An Extract from the book

Exploring the Eternal Soul by Andy Tomlinson

This extract follows some of the subject's from the book as they experience the death in a past life while in deep hypnosis. The term interlife refers to the souls memories between lives, and the names of the subjects have been changed. No part of this extract may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers, O Books, 2007, The Bothy, Deershot Lodge, Park Lane, Ropley, Hants, SO24 0BE, UK

What happens after death? Until recently humanity has relied on the various religious and esoteric traditions to provide the answers. The original purpose of these was to help the spiritual development of different cultures at different periods of humanity's history. At a deeper level they all have an important spiritual message that is very similar, often referred to as the 'Ancient Wisdom'. However when it comes to providing information about what happens after death 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. Given these contradictions no particular tradition will be used for a comparison with the interlife experience.

However it is useful to briefly mention near death reports. These often happen following a heart attack and last until the person is resuscitated. Considerable evidence has been accumulated from these experiences. A remarkable example is the research of cardiologist Dr Pim van Lommel and his colleagues from the Rijnstate Hospital in Arnham, Holland. They investigated the experiences of 344 heart patients resuscitated following a cardiac arrest over a 13-year period. All had been clinically dead at some point during treatment. Sixty-two of them reported a near-death experience, with 41 describing an experience which included traveling in a tunnel, reaching a light and meeting relatives. During their near death experience many patients had no electrical activity of the brain. This meant that their memory recall of near death experience could not be explained by traditional scientific explanations. Further investigation concluded that medical factors could not account for these experiences. Given the importance of this modern evidence a comparison between near death and interlife experiences will be included in this chapter.

In the absence of consistency from the spiritual traditions a basic model has been developed to assist in understanding what happens after death. This can be thought of as containing three realms. It is perhaps useful to use the analogy of the different states of water when describing these realms, and their different energy levels. The densest level is the solid state of ice. When the vibrations of its energy increase the ice becomes water and eventually vapor. So relating this to the spiritual model, the densest spiritual energy is the physical realm in which we are all currently incarnated. The next higher level of vibration is the astral realm containing the spiritual energy that leaves the body after death. It's in this realm that trapped or earthbound spiritual energy reside. The highest level of vibrational energy is what can be referred to as the light realm. This is what interlife regression or near-death subjects often refer to as 'the light' or 'home'. It is also here that the subjects describe meeting spirit guides, soul groups and elders.

It is not appropriate to think of the astral or light realms as having any location such as 'up there' and so on. Instead these realms can be thought of as occupying a different dimension of 'universal space' that is simply experienced. An analogy is a dream that cannot be said to exist in any one place but can be thought of as a dimension that we can never the less still experience. Another aspect of these two realms is the nature of time. No interlife subject reports on how much time passes for the simple reason that without a physical body subject to decay and death, time loses all meaning. So the actual interlife experiences may take seconds or years. All that is fixed in time is the point of leaving the physical body at death and the point of entering the baby for the next reincarnation.

To return to the question of what happens after death the following transcripts in this chapter and all the modern evidence point towards reincarnating human souls having only two main options after death. The first is that if they are severely confused or disoriented and retain a strong identification with people or places in the physical realm they may refuse to go to the light. Sometimes it may be because of unfinished business such as strong unresolved emotions of hate, love, fear, jealousy and revenge. If they have been unexpectedly killed such as in an accident or war they may not even realize that they are dead. Although they have obviously shed their physical body the spiritual body may exist in the astral realm for a varying length of time before realizing the predicament. Sometimes with the help of mediums or a spirit guide reaching out to them they return to the light realm.

The second option is that they enter the light realm shortly after death. Interlife evidence seems to suggest that the vast majority of souls do this. The only exception to this reincarnation cycle is when a soul has evolved sufficiently in karmic experience on the physical realm and has nothing to gain by returning to it. At this point there is still a variety of options for further spiritual development in the light realm.

