THE BOOK

Let’s now seriously note here the precise quandary for earth-science --- and probably also for the scholars of the “big three” of monotheism. For there is one singular truism that resonates with every “great question to life” and it is this:

You either know for sure, or you don’t!

The crucial nature of our pertinent question of the moment was analysed by the Documentary Channels: History; and National Geographic in relevant documentaries in 2008 --- and which we made known to you in an earlier Discourse. It is important to repeat the key aspect here.

National Geographic queried exactly this question in two separate documentaries: “Birth of Life” and “Human Ape”. The associated and most relevant point was: “How did non-living material come to life?”

The History Channel sought the same kind of definitive answer in the Series: “How Life Began”. It asked two primary questions to begin with: “Where did [this] life come from?” and “What is life, exactly?”

In addition --- and in a space of perhaps quite amazing insightful prescience --- that Series further crucially asked:

“Is it chemical, spiritual, or a combination of both?”

That is the key to understanding the “process” of earthly death; the recognition that the “life-force” is a “force of energy or power” completely separate from the material body. Having established that fact as the unshakeable foundation for further discussion and revelation, it’s time for the “big three” to state their “doctrines” about “earthly death”, after which we will lead you into the Truth about it.

ISLAMIC VIEW OF DEATH.

Apart from the many Koranic texts on our subject of the moment, M.M. Ali’s translation features nine pages of fine print about “life after death”, resurrection and Paradise --- just in his Introduction. Despite the fact that his comprehensive script would ordinarily require only edited references and quotes for our purposes; in this case, because of the grandiose nature of his claims to Ultimate Truth, we must therefore quote Ali a little more extensively! He says:

Once more, tiresomely, we must enter into the world of M.M. Ali’s Islam and “correct” his errors.

(*) The very word, “misunderstandings”, on the question of earthly death paradoxically fairly screams “truth”, for the first reality to note is that every culture, religion, faith and teaching has a different version of what takes place. The so-called “wonderful disclosures” about death in the Qur-an do not explain the death process at all.

(**) Death does not necessarily bring a “higher evolved man”. One only needs to take a reality check on the present state of global societies to know that there aren’t too many “highly evolved men” out there. The deeds that M.M. Ali speaks of will definitely bring a better outcome after death than would otherwise be the case, if they are in concert with Creation-Law, for everything we do on earth is subject to the precise outworking of that One Law. So, embracing and obeying It is the only way to guarantee a reasonable outcome for oneself, for one then figuratively stands “stripped and bare” before the full force of The Law! Ali’s reference to “his attributes being changed”, depend entirely upon how one has lived his life on earth --- with The Law, or against It. One’s religion matters not one whit.

(***) The level of the “hereafter” being “greater in degrees and in excellence” is certainly true, but only in terms of the higher Planes of Light. For there also exist levels of “darkness” in the “hereafter” too. However, such levels were not placed there by The Creator. No: They are our human productions, to which --- under the Laws of “Attraction”, “Reciprocal Action” and “Spiritual Gravity” --- the evil will naturally gravitate to. Almost all religions go on about a “loving Creator”, which is true; but that is only one Part of His Completeness!

Let’s say it again: God’s Love cannot ever be separated from His Divine Justice, so stop continually trying to have it all your empty human way, for: “No man hath seen God at any time”!

(****) Yes, M.M. Ali; the Hereafter “should not be a mystery beyond the grave”. However, in terms of the present level of “human knowledge” --- now there’s a contradiction --- it is a “mystery”, and one that is feared by many. But now we can dispel all the wrong ideas about it. To close off this Section of “death knowledge” from Islam, we will look at one more offering from Mr. Ali from verse 67:2:

(*) It is better to understand life and death as not a “law”, but a “process”. And it is Creation-Law that drives the “process/processes”.

(**) No! It is not automatically “the starting-point for a new life of spiritual progress”, though it certainly should be. For in terms of what happens to a human soul at earthly death, the great Creation-Law of Reciprocal Action holds sway here.

(***) Since most nations will have some form of religion as a “foundation of sorts”; in terms of their obviously close association, if the state is “swept away” for its evil deeds, so also must the religion ---- and vice versa!

In truth, the religion holds the greater responsibility, for it should guide the state and the people in the knowledge of the Truth as given at the time. That is why prophets and Truth-bringers arose on a regular basis to so guide the diverse peoples of earth. But we know what happened to all of them, don’t we?

That short segment basically sums up Koranic scholar, M.M. Ali’s interpretation of death and its aftermath. So, the Islamic view of death is not locked in stone in one tidy package where all in Islam are in complete agreement as to what really happens. This next section from Wikipedia will establish that point. The author has put together a basic narrative from many Islamic sources --- which he has noted in his online dissertation. We will use only a small fraction of the complete text. (Italics are mine.)

(*) The exiting of the entity from its former physical shell at earthly death is an automatic process and does not need “angels of death beating the soul to extract it from the body in a most painful way”. Reader: It is no wonder that hard-edged factions of Islam condemn music, singing and laughter. It is surely a cold, sad religion, for these kinds of “punishments” suit the religion’s doctrine in keeping the faithful in line, as so-called “sinners” will be punished harshly. Sharia Law, particularly, seems to not be imbued with any kind of real “love”.

