With so much attention these days of interest in the Afterlife, I felt it would be helpful to write about how people live up in Heaven, the "Other Side". It really is "the Other Side" of our existence down here on Earth, too, as we literally live out real lives, busy with all the various activities that people enjoy down here in terms of growth. We live in similar living conditions, that is to say homes, apartments, condominiums, etc. We also have places to go, people that we visit, schools where we learn, and much the same type of feelings that we share as we do down here. Heaven is our real home, where we came from, and where we return to after our brief time down here on Earth. Sometimes we return quickly due to various types of passing, so it is important to realize that while we are in the tunnel of light going back Home, we do have the feeling of inner peace coming into us.

Once we get there, we realize instantly that we are back, and even though some passings are quick, there are Guides who come rapidly to help with the newly-returned spirits plus family members also to make the transition as peaceful as possible. These Guides are called "Adjusters". They help with the reacquainting of ourselves back to our former Home. What might be going through your mind at that point is "what happens next?" The Lord comes frequently depending upon the relationship the Spirit has with the Lord, plus if there is a variation of beliefs there, Lord Buddha or Mohammed would also appear. They often appear together as in a joint appearance just for a moment, to show the Spirit that there are all who are in the Spirit World acquainted with these Individuals who are a part of the system of government in Heaven. You see, they are all on the "same team" with regards to aiding God.

Next is the review of the Spirit's Akashic Record and that is done at the Hall of Records. Often the person reviews it privately if they so desire, or alongside of someone close to them, either their family member or an Adjuster Guide. Along with that the Lord Jesus comes to aid with this. Getting through that can either be difficult or wonderful, depending upon the type of existence the person had on Earth.

After the past-life review, the person is shown their new home for the time being, usually a wonderful place where many are gathered, much like a group therapy home where about 4-8 people live. It is often quite busy in these places, as they are temporary housing facilities for those newly returned. Most people are not willing to just go to a home or apartment of the type of dwelling that they prefer, and then have the door close on them with their living all by themselves. Many need companionship and this is a good way to handle it. Remember the Spirit is grieving, too, and there is the funeral planning going on usually, with the person wanting to be a part of it also. Often the Spirit stands alongside of the bereaved, just to be supportive of them while the Funeral Director gives the pertinent information about the funeral plans etc. so the Spirit does try to be of comfort to the bereaved at that point, but often it just has to be done without their hearing about it. But the option is the Spirit's to either be present or not. You see, Free Will does apply often to these circumstances with the Spirit.

Our Dimension and the Spirit Realm are so very close to each other that travel is instantaneous, however, the Earth Plane is much lower in vibrations, so that the Spirit has to keep that in mind, as they have now become a part of a high Dimension and thus can get terribly tired if they are staying down here too long a time, especially right at first. Along with that usually their emotions have also drained them, too, so exhaustion is something that they need to be watching out for. You see, if they don't, then the Lord needs to come and bring them back to Heaven, which also makes it apparent that prudence isn't being followed. If that is the case, then the Spirit will have his/her visits regulated so that they don't tire themselves out extensively. It is all a part of a good system of responsible behavior.

They stay in these temporary housing facilities for a while, usually a few weeks in order to get back together with their Soul Family Group and discuss where and how they would like to dwell. Usually on the whole, there are no complications to deal with so the person will move out and into another location, usually a place of living where one or more of his family is also dwelling. Remember that all in the Spirit world are adults, unless a child Spirit returns and thus chooses to either return instantly to their Higher Self which is adult age, or another way is to come to the Lord and ask to be brought up by another person in the family as a child still. Either way it is the Lord's final decision with this, and all is good either way with the child, as he or she can do whatever feels right to them. If the maturity issue is still something to consider, then the child will stay a child for years until such time as the Eternal Body of theirs is adjusted to the emotional level their Spirit is at. Either way, it does work.

By this time the returned Spirit has been up in Spirit for about 3-5 months, and that has given them time to adjust. They can then go back to the Hall of Records and review their Akashic Record once again if they so desire. It is always for the Highest and Best Good that it is allowed, and once the Spirit has had time to read and re-read some of the written text about their life, then they can also go and review it visually at the Hall of Records Viewing Room. There are dome-shaped glass tables that display a visual account of three dimensional quality just so that the person can view the 3-D effect of their past lives in sequences so that the whole viewpoint can be witnessed. Many times there is the ability to just see it from all standpoints in this, and that is wonderful, but it usually is displayed just from the Spirit's own perspective right at first. You can ask the Holy Spirit to change the viewpoint from another person's perspective of the situation, so you can sense their feelings and what they remarked, as well. So it is an amazing gift of God to have this Divinely created instrument.

