There are many ways that spirits describe their environment to those who still inhabit the earth; and yet like humans, spirits are fallible, prone to disagreements and misstatements; their words can be mangled by mediums, distorted by channels, prone to bias from the human mind or simply misinterpreted due to the general perplexity in communication between our worlds. Hence, the adversities of the afterlife researcher, who struggles to piece together fragments and snippets of spirit communications, trying to avoid frauds and zealots, and find some sort of commonalities which can be used a basis to objectively describe a frustratingly subjective world. The good news is that with an ever expanding body of experiences and expanding access to information, a picture of the afterlife emerges. It’s far greater, more expansive and wondrous than we can imagine, but it also draws stark attention to the responsibility we have for our own thoughts, feelings and expectations.
Many people erroneously believe that once we cross over into this non-physical realm, that we become instantly enlightened, all-knowing, precognitive experts on the spirit realm. While it does seem that we gain a much wider, less egotistic perspective, I have never seen a reliable report of spirits claiming to know the ‘mind of God’ if you will, for the depth of their knowledge about the spirit world has much to do with their own evolution and perspective. If you are fortunate to come across a very highly-evolved spirit, for example Seth (as channeled by Jane Roberts), you may be privy to more information about the nature of consciousness, but even Seth admits his lack of knowledge in many areas.
“This is not a place where everyone knows everything – far from it. Most souls are nearly as blind as they were in life. I am sorry to say that the person who has a clear idea of the significance of life is about as rare here as on the earth… a man does not suddenly become all-wise by changing the texture of his body.” –Spirit Communication from 1915 through medium Elsa Barker of Judge David Hatch, from The Afterlife Unveiled, by Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
Despite the limitations of individual spirits’ knowledge, their descriptions taken as a collective body of work do tend to paint a similar picture of the afterlife – a theory that might be best described as multi-planar dimensions of non-local consciousness, or the multidimensional afterlife (for short).
In these posts, I will be attempting to solidify (as far as it is possible) this theory of the afterlife based on the work of several authors who have compiled spirit communications, three out-of-body experts, a regression hypnotherapist, and channeled material from Seth/Jane Roberts.
Note: I am putting forward this description of the afterlife purely on the basis of these sources, which individually may or may not accurate. These posts represent a theory, and are certainly not the last word in describing the afterlife. As with all information, take with a grain of salt and do your own research. Spirituality is always a personal journey of discovery.
The source material for this article are from the following:
- The Afterlife Unveiled: What the Dead are Telling Us About Their World – Stafford Betty, Ph.D.; 2011
- The Astral Plane: It’s Scenery, Inhabitants and Phenomena – C. W. Leadbeater; 1895
- Vistas of Infinity: How to Enjoy Life When You are Dead [Out of Body Explorations into Non-Local States of Consciousness and Post-Life Territories] – Jurgen Ziewe; 2015
- Adventures in the Afterlife – William Buhlman; 2013
- Adventures Beyond the Body – William Buhlman; 1996
- Journeys Out of the Body – Dr. Robert Monroe; 1971
- Destiny of Souls – Dr. Michael Newton; 2001
- Journey of Souls – Dr. Michael Newton; 1994
- Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul (as channeled by Jane Roberts); 1972
Redefining the Environment of the Afterlife
“Some ancient tales have comes down through the centuries that tell of various gods and demons who guard the gates, so to speak, of other levels of reality and stages of consciousness. Astral levels are neatly laid out, numbered, and categorized. There are tests to pass before entry. There are rituals to be acted out. Now all of this is highly distorted. Any attempt to so rigorously and precisely express inner reality is bound to be abortive, highly misleading, and in your terms sometimes dangerous; for you do create your own reality and live it according to your inner beliefs. Therefore be careful also of those beliefs that you accept.” –Seth Speaks, Jane Roberts, 1971
Many people think of the afterlife as a sort of holy dreamland; a hazy world without physicality or natural laws; jobs, responsibilities or much of anything else. And yet, spirits report generally being busy; having full lives, hobbies and opportunities for recreation, and above all – learning. However, the afterlife is not the same for all the enter it.
