Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Lost on the ‘Other Side’


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.
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* “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.”