Let us begin your journey through eternity from the only logical starting point, conception. We could begin with the infinite vastness of the All Person because the essence of your being, your soul, is and always has been the very Person of your Creator, and for that reason the essence of your being has always existed through the infinite eons of the past. In that sense your soul being has always had an existence, but in the same sense even the physical body you possess has always existed, for the atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and so forth of which it is composed have been part of your planet, your sun, your galaxy, your nebula and thence from previous stars and nebulae that have been dissipated and gone from an unfathomable and incomprehensible time long passed.
Could the atoms of your physical body speak with a conscious awareness, they could tell you awesome stories of stars and planets, peoples and civilizations in the farthest reaches of space, that were born, struggled with the limitations of corpor for a time and then passed on. Their histories long forgotten except in the minds of great gods and goddesses high now in etherea who either lived on those birth places of immortal souls or in some way had assisted with their resurrection and growth.
Yes, even if the spiritual “atoms”, if we may use the poetic license to call them such, of your soul being could speak, they could tell you tales of life through the numbing distant unlimited past, of a place infinitely far away or so very close, of a time incomprehensibly ancient and yet as recent as the very now, of experience and wisdom whose comprehension and magnitude would leave even the highest raised angel speechless with awe.
But wait, all of this is our fanciful imagination at play, for none of it can be. Your earthly shell cannot speak, nor can the component parts of your astral shell or soul, though that is where the Great Intelligence that created you resides; and neither can you speak of those times, for the you that you are, the self-conscious, self-knowing aware being that you are came into being at the moment of conception.
The essence of Jehovih’s Person that is all knowing and resident in the sperm, and the spark of the Divine Being that is all knowing and resident in the egg came together in a magical transformation within a star-flash of that union and at that moment a new soul was born. At that moment you were a dual being in soul: the very I AM of the All Person and a “blank slate” that was destined to be the sentient, self-aware, reasoning being that you are. Due to the maturity of our age, the you that you are became an immortal soul when those two components cleaved together in the physically primitive embryonic cell.
Understand that whether your physical embryo ever reached further stages of development or not, the spiritual being that you are was already assured immortality as a soul and was destined to grow into more expansive realms forever onward. If it had not been allowed to proceed with its growth on the physical plane in the womb, then it would have continued the growth the I AM ordained it to experience but on the spiritual plane instead by special dispensation. The means by which this is accomplished will be discussed in a later chapter. This then was the birth from whence you came, and this is sufficient understanding to allow us to turn our attention to the places you will be exploring in the days ahead.
Each person born as to life on earth is bestowed with three component attributes, namely a soul or spiritual nature, a corporeal or physical being and the qualities of action, movement, self-expression, metabolism and similar manifestations of energy in motion which we call life. This is why it is said that we are born in the Creator’s image, because the Great Spirit also has the same three components which are the Ever-Present All-Spirit, the infinite corporeal creation (composing our universe) and the All-motion or the manifestation of sentient Energy, the All-Life.
Since we are bestowed with those same attributes in a limited form, and since our destiny is an ever expanding comprehension and usefulness as our Creator’s “hands” in action, it is logical to begin by experiencing one aspect of creation at a time and thus allowing our infant souls a chance to grow at a tolerable rate, and at the same time provide an anchor through which our immature spirit may be nurtured until it reaches a state where it can comfortably subsist on its own.
The main purpose of corporeal existence therefore is to acquire a basic appreciation of the physical aspects of creation, to provide an elementary education for our newly formed souls, which are like blank slates waiting for the experiences of life to be written upon them, and finally to provide a fetal stage for the embryonic development of our soul-selves, the spiritual being that our earthly shell merely reflects.
While it is important to put our brief sojourn on this earthly plane to the greatest possible use, and to grow in maturity and wisdom to the best of our ability before our time comes to move on, yet, in the great scheme of things our time here is of minor importance in comparison to the eternity ahead, just as our nine months in the womb is of minor importance when compared to the perhaps 90 or even 100 years of corporeal existence. Life in the womb would probably be of great importance, indeed, to the fetus were it able to comprehend, but that nine months pales in comparison to the life time ahead. It is the same when comparing the earth life to the infinity that lies before us in the world of spirit.