To put it simply, the afterlife is a system of reality where matter and energy are directly influenced by thought. This results in a nearly infinite variety of environments that are loosely organized into dimensions or regions where souls congregate based on their beliefs, emotions and state of spiritual progress.
According to the aforementioned sources, these dimensions of the afterlife may be interpreted as ‘levels’ though spirits stress that this is not a system of “better-than” or “worse-than” as we might be tempted to understand it, rather it is a system that provides the ideal reality in which a soul can continue in their progress.
Here is a quick list of what the afterlife is not:
- The afterlife is not a place of judgement; except for self-reflection and examination.
- The afterlife is not a singular place where all souls reside; it is a continuum of thought-states that can be loosely classified as levels. Souls cannot move into dimensions beyond their experience and development level.
- The afterlife is not a place where time is spent in constant glorification of God. God exists, but spirits know the best way to honor him/her is through their own soul progression.
- The afterlife is not outside our physical system of reality, is it another energetic system of reality – one that science may be able to detect in the future.
- The afterlife is not boring; souls do everything they did while on earth and much, much more.
- The afterlife is not all heavenly; there are many regions of the afterlife that are dreary, or even hellish. When souls end up in these afterlife dimensions, it is a reflection of deep trauma, severe negativity or evil. Souls are not stuck, nor damned there; guides are there to help these souls deal with their issues and move into more loving regions.
The Crossing-Over Experience
A soul’s crossing-over experience directly after death is unique and individual to that person. In many cases, open-minded spiritual individuals will simply pass directly into the afterlife dimension without any drama, as they meet their guide and join their friends and family in a joyous reunion. For those people who had extremely rigid religious beliefs or expectations, or no beliefs in the afterlife at all, the crossing over experience will be quite different.
Consider this example, from “Adventures in the Afterlife”, by William Buhlman, another OBE expert. This is a fictional story that he wrote based on his own experiences. In this scenario, his protagonist, Frank, dies and ‘wakes up’ in a typical Christian heaven. For the other Christians who live there, this heaven is exactly what they were expecting and they are quite content. Frank starts to suspect that his surroundings are illusory and wonders if there might be more to the afterlife. Those who still strongly believe in the biblical description of heaven refuse to question it and Frank sets off alone to find the truth.
In this part of the story, Frank has left his stereotypical heaven and finds himself in a new dimension. He is confronted by a spirit guide:
“Welcome.”
“Where am I?”
“You have entered another dimensional reality.”
I stare at the entity before me, trying to understand. For some reason I feel at ease in this new environment and safe in the presence of this soul. Questions flood my mind and I can barely control my excitement.
“Is this another heaven?”
“You may call it that, if you like.”
“You mean there are many heavens?”
The being seems amused by my question, “More than the grains of sand on a beach.”
“Who are you?
“I am here to assist you on your continuing journey” The gentle voice feels familiar.
“Where am I?”
“You have entered a reality for souls ready to see beyond their eyes. The real question is not about where you are. It’s more like what you are.” –Adventures Beyond the Body, William Buhlman, 2015
Because of our stubborn earthly beliefs, the afterlife environment that a person arrives into may not be his or her permanent residence. Our crossing-over may involve a sort of drama that is played out for our benefit, or we may find ourselves in a very specific sort of consensus reality that adheres to our beliefs initially. Like Frank, we are welcomed to greater realities as soon as we seek them.
“A belief in hell fires can cause you to hallucinate Hades’ conditions. A belief in a stereotyped heaven can result in a hallucination of heavenly conditions. you always form your own reality according to your ideas and expectations. This is the nature of consciousness in whatever reality it finds itself. Such hallucinations, I assure you, are temporary. Consciousness must use its abilities. The boredom and stagnation of a stereotyped heaven will not for long content the striving consciousness. There are teachers to explain the conditions and circumstances. You are not left alone, therefore, lost in mazes of hallucination. You may or may not realize immediately that you are dead in physical terms.” –Seth Speaks, Jane Roberts, 1972
What is the purpose of creating these afterlife dramas or illusions during our crossing over? As Seth explains in the quote below, the point is to avoid disorientation of the soul who is still very connected to their earth experience and may have strong beliefs about what to expect after death.
