It is usually much easier to describe the Astral Plane, which is closer to Earth, than the Spiritual Planes, which are, as we go up the levels, less and less affected by things like time and a sense of space. We go to the Spiritual Planes when we are ready to do so. When we enter the Spiritual Planes, it is because we want to leave behind Earth-centric desires and aspirations, and are ready to come closer to our purpose and destiny as spiritual beings.
We do not immediately become all-knowing after dropping our physical body and our basic character, and assumptions stay the same until we educate ourselves. This is partly the reason for disparities in messages from different Afterlifers. Some Afterlifers are very wise and knowledgeable and some really don’t have much of a clue. People are still ‘people’ even when they pass on and New Arrivals in the Afterlife may not know much about it yet. In any messages from Afterlifers, we need to take this into account, use our common sense, and try and figure out whether we are dealing with someone who can only speak from their limited experience (and from potentially wrong assumptions) or whether it is someone with a broader view and who has a wider perspective to offer.
Afterlifers present themselves as people. They are people who have left behind their physical body and are not any more ‘ghosts’ than we are. They learn, evolve, change and grow. Their realm can be just as solid to them as the physical realm is to us – yet, they can choose to step outside that limitation when it suits them.
Life Review
Some people on passing over report having had a Life Review, where the events of their life are re-evaluated from a higher perspective. Others do not report a specific, single event as a Life Review. Some do not seem to do much of a Life Review at all, though they find themselves re-evaluating different parts of their Earth life at appropriate times during their onward progress in the Afterlife. Of those who report having a very specific Life Review, some say it was intense and challenging, but beneficial in the long run as it give them many insights. Others find it a light and easy experience and barely notice it.
Variety of Experience
The experiences people have on entering, and living in, the Afterlife are diverse and widely varied. Much of a person’s early experience of the Afterlife seems to be designed to feel comfortable and familiar as possible and to give them a chance to adjust. They often need time to convince themselves that they really have passed on as they feel so normal and ‘real’.
Chapter 2: What is it Like to Die?
“[Am I happy?] Yes, happier than I ever believed could be possible. I do not quite know how to explain it; but think of a body that is never sick, never tired, and more full of life and pleasure than in the brightest hours on earth. Then imagine, if you can, the perfect peace and affection and unselfishness which are the laws of life here. Then imagine new studies, new opportunities, new surprises, all delightful ones, and a general companionship that fulfills every law of friendship. Then try to be sad or selfish, if you can! I can’t! Even with the remnants of my old human temper.” — Life Here and Hereafter
The experiences people have during the process of ‘dying’ in this world and moving into the next is widely varied. There are, however, some fairly common themes emerging from different people’s description of what happens when we pass over. In this chapter, we will look at a few or these different experiences to get a sense of those similarities and differences. (The issue of what happens when a child passes over is covered in the chapter: When a Child ‘Dies’.)
The process of illness, which often brings on a person’s exit from their physical body, can obviously be painful (though not always as painful during the process of transition as it seems - see later in this chapter). Death itself is painless. The person who has quit their physical body feels so normal and natural that it can take them a while to realize that they have actually ‘died’. That realization usually comes to them gently and slowly - unless they are already prepared for it. When they start to wonder where they are, “Where am I? What is this place?” Helpers and Guides (call them ‘Angels’ if you prefer) appear to welcome the person and introduce them to their new life.
Often, they will get a feeling that it is coming near the time for them to pass over. In times of sleep, the person is being prepared for the big move and may well be beginning to adjust and have a sense of peace around it. They may not be able to bring this awareness fully into their normal daily consciousness, but the impression of a change about to occur often stays with them.
"I was not happy on earth, but I feared the end of that life, and had rather a morbid terror of death. Will you see the difference now? Nothing to fear, neither sickness, poverty, age nor death. Why count the years, when each passing one will only add to your happiness and power, and preserve forever both youth and beauty?” — Spirit World and Spirit Life
People ultimately go to a place in the Afterlife where the other people, and the environment, matches their normal state of consciousness. However, this does not usually happen immediately after passing over. We are given time to adjust first. Someone afraid of death and unhappy at the prospect is not going to go somewhere where fear and unhappiness predominates. After they have adjusted to their new life, and been helped in letting go of some of their Earthly perspective (such as the fear of death), they can then go to their rightful place.
‘Death’ Through Illness
“My end was not violent, but it was labored… I had a presentiment that my days on earth were drawing to a close only a short while before. There was a heaviness of the mind, something akin to drowsiness, as I lay in my bed. Many times, I had a feeling of floating away and of gently returning. Doubtless during such periods, those who were concerned with my physical welfare were under the impression that, if I had not actually passed, I was sinking rapidly.” — Life in the World Unseen
The person often starts to dissociate from their body. Even though it may look like they are suffering, this is not always the case. Even if the body is thrashing around, it can be because the person is sensing their new life ahead of them and wants to get on with it. At the same time, they may be very aware of what is physically going on around them. They are partly in the next world and still partly in this one.
