To die is not tragic. To live in ignorance on earth is tragic. To physically die is to enjoy freedom of the spirit, which has been imprisoned behind the bars of the material body. Is it tragic to be released from suffering, for the soul to come into its own? Is it tragic to see wonders of colour, to hear music that does not belong to material expression? Do you call it tragic to express yourself in a body that has no pain, to be able to roam all over the world of matter in a flash and to taste the beauties of the spirit life too?

Death is an integral part of evolution in our present Earthly phase. Many accounts of ‘having died’ have been given by persons still living, those who have undergone certified clinical death, then returned to life. These are known as ‘near-death experiences’ and thousands upon thousands have been documented in recent years. The experiences recounted show a remarkable consistency in certain fundamental respects: i.e., the sense of passing through a very bright tunnel, the presence of a great light at the end of it, and the emergence into the ‘Light’ with strong feelings of being greeted with great spiritual warmth and love. Many also report experiencing ‘panoramic memory’, a remarkable clarity of thought, and seeing a moving recollection of their entire life story.

Those who are already mentally prepared for the ‘after life’, and therefore ‘die in peace’, are likely to leave the dead physical body in full consciousness, able to observe the soul-self's departure as it rises gently above the now discarded physical ‘casing’. It is usual for a Spiritual Guide to be on hand to greet the arriving soul, leading him or her to the Higher Spheres. Alternatively, the departing soul may travel alone rapidly through a bright tunnel towards an ‘intense light’, to emerge in a world full of brilliant colors and scenes of great beauty.

The time and place of death is always known well beforehand by the Spiritual Hierarchy, as well as by the incarnated soul's own Higher Self. This is part of the agreement made with one’s spiritual self and one’s Guides and the Spiritual Hierarchy before incarnation. Relatives and former friends who have already passed over to the Spiritual world are alerted to an impending ‘transition’, and will be on hand to greet the arrival on the new plane.

The vibratory level on which we first arrive after ‘death’ depends on the spiritual progress and attainment made whilst on Earth. Most Earth incarnates of moderate spiritual development arrive on the Astral/Emotional plane, the next vibrational level above the physical. Though this largely reproduces conditions as they appeared on Earth, there are some differences, reflecting the higher vibratory rate. The colors of nature are more brilliant, the scents of flowers stronger, while the senses of the soul in its now higher manifestation are sharper and more alert to the surrounding beauty. The body feels lighter, for there is not the heavy gravitational pull of Earth, and with experience one will soon be able to transport oneself through the air or eventually mold matter to any desired shape by the power of thought alone.

The newly arriving soul may be surprised to be conducted to his or her personal ‘dream home’. By constantly imagining an ideal whilst on Earth, we are unconsciously creating a ‘counterpart’ of thought material on higher Mental or Astral levels, where it registers as a concrete thought-form. Using this thought-form as a guide, spiritual assistants on the higher plane can shape the less dense and more malleable matter on that plane by mental power, reconstructing the ideal home in time for the newly arriving soul's ‘homecoming’.

Those who were not aware of, or did not believe in an afterlife whilst on Earth, may need some convincing that they are in fact ‘dead’; after all, they do not appear to feel so very different. It can take quite some time for them to accept that they are really ‘dead’ in Earth terms, despite the slightly strange difference in the qualities of light and color in their new surroundings. Because such people are slow to accept change, they usually choose, upon death, to move into a vibrational level nearest to that of Earth. Here they can pursue a life in surroundings related as closely as possible to their previous environment. Eventually, through the help of Guides from higher spheres, they will come to recognize their new ‘reality’ and free themselves to move up to higher planes.

