by Robert Wilkinson
From everyone's favorite, The Magic of Space, some profound thoughts about our "spiritual" bodies, life in the higher realms, and why there's nothing to fear after we die. From Chapter 8, "The Reality and Illusion of Death," some comforting words.
Man's body is of such design that no use of it will be denied him after he reaches the spiritual realms. Here on earth there are beings who can fly, who can walk, can swim, drift, float - beings who can go swiftly or slowly. No one can do all of them combined. Each one has his own particular limitations, but eventually, after transition, the collective powers appear in everyone. We do not have physical bodies in the higher realms, because there is really no physical substance there, as we understand it here. In order that you may more readily understand this, it is necessary to recall that Universal Consciousness passed through a series of stages and changes in order to make matter out of light. Our bodies there will be composed, not of the chemical elements as here, but simply of the substance that preceded the stage of such elements. In other words, it is merely the taking of the development as far as it had gone prior to the creation of actual matter, as we call it, and molding that mass into form.
From this it would seem that the creations, after death, go backward - but this is not so. It is merely the putting aside of the material burdens of the form, and clearing itself of the debris out of which it was born. What we look upon as material and "substantial" is really only a dream, for all matter is unstable, transitiory, and so goes back to its composite conditions. The body of the soul is a part of Universal Thought, advanced beyond the stage of light, but not as far as the stage of chemical elements. There is no change when the elements are not used. The infinite Soul is composed of no elements; therefore it does not change, as nothing can affect it. The intelligence in the tree is not the tree itself. The mind in man is not the "man" himself. He can have his legs cut off, and his arms; yet his mind does not suffer any loss. That part which can leave the body while the latter is asleep, and visit distant parts of the globe, is not the body, nor the mind, but the soul-consciousness. The Shrimad Bhagavata explains that this is the stage that one experiences in the reality of the arch-formulae, "Thou Are That" (tat-tvamasi); "all this is but the Principle, the Brahmin" (sarvam Khalu-idam Brahma). All is One.
Many cannot understand how we will be able to recognize our relatives and friends on the "other side" if they do not have their physical bodies. They do not realize that the identity is wholly in the mind; but it is not in the physical mind. All of our experiences, enjoyments, and happiness are stored away in the subconscious mind. After death, subconscious mind comes into its own estate. It is the power that feels, that knows, and that enjoys the scenes. The individual Being exists in its mental activity, and there is a spiritual body created out of the new birth, so that the Creator may have around Him immortal companions, for both His and their happiness. The love for companionship is a very strong emotion.
If you can imagine what a life in the higher realms will mean - with a body as described, and a mind of the keenest appreciation, with a sense of perpetual endurance and strength, then you will realize how worth while it would be for you to try to free yourself from the dream world, or earthly existence. When you arrive in the new world, there is a feeling, which will take possession of you, of the limitlessness of this new world. You do not arrive at the border, and you do not know which way leads to the center. Every direction in which you look you see the vast dominions stretch out. And if you were to fly over that infinte world, you would seek the end in vain, for there are broad, level fields for thousands and thousands of miles, to use an "earth" term.
i dont like this quote at all (from its opening word, to its inability to make a clear and succinct point, to its built-in condescension), but im thrilled that the topic has been raised.
for years ive been considering the way we will experience Earths ascension inside of our bodies... will those who remain on or in Earth circa 2012, one day, spontaneously lose the clay cage (without 'dying' in the traditional sense) and find themselves in their mental bodies? or, is the whole point of this 3D experience to _infuse the densest dimension with the light of consciousness_? will we experience a mutation of our DNA at the rate that is appropriate to each, and at that time, reside in cosmic/unity consciousness until we choose to consciously drop the physical form? or, will it be something else entirely?
at this time, im inclined to the point of view that one of the things we agreed to do within the Earth Experiment was to bring consciousness into matter. and this inclines me to believe that we would stay inside our bodies as the cells vibrate faster and faster, until eventually, they stablize in a frequency range we would call 'light'. meaning, the body wouldnt 'die' in the traditional sense, but would be 'lifted', so to speak, along with all the matter on and in the Earth.
the monologue of Sri Yukteswar in Yogananda's, Autobiography of a Yogi, is full of interesting information on what its like to be disembodied, but ive found the writings of Seth (through Jane Roberts) to be the most objective and informative.