During this period also there are Guidance Counselors who are working towards independence for the Spirit and they, too, warrant mentioning. Counselors share choices and options available for the Spirits. They list the available jobs that are needed done and many a time it is viewed as a type of commitment service for the Lord work. You see there are two types of work done in Heaven, one is the public service work, and the second is the work that you are willing and capable of doing and you also have an affinity to. The public-service jobs that are done by all are that which aids the whole of Heaven. They are rotated so that no one gets stuck in a job that they really abhor, but the point of it is to keep in mind that "there are no freebies in Heaven" and that having a nice place to live and work is how people whether they are in the flesh or in Spirit grow and learn.

It is really important to have a good attitude about this public-service work and to be willing to aid, as all attitudes are noticed. The hours worked are not long and the schedule is arranged so that the Spirit does have free time. Usually the work day varies with approximately 4-7 hours of work done, depending upon the type of work. The work week isn't a full week either, so the public-service work could be something like 4 hours a day for the 5-day work week, or 7 hours for 3 days a week. Then the work is also designated with the attitude that there are those who benefit from just a kind word, so the newly returned Spirit might also be assigned a "welcome person" who greets those newly returned Spirits who arrived several months after them. So the inter-relationship is there with the 6-month's returned Spirits greeting the 3-week returned Spirits, for example.

Many types of vocations that they have here on Earth do not apply up in Spirit, so you can sense that some vocations cannot be continued by the newly-returned Spirit, and that is why there are Counselors who are there to help plan out a future for the person. They do welcome ideas as to how a person can cope better with returning to Spirit and offer a service of aid. There are those vocations that can be helpful and are what the Spirit themselves choose to do and a work plan for the future is planned out.

I know I would like to just write about how perfect heaven is and keep this whole article totally positive, but in the perspective of having an investigative and impartial viewpoint here, I have inquired of my Guides how it really is in Heaven. You might be wondering right now why people have to work up in Spirit, but you can sense a need to have a good perspective in this, with "aiding another" the theme. Plus there is the issue of keeping all in good planning and organizing so that people are not lackadaisical, lazy, feeling sorry for themselves, dwelling on the past, moping around for years and years, and living in a repetitive existence. When you have Eternity facing you, you need to have a good perspective on it all, otherwise you would get into a rut and have complications.

