Most people I know believe our soul and spirit survive physical death.  Of course my circle is skewed by my choice of profession and social group.  I consider myself especially blessed that way to be honest.

Organized religions however, have failed to provide a workable map of the spirit world. Rather sweeping and vague variations on heaven and hell comprise the primary narrative.  I would include the notion of reincarnation in this mix as well. Hell is returning over and over again to the same place while heaven is finally being freed of having to go back in yet another physical form.

The whole matter of reincarnation confounds me but it’s no secret that millions of people in the east and west believe absolutely in its reality.  The jury is out for me on whether I envy or pity them.  There is something rather horrible yet poetically beautiful about this notion.  It frees us from the burden of retribution for one thing and fosters development of delayed gratification but it also encourages passivity in an acceptance of the appalling and growing economic inequality in the world today.  In other words, it’s okay to be poor this time around because in my next embodiment I’ll be rich as a reward or way to bring things to balance (however you want to look at it).  Sound familiar?  In Christianity our reward for embodiment poverty will be riches in heaven.  All organized religions have a variation on this theme.

You should be worried if you’ve enjoyed a privileged, self-indulgent and narcissistic lifestyle no matter what faith path you follow.  There seems to be a consensus on that one across all faiths. The have-now, pay later would seem to be the case in most spiritual traditions – rather like spiritual debt!

Spiritualism

Spiritualism, rising as a faith in the 19^th century, however provided us with some rather mind altering and graphic descriptions of the spirit world. I have managed to garner a few things about it that you might find stimulating to ponder,

• There is no time as we know it here in embodiment. Everything is now, forever, instant, dynamic and still all at once.  This is a difficult concept to understand when we are so used to time being linear, constructed, and moving forward at a steady, predictable pace. The closest we get to heaven-time is when we experience a flow state.
• We have purpose which means everything. We pursue, do, be with purpose and it’s all about healing ourselves and helping others to heal and achieve wholeness, at-one-ment (atonement), en-lighten-ment and peace.  There is struggle, strife just like here but power is allocated differently.
• We continue to be busy. We have a lot of work to do whether it’s teaching, learning, healing, passing messages along, consulting in pairs or groups whatever needs our attention, energy, gifts or knowledge.  Just because we no longer have to concern ourselves with work associated with embodiment (eating, drinking, sleeping, sex, money, ego) we have a host of new tasks to attend to.
• There are different houses or perhaps more accurately states of consciousness in the spiritual realm. There is the house of learning, the house of healing, the house of spiritual guidance, the house of forgiveness, etc.  Many, many different houses.  Again different sorts than here since we need no protection from the elements (although we need to learn spiritual protection from toxic contamination spread by those who are very spiritually ill).
• We travel enormous distances very quickly. As soon as an inspiration of place enters your spirit you are there instantly; as soon as your spirit turns its energy to another soul they are present instantly.  We traverse universes, other planetary bodies and epochs.
• The teachers are the best of the best. We have many par excellence teachers here in embodiment to be sure but in the spirit world they are in a whole ethereal class of their own. All the greats throughout all time are accessible to us (well that’s if we’re at the right stage of development to understand what the heck they are on about).  To have the opportunity to commune with the originators of an idea, inspiration, invention or wisdom will be such a delicious plethora of riches, it will more that compensate for not having access to physical pleasure.  That will be simply a memory.
• With regard to memory however, we’ll remember every little tiny bitty thing that we ever did or was done to us. That’s why there are states and spaces for healing and forgiveness.  Here we enjoy a rather selected memory option but in the spirit world that will not be the case.

Daily I’m privileged to listen to stories of how loved ones continue to visit either in dream state or in some rare cases, when the person is awake.  Some will describe grandmothers, fathers, siblings speaking to them through symbols while others have quite detailed and complex conversations with passed-on, loving souls.

A Sacred Attachment or Contract

What is fascinating about all this is how few people consider who they will continue to visit once they have passed to spirit. Native people describe how each one of us is a single link in the chain of seven generations behind and ahead and suggest that our spirit will return to the earth for seven generations ahead to see how our descendants are faring.  Now that’s a daunting thought!  I didn’t have children so I’m not sure if that means I won’t be visiting or if I’ll be visiting other people’s children. I fervently hope that the next seven generations on earth are happy, healthy and fulfilled because hell it will be to witness suffering in the extreme of others without having the power to help.

My own theory is that whenever we have affected another person’s destiny in some manner we have invested a piece of our soul in their life purpose. This means that we’ve formed a sacred attachment or contract until the impact of that interference has been unraveled which certainly could take many generations!  Yes, it is our destiny to be that interference and to pay the consequence for it.  Too bad.  Spiritual development isn’t for sissies. Some hide in retreat of the outside world for this reason (in an effort to avert such a tie to the karmic wheel) but I doubt that’s going to address the issue.  We’re all snagged into it somehow with somebody.

Healing Wounds We’ve Inflicted

I’ve learned a few things about the spirit world. There is always a reason for those in spirit to stick around the earth plane and it seems to be about healing the wounds we’ve inflicted.  It’s not about punishment or retribution.  It’s about healing. If you didn’t get empathy while here, don’t worry you’ll have lots of time to learn it there.

That’s what is meant by cosmic justice, karma, and atonement. When a loved one comes to visit, know they are on a challenge mission.  One they embrace with great love and enthusiasm.  It is their continuum path to self-forgiveness and enlightenment.  You’ll have your own soon enough.