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Serial Lesson 180

From Course XX, The Next Life, Chapter 8

Original Copyright 1943, Elbert Benjamine (a.k.a. C. C. Zain)
Copyright 2012, The Church of Light

To purchase the print book The Next Life click here

Subheadings:   The Need of Shelter    Home    Clothing    Jokes    Domestic Ties    Several Husbands Or Wives    Separations    Reality Is Faced    Transforming Energy

Birth Charts:  John Barrymore Chart    Elaine Barrymore Chart

Chapter 8

Domestic Relations of the Next Life

AFTER your birth, and a period of adjustment, into the next life, you will not find yourself an inhabitant of the astral slums, and unless you are a very exceptional individual, a true saint or adept, you will not pass immediately to the still higher velocity spiritual spheres. The ordinary person, who is neither a saint nor a devil, starts the duties of his new existence on some of the astral levels not too remote from earth.

The habitual criminal and the insane must be considered in any comprehensive account of human society on the earth. And in like manner it has seemed necessary to describe something of the abode and life of the gross and really wicked in the after life. But these people and their habits are not the normal conditions of the next-life lands. No more so than hospitals, prisons and insane asylums are normal for the general run of humanity on earth. And the usual condition in which the vast run of people find themselves not long after passing to the next realm is superior in many respects to their condition while on earth.

Not that everything straightens out just to one’s satisfaction merely by passing to the next life; but that many things which cause difficulty on earth are there handled in a far superior manner. No one, through an imperfect economic system, for instance, is deprived of the privilege of work, or denied sustenance. Such hunger as is experienced in the afterlife is for greater knowledge, for greater ability to serve, and for the spiritual attainments that enable the individual to rise to more glorious spheres of life.

You have been accustomed to eating about ever so often, and when you emerge from the period of adjustment to conditions there, this habit may still be rather strong. You do not need to eat food to sustain vitality, because the energy you require can be gained, and on the higher levels is gained, more directly by transpiration. But so long as you still crave solid food, that food can easily be supplied. No flesh can be had, but very acceptable substitutes may be secured, until the habit of using this kind of substance has vanished.

But you do not buy your food. Instead, you make it. At first you will be unable to do this, and others will help you make what you want, and will instruct you how to do this work for yourself. Yet when you have had some experience, by means of thought power, you will be able to coagulate the astral substance of your surroundings into any form and substance that you can clearly visualize. And in this manner you can supply yourself with any kind of food you desire.

You might think that in a land where there is no rain, little wind, no great extremes of heat and cold, that shelter would be unnecessary. There are regions which you probably will not visit in which there are conditions resembling the storms and weather inclemencies of earth. But where most people go the climate is quite serene. Yet in spite of this, homes, laboratory houses, and public buildings are found to be advantageous.

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The Need of Shelter

They are so constructed as to afford a certain amount of insulation from the influence of various kinds of vibratory rates from the outside. Vibrations that correspond to those we on earth apprehend by means of sight and sound have great range and freedom of movement on the astral plane, and annoyance from them is prevented by the sheltering walls of one’s dwelling or of the building where one works.

Astrological influences also set up various vortices of force that sweep over the astral terrain with tremendous power. I do not here refer to those astrological influences that work in the lives of individuals; for these are internal releases of energy that operate much as do progressed aspects on earth, and therefore cannot be cut off or prevented from expression by any kind of astral house. Instead I mean that astrological conditions corresponding somewhat to those caused by the current positions of the planets in relation to each other, as shown from day to day in the ephemeris, set up, at times, astrological storms that resemble somewhat the electrical storms of earth. These astrological pressures would tend to deflect the population of a region from their predetermined course. And thus houses are constructed to insulate those within from this class of astrological influences; permitting them to direct their energies to other things without the necessity of resisting such pressures or storms.

Not only are the buildings of the astral plane so constructed as to insulate their inhabitants from outside interference, but they provide another function not common to houses on earth. They afford a means of concentrating the energies of those occupying them. The thoughts, by means of the insulating walls, are prevented from wasteful dissipation of their power. By means of specially constructed transmitters these thoughts may be either broadcast or sent as a beam in special directions. And by means of condensers they are able, there, to receive thought messages even from far distant levels.