Posted by: emma | March 24, 2006 at 06:21 AM
This is a fragment from a much larger exposition on many more things about the eternal state of things by a Master of the Wisdom. Of course, Sri Yukteswar is also a Master, one who also came "back from the dead" to teach. "Seth" is not of the same class of beings. Each being has their department of "labor" so to speak. Sorry you found this condescending. I never have. In fact, in this book he shows more of a sense of humor than other works I've read by Masters.
In other parts of the work he addresses the ultimate evolution of Earth out of its chemical/mineral state, along with the life forms here. As I know it, different frequencies of light particles compose all forms here. We do not infuse matter with light. Matter IS light. We ARE light. We just get distracted by our 5 senses and our minds. Our DNA is already in various states of mutation. We can experience cosmic/unity consciousness any time we want. And all beings on Earth will have "physical" forms for the next 36,000 years, until Earth and its associated life Consciousnesses reach "graduation day," if my calculations and what I've read in Sri Yukteswar's Holy Science about the Yugas are any indication.
Yes, we did agree to bring our consciousness to matter. It's an echo of the thought-form building lessons the Master Builders (kumaras) modeled as prototypes many eons ago. You're probably closer than you suspect when you say "we would stay inside our bodies as the cells vibrate faster and faster, until eventually, they stablize in a frequency range we would call 'light'."
I'm not sure what "lifted" has to do with our collective purpose here on Earth, since we're here to transmute conditional love into Unconditional Love, overcoming fear, vanity, desire, and attachment to sensation through detachment, dispassion, discrimination, and generation of good will. My view, for what it's worth, is that though there is a division coming where Eternals who have not learned the lessons of love and interpendent Oneness will go to other planetary forms to work out lessons in their own way and time, none of the "good Souls" on Earth are going much of anywhere for three dozen thousand years, as there is a vast work of redemption to be done, much truth, goodness, and beauty to reclaim for our Earth, and more than a few flowers to put forth. There is lots of love here to learn and live. Aum.
Posted by: Robert | March 24, 2006 at 08:05 AM
greetings. again, its pleasing to participate in discussion on a subject one doesnt find discussed very often in public. thank you for facilitating this.
Seth (without quotation marks, thank you) can indeed be considered in the same catagory as Sri Yukteswar in that they both lived on Earth until they gathered enough consciousness to remove themselves from the wheel of birth and death yet 'came back' to continue teaching. it would seem to me that theyre both 'in the department' of teaching about higher levels of consciousness.
it was a poor choice of verbaige for me to choose the word 'mutate' in reference to our DNA. what i should have said was 'activate to the level that is appropriate to each', as only 2 of our 12 strands of our DNA are currently turned on.
i dont know if id agree that everything manifest is made of light. i would say that everything manifest is made of _consciousness_, and consciousness includes both what we could call 'light' and what we could call 'darkness' (matter and anti/dark matter). (but perhaps we're splitting hairs here as darkness is also just a lower vibration of light). its my understanding that 3D is a realm in which limitation/darkness/fear is intrinsic, also that we've agreed to balance this realm with pathways of light/expansion/love.
i feel its flippant to say we can experience unity consciousness any time we want. it doesnt exactly work like that. maybe we can force it to happen for a few moments in meditation or with certain consciousness-altering substances, and perhaps the totality of our consciousness resides there, but if we're incarnated, that means we still have something left to resolve. its not just like one can decide, 'from now on, i choose to live in cosmic consciousness'. its the product of spiritual evolution, not something that happens 'any time we want'.
your comment that it will take another 36,000 years before Earth and her inhabitants to reach 'graduation day' is interesting. can you point me to some supporting research, please? its my understanding that this cycle that is completing (in 2012) includes not ony the latest round of the precession, it also includes an alignment of our solar system with the galactic plane. i have gathered most of my information on this from the work of John Major Jenkins and Nick Fiorenza (http://www.lunarplanner.com/HolyCross.html).
