Life after Death, the Spirit World and Ghosts in This Free Essay

The numerous studies and researches that have been conducted on past life experiences show that there is life after death. In all cases of reincarnations that have been recorded, a variable time lag has been observed between the death of an individual and his or her subsequent reincarnation in the next world. This has raised several queries on the issue. They include where a human being goes after death until reincarnation on the next life, and whether it involves just one plane of existence or several of them. Also, if this is the case, some may wonder as to which factors influence where people go after they die. This essay looks at life after death, the spirit world and ghosts.

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When an individual dies, it is not the end of his or her life. Death is merely a departure to the spirit world that is humans true home in the afterlife. Today, people have a much greater knowledge of earthly things than they had in the past. However, when it comes to crucial spiritual matters such as death and life after death, people who lived in the past have much more knowledge. Life after death and information about it is not something that is taught in schools. According to Abbott (131), many people are of the opinion that discussing what happens after death is old-fashioned; something that makes them spend most of their lives in ignorance of the issue. Consequently, when they die and get back to the real world, they are faced by all kinds of confusions.

For us to first understand what happens when we die, we must first understand what an auric body is. The human body is not just physical, but rather has another psychic counterpart known as the aura. This aura is said to be a psychic reflection of the physical body that reflects the psychic development of the body, the state of our physical health, and our emotional being. Additionally, the aura is the only part of the body that does not wither and die when our physical bodies die as it moves on after death to the spirit world. The physical and the auric body get connected by something known as a silver cord that is located at the back of the neck and connects these two together. Many people claim to have near death experiences and the reason why they do not die is because this chord has not been broken yet. Once this chord is broken, the physical body cannot be inhabited again (Abbott, 143).

Real death does not occur when functioning of the physical body stops. It occurs when the so-called silver cord that connects a physical body and its soul is cut off. Usually, this occurs about a day following the physical death, and happens to be closely related to how fast an individual comes into terms with his or her death. In the initial seven days or so, a deceased persons soul usually remains close to where he or she lived, and tries to maintain the lifestyle that the person was used to. Where the soul goes after a physical death varies, and souls are accordingly divided into three categories (Chopra, 297).

There are souls that cannot commence their departure to the Spirit world where they would become ghosts (earth-bound spirits). This is due to the fact that they had lived with a materialistic perception of life and vehemently denied the notion of life after death. Also, they may have an emotional attachment to something in this world to an extent that they are not able to let go. The second category is that of souls that go straight to hell. This is because, while on earth, they lived an evil lifestyle and had been possessed by at least four spirits from hell at the time of physical death. Such souls cannot depart to the other world in a normal manner, and are instead sent directly to the depths of hell.

According to Chopra (298), the third category is made up of souls that move to the Spirit World with the assistance of a Spirit Guide. Most individuals usually wander around their places of residence in the course of the first seven days following their physical death. However, once their consciousness become sufficiently clear, the spirit guide comes to their assistance and makes them realize that death is already upon them. In an ordinary case, such spirit guide could be an acquaintance, a close friend, or a close relative who had died before them.

Once a deceased individual comes into terms with the fact that he is dead, he is met by the spirit guide. The spirit takes a certain form, depending on the individuals religious belief or background. For instance, it would take the form of a Christian priest, a Buddhist monk or an angel. The spirit then guides the individual to the River Styx that separates this world and the next one. The rivers appearance varies from person to person. All in all, it essentially represents a line between the individuals consciousness in way that he or she cannot go back to the physical world once it is crossed. At such a point, every person must figure out the best way to cross it. The manner in which each individual crosses it is an indication of the level of his or her souls purity as well as how easily that person can do away with all worldly attachments (Hamilton, 158).

After the person crosses this river, he arrives at a place known as the Mirror of Truth where a record of what he or she did in the course of his or life is displayed on a screen or mirror. Some souls that are interested in the individuals life may appear to watch what the person did while alive. This recording shows what type of person the departed really was, divulging his or her thought patterns and actions to those watching. By the time the recording is complete, the individual more or less knows the result. In case there are certain lessons to be learnt, he or she will be sent to the most ideal place to learn in the Spiritual World.

According to Chopra (301), the Spirit World is somewhat governed by a law, likes attract, and the only thing that exists in this world is thoughts. This means that the main criterion for deciding where a deceased individual goes is the state of mind. The individual will be taken to a world inhabited by people having the same mind as him or her, be it hell or heaven.

