Roadmap of the spirit worlds
© 2002 by Mark Macy

 
At the center of creation is the source, what religions call God, Yahweh, Allah, or Brahman. It emits a pure, non-vibrating Light—a consciousness of the purest and most loving form. It is absolute truth and infinite knowledge. Christians refer to this Light as Holy Spirit. It’s the essence of God. (I capitalize the word "Light" to distinguish it from the electromagnetic light and energy which we on Earth are familiar with. The Light from the source is pure consciousness, the essence of everything.) Each of us has a piece of the source within us. It’s called soul, or atman, and it’s the real, eternal you and me.

As the Light leaves the source, it begins to vibrate, at first very fast, but the farther it goes from the source, the more slowly it vibrates, manifesting as everything in every realm. The totality of creation is sometimes called the omniverse. At the farthest reaches of the omniverse is the physical realm, where consciousness vibrates at its very slowest rate, becoming very dense and manifesting as forms, structures, and the dense, "heavy" energies of the electromagnetic spectrum. Existence here in the physical realm is the most illusory of all, as it is farthest removed from the source. Our physical body is a rugged vehicle in which the soul and spirit can navigate through a rugged world. When we die and shed the physical body, we embark on the ultimate adventure. 

As we move inward from the physical realm toward the source, we first enter the quantum realm which is much like the physical realm—a place of form and structure—but not quite so dense. The quantum realm is meant to be a place of gentle transition after death, but pockets of darkness and confusion have developed there as a result of spiritual ignorance, superstition, and fear of death.

Moving inward, we next move into the astral realm which is wonderfully light and subtle. Compared to Earth, this place is a paradise, especially as we ascend in vibration through the many astral worlds. Our body becomes lighter as we approach the ethereal realm until we reach an invisible boundary, beyond which nothing of form can enter. Because of the negativity in much of the quantum realm, many people pass through a tunnel after they die, which is a means of bypassing the quantum realm and moving directly to the paradise of the astral realm.

While it is vibrating most quickly, Light from the source manifests as the ethereal realm, and the inhabitants of that realm have formless Light bodies. To us they might look like clouds of living energy. By our standards they are almost infinitely wise and loving beings. They can move into the astral realm, at which time they manifest luxuriant astral bodies that glow in rainbow colors.

The various realms of spirit are not separated from each other or from God by distance or by space, but by vibration. Three-dimensional space is an illusion of the physical realm, and from the perspective of 3-D space, the entire omniverse is superimposed over our world. 

This roadmap of the spirit worlds is distinguished by its simplicity and accuracy. It is especially helpful in understanding and reconciling the differences among most religions, esoteric schools, and other institutions that dwell on the multidimensional reality around us. For example:

Hinduism. Brahma, or God, is the source of everything, Vishnu and Shiva are the creative and destructive forces in the ethereal realm, and the various Hindu deities reside in the paradise of the astral realm. Traditionally a man passes through four stages on Earth starting around age 10—learning spiritual truth from a teacher, enjoying the responsibilities and pleasures of marriage, retreating into nature to retire from the rigors of society, and finally, renouncing all worldly possessions to become a wandering ascetic. This lifetime of spiritual awareness and final detachment allow the spirit, upon death, to leave Earth peacefully and either settle into paradise or reincarnate on Earth.

Buddhism. Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.), the Buddha, espoused an eight-fold path to enlightenment, in which we employ right living, mindfulness, and concentration to move our deepest awareness beyond the illusions of the physical and astral realms, into the ethereal realm close to God. In doing so, we tap into the purest and truest source of wisdom and Love available, but it can only be achieved by overcoming the sensual desires and material attachments that come naturally to the physical body and mind.

Tibetan Buddhism. Upon death, we shed the physical body and astral body and move quickly through the ethereal realm toward God. The Light at that point is so unbearably bright to the soul fresh out of the physical realm, that we have to backtrack to find our home frequency—that is, the vibration most comfortable and compatible with the patterns of thought and feeling that we have developed during our days on Earth. An astral body forms as we move back into the astral realm, either to settle in paradise for awhile or to reincarnate (select another lifetime in a dense body in the physical realm).

