The Earth experience is really a preparation for the Afterlife, as we will continue to grow and evolve there; yet, with some important differences. We will no longer have the limitations of the physical body and the restrictions of physical life. Aside from this, some initially like to carry on with a lifestyle something similar to what they had while on Earth; others like to eagerly explore and see how far they can travel, find topics or mysteries of life they can study and live out aspects of life they were not able to fulfill on earth.
“[For] many people, [this] life is a glorified continuation of their earth lives, without all the worry and discomfort. They bask, happily, in this state of blissful contentment, which they have, undoubtedly, earned. It suffices their needs at the moment. There is no compulsion to seek further, if it is not your wish to do so.” — Letters from Mother
“[On looking back at my life on Earth] another thing that surprised me not a little… is the discovery of the nothingness of things. I mean by that the entire nothingness of most things which seemed to one on earth the most important of things. For instance, money, rank, worth, merit, station, and all the things we most prize when on earth, are simply nothing. They don't exist anymore than the mist of yesterday or the weather of last year. They were no doubt influential for a time, but they do not last; they pass as the cloud passes...” — After Death: Letters from Julia
The ‘new’ body we will find ourselves in has actually been with us all the time. The effect of the physical body, and physical reality, acts like weights for a deep-sea diver and hold us down to a restricted level of awareness. We do not regain, or become aware of, all the faculties and abilities of our new body immediately. We come to these gradually, at a pace matched to our needs and our temperament.
Different Heavens for Different People
“You can hardly realize the complete transfer of interest when the change is made from the earth life to the spirit existence. We are hardly conscious of the earth life, for the change in every particular is so great, and every moment here is so filled with joy, or study, or care for others, we do forget; - forget everything except the love we bear for the dear ones there.” — Life Here and Hereafter
One of the purposes of the Astral Plane is to allow us to fulfill the things we felt we were denied on earth. Since we do not suddenly change our character when we pass over, there is plenty of scope to experience the very different types of heaven to match those needs.
“[You can experience] that which [you longed for while] on earth… but which did not come to fruition. You will realize the good of what you have done, and the happiness which you had, and beyond that, also, the happiness which you might have had… This will include things which were apparently taken from you.” — Secret of Death
Just as on earth, people of different cultures and languages are drawn together. On the higher levels, such distinctions tend to fade as the oneness of all humanity becomes more the norm. However, below those higher levels, it is only natural that those brought up in, say, the UK are going to be initially most attracted to a portion of the Afterlife which looks most like the UK; whereas a Chinese person would be attracted to the areas which looks similar to what they experienced if they grew up in China.
Many people in the Afterlife like to travel to the different areas and explore other cultures. Since travel there is so quick and easy, as it can be done by the power of thought, this allows people of different cultures to easily mix and better understand each other. Language barriers are not an issue for them, since people there always have the option of communicating through thought transference. There is also the option of learning other languages, if so desired. The memory you will have in the Afterlife is perfect so learning a new language, a new skill, or even recalling a skill you had on Earth, such as playing a musical instrument, comes easily.
The realization of the unity of different races is made easier because the good people of every race can easily recognize each other. Our appearance in the Afterlife reflects the inner qualities we have developed either there or during our time on Earth. Beauty of inner qualities shows as beauty in the form of the Astral Body. It is therefore very easy for a good person to recognize others who are similarly inclined. Also, if travelling within our own sphere, then the people we meet of other cultures will be a similar level of development to ourselves.
This ability to recognize the qualities of character in each other over there means that it is often very easy to make new friends and have enjoyable interactions with others you’ve only just met. If appropriate, you can relate to someone you have just bumped into as if you had known each other for a very long time.
“As one visits a [new] district, we very speedily begin to feel, within and without, that sense of brotherhood and sisterhood which is one of the most delightful of blessings I have found [here]. Everywhere you go, you find brothers and sisters.” — Lowlands of Heaven
The experience people have when awakening to their new existence in the Afterlife can be deeply moving. Imagine waking up to realize that the most scary ‘bogey man’ of all, ‘death’, is behind you. You are surrounded by exquisite beauty and you have a body and refined senses fully able to enjoy it and revel in it. Your new body does not tire, it does not need food or drink (though you sometimes consume such things for pleasure) is immune to disease or accidents. You can travel vast distances at will, or you can simply walk when it suits you. You have easy access to pleasant company, you have ample opportunity to learn almost any topic you can think of (and many more you have not yet thought of - especially those specific to the Afterlife) from the best teachers and with the best methods available.
