experience the spiritual and a different type of materialism as spirits. This is ourspirit bodywhich houses our true selves, that being our soul.
be perfectly happy in paradise, once we reach it or transform once again by accepting God’s Divine Love and entering the Celestial Heavens.
period of purification and in accordance with their condition of soul, the soulmates eventually meet and stay together in real soulmate love.
David, I would like to briefly introduce a few of the spiritual laws that exist over here and the ones that will affect all those that first cross over.
Law of Attraction : When a person dies, his spirit body exits the physical body and the silver cord is cut. The physical body is now dead. The spirit body which has the soul enclosed comes to the spirit world. The law of attraction takes over and dictates the soul’s destination / location based on the soul’s present spiritual condition. Since the soul is enclosed within the spirit body, the body must occupy this location also. The condition of the soul also
determines the appearance of the spirit body. The better a spiritual being you are (I.E. the better your soul’s condition), the better you look and the brighter you are. If you are a truly evil person then your condition will show it via your location and appearance. You will look very ugly and even grotesque and live in a dry and barren wasteland, indescribable and unimaginable.
Law of Compensation : This law enables spirits to become pure and free from their sin and again become perfect, like Adam and Eve before their fall, by the operation of their natural love and affections. The saying “what a man sows, that shall he reap” is the law of compensation. The law must be satisfied before a spirit is released from its penalties. The punishment for mans sins created by him on Earth are inflicted by his conscience and memories. God does not inflict any special punishment on any particular man but the law of punishment operates the same on every man.
Exception to the rule: The law of forgiveness and love:Actually it is not an exception (more like a shortcut), for God’s laws can not be changed or overridden. However, there are lesser laws that must be subordinate to greater laws.The law of forgiveness and love is one such greater law. God has provided this higher law, which under certain conditions can be brought into operation causing the former law to cease to operate. This allows man to benefit from the workings of this higher law. So by requesting and receiving God’s Divine Love, his very essence, a man is forgiven his sins and made a new creature in God’s nature and love, thus having removed that upon which the law of compensation may operate. I will not expand further on the other spheres or laws now, but will save that for another time.
I do have an invitation for you though David. How would you like to meet me face to face? There is a way and I would be honored if you were to try it. I would like for you to be able to see me and once again your friend Brian. The process is known as Astral Travel. You would have to study and practice this, but it is attainable and would allow us to meet on a common ground. Well I appreciate the opportunity to write to you and will leave you with the invitation and the hopes that you will give it a try.
Your new friend;
And always your spirit guide ~Paul~
~Paul~
David’s arm goes limp and drops to the desk. The papers slide from his fingers. He stares blankly at the wall ahead. Wow, I can’t believe it! There’s a way for me to see Brian again!! You bet I’m going to try it!!! He snaps out of his mesmerized state and stuffs the papers into his briefcase. Finishing his lunch he thinks,I’m going to have a hard time concentrating today!
That evening after work...David bursts through the door, “Susan!” he calls – no answer. “Suz, you home?”
He strides hurriedly past the kitchen on his way down the hall looking for her when he spies a note on the table. She and Jamie are out for a few hours visiting some friends. She has left the phone number in case he needs to get hold of her. He pauses briefly, turns and walks to the living room window peering outside. Her car is still parked in front.She must have ridden with a friend,he thinks and then shrugs;I guess I’ll give her the good news later.
Grabbing a couple of frozen burritos from the freezer he heats them in the microwave. He pours himself a soda and takes his small supper into the office and ‘boots up’. Quickly checking his E-mail he finds nothing important.
Ok, let’s see what we can find concerning ‘Astral Travel’,he thinks as he types the term into the text box of his favorite search engine. A rather long list of sites pertaining to the topic is returned. Most of them seem to advertise and sell various books on the subject. A small handful of those however appear to host stories from people who claim to have successfully achieved this out of body experience. He continues scanning the list; he finds one that looks intriguing, it reads:Free articles on astral projection, astral travel and Out of Body Experiences. Find out how to astral travel or have your own out of body experience.
Clicking on this link he waits a few seconds for the page to load. This is a pretty comprehensive site with a wealth of information. He finishes his dinner and leans back in his leather desk chair pulling his wireless mouse along the desk closer to him.
Slowly he begins going through the various pages starting with a mini tutorial on one specific technique. The introduction is explaining the preparation phase:To utilize this method you need a piece of rope that will hang from the ceiling where you will be lying within reach. Pin this rope to the ceiling...
