The Astral Planes and Other Worlds Of Spirit

By Marc Macy

From The Isis Connection, #95-1 (January 9, 1995):

The spirit realms are generally described as dimensions or planes
distinguishable by the different densities and vibratory rates (or
frequencies) of the substances they contain, and the various
dimensions are said to interpenetrate, existing in the same space.
Different people have divided these infinite realms into different
numbers of vibratory regions (often seven, nine or twelve), and
various names have been used by different people to differentiate
among these regions. For most of us living in the physical world and
preoccupied by its material comforts, those are heady concepts. So it
may be easier to visualize the spiritual planes aligned
concentrically.

The physical plane (the world around us, our conscious reality) is
composed of comparatively dense, slowly vibrating matter.

The astral planes are generally divided into the lower, middle, and
higher, although each division actually contains many, many divisions
of varying vibratory rates. After we have shed our physical body, most
of us reportedly "wake up" in our astral body living in the specific
astral plane in which substance is vibrating at the same rate as the
substance of our astral body. This is sometimes called our home
frequency.

During our lives on Earth and beyond we determine our vibratory rate
by out thoughts, attitudes and spiritual understanding. Fear and
resentment produce low vibrations, while love produces very high
vibrations, while orthodox closed - mindedness (whether religious,
scientific or political) produces low vibrations. Attachments to
worldly things creates low vibrations, while calm detachment in the
Eastern tradition produces high vibrations.

The lower astral planes are described as a dark, dismal world
reminiscent of the Christian purgatory or hell. Some people of low
vibration thoughts and attitudes, after dying, are pulled toward and
trapped near the physical plane in a state of confusion. There being
no gravity nor sense of time nor space in the worlds of spirit, they
might reside here for years or for centuries of Earth time, not even
aware that they have died, yet totally bawildered, creating problems
of Earth in many ways. Some 20-30 percent of people go here when they
die.

The middle astral planes are a pleasant realm where 60-70 percent of
us wkae up to be rehabilitated after our earthly education in "school
of head knocks."

The higher astral planes are a wonderful realm called Heaven by
Christians, the Summerland by spiritualists. About ten percent if us
will wind up here after we die.

The mental causal planes are a realm of divine inspiration free of
earthly desires and conflict. The beings in these discnsions cause
many of the artistic and technical breakthroughs on Earth by sending
silent messages to its inhabitants.

The celestisl planes, beyond the comprehension of most people, are
said to be the home of the Christian God, the Buddha, and other great
beings.

The Mid-Astral Planes

We'll focus now on the mid-Astral planes because that is where the
most of us will go after we die and because it is from that region
that all ITC images and messages are sent to Earth. This pleasant
realm is a buffer zone between Heaven and Earth, a place for worn-out
souls fresh out of the school of hard knocks here on Earlh to rest and
recuperate before moving on toward higher spiritual realities.

The astral planes are much like Earth, though more mental, less
physisal. In the spirit worlds thoughts create reality, so as
thousands of people leave Earth and enter the astral planes, the
worlds in those subtlcr planes take on an Earth-like appearance.
Researchers in many countries report messages from "the other side"
describing concert halls, museums, hospitals, schools and homes much
like those on Earth -- but often much more magnificent -- all set in
landscapes of trees, flowers, mountains, meadows and rivers that.
again, are like thc landscapes here but much more lovely and
breathtaking.

While the ultimate destiny of every soul lies in the "higher" or
subtler planes in and beyond the celestial frequencies, a typical
lifetime on Earth as a non-spiritual or moderately spiritual person
drags our soul down to low frequencies. After we die, our Earthified
soul would feel as out of plase in the higher realms as the proverbial
bull in a china shop. The astral planes provide a buffer zone between
a dense Earth plane rife with deception, fear and violence, and the
higher, subtle realms of pure love, Light and wisdom. The astral
planes provide very pleasant surroundings for resting up before moving
on.

Not everyone moves on right away, however. Some departed souls like
the astral planes so well that they choose to stay for centuries.
Others reportedly return to Earth for one reason or another to
experience another lifetime in a new body.

It has long been known that a new arrival in the spirit worlds, after
a life on Earth with a typical western spiritual education, is
initially lost and bewildered by the almost unimaginable series of new
and strange experiences. Often there is an overriding sadness
regarding the loved ones left behind such grief is completely natural
-- on both sides of the veil -- but the new arrival must get on with
the business of starting a new life. Excessive and prolonged grief by
family members presents a tie that tends to hinder the new arrival
from concentrating on the job of starting a whole new life. It
literally pulls the spirit of the newly deceased into low frequencies
near the Earth and holds it there.

Life can be quite varied, depending on where in the spirit worlds one
winds up. Here are a few scenarios by those who have made the
transition and reported back through ITC equipment in Luxembourg:

Here in the mid-Astral planes there are a great variety of people-in-
spirit. Some still sit around the campfire as they used to do in their
(primitive) earth life. Others meet in modern halls of congress
surrounded by technical equipment. They give lectures about life after
physical death. Still others do not even know that they have died.