What happens to someone who absolutely refuses to help in Heaven? Even though so much is given to them freely, i.e. their housing, gifts of the Spirit, beautiful grounds, amusement park for each Plane, outdoor recreation, public libraries, lecture halls, and other amenities of a well-thought-out society, there might be some who would balk at helping along these lines with a public-service job, even if it is part-time. With those people I am told that they are given the regular reminders to please help with the work load, and if all else in the way of reminders fail, the Lord steps in and problems result with the physical symptoms of reversal of their status in heaven. They have to deal with the issue of not wanting to aid with the group's whole improvement, and that causes trouble to their Auric Field, and that way it makes it noticed to all that they have to have their refusal shown above their heads for a period of time. Then they have to deal with the issues of their complaining to another higher up about this, and that also is noted. If all else fails, then they leave Heaven in a state of disgrace and it causes them to dwell in the lower region of upper Purgatory till such time as they attitude of dissent is altered.
If you've ever watched the television mediums giving a reading, or have had one yourself, the mediums rarely if at all get any current information about what the Spirit is doing with their lives up in Spirit. They just get information that the Spirit stops by and visits you and notices that you got, for example, new carpeting installed last week, or something that is currently happening in your life, and how much the Spirit loves you, matters pertaining to their death, etc., but the Spirits don't talk about where they work up in Heaven now, what their days are like, where they go for recreation, and what it is really like for them. I started noticing this absence of their current lives mentioned in readings. After watching television mediums during the day for several months, there showed this pattern of conversations with those of the Other Side that there must be some restrictions occurring. You can test this out yourself if you watch television mediums giving reading after reading and see what topics seem to come out and what do not and see if you notice the absence of topics about their current lives up in Spirit. There are just those few topics that can be discussed and all Spirits are informed about this prior to any Earth-person contact.
The fact is that God does make people work. Assuming that Heaven is all a wonderful vacation isn't an accurate presumption. Newly returned Spirits notice that the lawns are beautiful, the gardens free of weeds, the buildings cleaned and kept tidy, parks are well kept up, but who does this upkeep? There are not little invisible Angels coming during the night to clear away any rubbish, it is all done by us up in Spirit and you can see the reasoning. If it were always a wonderful vacation with nothing to do but to relax and enjoy the scenery, it would create a laziness in us that would be detrimental to our Souls. So the work is done by the group of Spirits assigned to the job, and like I said before, the work assignments are rotated for variation. There is indeed a wide variety of public service type work, and the Spirit isn't overwhelmed either by any of it, especially when they have newly-returned. Compassion is very much an important part of Heaven. The key is to keep positive with all of your feelings there so that you don't mope. It is what gets the most attention--moping around.
There are churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, etc. and all are appreciated. There are theaters both indoor and outdoor amphitheaters. They have restaurants, shopping malls with a co-op management, and places much like we do. Yes, they do have money up in Spirit, as all need to have that in order to enjoy the way of life they are used to. The Lord's face in the center of the bills, by the way.
There are lakes, streams, rivers, and parks with sun shining most of the time. Parks are quite popular in terms of having locations to gather. I am also told there is an amusement park for each level or plane up in Spirit as well, similar to a Disneyland-type facility. There also are colleges and universities available for those who wish to earn achievements in that respect. Although the knowledge is there when we return, we are closed off with this mental remembrance of our achievements and knowledge as the Earth plane is just for lesson learning and to not have total recall of knowledge granted unless there are truly extenuating circumstances. For an example of this, Mozart was given the ability to have his knowledge of the piano given him in terms of clear cognizance to remember. It was such that he could create masterpieces of music much like his ability up in Spirit.
As you can imagine, the higher a person goes in the planes, the better the quality of living exists. Each plane higher up is successively more beautiful than the one below it. All is a very well-planned environmental existence up there in Spirit. As you can imagine they have had an eternity to arrange how life is, and improvements are such that they are done with the theme of inspiring, uplifting, fulfilling dreams, creating an atmosphere of Eternal Oneness with the Living God, plus just being enjoyable.
I will relate specifically with regards to how planes are divided up. The Third Plane or Dimension is the Earth, which is also referred to as the Earth-Mind Consciousness Level. The Fourth Plane is the Astral Plane, which is where we go dreaming and traveling out-of-body when we do Astral Projection, plus if allowed we can also go into the higher levels with that, as per conditions are met. The Fifth Plane is where Heaven starts and it continues upwards to the 36th Plane, but there are separations within the realms there. The Six Plane is still a part of the Earth-Mind Consciousness Level Heaven, as is the Fifth, but in the Seventh Plane the Lightworker Beings start with their beginning level. They are of the Pleiadian Origin, along with Sirius, and various other Lightworker Energy Beings. Theirs is the Seventh through the 11th Planes. On the 12th Plane is where the Angelic Realm begins, and that, too, is changing I am told as many such people have warranted the ability to become an Angelic Being once they have achieved requirements for this. Before it was clearly those of the Angelic Realm to be either Angel originally or a Lightworker who has attained perfection. Now I am told it is that which is also afforded to those of the Earth-Mind Consciousness Level according to the same rigid requirements. Thus it will make it even better for those who are achieving Angelic Realm status with their abilities increased. This sounds quite logical when you realize that the Lightworkers were granted this wonderful opportunity long ago and have been helping with the increase of the Light and doing God's will to help all.
It just feels right to know this as it is God's Divine Will to not have segregation. We here on Earth have conquered segregation for the most part and I for one am delighted to know that there isn't segregation up in Spirit either! God views us all as His Children no matter the distinction and it is through the effort of our own merit and achievement that we ascend higher. It is truly a highly motivational part of life in Spirit.
The 12th through the 18th are the "general" levels of the Angelic Realm. Up above that are the Nirvana dwellings of those of the Most High Creator's Energy Beings. They are termed such as they, too, have their own vibration rates and that is a huge part of the whole Earth-Mind Consciousness level to begin with. Nirvana is a dwelling place for those of the Ascended Masters, those with the wings tipped with gold, silver and solid white. Even if there is any darkening of the wings of those individuals, the commitment issue is where the darkening of the wings occurs. So with that said, it is just logical to assume that those Angelic Beings with all white wings are welcomed into the higher levels of the Angelic Realm with their vibrations so high.
I have been told that there are tonal qualities to many events occurring up in Spirit, and when Angels sing in unison, as in a choir, many times God allows all of those in the Spirit Realm to enjoy the music as it cascades down to the various levels in Spirit, plus the wonderful energy/vibrations that emit from the choir's wonderful energy also is sent. So the overall feeling of the music plus the vibrations from the Angelic choir is truly excellent.
Wings appear whenever the Angels wish for them to be seen. It is much like a showing of their energy, too, as stipulations result with the various colors of the wings showing their level. Those of the Angelic Realm wear their wings only in terms of showing or displaying their energy and not to be living in as in a daily life. You could imagine the complications there! So wings are best understood as a type of "power display" of their whole Auric Energy. It is not often that a "regular" person would be seeing an Angel, for example those say on the 5th and 6th planes would just not run into a Angel while they were at a local park, unless there was a real reason for such an event. They are called upon to do the Lord's Will and it isn't a situation that arises that isn't "of God's Will" in this respect.
I once gave a reading where a description was given about "singing candles". When I channel the information, it is also a learning experience for me as well to learn about Spirit life and on one such occasion I learned about these amazing candles. On the 18th Plane where when the person lights these candles, the effervescence from the aroma plus the energy transmitted by the convoluted impact between the forces of Living Oneness with God with the candle wax causes the sound of an evangelical force of energy that sounds much like a willow tree's leaves blowing in the wind. This along with a high tonal quality that fluctuates with its evangelical hymn-like vibration, thus giving off a hymn-sounding "music". I hope I have explained it fairly well enough, as it is of the Angelic Realm and there isn't anything like it here on Earth to compare it to.