For their curative effect, or for their use in special kinds of work, it is possible to build the walls and roof of a substance that will shut out all but certain astrological rays. The windows still permit the entrance of the astral light, which is rather constant in its luminosity at any particular point; but only the astrological influence needed finds its way into the house. The general principle is that which is utilized on earth when glass is used to permit only blue light, or only red light, or only yellow light, to enter. Substances are used which permit the passage of only one or more astrological ray.

On earth we have as yet found no means, other than using the human nervous system, of collecting in concentrated volume and intensity the energy of a given planet and directing it into the body, and specifically to the organ where it is needed, to correct some discord that in human life manifests as disease.

On either plane the events attracted into the life, including the diseases that develop in the physical body on the outer plane, are due to the activity of certain groups of thought cells exerting extraphysical power upon the environment then occupied by the individual. If, through any means, either the intensity of the activity, or the desires, of a given group of thought cells is changed, the events attracted also will be changed. This means in physical life that if the discordant activity of a group of thought cells which is responsible for a disease is changed into harmonious activity, the disease will disappear. In a broader sense, as explained in detail in Course XVI, Stellar Healing, unfortunate events of all kinds, as well as those affecting the health, are diseases, that is, they are conditions attracted by inharmonious, or unbalanced, thought-cell activity.

And in Course XVI, Stellar Healing, is explained how a Stellar Healer who has trained his nervous system so that he can tune in on the vibrations of any particular planet, can pick up, radio fashion, the astral vibrations of that planet, and using the electromagnetic energy generated by his nerves as conductors, can direct it harmoniously and in concentrated volume, to the thought-cell group within a patient that needs this particular energy either to recondition it, or to give it greater activity. Such treatment with planetary energies was first given great attention by, and widely used during the reign of, Akhenaten in Egypt over 3,000 years ago. When properly applied by one duly qualified, it is most successful not merely in healing the ills of the mind and body, but in healing the ills of the pocketbook, the domestic existence, and those of all the other twelve departments of life.

To be sure, not everyone can apply this method, and its technique is open to much improvement. But other than using thought to change the volume of thought-cell activity and the desires of the thought cells, it is the only manner of healing that goes directly to, and changes the chief cause of a disease. Environment may give facilities for a given disease or given misfortune, but the disease or misfortune only comes into the life when the thought-cell activity especially favors it. The thought-cell activity is thus the chief cause of any disease. And by properly changing the thought-cell activity, either through a specially selected type of thinking and feeling, or through feeding the thought-cells planetary energies that cause them to have different desires, the basic cause is reached, and the disease prevented or cured.

And while not needed to prevent or cure bodily illness on the astral plane, properly changing the thought-cell activity so that unfortunate events will not be attracted, and so that fortunate events will come into the life, is just as important on the inner plane as on the outer. But there they have produced substances that permit only the planetary ray needed to enter a room, and shuts out the others. And by thought power, even as the Stellar Healer on earth also must use thought power for the same purpose, this planetary energy is directed specifically to the thought cells which need it to correct their discord or to give them greater activity.

There is no day and no night on the astral plane, but as one moves to levels higher than the earth plane there is plenty of light. This light is of a diffusive nature, and differs in intensity on different levels, and in tint of color in different places. Every variety of color on earth is present in the astral realm in more vivid tone, and there are other ranges of tints with which earth is quite unfamiliar. Due to the astrological rulership of localities, which also determines the kind of work done there, the light of each locality tends to take on at least a faint tint of corresponding color. Thus, from the intensity and tint of the light in a region alone, much can be learned about the development and activities of its inhabitants.

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Home

All this is preliminary explanation to pointing out that when you become adjusted to the next life you will have a home. Home in the spiritual world contains certain treasures, built of your longings, aspirations and spiritual triumphs. But home on the astral plane, where you probably will sojourn for a while, if you have made some reasonable advancement before leaving the physical plane and are ready to take up your work in the new realm, will be of your own choosing.

You are not compelled to live in any particular kind of house; not so much so as on earth where the pocketbook has so much influence. And, while you may do so if you desire, you are not compelled to build your own domicile. If you have not advanced far enough to be anxious to perform your own function in this new commonwealth it may be difficult to secure the assistance of others. But I am assuming that you are ready and anxious to render assistance to others to the extent of your training and ability. And in this case, if you do not know just what kind of a house you want, or how it should be arranged there are those who specialize in architecture, and those who specialize in home construction, who will gladly either advise you or build your home. Nor will they ask for compensation. Your own work for the good of others is their sufficient reward.