“Although, in outward form, the sphere we are now in has many of earth’s familiar features, they are, in fact, a mental creation, born of our desire for familiar surroundings and provided for our comfort through the divine wisdom of Creative Mind. This does not detract, in any way, from their solidarity. ” — Letters From Mother
“So many expect to find a vague shadowy world over here, totally diverse from Earth in every possible way. And yet, come to think of it, and with common sense, what good would such a world be to us? It would not mean a gradual progress for us, but a vast leap, and that is not the way of God…Things here when first we arrive are certainly different from those of the old life, but not so different as to make us feel dumbfounded by their strangeness. Indeed, those who come over after living an unprogressive life on Earth, find themselves in spheres of so gross a character as to be, to them, indistinguishable from Earth itself.” – Lowlands of Heaven
The Presence of God
There is a fact, which brings relief to most people, but might be disappointing to some - at least at first. God is not like an old man with a beard waiting to judge everyone and decide who is good and who is bad. Our state of consciousness determines our experience in the Afterlife and also determines how we experience God. A big difference between the Afterlife and life on earth is that it’s much easier to experience the Presence of God.
Some of us, owing to the influence of authoritarian religions, think of God as some kind of stranger, like a scary, bossy figure who we hardly know. Or, as someone who is a bit too powerful, and capricious, for us to ever feel relaxed around. Those ideas about God are completely wrong and mostly come from the beliefs and ideas influenced by the behavior of kings of olden times and other brutal authority figures.
When we go to the Afterlife, what we gradually come to realize, if we are open to it, is that we know God already and that God knows us. We become aware of God as being completely familiar to us and as having always been with us, whenever we have allowed that to happen. When you recognize, and act on the good within yourself; the urge to help, the desire to be kind and thoughtful, you recognize God. That Still Small Voice within you, which nudges you towards the good, the beautiful and the true, is God alive in you through your Soul. There is no separation between the good in you and God for that good is God working and living through
you. There is also the presence of God outside us as well. The process of evolution could be described as God outside of us gently encouraging the awakening of God’s spark, as our Soul, inside of us.
“We know by the powers already manifested that no being less than the Almighty could create. We know through messengers from higher planes. We have the testimony from Christ, who is so near to the Highest that he can tell us of His very presence. But perhaps most of all is the absolute impression upon our inmost spirit that we are guarded, cared for, and raised into higher intelligence and purer life and joy by an influence outside ourselves. We know this with an assurance you can hardly understand; but it is more than sight, hearing or touch.” — Life Here and Hereafter
“I am almost overwhelmed by this wonderful personal atmosphere of zest. It is a kind of perpetual soul optimism, compounded of relief and thankfulness to God, that all the dreams and visions, hopes and faith, which I was allowed on occasions during my earthly days, have materialized into a result which is far more glorious than my highest, noblest and most cheerful dream ever could be.” — Letters From Mother
What people experience practically in relationship to God in the Afterlife depends largely on what they are comfortable with, as God does not impose on anyone. God is very obvious, as a Presence, on higher levels and not at all obviously present on lower levels. This is simply because on the lower levels, people are not so ready to experience the Presence of God as Love, Beauty and Truth. The higher we rise, the more we are ready to experience Love, Beauty and Truth and so the more ready we are to experience the Presence of God.
It is the acceptance of the goodness in yourself that allows you to accept the goodness in others and the goodness in life around you. God is often portrayed as authoritarian by the churches who believe in authoritarianism, but this has to do with the nature of the leaders of those churches who are not able to understand God in any other way. They create God in their own image and teach this as the truth when it is completely false.
What if someone does not want to accept goodness and in fact wants to reject it? The people on the lowest levels of the Afterlife reject God, because they reject goodness - especially the goodness within themselves. They have no care for anyone other than themselves and in extremes, such as the Hell states; they cultivate hate, vengeance, cruelty, greed, lust for power and so on. The lower they are, the more they actively reject goodness. They will eventually tire of such a miserable existence and begin to look for a way out (and all the help they need will be given to them), but they have free will and so have the right to choose.
What About Jesus?
“If men will bear in mind the wisdom contained in the nature of Christ, in His deeds and thoughts, and apply it even fitfully to their own life, they will be preparing themselves for the long journey which eventually leads them beyond human personality, into the realm of divine transcendent life.” — Beyond Human Personality
We will come across those in the Afterlife who will be further along the path than we are, and who will gladly act as teachers and guides to help us. Naturally for Christians, Jesus is a key figure. Afterlifers say He was the highest embodiment of Love yet manifested on the planet. The principles which Jesus taught, and still teaches, are perfectly suited to prepare us for Afterlife conditions. Yet, nothing is imposed on anyone and in the Afterlife, we are free to follow the teachings of Jesus, or not, just as we are on Earth. However, in the Afterlife, the benefits of those teachings are much more obvious.