Were life in corpora of more importance, would not the Creator have provided greater safeguards to make our physical bodies less vulnerable to premature death as to this life? The simplest and most unexpected mishaps can snuff our corporeal lives out, for the mortal body is so delicate and vulnerable. But the truth is that our corporeal existence is only like a heartbeat when compared to the infinite life ahead, and our corporeal life while important is not paramount and is not crucial to our eventual development.
And so it is, be it soon or late, the time comes for each of us. The delicate bond between spirit and corpor snaps to allow our true selves, the spiritual beings that we are, to emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon and take its rightful place in the greater part of creation. For the world of spirit is not a vague and ephemeral place. It is only the imperfect perception of your mortal senses which gives you these false impressions.
Your whole world consists of the surface of a little ball of corpor, while our spiritual world penetrates all levels of the rest of creation. We here in spirit can see, hear and feel on levels that you can only dream of, for your earthly shell handicaps the natural spiritual senses that you possess in a blunted form. We are free from your earthly drudgery. We are freer on every level beyond your wildest dreams, for we are the real inhabitants of a real world, a world that you are destined to inhabit as your true and rightful place in an infinite creation.
No two souls describe the act of passage in the same way, for no two individuals perceive through the windows of their separate souls in quite the same way, and the circumstances of each transition differ in detail. Suffice it to say that everyone admits that the actual process that liberates the spirit from corpor is easier and smoother than anyone expected. Some “arrive” with such swiftness that they at first don’t realize that the change has taken place at all, while others make the change so gradually that they can describe every detail as a remarkable experience of joy and wonder.
Realize that when we say “arrive”, that no actual travel necessarily occurs, for when we speak of you being “there”, while we are “here” describes not so much the difference of location as it does describe the difference of dimension, which is something that interpenetrates the same place at the same time at a differing level of vibration. This difference in state prevents you from not only perceiving us, but also prevents the interference of one level of experience with that of the other unless extraordinary conditions come into play.
Yet, in spite of the illusion of a great chasm separating us, everyone, soon or late, will make the transition called death, for all your earthly existence is merely preparation for that great event.
All you experience, both good and bad, has been an exercise for your soul to build in strength and perfection so that it may be ready to stand on its own in the more refined states of thought, where your self-control and will must be at a greater stage of maturity than had been required when your being was localized in its corporeal shell. For while the personality that you are is housed in its earthly shell, the dulling influence of the lower vibrations of corpor allows the “thought being” that you are to subsist with greater safety and efficiency. Realize that your lack of maturity as a young and immortal soul allows your concentration to wander, and your self control or will is seldom a dominant force in your existence.
You are easily distracted by things in your environment and you are often led in your weakness to do things which are not in your best interest or in the best interests of others. You can see, however, when comparing an infant to a mature adult, that some degree of progress has been made in this regard, through one’s life time. There is more self control. There is a greater understanding of how your mental powers can be applied to create and accomplish.
There is a greater exercise of will to do what is right and necessary even when your lower propensities would have you act differently. Of course, there are great differences in the degree of development even in mature adults, but in most cases it is of a great enough degree to allow that individual after death to subsist in the freer and more refined state of spirit with a great enough degree of competence to keep from being a burden on the rest of the newborn in spirit who are residing on the same plane of existence. Should this newborn be too imperfect, then special provisions must be made, depending on the degree of imperfection and the reason for its occurrence.
The innocent soul thrust prematurely into spirit life by being killed through abortion, for example, must be dealt with in a very different manner than a person who has passed over as a result of the fruits of a life of crime. But in all cases, whether it is through natural development in a normal corporeal existence or through special corrective measures applied afterwards, every soul must reach a state of mental development that allows him or her to exist competently in a state of refined vibrations of thought, for the world of spirit requires much greater strength of personality and control of will than is required in the grossness of corporeality. Always remember our basic truth that you are in essence a being of thought. The greater totality that you are is not your corporeal shell but rather your mind, which is thought, and in thought, as a distinct portion of the All-Thought, will you live, move, and have your being for all time to come.
The End