There were only five of us last Wednesday evening for our
regular spiritualist circle. It was a fairly quiet evening with no one going
into trance, the trumpet did not fly about but there were a few messages
delivered to various ones via mental mediumship.
Just a few days before, one of the sitters had lost a sister
in a distant state after a lengthy illness. The older sister had been a
life-long Baptist, committed to her church and its doctrines which included
certain expectations about life after bodily death. The sister in our circle is
sometimes blessed with clairvoyant vision and last Wednesday she saw her older sister
“over there,” confused, alone, and very puzzled. She had not been met by Jesus
– or anyone else that she could see for that matter – and everything was
different from what she had been told on earth.
Our sitter reported this to the circle and we all
immediately went into meditation and attempted to send help to the lost sister.
Within a few minutes her vision cleared up a bit, some of the clouds of
confusion apparently lifted and another spirit was finally able to get her
attention and lead her away for rest and help. This was seen clairvoyantly.
This personal incident brought home a tremendous problem
that a lifetime of misinformation creates for our friends and family members
when they first encounter the afterlife. Even when individuals are fully aware
that they are “dead” and separate from the physical body, they may be so
confused and disoriented that they find themselves unable to fully comprehend
their surroundings. Misguided religious teachings are the most often cited
culprit for this painful confusion.
We are told that the majority of folks upon passing over
soon realize they have left their physical body. Perhaps they can see their
body lying there, family members mourning, etc., and soon they begin looking about
to determine where they are now. With this attitude their awareness sharpens
and they often see others who came to greet and help them – usually friends or
family members who have already passed over.
Some people – even some with religious convictions – cannot
accept that life continues after so-called death. When these individuals pass
over, the confusion sets in immediately as they realize they are still alive
and not annihilated through the death experience. Or perhaps they deny their
death and insist they are still in a physical body despite the fact that nobody
seems to hear or see them. They wander about their familiar surroundings
attempting to continue with normal activities of work and interaction with
others but find it all impossible.
A variation of this is the individual who has been taught
that when one dies he/she goes to an intermediate spot and “sleeps” until the
alleged final resurrection of the body. Sometimes their expectation plays
itself out in reality and they go into something similar to a coma where they
remain unreachable by helping spirits. This is perhaps the most devastating
outcome of Christian religious teachings concerning life after death.
Still others, we are told, have such preconceived notions
about life after death they expect that to be dead in the body is to be alive
with Jesus. Perhaps they are met on the other side by a spirit they assume to
be Jesus but often it is simply family members in “Etheria*” who try to align
the new arrival’s ideas with reality. If they refuse to understand what spirit
life is really like, they may have an option to join others of like mind who
gather at a church similar to those back home where they conduct familiar
religious services. This continues until they finally “see the light” and move
on.
There are many different experiences that those passing over
undergo but what they find is dictated by the life they lived here in the
material world AND their beliefs and understanding. By beliefs and
understanding I mean that their belief and conception of what life after
“death” is like shapes their experience. If they have ideas that are totally
out of sync with the way it really is, then their entrance to Etheria probably
will be bumpy and confusing. If, however, they have studied some of the vast
material describing our spirit life after bodily death, then the transition is
smooth and pleasant.
Unfortunately, most people never get a clear conception of
what spirit life is like and, instead, rely upon the fuzzy and inaccurate
descriptions provided by mainstream religion. We are told over and over again
by spirit communicators that spirits are kept busy over there trying to help
new arrivals – and the overwhelming majority of the newly arrived desperately
need help because they have not been adequately prepared. The books by Anthony
Borgia provide an excellent and accurate description of what these new arrivals
have to work through.
I make it a practice to hold a mental conversation with
spirits of those I know shortly after I learn of their passing. We are told
that these messages are usually heard by the ones we address them to. I make it
simple and after expressing my love I encourage them to look about if they have
not done so already because there are other spirits anxious to greet and assist
them. Sometimes you can actually sense a response.
Countering misinformation about the afterlife was a principal
reason for renewing spirit communication according to messages received after
the beginning of modern spiritualism. Helping lost spirits find their way to
their proper spiritual home is also the function of many circles (called
“rescue circles”). Last Wednesday evening we apparently were able to assist one
of our sitter’s relatives who had just passed over in a state of confusion.
This is important work that highlights one of the many contributions modern
spiritualism makes.
* “Etheria” is the term coined by J. Arthur Findlay to
identify the realm of spirit life where we go following physical death. He also
liked to refer to residents there as “Etherians.”
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