Ignoring the rest of the introduction he skips ahead to: This technique requires you to use the meditation method of your choice. Once you are in a meditative state and fully and deeply relaxed, reach out with your imaginary hands and grab the rope. Picture this in your mind and start pulling yourself hand over hand up the imaginary rope. Imagine the feel of the rope in your hands. You will feel a sensation of dizziness which comes from the etheric body loosening. This feeling will intensify the more you imagine yourself pulling on the rope. You will start to feel a heaviness come over you, just keep climbing. If you start to go into a trance state ignore this and keep concentrating on what you are doing. You should start to feel your chakras, or energy centers, open. Next you should start to feel yourself vibrating all over and then the feeling of being paralyzed. Don’t be alarmed at this, it is normal and will pass. At this point you should start to feel yourself coming free of your body. You will now feel yourself buzz slightly as your astral body disjoins from your physical body. Your exit will be towards the rope and you will find your self floating above your body.
Scrolling further down the page he finds that there are various other techniques that people use; another title catches his eye: ‘The Moving Anchor Technique’ – After achieving a deep and relaxed meditative state, imagine an object about six feet in front of your face. Now, imagine this object pulling at you like a magnet, feel the pull. Once you can see and feel the pull in your mind, visualize it coming closer to you. As you move the object toward you, you feel the pull getting stronger. Now move the object back again. Move the object toward you again, this time getting a bit closer. Repeat this process concentrating on the fluidity of the motion, like waves washing in and out. Continue this until you get the object right up to you and you feel the strength of the pull so strong that you just pop right out of your body.
David sits up straight and stretches.I’m not too sure about that one. Let’s see what else we’ve got.
Skimming the titles of the remaining techniques he finds one that reads: ‘The Humming Technique’. With an intrigued expression he nods unconsciously. “Ah, now this looks promising,” he says quietly to himself.
He continues to read:This method will safeguard your trip because a spiritual traveler will come to guide you.
David moves closer to the screen.An escort? Now this sounds good because all I need is to jump out of my body and get lost and not find my way back!He re-reads the last few sentences trying to find where he left off.
Ah, here we go,he thinks finding his place once again. “Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair. Make sure you have a good twenty minutes of undisturbed time in which to practice this. Your ‘obe’ (out of body experience) will not typically happen the first time you try it. Just keep practicing this technique EVERY day until you finally leave your body. The traveler may be invisible to you the first time; this is normal; just be patient and keep trying.
Ok, the technique: Close your eyes and take a few good deep breaths. Now continue breathing trying to get your breathing pattern to a calm rhythm and your heart rate to a relaxed pace. Concentrate on your third eye, which is just above your nose, between your eyes. Take a deep breath and while letting it out, sing Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. This hum is pronounced like a man’s name, Hugh. Hum this as long as you feel comfortable during the exhale, without running out of breath. Stay relaxed and continue this for ten or fifteen minutes. Then sit quiet and relaxed, and with eyes closed concentrate on the third eye, looking for a light. Continue this procedure on a daily basis until something happens.”
David stops reading, stands and walks around for a few minutes stretching his legs. He looks out the office window and notices the wind kicking up a bit and blowing a few scattered leaves through the darkness against his window. Wondering about his wife and son he checks his watch, it’s five after eight.She’s alright. I thought it was later than that.
He walks back over to the computer and hits the ‘page down’ key; he doesn’t sit. This gets him passed the end of the list of techniques. He sees the next section entitled ‘Tips, Notes and General Comments.’ He decides to look them over:
You may find that any disturbing noise will bring you back.
You may become a little confused as a beginner. One condition you may (or may not) encounter is that known as ‘duality’. This is where you are outside your body and you can see it and at the same time you have the awareness of being inside your physical body and being able to see your astral body. It is like your conscious being two places at the same time. If this bothers you, you can simply turn away and stop looking, or go back inside your body.
Occasionally when you are ready to return to your body, you may get the feeling of being paralyzed. Do not panic, there is no need to worry; this feeling disappears very quickly. This is known as a Catatonic State. Most people don’t ever experience it, but others do every time.
David hears Susan come in and looks at his watch, it reads 9:15. He decides he’s had enough for one night.I think I may try the humming technique Thursday, he decides.
As he shuts down his computer Susan passes the doorway carrying sleeping Jamie to his room. David looks up and starts to say something and then just points indicating that he will see her in the other room when she is finished putting him to bed.
David is reclining, hands clasped behind his head in his lounger when Susan enters the living room. He doesn’t speak he just watches her.