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Clothing

When you arrive in the next life you will not be without clothing. This may be largely due to your habit of wearing clothing in the earth life, but the custom is continued in the astral world for still another reason. This clothing with which you enter the new plane bears, in its texture and completion, a direct correspondence to your character. Those of the astral slums have little or no power to dress themselves in garments other than those corresponding to their dissipated estate. And even on the highest astral levels, far above the middle region we are now discussing, the radiance of the garb unerringly proclaims the spiritual state of development of its owner. Nor do we find, as on earth, a really shabby character covered with rich apparel.

But on the plane where you will probably find yourself, you will have a wide choice of garments. There are materials of many grades, and of ingenious textures that not yet, but some day, will be reproduced on earth. The colors that may be had are all that earth affords, and whole ranges of other tints and hues of wondrously pleasing effect that cannot be duplicated here. The brilliancy and quality alone are restricted by the plane you occupy; for you cannot wear the material of a higher level. And before you can have any choice in your garments, some progress must be made. This progress, resulting from your desire and effort to do something constructive and beneficial for others, widens your freedom in this and in many other respects.

The clothing, which may be selected for its effect of stimulating certain thoughts and energies, or for its power to insulate you from certain vibratory influences that seem unfavorable, as well as for its appearance, may be had in an amazing variety of color combinations and designs. It is thought built, as is most astral construction; but is not less firm, and may be even more durable, than the clothing of earth. If you prefer, after you learn how, you can make your own garments. Or if you do not care to do this, there are others who specialize in such work, who can fit you becomingly. Your own contribution to cosmic progress will be all the reward they expect or desire.

You will find the astral world, I am sure, a very different place from the orthodox heaven in which there is almost no variety or change. You will not have the same weather changes that you have on earth, but there are differences in astrological influx that give climatic variations of sufficient breadth and intensity that one, if he leaves the insulation of buildings, need never complain of its sameness. In the architecture of the buildings, and the design and arrangement of homes, there is far greater latitude, and a higher development of line, form, and arrangement than is known on earth. Even the landscaping about the buildings and homes, the arrangement of flower plots and gardens, and the murmuring brooks and tinkling fountains, offer a richness of composition to anyone on this astral plane far surpassing that possible even to the potentates of earth.

Nor is it surprising that beauty should be apparent in the garb; for the appreciation of the beautiful refines the tastes and through cultivation of higher emotional responses builds up the spiritual qualities. Dress, therefore, is selected not merely as appropriate to the character, and as contributing to, or protecting from, vibratory elements, but also for its esthetic value. And the artistic effects that are thus produced, in the land where you probably will a little later dwell, are far more pleasing and of far greater variety than anything you have ever experienced on earth.

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Jokes

Yet beauty and utility comprise but a part of the variety to be found in the next life; for there are all the pleasant relations of human companionship, and even more opportunities for the exchange of thought than here. It is not a region of continuous seriousness; for merrymaking also performs its part. Jokes and quips, you will find, are still appreciated over there.

As illustrative of this, I will relate the experience of a friend who dropped into our classroom for a little chat just at the time this chapter (Serial Lesson) was first being written. She is very fond of all work pertaining to healing, and in addition to her activities on the physical plane, spends a part of her time out of the body doing similar work in the astral world. This is mentioned not to comment on the inadvisability of this kind of work for all except those specially qualified, but merely to explain why she was out of her body and why she happened to be at a hospital where people are born into the next life.

She said she went to this particular hospital to see how they handled patients that came from the earth plane in a badly mangled condition. And among others to be brought, while she was there, was an Irishman who accidentally had been run over by a locomotive, so that his physical body was not much more than scrap meat. He was unconscious when brought in, and his awakening to consciousness in this hospital constituted his birth into the next life.

At his bedside, anxiously awaiting his birth that she might welcome him with open arms and loving kindness was his wife, who had passed over some years before. He had been aware that the engine had struck him, but had then quickly lapsed into sleep. And now, as he regained consciousness, he was quite aware that he had passed over. But as he saw his wife tenderly bending over him he could not resist a bit of fun, and as he arose with a glad smile to embrace her he remarked, “It’s all just like it used to be. I thought I was hit by a railroad train, and when I come to, I find you standing over me.”