So, some relevant questions! What was the point of carrying a “wicked soul” to the gates of heaven in the first place? For in that false scenario, it could not enter and would thus be cast down? In addition, how do Muslim scholars know what the exiting of a soul from its physical shell actually feels like?

At the end of this Discourse, to ensure that we hold to our Mandate to Proclaim the Truth of Creation-Law and the Bringer of It, two Lectures from The Spirit of Truth will “Correct” in no uncertain terms all the many wrong human views on “death”. In the meantime, until we reach that point, let’s continue with our “earthly” sources of “belief”!

CHRISTIANITY AND DEATH

As a general stance, global Christendom’s position on what happens at earthly death is fairly straightforward. Depending on the particular denomination, the intonation for the deceased at a cremation or burial tends towards the stock delivery of “the promise of the resurrection on the day of judgement when all shall rise from the grave”, --- or --- “the resurrection of the body when the earth shall give up the dead” etc.; to then all stand before “the Judge”! After that “judgement”, it is either “heaven” or “hell”.

Unthinking, and incredibly stupid! Let’s take a brief but very pointed reality-revisit to some hard facts about human deaths over millennia. Of the hundreds of thousands of Christians who were not buried “whole”, but burnt to a crisp at the Church’s stake, burnt to prevent the spread of disease, burnt alive in sieges hundreds at a time in various wars of conquest, fed to animals for sport in their thousands, eaten by sharks, hippos, bears, big cats, and crocodiles --- to name a few ways to die --- yet can then somehow magically emerge from “somewhere” whole and complete?

So, on the one hand ground into ash and dust by fire, and on the other defecated out of animals to become just excreta, from which other animals, birds, insects and fishes find sustenance --- and thus becomes just more excreta!

How, in the name of just pure logic --- which must be accepted as being a Prime attribute of The Laws of God to begin with ---- can supposedly intelligent and educated Church “leaders”, for starters believe this “stuff”, and then without giving it any thought whatsoever and solemnly read out this completely unworkable and arrant nonsense at funerals? And, of course, the equally unthinking sheep nod their heads approvingly and feel secure in a load of impossible rubbish which, in the end, denigrates The Pure Truth of God!

Since a previous Discourse focussed on “Resurrection” under the aegis of The Law of Rebirth, there is little point in going any further into Christian “dogma”, for in that essay we learned the real meaning of “Resurrection”.

JUDAISM AND DEATH

In terms of our subject matter of the moment, should we even bother with the views of this religion? The amazingly-stupid Jewish belief of long-dead corpses rolling through tunnels to get to Jerusalem for their resurrection at “judgement-time” is so bizarre that any thought of delving into what Judaism’s take on the immediate death-process might be, is, in a word, a complete waste of time! Therefore, we won’t even bother. In any case, you will shortly read how it actually is!

Reader: Now that we have “formatted” the “big three” out of the way; for our elucidation so that we might approach our inevitable exit with certain knowledge and perhaps even dignity, let’s begin to learn how it really works. For the obtuse “know-alls” and scoffers; they simply don’t matter!

THE “SILVER CORD”

This is the first key pointer to what happens at “death”. So: What, exactly, is the Silver Cord? Because this crucially-necessary part of the complete human entity can neither be seen nor measured scientifically, its function is therefore not taught “anywhere”. And yet we simply cannot exist on earth in a physical body without it. This reality therefore holds the key to so many questions that --- both religiously and medically --- simply cannot be answered anywhere near adequately under the present regime of the “no knowledge paradigm” currently existing within those organisations.

This is a classic case of “spiritual” knowledge far out-stripping scientific, medical and religious notions of “how the world really is”, for the existence of the “Silver Cord” has been known for thousands of years. So: What is it; and what is its purpose and function?

From Fenton’s Bible, Chapter 12, verses 6-7, the Book of Ecclesiastes holds the obvious key. Two millennia before The Grail Message of Imanuel was “gifted” to us, the existence of the “Silver Cord” has been part of at least one of the three monotheistic religions: Christianity. Of course, it is one thing to know of the existence of something, but entirely another to have clear and unassailable knowledge about it. Thus:

As the funeral “monotone” correctly states, back to dust for the physical shell. What was its “life-force”, however, the Soul --- or more correctly, the Spirit --- is freed from earthly constraints to hopefully return to its (our) true Home. Of course, whether it even begins that long journey is completely dependent upon how it lived its life on earth; either obeying Creation-Law, or opposing It.

For all Christians and their Popes, Bishops, Ministers and the like, just five lines from the Bible tell you in clear terms that the “Silver Cord” really does exist. In addition, those same five, short lines offer a tantalising clue as to its true function. Christians at least, therefore, should not question that scriptural reality but, instead, set about gaining the requisite knowledge that is clearly alluded to. In that regard, you will find all you need in this Discourse --- i.e., if you are truly “open” to Truth!

In a broad sense, we can liken the “Silver Cord” to the umbilical cord that connects the growing foetus to the womb of the mother. As a very basic analogy, that cord provides life and warmth to the young life too, as well as nutrients to nurture the body. However, what it does not do after a specific point in pregnancy, is provide the spiritual life-force. The entry of the spirit into the foetus at the appropriate point in the pregnancy from then on provides that “life-power”!