“They do not suffer, these people, in their passing. I think sometimes their friends suffer more, when they see the bodies writhing in apparent agony, while in reality the spirit is already tasting its first freedom from pain, or lies in a blessed insensibility.” — As One Ghost to Another.
Keeping this in mind, let’s continue the story from a few paragraphs ago of that man’s passing over.
“During such lucid intervals that I had, I endured no feelings of physical discomfort. I could see and hear what was going on around me, and I could ‘sense’ the mental distress that my condition was occasioning. And yet I had the sensation of the most extraordinary exhilaration of the mind. I knew for certain that my time had come to pass on, and I was full of eagerness to be gone. I had no fear, no misgivings, no doubts, no regrets… at thus leaving the earth world.” — Life in the World Unseen
A lingering illness may look like a punishment, but it acts as very good preparation for the next life. It allows the person to let go of Earthly concerns and attachments and become accustomed to the idea of thinking of themselves as being more than the person they thought they were. Much as they may care for the people they are leaving behind, they know it is time to go and there is no stopping it, so they yield to the inevitable and begin to eagerly anticipate the new freedom they can sense ahead of them.
“All that I wanted was to be away and I suddenly felt a great urge to rise up... I was mentally alert, however much my body seemed to contradict such a condition. Immediately, I had this distinct prompting to rise, I found that I was actually doing so. I then discovered that those around my bed did not seem to perceive what I was doing, since they made no effort to come to my assistance, nor did they try in any way to hinder me. Turning, I then beheld what had taken place. I saw m
y physical body lying lifeless upon its bed, but here was I, the real I, alive and well. For a minute or two I remained gazing, and the thought of what to do next entered my head, but help was close at hand. I could still see the room quite clearly around me, but there was a certain mistiness about it as though it were filled with smoke very evenly distributed…
I knew… that I had "died". I knew, too, that I was alive, that I had shaken off my last illness sufficiently to be able to stand upright and look about me. At no time was I in any mental distress, but I was full of wonder at what was to happen next, for here I was, in full possession of all my faculties, and, indeed, feeling ‘physically’ as I had never felt before. Although this has taken some time in the telling, in order that I might give you as much detail as possible, the whole process must have taken but a few minutes of earth time.” — Life in the World Unseen
As the person beings become aware that they have made the transition to a new life, they are now open to being able to be welcomed by friends, loved ones, spirit guides, whoever is most appropriate to introduce them to their next steps.
For some, being met by an Angel with wings would be the perfect welcome. For others, it would be scary - fearing such a sight means they are about to be carted off to face some terrible judgment. Therefore, if an Angel meets them, the Angel will often take on an appearance suited to the needs of the person. People are mostly met by someone who knows them, and has genuine affection for them. The whole process is designed to be as normal and natural as possible - given the circumstances.
In these two examples below, one person was met by a friend and the other was met by an Angel - with wings and all! Each had the welcome most suited to their needs.
“As soon as I had had this brief space in which to look about me and to appreciate my new estate, I found myself joined by a former colleague… He expressed his great pleasure at seeing me again, and for my part I foresaw the gathering up of the many threads that had been broken by his ‘death’.” — Life in the World Unseen
“The Angel Guardian who came to me had wings… I was glad my Guide had wings. It seemed more like what I thought it would be and ought to be, and I was at once more at ease than I would otherwise have been.” — After Death: Letters from Julia
New arrivals with a Christian background may be concerned about the Christian idea of a “Judgment Day” and will ask those greeting them when that will happen. Their minds are soon put at rest when it is explained that the concept of a Judgment Day was really a metaphor for a natural process. Our state of consciousness determines the state we are attracted to in the Afterlife and also determines the conditions we find there. No one judges us, except ourselves in that we attract like-minded people and a matching environment. It is we who decide our place in the Afterlife, by our level of development, not an external authority.
“My friend was in the best of spirits as he stood there giving me such a welcome as, upon the earth-plane, two old friends accord each other after long separation. To me, that was sufficient to show that all thoughts of being marched off to my judgment were entirely preposterous. We both were too jolly, too happy, too carefree, and too natural, and I, myself, was waiting with excitement for all manner of pleasant revelations of this new world, and I knew that there could be none better than my old friend to give them to me.” — Life in the World Unseen
‘Death’ Through Accident
In this example, a man living in a rural area in South Africa has an accident in his jeep. Even as it began to dawn on him that he had been ‘killed’, he already felt a sense of wellbeing, “you have a comfortable feeling that everything will come right in the end.” It seems to be a common experience that if we can stay open to what is actually happening, and not get too caught up in what we fear might be happening, then things go much more smoothly. This seems to be just as true in the next world as in this one.