Susan glances at him briefly as she strolls over and picks up her belongings that she dropped near the door when she and Jamie entered. She hangs her coat in the entryway closet and drops her purse on the end table near the couch. She again looks at David surprised that he hasn’t said a word since she entered the room. She manages a peculiar expression.
“What are you grinning at?” she asks thinking that he must be feeling frisky.
Without changing position he says, “What would you say if I told you that I’m going toseeBrian again soon?”
Her expression changes to shock.
Surprised by her reaction David quickly considers her interpretation of his comment. It hits him! He shakes his head and stands. “No, I’m not dieing, nor am I planning on it.”
Her expression changes once again, this time to relief. “Whew, you had me worried. So what are you talking about then?”
He smiles proudly. “There’s a technique known as Astral Travel in which your spirit body can leave your physical body temporarily. I have been invited by Paul, my spirit guide, to try it. He assures me that if I can accomplish the out-of-body experience that I can meet him face-to-face. And that I can once againseeBrian.”
Susan just stares wide-eyed at David as he continues to explain the concept.
Wednesday arrives and the weather boasts of spring. Even though it’s still February the sun is shinning, the temperature is mild, and the breeze is calm.
David enters the kitchen dressed in shorts, T-shirt and tennis shoes. “Morning Babe,” he says as he kisses Susan on the cheek and heads for the door.
“Hi... bye,” she says seeing the door close behind him. David arose a bit early this morning in order to jog two miles around the base before getting ready for work.
Susan proceeds to go through the same daily routine of getting Jamie fed and ready for the babysitters, then having some toast and coffee while reading the comics and scanning the headlines before she herself gets ready for work.
David arrives at work fresh and ready for the day. He spends the first few hours catching up on some reports that have been sitting on his desk for a couple of days. He then heads over to one of the hangers to evaluate the progress on a new application technique developed for spray coatings. His right hand man is there supervising the testing of the technique so he just waves and walks past without stopping. Whistling to himself he heads to shipping and receiving to check on some material that was suppose to arrive today requiring his signature.
He heads into the office. “Hi Marge, did that beryllium come in yet?” he asks the dock boss.
Marge is a short and stout woman in her forties and has been on the dock and with the company for over twenty years. She is actually the Shipping and Receiving manager but she doesn’t like that title. “Just call me dock boss, I work for a living,” she always says.
“Nah, should be here in the P.M.” she says in a gruff voice as she grabs a stack of papers from the ‘outbox’. “Here Davy, take these back with ya. It’ll save me a trip,” she pretends to order as she gives David a half smile and a wink.
David has always liked Marge. She is down to earth and speaks her mind, yet she is respectful and polite as long as the person she is addressing deserves it.
“Ok, I’ll check back later,” he says waving the stack of papers over his head as he heads back to his office.
The rest of the day is relatively uneventful. He makes a few calls checking on orders and schedules. He finishes a few reports and drops them off by his boss’s office. He answers a few questions from some of the junior team members and is consulted on his opinion and expertise of mounting procedures for the smaller sub-assemblies on the primary mirror.
The work day ends and he heads over to the RoboTechWest project. The design phase for this class is winding down and this is David’s last day with the program. Having given over five years of volunteer service to this program he is now ready for a break. He has been considering starting a hobby, possibly with Susan, or looking for a new home project to get involved with. He is also looking forward to spending more time with Jamie. He gave notice about a month ago and now with the messages from Brian and this new astral travel thing he’s looking into, he feels that this is the right time to resign from the program.
When he arrives he finds that his class has thrown him a surprise party and the entire staff is in on it.
“We’re going to miss you Mr. Finch!” and “Are you sure you have to leave?” were the typical sentiments that he kept hearing all night from his students.
The staff’s sentiments were pretty much the same but they are all grateful for his service and know that he has a young son and a wife who has allowed him to give five years of his life without once complaining. They also know that he is very bright and desires to take on other challenges and projects; so it’s with that thought that they say good-bye and wish him good luck and good fortune. He promises to stop by from time to time.
Chapter Thirteen
It’s been five weeks since David’s first attempt at Astral Travel. He hasn’t practiced on a daily basis but has tried to get three or four sessions in a week. He is enjoying the extra time he now has since giving up volunteering for the college. He’s been able to spend lots of time with Jamie and Susan and they are back to taking weekend trips around the valley.
David hasn’t had any more readings with Madam Mary, although he has wanted to. He’s been receiving periodic Emails from Beth saying that she has been staying in touch with Brian (through Madam Mary’s writings) on a weekly basis. She says that Brian can see what David has been up to and is very happy, not only that he is attempting astral travel, but that he now has more time for himself and his family.
