Exploring the Eternal Soul
An Extract from the book “Exploring the Eternal Soul”
(with kind permission of the publisher - O Books)
By Andy Tomlinson
What happens after death? Until recently humanity has relied on the various religious and esoteric traditions to provide the answers. However, these traditions have unfortunately provided all sorts of contradictions and confusion.
There are descriptions of heavens, hells, bardos, gods, angels, demons and the trials and tribulations to be overcome. The problem with many of these traditional views of death is that they contain widespread distortions however pure and wise their original sources might have been.
Many people believe that interlife regression provides the most detailed description of what happens after death. Sometimes called life between lives regression it has been progressively developed over the last 20 years, but particularly so over the last decade. Some of the pioneers include; Joel Whitton, Helen Wambach, Dolores Cannon, Peter Ramsden and Michael Newton.
They usually express a sudden sense of lightness and freedom, and sometimes the death scene is observed for a while with an air of detachment.
Many of them stumbled upon the interlife by issuing imprecise commands to a client during a past life, and amazingly found them talking about soul memories between lives. Thousands of people have now had their own interlife experience guided by the pioneers or other interlife therapists trained by them. The interlife reports show a remarkable consistency but what is particularly important is that many of the people in these interlife regressions had no prior knowledge. They also had beliefs from atheism through all the world’s major religions. This is an important point to note, that the client’s previous belief seems to make no difference to the nature of their interlife experience.
All of the interlife pioneers report that the experience begins with the subject moving or floating out of their physical body after the point of death in a past life. They usually express a sudden sense of lightness and freedom, and sometimes the death scene is observed for a while with an air of detachment. Some even attempt with limited success to contact grieving friends and relatives, to give them comfort before they move on into the light.
Nicola Barnard, who had minimal prior knowledge of the interlife before her session, provides one of the most lucid accounts of departure. She has initially regressed to a scene in a past life in which she is a seated figure in a marble temple, when an earthquake suddenly brings it crashing down around her:
Go to the point where your heart stops beating and then tell me what happens?
There’s a sense that it’s me that’s on the floor, and then there’s me that’s not on the floor anymore.
Have you left the body or are you still in the body?
I can see my body. I’m face down, but I’m dead. I can see my blood.
Are you able to describe the scene below you?
It’s chaos, but the strange thing is it’s not moving anymore. Everything’s stopped. There’s no more screaming or running around. So my body’s lying face down on the stone floor, and rocks have hit me in the head. I feel very unconcerned. I’m not feeling distressed at all.
What happens to you next?
People have come to my body. They’re very concerned and crying. They’re very upset and frightened but I’m not there in it. I’m somewhere above it. I know these people, they’re my friends. Somehow in all of this craziness, there’s a kind of stretcher or something, and they’re putting the body on it.
Ok, go to the point where you’re ready to leave.
I’m not in the building anymore. There are big white clouds, and blue skies. It’s by the sea.
Are you looking in the direction you’re going, or are you looking back?
I’m high up, but I’m still looking down, and I can see the sea.
Do you feel any sort of pull or do you just know the direction to go in?
I’m aware that there are people who were my friends who are still on the earth. I’m just aware of them, it’s not necessary to get closer.
Do you feel drawn to stay behind and see what happens to them, or can you move on?
I think I can go.
In Veronica Perry past life she dies peacefully after a simple life and is surrounded by her sisters:
Go to the point that you take your last breath.
[Deep sigh].
And then tell me what happens.
[Sighs] I feel very light. I’m looking down at my body. My sister’s sitting next to it. They’d prepared so well for my passing and everything’s in place. It’s like they’re holding a space in the energy so that I can move on easily.
How are they doing that?
By focusing on love and peace, by joyously accepting the process. We don’t mourn. We see it as a new beginning, not an end.
Is this helping you in any way?
I feel it’s so easy to move on. I look and I can see so many souls trying to move on and they’re being held back. Their loved ones want them to stay so much and they can’t move on peacefully. I feel so honored that I’m allowed to move on so easily.
What do you experience next?
I just feel myself moving further and further away. I can see the bedroom and my sisters. Then as I move further away I can see so much more. I can see all over the land. I feel I’m being drawn away.
Here Veronica raises an important point. A soul’s attempt to make the transition into the light after death can be hampered by the excessive grief of loved ones who do not want to lose them. This is often worse if they have no concept that the departing soul survives death and they will meet up again in the light realms. In most cases the grief will not actually prevent the soul from departing for the light unless it too cannot accept what has happened. In this wonderfully instructive case, Veronica and her loved ones are fully prepared for her death. They even regard it as a celebration of her return to her true home, making her task that much easier.
