The testimonies about the higher dimensional levels or “Astral Planes” finding their way into the public domain contain more cliches than a large print plant. The reason probably being that not many people have been privileged to enter this far and we are limited by the few reports that have filtered through and have been published. The disadvantage is that we begin to think that what has been reported is really all there is. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reports we have can be compared to somebody taking a weekend trip to the New Forest in England and then proclaiming: “I have seen the world”.
I for one will not make such a claim and will only describe what I have witnessed when entering these regions while out of the body and seen with my own eyes, knowing only too well that my testimony here can only describe a billionth of a billionth of the vast diversity any of us may find once we have relieved ourselves of the shackles of the physical body and become bold enough to venture into the outer reaches of our multidimensional universe.
Boldness and a sense of adventure is what is required, because not only will we have a chance to venture into the higher dimensional counterpart of our physical earth, but we will be able to visit the un-manifested planets of our solar system as well, including the super dimensional territories of outer space.
First of all we will have to accept that from the intermediate dimensions onwards there are still further subdivisions up to the highest level. It is easy to understand why many people who have travelled here during OBEs or NDEs, may feel they have arrived at their final destination, the seat of their very soul or heaven itself. This indeed was my first impression on my first Out-of-Body venture into the region. But this is an illusion. Having arrived here we have only just scratched the surface, ventured no further than the depth of an atom into the vast territories of our multi-dimensional universe.
This is only the very beginning. In order to enter the super dimensions we would have to make a total break with our attachment to our personal self and identity, including our likes, dislikes, our cherished ideas, even our attachments to our family, friends and those closest to us. This may fill many with a sense of unease. The reason for this will become clearer when we investigate the nature of the much higher dimension still. But we are not there yet. We are only at the highest level of our material universe, the higher Astral Planes.
We have to bear in mind that the highest level of the higher dimensions or the Astral Planes is also the first level for the material manifestation of our physical universe.
While descending or expanding from the highest dimension, consciousness begins to take on a more material aspect, and we will still find that the whole environment is interpenetrated by a sense of “presence”, “being” or awareness as if every particle in this world is vividly alive or even conscious, endowed with an intrinsic intelligence which communicates with us whenever we interact with it via the world around us.
This is a very peculiar experience, despite the amazingness of the experience there is a strange feeling of being at home or at least being closer to home, our true home, which we sense is in a higher place still. There is also an underlying feeling that we are never alone. The whole world around us is actively alive with an underlying intelligence which communicates via all our enhanced senses to a degree which is impossible to imagine on the physical level.
Our senses will have broadened and expanded dramatically to encompass the whole spectrum of sight and sound including infra red and ultraviolet light and possibly even beyond this spectrum. The colours are simply something we will never have seen before. The same applies to the sense of sound which acquires a much broader and richer spectrum allowing us to ‘observe’ sounds which at first appear totally alien to us. Many OBE travellers arriving in these regions also notice a sublime light emanating from within everything that exists:
“What attracted my attention was the fact that the forest appeared to be luminous, and as I descended I discovered that all the vegetation glowed with a subtle iridescent light. It was not just the light that made my heart soar, but the sheer richness and abundance of the plant life. There was no way I could identify any particular species: everything I looked at had an extra dimension to it, the most prominent of which was its luminous aura – the life pulsating in the light streaming up the stems and out through the leaves and petals. The brightness and frequency of the pulsing light differed from plant to plant, and so did the colours, which were of qualities I had never seen or even imagined before. There were so many hues – thousands more than on the physical Earth.” (Multidimensional Man, page 164)
Together with the sweet aroma of the abundant vegetation, the harmonious sounds issued by the colour of the creations, unfolds an underlying joyfulness in our feeling which is beyond that which we can hope to experience on earth. A sense of joy will almost always be a present and instant companion which we are able to tap into simply by focusing our attention.
If we take the trouble to establish our awareness by focusing our attention on any of the magnificent detail of the surrounding, we will simply feel more alive than at any time before. Consciousness acquires a new heightened state which makes everything experienced before, including our waking life on earth, appear like a dim dream.
