Death: It’s the one big trip we all take alone. And if it’s anything more than the end of the road—aside from birth—it’s arguably the most important trip we will ever take. Yet when the subject comes up, most of us, particularly in the secular West, are reluctant to discuss it or even contemplate it. “Don’t go there, ” we say. “I don’t want to talk about it. ” And even those who are open to the possibility of an afterlife or who follow a spiritual tradition often say, “One life at a time for me … I’ll worry about it when I get there. ”
So why the absence of curiosity? Could one reason be that, in the Christian world, we have had two thousand years of being told that we’re going to a harp-playing heaven or an eternal, torturous hell for things we have or haven’t believed or done? Even for the humanists and die-hard atheists among us, that possibility still lingers—it’s a well-furrowed belief, almost hard-wired into our minds. In Hamlet, Shakespeare calls it “the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns. ” It’s the unknown we all know is coming.
Afterlife communicators across multiple sources repeatedly report that this unwillingness to contemplate the trip is resulting in billions of people needing help after death—at least initially. It’s like showing up in an unknown country with no money, no baggage, no map, no phone, and not knowing the language.
In Life Here and Hereafter, recorded by automatic-writing medium Charlotte E. Dresser, a communicator said: “We know that materialism is leading many into habits of life and thought that will defer their awakening and advance here very seriously. This is not necessary for most of them, for they are not evil, and in many cases not especially selfish. But the strong thought that they hold, that there is no future life, reacts upon them to such an extent that they fail to respond to the influences here after they arrive.”
In the book, Dresser mentions a man named Frank Chase. Frank had been dead for a number of years, and she was curious as to what had happened to him. She’d asked the circle operating “spirit side” about his whereabouts but had heard nothing. Then one day the communicators wrote through her hand:
“Will you send a message to Frank Chase? If you did he might like to come to this circle. If we can interest him in this work it will be well for him. He seems to question everything, and doubts even the spiritual life. He knows, of course, that he has passed away from earth, but is busy explaining that and many other things with a philosophy of his own. He has a bright brain, and we wish to turn it to the truth and lead him into the right thought here. That is why I asked you to send him a message. He does not know you are communicating. We believe that if he can find himself—that is, realize that he is a spirit and living a spirit life already—that he will begin to study and grow. ”
Dresser, via the communicators, reminded Frank about a trip he took to New York to visit a girl. Just as people in the physical world receive evidential information from the spirit world, Frank needed evidence that those trying to help him couldn’t have known. The New York trip was a trivial memory, but it finally helped him understand that it was Dresser who was actually communicating—that spirit communication was real—and that help was available should he choose to accept it. When asked how it was possible that Frank, reportedly a man of “high ideals” who was scientifically minded, had spent so long since his death unaware of his reality, they replied:
“Try to think of yourself in a dream, a long dream, and everything happening in ways that are strange, yet you do not wonder about it. Your dream accepts the things as true. That is as near as I can describe his situation. When he first came, he was met by his father and sister, but they failed to reach his reasoning mind and he has wandered on in this condition through all these years. ”
In my book No One’s Dead: The Jesus Messages, I document a communication between James E. Padgett, a Washington, D.C., attorney, and his college professor, Joseph Salyards, who died in 1885. In 1914, Padgett began receiving messages from his wife, Helen, who had recently died, which led to thousands of communications during the next nine years, including more than a hundred purporting to be from Jesus.
On February 25, 1915, Salyards communicated to Padgett that he wanted to share his observations of people crossing over:
“I have noticed that the spirit, when it first comes into this life, is very often in a condition of darkness, not realizing where it is, or what its surroundings are. In many instances it requires quite a long time for the spirit to realize that it is not still of earth. … I attribute the first mentioned condition to be due to the fact, that when on earth the mortal had no definite belief as to what the future life might be. In many instances [the mortal] believed that the soul went into the grave with the body, to await ‘the great resurrection day.’ Some of your religious denominations are preaching that doctrine now. The consequence will be, that all those who believe the doctrine will experience the condition of darkness, and the want of knowledge of the continuity of life that I have spoken of.”