Because the concept and knowledge of the “Silver Cord” is crucial to understanding the “death process”, some views about it from two of the main schools of religious thought offer interesting comparisons. “Cruden’s Complete Concordance to the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha”, is still highly regarded in the Christian world as an accurate and reputable publication even though the first Edition appeared as far back as 1737.

The explanation of the “Silver Cord” in Cruden’s work may perhaps still represent the fundamentalist Christian understanding about it today. From page 445:

It is surprising that even though at the time “Cruden’s” was published, and medical science had not really begun to discover much, the compilers of the Concordance --- almost certainly Christian theologians and Bible scholars of one kind or another --- still opted for an explanation or interpretation that is obviously only a physical one concerned solely with the materiality of the body. For the wording of the text clearly refutes the idea of the Silver Cord being a connection between the physical body and the spirit; it being, instead, basically the spinal “cord”.

Yet the existence of the Silver Cord in the Bible, from which the Concordance would have taken its “authority”, does not rate a mention. Yet again; the Bible explanation from Ecclesiastes categorically describes a clear separation from anything to do with the physical properties of the body --- which, of course, is very dead at that stage.

Reader: That is a very good example of Church authorities attempting to explain vital aspects of the immutability of Divine Creation-Law, even as it applies to the human entity --- us --- from the point of view of just a religious interpretation!

Compilers of more recent Concordances do not offer an interpretation of this “cord” aspect as does Cruden’s. The actual connection, of course, must first be recognised and understood correctly in order to be able to explain it thus.

Eastern philosophical beliefs on the other hand have long-held that the “Silver Cord” is the link connecting our Spirit to our body as a kind of “umbilical cord”. The “Silver Cord” is also believed to link the various energy centres or “chakras” which are situated along the axis of the spine. While not physically visible, the “chakras” correspond to various nerve centres and organs of the body.

In basic terms, the Silver Cord is the conduit or channel through which the “energy” of the “life-force” of Spirit passes to these centres during the course of our life on earth. (The “chi” energy identified in Oriental lore may refer to it.) After death, the “Cord’ is eventually severed, thus allowing the soul to be released from the material body which, in its turn, then decomposes into its original material elements.

As formerly explained in the Discourse on our Spiritual Origins, the journey of a human spirit from the Plane of The Spiritual to The Material necessitates the need to traverse all the intervening Realms. Each one being a different consistency --- lightest toward the Higher Planes and heaviest towards the lower, exactly according to The Law of Spiritual Gravity --- as we journey downwards, therefore; we are required to take on or wear a cloak or body of the consistency and material of the particular Plane being traversed, with each lower one becoming denser the nearer we come to the gross material earth.

Thus, by the time we reach the earth, we will have enveloped our Spirit, our inner core -- the actual you and me -- in a number of coverings, each one, however, exactly corresponding to the consistency/density of the particular Plane descended through.

Now, because they are not immediately visible, we might well wonder where all these coverings are? Since each, in turn, envelops the previous coverings on the journey downwards, they are logically all inside us. By virtue of the different consistencies of each, however, they are prevented from blending with each other. We may view this as a kind of uniting, similar to the way a collapsible telescope is held together. The huge difference between that basic material example and the human process is the mechanism or force which holds us together as a complete and self-conscious entity.

That power is “radiation”. It is that which holds together everything in Creation -- from the greatest thing to the smallest. The science of physics has long recognised that everything radiates, and that the “apparent” solidity of all material substance is due to just this radiation. It is a specific radiation which, in a sense, “magnetically” connects the elementary particles.

Now, working backwards from the physical body to the “power-source” that is the (our) Spirit; precisely in accordance with our necessary journey to earth through the various realms of the Ethereal World and thence into the World of Physical Matter, the physical body is obviously the immediate first part of “we/us” as the complete entity, down here. It is that specific part which intimately interacts with, and reacts to, our immediate physical environment.

With it we are able to utilise the senses of sight, smell, hearing and touch etc., to carry out earthly tasks and fulfil particular desires. Of course, to the aspiritual, totally intellectual person, that is the singular reality of their belief of a one-only earth-life! Unfortunately for that completely erroneous view: Wrong!

In concert with that Truth, itemising the three key components and working from the material body inwards, we find that the outer mortal physical cloak --- that which can be seen in a mirror -- in turn has a closely connected astral body, which is the prototype of the physical. Its consistency, though still composed of material substance, is obviously not anywhere near as dense, however.

These two “bodies”, in their turn envelop other still “finer cloaks” that correspond to their respective spheres of origin beyond the earth. In the Ethereal World -- that place which we loosely call “the beyond” -- the ethereal body envelops the soul. Inside all these coverings resides our spirit. ---- That is who and what we actually are!

To reiterate once more -- the spirit and its immediate coverings enveloped by the ethereal body, but excluding the physical and the astral can basically be collectively designated as the soul body. It is important that we clearly identify and understand these parts of the total entity; for only with that knowledge can we understand the complete process of earthly death.