Posted by: emma | March 24, 2006 at 03:22 PM
I composed an answer, then thought I should share it with my other readers, since you raised some important points. I chose to keep what follows for this comment stream. You should probably read that post first, since it was the first part of what follows.
Since I try not to comment on things I know little or nothing about, I did some research on Seth. First, I meant no disrespect, since I also put quotes around “God.” I put quotes around “Truth.” I put quotes around lots of names and attributions. I only put quotes around Seth since that is probably not his/its name, whoever he/it was and is.
After some research, though obviously an Eternal consciousness of great knowledge and wisdom, I found no definitive source placing Seth in the group of Masters of the Wisdom including Morya, K.H., D.K. Sri Yukteswar, Babaji, Sri Krishna, or the Mahachohan, to name a few. We know these were/are on Earth, take and drop physical bodies at will, and demonstrate miracles. There are many who know them by other names when they show up in a physical body here on Earth, and some, like Babaji, actually do regularly show up in physical bodies to teach.
Amachi and Sai Baba both walk on Earth at present in physical bodies, yet demonstrate few if any of the usual physical functions while being their miraculous Selves. As far as I can find, Seth is not one of this group, as he doesn’t show up in a body across the centuries. There are many who teach about “higher levels of consciousness” as you put it, but that does not make them Masters, as these are defined in the Ageless Wisdom tradition.
Though this is a different subject, while trance channeling can be a valid form of bringing information from subtle realms, there are also issues of the vehicle of the channel that are problematic. This is something I know about from direct experience and many years of trance channelers coming to me for healing and/or tuning their vehicles. Trance channeling takes a toll on the physical vehicle, and even more problematic is the shredding of the astral web. There are good reasons why our astral vehicle is constructed the way it is. Also, while trance channeling can often bring good messages from other realms, it just as often gets garbled and misleads people of great faith but little knowledge. This is my experience dealing with trance channeling and channelers over the past 33 years.
I affirm that Jane Roberts did a noble and great service, and Seth conveyed great wisdom by offering that our point of power is the present, we are not at the mercy of the subconscious, nor are we helpless, we are gods couched in creaturehood, and we create our own reality. Of course, Florence Scovel Shinn was teaching much of the same material in the 20’s and 30’s, and while I hold her in highest esteem, she herself would have denied she was a trance channeler or Master of the Wisdom.
As an aside, at various times in my life, depending on what kind of “spiritual” work I was assigned, I have been an active member of at least 6 of Seth’s 9 families of consciousness. Different planets are activated at different times of the life so we may learn how to function on all the planes, all the levels, using all the energies at our disposal when we need them to serve suffering humanity.
I know this discussion has been all over the map, so forgive me my digressions. But you obviously are on your Path to Truth, and I salute your efforts. Hopefully my front page post will help you on your Divine Quest, and this answer will open the door to you investigating the nature of those departments of Higher Consciousnesses that aid and comfort humanity across the ages. We were told by The Tibetan that the heresy of separateness is indeed a big part of the perceived problem for us, given that All is One vast choir of harmonic Love-Wisdom and Intelligence-In-Action. All the higher ones assist all the work, anchored by us in the physical reality.
