Where Do We Go When We Die? (Part I)

The best descriptions about the afterlife come from countless texts of automatic writings over the last one hundred years. The writing that comes through is consistent among all the spirit authors, over the entire time span and offers us great inspiration and hope. It seems over the last one hundred years there has been a notable increase in attempts by spirit to get their story through, so to speak, to us in the physical. It would appear they are trying to inform us of certain spiritual “Truths” and help us become aware of what we should expect on the other side. At first glance, much of the material appears rather fanciful, until one considers the sheer volume of the writings, the numerous authors who have come through over the many years and the perfect consistency of the material over that long time frame.

When we first pass into the spirit realms after our physical death, according to the many spirit authors, the newly passed spirit is often confused and uncertain where they are and what has happened. To help alleviate this predicament, there exists a group of loving souls whose only job is to give a warm welcome to new arrivals and ease their entry. The new spirit is also permitted to meet with his friends and relatives who are eager to show him a grand homecoming. One spirit has said, “…in many cases, the gladness and happiness of these spirit friends causes the [new] spirit to believe that it is in heaven, or at least in a place of great happiness.”

“…the person who has just passed into spirit lands goes into his self-appointed place.” ~ Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson in Here and Hereafter

For many, their new world appears virtually the same as it did when they were alive here on Earth. As a result, some initially are even unaware they have died. This allows the person to arrive in the afterlife with a smooth, almost imperceptible transition, that is more akin to an evolution rather than a revolution. This is because when someone passes into the nonphysical, they move to a plane that exists at the same vibrational frequency their spirit bodies resonated at while on earth, due to the Law of Attraction. In some cases, it requires the urging of well-respected friends and relatives for the new spirit to believe they arrived in the spirit world.

Whatever mental, emotional, and spiritual state a person had accumulated over the long term while on earth carried a corresponding energetic vibration in their energy bodies. I wrote about this in a recent blog post about our energy bodies.

At the time of physical death, the specific frequency at which the energy bodies resonated were the frequencies that determined what corresponding Energy Plane at which the person arrived in the Spirit World, much the way a magnet attracts metals that contain iron in them but does not attract other metals. It’s all about vibration and the law of attraction (or “Like Attracts Like”).

Since the Etheric and Astral bodies are closest to the physical body, the energetic vibrations emanating from those energy bodies helps to determine where we start our spirit journey (not where we end it). We all have a highly stretchable magnetic silver chord that connects our Astral body to our physical body. During sleep, the spirit body often withdraws from the physical body, but is still connected by the silver chord. This is why we often have dreams that feel we’ve traveled to a far off place or visited with people in different spheres—even our loved ones in spirit or our spirit guides—because we have.

When our one of our predetermined exit points (chosen by us in between lives) has been reached, and our earth lessons have been achieved, the silver chord disintegrates and our Etheric and Astral bodies are released from our physical body…i.e. physical death. We feel nothing and realize that we have been lifted from our bodies. Some have described the feeling as “a bit odd” as they stepped out and above their bodies and then turned to look down on their old corpse and perceived it to be like a used dish rag with no purpose. Since this is just the Etheric and Astral bodies separating, this is sometimes referred to as the “first” death.

The new spirits felt lighter, freer and better than they ever had while in the physical. The aches and pains they had in the physical disappeared, and any physical limitations no longer existed. Those who had been paralyzed found they were able to jump and skip with joy. Those who had been blind were able to see perfectly. This is why so many spirits describe physical death as a great release since they no longer feel anything holding them back or feel any pains, but rather are now at their prime existence.

Some spirits are initially confused since they have preconceived notions of what heaven should look like or what the death process should be, according to their religious upbringing and customs. Unfortunately, many of these beliefs and customs don’t match the reality of the afterlife, which sometimes causes new spirits to either still believe they are alive or causes them to wait for a dogmatic view of heaven that isn’t coming.

Luckily this is why beloved family or friends in spirit come to meet the newly crossed over soul and shepherd them toward the light. They explain they have died and need to progress up to the light. When the newly deceased clearly sees and speaks with their previously deceased family members or friends, that is usually enough to convince them they too have passed on to the non-physical. In cases such as these, they move comfortably into the light and continue their spiritual progression.

However, sometimes someone has been so indoctrinated in a particular belief system or how heaven should be that reality causes utter confusion. In this case it’s possible the new spirit gets stuck in between the physical and non-physical. Sometimes these entities are referred to as ghosts, but often they can be helped back into the light where they belong, for they are not necessarily stuck to the earth plane.

Once, for example, a stockbroker died in his office, but couldn’t be convinced by his previously deceased friends that he had passed on. His focus remained on material things (especially money), which in turn kept him closer to the material plane (i.e. earth). Finding their efforts to no avail, they left the man to find out about his condition on his own. He was convinced he was still alive, for he appeared to have a body still (i.e. Astral and Etheric) and went to speak to his friends in the physical as normal. When they weren’t responding to him, he began to yell as loud as he could, but no one would respond. Even his body lying on the floor of his office made no impression on him.

He discovered he could hear everyone’s conversations, including those far away about pending deals that affected his stocks. Curious about this newfound ability, he began to whisper the new information to his friends in the office and see what happened. To his surprise, his friends seemed to act on his information without knowing why, and they began to profit. The man found this so enjoyable, that he continued this for many years, even as his old friends died off and younger men took their place. Hence, his spirit lingered in the office.

Spirits who have written in automatic writings have detailed as best as they can how the spirit world is structured. Many have written that the spirit world has seven primary spheres, each with multiple levels. Similar to the energy bodies, each successive sphere vibrates at a higher frequency. Spirits who have not attained a certain level’s vibration can’t travel there without the accompaniment of one who has already achieved that level. It’s not that they are not allowed, but that the energy and light is so brilliant that the spirit finds existence there to be unbearable. However, spirits can always move to lower spheres without any problems as they have higher vibrations that the lower spheres do.

In Part II, I'll discuss the descriptions of each sphere that spirits have given us. The beauty, perfection and love permeating most of the spheres makes one understand why the spirit world has been called "Heaven."