The phenomenon of “phantom-pain” that many amputees experience derives from the fact that we possess these different “bodies” of varying consistency within each of us. When a limb is amputated, the corresponding “limb” of his “astral” body remains complete within him because, obviously, it cannot be physically severed.

However, the various non-material bodies that reside within his, now, less than whole “physical form”, nevertheless still exert subtle ‘pressure’ upon him and his physical environment. He may, therefore, from time to time, “sense” or still “feel” the “lost limb”. It is well-known that such is the strength of “feeling” for the removed limb that amputees can experience itching at the site of the now-removed limb and reach out to “scratch” it.

Many in the medical and psychiatric professions are highly sceptical or dismissive of such beliefs, and label it just imagination --- the brain “playing tricks”. However, as we will state often within these pages, either a thing is so, or it is not. Since we are dealing here with the fact of inviolable Creation-Law, this particular “phenomenon unequivocally resides in the “is indeed so” category!

Let’s hammer this immutable, unchangeable fact home, if we can! Within the material substance of our physical body resides our Spirit, the actual animating power -- the life-force that is you and me --- for the now multi-layered human body.

However, in order to connect the individual coverings so that the volition of the Spirit can act on the complete entity, we require a “connecting” or “linking” mechanism --- a “power cable”, so to speak --- whereby this can be achieved. That necessary connection from the spirit to the soul, ethereal, astral and physical bodies is the “Silver Cord”. It is this connection that enables the (our) Spirit, through its animating power, to produce its earthly works as it impresses its volition on the coverings that envelop it, including and especially the physical body.

Now, whilst that is essentially true, in order to bring about the actual physical motivation of the body, our “power source” requires the intermediary function of the brain to supply the electrical impulses that animate the end physical motivation ---- but which nevertheless should still be under overall yet conscious control of the spirit!

Unfortunately, the centuries-long trend towards the suppression of such knowledge and the supplanting of it with aspiritual intellectualism has effectively “walled-in” our “spirit” so that it is no longer able to exert the higher, spiritual influence which is its true and ordained purpose. If it were able to completely fulfil in that way, our “Silver Cord’ would remain as it was originally ---- light and clear.

A life of superficiality without concern for spiritual matters, or of seeking only the acquisition of material things to the exclusion of any elevating practices, however, --- even without necessarily evil intent ---- will ensure that the “Silver Cord” becomes darker and thicker; precisely corresponding to the degree of superficiality or materialism lived.

It thus naturally follows that a life of violence, crime and debasement, regardless of the circumstances that might have brought it about, will actually produce an individual “spiritually-heavier” than one who had not chosen to live such a path. This perceived effect has entered our language where we describe such persons as being or feeling “heavy”. (e.g., the well-known hit song: “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”)

Unfortunately for such people this “heaviness”, with its associated and perhaps personally-desired “intimidatory-effect” generating a tough, “untouchable status” in life, will set in place a very painful death experience --- if no genuine change of spiritual direction is embarked upon before that time arrives. For the effect of that “heaviness” on the “Silver Cord” is to darken and thicken it considerably, with serious consequences for that soul at earthly death.

For when the time comes for severance to occur, the “spiritually-darker and heavier” person with the correspondingly thicker cord will discover that a “separation” cannot be effected so easily. It may be very many days, perhaps weeks, before the “Cord” eventually begins to wither and disintegrate, thus finally setting the hapless soul free of its now decomposing shell.

This particular example of the overall process clearly reveals the outworking of The Justice of The Law in the exercising of our free will for evil or debased purposes.

Choosing an opposite lifestyle, however, especially one where spiritual considerations are a regular and normal part of one’s life will ensure that the “Cord” remains lighter in its consistency and can thus be severed more quickly.

A crucial part of our individual “after-death destination” is determined by “Language”, or rather our “forming of it” as it issues from each one of us, for it decisively impacts on the “kind of place” that we must journey to under the driving power of The Eternal Laws. And it matters not which language we speak, for it is the “creative-power” inherent in all language that is the particular determinant.

The Bible gives clear enlightenment here. When it is said, “...their works shall follow them”, it means that along with the deeds and lifestyle one has lived, language will also have played a very decisive role. Since such a notion will probably be dismissed out of hand by the empty-headed superficial of global humanity, it behoves us to reveal why we are stating what is in the end, an absolute!

For our illumination we go to Fenton’s Bible and Matthew’s narration on this subject. In Chapter 12, verse 37, he records this serious admonition of Jesus.

Verses 15:11 and 15:16-20 “pull no punches” from The Son of God as he admonishes His Disciples for their obtuseness. (Reader: When it comes down to the overall state of global humanity, that’s how the vast majority stand in this 21^st century --- totally obtuse with regard to the crucial acceptance of the knowledge of Divine Creation-Law!)

So “language” strongly determines where we ultimately reside after processing ourselves through the First Death, because language is inextricably linked with our life and deeds!

EXITING THE PHYSICAL BODY

At present there are many books on the subject of “near-death” or “out-of-body” experiences, and a number of researchers have compiled reports from the experiences of the dying. Dr Raymond Moody is perhaps one of the best known. Dr Moody’s research noted that at times of severe illness or injury resulting in such a “close encounter with death”, all subjects recorded very similar experiences, with the consistency of the experiences being the common constant. The many differences in race and nationality, social and economic status and religious preference produced no differences in the experiences.

