Ever wonder what death and the afterlife are like? Unless you're a rock, an infant, a cucumber or someone who's lived their entire life in a coma, chances are you have. As a scientist and physician, I thought I had it all figured out. You live; you die; you're done. My entire paradigm, however, underwent a cataclysmic transformation soon after the death of my son, Erik.
As a lifelong skeptic to all things spiritual, my grief was particularly profound. Since I did not believe in the soul's immortality or in an afterlife, my Erik was lost to me forever. Or so I thought.
It was only after Erik began to make his presence known to others and eventually to me that I cautiously reconsidered. On the journey that followed, my grief and lingering doubts lead me down a road littered with potholes and detours, but eventually, thanks to the assistance of three talented mediums, Erik and I settled into our comfortable roles: his as the insider to death and the afterlife, mine as his scribe.
For months now, Erik has shared his insight on heaven, hell, pets in the afterlife, the consciousness of rocks, plants and animals, the nature of time and reality, a discarnate soul's abilities, reincarnation and much more. Here is a small part of his channeled description of the afterlife, just the tip of an ever-growing iceberg.
Me: Okay, so what does the afterlife really look like, Erik?
Erik: Anything you want it too! Picture life on the earthly plane as living with a real, real gray pair of glasses on. Here, the colors are more vivid than you can ever imagine, a hundred times more than on the earthly plane. Heaven looks like whatever appeals to you at the moment. It's based on belief systems. What I find most profound is children who die, and so they really don't have a belief system yet. They don't have that training or indoctrination yet. They cross over to here and -- Get this: Children with no belief system -- what do you think they report when they have near death experiences?
Me: I don't know; I give up.
Erik: The purest of pure things. They see the Light. They go into the Light, and in this Light, they see people. Mom, they're so little, they don't know that it's, you know, Grandpa Joe or Great Grandma Suzy, but the child knows these people love them. They have an experience like that.
Me: What about skeptics or atheists who don't believe in an afterlife? What happens when they die?
Jamie (laughing): He's got this "cat who ate the canary" smile.
Erik: Well, they want to go into nothingness, or at least that's what they believe will happen. So... they do! And then... they have a thought, and they realize they're having a thought. And that curiosity right there sparks them into exploring the space they're actually in. When they begin to do that, they transition Home.
Me: What happens if they don't explore? Do they float around in nothingness for all eternity?
Erik: There are spirits who come to rescue them and orient them, but they have to wait until the person's energy vibration opens up, gets higher.
Me: What about people who believe in Hell and think they belong there?
Erik (jokingly): Then they have no opportunity to see the Light and cross over.
Jamie: He puts his hand down on his knee and says, "That's it; they're going to Hell."
Erik: They have to wait until their vibration goes up. Eventually, it does. It always does. Really, Hell is the separation from God, from the Light. Mom, as we, who believe in God or The Source, we know that it's in everything. So how can you ever be separate from God?
Jamie (laughing): I love his mannerisms! When he gets deep and is thinking, boy, his body really moves into it!
Erik: Mom, it doesn't make sense! God is omnipresent, so hell can't exist. If God is everything, every being, every universe, every dimension, how can Hell exist? It's impossible.
Me: So what do people do when they think they should be in Hell? Do they imagine Hell and create their own personal reality of Hell?
Erik: Well, what I've seen happen...
Jamie: He sits back now.
Erik: Let's take the Baptists for example. You know they believe they have to go through Hell before they reach God. They believe they have to face their demons, the evil that resides inside of them, to purify themselves. So people with those strong beliefs, they don't feel the Light right away. They see their fear, the fear of mankind, all of the lower energy. And they fight. They have that struggle, then they get into the Light, and they feel they've survived. Is it necessary? No. But that's their beliefs. That's exactly the crap they'll give themselves. I think it's so weird that people can be so careless and carefree with their lives, because they think death will rescue them or when they die, God will forgive them. Little do they know their afterlife is based on the beliefs they create while they're alive.
Me: Wow! Their whole afterlife, really?
Erik: Yes, cuz if they believe that this is all they get, then their perspective is going to be so narrow so then that's all they will get. It's the same in life. Haven't you realized?
Jamie (giggling): Beans, Erik? Alright. He says maybe you've never tried beans, and then at age 30 you try beans. Then all of a sudden that's all you can see everywhere, beans, beans, beans. That's because you're more open to it.
Me (chuckling): Well if they're green beans, you've probably never tried them, Erik!
Erik (laughing): That's not true! You made me take some bites!
Me: Well, that's true. You got me there. So that's really interesting. I remember every time I was pregnant, it seemed like every other woman around me was too. So, what you're saying is that the beliefs you have all throughout your life set the foundation for what your death and afterlife experience is?
Erik: Yes. And the chance of evolution and self-growth is much more vast over here, because everything happens more quickly. Thought creates reality instantaneously. I'm just a thought away to creating anything and going anywhere.
Me: So how do you go from one area to another?