“The situation in which the dead find themselves will often vary. Vivid hallucinations may form experience quite as real as any in mortal life. Now, I have told you that thoughts and emotion form physical reality, and they form after-death experience. This does not mean that the experiences are not valid, any more than it means that physical life is not valid. Certain images have been used to symbolize such a transition from one existence to another, and many of these are extremely valuable in that they provide a framework with understandable references. The crossing of the River Styx is such a one. The dying expected certain procedures to occur in a more or less orderly fashion. The maps were known beforehand. At death, the consciousness hallucinated the river vividly. Relatives and friends already dead entered into the ritual, which was a profound ceremony also on their parts. The river was as real as any that you know, as treacherous to a traveler alone without proper knowledge. Guides were always at the river to help such travelers across. It does not do to say that such a river is illusion…The symbol is reality, you see. The way was planned. Now, that particular map is no longer generally in use. The living do not know how to read it. Christianity has believed in a heaven and a hell, purgatory, and reckoning; and so, at death, to those who so believe in these symbols, another ceremony is enacted, and the guides take on the guises of those beloved figures of Christian saints and heroes…Then with this as framework, and in terms that they can understand, such individuals are told the true situation. Mass religious movements have for centuries fulfilled that purpose, in giving man some plan to be followed. It little mattered that later the plan was seen as a child’s primer, a book of instructions complete with colorful tales, for the main purpose was served and there was little disorientation.” –Seth Speaks, Jane Roberts, 1972
Regions of the Multidimensional Afterlife
“As the soul lives in the earth-life, so does it go to spirit-life. Its tastes, its predilections, its habits, its antipathies, they are with it still. It is not changed save in the accident of being freed from the body. The soul that on earth has been low in taste and impure in habit does not change its nature by passing from the earth-sphere, any more than the soul that has been truthful, pure, and progressive becomes base and bad by death.” –Spirit Communication by medium William Stainton Moses of Imperator, 1892 from The Afterlife Unveiled, by Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
The afterlife region that you will eventually call home is dependent on a myriad of factors, but souls will necessarily be attracted to different regions based their maturity and level of development. Other factors include strongly-held personal or religious beliefs, psychological state, proficiency with energy, and soul specialization. While death may release us from our physical woes, the content of our character and all of the unresolved emotional baggage from our earthly lives will be brought to bear.
The “Lower” and “Higher” Regions of the Afterlife
The multidimensional afterlife is a continuum of thought-manifested environments. For our purposes, we can think of them as lower and higher levels even though this is not technically accurate as it brings to mind a system of better/worse. That is not the case. Afterlife regions simply reflect the nature and skill level of the souls who dwell there.
The lower realities are more earth-like and less disorienting to younger souls still dealing with certain challenges and learning how to exist in a thought-based environment. These lower realities can take on the appearance of what we could consider positive and negative characteristics based on our own state of mind.
The higher realities are designated for souls with the skills and maturity to work in an environment where the illusion of form and earthly physics is less prevalent. They are in training to become guides themselves, or learn a variety of energy specializations. These souls are still incarnating on earth.
The next highest levels are populated by souls who no longer incarnate on the earth and are now employed as guides and specialists. There are souls who are dedicated to utilizing their talents in service to others.
There are an uncountable number of dimensions even more abstract and sublime than the realm of teachers, specialists and guides but very little is known about them from the spirits who return to speak with us. This is the realm of Angels; places of pure thought and emotion, the source of the universal consciousness. In addition, there are countless lateral dimensions; the afterlife regions of non-humans in countless systems of reality in again countless universes. There is very little known about these realities, though the information that is known speaks of a dizzying array of possibilities for physical and non-physical worlds. Truly, consciousness is a purely creative and experiential endeavor.
Beginner to Intermediate Afterlife Regions – Consensus Realities
“Spirits are not allowed to overreach in the astral, but must grow in wisdom and in love gradually. They cannot enter a vibration or cross a boundary they are not ready for. There is justice in where they end up at death. There is definitively a law of karma. They gravitate to their rightful place. They can move ahead only when they are changed enough to do so.” –The Afterlife Unveiled, Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
Consensus realities are earth-like spiritual environments that present the illusion of permanence and represent the character of the group of souls that inhabit it.
