Afterlife Adventures

by William Fergus Martin

  “Through prayer, thought is lifted above the material and makes contact with the spiritual world, thereby drawing power from that highest source. Then things can begin to happen in the physical world that would otherwise be impossible.” — Travellers Return

  When you go to live in the Afterlife you will come to see prayer as a natural fact and a way of working with spiritual energy for practical, useful and beneficial purposes. When you need it, you can call on this energy either to aid you in your own work or projects or to aid others on the same level, or those on lower levels, including down to the Earth.

  “Picture a wild seagull. Watch it desert the shelter of the cliff, leaving solid earth behind, taking swift and marvelous flight across the sea; rising, floating, soaring. So should your soul rise and take flight when, in the act of prayer, it seeks its Maker.” — Beyond Human Personality

  Some residents of the Afterlife study prayer like it was a science. This is especially if one of their “jobs” is to respond to prayer from people on the Earth. Not all prayers are obvious and intentional. A heartfelt longing is a form of prayer. Unfortunately, this is equally true for things that are bad and coarse as it is for things that are good and refined. All get ‘heard’ and all get responded to in kind.

  “Hate and impurity and greed and other sins of the spirit and mind take on here a solidity which is not seen or realized in your sphere; and these also are dealt with according to their merits. And, alas, those who say that Angels cannot grieve, know little of our love for our brethren still battling on Earth. Could they see us dealing with some of the misuse of the Father’s great gifts [i.e. free will and the creative use of the mind], they would probably love us more and exalt us less.” — Lowlands of Heaven

  Prayers of low quality tend to not rise very high and so get dealt with at that level; but those of higher quality get passed upwards, by those specializing in that line of work, to beings in the higher realms more able to take care of the more exalted issues. The comment about the prayers of children in the following quote may make us realize the importance of teaching children to pray.

  “Many prayers present to us those deeper tones which are beyond the range of our study and knowledge [at our level]. These we pass on to those of higher sphere, to be dealt with in their greater wisdom. And do not think that these latter are always found among the prayers of the wise. They are frequently found in the prayers of children, whose petitions and sighs are as carefully considered here as those of nations.” — Lowlands of Heaven

  Sometimes, the beings on the higher realms intercede or intervene directly to answer a prayer. Other times, the Spiritual Authority, the power to take specific action arising in response to the prayer, is passed down to a level closer to the supplicant and an Angelic Agent (who might be an Afterlifer relative or friend), active on that level responds.

  Building Bridges Through Prayer

  Prayer is a great bridge builder as it can connect this realm with the Afterlife and vice versa. It helps break down the barriers of ignorance, superstition, and fear that cloud the contact between the realms. Praying for people who have gone over helps them and it helps you. This does not need to be anything elaborate, just a kindly thought sent with loving intention will do. Make it easy so you can do it often and you will feel your life lighten as they can draw closer to you, and bring with them more of the light of their realms to this one.

  A few more comments on prayer:

  The place where we choose to make our prayers can help but only if it uplifts our attitude.

  “I would, however, impress upon you that prayer is not hallowed by the place in which it is uttered. A temple, church or ancient cathedral, may help to induce in you the right attitude of mind if you would thus enter into communion with the Highest. Equally, the solitudes of the hills may summon that mood which lifts you from out yourself. If so, pray in such places.” — Beyond Human Personality

  “We do pray here, we do worship, we do feel thankful for the many wonderful things which fill our life. But it is so unlike the churches there with their form and ceremony that we hardly think of calling it religion; yet it is the very heart and soul of religious experience.” — Life Here and Hereafter

  “So, when you pray for yourself ask for the gifts of the Spirit. Only when you petition for others may you speak of material needs and demand their alleviation. It is true that, if you make yourself as a little child, you can repeat the prayer of Our Father and ask not in vain for your daily bread, as it is expressed therein. But, in uttering this, the greatest of all prayers, you must put aside adult complexities, you must reduce yourself to that divine simplicity which is characteristic of the children Christ summoned to Him.” — Beyond Human Personality

  “Fate may be altered by prayer but not quite in the manner that is generally supposed. It is changed through alteration in the character of the person; alteration that no longer makes trial or tribulation necessary as a concrete experience… Prayer uttered with the whole being and from a contrite heart inevitably reaches to the Supreme Mind and, as inevitably, the Spirit flows back, the molding inspiration from the Divine following the channel graven by the one who made it through the prayer which has thus been sent out to the Infinite. This Holy Spirit, mingling with the inner being and summoned by heart-felt desire, alters the whole person, softens the crudities, gives beauty to the misshapen mind, cleanses the soil of the soul and gives strength where there has only been weakness. Thus fortified, this earthly pilgrim has overcome that error in their nature for which the trial or affliction they so dread has been prepared. They have wrested their deliverance from that disaster through prayer and through the power of its utterance alone.” — Beyond Human Personality

  Suicide

  Generally, the Afterlife standpoint on suicide is that it is avoiding commitments and responsibilities already agreed upon - a ‘cop out’ in other words. However, the ability of modern medicine to keep people alive far beyond their allotted span, confounds simplistic notions of the rights or wrong of suicide. Being forcibly kept alive, when the soul is crying out for release, is not the answer either.