Erik: By projecting my consciousness. I just visualize my electrical energy being here or being there and, boom, I'm where I visualized myself. Mom, it's just like if you visualized being in Venice, Italy, and you were able to transport yourself there in the next instant.
Me: Is the afterlife structured a certain way? Are there levels like one where people with near death experiences go, then portals to higher levels. Um, I guess I'm asking if there is a hierarchy to the afterlife.
Erik: Yes and no. Yes there are titles, positions, spirits who are in positions to help others. There is a hierarchy, but when you say it in human language, (it) suggests one level is better than the next. Even if you take the name, "levels," like one, two, three, four and up, people think the higher levels are better than the lower ones. So this is where humans have a hard time understanding that one is not better or worse than 10. Yes, they're different, and as a human, you'll try to measure them, but one is not greater or less than the other. Humans have a hard time getting this, because everything is so linear on the earthly plane. Nothing is linear here in the spiritual realm. Nothing. That's why it's hard for me to explain certain things to you sometimes using your sequential language.
Me: Yeah, we always have such a linear perspective over here, don't we? But in an earlier session, Erik, you said you sort of graduated to a different level, to a new place. Are there different parts to the afterlife? You said you were in a beautiful place where the grass is purple. Is it that you evolved into that or, well, just tell me how that all works.
Erik: The term "graduation," meant that I'm just able to perceive and understand more than I did before. I perceive and understand more of what exists, so I'm able to do and create and help more now. That's because I proved to myself that I have the capability for that. Now, I can be unleashed to other people. It's like now I've tasted the green beans, I know they're out there, and I opened up my perception to see more.
Me: So let's see. I guess you evolve, and so your thoughts evolve with you?
Erik: Yes, and when your thoughts evolve, the reality to create evolves too. It changes. And so that's how the hierarchy or structure of the afterlife is created.
Me: Wow. So it's all about beliefs, perception, opening your perception to more possibilities.
Erik: Yep, exactly.
Me: Anything else you want to say about the afterlife, Erik?
Erik: Oh, we can be on this subject all day, Mom. First, nothing is fixed. Everything is in existence because it's believed in, not because it's been created by one person. And the other thing I wanna say is (long pause) you can never be right and you can never be wrong. You can only just be.
Me: Wow, that's good. Very different from the earthly plane, because here there is always contrast, always duality, always right and wrong, winner and loser. You know what I mean, right?
Erik: Exactly, but that's why it's such a great classroom. You have to one side to understand the other. If a portrait has no contrast, I mean zero, it's just going to look all monochrome and shit. You're not gonna know who the hell it is in the picture.
Me: Exactly. So how do parts of the afterlife differ in terms of vibrations or energy?
Erik: Different "areas" of the afterlife are based on different intensities and kinds of energy. I say "area" but this is really not a two- or three-dimensional realm, but I have to use this to explain in a way you'll understand. You can look at it in terms of vibrational levels. In certain vibrations, your perspective is narrow and in others, it's broader.
Me: Okay. So the lower vibration, is that narrower?
Erik: Yes. Like we were talking about atheists or skeptics; they don't believe anything. They have a narrow vibration; they have a different vibrational heaven. But when they reach out and say, "I can't believe I had that thought," or "I wonder where my dog is," then we have the ability to intrude with another vibrational energy and help that soul perceive that there is more in existence. But we can't intervene unless we're somehow invited.
Me: What do you mean, invited?
Erik: Opening up or raising their vibration level.
Me: That reminds me of how it's so very difficult for you guys, you spirits, to manifest or communicate when we're deep in grief.
Erik: Yes! That's exactly right! When you grieve, your vibrational energy is way too dense for us to get through.
Me: Okay, so you say where you are now, the grass is purple. Is that only for you or everyone else, too? In other words, can you and another soul be right next to each other and see a different landscape?
Erik: Well, we can do both, Mom. We can see the same landscape through the other person's "eyes," because, listen, listen -- a (he's very excited at this point in the conversation.)
Jamie (chuckling): He's got his palms out.
Erik: Listen, Mom, if the person's sitting next to me, they're sitting in my energy. And when we do that here, we can merge perspectives, merge consciousness. So if I'm perceiving the purple, shiny grass, then the person sitting next to me can see through my eyes what I'm envisioning, and I can see through his.
Me: That is awesome, Erik! Now, what if you and your buddies want to go surfing at a beach? Do you have to create reality as a collective?
Erik: Yeah, but there's so many people who have that same desire, that these beaches exist, so we can go to that place any time.
Me: Oh, I see! Can one buddy snow ski while you surf, but you're still in the same proximity?
Erik: Yep. You can have one created realm on top of another created realm. It's amazing, Mom.
Me: Plus you don't have to break a leg or get eaten by sharks!
Erik laughs.
Me: Wait, there is some science behind spirituality, isn't there, like quantum physics?
Erik: Sure, but I'm talking about science in it's current state. It's not there yet. Ask any quantum physician --
Jamie (laughing at her error in translation): uh, I mean physicist.
Erik (teasingly): Get it together, Jamie!
