Preparing For The Afterlife ~ Part II
by Jurgen Ziewe
What is it like to be “dead”? – Common Misconceptions and Reality
We are not floating bubbles or globes of light drifting through vaporous mists when we die. We are just as real with proper bodies as we are on the physical plane.
People frequently think of the dead as disembodied spirits in the shape of balls of light or fuzzy ghostly apparitions when they contemplate a life after death.
When I read some of these reports (not all) by well known regressionists using deep hypnotic trance in order to lead their subjects into afterlife states, I have been surprised to discover that many of the accounts consist of seeing disembodied orbs of light, specks of awareness without eyes drifting in a sea of hazy mists surrounded by other energies, being pulled by certain currents and conglomerating in hives of souls. (more…)
Preparing For The Afterlife
by Jurgen Ziewe
One day every one of us will have to pass through the portals of death. We don’t have to reach a state of enlightenment in order to enter the pleasant lands, but we can’t ignore the fact that where we are now, emotionally and spiritually, will determine where we will go to spend the next leg of our infinite future. We can push the idea of death from our awareness via distractions or entertainments of various kinds, by leading a hedonist lifestyle as if there was no tomorrow, but we will have to bear in mind that what is in our sub-consciousness will become our new external reality when we die. There is no doubt that the best way to prepare ourselves for the future is by conducting our life from a place of calmness and inner stillness, here and now in our present, which becomes our instant link to our infinity. We can embrace the infinity of our existence by pursuing a life where every moment counts, and living it by being mindful and aware of our thoughts, feelings and actions, informed by kindness and the loving heart.
We can learn to look at our conflicts and crisis points as learning opportunities for building a better base, and treat our inner demons as our educators. We can look at our enemies as our teachers to learn compassion and harness our own authentic strength in order to liberate ourselves from the rule of others. Instead of putting self-interest first, we can learn to appreciate how our actions are experienced by others. The easiest way to accomplish this is by acting, thinking, speaking and experiencing reality by employing the heart in everything we do.
Psychology teaches us that we cannot hide our unresolved issues or inner demons if we wish to lead a healthy and balanced life. The foundation of happiness is to be found in a life of balance and psychological hygiene, free from the toxins of negative and destructive attitudes. We are aided by our ability to respond dynamically to situations by not remaining stuck in rigid constructs and hardened beliefs, which are unable to adapt to the flowing forces of nature.
Religions of old have tried to make it simple do good things and you’ll go to Heaven, do bad things and you’ll go to Hell. Reality is more complex than that and works on multiple levels. We will need to find our own way to our inner heart and authenticity, often via trial and error rather than by following prescriptions. We don’t need to read books about ethics and morality, about what is good and what is bad, we simply need to read the book of wisdom laid out within us and read in a state of calm and reflection. We can find out how we can love and serve, how we can enhance the world rather than impoverish it, how we can add value rather than devalue it.
By living through the heart we no longer have to figure out for ourselves what effect our actions will have on others, we simply open our inner channels to allow the most positive energy to flow into us and guide our actions. We can trigger love by appreciation, out of which a loving, empathic and compassionate heart is much more likely to rise. It will be a guarantor for a rewarding life rather than a mind calculating our effects, torn by conflict, obsessed with self-gratification and motivated by greed and self-importance. Too keep these channels open and connected to our authentic self close to our Source we can practice regular meditation, engage in selfless service and live life by fostering inner wisdom in calm reflection.
Every religion has brought forward their shining lights of sages who provide inspiration and encourage in us the right attitude to develop a powerful connection to our Source. It doesn’t matter whether we follow Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen or any other faiths, as long as we don’t get blinded by dogma and fanatical stances. Mindfulness, which focuses attention on the sensations, thoughts and emotions, while remaining rooted in the present moment with an accepting and non-judgemental attitude, can be practiced whichever religion we follow, because it will put us in a position of ‘being’ rather than ‘becoming’. This attitude will keep us in touch with reality and will cleanse our channels for a positive downflow of creative energy. Whatever cultural context we use as our basis, we are best served by looking at the core aspects of our faith, where it connects us to the Core Consciousness it springs from rather than diluted interpretations and evolved dogma.
Even if we don’t believe in God or any form of spirituality whatsoever, we can still rely on the simple acceptance that we ARE and inquire into the mystery of our Being. Deep meditation does not require belief, it just requires a focus on ‘what is’, on the reality of ‘Now’, and this way we also can find stillness, even as atheists. It is simply narrow-minded propaganda that preaches atheists will go to hell because they don’t believe in God. Nothing could be further from the truth, and many atheists are in a better position to reach enlightenment than many devout followers of religious beliefs. Buddha himself did not believe in God and yet he is the figurehead of one of the most enlightened ways of living on the planet. Fanatical subscribers to religious belief will no doubt be quick to condemn such a liberal stance, but they will have remember that there is not a single person, life form or atom that is not intimately connected to God or Core Consciousness, whether they may believe it or not.