“The astral world is almost a replica of your world…except that it is of a finer substance and we are not ‘bound’ by our objective reality here.” –Spirit Communication by medium Margaret Flavell of Alvin D. Mattson, circa 1970 from The Afterlife Unveiled, by Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
You might be wondering why the certain regions of the afterlife would resemble earth at all. Because the afterlife is a thought-based reality, I believe it is formed by the images we can conceptualize as humans and it evolves just as we do. The afterlife reflects our own beliefs and experiences, just as we have molded and shaped the earth to suit our needs and desires. Eventually, we may leave behind the need for form and shape, and perhaps we will enter a level of consciousness that consists of pure thought, or intensity of emotion. The fact that we are still incarnating on the Earth means we certainly haven’t reached that level yet, and our afterlife will be suited to what we can understand.
The purpose of consensus realities are to provide a stable environment in which younger or less experienced souls can learn how to work with energy, understand the greater nature of consciousness, shed erroneous earthly beliefs and work out any remaining psychological issues. Then, spirits will be mature enough to move into regions of greater learning and responsibility. Most people will enter a consensus reality after death. Some will stay until their next incarnation, and others will move out of these dimensions as soon as they are reoriented back into the spirit world. We each evolve at our own pace.
Consensus realities are almost infinite in number and run the gamut between indescribably beautiful, heaven-like worlds, neutral environments nearly indistinguishable from earth, or drab and dreary places of sadness and despair. There are even places that are downright hellish, depending on the character and beliefs of the resident souls. Every major religion has its afterlife here, carefully constructed and maintained by the collective beliefs of billions. You can find heaven with its pearly gates, or the Muslim pleasure gardens. Atheists may find themselves in a dark void until they realize that they are still conscious. We aren’t placed in any particular afterlife dimension by an external authority, rather we will find ourselves in an environment that reflects the quality of our own consciousness and only limited by the rigidity of our beliefs and imagination.
“One thing I have become acutely aware of is the fact that our mindset determines our environment setting when we die. Unlike physical life, our surroundings will be furnished with the content of our subconscious. In physical life some people living in abject poverty may take great delight and joy in a bunch of picked flowers from a field and placed in a rusty tin can, while other people living in luxury may be utterly corrupt, unhappy and oblivious to the apparent beauty of their acquired wealth if their state of mind is focused on the negative. In the afterlife things are quite simple: what is in the inside is reflected in our environment. So the poor person’s rusty tin can may turn into a Ming vase and the corrupt rich man may find himself squatting in a dark hovel surrounded by junk. One could define the afterlife in sentence: The place you will live in after you die is a manifestation of your inner life.” –Vistas of Infinity, Jurgen Ziewe, 2015
If a person’s thought patterns are extremely negative and unrepentant, they seem to be attracted to consensus realities that mirror these selfish and destructive patterns. “The gates of hell are locked from the inside” as the spirit Imperator says, and only spirits unwilling to relinquish their negativity trap themselves in dimensions that reflect their inner turmoil and self-loathing. Should we ever ask for help, however, or seek to escape this self-made hell, it is unwaveringly given. Certain guides act as missionaries that work with these lost souls – no soul is unloved or abandoned.
“In these [lower] spheres, they must remain subject to the attempted influence of the missionary spirits, until the desire for progress is renewed. When the desire rises, the spirit makes its first step. It becomes amenable to holy and ennobling influence, and is tended by those pure spirits whose mission it is to tend such souls.” –Spirit Communication by medium William Stainton Moses of Imperator, 1892 from The Afterlife Unveiled, by Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
Intermediate to Advanced Afterlife Regions – Thought-Manifested Realities
“There are three basic ways to progress in the Afterworld: admitting defects in one’s character, service to others, and yearning for higher states.” –The Afterlife Unveiled, Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
Spirits who evolve past the psychological dramas of the consensus realities continue their spiritual evolution in thought-created worlds of more direct individual influence. There are not strict levels between consensus and thought-manifested realities; the environments slowly blend into one another and reflect the increased abilities that we obtain as we evolve and learn better to control the projections of our thoughts.