“He alone among the great masters, emphasized the importance of the eternal law of love. Here, in the After-life, we realize as men can never realize, that this law has a cosmic significance… Love enclosed in wisdom is the energy of integration which makes a cosmos of the sum of things.” — Beyond Human Personality
It may well be that those of other religions recognize The Christ by another name. But, I have not investigated this. It does seem to be the case that the doctrine a person professes on Earth has no bearing in their status in the Afterlife and only how they treated their fellow creatures (human and animal) makes any difference. Perhaps, this is why mainstream religions are not keen on Afterlife communications: creeds and doctrines are said to be unimportant unless they helped the person actively contribute to improving the life of others. If a person’s religion helps them be more kind and loving, then it serves them well; if not, then it serves them not at all. If, for example, someone conceives of himself or herself as being a fully-fledged Christian, but that does not lead them to actively caring for others; then they will go to a lower sphere in the Afterlife than a non-Christian who does. It is the Law of Love that is paramount.
“In the first place, I would warn you against taking the words of Jesus literatim, as they appear reported in the New Testament. What I mean is that firm belief does not include a deep regard for the traditional words, as if they were sacrosanct and for acceptance without the proper use of your gift of reason. Jesus spoke in Aramaic of the period, a language of which your world is now almost entirely ignorant, and his traditional sayings are reported by translation into an Asiatic Greek dialect of doubtful interpretation through the better knowledge of classic Greek; subtle alterations were introduced into these records by warring sects which had their custody; and, finally, infatuation with the approximate retranslation of your Authorised Version into picturesque and largely obsolete English still leads many of your pastors and masters into error. What counts eternally is the spirit which emanates from the teaching.” – As One Ghost to Another
Spiritual development manifests as Light in the Afterlife. A being like Jesus, in his natural state, would seem unbearably bright to many of us so he usually steps down his nature to better match whichever Afterlife level he is working in. He and his helpers often appear in the lower levels and give timely and helpful interventions without even being recognized.
When a person deliberately turns away from goodness and actively rejects it, what is there left? All that is left is Hell. Hell is the rejection of Goodness. The further a soul removes itself from Goodness and love, the more it experiences its opposite. The Hell states of the Afterlife are simply those levels where people actively reject goodness. The lower levels of the Afterlife are more and more cold, barren and further removed from the presence of Goodness, that is the Presence of God. Hell is the denial of Goodness and therefore the denial of God. Hell is what is left when we reject God.
For many people, it helps if they can have the chance to relate to God through another person, an individual who exemplifies and personifies a deep relationship with God and who can help them experience that too. In the Western world, such a person is Jesus Christ, who is very much alive and real in the Afterlife for those who are open to it. Again, however, I want to emphasize that nothing is imposed on anyone.
There are many people who are wary of Christianity, but who love the principles for which Jesus Christ stood. They cultivate kindness; they do their best to treat others with decency and respect. They go out of their way to help others. The extent that someone does this is the extent they will recognize Jesus as someone who truly embodies what they most believe in. When they meet Him, He will recognize them.
“We are on a much higher plane of life than formerly. Sickness and the calamities that beset our mortal life no longer afflict us. I have found here a far greater understanding of God, and of man as God’s image and likeness. Here, we see the realities of life as created by the Divine Mind, as distinct from the materialism of the earth world, which only faintly reflects the beauty of this world. When I first came here, I was amazed to find it in so many respects like the world I was used to, but with of course, some very great differences. The scenery is of great beauty and the climate perfect.” — Secret of Death
The same principles that apply to Jesus also apply to various sages who have endeavoured to uplift humanity. Many of them are still actively working to aid humanity from the Afterlife and are available to those who seek their help.
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br /> There is more about Jesus and similar themes in the Chapter: The Big Questions..
Chapter 5: Too Good to Be True?
"There is no beauty on earth equal to the beauty here. Never fear for lack of variety of expression, or lack of appreciation." – Spirit World and Spirit Life
Many of the messages about the Afterlife can seem ‘too good to be true’ and this can cause us to wonder how accurate those messages really are. It helps to keep in mind that in the Afterlife, we no longer have physical body consciousness getting in the way. Physical body consciousness is very useful while we are down here, but it holds us to the earth through the heavy weight of physical, psychological and spiritual gravity. The heaviness of Earthly things literally weighs us down. It helps us to be here just like a diver needs heavy weights to stop them floating to the surface. However, having this ‘weight’ on our consciousness can cause us to have a more negative, heavier and unhappier way of looking at life. Once we lose the weight of the body, and all the concerns of the body, our natural lightness, buoyancy and sense of freedom asserts itself and our attitude shifts to a much a happier and more loving one.
While living in the physical body, we may become short-tempered owing to stress such as pressure from work or money troubles. We may have a painful illness weighing on our spirit and sense of happiness. We might feel worried and fearful about the approach of old age and eventual ‘death’. All these things act as psychological weight and distort our perspective.
Is it any wonder that in being relieved of all these difficulties, and more, people enthuse so much about how much better things are over there? And this is before we even look at the specific benefits rather than just the lack of difficulties. In addition, they have immense freedom and faculties of perceptions, which we do not have down here, all adding to their delight.
Afterlife Adventures Page 6