In the end we will discover that, whatever our beliefs, actual first-hand experience will deliver the final proof for continuous existence and we will no longer have to rely on the testimonies of others. Nothing is more powerful in delivering proof than first-hand experience.
We will have to decide for ourselves which teachers, if any, to enlist and how to open the inner channels to the seat of Consciousness. The simple rule to be guided by is to avoid anything that cuts us off from the free flow of love energy, such as narcissism, dogma, selfishness, fanaticism, hatred, bigotry, intolerance and all the negative feelings related to our own self-importance, which will restrict the free flow of creative energy. All the energy we set in motion and which enriches the world without diminishing others is energy stacked in our favor.
By focusing on the things in life that truly matter, embracing reality rather than denying or running away from it, and by nurturing our authentic self, fertilized by the generosity of the heart, we create the best conditions not only for the afterlife, but for our current life as well, because life is a continuum.
Excerpt from Vistas of Infinity
See Part II here.
Insights Into The Afterlife
Questions and Answers on What to Expect
by Nora M. Spurgin
Introduction
My interest in writing this booklet was inspired by the life and death of a dear friend. For most of the five years she had battled cancer, Linna believed that she would conquer the fearful stalker; but in the end, she accepted that she was going to die. It was the process of her preparation to die that prompted a desire in me to share with others the understandings which she gained in anticipating the next life. Linna and I were friends and colleagues. She was an educator and a woman of determination. It was a shock to all of her friends when she was diagnosed with cancer. I remember visiting her in the hospital where she joked, “We always thought I was the invincible one, so we have life insurance on my husband!”
Following surgery and a course of chemotherapy, Linna began a new life. It was a life with greater awareness of its value. She looked at her relationships with family and friends with new eyes. She pondered the things she wanted to accomplish and those things which were of less importance. She sought changes in her life and habits to bring about optimum health. She began meditating and, in so doing, found a place of peace within, as well as a greater spiritual awareness. She made changes in her diet and found friends who prayed for her and introduced her to healing music, writings on positive thinking, healing imagery and internal body cleansing. (more…)
Life In The Afterlife ~ Part III
by Stafford Betty
“From my experience I have learned that the spirit world is around us, that our spirit friends are with us every day, and that there is a tie which binds their hearts to ours so that they are with us many times and try to make us feel their presence.” ~ Alice Stringfellow
Leslie Stringfellow died in his hometown of Galveston, Texas, in 1886 after a brief illness. He was 20 years old. His father, Henry, was a prominent horticulturalist and his mother a pianist. Leslie himself was a gifted musician doted on by both parents, especially his mother, Alice. He was an only child. Alice was devastated by his death and out of desperation sought to make contact with him using a planchette. She would describe the process many years later: (more…)
Life In The Afterlife ~ Part II
by Stafford Betty
Never have we read such a spontaneous, simple, direct, happy and instructive series of scripts from ‘the other side’. – Science of Thought Review
In December 1965, a month after her death, Frances Banks, an Anglican nun for 25 years, found a ‘pure, unobstructed channel’ through which to describe the bracing new world she found herself in. The ‘channel’ was the mind of her close friend Helen Greaves. Greaves tells us what it felt like when Frances came through: ‘Gently, imperceptibly, I became aware of Frances. She was influencing my mind and, quite distinctly, I “registered” the thoughts she was conveying to me. Indeed, as soon as I let myself “listen” the thoughts formed into words and without a moment’s hesitation I reached for my pen.’
Thus was born Testimony of Light, a this-world/next-world collaboration between two highly respected elderly Englishwomen. In a preface to the book, Anglican Canon J. D. Pearce-Higgins ranks Testimony of Light with Mother Julian of Norwich’s Christian classic Revelation of Divine Love. I agree with the ranking, but the comparison is in other respects misleading. Testimony is not a book from medieval Europe (like Revelation), and many a Christian would find Testimony heretical in several places. On the other hand, the spiritual and moral life urged on the reader (in Testimony) is entirely consistent with the gospel of love and forgiveness preached by Jesus – or indeed by the saints and sages of the world’s major religions. (more…)
Encounters With The Departed
by Raymond Moody, M.D.
Buried deep in the scientific literature are several studies that examine reunions with the departed.
The first such study that I am aware of was a “Census of Hallucinations,” conducted in 1894. This fascinating work, led by Henry Sidgwick, a member of the Society for Psychical Research in England, asked seventeen thousand people the following deeply personal question: “Have you ever, when believing yourself to be completely awake, had a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice; which impression, as far as you could discover, was not due to any external physical cause?” (more…)
The Veil Has Been Lifted
by Brian Weiss, M.D.