  Remembering the basic principle, that in the Afterlife the person’s state of consciousness determines the conditions they experience, it becomes obvious that a suicidal state of mind (with the fear, depression and sense of isolation that go with it) is not a good one in which to enter the Afterlife. The situation is complicated by the way that certain antidepressant drugs are said to trigger suicidal tendencies. Therefore, a person committing suicide may not be acting on their own volition; it could be a side-effect of medication.

  Suicide is a complex issue. Certainly, Afterlifers are clear that it is something to avoid and that suicide often leads the person to experience an even worse situation than the one they thought they were escaping. There are various repercussions to someone committing suicide that may not dawn on them till it is too late.

  There is the effect of the suicide on those around them. The feelings and reactions this will create can have serious effects to which the New Arrival via suicide may not be immune. The impact of the act of their suicide on the thoughts and feelings of those left behind, the shock and horror of the person who finds their body, the shock of the people who knew them, the impact on the house or area where the suicide was committed and so on. These can all impact on the person who committed suicide and affect their Afterlife state.

  I know a lady whose brother committed suicide with a shotgun. She discovered his body and the mess that the shotgun had made of him. She is a sensitive person and has never really gotten over the shock of finding her brother like that, even decades later. It is doubtful that her brother, registering his sister’s feelings from the Afterlife, will find that a pleasant experience. Then there is the shock and grief of his mother and father, and his friends.

  Some people convince themselves that they are unloved and unregarded, only to find out, too late, that they were very much mistaken. I think suicide has a lot
of anger in it and that it is better for people to be honest with themselves about this; rather than suppress their anger and turn it against themselves as depression and the like. Some hide their anger as they are too ‘nice’ to show it; until it bursts out in suicide and they make up for lost time in the amount of damage they wanted to do. Depression, one of the main factors in suicide, is a complex issue. It probably needs to be unraveled rather than ‘cured’. Looking at anger issues, and an overly critical and judgmental attitude towards ourselves and others, as shown in Dorothy Rowe’s books, is a good place to start.

  If you hear that someone has committed suicide, a helpful thing to do is to immediately send them kindly thoughts, such as, “May you find freedom, happiness and peace. May you feel safe, blessed and welcomed into a new life.” Your thoughts have very literal, creative power over there and can be of definite help to such people. Do this every chance you get and you will have many people wanting to welcome you, with heartfelt thanks, when you go over. Of course, extending thought and prayers to those left behind is very helpful too.

  Do I Really Have to Live Forever?

  Not everyone relishes the idea of living forever. To some, eternity feels like a heavy burden. Part of the package of living in a physical body often includes the experience of feeling separate and alone. This experience of separation is one of the most difficult experiences for any being to have and distorts what life in eternity feels like and makes it hard to understand what life is really about.

  “Do not try to comprehend the activity and joy of eternal living and doing. This truth was not given to man to weary him; perhaps the comprehension of eternal existence is kept from the human brain purposely. It is a tremendous thought, almost too much for us here to realize, and altogether too much for the mortal brain. Let it go! Think of rest, or sleep, or even unconsciousness, if you prefer. All wilt be welt, and your every need will be cared for. Never fear. Weariness does not exist for us.” — Life Here and Hereafter

  Some find it hard to decide which is worse; the ideas of 'death' or idea of 'living for eternity' - especially in a universe in which they apparently have little or no control. The Afterlife offers a solution in both cases. The Afterlife gives us conscious access to Group Soul where we can still be individuals, but be part of deeper and wider consciousness. That way we get to maintain our individuality; yet be fully part of something more. I imagine there are probably even groups of Group Souls, and that means that some groups could get very big. This is in addition to the way Afterlifers report that they experience God as an easily-available, but non-intrusive, benign presence, which fills their life with delight and happiness. They have their challenges, but these seem to delight them for the most part and they know these help them grow and become even more fulfilled and enriched by the life they lead.

  Fire by Friction

  Humanity tends to evolve via Fire by Friction: It is the equivalent of creating the ‘fire’ of conscious awareness, by two sticks being vigorously rubbed together. In human terms, it is the raising of consciousness via interactions with others and with our environment. This produces interpersonal friction and eventually causes us to ‘flame’; grow in awareness. As we learn to focus on our capacities for love and compassion, we can begin to evolve through Solar Fire. Solar Fire is the equivalent of using a piece of glass, as a lens focusing sunlight, to start a fire. When the love of the Soul is focused via a clear and well-trained mind, we can evolve much more easily without the friction involved in Fire by Friction. Cultivating this capacity, to participate consciously in our own evolution, will stand us in good stead on whichever state of existence we are living, here or in the Hereafter.

