The logic of life after death

Our lives cannot be pointless

Sister Catherine looked at Bill and could see that he was intensely interested in the discussion. His big, kind face was looking at her earnestly. She guessed he had suffered the loss of someone dear to him.
‘Over the years Bill, I have been with many people as they approached death. When people know that they are dying, and have time to come to terms with it, they often ask themselves the big questions of life – the ones they may have shied away from before. Questions like – what’s it all been for? And when people reflect on their lives it is not the big achievements that they value – like the big job, or the big house. No. What they value above all are the relationships they had with those they loved, and the acts of kindness they experienced in their lives. Sometimes it takes the imminence of death to make people see what really is important to them. And then they say, now that I have learned this wouldn’t it be such a waste if this knowledge was put to no use? In other words, the lessons of life are pointless unless they form the basis of what happens next. Therefore there must be a next or our lives now are pointless.’

From The Domini Conspiracy, chapter 82, page 264.

Self-sacrifice

The Raiders

At dawn they landed,
In six long ships
It had been two days since they had left their island fortress,
Not yet this summer had they raided so far south,
Surprise would be theirs.

And thus it was.
By the time the alarm was raised it was too late to mount a defence.
Without mercy the raiders destroyed all in their path.
Many roused by the clamour perished before they could leave their burning homes.

Mothers wailed as husbands and sons were slain before their eyes and daughters subjected to torture and humiliation until their young lives could suffer no more.

The defence of one simple house on the edge of the village lasted but minutes as the raiders destroyed its door under a crushing rain of blows.

Inside stood a man, his arms outstretched to protect a woman and two young children standing quietly behind him.
He had no weapon.

As they were about to strike, one amongst the raiders looked at this little group, defenceless yet quietly defiant, and saw in them himself and his own family, which he had left behind across the northern sea.
Something touched his heart.

He was first to leap forward as often before,
but this time not to strike the first blow.
Instead he stopped and turned to face his fellow raiders.
He stood between them and the little group.
‘Enough,’ he said.

They knew they would have to slay him first.
For a moment they faltered.
Then they pressed forward.

He fought with courage and great strength but in the end was overwhelmed
and was slain along with those he had defended.

The little group lay together, strangely at peace.
Their expressions showed not fear, nor anger, nor despair,
But instead – pride, and hope, and love.

This is a story about self-sacrifice. I wrote it originally for an old friend. He believed that human beings are essentially selfish, only capable of self-sacrifice when family or loved ones are concerned – and therefore the situation described in The Raiders could never happen. I maintained that human beings are capable of such self-sacrifice and that, although they may be uncommon, such incidents are indications of something profoundly important about our nature.

Sharing life's experiences

A child’s open gaze, trusting and clear
The scent-filled summer evening air
A blackbird’s memory captured song
All things of which life’s love is borne
But greater still is this love measured
When with your partner, jointly treasured.

From The Domini Conspiracy, chapter 75, page 241.

Understanding

Intellect has not the power
Nor logic depth of insight
To understand the simple truth
Of life's essential purpose
The heart is nearer than reason by far
Our feelings reveal us for what we are.

From The Domini Conspiracy, chapter 56, page 179.

Words of encouragement

Chapter 50, page 162

Words of encouragement (from beyond the grave)

Do not fear death
It is but a passing
Do not be fearful of life
For all will be well
You are loved, more than you know
Just for who you are
Like a parent loves a child
Without condition.

Enjoy your life
And experience all you can
Open yourself to love
Whether it be from others to you
Or from you to others
Be open to the beauty around you
Cherish each moment
Be happy!

Try not to be jealous of what others have
For all material things are transient
Be content
Strive to be kind to others
Do not use them for your own gain or pleasure
Be generous in love
And not self-seeking
Cause no hurt.

Like the child in the womb you are developing
In readiness for the next stage
Uncertainty will pass
Understanding will come
Be tolerant of others’ beliefs
But do not feel obliged to conform to them
For no one has the monopoly of the truth
You are free to think for yourself.

You will not be judged
But you will measure yourself
Against the person you could have been
Death is not the end
It is simply the beginning of the next phase
So fear not.
Remember you are loved
Be gentle with yourself.