Often as a reward to those who achieved an exceptional ability or gift to another, there is the giving of a trip up in Spirit to the Etheric Level which is of the 19th Plane, and that is truly amazing. It is a "one-time trip" and it is sought after among those who are willing to grow. They, too, can ascend eventually, but it takes many lifetimes of suffrage and learning for them to achieve such a high level to dwell. It is difficult sometimes to understand the suffrage part, as that, too, seems archaic to some, but with time and dedication, that also does make for a better level. It is just that it is the "tried and true way" and many Saints and Ascended Masters have achieved it thusly, so that makes it difficult to let others come into the same sphere without similar achievement.

There is a term here on Earth called "benchmarks" and that is where those basic level tests are given to many all at the same time and thus if there is success, then the level of all is given much credence with regards to bringing forth higher forms of achievement. Overall it means little with any other type of growth, but with the Angelic Realm, once you have achieved that "benchmark" then there is the gift of the Holy Spirit to share. It is in the sharing that others, too, gain. So the role of the Angel nowadays is to keep those of the Angelic Realm focused with thoughts of growth and overall to aid those on the Earth Plane in the hopes of more people ascending into the higher regions and thus make it even harder for those of the dark to dampen the Spirits and drain the energy of those of the Light. It has been an ongoing effort all throughout the eons and it makes sense when you realize that those of the Light prefer to have a separation from those of the dark and make those of the dark regard those of the light with respect. It takes effort to make that happen and it is always those of the light causing those of the dark to grow in the Living Oneness of God. As you might be wondering here, if Earth is the Third Dimension, what and where are the Second and the First Dimensions? Those two remaining dimensions are of the lower realm, with Purgatory being the Second, and the First Dimension being below that level, and of course the worst. Thwarting is the effort of those of the dark and they, too, have a regime down there in the lower vibrations and the lack of respect and reverence of life is the difficulty. It is the intent of God and His Angels to gradually cause them to have this reverence.

With all things there is the highest, the lowest and the in-between. You see, with those of the dark, they, too, have vibrations and they, too, need to be welcomed into the Living Oneness of the Christ. You can see that those of the Most High Creator's Energy Beings are doing their utmost to create an atmosphere of learning and growing so that those of the dark can welcome more energy of Christ Consciousness into themselves. Leadership with regards to reverence of Spirit important. You see, with reverence comes with it human regard, compassion, love and commitment. Much has been written about this topic, and although I am not going to go into anything about the dark and their way of being, I am willing to express the feeling of choice here as it is now and always has been God's Will Be Done. His is always of the Highest and Best Good and when you put God first in your life, everything afterwards always falls naturally into place. That is the overall theme of Eternity, too. It is reflected in the growth motivation of the heavenly realm, and much is given in terms of rewards in Heaven for achieving spiritual growth. There are no "freebies" in Heaven I have been told, as it is always better to have it earned rather than just given out all of those wonderful gifts of the Spirit Realm. If everything was to be freely given out right down to the very last holy gift of God without the earning of this gift, then responsibility and accountability would fade, commitment to growth would dissipate, and a lackadaisical society would be the end result.

