BUILDING THE BRIDGE

A Brief Overview of the Astral Realms and Above

As spiritual beings, our presence in the physical, earthly world is only a temporary sojourn. We existed before we incarnated in this lifetime, and we will continue to exist after our mortal bodies die and return to dust.

But where will we exist?

Christian-based and other religions claim that those who have lived righteous lives go to heaven. Yet, what is heaven?

Spiritualist, Theosophical, and New Age sources teach that when we die, our souls (our surviving energy bodies with our consciousness and personal identity) enter what is called the astral realm.

What Is the Astral Realm?

In Handbook to the Afterlife, Pamela Rae Heath and Jon Klimo define the astral realm:

Astral: A multilevel nonphysical reality that is said to exist beyond the physical realm, where human beings are said to go following the death of their physical body. Sometimes called the bardo, this is where spirits dwell between their incarnations or after they have finished incarnating.

Just as there are many social strata in mortal earth life, there are a number of levels in the astral realm. I’ve depicted these planes in the following diagram.

The Planes of Existence

Let’s take a brief look at each of these planes.

The Lower Astral Levels

Heath and Klimo explain that, “Lower levels of the astral, close to the earth plane, are said to be dark and unpleasant locations with a ‘heavy’ or ‘dense’ level of vibration.” Those who have consistently lived wicked lives, maliciously harming themselves and others, rejecting any spark of light or higher values may find themselves here.

The lowest level is dark and gloomy. It is a realm of negative emotions and dark vices that cannot be satisfied because the inhabitants no longer have physical bodies. It is like purgatory. But it is not eternal; those who work through their issues and learn to forsake their negative thoughts and evil desires are able to move upward with the aid of those who come to instruct and help them.

In the afterlife, you gravitate toward the level your thoughts and actions in earth life have warranted.

The level above the lowest is much like earth in its scenery, but its inhabitants may not realize they’re dead. Or they may hold some fear or belief about the afterlife that prevents them from rising into the higher realms.

Again, existence in this realm is not permanent. All souls can go higher if they desire to grow and advance.

The Middle Astral Levels

Populating the middle levels are those who are busy fulfilling the intellectual desires and aspirations they were unable to manifest fully in earth life. If you never got a chance to master your favorite subject on earth, you’ll have another chance here.

Moving upward, there is a level where the inhabitants are reliving scenes of ancient peoples, reenacting and experiencing the lives that they once enjoyed—or were fascinated with—on the earth plane. The scenery here is created by the imagination of the participants.

The dwellers in the upper mid astral realm are engaged in useful, inventive, and constructive work. Here they perfect what their professional or occupational interests were when they lived on earth. Artist, musicians, architects, scientists, doctors, craftspeople are busy creating their masterpieces here.

The mid astral realm is what Spiritualists refer to as “the Summerland”.

The Upper Astral Levels

The higher astral realms are those of ideology, philosophy, and religion. The penultimate plane is where “religious aspirations and emotions find their full power of expression” (Rick Richards).

The highest astral plane is inhabited by the great scientists, philosophers, and metaphysicians of all time. Highly evolved beings descend from higher realms to teach those who have attained this highest astral plane.

What lies beyond the astral planes?

The Highest Realms of Existence

Beyond the astral realm is the mental-causal plane, where selfless individuals of advanced evolution cooperate to bring spiritual enlightenment to the lower realms as well as Earth.

“Supposedly all great inventions, religious and moral progressions, spiritual leadership and so on, come from here, inspired by beings who were once on Earth but have had the opportunity to increase their talents in the afterlife.” (Near-Death Experiences & the Afterlife)

The celestial realm, according to psychic researcher Frederic W. H. Myers, is a realm of light. Beings on this level have evolved through all aspects of the created universe. They have fulfilled their unique purpose in the evolution of consciousness and now exist as beings of light without form. Ascended figures such as Jesus and Buddha are said to dwell here.

The highest realm, the cosmic, is the abode of what we call God, the Source, or Infinite Intelligence. Little can be said about this realm because it simply cannot be communicated. But it is the point from which creation originated, and to which all things will eventually return.

These are the realms that will one day be our home. Let us aspire to attain the best in this life that we may reach the highest in the next.

For more information, see “What Happens When You Die”.