Those who have considerably lowered their vibrational rates whilst living on Earth, such as through uncaring or damaging behavior towards others, or abuse of their own bodies through lack of bodily care and drug-use, may find themselves descending to the lower Astral regions. There they will encounter a gloomy world of bleak surroundings, the result of a collective creation by others of a similar nature. The soul, on higher levels, may decide that its lower personality needs to dwell in these conditions for some time, until it has fully assimilated the relevant lessons through a constant repetition of former 'bad' deeds and is finally forced to see the errant path it has taken. Eventually the errant soul will begin to ‘see the Light’ and feel the need to rise up again to higher vibrational planes. Once the soul has made this commitment, Spiritual Guides will immediately be on hand to gently assist it to the Higher levels.

The lower Astral plane also contains many other less dense but nonetheless low-level areas, where people of little spiritual development or aspiration live in their own subjectively re-created conditions, similar to the less inspiring urban areas of Earth. Many of these souls continue to remain unaware or unwilling to believe they are dead. They re-live life as on Earth in relatively grim conditions, going through the same motions as before, eating food which they no longer need, going to ‘work’ every day, and using ‘money’ which is now no longer necessary. They also find that everything around them seems to decay rather rapidly and constantly needs replacement. This experience is to teach them to eventually relinquish their attachment to material possessions and encourage them to seek an upward move to more spiritual spheres. Eventually they too seek help from above and are subsequently taken up to the higher Mental and Spiritual planes surrounding Earth.

You do not climb from one sphere into another; you grow, you evolve. The lower gives way to the higher. You ‘die’ and are born again and again. You do not lose the astral body in quite the same way that you lose the material body. It becomes rarefied, it becomes refined, as the lower drops away. That is its death, for death really means transformation, resurrection, the rising of the higher out of the lower.

When the fact of death has been thoroughly assimilated, the newly arrived soul is then given access to the Akashic Records, a form of universal memory-bank which records all events that have ever taken place anywhere in the universe as well as every thought and action of every individual. Through this medium the soul can then review, in multi-dimensional sight and sound, significant episodes of the Earth incarnation recently completed. By reviewing the mistakes, personality faults and unkindnesses to others made whilst still on Earth, the various lessons still remaining unlearnt can be identified.

Having reviewed our past life and seen all our faults with the clearer and more objective spiritual vision available on higher dimensions, we are now able, with the help of our Spiritual Guides, to assess which failed lessons need to be re-learnt, and to review those further lessons remaining to be learnt.
But unless Karma requires an immediate return to Earth, as after a life prematurely interrupted by suicide, most souls spend a considerable time residing on the Spiritual levels. This is usually up to two hundred years or more, and can sometimes be over a thousand years or more of Earth time.
During this period of spiritual refurbishment we can explore the vast Spiritual Worlds or attend the numerous Halls of Learning to acquire new knowledge and skills. There is also ample opportunity, for those of us ready to do so, to serve others such as by helping those who have recently arrived from the Earth plane to adjust to their new dimension, or by passing down spiritual strength to those on Earth who are lonely or in distress.

Following this period of spiritual refreshment, learning and service on higher planes, it may well be that the soul, recognizing that further basic lessons have still to be mastered or learnt, feels the need to reincarnate yet once again on the dense physical Earth level. Here, through the hard and demanding lessons of physical Earth life, further useful evolutionary progress can be made at a much faster rate than possible on the Spiritual Plane. This then initiates a process of detailed planning with one’s Guides for the new incarnation ahead.

There are no newspapers in your earthly sense, because there is no necessity to chronicle happenings, as we do on Earth. Information is constantly being dispensed to those who should have it by the ones whose occupation it is to spread these facts. There are people engaged on the task of disseminating these thoughts. They are specially trained for it. There is no ‘parliament’ in the spirit world because there is not need to make laws to regulate the lives of the people who dwell there.

Telepathy is the common method of communicating with another. But it is possible for those who know how, to address vast numbers and to reach them, even when they are not themselves present.

Gifts, talents and faculties which people had on Earth do not end with death. Death brings them greater freedom and the extended opportunities to express those talents.

Remember - you visit the spirit world every night during your sleep time. That is your preparation. Otherwise, the shock of transition would be too much for you.