During a further Dresser communication, she asked how many need help when they cross over. “We think we can truthfully say that one-fourth of those who come to this side are made to understand the needs of spirit life in a reasonable time, ” they replied. “But the remaining three-fourths are our problem and care. We do not mean that all of this large number are unable to advance, but that they are slow, and sometimes very slow. We have many, many whom we seem unable to help at all. We do not know that it is impossible for them to advance, but we do know that many of them have made no advancement since we came; and we are told that some of them have been in this condition for centuries. ”
If the communicators are correct and 75 percent of us are going to spend some time in darkness after death, it might be a good idea to at least be open to the idea that No One’s Dead and prepare for the trip.
Jonathan Beecher is the author of No One’s Dead: The Jesus Messages, published by White Crow Books. This article can also be found on Substack.
Thanks for this! it’s point that’s been made before but it is well worth repeating. As to how many are currently in this static astral state i am not sure but i suspect considerably less, mainly due to digital chatter about the nde and popular psychics having their own podcasts. but let me add that when i visit pioneer graveyards where many have been interred in the middle to late 19th century i can tune into the many spirits there ‘sleeping in jesus until judgement day’. i talk to them and sowing them the column of light i’ve created so they can join their loved ones at the topend, and whom they can see waving at them, i am still greeted as some demon sent to trick them into some false heaven, at least by some, while others take the chance and, much to their surprize, float upwards.
Also thanks for the tip re Charlotte Dresser, whose work i had not heard of.
Gord & Mike,
The Dresser communications, like Padgett, were from the early 1900s so not related to current day NDEs or current day psychics, but I get your point, Gordon.
I don’t think we can be sure about anything to do with the next stage in life, but like hearing reports from a country we haven’t been to by those who claim to have been there or are there, we can see common themes, and one reoccurring message seems to be, expectation of a continuity of life beyond death with no otherwise rigid beliefs is beneficial—at least in the early stages. It’s a variation of the Lazarus and the rich man parable which in an increasingly secular West is as relevant as ever. And as far as I can see, there’s nothing to lose. If there is no trip, we won’t know. 😊
Jon, it’s something I always try to point out to my friends who say, “one life at a time” and “we’ll find out when we get there.” However, when I mention what you have above, most of them laugh it off.
Why? Because, once death has touched your life, in a close and personal way, it ruins the whole rest of it, death is pure and utter sadness, no matter how you try and look at it, it is a devastating loss, period. And every time thereafter, when you think of it, happy times are ruined, your mind is tainted by death, it won’t leave your thoughts to be, it takes the joy out of every new experience, of each and every day, more or less, no matter, the fleeting thought is enough to make you feel sad, deep in your heart. Who needs or wants to know more about this morbid event, or be reminded that this life you love and those you love in it, will eventually be taken away…and there’s nothing you can do or change about it. It’s best to have death come as late in anyone’s life as possible, it will certainly not make for a happier one, you must not know how this feels yet, or you have not truly loved life, or anyone in it. The truth is that the first time people really ask questions about it, become curious enough to wonder about death, is when you have experienced it and you are looking to be close still to the life you lost, not yours yet, it sucks, and the only questions you have are about your loved one, and maybe about some kind of “after” part, anyway this only leaves you just as devoid of any possibility besides waiting…yes, death can wait, and life and love never dwell in questions until we have no choice.
BL, I agree that the first time many ask questions about death is when they experience it. I can only speak from myself. There are almost eight billion of us on the planet—each one with a unique perspective—I’m just one of the eight billion. Personally, I was never curious about death; I was living a full life and death was to be avoided. Nevertheless, one day I received an evidential communication (completely unexpectedly) from someone close to me who had died. I couldn’t ignore it and wanted to understand more. Now it seems to me there is no death other than that of the physical body. Without that communication I’m almost certain I wouldn’t be having this conversation.
