Life Beyond Death
The purpose of death
The nature of life after death
How we can prepare for death
How we can assist the dying
The Stages of Life After Death
You say I am going away. But where can I go? I am always here.
Introduction
Death is an unwinding, or dissolving of the psychic impressions that we've gathered during life. In this process, only our imaginary self dies. The true Self is immortal and eternal.
Even though the experience of death is unique for each individual, there are several distinct stages, or transitions, which most of us will go through. The following pages contain a description of the four primary stages of life after death, thus providing a road map of the territory ahead. As with any map, a great deal of information has been condensed in order to provide an overview and to highlight the most important landmarks.
To describe the different stages of life after death, we must first talk about the nature of Consciousness and then distinguish the different bodies and planes of experience.
Divine Consciousness
All experience occurs within, and by virtue of Consciousness. Divested of all limitations fabricated by the mind, Consciousness is formless, eternal and unbounded. For this reason, it is considered divine in nature.
Divine Consciousness is the foundation for all the planes of experience. Because of Its purely subjective (spiritual) nature, It is completely hidden from view. We cannot know It objectively, because It's what we are in the first instance; the very source and foundation of our existence. It shines behind the mind, making it possible to read and understand these words, right now.
The nature of Divine Consciousness is a paradox. Some view it as the non-dual and impersonal source underlying the entire manifest creation. Others view it in dualistic terms, as the Creator and Supreme Divine Being. In truth, both views are correct. And at the same time, Divine Consciousness transcends all conceptual limitations.
Individual Consciousness
Individual consciousness, or the sense of a separate self, is a natural phenomenon of Consciousness functioning through a body. The light of Consciousness produces a reflection in the intellect, which the lower mind mistakes for an independent, separate self...or a sense of "me". Like a dream, or a mirage in the desert, this reflection is an appearance which has no basis in reality. Although we experience ourselves as separate individuals, this is only how it appears in the mind. In truth, there is only one Consciousness, reflecting in different minds, like the sun reflecting in different pots of water.
Bodies and Planes of Experience
Just as sunlight falls into different bands of color, the reflection of individual consciousness falls into different planes of experience. Each plane corresponds to a particular type of body, or platform of conscious experience. (see Illustrations) These are actually two sides of the same coin. For example, the physical body is the platform of conscious experience for the physical plane. As a result, the physical body and the physical plane are two sides of the same experience and cannot be separated from one another.
After death of the physical body, the experience of individual consciousness does not cease. It simply recedes from the physical plane to the subtle planes of experience, and the corresponding subtle body (also known as the subtle-physical or astral body). This subtle body is composed of mental and emotional experience, including conscious and subconscious impressions which accumulated during Earth life. Although the subtle body survives death of the physical body, it is not eternal and has its own definite life span.
Beyond the subtle planes of experience is the Spiritual Plane, and the corresponding spiritual body (also known as the soul or soul agent). The spiritual body is not a body in the usual sense. It represents a completely different order of reality, beyond the realm of energy and matter. In it's purest state, the spiritual body is Divine Consciousness, plus the accumulated spiritual essence gathered from many cycles of Earth life. More will be explained about spirit and spiritual essence in the pages that follow.
These different planes are not locations that exist in time or space. They are states of consciousness, or levels of subjective experience within us. We will now examine each of these planes in terms of the four main stages of life beyond death.
