LIFE AFTER DEATH - THE ASTRAL REALM
A Channeled Lecture by Kathumi
Presented November 22, 1985
NVT
It is I Kathumi. I have come this evening to continue our presentation on life after death, with a more detailed discussion of the Astral realm. As you recall from the last time, I mentioned that people of a certain evolutionary character upon immediately passing through the death transition resided in the middle level of the Astral plane, that they created thought forms of cities and carried on a life if you will emulating the one that they left. I also intimated that the key to resolving a fixation on the Astral plane was a resolution of relationships.
On the physical plane relationships involve two basic factors. The emotional element and the mental element depending on the nature of the emotions and the nature of the beliefs determines to outcome of the relationship.
The emotional element can be characterized as a need to possess, jealousy, exclusiveness, a total preoccupation with the object of the relationship. For you see when the emotions are allowed to function in this manner the entity ceases to be an entity and is indeed nothing more than an object, a piece of property, a possession. Unfortunately in most societies in the world this view is openly fostered. The relationship can be a male-female one, a parent-child, those are the main emotionally ridden ones.
So what effect does this produce? In Christian culture the discussion has been raised many times, in the Protestant realms, as to what an individual does when he is widowed and remarries? What happens when the three of them meet in heaven? This is of great concern to the consciousness of people who think in terms of possession, in terms of exclusivity. At the middle level that we referred to, it results in emotional turmoil if the non-physicals, the disincarnates happen to join the same thought form say. In most instances this is prevented from occurring by the guides and the teachers who travel the middle realm. But occasionally it does occur and it does result in conflict and turmoil. For the entities on the middle level are indeed emulating their physical lives.
The key to progressing to the upper level of the Astral is to cultivate in a genuine sense "unconditional love", "unconditional acceptance". This is a monumental task on the physical plane where expectations and payoffs are the order and the socially accepted norm. And yet if a person begins to overcome the petty emotions of jealousy, competition, ownership and through evolution perceives the person as a person and not as a stereotype or role-model they can progress to the upper level of the Astral plane.
Emotions are still an issue here but at this level more refined ways of dealing with the emotions are studied. Alternative ways of conducting relationships are explored. One can never invest their lives into another's, it does not benefit the investor or the investee. This is a difficult lesson for many entities to learn. Emotions weave the heaviest chains of Karma, excessive hatred, anger, resentment as well as conditional love. Ownership, possession weigh the entity down and retards growth. When an entity passes over with these emotions operating full force they spend for a time a sojourn in the dregs of the Astral, tormented by their own emotional imbalance. The teachers and guides work to rescue these unfortunate ones but many of them can only be reached from the earth plane for the material nature of their fixation orients them more towards that sphere. This fixation works from both directions. As has been mentioned in the past those that excessively mourn the passing of a loved one when it is carried to extremes are really expressing selfishness not love and caring, for the emotion that they express holds the loved one down preventing them from seeking the level that they have achieved.
At this point it would be appropriate to discuss the concept of suicide as a means of departing the physical. Suicide of necessity involves emotion in some form or other. In many instances it involves frustration and anger, hostility turned against the self which is called depression. The person allows the elementals of their emotions to torment them while on the physical sphere and they unaware consciously of the laws seek relief by killing the body, when the problem actually resides with the spirit itself or the psyche, which is immortal. That unfortunate entity kills himself and discovers rapidly that all the pain, all the turmoil is still there. The difference is that they no longer have a physical body. These individuals in many instances find themselves on the lower level, the lowest level of the Astral again a victim of excessive emotionalism, a victim of ignorance. For you see the emotions are under control of the psyche. The emotions are energy and the energy can be refined, it can manifest itself in a purer form and that is the obligation and the responsibility of the entity while on the physical. It is the only place where the emotions and the beliefs can be resolved. It can not be done at the higher levels, for it originates at the bottom and the path back to the source begins at the bottom.
One can look upon it as climbing up the rope of the sutrama. If you have ever climbed a rope you see how difficult it is to do so. Climbing the sutrama is in a like sense as difficult. One must start at the bottom and with great difficulty progress.
One other aspect of the emotions, one that is not as common but a factor non the less, involves emotions directed towards material things as opposed to people. Some individuals have a fixation towards possessions whether it be what you refer to as money or gold or the need to rule over people which is impersonal in a way. It involves power or what they perceive as power or emotions directed towards a particular occupation or physical endeavor resulting in physical outcomes. These individuals have a tendency to fixate themselves even lower than the nightmarish threshold between the physical and the middle and upper Astral. These are the unfortunates whom are referred to as "ghosts" or "haunts". They are actually on the etheric level just below the nightmarish band between the physical and the middle and upper Astral. These entities can only be reached by those still living where they are so closely aligned with the physical plane. As I said it is indeed fortunate that most people do not orient themselves towards material things. It's unfortunate that in the religion of Christianity the greatest warning was directed towards material things or the level of material things, because the danger of possession of another was not only overlooked but encouraged and the nature of slavery and subjugation of races and certain sexes. This was due to ignorance of the inhabitants at the time when people were viewed as property not as people; when life was inconsequential and the taking of life was common place and almost at a whim. It's unfortunate that thinking people today adopt the creed that has its roots in barbarism and meaninglessness of the individual. That is one of the things we hope to enlighten man to. We feel that that is sufficient information this evening for the Astral.
There is much that can be said and perhaps we will touch up on several points in the future. It is possible that we shall proceed with the mental level and define it in the near future....
...Our blessings upon each of you. And we hope that each of your consciousness will one day accept who you are and enjoy that revelation and know that we are one in our endeavor to bring light to humanity.