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The Eleventh Lesson: Beyond the Border171
spiritualistic phenomena should beware of confounding these astral shells
with the real intelligence of their deceased friends. And now let us return to
the Ego, which has left the physical body.
While the Ego, encased in its Astral body, is slowly passing out of the
Physical Body, the whole life of the person from infancy to old age, passes
before his mental vision. The memory gives up its secrets, and picture after
picture passes in swift succession before the mind, and many things are
made plain to the departing soul—the reason of many things is discovered,
and the soul sees what it all means—that is, it understands its whole life just
complete, because it sees it as a whole. This is in the nature of a vivid dream
to the dying individual, but it leaves a deep impress, and the memories are
recalled and made use of at a later period, by the soul. Occultists have always
urged that the friends and relatives of a dying person should maintain quiet
and calm around him, that he may not be disturbed by conflicting emotions,
or distracting sounds. The soul should be allowed to go on its way in peace
and quiet, without being held back by the wishes or conversation of those
around him.
So the Ego passes on, and out from the body. To where? Let us say here
that the future states of the soul, between incarnations, have nothing to
do with places—it is a matter of “states” not of places. There are numerous
places of existence, and all interpenetrate each other, so that a given space
may contain intelligences living on several different planes, those living on
the lower planes not being conscious of the existence and presence of those
living on the higher ones. So get the idea of “place” out of your minds—it is
all a matter of “states,” or “planes.”
The soul after passing out of the body, if left undisturbed by emphatic
calls from those whom it has left behind (and which calls may consist of
violent manifestations of grief, and earnest demands for the return of the
departed one on the part of some loved one, or from someone to whom
the deceased person was bound by ties of duty) falls into a semi-conscious
state—a blissful, peaceful, happy, restful state—a dream of the soul. This