The dawning truth

During the course of the story, one of the characters, David MacLeod, records a series of insights about life and the hereafter. Some of these are reproduced in the post below...
Life after death
Judgement
The afterlife
Rules for Life
The significance of life
The enigma of suffering

Revelations

Extracts from The Domini Conspiracy
David MacLeod relates his new insights...

Chapter 17, page 66
Life after death
As a minister of the Church I have always believed in a life hereafter. But now my belief has become knowledge – I know that the human consciousness continues after death. At first I was sceptical about the communications I was receiving. But after checking some of the details given in messages, details that I couldn’t possibly have known through any other source, I now believe that I really am communicating with people who have died.
Most of those I converse with are strangers to me. Some are deceased relatives, a few of whom I had known but most had passed away before I was born. However, no matter who they are they all share two things in common – an immense goodwill towards me, and indeed towards all living people – and an energetic eagerness to inform me, not just about the nature of life after death, but also about the significance of our earthly lives now.
I have been given numerous descriptions of what it is like to die. Most are very similar. The first to describe his death to me was a man called Andrew who had died six months previously. He told me that he had suffered a heart attack whilst undergoing surgery in hospital. He told me what it felt like.
At first, he said, he did not realise he was dead. He described how he found himself somehow above his body looking down on the medical team as they tried to resuscitate him. He said he felt no pain, just confusion. It seemed odd to watch them work frantically on his apparently lifeless body. Eventually they gave up and he heard them pronounce him dead. Then his confusion turned to apprehension. What would happen next?
He realised that he was freed from gravity and could move just by willing it. He went to where Elizabeth, his wife, was waiting in the hospital cafe downstairs. He described how he was there when they came to tell her that he had died, how he watched her break down in tears, how he went close to her and tried to reassure her, but this was not possible. He said he wanted so much to hold her and be with her but he knew that his existence was moving to a different plane and he became aware of a dark area opening up ahead of him, devoid of all light, like the entrance to a long tunnel. He was drawn into this tunnel and moved rapidly through it towards a circular light in the distance.
He came out of the tunnel and into an area of indescribable beauty, perfectly illuminated in a glorious yellow-orange light.
He said that he saw several beings there. Some were clothed in transparent garments. Some were not clothed at all. They were people of graceful beauty, full of love towards him. They knew him completely and he felt neither chastisement nor embarrassment. He said they knew his ‘very essence’ and he realised that he was able to know them too. Just by looking into their eyes their souls were bared before him. Complete knowledge was communicated between them. No language was necessary. Indeed, he said that no language could have encapsulated the intensity and depth of knowledge shared.
He said he felt no fear, just a deep ineffable joy.

Chapter 21, page 78
Judgement
I have always been taught that we are judged when we die. That somehow our good deeds are weighed against the bad and the outcome determines our eternal life – either heavenly bliss or everlasting torment. As a result of my theological studies I began to interpret this duality as either a closeness to God or a separation from God. Even with this modified thinking an element of judgement remained. I now know that this is a wrong view!
It seems that shortly after we die and encounter the beings of light we are faced with some sort of three-dimensional replay of our lives. The emphasis in the events we see is the effect of our actions on others. We see how what we have done has either positively helped or hurt someone. It’s as if we can feel the way the other person felt as a result of what we did. Seeing past events from this perspective helps us to understand our lives in a different way. We may feel remorse at what we see but we are not judged, except perhaps by ourselves, as we measure the person we were against the person we could have been.
Sometimes the remorse can be very painful for us. Not only for the hurt we have caused but also for failing to meet our potential, for not playing the part we could have played in the one-off opportunity that mortal life offers.
We may also feel a strong sense that we have let down those, in the earthly and spiritual worlds, who expected better from us.
Nevertheless the experience teaches much that is important for our development as spiritual beings. We realise that the attributes we need most in our new existence are love and the desire for knowledge.
For most of us the intensity of the experience of unconditional and suffusing love is enough to move us on, despite the sometimes painful knowledge of our failings during our time on earth.
For some however, facing the reality of their wrongdoings, and the effect they had on others, is profoundly difficult to accept. They struggle to cope spiritually. It’s as if the contrast between the deep and unselfish love they encounter when they die and their own selfish and hurtful actions is too sharp. They cannot move on and remain in a torment of remorse. This is indeed hell for them! It is not imposed on them. It is their own self-punishment. Eventually they can move on, although for some it takes a long time.
A very few feel no remorse and continue to reject love. And, just as they did during their mortal lives, they will seek to destroy any goodness they encounter. They always have the chance to change. They have the choice. But in the meantime these malevolent spirits can cause harm.