“I was feeling on top of the world the day the accident that precipitated me over here happened… I went into the village to get a drum of fuel and visited friends, so it was a bit late when I started out for home. There was a bit of a ground mist and an approaching car dazzled me. I didn’t realize I was so near the culvert and pulled over to the side to avoid the oncoming car and, of course, headed right over the side into the drain. It all happened so quickly. The next thing I knew, I was standing there looking at the mess of the accident. I was jolly worried about it and wondered, how the dickens, I could get the jeep out of that darned hole.
It wasn’t until I noticed that [my body] was… there [in the jeep] as well, that I realized that I must be dead…. But I couldn’t accept that either, and I decided it was, probably, a strange dream and that I would wake up and find I had dreamt the whole thing. You know the way it is in dreams, that the most awful things can happen to you. Yet, you have a comfortable feeling that everything will come right in the end.” — Letters From Mother
The above example is another instance of how people get confused by the idea that they have ‘died’ and yet are still fully alive and very much their normal selves. They feel themselves to be exactly the same person as they were before they died and, since it all seems to natural and normal, it takes a while for it to sink in. It is when they start to see those who come to greet them, whether it be loved ones, who have gone over before, or an Angel, that they it really starts to come home to them. Let’s carry on with this man’s story.
“I began to notice people around me. Denzil [a cousin killed in the war], was there and Grandfather as well… Grandfather offered me an apple, which made me want to laugh. He had fed me so many of those when I was a kid. Of course, it was so typical of him and he had such a merry twinkle in his eyes as he did it. It went a long way towards reassuring me that there was nothing to worry about.” — Letters From Mother
Naturally, he felt concerned for those he left behind. His helpers knew that he could do more for them once he had properly adjusted to his new life, so they encouraged him to move away.
“I was worried about leaving Mum and Dad, but Denzil said I would be able to keep in touch and that there were lots of ways in which I could help them from this side. So you see… for me, it was as simple as that.” — Letters From Mother
‘Death’ from a Heart Attack
What is notable from the following account, as in the other ones, is that the unhappy drama playing out around death is mostly all on our side.
“ I had been standing talking to my gardener. Then I found myself still talking to him, but he didn’t appear to hear me. I noticed he seemed in a great state of agitation and then went down on his knees. I looked down and saw him kneeling beside what appeared to be me. I couldn’t make out at first what had happened. Then he hurried away to get help.
I was under the impression that I must be dreaming. It was so strange to be standing there looking at what was apparently myself lying on the ground. Gradually, this scene faded and I found myself in quite another place. I was surprised and delighted to see my mother holding out her arms to me, and beside her my brother… Then it began to dawn on me that I had passed on… I feel sure that if people were to know that the actual moment of passing is not even noticeable, the fear of death that haunts so many people would vanish. It is largely the fear of the unknown. If more was known about this Afterlife, that fear would cease to a great extent. I am so glad that through you… [I have] been able to give this knowledge to those still living in your world.” — Travellers Return
In the above account, the man had so little noticed that he had passed over that he had not even stopped talking. Technically, he had ‘died’, but there he was, as far as he was concerned, still chatting away. It was only when he noticed the gardener’s reaction that it dawned on him that something unusual was happening. It was then his Spiritual Guide, who had remained invisible, but was watching, intervened and took him elsewhere where he could meet his loved ones who had already passed over.
‘Death’ of a Soldier
The next ac
count is of a soldier killed during wartime. He has a sudden ‘death’ with little or no warning that it was about to happen.
“I was killed by a shell splinter one evening in August, and I believe that my body was buried the following day. As you see, I hasten over these unimportant events, important to me once, but now of no real consequence. How we overestimate the significance of earthly happenings. One only realizes this when freed from earthly ties.” — Private Dowding
From our perspective, this earth life, and our physical body, seems all-important. Yet, this experience is only temporary - though we may tend to forget that. Our clinging to this experience, although understandable, holds us to an extremely limited viewpoint. Private Downing, in the example above, did not think his physical death was important. The experiences he had already gained in the Afterlife had broadened his views of life and the earth experience. The way he had exited from it was only of minor interest to him. However, he did later give more details of what happened.
“I was waiting at the corner of a traverse to go on guard. It was a fine evening. I had no special intimation of danger, until I heard the whizz of a shell. Then following an explosion; somewhere behind me, I crouched down involuntarily, but was too late. Something struck hard, hard, hard against my neck… It is the only unpleasant [part of the] incident that I can remember. I fell and as I did so, without passing through an apparent interval of unconsciousness, I found myself outside myself! You see, I am telling my story simply; you will find it easier to understand. You will learn to know what a small incident this dying is.” — Private Dowding
Immediately after passing over, people often see the physical environment they just left, as that is where their attention and focus is rather than on moving on. If they are not inclined towards spiritual things and therefore have no habit of uplifting thoughts, they may try and carry on with their earthly life for a while. Private Downing continues.
Afterlife Adventures Page 2