So we have the physical realm that is the home of the physical body, the astral realm being a transitory state, and the light realm being the true home of all soul energies. Having established the context for interlife experiences, let us now turn our attention to the various elements.

Leaving the Body

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.

Generally the subjects confirm these descriptions. 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.
Ok, just describe your experience as you go.
It's a bit like a tunnel on the way in, although it feels very white to me. Almost like a tunnel that isn't dark at all, almost like it's made out of mists and things. It's funny because I'm walking, but I'm in the sky. There's no sense of physical support, but I'm walking rather than floating. I look the same. My hair is straight and I'm wearing the white gown and the sandals. I have some sense of these people living in little houses by the sea, and I feel very loving towards them. It's time to go and I get a sense that maybe I'm being drawn. It's almost as if I'm being called, but I can't hear anything. So it's more like a drawing, like a sort of pull. I'm sad, some part of me is sad to go. I'm still kind of lingering if you know what I mean. I love the sea. I really love the sea.

Nicola's slight reluctance to leave was presumably caused by the sudden and unexpected nature of her death. We will shortly find that this did not prevent her from moving into the light realms. Meanwhile another subject, Lene Haugland, adds an intriguing new dimension. She is describing how after a life as a Native American Indian woman who dies at the age of 72, she 'splits into millions of fragments' to ease the exit from the body:

I know what to do.
What is it you know what to do?
I have to go into small fragments, millions of small fragments.
Have you completely left the physical body?
Yes, and all these fragments have some sort of magnetic energies so they come together for a little while.
What starts to happen next?
It's like this pool of fragments goes into a stream of light, and it's kind of like a magnetic feeling, like I'm sucked into something.
What was the reason for being in millions of fragments?
That was my way to go out of my body. It's much simpler that way.
Are there other ways that you've come out of your body before?
Oh, I can go out in many different ways. One way is to take it out complete, but it's so heavy to do it that way. That is why I break up in all these fragments because it's not so heavy.
How do you make yourself go into all these tiny fragments?
I don't know,it just happens.

This description appears to be quite unique. However it does introduce an important concept that soul energy if split retains a link with each piece of itself and eventually reunites. This will be developed later in the book. Exiting the body is often far easier as illustrated by the report from Veronica Perry. She is an interesting subject because of the detail of her experiences despite her minimal prior knowledge. This is the second and shorter of her two interlife experiences from different past lives. 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.

Welcoming Parties

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.The subjects again corroborate this view. 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. This will be explored in more detail later. In her first interlife session Veronica Perry regressed to the life of a woman who again led a simple life, and died in bed at the age of 86 surrounded by her family. On her departure from the body her spirit guide and a number of helpers meet her:

After you take your last breath what happens?
I can see seven beautiful lights coming towards me. [Sighs] They all come and envelope me. This beautiful warmth, it's like lying in the sunshine.
Do you know what's actually happening to you at the moment?
It's my spirit guides come to collect me.
Is this the presence that you can feel around you at the moment?
Yeah. It feels welcoming.
Is there any dialogue between you and your spirit guide?
He's just welcoming me back.
What are these other lights?
They are also guides and helpers.
What happens next?
They're moving me forwards and I'm leaving the room and leaving that body completely now. I take one last look back.
Tell me what you see.
It's like my friends and family are watching me go. They seem aware of my energy leaving and they're sad but they're happy too. I feel like I'm going with their love and their blessing and then I look forwards.
As you look forwards, what else are you aware of seeing?
My guides and helpers are all around. They smile at me.

Although the theme of loved ones not holding her back can be found in both of Veronica's sessions, it is clear that this is a substantially different transition. In this she meets guides and helpers at the time of the transition. Returning to the narrative of Nicola Barnard, the victim of the earthquake. Eventually she leaves for the light realms despite her initial reluctance to leave her physical home by the sea. Her description highlights the important point of perceptions:

I can see flowers, and grass, and buildings maybe, but they are different from where I've just come from. They are simple and there's a different sort of quality about this place. It's lighter you know! It's as if everything is there and somehow not there. So even though they're buildings, they don't seem very dense. I think it's partly me creating them myself. It feels like when I focus on something, it's there.

