What happens to us when we die? Where does our soul go? Chances are if you were brought up in a religious background you believe that there are only 2 places you can go: Heaven and Hell. If you are a good person and believe the right things, you spend eternity in Heaven. If you are a sinful person, you spend an eternity in hell. Thankfully, this is a false dichotomy.
On top of the fact that it doesn’t even make sense to think about only 2 options (both of which are eternal), there has been a lot of scientific investigation into what happens when people leave their bodies when it dies and then returns after experiencing time in the spirit world. Thousands of near-death experiences have given us the information we need to form a more accurate picture of what awaits us on the other side. Some do report hellish realms, and almost all report heavenly realms, but there is another side of the coin here that needs to be addressed.
Dr Michael Newton is a psychologist who specialized in hypnotherapy, where he would put people into hypnosis to bring out any past traumas they experienced in their lives and walk them through the memories into healing. He soon discovered that he was able to bring people back so far into their memories that they were remembering things that weren’t even taking place in this life anymore. They were taking place between lives!
In his books Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls (which together have sold over half a million copies) he shares case studies that he has gathered over the course of four decades of bringing people back into the memories of their soul’s journey. Surprisingly, they all said the exact same things and coincided very nicely with a lot of the NDE accounts that have occurred. Here are 7 things which these two fields of study have strongly suggested happen to us when we die:
1) Life Flash
2) You Can See Your Body
3) The Light
People always report seeing a light when they die. The light appears off in the distance, and you will slowly be pulled towards it, almost as if you are being pulled by a magnet. The light is always accompanied by a sense of love and peace. This is your transition phase back to your home in the spirit world.
4) Seeing Dead Relatives
It’s important to note here that the souls will take on the image they had in physical form to create a sense of home and familiarity for you. Souls don’t look like they did on earth necessarily.
The body is just a body. The soul is formless but can take various shapes to serve different purposes. It is said that advanced souls who have lived many lives don’t necessarily have relatives that greet them, because they understand what the spirit world is about and have been through many times before. It is said in the books that advanced souls sometimes skip this step because it is not needed for them.
5) Guardian Angels/Spirit Guides
You have your own assigned guardian angel, or ‘spirit guide’ depending on which term you like to use better. Whatever you wish to call them, you will encounter your guide in the spirit world and they will comfort you and make you feel at home. But, this is also the time where the fun and games are over. After you experience some of the heavenly realms, duty begins to call. Your guide has been with you and watching you throughout your life, and wants to go over some things with you. It’s time to take out your report card from the life you just lived:
6) Life Review
You meet with your angels/guides and go over everything that happened in your life. People report seeing their entire life as a sort of movie film in front of their eyes or on the pages of a book. You may have to see some things that make you feel ashamed and like you failed, but this is not a time of judgment.
This is a time of review and discussion about what needs to be improved upon as a soul. After you see your whole life, you may come to an agreement with your guides to come back to Earth to work on things after a certain period of time in the spirit world.
7) You Don’t Want To Return
But remember, reincarnation may await you. You may either volunteer to come back to help other souls on earth, you may NEED to come back to alleviate Karma, or you may choose to come back to evolve more like a soul and experience the richness of life.
Keep in mind, these are what thousands of people have been saying about their memories/experiences of the afterlife, and these conclusions are being drawn from forty years of professional work. I personally confidently believe in the reality of such a process, as I think it makes the most sense and is well supported by evidence.
That being said, there are people who report going to realms which resemble Hell where they see demons and other nasty things. We can’t turn a blind eye to the reality of dark realms just because they may scare us. Although Dr Newton did not report any such findings, many people who have had NDEs have had very frightening experiences which had deterred them away from bad behaviour and inspired them to live better lives.