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Domestic Ties

These domestic, and other emotional ties of earth, are not severed at the moment of death. They persist as influences in the life until there has been some more adequate adjustment. Of this, however, you may be assured, there are no ties of compulsion. No one is forced to live with, or remain in the company of, anyone who is distasteful.

Where one person has injured another, or where there is a debt of gratitude that seems to require it, the two may be drawn together by a mutual desire to rectify the mistake or make payment possible. Faced by the records of their motives and deeds, as recorded in the astral light, one may feel that the best way to remedy a condition established on earth is to seek out the other person; and the other person, desirous that the one person should not find the avenue of progress closed, may acquiesce in this. But people on the astral plane, at least in the realm where you are apt to find yourself, cannot force their unwelcome company on others.

No one is forced into marriage on the astral plane; but companionship between man and woman is the rule rather than the exception. It is the foundation of home life there, even as it is here. The offspring of such unions, however, are thought creations, and not children; although, to the extent there are strong common interests and emotional ties, the children of earth may live close to their physical parents; several generations sometimes constituting such a group.

On earth, certain physical considerations often play an important part in marriage; but these physical considerations have no weight in the next life. There people are attracted to each other, and unions are formed, on the basis of complementary affinity.

This is not merely planetary attraction, such as sometimes causes people of earth to experience a wild infatuation for each other, only to bum out after a time. Infatuations are due to one or more groups of thought cells in the astral body of each finding exceptional facilities for energy exchange with a group of thought cells in the astral form of the other. If such exchanges are due to dynamic thought-cell structures mapped in the birth chart, the attraction may be permanent; but if due only to thought-cell activity stimulated by progressed planetary positions, they are temporary, and later both persons may wonder why they ever were attracted to the other.

But the complementary affinity, of which I here speak, is a fuller measure of attraction which is afforded by the harmonious relation of the finer forms based upon similarity of fitness in the cosmic scheme of things. That is, each individual is being fitted by all his experiences to fill a definite position in the cosmic work. And this work, as it is to be performed in celestial realms, requires the united efforts of man and woman who have attained to those exalted states. They each, therefore, in the lower spheres, are developing certain characteristics which fit them to perform this identical cosmic work, each to act as the inspiration and complementary helpmate of the other.

This does not mean that those who are perfect complements of each other commonly meet in the astral world. But those who, by virtue of developing qualities that more nearly fit them for performing the same function, because of the complementary nature of the vibratory rates constituting their characters, are strongly drawn toward each other.

Man and woman, in the higher spheres, each form one-half of a unit that performs a definite function in cosmic society. In the performance of this particular function both contribute, but the type of their contribution is characteristic of the sex. Their development, consequently, to perform this function, is not identical, but complementary. And to the extent they thus have characteristics that enable them together to perform this same function, even though they are not the perfect complements of each other, are there those similar and complementary vibratory rates within the forms they now occupy that are attractive and give them pleasure in each other’s company.

In the after life love and affection play quite as important a part as they do on earth. And because the form is finer and more sensitive to vibrations, and the senses more keenly alive, the enjoyments resulting from such human relations are more intense and rapturous than any that can be experienced in the gross body of earth. Yet because of this increased responsiveness, the attractions of the new life are much less haphazard than those commonly observed on earth. And those that draw man and woman together as domestic companions and helpmates are kindred tastes, identical aspirations, harmony of vibration and the complementary characteristics which enable them together to perform some useful work.

The creative energies of man and wife on the astral plane are as important to the production of creative work there as they are on earth in the generation of children. Creative work, on any plane, consumes creative energy. Even on the physical plane the new things are brought forth only by those with surplus creative energy. Great artists, poets, inventors, and writers cannot be deficient in virility. And this creative dynamo is best maintained at productive level through the responsive vibrations of pure love and high affection between man and his mate.

Thus the relation of marriage, although on the higher astral levels devoid of its grosser aspects, is not confined to earth, but represents sacred functions in the highest heaven.

Yet just because two people were married while on earth does not compel them to eternal companionship in the spheres of the future, nor does it preclude such companionship. Neither is there any compulsion in regard to entering into domestic partnership on the astral plane. Until such time as the emotional education of the individual engenders the desire for matrimony he is quite free to go his way alone. In all such matters much less pressure is brought to bear than is customary on earth, and there is much more opportunity to exercise liberty of choice and liberty of action. Partnerships in the next life are formed only when the attractions and desires are mutual.