EACH OF US IS IMMORTAL
I don’t mean simply that we pass on our genes, our beliefs, our mannerisms, and our “ways” to our children and they, in turn, to their children, though of course we do. Nor do I mean that our accomplishments–the work of art, the new way of making shoes, the revolutionary idea, the recipe for blueberry pie–live after us, though of course they do. I mean that the most important part of us, our soul, lives forever…
I believe that each of us possesses a soul that exists after the death of the physical body and that it returns time and time again to other bodies in a progressive effort to reach a higher plane. (One of the questions that comes up frequently is “Where do the souls come from since there are so many more people now than when the world started?” I have posed this question to many patients, and the answer is always the same: This is not the only place where there are souls. There are many dimensions, many different levels of consciousness where there are souls. Why should we feel that we’re the only place? There is no limit to energy; this is one school of many schools. Also, a few patients have told me that souls can split and have simultaneous experiences.)… The anecdotal evidence is overwhelming and to me unassailably conclusive. I have seen it virtually every day in my patient Catherine as she takes me with her to past times as disparate as Arabia in 1863 B.C. and Spain in A.D. 1756. (more…)
Newly Arrived On The Other Side
by William T. Stead
On April 10, 1912, W. T. Stead boarded the S.S. Titanic bound from Southampton to New York, to take part in a peace congress at Carnegie Hall. On the morning of April 15 the ship struck an iceberg and Stead, along with hundreds of others, drowned. Ten years later, Stead’s daughter Estelle published this book which purported to be a communication with Stead via a medium, Pardoe Woodman. In the book, Stead described his death at sea and discussed the nature of the afterlife. The manuscript was produced using automatic writing.
The Arrival
MANY years ago I was attracted by an article on the subject of spirit communication, and, after reading it carefully several times, I was forced to admit its soundness. I was struck by the plain and practical ideas of the writer. This was the first cause of my becoming actively interested in this big and amazing work. From that time onward I did all in my power to prove and then forward the movement. Many people know this; and those who do not, can become acquainted with the details if they wish. Therefore I am going to pass at once from my first earth interest in the occult to my first interest in the earth.
Just as I was overcome with astonishment and satisfaction on first reaching conviction on earth, so I was astonished almost equally on my coming to this land and finding that my knowledge of this subject gained on earth was strikingly correct in nearly all the chief points. There was a great satisfaction in proving this. I was at once amazed and delighted to find so much truth in all I had learned; for although I had believed implicitly, I was not entirely without grave misgivings upon many minor details. Hence my general satisfaction when I recognized things and features which, though I had accepted whilst on earth, I had scarcely anticipated would be as I now found them. This must sound somewhat contradictory, but I want you to understand that my earthly misgivings were based on fear that perhaps the spirit world had a formula of its own which was quite different from our earthly mentality, and that, therefore, the many points were transmitted to us in such a form and in such expression as we on earth would be able to grasp and appreciate, and were not in themselves the precise descriptions, owing to the limitations of earth word-expression. (more…)
Egypt: Traditions of Antiquity
by M.G. Hawking
“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” –Arthur Schopenhauer
Historians once credited the civilizations that emerged in the Tigris-Euphrates region as among the earliest known non-nomadic agrarian societies. Because the civilizations of Sumer, Ubaid, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon all emerged around the Tigris-Euphrates, the theory that Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization was once widely accepted. Current archaeological assessments hold that there was no single “cradle” of civilization, but that several civilizations developed independently, among them the Near Eastern Neolithic (Mesopotamia). Recent findings indicate that Egypt developed far earlier than the Tigris-Euphrates cultures and rapidly flowered into a civilization specifically and uniquely its own; one of the richest and grandest, one of the most powerful and yet one of the most graceful cultures in history. By Egypt’s side Sumer’s culture was but a crude beginning, not even Greece or Rome would surpass it, far less our own. (more…)
Helping Stuck Souls Crossover
by Rev. Gary Duncan
When I was twelve years old, my brother – a Funeral Director – began introducing me into the business. Over the next several years, he taught me anatomy and physiology, principles of mortuary science as well as other aspects of the profession. By the time I was twenty-one, I had completed my mortuary apprenticeship, but decided to leave the profession and pursue a degree in psychology.
Working in the funeral business gave me a rich understanding of the dying process, people’s experiences at death and personal experiences preparing the body for burial. It was here that I became acquainted with a phenomenon I call “the watchers.” Both my brother and I, at times while preparing the body, would feel the soul of the departed watching us. It was as though there were three people in the preparation room rather than two. (more…)