Exploring Your Options for the Afterlife - Part 2 of 4

Welcome to part 2 of our ongoing series, Exploring Your Options for the Afterlife. In this post, we will uncover the fascinating possibilities that await you after passing from this life and journeying into the next.

The Power of Perspective

Our adventure begins with an anecdote of two souls and their respective experiences upon reaching the Pearly Gates:

A man had recently passed on and found himself standing before the Pearly Gates of Heaven. He was inherently good but had faced many challenges in life. A magnificent angel greeted him.

The angel asked, “How was it down there on earth?”

The man replied, “It was pretty rough. People were mostly rude to one another. There seemed to be injustice and unresolved problems everywhere.”

After listening intently, the angel replied, “Well, come on in. I think that’s how you’ll find things here!”

Soon after, a second man arrived at the Pearly Gates and met the same angel. He too was a good man who had faced challenges.

The angel asked him, “How was it down there on earth?”

The second man replied, “There were challenges, but there was goodness in many people. There was great beauty in many places on Earth. Nearly everyone treated one another as they would like to be treated.”

After listening, the angel replied, “Well, come on in. I think that’s how you’ll find things here!”

This anecdote teaches us a valuable lesson. At the moment of our passing, we often find ourselves unchanged in consciousness and surroundings compared to our life on Earth. For example, we do not suddenly become adept or saintly in the afterlife if we had no inclination to be one while we were alive!

Understanding the Etheric Plane

The following chart illustrates the 33 levels of the etheric plane, or heaven world, alongside the 33 levels of the astral plane, often referred to as hell. In this blog, we will focus on the heaven world—what it’s like and how you might reach it at the end of this life. We hope to inspire you to aim for these higher realms and avoid the astral plane or lower realms altogether!

I was raised in a Christian home, and when I first encountered this information years ago, some concepts felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable. If you feel the same way, I encourage you to place those parts on the “back burner” for now. What may seem unclear today could take on a new meaning later. Think of it like school—when you’re in grade school, college can seem intimidating. But over time, everything starts to become clearer!

The Physical Plane

The Earth is where we occupy the physical plane. It is the crossroads between the etheric and astral planes. This is why we sometimes experience, feel, and express the vibrations of both. The earlier anecdote of the two souls at the Pearly Gates illustrates this beautifully.

Going Up!

Metaphorically speaking, the etheric plane or heaven world is organized like a schoolroom. Once you’ve mastered one level, you graduate to the next, and then the next—continuing on if you choose to apply yourself!

Levels 1-3 of the etheric plane are referred to as Devachan, a realm where you may experience unfulfilled desires from your earthly life. Note that this does not include sensual desires. The sensual desires of your lower nature are left at the door, so to speak, of the etheric octave or heaven world. In Devachan, your negative karma is temporarily set aside, allowing you to experience your good karma while learning things that will prepare you for your next life.

In the classic movie Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella builds a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield after receiving a prompting that “If you build it, they will come.” The baseball field becomes a portal between worlds where the souls of deceased baseball players can come and live out baseball-related and other desires they did not fulfill in life.

Watch this moving scene where Ray unexpectedly discovers his true reason for building the baseball field.

Continuing Through the Etheric!

Level 7 of the etheric plane mirrors life on the planet Venus. Long ago, the evolutions of Venus attained enlightenment and peace during a golden age. They experience a greater light and beauty than we have so far attained on Earth. Life on Venus cannot be perceived by those of us on Earth because it exists at another dimension or wavelength.

The concept of dimension, wavelength, and vibration can be partly understood by observing an airplane propeller. As the propeller spins, it is plainly visible. But as the rotation becomes faster, the propeller begins to disappear from our sight. Yet, it is still there, spinning away!

Level 12 of the etheric plane is known as The Buddhist Tushita heaven or “pure land.” This is where Maitreya Buddha and his disciples, the bodhisattvas, abide.

Level 18 of the etheric plane is where the Ascended Masters reside. The Ascended Masters are our elder brothers and sisters who have gained mastery here on Earth and are no longer required to re-embody. This realm is one of light and consciousness and we should all aspire to make it here at the end of this life!

Above the 33rd level of the etheric plane, we pass from the material world into the absolute world of spirit. God is indeed limitless!

Messages from Heaven is a fascinating book chronicling the experiences of a soul who passed from this world and was given the opportunity to communicate with family members here on Earth. The following excerpt describes what this soul experienced and shared from the etheric plane:

“The spiritual realm is much more magnificent but also much more complex than I had ever imagined. Yes, there is heaven, but heaven has many layers, or levels. People do not all go to the same location.

If you think about Divine Justice, how could there be only one heaven and one hell when there are many different types of souls who walk this Earth? Do we not all know at least one person who radiates a spiritual sense stronger than most others we have met?

What you find within the category of heaven are different etheric levels with etheric retreats. These retreats are run by angels or ascended hosts.

Within what we have called ‘hell,’ there are multiple levels of the astral plane, including hell. Each level going down in vibration intensifies in severity and in the recalcitrance of the souls sent there. In the etheric plane, each level going up in vibration intensifies in its light and in the spiritual purity of the souls there.”

This excerpt from Messages from Heaven offers valuable clarity into the biblical passage: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

What a blessing it is to have this material to help illuminate the mystery and vastness of the next world and the etheric planes!

The Journey Ahead

This concludes our overview of the levels of the etheric plane or heaven world that await us. In part 3 of our ongoing series, Exploring Your Options for the Afterlife, we will share specific afterlife experiences we believe will further inspire you to aim for the stars at the end of this life!

Until then…

The love of heaven makes one heavenly. - William Shakespeare

Footnotes and Other References

[1] - from the book The Afterlife by Summit University Press

[2] - Field of Dreams. Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, Universal Pictures, 1989.

[3] - Messages from Heaven by Patricia Kirmond

[4] - King James Bible, John 14:2