?

  Reply: At first, I thought He was speaking in a foreign language. I said, ‘God please, I am a simple person, put it in simple words.’

  He then replied, ‘Think of this as the Tunnel of Grays; Dark to Light; Hell to Heaven. All the different shades of GRAY are the in-between worlds. If you took a stack of CD’s and piled them from the floor (Dark) to the ceiling (Light) this would represent the tunnel, I was now in.

  God showed me a panorama view of the tunnel.

  Second question: How far away is the Earth from the floor?

  Reply: About 12 inches.

  Third Question: If I decided not to back to Earth, where would I go?

  Reply: About 24 inches from the ceiling.6

  I took away several pieces of wisdom from Barbara’s very interesting NDE. First, Earth is only 24 inches from the floor, the dark realm of Hell. The different shades of gray are in-between worlds represented by CDs. Imagine, if you stacked CD’s from the floor to the ceiling; it would take a minimum 2000 CDs to reach a ten-foot ceiling, the highest point of Heaven. 24 inches from the floor is about 400 CDs. 12 inches from the ceiling is about 200 CD’s.

  I believe Jesus was attempting to demonstrate to Barbara, not only where she was and where she was going, but just how diverse, complex, and multi-dimensional the Kingdom of Heaven truly is. The Zen realization here is an answer to one of our Afterlife questions: It is not if we survive, it is where we are going and how far we will be from the ceiling when we arrive!

  Heaven Has a Mansion Designed Just for You

  Heaven is a place God personally created just for us, more beautiful than we can imagine. Our spiritual eyes perceive sound and color on wavelengths far beyond any we ever experienced on Earth. The greenest grass is greener. Stately forests are taller. Impossibly high waterfalls flow from dizzying heights, and gentle waves crash quietly below on tropical beaches of white talcum powder sands. Green meadows and wildflowers spread as far as we can see. The air is filled with sweet aromas. Flowers of every imaginable size and color dominate the landscape. Trees grow hundreds, if not thousands of feet tall.

  The sounds of play dominate Heaven. We hear children’s laughter and watch them dance and play games with new soul arrivals. Beautiful music is heard everywhere. Angel’s songs praising God. There is no pain, no sadness, no gravity, no time, and no sun, because God’s Light brightens the skies with a golden blue Light that casts no shadows. Heaven will seemingly have infinite dimensions and scope, holding us breathless (an Afterlife joke!). In Heaven, time is relative. Your moment in Heaven may be days, weeks, years, or a thousand years. It may be forever.

  However, you will come to the realization that still there is much work to do.

  The Dead Saints describe Heaven as a world familiar to them. American Indians describe their happy hunting grounds and beautiful prairie lands they roamed during their life on Earth. Egyptians describe Heaven, or Amenti, landscaped with colorful painted temples, lush gardens, pyramids, and surrounded by family and friends.

  Heaven will be familiar to us. We will realize with a great sigh of relief we are still ourselves. We will retain our blessed uniqueness and our thinking habits. Miraculously, our new spiritual body has made us whole, healthy and young again. We will appear to others in Heaven at the age we were happiest. We are the creator of our reality; clothes, hairstyle, and appearance.

  Amanda had been writing in her journal, posing a question to her dead brother Chris. “What is Heaven like?”—and then fell asleep. She then dreamed about her mother and her sisters who were talking about her brother Chris who died several months before. Suddenly, Chris appears next to her mother in the dream:

  He was laughing right along with his family, as if he had been listening in and now decided to make his presence known. Megan cried out to her brother, ‘Chris!’ He assured the family in the dream it was really him. Megan wasn’t so sure, so she took her hand and placed it on his arm. Despite the fact that he was still somewhat transparent, Chris’s arm felt solid to the touch. Megan realized this was her chance.

  ‘Chris,’ she said breathlessly, ‘Tell me about Heaven.’

  His face glowed. ‘It’s awesome and beautiful beyond words. And the people are themselves. They still look like themselves, and they have their own personalities.’ Megan and her sisters exchanged glances. ‘So, Brooke will still be Brooke? And Amanda will still be Amanda?’