All this might easily lead the Out-of-Body traveller to believe that he or she has arrived in some religious or mystical idea of heaven, especially as we encounter such rich and diverse flora, such magnificent landscapes rolling for miles and culminating in majestic peaks which radiate and reflect subtle light and millions of hues of colour and the many beautiful creatures which have made it their home here. Compared to this anything below appears like darkness and most Out of Body travellers who are privileged to look around these vistas must surely be tempted to think that they have arrived in some kind of heaven, the dreams of their dreams. It is understandable that in our enthusiasm, being greeted by welcoming friendly and attractive people, we may mistake them for advanced spiritual beings or angels, when in fact they are no more than ordinary people like you and me who have shed the lower characteristics and negative emotions during their transition from the lower dimensions and have now found it appropriate to take residence here.
If we are in any way conditioned by our religion, it is tempting to regard the more evolved inhabitants of this realm as representatives of our faith. But it is only when we have penetrated into the super-dimensional levels beyond this one with their much higher energy and presence of consciousness that we begin to realize that all this is no more than an illusion no matter how much people, who have had near death experiences, swear that they have been to heaven and back. It is not impossible, but more than likely that they have just visited the upper realm of our material universe. It is only by rising beyond these levels that we can assess our true status.
Let us just dwell for a few moments on these incredible beautiful, rich and varied territories of the higher dimensions. The description alone could easily fill a few volumes and we would have only covered a minute part.
But in order to get a better impression and a clearer picture it is useful to break down what we find into categories. To start with our perceptions and feelings will have evolved and expanded since rising from the lower levels. Lower down we may have already marveled at the fantastic architecture and the amazingly powerful creations man is capable of when utilizing his creative energies without the restrictions of the laws of physics, but compared to what our higher energy charged creative powers are capable of here, even those very magnificent creations will appear almost poor by comparison.
We are much more closely linked to a much higher energy which allows us to connect to higher creative forces. This makes it much easier to conjure up more beautiful shapes, more easily harmonized simply by thinking about it. The way this works is the moment we think of a shape or design we receive some kind of feedback from our animated creation which inspires us further and so we enter into an intimate feedback dialogue with our object of creation. This is not an alien concept for creative artists on earth, but it is something so much more in evidence and proactive on these higher levels.
This principle is active in the whole environment as well, which provides instant feedback to whatever we observe. Rather than observing the world, we communicate with it. For example, resting at the crystal water of a small stream or brook and listening to the sound of the waves splashing against the stones we start to forget that it is water we are listening to. Instead it becomes a melody, a song especially composed for us, with complex and constantly changing undertones of musical rhythms. Within a short time we are swept along with the sound on a journey of our own making. It does not stop there. We find that the birds too synchronize with the harmonies and add another dimension to it:
“Gradually, I noticed more birds sitting in the hedgerows, bouncing on tender branches, and flapping from tree to tree. They watched me with interest, intelligent and unafraid. The idea that they were animals suddenly appeared absurd. I mused how our dimmed vision on our physical Earth condemned our animal companions into categories of lesser beings, which we could exploit for our own survival, pleasure and greed. These birds were essences of intelligence.” (Multidimensional Man, Page 176)
What is fascinating is that creation on these higher levels has an intrinsic symmetry, which gradually diminishes towards the lower levels of manifestation. Scientists are already aware of the fractal patterns underlying all nature whether they are plants, creatures or clouds. Here the fractal pattern of nature is much more in evidence. When looking at a bush, for example, we don’t find a chaotic distribution of leaves, but instead orderly patterns which distribute the leaves and flowers in handsome harmony from the base to the top of the bush. The same applies to the grasses and the flowers splattered across the fields. One should not think for a moment that this creates a feeling of repetition. Quite the opposite. It is almost like looking though a kaleidoscope where the slightest change in position creates a totally new pattern. The same principle applies here, but enhanced in diversity a hundredfold.
See Part II here.