According to Beth’s E-mails, Brian has asked her to relay to David that he would prefer that David not spend any time trying to contact him via Mary right now; that he can see the progress being made in David’s astral travel attempts and knows that David is close to achieving an “OBE”. Brian goes on to explain that he would prefer a “face to face” and knows that David would also. He reiterates his
encouragement to David to continue with his astral travel practice and states that David will not be sorry.
David fixes himself a T.V. dinner, turns on the television and plops down in front of it to eat while channel surfing. He is just finishing when Susan comes in from work carrying Jamie.
“Hi Daddy,” she says as she enters and sees David sitting on the couch staring at the “tube” eating his simple meal.
“Hi guys,” he replies. “How was your day, babe?” he asks Susan.
“Long and tiring. I have a little headache so I think I’ll eat, feed Jamie and lie down and watch T.V.”
“Tell you what, give me the little guy, I’ll feed him. You go ahead and grab a bite and lay down. Jamie and I will spend the evening together.” David takes Jamie from Susan and carries him into the kitchen. “Come on buddy, this’ll be a father & son night.”
“Eat dada,” Jamie says as David throws him just above his head and then catches him. Jamie laughs, “again, up, up” he says giggling.
David tosses him one more time and then says, “You had the right idea the first time big guy, let’s eat.”
David proceeds to feed then bathe Jamie. After that they spend the evening in the living room playing with some of Jamie’s educational toys. As the evening is winding down for Jamie, David picks him up and settles into his leather recliner and selects one of the “Doctor Seuss” books and reads Jamie to sleep. Jamie now in bed in his room with the night light turned on, David checks on Susan. She’s asleep with the T.V. on. David turns it off, shuts the door and returns to the living room.
Everybody’s asleep already and the house is quiet, a perfect time to practice again,he thinks. He begins to head into the office, which is actually the den converted. It’s a fairly large room and even though it has two desks and two computers, it still has plenty of room for other furniture and does indeed contain an arm chair, a recliner similar to the one in the living room and a love seat. This is where David usually practices his meditation and astral travel techniques. He stops in his tracks.The house is quiet, maybe I’ll try the couch tonight and if I happen to fall asleep I can just sleep there.With that decided he changes direction back towards the living room.
So far he has not been able to leave his body but he has enjoyed the progress he’s made with his meditation techniques and that alone is enough for him to continue the sessions. He always feels more relaxed afterwards and much more refreshed the next day. Using the remote he turns the T.V. off and then dims the lights in the room. He lies on the sofa and stuffs a thin couch pillow under his head. Once comfortable he begins the preparation stage and hums, “huuuuuuuu... (breath in), huuuuuuuu, (breath in), huuuuuu... (breath in).”
This chant is repeated continually for about ten minutes. All of the normal sensations are experienced during this stage of the process. He also notices that he seems to be feeling a bit more relaxed and comfortable than normal and thinks that this is probably due to lying down instead of reclining. Upon completing the chanting portion of the session he lies very relaxed and attempts to concentrate on his “third eye”.
Waiting and hoping for a light to appear, he begins to enter a trance like state. Moments later and feeling very light he finally glimpses what he’s been waiting for, a faint illumination far off in the distance. Not expending much energy or concentration on it he just lets it come. The light gets closer and brighter. Its approach quickens. He senses that he is slipping away. He feels... nothing! Instantly he sees, no, feels an engulfing bright, warm, white light. This light is not just white, or warm, it IS BEAUTIFUL and
SPECTACULAR! He is not seeing it... he is part of it.
It feels like a soft and velvety electric blanket turned low. There is emotion or feeling, emanating from it. All of his senses are awakened instantly. He can feel his body, his soul soaking up, not the light, but the emotion. This sensation is causing him more peace, comfort and bliss than he has ever felt. He feels safe, secure and loved. At this point David isn’t aware of anything, he just floats in this light, this sensation, this emotion.
Not aware of how long he remains in this state he finally starts to think and concentrate on these emotions. He tries to understand them.I could not explain this feeling or experience to anyone no matter how hard I tried,he thinks. During his mental evaluation of his new condition he’s careful not to disrupt his progress.