  ‘Exactly!’ Chris said. ‘And everyone has jobs. Not like the jobs here, where people are often bored or unhappy. Everyone loves their jobs there. In Some ways it’s like Earth, but everyone is happier.’7

  Many Activities in Heaven

  Heaven is a busy place. Apparently, we keep on going to school and attend classes, and we all have jobs we like! There appear to be many levels of people doing activities they love. Ana describes this idyllic scene:

  There were teenagers, people of middle age, and people just growing old. I saw harmony, serenity, and happiness. People smiled and I felt strengthened. The voices were clear harmonious and fluent; the communication flowed in a natural manner. The atmosphere was total peace, and completely full of love. There was also a fountain surrounded by flowers of every color, in the center of a large garden. The water cascaded in different rhythms forming images and its sound was in harmony and was amazing. People were sitting around talking and smiling at one another. They didn’t talk with sounds from the mouth. It was as if just with the min
d, they could say everything and I could hear them. There were people leaning in the garden reading a book, or just enjoying the sun. The countryside was fantastic. I continued being carried along on this journey.

  …I went on a bit further towards a layer of branches, but this time I could see a large group of old people. The elderly people smiled, they looked strong and vigorous. Many were sitting and talking, but without saying anything, just enjoying the countryside. They were in the middle of flower-filled gardens, trees of various species, and rivers flowing with clean fresh water. They walked along paths and shared stories.8

  Heavenly Universities

  My mother lost her older brother Roy to cancer in 1995. Before Roy died, Mom was worried for him because he was angry with God, a God he didn’t even believe in. A few months after his death, Roy appeared to mom in a dream, looking about 20 years old, sporting a very cool Elvis Presley hairdo like the one he used to do in his youth. He was carrying a laptop and was beaming. In the background, Mom could hear Andre Bocelli singing, It’s time to say goodbye. He said, “I’m learning a lot of new things over here.” Mom noted Roy was not only happier, “the real interesting thing is Roy never used computers while alive.”

  Therefore, our education in the Afterlife seems to continue. Linda adds more color describing heavenly universities:

  I was greeted by a Light Being, although I don’t remember flying into a Light as such. I knew this soul and was guided around the place. I was shown rooms and doorways mostly, which contained other souls learning things and preparing for their return to Earth or wherever their next journey was to be.

  I also saw souls who I would call angels or higher Beings. They were helping Earthlings with many problems even medical discoveries. I was taken to many different levels by this friend and learned anything is possible in this place. I can’t remember most of the levels as each one seemed more complex than the last, but I do remember the lower levels, so to speak. I’m sure I was taken to higher places, but I am not to remember these places as my life here would be affected. I think there may be about seven or possibly more but I have a basic memory of about three or four.9

  Pets in Heaven?

  For all you pet lovers…yes! Mary encountered animals in Heaven during her NDE caused by a severe head injury from a criminal attack:

  Horses and dogs were playing together and when they stopped, they seemed to stare a hole through me and then went back to playing. I was told they were checking to see if I was the person they were waiting for that they had loved while on Earth.10

  Rev. Robert’s NDE showed him even dogs go to Heaven:

  There was a brief darkness, a sensation of going through a dark void of some sort then I was in another place. I saw dogs playing in a grass-covered field and I was with them. I have always loved dogs. I think they were dogs that I once had as an adult or child. I’m a minister and I don’t really believe ‘all dogs go to Heaven,’ but there they were!11

  Soul Reconciliation

  Many of us have gone through divorce or have had disputes with friends and family, which seem irreconcilable. According to Robert, we have a chance to get Afterlife counseling in Heaven:

  The reality is simple: If your soul was hurt on Earth by another, you do not automatically forget that pain and it simply goes away in Heaven and we all sing Kumbaya together. Some souls do not mesh in Heaven as they do not mesh here on Earth.

  There is no anger in Heaven. There is no hate. There is no violence, but that does not mean there are no misunderstandings. Does that mean that that particular soul does not want to see you or talk to you? No, not at all. You can have the opportunity to sit with that soul and other higher-level angels to find a solution to the challenges you two may have. You can discuss and ask questions about why they may have done certain things that affected you in a dramatic way. Perhaps, there is an explanation we did not see on Earth that would make sense now that we are in Heaven again. This may sound strange but you must remember we are not perfect and we must grow our souls to become close to GOD and to achieve a high status in Heaven. We have lifetimes upon lifetimes to learn and to grow. Unfortunately, there are times when we are not able to secure this meeting since the other soul has chosen to return to Earth to relearn or learn a new task.12

  Encounters with God

  When I was 12, I dreamed of a picture of a Father God I thought existed as a Renaissance Painting in our Family Bible. You know, one of those big, heavy Bibles with dozens of color renaissance paintings, mixed among pages of sacred Scripture. Later on, I realized my dream memory of God had a face that resembled the negative photo image similar to the face of Christ on the Shroud of Turin. He had a long, grey bushy beard. His hair was slightly curly and fell 12 inches over his shoulders. He was tall—at least six foot. He wore a long, dark black-silver robe tied about the waist with a white rope. Most notably, God had two dark black/grey ¾” x 3” x 14” inch stone tablets stacked on one another, balanced on the top of his head, bound together by tight twine near the ends.