  Chapter 16: Purpose of Life on Earth

  “The seeker of Absolute Beauty should not, at any rate while leading an active earth life, scorn the pleasures of the senses. For he is placed on earth in order that he may experience that kind or condition of living to the full; he should appreciate the beauty of flowers, fields, mountains and seas; the fairness of noble cities, the loveliness of form in all that moves and breathes. He is not sinning, nay, rather he increases in spiritual power if he finds delight in art or music, if the beauty of lovely words stirs his heart and soul.” — Beyond Human Personality

  "Creation is a big subject—too big for us at present. The only thing we can say now is, that out of the existing conditions the earth, the planets, the whole universe was formed; formed according to existing laws. But from what time and what cause proceeded those laws we cannot clearly explain. Remember, we are novices yet in spirit understanding. There is an eternity before us in which to learn. Why try to rush past the intermediate spheres of knowledge and reach for something which is at present beyond our comprehension? We here are also subject to immutable law. But within that law lies our liberty, which is so great we do not ask for more.” — Spirit World and Spirit Life

  It is unfortunate that some aspects of the purpose of life here on Earth can be difficult to grasp while we are still encased in a physical body. We usually only really fully comprehend what this life was about from the higher and broader perspective that we gain when we pass over. However, we can have a go at understanding some aspects of it.

  “We believe that if this life could be rightfully understood, and the knowledge acquired there that the earth life is only a preparatory existence, that life would then become a more important, a more beautiful experience.” — Life Here and Hereafter

  Spiritual Gymnasium

  It can help to think of life on Earth like going to a Spiritual Gymnasium. It is where you can get a spiritual workout in a focused and concentrated way. But the gymnasium is not what your life is all about. You go to the gym for a while, and then you get on with your life. Similarly, you are here in a physical body for a while and then you get on with your real life in the Afterlife.

  The things in life that act as resistance, to strengthen our spiritual muscles, are the things that tempt us. Our spiritual muscles strengthen when we resist temptation; when we are tempted to be rude, but say a kind word (or say nothing) instead; when we feel like being greedy, but choose to share; when we feel fearful, or angry, but do the loving thing instead. All these ‘temptations’ help to develop our character.

  The issue is not just about what it is that tempts us; it is also about what we do to get the things that tempt us. What if we have an intense desire for something and are so tempted that we lie, bend the truth, fool ourselves, or hurt other people to get what we want? We have then allowed ourselves to develop something unworthy in our character. This can lead to intense regret either in this life or in the next. Most of the things that tempt us while on Earth are irrelevant in the Afterlife. Money, fame, power, material gain and so on have no place there. Yet, the desire for those things has given us a chance to develop our character. We can’t take those things with us when we pass over, but we do take our character with us. Therefore, the real issue is not so much about what we are tempted by; it is about how we develop our character in response to temptation.

  Sometimes, cultivating spiritual qualities can help us overcome temptation by softening their hold on us. One of the problems of different types of temptation is that they take up so much of our time and energy that we do not focus on cultivating our spiritual life. If we are not ready to confront a temptation head-on, we can at least start to divert some of our time and energy toward spiritual development anyway. Whether your major temptation is money, sex, power, gluttony, or whatever, look at what that makes you do and see if you cannot cultivate a bit more kindness, compassion, or humour in order to transform your relationship with it. For example, someone who is a sex addict might find that cultivating kindness and a sense of humor about the whole thing helps them loosen the hold their addiction has on them.

  "The first impulse from the soul should be kindness. One could not go far astray with that as a foundation; then truth and justice." – Spirit World and Spirit Life

  Some go to a gym, with the best of int
entions, but they overdo it and injure themselves. Similarly, some get mixed results from their life on Earth and get themselves caught up in a mess. However, even those situations can work out for the best in the long run. Becoming aware of something we regret doing can help make us to forgive other people when they ‘get it wrong’ too. Both the Earthly experience and the Afterlife experience seem geared towards helping us discover our capacity to create and the consequences of what we choose to create.

  Good and Evil

  Why does God allow evil? You may as well ask, “Why do gyms have weights and exercise machines?” It is, sort of, the whole point of the place. What we call evil is usually a temptation to give way to gravity; to give in to the contraction and heaviness of Earthly substance, to get caught up in the things that come from a sense of separation and isolation. As we resist those weights, we strengthen our ‘spiritual muscles’. By denying, in other words resisting the apparent reality of separation, we grow stronger in our capacity to know greater unity with the larger life. This produces fabulous results in our spiritual body that we greatly benefit from when we get back to our real lives in the Afterlife. (Maybe we even get the Spiritual equivalent of a six-pack!)

  “We cannot give you a reason for the existence of evil in your world and, let me say, we do not try. We have the faith, renewed and strengthened since we made our change, that all is right and well, planned… We cannot solve all mysteries merely from the fact that we have left the region of ‘matter’ and as a consequence our bodies. We have not changed to a different kind of nature from you; we are a little wiser, but only a little, and we discuss much, but not with any of that sense of resentment which so often disfigures your discussions… Meanwhile, you will do well not to torture your brains with a problem insoluble in your condition and for ages and ages in ours. We do not grieve for that but enjoy and learn a little more of the inexhaustible greatness of the Great Power.” – As One Ghost to Another