Posted by: Robert | March 25, 2006 at 12:34 PM
Hi Robert,
I am not sure if this is the right place to comment about this- but the article does mention the Afterlife, so I will go ahead and post. My brother died of a suicide in March of 2007. I am wondering if what happens in the afterlife, as mentioned above in the article, also applies for the people who take their own lives. I have been told by an esoteric teacher, who studies Masters of the Wisdom including Morya, K.H., D.K., that my brother will return as a Pisces in his next life- so I assume suicide victims reincarnate? I know suicide is a touchy subject and taboo for some people- but I am curious (my natal Gemini moon wants to know). I appreciate your help.
Posted by: Mari | July 22, 2007 at 10:59 PM
Hi Mari - Suicide is very difficult on those left behind, as well as the one who commits suicide, so first, my condolences. As far as I know, a suicide only does away with the body, but the feelings, mind, and consciousness persist until the first possible appointed time in life when we could have departed. In that sense, your prayers and meditations can help your departed brother maintain a higher focus until it's time to check out into the "heaven world," aka "Devachan."
I also have extensively studied all the Masters you mention, as well as other lesser known works by these and others. There is no particular requirement that a suicide reincarnate as a Pisces, though in my experience other signs than Pisces and certain houses will be prominent the next time. All sentient beings reincarnate in some form or another, and all life evolves from lower sentience to higher sentience. Consciousness is a one way street - we can never become less aware, whether we die "naturally" or via other means. I personally think suicide is a useless effort, since it doesn't do away with the being's experience of suffering that created the tendency to self-destruction. Only love and awareness can do away with suffering. Please send your brother a beacon of loving light, that his residual astral (emotional) and manasic (mental) bodies may dissolve in the greater Light of the Eternal Loving field.
Posted by: Robert | July 23, 2007 at 08:08 AM
Dear Robert, Are things going to be easier for aquarians in relationships after september 2nd. I am involved with a pisces born Feb26th,1976 at 3pm and I am an Aquarian born feb1,1965 at 245a.m. Any advice?
Posted by: cindyfrances | July 25, 2007 at 01:50 PM
Hi cindyfrances - Not necessarily. For example, someone born in mid-February has a Sun in late Aquarius, and they're just beginning the experience the joys of Saturn in the Solar 7th. Also remember that the Sun rules Aquarius' house of relationship, whereas for Cancer and Leo Saturn rules their 7th, so they will experience a shift from the ruler of their relationships out of Leo into Virgo. In your case, the Pisces will have Saturn entering the Solar 7th of relationships fairly soon. While Saturn won't be opposing your Sun sign much longer, it will still be in your Solar 7th until 2008. Of course, Saturn is exalted in the 7th, making that arena the grounds for greatest growth for Saturn, which is a very good thing. And why we work out our Karma/Dharma through our interactions. 31 is a year of dramatic change and getting it in gear. 42 is the beginning of a whole new 7 year cycle, and begins a 2 year period of reconsidering your Saturn decisions from 28-29.
Posted by: Robert | July 25, 2007 at 04:14 PM
Thank you Robert, very interesting. What does it mean, when you say saturn will be in my solar 7th until 2008?(born Feb 1st 1965). My Pisces is changing settling down and considering his past decisions, but we are still not on the same page. Do you do any tours around the US?
Posted by: cindyfrances | July 26, 2007 at 09:07 AM
Hi cindyfrances - It means that putting the Sun as the Asc (Solar chart technique) you have Saturn opposing your Sun and moving into its 7th. As for tours, people pretty much catch me as they can. I'm doing a transcontinental drive in mid-August across the South, but don't have much time for charts or talks, given the rigors of the schedule as it already is. Then Europe in September and NY in October, where I am scheduled for talks and chart sessions. And I do try to schedule going where there is enough interest in what I have to say.
Posted by: Robert | July 28, 2007 at 07:17 AM
Loved every word of this . . .
Posted by: Vali | January 03, 2008 at 07:58 PM
Hi Vali - You'll no doubt like tonight's article as well! ;-)
Posted by: Robert | January 05, 2008 at 01:34 PM