The emotional ties that were formed on earth are not severed when one passes to the next plane. The love between husband and wife, and between parents and children, persists. Yet, even on earth, we find normally six successive levels of affectional development. In infancy there is the “narcissus” emotional level. The infant next transfers his love nature from himself to his parents. At a later stage, there is the hero-worship level. The fourth stage of emotional development is the transference of the affection to the one who later becomes the husband or wife. In the fifth step the affections for the partner should not be less, but there is a broadening of the emotions to include children. And then, after the children are reared and gone from home, there is the regenerate level. Even this level often is not reached because people all too frequently never emotionally mature. This whole subject is treated in detail in Chapter 10 (Serial Lesson 160), Course XIV, Occultism Applied.

The seventh emotional stage of development, that of the spiritual union of soul mates, is seldom reached on earth. And it is not the common thing in the astral region, where most live shortly after physical death, for men and women to find their true soul mates. But this seventh emotional stage, nevertheless, is the basis for affectional adjustments in the next life.

At each of the six levels in the normal development of man’s emotional life he forms attachments that he deems at the time could never be broken or transferred without rending his heart. The school girl who has a “crush” on her lady teacher, or on some other girl, just cannot imagine herself ever relinquishing this love and substituting in its stead the love of some young man. Yet in the normal development of her love life she does just this. And the mother, while her children are young, cannot bear even to think of their ever leaving her. Yet if she is wise, when they are of proper age, she no longer holds them, but encourages them to go out into life and establish homes of their own.

Normal emotional development requires, at different stages of the life, affectional readjustments. And in the affectional readjustments of the next life, the seventh affectional level may be a continuance or a transfer, of the affections, as the case may be. To the extent that man and wife on earth are really suited to each other, not merely because of habit but because of being close complements of each other, their companionship in the next life is apt to prove enduring. And to the extent they are really unsuited to each other, in spite of their marriage on earth, the companionship is likely to be severed at the time of passing, or shortly after entrance into the next world.

Because the real source of one-sided attractions can so readily be perceived and analyzed, the emotional reeducation that is acquired with any marked progress in the next life provides for a healthy transfer of interest to a proper affectional object. I do not mean that one-sided love affairs are nonexistent on the inner planes; but that they persist only among those who have made little progress; for as soon as some progress is made there is a reconditioning toward affectional objects. This leads to proper responses that displace any object of unrequited love. Love, on the more advanced astral levels, is always reciprocal.

This reciprocal love, however, does not imply true soul mates. It merely implies a more or less complete degree of vibratory blending that is generated by characters that find in each other more or less complete complements. On the astral plane it is possible for perfect marriages to take place, and such are consummated far more frequently there than on the earth plane. But such perfect conditions are not the general rule.

Instead, the degree of perfection that is possible to the development and evolutionary requirements of the individual must be substituted. Perfection, even in this matter of affectional relations, is not reached at a single step, or without effort. At first the ties of earth, if they are pleasant, dominate the affections. And if they are based upon something more enduring than the temporary needs of physical life, they will not be severed, at least until progress has been made to a point where they are no longer useful and pleasurable. But as time passes, one meets many others in this new sphere where one now sojourns.

Then come problems arising from new contacts, and from those previously established on earth. But there are learned astrologers, and those who specialize in affectional readjustments, to offer advice and to help in finding a solution satisfactory to everyone. Yet often, before this readjustment can be made, all parties concerned must take a course in emotional reeducation.

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Several Husbands Or Wives

When several husbands who were married at different times to the same wife on earth, all try to claim her in the next life, there are complications present that cannot satisfactorily be solved except by making plain the true basis of affectional relations as they now obtain. It may be that none of these husbands of earth is really the most suitable companion for her, or it may be that one of them is quite satisfactory. In the latter case this suitability is felt as the strongest attraction. Or if some other, who can be located or who already has been contacted, is more suitable, these two, when brought into each other’s presence, experience the strongest attraction.