Chapter 25, page 90
The afterlife
I never cease to be astonished at the appearance of the spirits I encounter. They do not have a physical body as we know it but seem to be composed of millions of tiny vibrant points of energy shaped into forms that are recognisably people but revealing of an incredible inward beauty that is the essence of each of them.
They feel no physical pain or ills but can suffer anguish at others’ hurt. They seem much more tuned to feelings.
And they actually work! I was amazed to discover that work is very much a part of the afterlife. They use the knowledge, experience and insights gained in their mortal lives to help progress the new community they find themselves in.
There are great institutions of learning where they can study and increase their understanding about the universe, which is infinitely more marvellous than we can possibly know in this life.
Their work is intellectual and not physical and usually they concentrate on areas that best use their existing knowledge and skills.
Much of what they do in the spirit world can be used for the benefit of us mortals on earth and some of this is communicated from time to time, although not always with the desired results!
And amazingly it seems that it doesn’t stop in this new place for as they progress spiritually they move on into other states. This may be quite soon, or it may take much longer.
No one could tell me where it ends, if it ever does. But this doesn’t cause them concern. All who I have communicated with are full of the assurance of love.
They know they are loved, that they always have been and always will be – just for who they are.
In their turn they love each other and especially us here on earth, for they have the highest regard for us.
We are the embryo prototypes of the spiritual beings that we are to become. They admire our courage and fortitude in the face of difficulties and uncertainty. They share in our joys and weep at our hurts.

Chapter 27, page 95
Rules for life
Before I was four years old I could recite the Ten Commandments off by heart. These were the unquestioned rules for living that had served western civilisation well for fifteen hundred years.
That they had been given to Moses several thousand years before, in tablets of stone, on a mountain top by Almighty God, made perfect sense to me. It seemed right that God should tell us what we should and what we shouldn’t do.
The Ten Commandments have formed the basis of a moral code, a recipe for civilised living, as well as set of rules that impacted on our eternal future. So what’s wrong with them?
According to an old priest, who died in the month of Queen Victoria’s birth and who had subsequently made a study of these matters, the Ten Commandments are a very early example of the exercise of social control through supposed divine mandate. Moses may have believed he had received a message from God, but it was certainly a convenient and effective way to give authority to the rules for living that he brought to his people.
Similarly, in the evolution of many religions we find codes of conduct, rules for living, which religious leaders claimed to be mandated by divine authority. When the prospect of eternal damnation is introduced as punishment for rules being broken it is easy to imagine the effect on largely uneducated populations.
No wonder powerful people – sovereigns, church leaders, heads of state, the rich ruling classes – used such rules to control others .
My old priest friend told me that the rules themselves may or may not be flawed, but what is absolutely wrong is the claim of divine proxy in human affairs. To claim divine authority in order to bend others to one’s will is one of the worst things a human being can do.
This message made me think. In my role as a minister of the church am I not guilty of this? Is not my authority, and that of all priests and pastors, derived from our role as representatives of Christ on earth?
I realised that I am indeed guilty although in my defence I could see that my motives have been mainly positive. I had believed the doctrine of my church and I believed that I was helping others. Didn’t I baptise and remove sin? Didn’t I teach the path to salvation through acceptance of the one true saviour?
My old priest reassured me. Yes my motives are worthy but my teaching is flawed!
There are no rules he told me. At least no rules that others can give us. States may establish laws. That’s different. It’s just that there are no divine rules. No code for life on which our eternal future depends, except that which is written on our hearts – to treat all life with respect and consideration.
I had many discussions with my old friend. Eventually he permitted me to define what he was telling me in two statements:

- Life is a precious gift for us to live to the full, to experience, enjoy and learn from.

- Love is at the heart of the universe. We must be open to receiving and giving love and must not knowingly cause hurt to others.