  When I awoke, I looked for God’s image in every Bible I could find. I never found it.

  I can’t tell you what my “vision” of God meant, or if my dream image has any relationship to the classic Jewish and Christian anthropomorphic image of a Father God described by the Prophet Daniel called the “Ancient of Days.” In his vision, he creates a picture of an ancient, or venerable, Person who sits on a flaming throne with wheels of fire, His hair and clothing white as snow. (Dan 7:9)

  Perhaps we must ask ourselves: Why would the Creator, who can shape the universe with His thoughts, need such simple tools as hands? The only way we can create is with our human hands, so we imagine God with hands. Could it be that the confusion and strife over the nature of God is caused by syntax, translations, and interpretations? Yet, God is also described by the Dead Saints as Father, Mother, Light, Love, and Triune, yet one consciousness who is the Source of all that is.

  Cristeal describes God’s beauty in Heaven:

  The Light kept coming closer until it enveloped me. I was surrounded by waterfalls of Light, by rivers of Light, by oceans of Light that were all around me. I reached out and touched the Light with my hand (which grew out of the spherical me, especially for that purpose) and I was reassured. It was like touching a mother’s breast.

  I asked the Light, ‘What’s happening here? What’s going on?’

  The Light parted, like stage curtains in front of me, and I saw a panoramic vista of buildings and parks and trees and flowers and beauty and so many things I could not comprehend or understand.

  ‘Where am I?’

  And the Light answered me, not in words but in thought-concepts.

  ‘Now you are at the moment of beholding the Imperial Heaven, the heart of God, the great Master Awareness that overflows to create all that is.’13

  A Feminine God?

  In another NDE, Corey sees Jesus and then describes a feminine aspect of God:

  The entire time I was with my family, I could feel their love-like a warm feeling all over me. I suddenly felt like I was on a moving platform and I saw Jesus! I knew instantly who he was, although he didn’t tell me. He was dressed in a white robe. His presence felt warm and I could feel love coming off Him. Jesus said I should go back to the living and live my life. Jesus vanished and God appeared to me. She was bright and I felt her love immediately (and, yes, God is a female). She looked like the sun, with love coming off her in rays. (It’s hard to explain, but she reminded me of a painting of the sun I had seen when I was very young, with Light shining from the center of her body). She hugged me and then suddenly she was gone. I saw images of my father flying in a plane. I then saw gates, and as I walked toward them, they opened and I walked through them. I remember seeing an “M” on a window and then I found out I was in the hospital.14

  A Triune God

  DREAM: I dreamed of a nuclear fallout sign whe
n I was 18 during my tour in the USAF. I discovered recently scientists chose the nuclear symbol, unaware that it was an ancient symbol representing the “Godhead” similar to the Christian Triquetra, a three-part interlocking fish symbol symbolizing the Christian trinity. ~Chronicle 604

  Ancient tradition describes God in three forms; “Water, Air and Light.” Masonic tradition defines the Trinity as ‘Living Waters, Breath of God, and Light of the World.” In traditional Christianity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Dead Saint encounters with God add more details to the Triune definition. Ron sees the Trinity as three Spirits, separate but ONE:

  I came to understand this Trinity is not God, exactly. They are more like the Godhead. They are the omnipresent embodiment of the Impartial Force. The Force they mastered is not a composite, but a self-sustaining whole. It is the “first cause.” It knows no good or evil. It is neutral. Though tangible and pervasive, the Ultimate Force is not a Being, but a principle.

  …It is perfect love--unconditional and universal. To describe it is difficult, because to describe it is to give it structure and anything structured cannot be unbounded or infinite. So we err every time we try to define God within the parameters of our structured minds, using structured words and structured thoughts to imagine structured beings.

  …To describe God as a Trinity or entity, however, misses the mark. God is a Spirit, and should be worshiped like a Spirit. It is the benevolent force of love in our souls and has little to do with our physical appearance.15

  Ancient Ones

  The Dead Saints encounter many beings in Heaven. In this experience, William encounters ancient ones who work as guardians, but who are not angels or unearthly mystical beings, but prophets, teachers, leaders and apostles of old:

  My last NDE was not one single trip but actually seven trips. I would leave my body, not only to escape the tremendous pain I was in, but to also to continue those things I was being instructed in on the other side. During this time, I was surrounded by those I call the ancient ones…not so much in accordance to their earthly age, but to their eternal celestial age.