Blog Chapter 6

Dr. Michael Newton, as was his practice in his earlier work, “Journey of Souls”, continued his research into his compliant patient’s much earlier lives through deeply regressing them hypnotically, and then reporting their responses in his following book, “Destiny of Souls” which the reader will find on my reading list.
I don’t recall Dr. Newton ever stating how many previous lives any of his patients had claimed but Neale Donald Walsch, the subject of a previous blog, was reportedly informed by his otherworldly contact that his present life was his 648th. If you consider that a human life might average into the 70’s and could be separated by a hundred or more years between incarnations, those earliest existences could easily stretch back to prehistoric times. I’m not in a position to vouch for the validity of any of this information, but the concept is tantalizing to consider.
When a person dies, and their soul enters the spirit world they may be met immediately or shortly thereafter by their spirit guide who may conduct them to their previous study group if they belonged to one following an earlier incarnation. Souls who had shown little interest previosly in continued learning during their lifetimes, also may be introduced to an existing small group of souls with similar interests and may easily integrate into that group. On the other hand, the newcomer may be dissatisfied with the arrangement or vice versa and his or her spirit guide will show up to help with other possibilities. The purpose of these pods, as they sometimes are called, is to foster philosophical growth, (See definition in Blog 1) in a future earthly incarnation, if the soul is of such a mind. Education is highly regarded and classes in innumerable disciplines are available and are well attended. These classes supplement the discussions conducted by the members of the smaller pods. Of course, there are souls in the spirit world who have no interest in developing their skills and they too will find others of a similar bent to associate with.
I made brief reference earlier to the “Council of Elders”. Newton’s research indicates that this term refers to a small group of very advanced souls, long removed from their final incarnations, who sit as an advisory panel. Apparently, they are held in high esteem by other souls because of their wisdom. Their purpose is to aid newly arrived souls to evaluate their achievements in the life just completed, as compared with the goals they had before the commencement of their most recent existences. Parenthetically, I need to state here there is no fudging of facts in the spirit world, no coloring of actual events. This seems to be a law universally accepted by all. So, when a newly arrived soul is asked how he or she did compared to the evolution they may have promised before entering the womb, often the respondent is harder on himself/herself than necessary. This is one way the soul’s spirit guides demonstrate their importance. The guide often accompanies the soul before the panel and brings up achievements the soul omitted to mention, to balance the books so to speak.
The Council of Elders may also become involved, as noted above, when the soul is planning a new incarnation. As beings of free choice, we are afforded wide latitude in where we want next to live, given the availability of a suitable host (womb). Another consideration would be whether opportunities would exist to fulfill the soul’s aspirations for personal growth or even just for a pleasant life following a particularly difficult previous one. We also are given freedom to change our minds and decide to stay longer in the spirit world.
All of this information is so contrary to what we have been taught but it is so consistent with the idea that we are responsible for the way we live our lives. We already have talked about our freedom of choice, but with choice comes responsibility in equal measure.
Toward the end of “Conversations with God, book 1” Walsch’s discarnate contact lectures Walsch about caring for his physical body. He is reminded that we are tripartite beings, with body, mind and spirit and that the health of the body is equally important for our evolution as is an active mind and an open spirit. Our author is admonished about his terrible eating, drinking and former smoking habits as the source of Walsch’s many health problems. When we consider our own responsibilities as mature human beings, it also appears we should include the health of our bodies as one of our principal concerns.
I mentioned in blog 5 that the spirit world treats criminals differently from normal arrivals. According to Dr. Michael Newton’s research, these criminals are sequestered away from contact with other souls for considerable periods of time while being given the opportunity to reflect on the effects of their lives on others and on how they might have acted differently. If rehabilitated, they then are allowed to associate with other souls. Unredeemable criminals, however, are referred to a facility where they are encouraged in every conceivable manner to modify their thinking. If they refuse all entreaties, they are confined in “limbo”. They also are refused the ability to reincarnate to Earth
I also mentioned in blog 5 about accountability for hurtful acts. While we are not punished for those lapses in our lives, Dr. Newton writes that if we want to grow or evolve, as most souls do, then we also will want to correct as best we can, the effects of those lapses on the persons we injured. I gather that if our later actions while we still are in our earthly bodies, amend previous hurtful episodes, we then do not carry any sort of obligation on to a future existence (remember, these kinds of personal obligations exist as such only if the soul itself desires further spiritual growth). However, if the soul in question has transitioned to the spirit world and now understands the seriousness of his of his or her hurtful actions towards others, and the person injured remains on this side of the veil, obviously a problem of communication now exists. Newton suggests the discarnate soul, would make every effort to contact those injured, to perhaps influencing their dreams or even to something as extreme as hijacking another’s medium encounters to express regrets for hurtful behavior while on Earth. When the person injured crosses over and the two meet by mutual agreement, the newly arrived soul, probably having experienced his or her own life review, usually is quite ready to forgive the other’s previous behavior. What goes around comes around, however, and the former perpetrator of hurtful actions may decide, as I mentioned above, that for his or her own spiritual growth he or she will deliberately choose a future existence as the recipient of the kinds of hurtful behaviors he or she previously practiced against others.
Now I’d like to move on to what Dr. Newton had to say about occupations in the spirit world. If any of us still harbor a picture of lounging on a cloud playing a harp in heaven for eternity, I’m afraid we are due for a surprise on arrival. You will recall that Dr. Newton was capable of hypnotically regressing his patients to periods between Earth lives as a result of his practicing this ability for forty years. He asked them while under hypnosis what type of “work” they did in the spirit world. Their responses indicated the existence of a wide variety of occupations, all deeply engaging and usually dependent on their unique talents, many of those talents having been latent during their earth lives. In structuring his book Dr. Newton employed the case study method. In case 29, for example, Amy, a patient under hypnosis, describes her encounter with a discarnate librarian. I’ve already mentioned the Council of Elders who are very advanced souls with quasi-judicial responsibilities, but always offering only recommendations to souls appearing before them. Also, I referred to spirit guides who have wide ranging responsibilities in assisting souls. Then, there are nursery attendants who work with very young arrivals. At the other end of the scale there are ethicists who teach ethical behavior. Some others are archivists and teachers at all levels of expertise, to mention just a few.
Work is not the only enterprise engaged in by residents of the spirit world. According to Dr. Newton’s inquiries, recreation is important, too. All forms of dance are popular, as is acting in plays. Creating music is widely enjoyed particularly collectively, such as in orchestras and choirs. We shouldn’t overlook group games with lots of participants where everyone has an equal position. An example given in “Destiny of Souls” is players lining up in two ranks and passing a ball back and forth as rapidly as possible all along the line. All of these activities reported by Dr. Newton give me an inkling of reasons why souls are not in any hurry to reincarnate on Earth, despite the fact that in our world of duality, opportunities for more rapid psychosocial evolution abound.
All in all, I have to agree with Shirley MacLaine, the famous actress and spiritualist, when she commented, “Journey of Souls” and “Destiny of Souls” are two of the most fascinating books I have ever read.” There are so many more aspects of life in the spirit world discussed in these two books than I have mentioned here, but I will leave it to the interested reader to discover them.