My old friend was kind and wise as are many others with whom I have had the great fortune to talk. It is clear to me that there is profound goodwill towards us. Those who have gone before us watch over us and want to help us.

Chapter 30, page 103
The significance of life
It is clear that those who have gone before us watch over us and want to help us. But not all do I was surprised to discover. I have not come across anything but kindness in my communications but I have been told that there are some spirits who have a more negative view. I asked why this was. This is how it was explained to me.
There are many states of life. Our experience as mortal beings on Earth is the first. After we die we move onto one of several planes of spiritual existence. Some of these planes are very close to physical life, others are much more advanced. Where we go depends on how we have developed in this life. The analogy of the womb is one that is often used by those trying to explain it to me.
Before we are born into the world we spend time in our mother’s womb, being developed and prepared for independent life. Afterwards, in our time as a living human being we are similarly being developed and prepared for the next stage of our existence. The main difference is that whilst we are in our mother’s womb our development is outside of our own control, whereas in our lives now the way we develop is affected by our own decisions.
In other words, we are part of our own preparation for the life to follow. This means that we each reach our own different and personal level of spiritual development and when we die we move on to a new level, one that is right for us.
The exposure to unconditional love, which we all experience when we die, is usually enough to shock us into a realisation of how we are meant to be and so we willingly move on to the next stage of learning and development.
For some, however, the experience is different. The shock of love is too alien to their concept of life. They have lived lives of complete selfishness and struggle to accept a philosophy of self-sacrificing generosity. They become very confused and spend much time trying to interact with the plane of existence they have left behind on earth. They can be negative influences and may cause harm. Eventually most will learn and move on but this can be a very slow process for some.
Our mortal lives can sometimes be affected by these negative spirits. Fortunately we are also watched over by numerous positive spirits, who do all they can to help us.
It has become clear to me that our physical lives are hugely important. It’s as if all of creation shares in our individual experiences. When we pick up a blossom to admire its beauty and scent, a thousand spirits share in our pleasure. When we experience the joy of a new birth, a thousand spirits share in our happiness. When we lose a loved one, a thousand spirits weep with us.

Chapter 34, page 112
The enigma of suffering
As a minister I find that I am often asked why a loving God should allow suffering and evil in the world. Surely if he loved us he would not want us to be hurt?
As a young man my answer was that evil and suffering were the work of Satan and part of the eternal struggle between the powers of darkness and light. Later I began to modify my thinking and describe suffering and evil as a result of mankind’s sinfulness and separation from God. But I know now that I was completely wrong. The phenomenon of suffering, and what we would term evil, are consequences of freedom!
Just as out of love we as individuals have been given free will, so the whole of creation has been given the freedom to be and to become. The universe is full of possibilities and potential. What happens in the world is not the result of divine or satanic action. It happens because it can happen. Just as the world is free to exemplify great beauty it can also exhibit tragedy.
It is almost as if for a good outcome to mean anything there must also have been the possibility that things could go wrong.
And of course they do – natural disasters, terrorist atrocities, cruelty and exploitation.
But then we also have love, kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice. And we have the beauty of the natural world and the magnificent vastness of the universe.
Each of us has the potential to be the person that we can be, a fulfilled and spiritually developed human being. But we have choices and sometimes we make the wrong choices.
A young mother who had died giving birth to her third child described it to me like this. She said, ‘We must be free to choose our own way otherwise we cannot develop fully. This is risky of course, but this is the nature of the universe. It is like a mother watching her child grow up. She loves her child and wishes to protect it from any harm. But she knows that at times she has to allow the child to learn for itself. Out of love she gives her child the freedom to grow and develop. This is how it is for each of us. We are loved therefore we are free!
If everything was pre-determined the whole exercise of creation would be pointless.’

This blog is linked to the novel The Domini Conspiracy. Although it is essentially a fast moving thriller it also contains insights into the afterlife and considers some of the basic questions that human beings ask... What is the purpose of our lives? What happens when we die? Are we judged? How significant is my life now? Are we alone in the universe?
Over the next few weeks extracts from the book will be posted for comment and discussion. Some are challenging - most, hopefully, are reassuring.