Even suffering different diseases or illnesses and receiving different medical treatment, the basic event was remarkably similar. Yet should this be a surprise? If it is a lawful process without deviation as we contend, we should expect to discover exactly this fact.

Now: Having established the main points of reference for our elucidation of this fascinating event, let us begin our actual journey into death by first examining the similarly reported phases of out-of-body experiences, as recorded and distilled by Dr Raymond Moody in his second book on this subject, “Reflections On Life After Life” (Pages 5-6):

Contained within the above report are key points of the overall process. Note that the “Being of Light” communicated “non-verbally”. We can thus assume that one’s earthly language is of no importance at this point, and that communication is perhaps more via the spiritual intuition --- a kind of “other-world telepathy”. The obvious separation of the physical body from the non-physical is an especially clear point. In accordance with the knowledge we now have, we are able to recognise the reference to “moving rapidly through a long tunnel” as relating to the drawing out of the non-physical body from the physical.

This “long tunnel”, in terms of its perceived length, does not refer to the length of the physical body as the soul-body exits the physical shell. It refers to an altered aspect of time, which has a vastly different reference value in that, now, non-earthly sphere.

More importantly from the above report, however, was the requirement to evaluate the key phases of one’s life, this aspect under the direction of a powerful Spiritual Being. Here can be observed the necessity for accepting the fact of personal spiritual responsibility for all one’s thoughts, words, and deeds, exactly as The Eternal Laws demand and which we must continually reinforce in this Work. In this regard, especially consider the warnings of Jesus (Matthew 5:18):

Consider, also, what we might regard as a further “spiritual” qualification of the above once more: This time from Matthew 5:26, Fenton both.

Reader: It is more bizarre than simply interesting that the great bulk of over two billion Christians, whist forever saying that they believe in the Words of Jesus, nonetheless continually choose to ignore or disbelieve His clear admonitions to understand the Divine Justice contained in The Laws of Creation --- to which in the end we are all subject!

For to be faced with the need to confront one’s past life in the very early stages after one’s earthly death may well presuppose the unsettling probability that the next stages of the process call for atonement and expiation in some way. And that is so, for exactly as the above Biblical quotes clearly state, that really is the inescapable reality!

There is no convenient “black hole in the ground” where one can “rest in peace” and thus “sleep to eternity”. For the very many who hold to that belief, those associated terms used to describe “their version “of the death process are somehow meant to display something akin to an ostensibly-elevated level of “intellectual/scientific sophistication”! In truth, however, such an attitude is ultimately generated by a “no-knowledge” paradigm producing deep-seated uncertainty leading to unspoken fear --- nothing more!

Now, we should very seriously note that the description from Dr. Moody’s work does not explain the process of actually dying.

No! It merely describes only the very first steps in just being “out of the body”. In short, the person concerned has not actually died.

Quite erroneously, therefore; many researchers in this field have concluded that the feelings of love and well-being experienced at this time represent the totality of the after-death situation, but that is not so! Through insufficient knowledge, they are not able to take into account the absolute and full outworking of this process --- a process which can only be understood with the knowledge contained within The Spiritual Laws of Creation.

At the close of this Discourse --- and from The Hand of The Spirit of Truth Himself ---we will give you the complete knowledge of not only “what happens” at death, but also “how it happens”. Before that final explanation, however, we will continue on and, from earthly “sources”, look at other aspects of the “process”.

THE COURSE OF “SEPARATION” AND ITS “AFTERMATH”

In terms of natural Law, which at the same time is Creation-Law, “death” is simply the lawful process of two species of matter, once united on earth through a mutually-attracting radiation, but which must separate out again when one of the two different species can no longer fulfil its attracting role.

Let’s now strive to understand the “mechanics” of that “separating-out” process. So; at the moment of severance, the soul ----- (which we have learnt comprises the innermost spirit and its immediate coverings, and in turn is enveloped by the ethereal body, which has now become the real human being) ----- draws the “astral body’ with it away from the dying “physical” body.

Let’s reinforce this critical knowledge: The soul needs to draw the astral body out of the physical shell because, unlike the physical body at this particular moment, the astral becomes --- but only for a very short while --- the next “material” cloak for our Spirit. For the “astral” is still part of the World of Matter. Again: This phase of the death process is the actual exiting and departure from the physical shell where the soul draws the astral body with it out of the physical body.

Since there was never a fusion as such, but only a sliding into one another --- as with the example of a collapsible telescope -- the soul simply pulls the astral from the physical as it strives to free itself from its former “gross-material partner”.

In doing so, the soul does not draw this astral body very far, because that particular body is still also connected with the physical shell. Moreover, the soul, which initiates the actual movement, needs to detach itself from the astral body too, so strives to get away from it. Note that the astral body always remains near the physical body after the earthly separating-out of the soul.

The further the soul moves away, the weaker the astral body becomes. The continuing detaching-process of the soul eventually brings in its train the decay and disintegration of the astral body, which, in turn, immediately brings about the decay of the physical body too. This is the normal exiting process under the lawful outworking of The Laws of Creation!