And it is the function of certain astrologers of that plane to search out and bring together those who are particularly suited to each other. The disconsolate partners of earth who are less suited are taken in hand by those specializing in emotional reeducation. They are shown how foolish it is to have a “fixation” on an individual who is really far less suited to be the domestic partner than some other. This is not merely an appeal to reason; but is carried out under the laws governing the proper reconditioning of the emotions. And in due course of time, through the efforts of these astrologers, or by virtue of their constructive work on the plane they now occupy, they are brought into touch with some other who is far more suitable, and toward whom they can feel much deeper affection than they ever did, or could, feel for the previous partner of earth.

As progress is made from one level of the astral world to another, it may, or may not, as the result of marked development, usually extending over long periods of time, make desirable still other affectional adjustments. When the sixth state of the spiritual world is reached, merely as the result of having reached this exalted condition, true soul mates attract and recognize each other. This is one of the natural results of high spiritual development. But on any level of the spiritual world less advanced than this, and on any astral level whatever, due to many factors, it may, or may not, be possible to contact the true soul mate. But when there is need and desire for a domestic companion, a mate is attracted that more or less approximates the true ideal.

But these affectional attachments, which take the place of marriage on earth, are not permanent until the true soul mate has been found. They serve a purpose, often a very good and valuable purpose, on the level where they occur. But the more speedy advancement of one or the other may later make separation desirable. One may be ready to pass to a new level of endeavor long before the other. This may make advisable new affectional adjustments. If, however, the complementary affinity is pronounced, even the passing of one to an entirely different plane—from earth plane to astral plane, or from the astral to the spiritual plane—does not weaken the affectional relationship. They continue to work for a common end, remaining in communication, by their thoughts, across the planes.

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Separations

Yet where it is found that the usefulness of a particular domestic partnership has been outlived, it can be dissolved in favor of one more suitable to all parties concerned. And because a recognition of emotional states as important factors in spiritual development is common to any astral level much above the earth plane, such readjustments of this kind as seem necessary are free from jealousy, envy, or animus of any sort. I cannot say they are always free from the sense of loss; but they are looked upon as experiences necessary for proper spiritual growth.

This matter of the passing of one partner in marriage to a new plane—passing from earth life to inner-plane life, for instance—frequently poses a problem requiring the most serious thought to solve. The partner left on earth, if the bond of affection has been strong, not only continues to experience the sense of loss, but may grieve over a long period of time. These thoughts of grief not only build discords into his own thought cells but they also reach the one who has passed to the inner plane, and through the mental treatment which moves over the lines of the rapport that has been established through their past relationship, discordantly affects the one on the inner plane who, unless he builds up a high potential and exerts himself to the utmost to prevent it, feels all the emotions of the one on earth.

Yet even those who realize they should not thus think of the loved one who has passed while holding discordant emotions, often do not know what line of conduct to pursue. They feel that to forget the one who has passed and turn their attention to other things is to be disloyal. Because of their sense of loyalty they take pains that no new affectional interest shall enter their lives. They feel they should continue to be as true to the one who has passed as if that one were still with them on earth.

Each of such problems is somewhat different from others, and each therefore must be solved on its own merits. And the one sure criterion, as it also must be the criterion of all other actions, is the comparative amount each course of conduct will contribute to universal welfare.

There certainly are instances where the bond of love is so strong and so high that it should not permit the physical death of one, or anything else, to sever it Under such conditions the thought of the other proves an inspiration to each, and provides an incentive for greater and greater effort to render higher and more abundant service, and to progress spiritually.

But in many other instances the one on earth continuing to keep the other strongly in the consciousness, holds and disturbs the one on the inner plane sufficiently that he cannot properly attend to his duties there. And the one on earth thus consumes so much energy and attention thinking about the one who has passed on that he is unable to do as much as he otherwise would. Neither is making the progress, and neither is contributing as much to universal welfare, as if each had turned his attention to the things of the plane he occupies, and started living there to his fullest.

Under such circumstances, instead of both remaining static, and much less useful than they should be, if affection is essential to happiness, progress and efficiency, it is much better for both to find a new affectional interest, and the one on the physical plane to marry again.

Parents, on earth, usually experience some feeling of loss when their children grow up and depart from home. But if they are wise parents they do not hinder this departure at the proper time. To do so is to thwart the life of the children and to incase themselves in a shell of narrow selfishness. And in the next life, the desire to have the interest of society as a whole advanced as rapidly as possible outweighs any temporary feeling of loneliness. And furthermore, such steps usually are not taken without the counsel of astrologers, and experts in emotional matters, who give advice and practical aid to make the affectional readjustments satisfactory and beneficial to everyone concerned.

