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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Misconceptions
 

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People commonly talk of “going to the afterlife”, like traveling to Paris or Disneyworld. But speaking of it this way creates a wrong impression.

Some, even on the other side, say that the afterlife is all around us, and very near. And yet, there are, in fact, a great many places to visit over there, scattered over billions of square miles.

We’ve also heard it said that “heaven isn’t a place but a state of mind.” Does this mean there are no unique places in the next world?

It’s also a popular statement that “there’s no time in heaven.” If this is true, how could we even walk across a room? - as a slightest motion, point A to point B, requires time.

There is much confusion, the result of emphasizing one aspect and minimizing another.

soul vs spirit

Some of the problem here is the result of not clearly defining terms. You will find much discussion on the “soul and spirit” page but, essentially, (1) soul refers to mind, consciousness, while (2) spirit is a rarified form of matter, atoms vibrating at a very high frequency; which is why we can’t see spirit.

the term ‘afterlife’ is imprecise, needs a little work

There’s no such thing as "life that comes after". There is but one life, one seamless life, flowing uninterruptedly from here to there. What changes is the encapsulation, the embodiment, of that life.

Life is an identifying, exclusive characteristic, not of chemical mixture but, of consciousness, Universal Consciousness. Wherever we see life, however particularized – plant, animal, or human – we’re witnessing, to various degrees, an individualized unit of Universal Consciousness.

natural body, spiritual body

The apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:44 said that we had two bodies:

New King James Bible

“There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”

Amplified Bible

“As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.”

In his next letter, II Corinthians, Paul clarifies these statements and asserts that we have a “spiritual body” with us immediately at the death of the physical body. Dr. F.F. Bruce, one of the most famous Bible scholars of the twentieth century, wrote an article on Paul’s new insight. See the article here.

all expressions of life, of Universal Consciousness, survive, are indestructible

We now know, from afterlife science, that this spirit-body is already with us from conception. It’s an inner body, around which the flesh-body is built, which is why we look the way we do. In fact, any living entity – plant, animal, human -- has this spirit-body as an “inner frame”.

This inner body is made of “spirit,” rarified matter, vibrating at a very high rate – a rate that will match the environment of the “initial port of entry” of the afterlife.

one’s current primary body determines where one presently lives

On another occasion Paul also said that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” We can’t take our flesh-bodies to Summerland. The physics won’t allow it. We need a body that is composed of rarified matter, vibrating at the same rate as the new environment. This is why we need a new spirit-body for the coming spirit-environment.

Is heaven all around us?

In a sense, this statement is correct, but only vaguely so. That coming next dimension, in which matter, or spirit, vibrates at a very high rate is, in fact, all around us. But, even so, we go to a specific place in Summerland, which can be very far from the Earth.

Is heaven just a state of mind?

We need a certain positive frame of mind to allow ourselves into Summerland. Negativity clashes vibrationally with the uplifting energy of Summerland. And so we could say that heaven is a state of mind, but it’s also a multitude of specific places, including one's own house and favorite recreational spots.

Channeled information from the other side, "The Future Life" (1869), Mrs. Elizabeth Sweet: "Heaven is not a place, but an endless continuation of places."

Beyond a positive frame of mind, we also need a non-materialistic, spiritual mind. See more discussion below.

time

There is flow of time in Summerland; else there could be no movement; everything vibrates, and the movement of vibration takes time; it takes time for the rarified atoms of "spirit" to vibrate and move. 

And so there is time, but it’s somewhat elastic -- as part of an "interactive environment" -- so we always have enough time to do what we want to do.

'Frequency One'

Our bodies will be made of spirit, but our minds, our souls, are linked to, derive from, Universal Consciousness. This linkage, however, needs to be “attuned” to Source.

Dean Radin said that Source represents “Frequency One.” We are to learn how to align our minds with Source. This is an eternal process as there’s no end to becoming more like God. Alignment of mind to Source is the very essence of spirituality.

multi-plane universe

We live not in a multi-verse, there are no parallel universes, but there does exist a multi-plane universe of infinite dimensions and countless worlds - unlimited opportunities for education and recreation.

Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm, Dr. David Peat: Einstein’s “dream was that quantum theory itself would emerge out of a final act of unification and that the universe would be described by a single theory... Bohm, however, was moving toward a very different insight, a universe of infinite levels, each qualitatively different from the levels above and below. Such a universe could never be reduced to a single all-embracing theory or equation.”

When this ultra-vast infinitude is paired with an eternal, unending existence, as August Goforth put it, "one life is always enough" for anyone. Well said.

Every living thing, every unit of Consciousness – represented as plant, animal, or human; and even so-called inert minerals and elements are "living" in their own way. Each is like a spoke radiating from Source, meaning, all are invisibly mutually connected, deriving from a central hub, which is Universal Consciousness.

Restatement

The afterlife is a place, not just a state of mind; however, it is primarily a state of mind, not just a zip code. We won't be able to do much over there without the elevated mind-frame; it would be like kindergartners trying to listen to college lectures.

Many on the other side, untold millions, would tell you that “heaven” or Summerland is merely a place – in fact, a series of places, as per their “seven levels of heaven” theory -- this is all they know. But this view is supported only by the spiritually insane. It's all they know because they've not yet discovered the "inner riches." As such, they live in a kind of alternate reality over there, out of the mainstream of "what truly is." See the “500 tape-recorded messages from the other side” for a full discussion.

On the “true self” page, I’ve presented channeled testimony from ancient Guides, via Stainton Moses, who are so adamant for us to enter that elevated state of mind that, if they could, they would insist for us to leave the “scientific evidence for the afterlife,” all external supports and views, as soon as possible, and begin to focus on things of the spirit. In their view, so very few do this, and, when they cross over, these hapless suffer for their materialistic mind-set.

What would it be like? Continuing with my college analogy, passing on to Summerland but viewing it merely as an exciting place, like visiting DisneyWorld, would be like the excitement of entering university, let’s say, pre-med studies, but without well-developed intellectual skills. We wouldn’t be ready, we wouldn't know how to deal with the opportunity, and the average person who stumbles upon the shores of Summerland is not ready, has no idea how to proceed. Yes, they can “enjoy the rides of DisneyWorld", so to speak, but that gets old. See “the 500” writing.

There are many approaches to learning about the afterlife. Lots of popular ones. If one doesn’t know much about this area, one might think that these are the way to go. But I will tell you that almost all of these popular ideas emphasize external authorities and external evidence; meaning, there is no acknowledgement of the "life within" – such views often center upon reincarnation, past-lives, karma, life-plans, and even much of what is called “the scientific evidence for the afterlife.” Some of this is patently errant and fraudulent, while some of it is good as far as it goes, but all of this externalism will utter fail to prepare us for “Summerland as a state of mind.” We need to learn to "go within" as this is the only authentic guidance system available to us, now or when we cross over.

And if we transition with this materialistic mental orientation, we can fall victim to wanna-be teachers over there who lead the “insane 500.” If this happens, we could be stuck in low-level living for a long time; living as "kindergartners splashing in the kiddie-pool" when things could be a hundred-thousand times better for us.

See extensive discussion on the "true self" and "surrender and acceptance" pages.