Even though this explanation of the inviolable death-process should be relatively easy to follow, particularly when viewed pictorially, as a further aid we can perhaps also consider the visible birth process to offer some understanding. At that time, a separation also occurs between mother and baby where the new-born similarly seeks to initially strive out of, and away from, the mother’s body. For it, too, is connected to its mother and to the placenta via its “life-cord”, the umbilical, and must also “disconnect” from both.

Even though a kind of analogous reverse-view; you, reader, may find a certain level of clarity to a basic understanding of the death process through that example. However, you should not regard one process as perhaps being an exact mirror-image of the other, for it is not.

In Dr. Moody’s description of just an “out of the body” experience, the outworking of The Law of Spiritual Gravity is immediately evident, where the lighter, more mobile part -- the soul body -- draws away from the heavier, material body. It is important that this particular point be carefully noted. For whilst we have now described the death process, that is only with respect to a “normal happening”, which is that for a soul who is quickly able to sever its connection or tie to its material body.

Obviously, the soul is still subject to all The Eternal Laws and must now follow its particular path into its new environment, into its new world. However, it can only embark upon its next journey when the “Silver Cord” --- which had once served as the necessary link between the “power source” of the Spirit and its material counterpart --- is completely severed. In the same way, a baby cannot be completely free of its physical tie to its mother’s body until its life-support cord is similarly cut.

We now enter the little understood, and perhaps less-believed, area of personal spiritual responsibility --- i.e., “Their works shall follow them.” As the death process is subject to strict and firmly established Creation-Law, including that of the Justice of the Law, certain immutable realities govern the situation where a soul is not able to easily sever itself from the physical shell. What does this mean for that soul body -- that individual human being?

Most faiths, religions and cultures that subscribe to a “life after death” setting, including the key “big three” of monotheism, all have their religious doctrines about where they all think they go to! The brief examination of the doctrines of the “big three” earlier on, though perhaps interesting, did not provide us with much in the way of actual knowledge on this subject, so was probably in the end a waste of time. On this subject, then; let’s not waste any more time and energy on religious doctrines and dogmas that give us very little and, instead, get to some “real learning”!

The key question now is that whether or not a soul is able to detach itself quickly from the physical body will absolutely depend on how it has lived its life on earth! That is the short and blunt truth of the matter!

Now, reader: In serious concert, here is a really scary reality! The consequences for a soul who has lived a life without thought or care for any of the higher spiritual aspirations will mean an unnecessarily longer time tied to his physical body than need have been the case. Through the still-strong-attachment via his thicker and heavier “Cord”, he will therefore feel all that the physical body undergoes in that time, including any autopsy, and perhaps cremation. In longer-tied periods, even the decomposition process itself.

With this new knowledge of the death process, and aside from the practice of autopsies, at what point can a person be safely pronounced dead? Some years ago, Dr. Lyall Watson wrote a book called “The Romeo Error”. The subject matter was precisely about the difficulty in determining the exact moment of death. He recounted many instances where persons had been certified dead, even to the point where the early stages of decomposition had set in, and yet still returned to life.

Moreover, Dr. Watson outlines the curious state of “Catatonia” where, in many of these cases, the body appeared to be completely dead with no detectable or discernible life within it yet was still alive. Even today, with all the supposedly huge advances in diagnostic medical science, on rare occasions medical authorities report that bodies held in ‘storage’ awaiting autopsy have bled red blood when cut into -– much to the very great surprise and consternation of medical staff. Explanation? ------------ There is only one!

Such bodies, persons --- cadavers --- are not actually dead. They are still there, still connected to their physical shells. The “catatonic state” seems not to figure strongly in medical thinking today, however!

In addition, though it clearly does not accept or believe, the Medical Profession should nonetheless take urgent steps to learn about the crucial purpose of the “Silver Cord” -- and thereby gain the essential knowledge that would contribute immeasurably to real holistic medicine.

So: Having determined that we must accept “personal spiritual responsibility” for our deeds, we need to draw the veil aside a little more in order to reveal the next step into earthly death proper. The actual happening is quite simple. As noted, because the connection between the physical and the non-physical parts of man is that of a radiation process, all that is required to effect a complete separation is for one or the other to become so debilitated as to not have sufficient radiating strength to hold itself locked to the other.

We see this in severe illnesses or during a long fast where the body can be considerably weakened. On the other hand, the “soul body” can also lose its “radiation-connection” to its physical counterpart such as in the case of giving up the will to live. So even where there may be no obvious physical reason for separation to occur, nevertheless, according to Spiritual Law in such cases, this must eventually take place if there is no re-strengthening of the necessary “connecting radiation”. Thus, as the radiation-attraction between the soul body and the physical body becomes progressively weaker, the point of separation is finally reached.

To clarify the process once more: Where a body has been forcibly destroyed, ruined by disease, or weakened by old age, and can no longer offer the necessary strength of radiation sufficient to maintain a strong attraction between soul and body, the soul must sever itself from its earthly body or covering. That is earthly death! This is the normal exiting process under the lawful outworking of The Eternal Laws.

What follows now is a report of the after-death experience of a “Spirit-Author” who gave his name as Franchezzo. His hard experience offers the very reason to heed those very Laws, for his particular journey reflected his “life-lived” whilst on earth.