I hope that despite the loss the love remains, and I wish you all the best.
Thanks, Jon and Gordon. FYI, I recently participated in a session with a good friend who’s also a marvelous medium… in which I’d asked to be put in touch with three male friends on the other side. I was especially concerned with one dear friend, Peter, who’d had no conception whatsoever of an afterlife — in fact, stubbornly so. Anyway, it turned out that, indeed, he was stuck in a featureless limbo. Nonetheless, he seemed to recognize my presence immediately and we connected. Before long he put two and two together and realized that if he was even aware of “nothing” then his consciousness had survived physical death! So I asked him who or what he would like to see. “My parents.” So I suggested he visualize his parents. After a short while he says “OH! I see my parents!” … I say “Wonderful. Then just go to your parents!” The session ended with Peter’s saying “Yes…. I’m … going… to … my parents.” This left me in tears.
Daniel, would you kindly put me in touch with your medium friend? My darling husband, a physician and board certified psychiatrist passed unexpectedly. We teach family therapy-the invisible space between loved ones to psychiatry residents for 17 yrs. We are best friends. Thank you for helping me to reach him.
Dan, that seems to be a common theme. It’s as if where our attention is, changes our reality.
I am reading the Jesus communications via James E. Padgett now. What a breath of fresh air! Oh, the dear souls that could be saved from the unwarranted fear of death, and the souls that could be advanced on the other side Get a copy. Enjoy!
Lot’s of interesting information there, Larry.
BL, I suspect that your sadness at the thought of death, whether yours or your loved ones’, is greatly intensified by the thought that death means extinction. If you believe that life carries on and you’ll meet your loved ones again, you will find much comfort. Most of the books published by White Crow Books, including this one, will bring such comfort. I wish you well.
Really enjoyed your book which I just finished reading Jon. You have an intriguing background which only adds to your credibility. I was in London during the sixties tho’ I was in my early twenties so have twelve years on you . Great times . My wife is an evangelical Christian but fairly open minded so I’ve passed on your book to her to review the biblical references to Jesus. Should make for riveting conversations. Anway I’m on board with a lot of your sentiments and am grateful to have been privy to Michael Tymn’s blogs over the past decade plus. They’ve cemented my belief in the afterlife together with the considerable reading and podcasts on the entire subject matter of Parasychology. Fascinating stuff. Sometimes it does raise more questions than answers but that’s the beauty of these blogs and the learned opinions of the readeship. Many thanks Andrew Simpson
Andrew,
Many thanks for taking the time to read the book. I’m glad you enjoyed it—it’s a fascinating subject for the curious, and there are always more questions. I would be interested to hear what your wife thinks.
It seems to me that the “roadmap” the communicators present is, in part, Unitarian-Universalist/Origenian which the Christian hierarchy has historically rejected and still does. I’m not attached to any particular religion, and my own roadmap keeps evolving, but the communicators’ version does seem to reflect Jesus’ teachings more closely than mainstream “Augustinian” Christianity does, and it chimes with many afterlife reports.
I imagine you had fun in London in the sixties. 😊 The seventies were my formative years. It’s still a great city—I haven’t made it to Canada yet!
Hi Jon, good advice I suppose, but the real problem for most people is that it is hard to do advance recce or “prep” for a country concerning which we know nothing. If you know you are going to Japan then you can do some advance prep, learn the language, and you will have a vague idea what to expect. The problem with the afterlife is that it remains an abstract concept for most people, and because there are different claims about the afterlife from different mediums, psychics, etc, none of us can be certain about what, if anything, we are likely to experience after we have taken our final heartbeat in this body. Except for a small minority of mediums, who claim to be capable of seeing into other dimensional realities, we are in the dark about what to expect when we cross over, which is why most people simply adopt a “hope for the best” attitude.