There is more than one realm that exists beyond the physical world. There are about 11 different realms that are separated by the state of mind of the spirits that live there. The higher dimensions house the spirits that are closer to the creator. As these spirits ascend to even higher dimensions, they continue to move further away from the human attributes thus becoming limitless and spiritually free. Higher level realms have higher energy levels and vibrations whereas lower ones have lower energy and vibrations. The lower levels are -1 to -4 whereas the higher ones are from level 2 to 7. The physical realm where human beings live is level 1 and acts as a midpoint for the higher and lower levels (Goldsmith, 89).

Spirit realms separate people based on their different levels of spiritual evolution and the way that they lived their lives when in level 1. Goldsmith (90) is of the opinion that those who go to the higher levels are lucky because they get to experience life as never before whereas those that go to the lower levels live very unpleasant lives. The fourth dimension, also known as the posthumous realm, is the lowest level and is divided into the realm of hell and the astral realm. Hell is where all the ad souls go and it is a world of constant pain, suffering and delusion. The astral realm offers a little bit of enlightenment to the spirits, but the only difference is that they way of thinking is still bound to the worldly things. The fifth dimension is known as the realm of goodness and is inhabited by people who have good thoughts. In most cases, it is known as Heaven and the people who live in this world have the tendency to treat others how they themselves would want to be treated. The sixth dimension is described as the realm of light because it is inhabited by leaders who have the ability to nurture love into practice. The higher level of the realm of light is attained by those who have aimed to become angels and who value studying the knowledge of God while still undergoing further spiritual training.

The seventh dimension is known as the realm of Bodhisattvas and is where angels reside. This is a world where true love exists, and the ones who are lucky enough to live in this realm are selfless and only want to serve God and save more human souls. The eighth dimension is known as the Tathagatas and is home to the archangels. In this stage, all attributes of humanity have faded away and only exist as great basis of consciousness. They have extensive knowledge regarding their freedoms as spirits and can be able to divide their consciousness into many different parts when need be. The final dimension is the cosmic realm and is world where the saviors reside. It is said that this is home to ten of the greatest spirits who have always been involved in all matters concerning Earth since its creation. Each of these spirits is a source of the prism of the light of seven colors that shapes all of the characteristics of terrestrial spirits. In the highest point of this realm is the Supreme God and He alone is the source of all the light, love, compassion, courage and wisdom. He is additionally the father of all the human souls and guides all of the human beings into eternal happiness and spiritual evolution (Ramakrishnan, et al., 1806).

When we die, we go to the realm that we deserve to go based on the lives we lived on earth. This can be seen through the depiction of our aura. If we were deeply spiritual, then our aura will continue to be heightened. In the same case, if we lived negative and immoral lives, our aura vibrations will be much lower. However, the realm in which we go to is not a punishment and there is nothing like eternal hell and damnation. According to Ramakrishnan, P., et al. (1807), we just exist in the realm that is most in sync with our aura and therefore the most comfortable for us to live in. Souls that stay in the spirit world are relatively different as they vary from soul to soul. While some may stay there for two or five years, others may be there for over 100 years. Therefore, it would be best to use the time while we are here to improve and make better choices so that we may find ourselves in a different and better realm.

Ghosts refer to the souls or spirits that have not moved on to the spirit world but rather have lingered in the physical world. This can be due to them being drawn to something in the physical realm or simply having unfinished business. Some may also refuse to believe that they are dead; something that can keep them here for a very long time. Ghosts can be stuck in the physical realm for very long periods of time, and sometimes they may need help to be able to move to the spiritual realms. Ghosts are said to appear in the clothing that they were last seen with or that they died in. Ghosts also tend to haunt their family members. For instance, it is said that Abraham Lincoln appeared in his wifes photographs on several occasions (Rinpoche, 51).

Common myths and folklore suggest that ghosts appear in form of dimmed lights, misty air and cold that would be visible to people in the physical realm. According to Rinpoche (53), traditional accounts of different communities suggest that deceased people would be vengeful in many instances or imprisoned here on earth because of the bad things that they did when they were alive. Many television networks have made a lot of money by creating movies and television series about ghosts. Good examples include the movie Ghost Busters and Paranormal Activities.

Ghosts are also said to have the ability to move things without touching them. Many people have reported that they have felt like they are not alone in...