In 1895 a Mr A. Farnese transcribed those experiences in his book, “A Wanderer in the Spirit Lands”. From the perspective of the major thrust of this Work -- namely the explanation of The Eternal Laws of Creation -- the Dedication by Franchezzo in Farnese’s book is very interesting since it perfectly concurs with what we state is imperative for all of humankind to recognise! Key aspects are noted here. (Emphases are mine).

The “Better Way” that Franchezzo alludes to in his warning plea to humankind clearly means a “better way” than that which the world presently practices and which, as he so correctly terms it, is “the downward path” which “outrages the laws of God and man” ----- where all disguise is stripped from the soul, and it stands forth in all the naked hideousness of its sins, with the scars of the spiritual disease contracted in its earthly life stamped upon its spirit form.

His clear recognition reveals that only by heeding The Spiritual Laws and living the “Better Way” might we thus then be able to step upon the “Shining Path” to return “home”.

(In PART III, THE SPIRITUAL FALL OF THE HUMAN RACE --- in the Discourse “The Death of Spiritual Ennoblement”, we examine in greater detail those too-many, now accepted as normal and OK, human practices that very seriously have long “outraged the laws of God”. In other words, we further itemise and expose the aspiritual rottenness of global societies and all their aberrant, but nonetheless strangely acceptable, mores of this present 21^st century time!)

The hard experiences of Franchezzo allow us to easily picture the fate of some past races, and perhaps even some present ones too. Members of races who live according to cultural traditions and beliefs that do not encompass any elements of Creation Law as it actually is may well descend to lower regions of darkness after earthly death, there to live out the reciprocal effects of their self-willed and self-chosen path --- together! In which case, if there is no awakening to recognition of their circumstances and thus not to a nobler, more spiritually-elevated awareness --- which would automatically begin a separating-out process from that darker region to higher, lighter ones’ --- then the stage is set for their eventual and inevitable transition into the “Second Death” reality --- from which there is no return!

By the way, the term, “First Death”, in our explanations, does not mean just one single death in one short existence only. The term refers to the process of earthly death for each incarnation, as opposed to the one single reality of “The Second Death” for the very many who will experience it at some point --- and which finally comes just once!

In stark contrast to Franchezzo’s outcome, what might be the experience of a person who does believe in life after death and thus recognises the need to live correctly whilst on earth? What might he “discover” upon awakening in the “beyond”? In noting his plea for humankind to awaken to the truth of life after death, here, now, is an opposite account.

H. Dennis Bradley, an English poet who died in 1934, had promised to communicate after his death if this were at all possible. Shortly afterwards he apparently did succeed. Through a medium he gave a good description of his experiences. What is interesting is the great difference between the kind of environment he experienced, and that which Franchezzo found himself in.

Bradley’s narration follows:

Bradley’s description of his experiences in the level of the “beyond” he had earned the right to be in resonate perfectly with Bible Scripture to begin with, but more especially from The All-Truth of Imanuel. To that end, let’s note some very clear key points!

As a revealing-assessment of this paucity of spirit that strongly pervades the world today, perhaps we should collectively consider what has developed in the State education systems of some Western societies particularly. Over many years, that has taken the form of insidiously stripping away from schools the once regular practice of Biblical or religious instruction and prayer.

Not too long ago, there was at least a basic societal recognition of a Creator and inviolable Laws accepted by far more people than might accept such a view today. Instead, officially, educationalists concentrate on teaching the “knowledge of the genome”, with which human science can play and spend millions of research dollars; all the while foolishly believing that inanimate, thus non-living matter, can somehow “will itself” to “animate itself”.

Of course, we do not decry the great benefits of modern medicine that derives from much and increasing new knowledge. Nonetheless, the final truth is this: There is no single, magic switch-on gene that gives life to physical matter. We repeat: The genes, which govern and control processes within us; at our deaths, rot away with our physical body!

So where is the so-called life-force there? In the present, religious, or spiritual instruction “across the board” is generally deemed to be unimportant, even irrelevant --- in more and more cases even a trampling of so-called “human rights”.

Stripped of its emotive or political implications, that is such a foolish and quite stupid term, as if any human being could produce the perfection of the universes and the earthly home we are permitted to live in.

In the 21st century, all we still produce lots of is blood, war, religious extremism, terrorism, ethnic cleansing, human trafficking and exploitation, and environmental degradation. Should one go on? Too many forces within too many governments deem any and all kinds of “correct religious instruction” unnecessary for society’s continuing function in these more supposedly enlightened times of economic roulette on corporate earth. Through intelligent spiritual analyses and relevant questioning, such a beneficial path might then have migrated towards Truth! But nothing of such value really eventuated.

The blatant and dangerous hypocrisy of “modern educational practices” is glaringly revealed as a false sham when these same societies are hit with disaster and tragedy. For then we see the desperate Prayers to God!

Even those who impose the new educational thinking upon society --- the politicians and their servants --- even they must bow to clear Truth and its concomitant recognition --- or fall. In clear and hypocritical reality:

In what we have learned thus far, it is eminently clear why all the great Spiritual Teachers over the ages have constantly admonished mankind to always strive for the good. Their warnings were not the incoherent ramblings of foolish old men, or the strident fire and brimstone preaching of doomsday prophets. No: Such serious warnings simply yet powerfully state The Truth of The Eternal Laws, and should therefore not be ridiculed, mocked, or ignored.

