Written by Wes Annac, The Aquarius Paradigm
Continued from Part 1
Phillip Gilbert tells us that as the physical body grows older, the etheric body steadily readies itself to leave.
“With the approach of earth-life’s natural ending … the etheric body alters.
It becomes stronger and more easily detached (old people fall asleep easily, don’t they?), and the act of death takes place easily and without shock to the etheric body so that, at any rate, except in exceptional circumstances, they are not hampered with the results of nervous strain, fear and suspense, as with the soldier in battle or people in air raids or prison camps.” (1)
Older people who live peaceful lives are able to cope with their transition in a much easier way than, say, a young person who’s ripped away in a tragedy. Their etheric bodies are gradually and subtly accustomed to the realms they’ll enter, and when the time comes, they’re able to slip away gracefully.
Then, they’re able to wake up to the brimming other side and start their lives anew in spirit.
Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson tells us that peaceful transitions are far more natural than violent ones.
“[Sudden or violent transitions] are not what could be considered in any way normal had other conditions prevailed.
Normal transition, from the point of view of the spirit world, is that wherein the spirit body becomes gradually and easily detached from the earthly body in a slow and steady process of separation. The magnetic cord, in such cases, will become detached from the earthly body gently, it will fall away naturally, just as the leaf falls from the tree in autumn.” (2)
Death is intended to entail a gradual release of the etheric body, but the circumstances surrounding it could cause pain and difficulty before the transition itself takes place.
In all cases, death delivers one from pain and chaos and into the wondrous realms of spirit. For this reason and this reason alone, I can confidently say that we have no reason to fear, apprehend, or avoid death. As long as we take care of our bodies and do our best to keep our karma straight, it’ll be as easy as going to sleep and waking up.
Benson continues, affirming that the spirit gradually readies to leave the body in old age.
“When the leaf is in full life and vigour it requires a strong action to dislodge it from the tree. And so it is with the spirit body. In the young, the cohesion is firm, but it gradually lessens as age increases. When people on earth reach the autumn of their lives, like the leaf of the tree, the spirit body is less firmly attached to the physical body.” (3)
We’re firmly rooted in the body when we’re young, but as time goes on, our essence prepares to shed its physical shell. After everything we experience on the third-dimensional earth, we’re able to depart to the fourth dimension and take stock of our experiences before either incarnating again or continuing our growth in that sphere.
As we’ll learn below, the only shock Julia Ames felt when she died was the shock of waking up in a new realm.
“When you die a change takes place that differs so much in different cases that I think I had better begin by describing as clearly as possible what is felt by the person who dies.
In my letters I have told you how I felt. There was no pain, no shock, no sensation at all save that of waking up out of a deep sleep, perfectly well. That was my experience and it was a very happy one. It is a very common one, but it is not universal.” (4)
From what we’ve learned so far, it seems like this transition is only negative if the circumstances surrounding it are negative. Most people are able to experience a peaceful death before waking up in the spirit realms, and the common experience is one of simplicity and an understanding that death isn’t the end of life.
I have a feeling that some people don’t even feel the pain of a violent death. For some people, the change might be so instant that they don’t have time to feel any pain, and they’re simply left to wander around in their etheric forms and wonder what happened.
Nigel Gibbs starts telling us about the experience of one ‘Ian Maclean’ in dying, traveling through a tunnel, and reaching a state of spiritual blankness referred to as ‘no man’s land’ (which, incidentally, is the name of a bar down the street from me).
“[In] regards [to] his death, as far as I could gather, it was very rapid.
He said everything went inky and black and he seemed to be travelling a long time down a tunnel and when at last his feet touched the bottom and he thought ‘I’ve parachuted safely in to solid earth,’ he found himself floating in space. That was a pretty unpleasant experience. It was lonely and it was dark.” (5)
Nigel continues, telling us that Mr. Maclean eventually and instinctually called for help, which he was happily given.
“After a while a queer unearthly terror got hold of him and he called and called to his pals for help.
That was the sensible thing to do because one of our chaps called Irvin or Irwin found him and helped him out of no-man’s-land. He has got on famously since then. He has no recollection of agonizing pain – only for one awful searing moment, a blaze of light and then the tunnel.” (6)
As evidenced by Dr. Eben Alexander’s account in his book ‘Proof of Heaven’, some people will experience this strange and unsettling darkness before eventually reaching the more lighted realms. In the book, Dr. Alexander recounts his numerous experiences traveling back and forth from the dark realm to the increasingly pure realms of Source.
While some will simply wake up in a good place, others might experience a temporary void before they’re driven to seek something higher – something they’ll attain upon seeking. Maybe one’s karma determines whether or not they experience this ‘no man’s land’ but no matter what, we can transcend it.
Continued in Part 3 tomorrow.
Footnotes:
(1) Philip Gilbert through Alice Gilbert, medium, Philip in Two Worlds. London: Andrew Dakers, 1948, 206.
(2) Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson through Anthony Borgia, medium, Here and Hereafter. San Francisco: H.G. White, 1968 (dictated in 1957), 46-7.
(3) Loc. cit.
(4) Julia [Julia T. Ames] through W.T. Stead, medium, After Death. A Personal Narrative. New York: George H. Doran, n.d.; c. 1914, 159.
(5) Geraldine Cummins, They Survive. Evidence of Life Beyond the Grave from Scripts of Geraldine Cummins. Comp. E.B. Gibbes. London, etc.: Ride and Co., n.d, 31.
(6) Loc. cit.