It may seem strange to the visitor from earth that those once married and now no longer so, remain the best of friends. If the marriage was merely that of earth, and marked by brutalities and discords, you may be sure it is not resumed in the next life. But if there are elements of harmony sufficient to carryover into the life after physical death, or if it is a domestic partnership entered into after passing from the physical plane, it is looked upon by both persons as a happy even though perhaps only temporary, relationship of benefit to both. The fact that this relationship has outgrown its usefulness, and that progress has brought new affectional contacts, does not make them enemies. On the contrary, each has a kindly regard for the other, and a special interest in doing everything that in any way will assist the other to happiness, to the successful performance of his work, and to spiritual progress.

And while I have been compelled, in order to give any adequate description of domestic affairs in the next life, to speak of these affectional readjustments, I trust no one will conclude the next world is a place given over to swapping partners. How fast an individual moves from one astral level to another depends entirely upon himself, and it may be very swift or very slow. But following the initial adjustment to domestic affairs after passing from earth, even in those cases where such changes become desirable, it is unlikely a subsequent affectional readjustment would take place within a period of time comparable to the ordinary length of life of man upon the earth.

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Reality Is Faced

On earth a great many desires and activities are glossed over and made to appear very different from what they really are. But in the next life, as soon as there has been even a very little progress, everything about oneself and others is faced for what it really is. Selfishness and carnality cannot be hidden from others if it is present, nor given every appearance of beauty by bestowing upon it a euphonious name. Every thought and motive is viewed in all its stark reality.

Yet on the other hand, no shame is attached to the exercise of any natural function. The companionship and domestic life of man and woman are accepted as beautiful expressions of love. It serves a manifold purpose. The emotions it engenders in each tend to refine them and thus raise their spirituality. The love thought of each going out to the other is a healing balm, and the thought image each holds of the other in loving helpfulness becomes the ideal into which this other tends to develop and grow. It is a potent force and treatment aiding in his advancement. And the energy generated by their mutual attraction is a mighty reservoir upon which they can draw for the performance of their selected work.

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Transforming Energy

You must realize that on any plane accomplishment consumes energy, and that the energy supply that can be effectively used by any individual, or group of individuals, is restricted by individual limitations. On the physical plane some of the energy we use in our activities is derived from the consumption of fuels within the body. A considerable portion of this fuel supply is furnished by breathing. And on the astral plane a process somewhat analogous to breathing is the chief means of supplying the energies used in the activities there. This breathing, of course, is not of air, but of the energy-charged atmosphere of the plane occupied.

The form, on any plane, does not create energy, but merely acts as a transformer of energy. People on earth have energy in varying amounts and grades because they have different ability to transform it and turn it into paths of their own choosing. And when they pass to the next life they do not suddenly develop the power to divert an unlimited amount of energy and convert it to their own use. Thinking and all other activities of the next life consume energy, and this energy must be provided from some source. Mere breathing does not yield an unlimited supply, no more so than a man may gain unlimited strength on the physical plane merely by eating an enormous quantity of food. The power to transform energy depends upon the individual.

One of the greatest problems that confronts every person, not merely on earth and in the astral world but also in the highest conceivable states, is how to increase the quality and quantity of energy that can be used. The quality of energy received and transmitted depends upon the refinement of the organism through which it passes. To refine the thoughts, emotions and form is to gain ability to use a higher-frequency energy. And because of its higher frequency, the more spiritual the energy thus handled, the more real power.

Yet quality of energy is only part of the problem; for to accomplish anything worthwhile on the plane where this energy is used it must be utilized in volume. And this is where the intensity of the thoughts, desires and aspirations play their part. For it is through mental and emotional intensity that large volumes of energy are taken from the atmosphere in the process analogous to breathing.

Man and woman, therefore, when the love attraction between them is pure, strong and unwavering, as when such domestic life as I have described obtains, constitute a natural dynamo for the generation of energy on the plane where they work. Their love life enables them to accomplish tasks of magnitude without undue fatigue.