Perhaps curiously, this particular Discourse surely has strong resonance to the devastation wrought by the Coronavirus of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, which so many incredibly stupid humans believed they had control over. If compared to the 1918 influenza that wiped out around 60 million people in a very short time in a global population of somewhere perhaps around the two billion mark, we obviously have some way to go to catch up. The great difference here, however, is that whereas the 1918 event peaked and died out quite quickly with no ongoing infections, this one continues on unabated.

Perhaps reader, this is one that one of The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse rode down to earth to deliver --- Pestilence and death! Is that too religious, do you think? Well, it is certainly Pestilence on a global scale, with a death rate that mounts inexorably.

Let’s reinforce/clarify the death process further. When the soul-body is about to become free of its former “partner in earthly life”, Dr. Moody’s subjects reinforced what we have intimated, that they felt “as if they were gliding through something dark and narrow, a valley, a dark shaft, a tunnel”, and they used words like being “pulled out” in attempting to describe the sensation.

What is actually described here is the striving away of the ethereal soul from the astral body. It is the soul’s pulling-out from the latter. At this moment of transition -- during the striving away movement -– the human entity can no longer see through the eyes of either the earthly or astral body. Nor can it see through those of the ethereal body, which is not yet completely free. The entity therefore temporarily has the impression of darkness. We can liken this phase to that of being in a lift moving between two levels. Before we can look out again, we must wait until the next one is reached.

The next stage is the emergence from out of this dark tunnel into the bright light of the next world. As previously stated, we can note some similarities in the birth process, in the striving away, the dark tunnel and the emergence into a bright new world. For, in reality, earthly death is simply birth into the Ethereal World. This new, bright world for the soul is, however, still close to the earth, but with a vastly altered time-perspective. Here, in this new, lighter world away from the constraints of the heavier physical body and the gross material earth, everything is more mobile; more “sped-up”.

For the departed one without any knowledge of the “process”, this phase will invariably be marked by much confusion, more so if he had paid no attention to this matter of death during his life. Now, in death, he discovers he has the ability to see and hear all that is taking place around him, but finds he is not able to make himself heard or felt. He sees the emotional anguish of those he left behind and strives to reassure them that he is not actually dead, that he lives. But he cannot!

If those of his family members have the same attitude to death that he previously had, he will be forced to endure the emotional upheaval and non-comprehension of his kin that his death has produced. Because of this he may seek to make himself understood but, as he cannot with his “new soul-body”, the only course open to him is to try to do so through the earthly organs of speech of the physical one he has very recently vacated.

His attempts bring about a renewed strengthening of the “cord” with perhaps a corresponding increase in feelings of pain, which he would recently have become free of. This effort on his part unnecessarily prolongs the death struggle which can last for days, and which his loved ones will anguish over. Thus, his well-meaning attempts to offer solace to those around him actually only add more confusion for them; and oftentimes fear. The feelings of anguish and loneliness for a soul who finds himself in such circumstances must surely be considerable.

Far better if we all occupied ourselves with this vital question instead of pushing it away, as if that act might somehow keep earthly death away forever. Since knowledge empowers, it is far better to know than to not know!

The severing of the Silver Cord is clearly not always easy. Let’s revisit Spirit-Author, Franchezzo, as he offers a sobering insight into this difficulty. After his physical death he sees, standing by his grave, the girl he loved. When she leaves, he tries to follow her, but is unable to.

To repeat: The Silver Cord, which in this case has thickened and become dark and “heavy”, binds the departed one very firmly to his physical body. Recognising the wrong of his earthly life will help permit an earlier severance from his mortal shell. When the disintegration of the Silver Cord does finally occur, the departed one experiences the effects of The Law of Spiritual Gravity in its full manifestation.

In accordance with previous explanations the soul is forced, through the consequential effects of its recently lived lifestyle, to then begin to “reap what it sowed”. This is achieved under the outworking of the relevant Laws of Creation whereby the soul is “propelled” to the particular plane which corresponds with its ethereal or “spiritual” weight.

For in accordance with The Law of Spiritual Gravity, only on earth can good and evil live side by side. On no other Plane of Creation is this possible. Thus, upon earthly death a separation takes place between all the departed.

In harmony with that separation, they all must then occupy the particular Plane that their ethereal weight has decreed for them individually, and thus also for those of similar mind and propensity who must by Law occupy the same Plane. Therefore, souls will always find themselves surrounded by others of the same weight and essentially of the same nature. In this lies the Perfect Justice of The Eternal Laws, in particular the outworking of the three Prime Laws of Attraction, Spiritual Gravity and Reciprocal Action!

Reader: What you have now read should give you a clearer understanding of what happens when rigid religious doctrines decree that, upon death, their “faithful” must be buried the very same day before the sun sets. Religions that have such a belief as a primary tenet clearly have no idea of The Laws of Creation that govern the “death process”. They therefore teach “Untruth”!

Islam is one such religion ---- despite their vociferous, global proselyting about the so-called “perfection of knowledge” in the Koran.