Connecting
to Spirit
A
Road Map of the Spirit Worlds:
Perspectives on the Spirit Worlds
by Mark Macy
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The
At the center of creation is the source, what religions call God,
Yahweh, Allah, or Brahman. It emits a pure, non-vibrating Light—a
consciousness of the purest and most loving form. It is absolute
truth and infinite knowledge. Christians refer to this Light as
Holy Spirit. It's the essence of God. (I capitalize the word "Light"
to distinguish it from the electromagnetic light and energy which
we on Earth are familiar with. The Light from the source is pure
consciousness, the essence of everything.) Each of us has a piece
of the source within us. It's called soul, or atman, and it's
the real, eternal you and me.
As
the Light leaves the source, it begins to vibrate, at first very
fast, but the farther it goes from the source, the more slowly
it vibrates, manifesting as everything in every realm. The totality
of creation is sometimes called the omniverse. At the farthest
reaches of the omniverse is the physical realm, where consciousness
vibrates at its very slowest rate, becoming very dense and manifesting
as forms, stuctures, and the dense, "heavy" energies
of the electromagnetic spectrum. Existence here in the physical
realm is the most illusory of all, as it is farthest removed from
the source. Our physical body is a rugged vehicle in which the
soul and spirit can navigate through a rugged world. When we die
and shed the physical body, we embark on the ultimate adventure.
As
we move inward from the physical realm toward the source, we first
enter the quantum realm which is much like the physical realm—a
place of form and structure—but not quite so dense. The
quantum realm is meant to be a place of gentle transition after
death, but pockets of darkness and confusion have developed there
as a result of spiritual ignorance, superstition, and fear of
death.
Moving
inward, we next move into the astral realm which is wonderfully
light and subtle. Compared to Earth, this place is a paradise,
especially as we ascend in vibration through the many astral worlds.
Our body becomes lighter as we approach the ethereal realm until
we reach an invisible boundary, beyond which nothing of form can
enter. Because of the negativity in much of the quantum realm,
many people pass through a tunnel after they die, which is a means
of bypassing the quantum realm and moving directly to the paradise
of the astral realm.
While
it is vibrating most quickly, Light from the source manifests
as the ethereal realm, and the inhabitants of that realm have
formless Light bodies. To us they might look like clouds of living
energy. By our standards they are almost infinitely wise and loving
beings. They can move into the astral realm, at which time they
manifest luxuriant astral bodies that glow in rainbow colors.
The
various realms of spirit are not separated from each other or
from God by distance or by space, but by vibration. Three-dimensional
space is an illusion of the physical realm, and from the perspective
of 3-D space, the entire omniverse is superimposed over our world.
This
roadmap of the spirit worlds is distinguished by its simplicity
and accuracy. It is especially helpful in understanding and reconciling
the differences among most religions, esoteric schools, and other
institutions that dwell on the multidimensional reality around
us. For example:
Hinduism.
Brahma, or God, is the source of everything, Vishnu and Shiva
are the creative and destructive forces in the ethereal realm,
and the various Hindu deities reside in the paradise of the astral
realm. Traditionally a man passes through four stages on Earth
starting around age 10—learning spiritual truth from a teacher,
enjoying the responsibilities and pleasures of marriage, retreating
into nature to retire from the rigors of society, and finally,
renouncing all worldly possessions to become a wandering ascetic.
This lifetime of spiritual awareness and final detachment allow
the spirit, upon death, to leave Earth peacefully and either settle
into paradise or reincarnate on Earth.
Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.), the Buddha, espoused an eight-fold
path to enlightenment, in which we employ right living, mindfulness,
and concentration to move our deepest awareness beyond the illusions
of the physical and astral realms, into the ethereal realm close
to God. In doing so, we tap into the purest and truest source
of wisdom and Love available, but it can only be achieved by overcoming
the sensual desires and material attachments that come naturally
to the physical body and mind.
Tibetan
Buddhism. Upon death, we shed the physical body and astral body
and move quickly through the ethereal realm toward God. The Light
at that point is so unbearably bright to the soul fresh out of
the physical realm, that we have to backtrack to find our home
frequency—that is, the vibration most comfortable and compatible
with the patterns of thought and feeling that we have developed
during our days on Earth. An astral body forms as we move back
into the astral realm, either to settle in paradise for awhile
or to reincarnate (select another lifetime in a dense body in
the physical realm).
Judeo-Christianity.