In this region, which is not close to earth, there is no night and day, but there are periods of activity and repose. And fatigue also is present as the result of prolonged or strenuous activity. It is not due, as on earth, largely to the presence of lactic acid in the blood, but to lack of sufficient energy to keep up the desired activity. Before activities are resumed there must be a recharging of the psychic batteries, as it were. Harmonious domestic life, recreations of various kinds, rest, relaxation, and music, all contribute to this revitalization.

It would be pleasant reading to some if I could say that in the next life there were no troubles, no obstacles, no difficulties, no disappointments no sorrows, no pain, no fatigue, and nothing distasteful.

I find, however, that in the slums and hells there is even something very much resembling physical pain. And there are still anxieties, until one has progressed to a point, through the practice of spiritual alchemy in which one refuses to be anxious. These anxieties on the level where you will probably find yourself, will not be concerning yourself, but concerning the possible happenings and conditions to be faced by loved ones remaining on earth.

Fear can be experienced in that after realm quite as vividly as on earth. But the progressive person soon realizes what he should comprehend before leaving earth, that fear has no useful part to play in the life of any enlightened man, and merely tends to attract the condition feared. Nothing, without your permission, can injure your immortal soul. Anxiety and fear are obstacles in your path that now or later you must rise above. Before you have made much progress in the next life they must be left behind.

I have already mentioned that sorrows may arise over separations that take place among those in the after life. Sorrow may also arise over failure; for even in the next life people do not always attain at once their aims. But the most common source of sorrow is the thoughts of loved ones still on earth that carry even to the rather interior levels. Those left on earth often grieve for years, and their thoughts reaching loved ones in the next life may cause much sorrow.

Yet as progress is made to higher levels, all grief and sorrow is left behind. Not because there are no more separations, nor because the loved ones on earth have been forgotten, nor because those on higher levels always are successful in their endeavors. Sorrow is left behind because there has been sufficient emotional and spiritual advancement to realize it is better for all concerned to raise a barrier against the thoughts of grieving ones on earth. And because it is realized that separations, disappointments, and failures, by a proper attitude toward them, can be made spiritual assets of great value. As one moves from lower to higher astral levels one observes less and less of sorrow and more and more the prevalence of radiant joy.

The universe moves forward in its ever more perfect development through the labors of its cooperative intelligent parts. Never is there reached a point where nothing remains to be accomplished. And those in the next life can always find something worth doing that, no matter how much energy they command, enables them, in a good cause, to become fatigued. The progressive plan of things always provides still other obstacles when some have been overcome.

The next life is not a tepid region of inaction. But the people in the advanced levels do not have the troubles of those on earth. This is largely because, through their advancement, they know how to live constructively. They do have the advantage of a better system of human relations, and they are not faced by some of the stringent necessities that beset those on earth. But of still more importance than this, they have learned more about how to live to be happy. And if we would be guided by their wisdom we also could learn and practice this art before leaving earth.

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Birth Charts

John Barrymore Chart

February 15, 1882, 0:33 p.m. LMT; 75W. 40N.
Data given by Paul Council.

1903, October, stage debut, outstanding success as actor for 39 years: Sun trine Jupiter r, Venus semisquare Saturn r.

1910, married wealthy Corri Harris: Jupiter trine Moon r, Sun semisextile Venus r.

1920, August 5, married Mrs. Leonard M. Thomas: Jupiter square Venus r, Venus semisextile Neptune r.

1928, November 24, married beautiful screen star Dolores Costello: Jupiter square Venus r, Venus square Moon r.

1936, November 8, married youthful Elaine Barrie: Jupiter conjunction Pluto r.

Elaine Barrymore Chart

July 16, 1915, 1:15 a.m. EST; 74W. 40.43N.
Data given by Lenora Ross.

1935, on dare from sister students at Hunter College, crashed New York Hospital room to interview matinee idol John Barrymore: M.C. semisextile Jupiter r, Mercury conjunction Venus r.

1936, November 8, after wild romance receiving wide newspaper publicity, married John Barrymore: Sun sesquisquare Jupiter p.

1937, April 24, won divorce decree, but quickly went back to Barrymore: Sun opposition Uranus p.

1938, started suit for separate maintenance, but quickly went back again to Barrymore: Sun opposition Uranus r.

1940, divorced: Asc. square Jupiter r, Sun semisquare Pluto r.

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