Judeo-Christianity. Heaven, a perfect paradise of form and structure, is in the higher reaches of the astral realm, Hell is in the dark pockets of fear and confusion that have developed over the eons in the quantum realm, and the spirit of Jesus Christ is in the ethereal realm closest to God, the source. Moses and other Biblical prophets presumably also have ascended in vibration to the ethereal realm. Holy Spirit is the pure Light emitted by God which emanates throughout all realms and brings ultimate coherence to reality at all levels.

Islam. The prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE) left his body while asleep one night in Mecca, ascended through the astral and ethereal realms (the seven heavens, or Mir’aj), to the presence of Allah, the source, where he was given five daily prayers that would keep him and his followers close to Allah in their thoughts, words, and actions. Then Mohammed brought those five prayers back through the paradise of the astral realm and the torments residing in the quantum realm before returning to his bed in Mecca. The five prayers became a cornerstone of every Muslim’s life.
 

After fifty years of living and considerable searching, I've found that the ultimate purpose for a lifetime on Earth is to enjoy the fruits and learn the lessons of the physical realm while doing our best to connect our conscious mind to the source—that is, to get in touch with our soul. Connecting consciously with our soul is a formidable task, as it involves purifying our mind, body, and spirit. In my opinion and experience it is impossible to overcome hormones, egos, and other unpredictable influences on our physical lives without adopting effective techniques and/or wise, loving ethereal intercessors between ourselves and the source. The time-proven methods above have provided those techniques and intercessors freely for many centuries for billions of people, and I believe they all can provide an effective path to the source for people today. As always, those who make the best connection are those who can commit to purifying the body, mind, and spirit. 

There are also more modern institutions and techniques available today for the more pioneering spirit. Four examples:

Eckankar. Through meditative practice a person can learn to leave the physical body for awhile and travel in spirit through the quantum, the astral, and maybe the ethereal realms. Eckankar breaks down the three realms into a variety of subdivisions based on the sensations one experiences when entering them. Like the time-proven techniques of the various religions, the astral-traveling techniques of Eckankar require time and practice to perfect. And connecting with our soul for meaningful travels into the ethereal realm always requires inner work.

The Institute of HeartMath. Mystics for centuries have called the heart the seat of the soul. The heart is also the location of the middle of seven chakras, or energy centers in the body. When we move our awareness from the head to the heart during meditation, or during our waking hours, profound positive changes occur in our body, mind, and spirit. HeartMath researchers have been studying those changes under laboratory conditions since 1991.

The Monroe Institute. The founder, Robert Monroe, devised a simple and effective sound technology in which an alternating rhythm fed in stereo into the ears alters brain activity in such a way that the mind and spirit can detach from the physical brain and body in order to move to specific locations or vibratory levels in what appear to be the quantum and astral realms. The technology is being further refined by his chief engineer Skip Atwater and daughter Laurie Monroe. In the coming years it will be interesting to see if such technologies, coupled with inner work, will allow us to soul-travel into the ethereal realm for meaningful interaction.

Instrumental transcommunication (ITC). Again, technologies are employed to connect with the spirit realms. In this case, beings in the various realms are able to communicate directly with us by sending words and pictures through our TVs, radios, computers, telephones, tape recorders, and other devices. After a decade of research, I believe that ITC holds tremendous rewards for humanity if (and only if) we can connect with the ethereal realm. That cannot be achieved through technology alone; it will also require researchers' commitment to inner work. Specifically, the individuals involved will have to learn to replace doubts, fears, and insecurities, with love, awe, confidence, and trust. Without that, ethereal beings cannot collaborate with us. Only through inner work can we forge a fruitful, endurable ITC relationship with the Light, ethereal realm of existence.

As for me, having denied the existence of the source and spirit for most of my life, I have become fully immersed in spiritual pursuits since 1990. My path of choice is ITC research, and (having grown up in a liberal Christian family in a Christian society) I have also reattached myself to the Christian tradition for spiritual support. But I'm not an exclusive Christian; I see equal validity in all the time-proven traditions. I envision a bright future for ITC research in which a growing number of researchers from different spiritual and cultural backgrounds commit to harmony and decency through inner work. That commitment will allow us to forge a lasting bond with the ethereal realm, and miracles will flow into our world in the form of ITC contacts. Unprecedented wisdom and knowledge will be at our fingertips.