Written by Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness
Continued from Part 1
The Borderlands are real, Raymond shares, but they also contain a hint of etheric artificiality.
“I want to distinguish between the
vestibule and the portion of the astral plane that some of the others
participating in [this] project have referred to as the ‘Peter Pan
department.’ The vestibule is not necessarily a fantasy, but it’s not
quite real either.” (1)
The Borderlands are real in a sense, but they’re more illusory than
the higher fourth-dimensional realm one experiences when their stay in
the Borderlands in complete. The realms that lay beyond the Borderlands
are far realer, but this initial realm still contains the same glimmers
of reality as the rest of the fourth-dimensional realms.The Borderlands are certainly realer than the third dimension, and this is because our manifestations are less hindered in this realm. We experience a greater degree of spiritual reality than we did on earth, but our experiences and manifestations are still technically illusory compared to the higher fourth-dimensional realms (and the realms beyond them.)
As Raymond tells us, the Borderlands exist to make the transition into the fourth dimension easier.
“It’s really not a fantasy because that
sounds as if there are lots of little munchkins running around putting
up fake scenery to fool everyone with and that isn’t quite what happens.
The vestibule experience is a necessary part of nature. …
“Eventually, … you begin to realize that
the vestibule is only a vestibule, made of tissue paper and smoke and
cotton candy – it’s not real. This realization is, in a sense, what is
meant by the term ‘the second death.’
“You give up your cherished connections with the physical life and begin to adjust to life on the inner planes as it really is -
which is startlingly different. If the transition to full reality were
abrupt and you weren’t prepared for it, it would be quite a jolt.
Something akin to a psychiatric problem could develop.” (2)
We can experience and plan certain events in the Borderlands, Raymond
tells us, and we can also receive a unique brand of healing that can
only be received in this realm.
“I believe that it has been mentioned that
Colene’s grandmother and grandfather [Colene Johnson, David's wife]
were given the chance to have something of a second honeymoon in a part
of the vestibule before getting down to the real business of living on
the other side.
“I think that this was described as
happening in the Peter Pan department, but it was really the vestibule.
There is also a certain kind of healing that must be done in this time
right after death. This healing is much easier when the person is on
somewhat familiar surroundings and has a sense of continuity with his
physical life.” (3)
I’d imagine it’d be pretty difficult to heal someone who’s too
panicked about the new realm they’re in to receive any sort of healing,
and this is why the Borderlands come in handy.They help people adjust with the fact that they really have died and they’re now experiencing life in a different sphere, and even with the assistance of the Borderlands, I’m sure it can be difficult for some to cope with their deaths.
This is probably why they receive the healing they do, and in the end, I’m sure everyone’s able to adjust and eventually greet the higher realms. A lot of souls are obviously stuck in the lower fourth-dimensional realms where strife and agony rule the day, but even they will eventually be receptive to the healing they require to spiritually soar.
According to Stewart Edward White, some people have to be taught very basic things in the Borderlands because they were unprepared for spirit life when they were on earth.
“Some … people remain in the vestibule
quite awhile. They almost have to be taught how to walk again because
the adjustment is so difficult. But for physical people who have an
awareness of the inner planes, or who prepare themselves for the
transition, the period in the vestibule is very short.
“There is an immediate example here in the
room – Colene’s grandmother made a very quick adjustment to being on
the inner planes and was even able to attend her own funeral. That may
sound a bit morbid to you, but it was important to her. It was just a
matter of hours for her to make the adjustment to moving around on the
inner planes.” (4)
Mike Swain describes what it’s usually like for a ‘backward’ soul to wake up in the Borderlands.
“In the case of the rather backward soul,
we place him into a deep torpor as soon as we take charge. When he
arrives in this world, he wakes in what appears to him to be a hospital
ward.
“The realization filters to him that he is
safe and being well looked after; then it gradually dawns on him that
there are no doctors or nurses in this hospital; no bandages and no
surgical instruments. He himself feels no pain; so his next move is to
get out of bed and start exploring, to find out what sort of hospital
this is.
“Only then does he realize that he has
successfully passed over. It is wonderful to watch his amazement and
relief when he realized he is more alive than ever.” (5)
The realization that death isn’t the end has to be one of the most
liberating things a person can experience, and it probably helps to wake
up in a hospital bed or another setting that’s commonly associated with
safety and being looked after.It helps the recently deceased come to terms with their transition, and the sooner they can come to terms with it, the sooner they can start exploring. I’m sure they’re eventually greeted by a transition guide or a departed loved one, and then, they can really start to learn about their deaths and the realm they’re now in.
Everyone’s experience is obviously different, but a lot of recently deceased people probably experience the familiar hospital scene in the Borderlands before realizing that there’s nothing wrong with their etheric health. They don’t need to worry about their physical health anymore, and their etheric health’s as strong as they’re willing to let it be.
Footnotes:
- Robert R. Leichtman, M.D. through medium D. Kendrick Johnson, Sir Oliver Lodge Returns. Columbus: Ariel Press, 1979, 68.
- Ibid., 68-9.
- Loc. cit.
- Robert Leichtman, The Psychic Perspective. Columbia: Ariel press, 1978, 205.
- Jasper Swain, From My World to Yours: A Young Man’s Account of the Afterlife. New York: Walker, 1977, 52.