Heaven, a perfect paradise of form and structure, is in the higher
reaches of the astral realm, Hell is in the dark pockets of fear
and confusion that have developed over the eons in the quantum
realm, and the spirit of Jesus Christ is in the ethereal realm
closest to God, the source. Moses and other Biblical prophets
presumably also have ascended in vibration to the ethereal realm.
Holy Spirit is the pure Light emitted by God which emanates throughout
all realms and brings ultimate coherence to reality at all levels.
Islam.
The prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE) left his body while asleep one
night in Mecca, ascended through the astral and ethereal realms
(the seven heavens, or Mir'aj), to the presence of Allah, the
source, where he was given five daily prayers that would keep
him and his followers close to Allah in their thoughts, words,
and actions. Then Mohammed brought those five prayers back through
the paradise of the astral realm and the torments residing in
the quantum realm before returning to his bed in Mecca. The five
prayers became a cornerstone of every Muslim's life.
After
fifty years of living and considerable searching, I've found that
the ultimate purpose for a lifetime on Earth is to enjoy the fruits
and learn the lessons of the physical realm while doing our best
to connect our conscious mind to the source—that is, to
get in touch with our soul. Connecting consciously with our soul
is a formidable task, as it involves purifying our mind, body,
and spirit. In my opinion and experience it is impossible to overcome
hormones, egos, and other unpredictable influences on our physical
lives without adopting effective techniques and/or wise, loving
ethereal intercessors between ourselves and the source. The time-proven
methods above have provided those techniques and intercessors
freely for many centuries for billions of people, and I believe
they all can provide an effective path to the source for people
today. As always, those who make the best connection are those
who can commit to purifying the body, mind, and spirit.
There
are also more modern institutions available today for the more
pioneering spirit. Three examples:
Eckankar.
Through meditative practice a person can learn to leave the physical
body for awhile and travel in spirit through the quantum, the
astral, and maybe the ethereal realms. Eckankar breaks down the
three realms into a variety of subdivisions based on the sensations
one experiences when entering them. Like the time-proven techniques
of the various religions, the astral-traveling techniques of Eckankar
require time and practice to perfect. And connecting with our
soul for meaningful travels into the ethereal realm always requires
inner work.
The
Institute of HeartMath. Mystics for centuries have called the
heart the seat of the soul. The heart is also the location of
the middle of seven chakras, or energy centers in the body. When
we move our awareness from the head to the heart during meditation,
or during our waking hours, profound positive changes occur in
our body, mind, and spirit. HeartMath researchers have been studying
those changes under laboratory conditions since 1991.
The
Monroe Institute. The founder, Robert Monroe, devised a simple
and effective sound technology in which an alternating rhythm
fed in stereo into the ears alters brain activity in such a way
that the mind and spirit can detach from the physical brain and
body in order to move to specific locations or vibratory levels
in what appear to be the quantum and astral realms. The technology
is being further refined by his chief engineer Skip Atwater and
daughter Laurie Monroe. In the coming years it will be interesting
to see if such technologies, coupled with inner work, will allow
us to soul-travel into the ethereal realm for meaningful interaction.
Instrumental
transcommunication (ITC). Again, technologies are employed to
connect with the spirit realms. In this case, beings in the various
realms are able to communicate directly with us by sending words
and pictures through our TVs, radios, computers, telephones, tape
recorders, and other devices. After a decade of research, I believe
that ITC holds tremendous rewards for humanity if (and only if)
we can connect with the ethereal realm. That cannot be achieved
through technology alone; it will also require researchers' commitment
to inner work. Specifically, the individuals involved will have
to learn to replace doubts, fears, and insecurities, with love,
awe, confidence, and trust. Without that, ethereal beings cannot
collaborate with us. Only through inner work can we forge a fruitful,
endurable ITC relationship with the Light, ethereal realm of existence.
As
for me, having denied the existence of the source and spirit for
most of my life, I have become fully immersed in spiritual pursuits
since 1990. My path of choice is ITC research, and (having grown
up in a liberal Christian family in a Christian society) I have
also reattached myself to the Christian tradition for spiritual
support. But I'm not an exclusive Christian; I see equal validity
in all the time-proven traditions. I envision a bright future
for ITC research in which a growing number of researchers from
different spiritual and cultural backgrounds commit to harmony
and decency through inner work. That commitment will allow us
to forge a lasting bond with the ethereal realm, and miracles
will flow into our world in the form of ITC contacts. Unprecedented
wisdom and knowledge will be at our fingertips.
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