Rex,
I’m in the UK, and I’d agree that most people I know don’t really contemplate death or what, if anything, might follow. But around the world, the majority believe life continues in some form — whether they’re Buddhists in Thailand, Hindus in India, and so on. And throughout recorded history, in most religions and belief systems, preparing for what comes next has been central.
The communicators are saying the same thing. The common theme is, we wish we knew then what we know now, and just having an idea that life continues, reportedly is helpful, at least in the early stages.
When we look across the thousands of afterlife reports, it’s up to us whether we treat any of them as credible. If we accept that the communicators exist — even though they’re probably no more all-knowing than we are — they do tell us what they’re experiencing, which we can view as a potential roadmap, or not.
Throughout my life, I’ve personally taken the view that hope is not a strategy. Not being religious, I used to be quite comfortable with oblivion — and still am — but now I no longer believe that oblivion is an option so I’m prepping for the trip.
Why contemplate the afterlife? Other than concern for one’s own futurity, afterlife awareness changes our relationships with those we once thought dead and forever gone. When a friend comes to mind, whether recently deceased or long gone from this world, I take that inner prompting as an opportunity to reflect, connect, and offer gratitude for their present existence in my life. Some say that “Grief is just love with no place to go.” If it is true that, as per the title of your book “No one’s dead”, then my love for someone “dead” has as certain a place to go as my love for my sisters and brother across town, or friends on the other side of the continent. If space is no barrier to love, and physical proximity is not required for love and affection to be real, then how is death different than moving to New Zealand?
In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29, after bemoaning his “outcast state” he says:
What we mourn when a friend passes from our world to the next, is not their gain but our loss. We may, perhaps, mourn our failure to find resolution before their departure, but is it really too late to ask for forgiveness, or share our pain that resulted from their actions? Whether they can forgive or apologize is irrelevant, for I can still do my part to lift their burden and mine. And accepting that life continues after separation from the corporeal encasement, then the sting of death is lessened and goodbye becomes “until we meet again.”
Paul, well said.
We are told that acceptance of the continuity of life is a large part of that preparation, love being another. As Cora Richmond reported after her out-of-body trip, “Love is the great illuminator in all realms and worlds.”
Speaking during a time of war, she said of those crossing over: “All cannot be aided to at once perceive the newfound condition; everything must depend on the degree of spiritual preparedness, which is often greater among the humble and lowly—who have a line of simple life, simple love, simple duty to follow—than among those of more complex mental and moral states, the ‘leaders.’ The real state, spiritually, determines the ‘condition’ of the spirit in spirit life.”
Rex…
Regarding the “different claims about the afterlife from different mediums, psychics, etc”…this may be true with regard to relatively minor details, but when it comes to the main issue–the guiding principle as to “what it’s all about”–there’s pretty close to 100% unanimity. I can’t think of any communicator who’s commented on the subject who didn’t say, in one set of words or another, that our afterlife circumstances depend upon our sense of “love”–obviously not the romantic kind, but the sense of unity we feel with our fellow humans (and in the words of many, with all living creation as well).
In the latter vein, I had a personal experience a few weeks back which I, at least, found noteworthy. My wife and I had to “put down” a beloved family dog several months ago. She was very old, and had been with us for over 16 years. On one particular night, I was lying in bed musing on whether or not we had waited too long before letting her go (being fully deaf, mostly blind, and with increasing lack of mobility in her rear hips, her last days were difficult). As these thoughts were going through my mind, all of a sudden I became aware of an intense “dog smell”
around my head and pillow. The first thought that came to mind was that it was probably a psychological reaction which I had created (imaginarily) myself. However, when I tried, both then and on later occasions, to reproduce that distinct odor intentionally–I was completely unable to. Under the circumstances, the idea of a nightime visitation from a surviving dog-spirit becomes far more tenable–particularaly since (as Jon knows) I’ve had a previous experience or two in this vein…
Don, my condolences. I have two beloved 15 year-old dogs; both have slowed down in the past few months.