One of the perks for spirits who have attained some mastery of thought-created energy forms is the ability to recreate houses and beloved regions of Earth in the spirit world. In non-consensus or partially consensus realities, we can create whatever our imaginations can dream up. This is where you can finally have that Ferrari or beach house that you always wanted. Artists can fashion images that come alive and musicians can work with harmonies and tones that defy human understanding. As we evolve, we learn to use energy for creative purposes, unleashing the power of the human imagination without limitation.
“I am still utterly amazed at what I find here. Utterly amazed! There is love and there is harmony. There is music that transcends all thought. There is color, light, belonging and there is being.” –Spirit Communication by medium Margaret Flavell of Alvin D. Mattson, circa 1970 from The Afterlife Unveiled, by Dr. Stafford Betty, 2011
The loving souls who have reached this stage in their development are interested in obtaining wisdom and experience to become responsible co-creators of reality itself. Energy work on this level is frequently used toward specializations, such as becoming a spirit guide or learning how to use energy for healing. Other spirits learn how to create physical matter and maintain universes. Nurturing spirits work with newly created souls, while others help incarnating spirits choose new lifetimes. There are musicians and artists and artisans, travelers and ambassadors to other worlds, spirits who commune with animal souls and spirits who are especially adept at creating form from energy. Spirits still have a sense of humor and theater is a favorite pastime, usually lampooning earthly dramas which now seem hilarious to spirits.
When spirits from these upper regions incarnate on earth, they are typically known for their deep spirituality or connection to the greater consciousness, or the kindness and generosity that they display and the empathy for their fellow man. It’s not to say that these are perfect beings by any means -any soul that is still incarnating on earth still has a lot of learning to do-but these are souls that for the most part have moved past the denser emotions of hate, greed and the domination of others. When they return to the spirit world, they return to beautiful glowing regions where wisdom, learning and reflection are emphasized in the spirit of love.
“The afterlife isn’t a place that has been created to contain souls, it’s a place that is created by souls.”
- If the afterlife reflects your state of consciousness, what do you thoughts say about you? Are they positive and loving or generally negative and filled with self-doubt?
- With the power to create objects and environment using thought alone, what would you create?
- In the higher regions of the spirit world, we are free to visit any place on earth, or even other planets. Where would you like to visit?
- What spiritual specialization would you like to pursue?
Summarizing the character and conditions of the Multidimensional Afterlife:
The following three statements are my attempt to summarize the information presented so far on the nature of the afterlife and what defines the dimension that we will find ourselves in after die. In the next part, I will add to these statements in an effort to create an overall summation of the multidimensional afterlife.
1 – The afterlife consists of an infinite variety of environments, each with its own set of natural laws, depending on the nature and evolution of its soul inhabitants.
There are regions of the afterlife that look very much like Earth, with cities and libraries and personal residences. Other areas of the afterlife are so abstract to be completely formless; places of no physicality at all. The range is almost limitless. We humans also tend to think of the afterlife as containing only human souls, but animals also have a place, as well as creatures and beings from other planets, mental worlds and worlds with more or less dense physicality than the earth.
2 – The afterlife is not a place of moral judgement and punishment, but of learning and reflection.
Souls are not blessed or damned by an external authority and then placed according to any moral code, but rather a soul will naturally be attracted to a consensus reality that fits with their own spiritual evolution and with souls of a similar kind. There is no punishment, however, we do take responsibility of lessons not learned during our lifetimes, and so we judge ourselves during our life review. Repercussions of kind acts are felt from the recipients point of view, as is any pain that we have inflicted on others. After seeing the results of your actions on others from their perspective, the lessons of our missteps are keenly felt and understood. Guides are always available to help us deal with issues and problems.
3 – Your free will is always maintained and respected.
Priority is given to the free will of the spirit – for better or for worse. Souls are never forced to do anything until they desire it for themselves or ask for help. Because we live for an eternity, there is never any rush. Our guides know that we will eventually desire to move on, progress and learn. We are also allowed to work out any problems or issues at our own pace. We are always the creators of our own reality, whether here on earth or in the spirit realm.