Jamie and I both laugh hard.
Jamie: I stuttered on it! (Pause) Go back, Erik.
Erik: Ask any quantum physicist to explain what quantum mechanics is; they can only touch the surface. They can't give you a full explanation. They're still learning. Give us about five or six more years, which is not a lot in the big scheme of things. We're going to have more definition, more grasp, and people, the mass of the people, tend to wait until there's acceptable knowledge before they allow themselves to consider it a reality.
Me: Yeah, I can see that.
Erik: That's what's gonna encourage this whole enlightenment movement, Mom.
Me: So it's not too far off. Awesome.
Erik: Here, people can live where they want, live how they want, and as you evolve here by contributing to the lives of others and by incarnating and working through issues, you envision where and how you want to live in Heaven. That does change. But you have different priorities here, and that makes the biggest difference in what kind or afterlife each individual soul has.
Me: Okay.
Erik: You know, just like people who are more enlightened on the earthly plane have different priorities compared to others who aren't as evolved. Different priorities, different perspectives, different experiences.
Me: So if a person who isn't super enlightened crosses over, does that mean he or she would have an afterlife environment that resembles the earthly plane more with houses, TVs and pizza delivery?
Erik (laughing): You just described my first place over here. What are you trying to tell me?
Me: Oops, my bad. But you've obviously evolved greatly since you first crossed over.
Erik: Yeah, but when you're more evolved, your focus is more on serving others, not watching TV. It's not about, uh, it's less about what structures we envision or if we have pizza delivery and more about what we do with our "time" and energy.
Me: Oh, so the "structure" of the afterlife has more to do with what you do there rather than what you visualize and create as your surroundings?
Erik: Yeah. It's all about priorities and beliefs.
Me: I'm sure there are spirits who gravitate toward a more earthly environment. Maybe they like that sort of lifestyle, so they can create their own earth-like afterlife, right?
Erik: Correct. So Mom, let's go back a question you asked before about whether the afterlife evolves as we do. Let's take Venice, again. I just visited it, and I like it a lot. Any one can go there, so say one person is at the lowest level of enlightenment and another person is at the highest level. Venice is gonna be Venice, but the way these two people see it and experience it is going to be different depending on where they are, spiritually. So, the spiritual plane remains very similar, but we experience it differently based on our enlightenment. Your vibrational level goes up, your belief system opens up, and so your experience and how you envision the afterlife changes. But if you are a Catholic and your belief is that you're going to go to Hell or purgatory, when your soul pops out of the body, it's gonna go here to Heaven. There is no Hell or limbo or purgatory. Take the jihadists who blow themselves up, You know how they think there's gonna be a bunch of virgins here waiting for them?
Me (chuckling): Yeah.
Erik: Nope. They can conjure up a vision of them, but they can't create them as new souls. You see, our religious beliefs are usually learned through our environment, but our spiritual beliefs -- we always bring them with us in our soul's memory bank. We build upon those on earth as we're supposed to as we look inward. Religion is taught and experienced by looking outward.
Over time, I've learned that Erik's death was his destiny. In designing the blueprint for his last life, he was determined to experience enough hardships and heartache to better fulfill his role as our guide to all things spiritual. Is he a guru? No. He's just a boy who is as flawed as the rest of us, perhaps even more so in some aspects. To me, that makes his perspective all the more intriguing in its honest simplicity. Both he and I hope you join this exciting adventure at www.channelingerik.com
Robert Lanza, M.D.: Why You Will Always Exist: Time Is 'On Demand'
Deepak Chopra: Modern Medicine and the Paradox of How We Die
William Horden: Near Death Experience: Journey of Two Souls
While it is comforting to 'see' your son, it may have been only a 'dreaming body', p. 196, which may disguise what is called an 'inorganic being' (ally), p. 85, 87, 89, a sort of trickster spirit capable of radiating immense 'love' and 'devotion', which seeks to make you its 'slave' by giving you the ability to 'see'. You will need to balance, lifelong, your seeking-with-mediums, with the 'grounding' task (a 'blessing', really) of helping others with your medical practice--otherwise you will become self-indulgent, self-important, or lazy
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The average teen in the USA is now 'happier' than any rich king of 100 years ago/ the teen wants to throw away his wings and harp, but fails through more self indulgence. Samuel Clemens was a person with a depth of spiritual insight who loved life and found it humorous, in spite of the death of a loved daughter in childbirth and bankruptcy caused by others. Most would agree that the Heavens Gate cult that suicided in California, years ago, were somehow mistaken in their belief that a spaceship was hidden behind a passing comet. Lifelong alcoholics and drug addicts know that living the ‘spiritual life’ while in the body is not the goal. The goal in DEPTH therapy is to dive into the mud puddle of denied, earthly' ‘imperfections’--when explored, 'it'disappears and the depressed person notices the happiness and beauty ('heaven', eternity warp and woof with time) that was always around them. Artists and musicians are the truly spiritual; they labor to bring the ‘afterlife’ to earth in some form, not to escape.