The Heavenly Realm is a long-standing and well-planned society but it is not without its ups and downs, as people are "just people" and there are issues to face in our Real Home, as trips to Earth are for lesson learning and having a new environment to keep variety a part of our existence. Variety is indeed the "spice of life" and thus is one reason why Earth was developed by our Creator.

Up on the 7th Plane are the Hall of Records, which is the place where the Akashic Records, the Books of Life on everyone in existence. There is also the Hall of Justice up there, too, as they are both in close proximity of each other. The Hall of Justice has one of the most beautiful gardens displaying all types of plants and exotic flowers and even has crystals that are made into fountains with glowing lights coming out of it at night. It is beautiful and often is given in tours up there for the newbie returning Spirits to view, just to captivate their attention and help ease their grief of separation. Often that is the case with such tours, just to make a beautiful day happen to those newly-returned Spirits. Huge angelic statues are often the subject of displays up in Spirit.

When a person has been in Spirit for about 50-75 years there comes a time when the Counselor goes to the Spirit person and asks if they wish to have another lifetime on Earth or on Urantia. Either choice shows that the person is a high soul, as the choice is not given to just anyone to have a lifetime on Urantia., being that this plane is up in Spirit and is a part of the 7th Dimension. So if the Spirit chooses to go to Earth, then the planning stage begins. Usually it takes about two to three months to coordinate the whole plan so that others, too, can be a part of the whole experience. Lifetimes do take some time to arrange with other people's feelings and their life goals also to consider. There is plenty of time to figure out your own life goals as you also create a Goals List with your own aspirations you wish to achieve in this next incarnation. You also have choices to consider as to what locale you wish to be born in and what type of culture and religion you wish to be experiencing. All this requires time and consideration of other people's wishes and feelings; too, as there might be complications if the choice is of a different family to whom you are to be born to if you are a stranger to them, too.

All in all, the Afterlife in Heaven is another location where you continue to exist. We live forever and being born down here lifetime after lifetime suggests the fact that growth is the key reason why this experience happens. We all need to consider this when we evaluate our lives here, pondering the "whys" of how things occur in our daily lives. All events that are major and many of the minor ones are a "planned event", deliberately giving us chances to experience what we know up in Spirit in concept. Just knowing about something is one thing, but to actually experience it is another. That is the true test of understanding, if we can experience it and do what we know in our hearts is the right thing, even if hardship is also a part of that experience. Going back home to Heaven and having this "after-time" to assess where we did right and where we went wrong is a major event in our lives. We evaluate ourselves, we try to understand ourselves better, forgiving others and importantly --forgiving ourselves. All the "what if's", and "could haves" and "should haves" won't change the past but will affect our futures and that is clearly an important issue.

The Aftertime might also be called an "In-Between Time", meaning "in-between lifetimes" either here on Earth or on Urantia, but it is important to realize are still living out a life existence. It is not an interim period or a halfway existence. We were created in Spirit, of Spirit and exist as Spirit, only that on the Earth we are lowered in vibrations so that our bodies exist inside or "housed" in a flesh body. We exist as a being down here to learn, grow, ascend in vibrations so that one day we won't need to come back here, unless we do a mission-type work for God. Heaven is not a "vacation land" where you just relax for hundreds of years and not feel obligated to do anything. You are still clearly responsible for your actions no matter what plane or dimension you are living on. If you incur negative Karma up in Spirit, then you need to deal with that also. Clearly God wants us to not feel contained and limited in our existences and chose to give us a variety of places to live, so that boredom and monotony doesn't occur. Variety truly is the "spice of life"!

In Sylvia Browne's book about the afterlife she commissioned an artist to draw sketches based upon her descriptions of what she was able to see when she takes Astral trips up to some of the locations. In the back of her book are these drawings and they are quite accurate.

Many such wonderful accounts are shared by those who are capable of astral travel. If you are interested in learning more about how to do astral travel, I have another article written about it on this website. Making it an event in your life does take prayer, meditation, dedication and above all permission by the Lord for it to come about. If you desire to travel to the Heavenly Realm during your sleep state, simply ask God for permission. He will assess your particular needs and growth level and with your good intentions showing, He will then decide if it is to be allowed for you. Guides will be the ones who will take you on such a heavenly tour and you will truly gain in a better understanding of how vast this universe and its various dimensions are! In the Bible Jesus stated that "in my Father's house there are many mansions." Indeed you will realize the reference here with the many mansions being the many dimensions within God's house or universe.

With such a huge topic as the Afterlife, it could easily become an online book here, so what I would like to suggest is if you have any questions about the afterlife, please write me at lilly_light@yahoo.com and I will be happy to answer your question by adding it to this article.

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