Some residents have been living for over a century. Some live in
castles, fortresses or beautiful mansions, others in tents or teepees
- whatever makes them comfortable.

New arrivals have the opportunity to get to know people-in-spirit of
all ages of human history and to meet unfamiliar, intelligent beings
of non earthly origin. How readily a newcomer can accept the many new
and unusual things, is one fastor, determining how quickly he or she
may move on to the subtler dimensions.

There is no real need to eat, as we breathe in our nourishment. The
astral body absorbs everything it needs for its health and well-being
from its surroundings. There is no need for sex, of course, as there
is no pregnancy in spirit. Still, sex as well as eating can be enjoyed
in the astral planes by those who made it a major part of their lives
while on Earth. Eventually there will be more important things to do.

Astral worlds are typically clean, pure and well organized. All
planets are inhabited and have ample lakes, rivers, and oscans. There
are no pests or predators. Climate is always spring like with
occasional prezipitation in the form of glowing snowflakes or
multicolored, shiny raindrops.

Worlds in the middle astral planes are shared by new arrivals from
Earth, goblins, animals, fish, nature spirits, giants and spirit
beings. The environment glistens.

New arrivals are usually drawn to an astral family of people uith whom
they are compatible spiritually - and mentally. Adults can materialize
babies using their willpower to bring shape to condensed living forms
provided by higher beings for that purpose.

In the astral planes we suddenly find ourselves without the physical
body that needs to be fed, clothed, shellered, exercised and rested
everyday with several hours of sleep. Suddenly we have true freedom.
The astral body is impervious to temperature and wind. When the body
is cut or hurt it is healed instantly at will.

The Home Of Timestream

The TimeStream sending station is lovated on a planet called Marduk
with three suns, so it is never completely dark. It orbits one sun and
receives light from two other nearby stars. TimeStream sits alongside
the River of Eternity, the only river on the planet. The River of
Eternity flows 100 million kilometers across the entire planet the
dceptst spot in the river being 17,000 meters, the widest spot 3,700
meters.

Also along the River are comfortably furnished houses. Children
arriving on the astral planes are nurtured by loved ones who already
live there. The children grow and develop to age 25-30. Residents come
from several planets and include gnomes, giants, dwarfs. About 60
billion humanoids live there. There are animal species unknown on
Earth, including brightly colored birds and butterflies. The
temperature is very mild People arrive there with the same
psychological and emotional nature they had when they died, although
shortcomings and imbalances can be overcome through rapid learning.

The planet with its Riverine communities was created by human minds,
yet is as much a reality to its spiritual residents as our Earth is to
us. Vegetation ranges from microscopic algae to giant trees. Many
buildings are made of wood.

Inhabitants of the mid-Astral planes are assisted by higher beings in
creating landscapes they are familiar with. While this reality may
seem a bit "fabricated" to us, Swejen Salter is quick to point out
that everything in the astral planes can be seen and touched by people
in astral bodies, just as physical things are fully experienced in our
material world. Also, Eastern mystics have pointed out for centuries
that the "solid" world of our day-to-day reality is completely
"fabricated" and illusory as well. The only true reality is in the
godhead, cosmic Source, according to the masters of all time-proven
religions.

Moving on up

As people move upward (or inward) from the middle to the higher
planes. their astral bodies become lighter, subtler, and of higher-
frequency substance. When they reach the rapid vibrations of the
mental-causal planes, their astral bodies disappear. The mental body
is not really a body at all and can be described as a glowing mass of
energy.

Some people who advance into the mental-causal planes lose their
interest in the affairs of Earth and move onto bigger realities. Other
people return frequently to the astral planes, donning astral bodies
as they descend, so that they can be involved in earthly projects such
as ITC.

The above article is from M. H. Macy, Continuing Life Research, P.O.
Box 1035, Boulder, CO 80301. Subscription $28 a year, or $12 per issue
- each each is approximately 45 pages. They are involved in research
of life after death and their booklets are results of their
"conversations" with those who have passed over via electronic means
of transcommunication, i.e. telephone, computer, rape recorders,
answering machines, television. If you contact them mention you heard
of them here in T.I.C. .

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Instrumental TransCommunation (ITC)

The aim of instrumental transcommunication (ITC) is to link us on
Earth with higher beings in such a way that we receive information
from these enlightened beings. This is not an easy feat because of the
difference between their world and ours...between their subtle mind-
bodies and our physical mind-bodies.

...

During ITC communications there is far less guesswork. The recipient
must be ready mentally and spiritually to receive information on his
or her television, computer and other electronic devices, and then the
information will be 80-100 percent pure, consistently, when received
on Earth. In other words, with ITC either the information received
from the spirit worlds is reasonably pure, or else there is no
information received at all.

The obvious advantage of ITC is its reliability once the information
starts coming across. The drawback is that it takes a high degree of
spiritual and psychic development to get the average person "ready" to
be a good recipient.

Today there are hundreds of spirit beings working with TimeStream both
to help people become spiritually ready for ITC work and to help send
images and messages to Earthside experimenters once they are ready.