All of the interlife pioneers report that in the light realms we can give our surroundings varying amounts of semi-physical form. This is achieved simply because energy follows thought. It often happens during the initial transition particularly for less experienced souls that need physical characteristics that will make them feel more comfortable and at home. It is why interlife sessions often contain various reports of huge crystalline castles, or green meadows and flowers. Sometimes the settings are described as classrooms and libraries, or perceived as temples with domes and columns. All these characteristics often contain elements of a favorite building or scene from the life on earth.

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. This is how Veronica Perry describes a spirit guide who meets her, just prior to receiving healing in her second interlife:

I feel he's actually a bit playful. I can see him in energy form, but I can also see the face of someone I would recognize in physical form. It's very, very bright, white light, and then as he shows me a more physical presence the colors that start off as very iridescent become deeper.

The Tunnel

Both Veronica Perry and Nicola Barnard previously referred to being 'drawn' towards the light, and most of the subjects talk in similar terms of being pulled by unseen forces towards it. This raises the question about the descriptions of traveling through a 'dark tunnel' and into the light that is so common with reports of near-death experiences. This rarely seems to happen in interlife regressions and most of the subjects did not mention the idea. Only Newton includes one published transcript that makes reference to a tunnel, but he also reports that most of his subjects merely see 'brilliant whiteness totally surrounding them at the moment of death'. Ramster explains his subjects occasionally experience, 'something resembling a tunnel or tube' and Fiore that, 'a few have experienced going through a tunnel with a light at the other end'.

Returning to the subjects. Liam Thompson found himself committing suicide as a young man in Ireland after his girlfriend had refused to run away with him because she had to tend to her sick mother. After his death he describes entering a 'black vortex, spinning away'. Wendy Simpson takes this description much further, and goes on to clarify the confusion about the tunnel experience. She initially regresses to the life of a poor man in the desert, who at the end is lying on a divan in a tent suffering from fever and tended by his wife and mother. After death the soul is unwilling to continue:

What happens as you take your last breath?
A sensation of looking down.
What can you see?
Just skin and bone.
Anything around the body?
Just the two ladies, and this feeling of attachment with the body.
What happens next?
It's like I'm suspended, I can't actually move.
Do you want to move on, or do you feel stuck?
I feel stuck for a while. It's like something letting go.
Do you know what is holding you?
It feels like a cord. I can still feel it quite deep inside.
What happens next?
It still feels a bit stuck.
Move on to the point where something else happens.
Now the suction is too strong, and the cord is getting thinner, and I'm being pulled up. It's like there is a tunnel of light.
Just describe this tunnel in a little bit more detail.
I can see at the end there is bright light, and I'm moving through the dark part and coming out into the bright light. There is a sense of being met by beings. There is a sense of traveling.
At what point were you aware of the cord getting thinner?
Just before I went into the tunnel. It got thinner, and then I got sucked into the tunnel. Then I didn't feel the cord any more.

In near-death experiences and those who explore traveling 'out of the body' a cord that connects the soul energy to the physical body is often mentioned. This is however unusual in interlife experiences. Returning to the darkness of the tunnel under further questioning Wendy goes on to provide an answer about her experience:

It's because I was stuck. It was about not being able to let go, being trapped on the earth. The darkness of the tunnel represents the space between going and staying. It was fear that made me experience the darkness. To move on into the light I had to embrace the fear and accept it.

It appears that those who experience a certain degree of fear and confusion after death are more likely to sense darkness rather than light. This may well be true in near-death experiences, when people perceive that they are facing a sudden and unexpected death. However is there more to the tunnel than this? One thing that should be remembered is that the experiences of near-death are different because the person is always turned back at the 'gateway' and forced to return. So perhaps their perception of a tunnel provides a guide that allows them not only to be drawn towards the light realms, but also to return from it.