He begins to look around. It’s then that he notices that he’s already out of his body and hovering just above it, albeit upside down. His physical body is there, just below him. He reaches out casually and slowly, curiously touching it, conscious and careful not to disturb the state he’s in; he’s enjoying this way too much to loose the progress he’s finally made. At the same instant he touches his right arm he feels the touch in his spirit arm.Wow!he thinks.This is strange. He ponders this for a minute and then the thought comes to him to turn around and look about the room.
He wills himself to look up and without actually feeling himself turn he is now facing the ceiling. “This is awesome,” he says aloud and at the same time notices that he did not hear himself say anything.Ah, no voice in the spirit,he thinks. Just as he focuses on the ceiling he feels himself being drawn toward it.Whoa... hold on a sec, he says, rather thinks to himself. But before he can figure out how to stop his ascent he is against the ceiling and bouncing around like a ball in a pinball machine. He tumbles and rolls about the ceiling for what feels like minutes.
Suddenly he hears a voice.
“David...”
His first thought is that it’s Susan trying to wake him
“No...” he thinks. “Not yet.”
“David.... Come here,” he hears in a very calm and loving
voice.
He makes an instant assessment that the voice was male
and thinks that this is the most calming and loving sounding,
male, voice he has ever heard; almost feminine yet not. He
attempts to focus on the location of the voice and instantly
finds himself outside his house.
Hearing the voice again he turns towards the sunlit blue
sky. Fluffy white clouds dot the space around him. He peers
upward and feels himself slowly begin to ascend. An
unknown force seems to pull at him as he floats effortlessly
into the atmosphere above. His ascent quickens. The
sensation changes from floating to flying. The ambiance around him transforms to cold and darkness. He is aware of and can sense the coldness of outer space but continues to
feel warm and safe.
He again turns his gaze back to earth to take in the view.
His ascent stops. From this vantage point the earth appears
as a giant deep blue and brown shiny marble. The sight is
wondrous. It’s exactly like the pictures we’ve all seen taken
from space, except somehow more pristine and awe
inspiring.Maybe it’s the absence of windows, David thinks. He
is mesmerized. He remains floating at this location in space
and far above the earth for many minutes just absorbing the
brilliance of the view and contemplating the intelligence
God must possess in order to create such a magnificent
universe.
Suddenly the voice resonates in his head again, “David,
up here!”
Oh yeah,he thinks. He turns back towards where he feels
the origin of the voice to be, back toward deep space. As he
once again peers into the blackness in front of him looking
for some sign of the voice, he again begins ascending. This
time it is not a slow ascent but an instant and immediate
acceleration to top speed, whatever that is. He has no way of
judging or even guessing at the speed at which he now
travels. All he knows is that he must be moving faster than
even the speed of light. He glances left and right and can see
planets whizzing by. He has already past the moon, and in
fact all of the planets of our solar system moments ago. He
now streaks past complete galaxies and other space
phenomena.
He stares intently far ahead looking for something,
anything, but all he sees is darkness. The eeriness of the
shadows of various space bodies passing him start to make
him uneasy. He begins to think that this is not where he is
supposed to be. Maybe this whole astral travel thing is a
mistake. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and
focused his time and energy more on his family. Just as he
starts to seriously doubt this whole idea, he sees a tiny point of flickering light ahead. He closes in on it. It’s becoming larger. The flickering is changing to frequency snow, similar to a television set tuned off channel. His ascent slows. He floats to a stop in front of it.
Moments pass as he hovers in front of what appears to be some sort of round screen displaying nothing but static. He stares in wonderment. As he gazes about he sees that he is on some type of plane far above all planets and galaxies. Shock and awe overcomes him. Looking down or out he can see the entire universe spread out before him. The space above and beyond this flickering screen is an illuminated void. It’s empty of all matter, except that it feels somehow warm and full, as if he is in another land or world but unable to see it.
“David!” He hears the voice again.He looks to his right and standing directly next to him is the form of a man; a man of youthful appearance but at the same time aged and wise. This person is in the form of a human male but looks as though he is made of light. His whole body is emanating very bright and the area as far as David can see seems to be illuminated by the light from this man. David also notices though that the brightness of the light is not causing him any discomfort or eye strain. Hanging over the man’s left forearm is a garment of some sort, beautifully white and opaque.
“David, I’m Paul your spirit guide. And I would like to say that I am very glad that you are finally able to visit and it is my extreme pleasure to finally get to meet you.” He offers his hand for David to shake.
“Oh no, the pleasure is assuredly all mine,” David insists reaching to accept his greeting. Their hands meet and they shake briefly. David jumps, stunned and surprised by an intense emotional sensation shooting completely through him. This almost electric experience is similar to the feeling he was having just