A soul’s attempt to make the transition into the light after death can be hampered by the excessive grief of loved ones who do not want to lose them.
Other interlife research suggests that although more experienced souls may be perfectly happy to make the transition into the light alone, other souls are aided. This can be by a spirit guide or by already deceased friends or relatives from that life. Some of these may be members of their soul group with whom they will have shared many incarnations.
Liz Kendry describes being met by deceased family members after her death as a woman in her eighties as follows:
Just describe the scene below you.
I’m sitting in a wing chair with my head resting and it looks like I’m sleeping. The fire’s still going.
Do you feel a need to stay with the body?
I’m going to go along with a tug. I turn away from the earth and look forward.
Tell me if you become aware of any lights in the distance.
Three. I’m moving towards them.
What do you start to notice?
I sense that one is my husband and the other two are my parents.
What happens as you make contact with your husband and parents again?
I’m not believing it. It’s like a dream. Maybe I’m just dreaming.
Do they embrace you in any way?
Yeah.
Describe what it feels like when you’re being embraced.
I feel surrounded by love. It’s like they can wrap their whole bodies around me.
This raises an interesting aspect of the initial transition that perhaps requires some clarification. The light realms can be perceived as ‘a light’ in near death experiences. In interlife experiences the light on closer examination always turns out to be one or more welcoming souls. Sometimes it may be whole clusters of souls. For Liz it is her husband and parents from that life who are her welcoming party. This is a fine example of the profound sense of love and comfort that characterize such reunions.
This is further demonstrated by Jack Hammond, who initially regressed to a relatively short life in which he was killed as a young soldier in WW2 while trying to save a friend. His spirit guide called Garth initially meets him, but then some of his soul mates decide to play a joke on him:
What does it feel like being in the presence of Garth?
Comfortable. Restful. Like you’re supposed to be there. Like this is all supposed to be.
Ok, let’s continue.
Um. I’m being left but I feel that I’m not alone. I’m with people.
Are these people in human form or energy form?
It’s halfway, it’s frustrating. If I were to put this in human terms, I’d say there’s half a dozen people, shaded, with gossamer cloaks and hoods. Ah, no, they’ve taken them off now. They’re laughing at me, smiling at me.
Was there any reason for them having these gossamer cloaks on?
[Laughs] They’re playing a joke.
What’s the joke?
How do I explain it? It’s like they deliberately appeared in a way that I wouldn’t expect. It’s got something to do with my characteristics and my nature. Something like, ‘you think you know it all, but you don’t, you see’. It’s like I know them well. I couldn’t say who they are in human terms, because they are dressed up.
What does it feel like being in their presence?
Ah, it’s lovely. They’re friends. We’re embracing each other, smiling, laughing. They’re thoroughly enjoying their joke.
Can they just change in whatever way they want?
Yes, I think that was the joke. They weren’t in human form as such, they were in an energy form, which they’d made out to be these hooded mysterious-type people. That’s obviously got some significance to me, like it’s a joke on me. It’s something to do with my ego, getting at my ego. They were sort of teaching me a lesson.
What sort of dialogue do you have with them after this initial introduction?
It’s light hearted and not serious. It’s not an in-depth discussion, it’s almost like a welcoming committee, saying ‘welcome back’ and ‘good to see you’ and that sort of thing.
This case introduces another concept of the interlife. The perceived view of our spiritual bodies can change simply by the projection of thoughts into the energy. The normal soul body is of course just energy but it can be shown a human form for the benefit of the incoming soul. Welcoming souls project themselves in a form that will give comfort to those they meet, which is often as a family member or friend from the previous life. The more experienced souls are reasonably comfortable with meeting other souls and their surroundings in the natural energy form.
The rest of the book follows these and other subjects as they meet their soul groups, review their past life, and meet spirit guides and evolved spirits who no longer need to reincarnate to plan their current life. Interlife soul memory testimony is consistent from thousands of people. The strength lies in that it comes from countless ordinary men and women. Many people think that this is the most profound source of spiritual wisdom that has ever been available to humanity.
The names of the clients have been changed and some minor adjustments to improve readability and avoid repetition, yet remain as accurate as possible to the original content.
About the Interviewee
 | Andy Tomlinson is a pioneering reincarnation explorer, psychotherapist, regression therapist, hypnotherapist and an international trainer. More about the soul memories between lives can be found in his book Exploring the Eternal Soul and the techniques for this kind of regression are covered in another of his books Healing the Eternal Soul. Alternatively visit Andy’s website: |
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