On Death Sickle-wielding man Spectral shroud and grinning skull Ancient friend reveals Samantha: What is death, really? Ibiru: Death is the process of going back to the beginning point. In order to understand death, you must first understand something about consciousness and the choosing/creating of a life. When you choose a life, you begin from a place of formlessness, where all potential forms wait in the wings. Elsewhere, you have already learned about the DNA template. The first emanation from the formless is the archetype. For example, let's look at the humanoid archetype. Contained within the archetypal idea of Humanoid is the potential for every humanoid form. On Earth, there are mammalian humanoid forms, from the smallest monkey to Homo sapiens sapiens. On other worlds there are reptilian humanoid forms…amphibian humanoid forms…the list is endless, and includes types of species that are so different from anything you know that there are no human words to describe them. Some are not even physical, although their "form" is humanoid. All of the previous versions of "human" also fit into the pattern. So, you have the archetype. The next emanation focuses in on a sub-type, and that continues until a species, world, gender, etc., have been chosen, along with the characteristics the Self chooses to express. This can also be described by looking at light and what happens to it when it passes through a prism. It enters the prism as white, undifferentiated light and exits in the individual colors and gradations of the rainbow. If you could run the process backwards you would have the individual colors and gradations entering the prism and exiting as undifferentiated white light. The very same process happens when you die. You move from the differentiated individual that you are familiar with, through the many stages of shedding the various characteristics until you finally return to the undifferentiated core Self from whence you came. Samantha: Does anything of the individual self remain? Ibiru: Yes, of course. When I say, "undifferentiated," I do not mean that you merge into some vast, cosmic amoeba. Your individual Self is eternal. But what you think is your individual self is a sub-set of your core Self, which is also individual and inviolate. Samantha: Then does that mean that we do not simply disappear into the cosmic ALL? What does that do to the concept of nirvana? And the ego? And getting off the Wheel? Ibiru: No, you do not disappear. The cosmic All is made up of infinite core Selves, each one expressing itself, simultaneously, as many individual foci. This is the process of gods becoming. Each individual is a god in the process of becoming. Your ego never dies, although the ego that you know is only a small portion of the ego of the core Self. No living thing can exist without a sense of self. As you and Gordon have discussed, you are each a point of view. When you die that point of view re-merges with the much "larger" and more inclusive point of view which is your core Self, taking to it everything that has been experienced and learned in the life you just had. And you can never leave the Great Wheel, for the Wheel is the very Dance of Spirit, of the heart that is each core Self. In order to get off the Wheel, God itSelf must cease to be. And that is not possible. Samantha: Well, this certainly does not fit in the currently popular religious ideas on death, does it? Ibiru: No, I imagine not… although it is important to understand that the deeply held beliefs of a person will determine HOW that person experiences the first portion of the between-lives journey. For example, if you believe in a literal heaven and hell, with a god who judges you, you will experience that for a while. And if you feel that you have been "bad" in life, you will, indeed, suffer the flames of hell…for a while. And therein lies the key. It will last only for so long as you continue to believe in it. Even heaven is not eternal. Samantha: Most religions have the idea of a Judgement that has to be faced. What is that? I find it hard to believe that these notions come out of the thin air. Ibiru: They do not. Many religious ideas about death come from partially remembered experiences while in the between-lives state. Judgement does happen, but not as you have been taught. Each being reviews the life that s\he has just lived, in fine detail. The purpose of this is not to judge whether or not you were good enough to go to heaven. The real purpose is for you to understand what you learned, what you did not learn, and to be able to consciously choose what you want to include in your next sojourn into the Land of the Living. This is not a value judgement. Samantha: What of angels and guides? A lot of people who have had near death experiences talk of these things. Ibiru: If you are a devout Christian, say, you will, indeed, meet Jesus and he will guide you through the first parts of your journey. If you believe in the Great Mother of All, she will meet you and she will be your guide. If you believe in angels, they will meet you. In fact, however, at some point you will understand that these guides, who seem external to you, are you. They arise out of your own consciousness, from the deeper levels where you already KNOW what is going on, to help you get through it all. They take the forms of those you trust in order to ease your passage. As you get further along in your journey and understand that your guides are you, you will, in fact, meet beings who are other individuals. These you will recognize as such. Often, they will be other members of your Soul Group (other individual aspects of your core Self). There is a period where you will share with these others what you have all learned, make whatever agreements you might want to meet in life, and to compare notes. The next stage in your journey is when you lay aside the final remnants of the life you have just lived and recognize yourself as your core Self. You will still feel like YOU, only infinitely more so. In this state, you will be aware of every life you have ever led, ever will lead and are leading now, as it is all happening simultaneously. This is the part you remember most clearly, Samantha. You could see all, but had no eyes…hear all, but with no ears. It is from this point that you will choose a new focus and begin the creative process, the individuation, all over again. Eternally. It is in the nature of the ALL to do so, as Consciousness will always seek expression. It is why the Great Wheel will continue to turn for eternity. All possibilities must be explored, in infinite combinations and manifestations. Samantha: Is it possible to remember more of the between lives state while one is alive? Ibiru: Yes, it is. I would say that it is very important to do so, as much as possible. Fear is a terrible driving force for many people, and the fear of death and dying is among the greatest. Species who learn how to remember this journey often become more peaceful and are able to progress and evolve much more rapidly. The energy that is depleted by fear is tremendous. And remembering is not as difficult as many might think. The meditative state is a good one for retrieving your memories. And so is the semi-trance state that you, Samantha, get into when we write these. The important thing is to allow the images to flow without forcing them, once your intention to remember has been firmly stated to yourself. Since you enjoy typing, this is a good way to record the images. For some, tape recording what comes to mind is a good way. Sift through what you receive and pay attention to how you feel about the information. You will eventually remember more and more. Samantha: Thank you, Ibiru. Ibiru: You're welcome. Tomorrow? Samantha: Count on it.