Dr. N: Now that you are stationary, what are your impressions?
S: It's ... large ... activity ... there are a lot of people in the vicinity. Some are familiar to me, others are not.
Dr. N: Can we get a little closer to all of them?
S: (abruptly my subject raises her voice with indignation) You don't understand! I don't go over there. (points a finger toward my office wall)
Dr. N: What's the problem?
S: I'm not supposed to. You can't just go off anywhere.
Dr. N: But, you have reached your destination?
S: It doesn't matter. I don't go over there. (again points a finger at her mental picture)
Dr. N: Does this tie in with the messages you received about your father?
S: Yes, it does.
Dr. N: Are you saying to me your soul energy cannot arbitrarily float anywhere-such as outside your group?
S: (pointing outward) They are not in my group over there.
Dr. N: Define what you mean by over there?
S: (in a grave tone of voice) Those others nearby-that is their place. (points down to the floor) This is our place. We are here. (nods head to confirm her statement)
Dr. N: Who are they?
S: Well, the others, of course, people not in my group. (in a burst of nervous laughter) Oh, look! ... my own people, it's wonderful to see them again. They are coming toward me!
Dr. N: (I act as though I am hearing this information for the first time, to encourage spontaneous answers) Really? This does sound wonderful. Are these the same people who were involved with your past life?
S: More than one life, I can tell you. (with pride) These are my people!
Dr. N: These people are entities who are members of your own group?
S: Of course, yes, I have been with them for so long. Oh, it's fun seeing them all again. (subject is overjoyed and I give her a few moments with this picture)
Dr. N: I see quite a change in your understanding in just the short time since we arrived here. Look off in the distance at the others around this space. What is it like where they live?
S: (agitated) I don't want to know. That is their business. Can't you see? I'm not attached to them. I'm too busy with the people I am supposed to be with here. People I know and love.
Dr. N: I do see, but a few minutes ago you were quite distressed at not being able to get close to your father.
S: I know now he has his own gathering place with people.
Dr. N: Why didn't you know that when we arrived here?
S: I'm not sure. I admit it was a shock at first. Now I know the way things are. It's all coming back to me.
Dr. N: Why wasn't your guide around to explain all this to you before you saw your father?
S: (long pause) I don't know.
Dr. N: Probably other people you have known and loved besides your father are also in these groups. Are you saying you have no contact with them now that you are in your proper place in the spirit world?
S: (upset with me) No, I have contact with my mind. Why are you being so difficult? I am supposed to stay here.
Dr. N: (I prod the subject once more to gain additional information) And you don't just drift over to those other groups for visits?
S: No! You don't do that! You don't go into their groups and interfere with their energy.
Dr. N: But mental contact offers no interference with their energy?
S: At the right time. When they are free to do this with me ...
Dr. N: So, what you are telling me is that everyone here is located in their own group spaces and you don't go wandering around visiting or making too much mental contact at the wrong times?
S: (calming down) Yes, they are in their own spaces with instruction going on. It's the directors who move around mostly ...
Dr. N: Thank you for clearing all this up for me. You want me to know that you and your group friends are especially careful about infringing upon others' spaces?
S: That's right. At least that's the way things are around my space.
Dr. N: And you don't feel confined by this custom?
S: Oh no, there are great expanses of space and such a sense of freedom here, as long as we pay attention to the rules.
Dr. N: And what if you don't? Who decides what is the proper location for each group of souls?
S: (pause) The teachers help us, otherwise we would be lost.
Dr. N: It seemed to me you were lost when we first arrived here?
S: (with uncertainty) I didn't connect ... I wasn't mentally in tune ... I messed up ... I don't think you realize how big it is around here.
Dr. N: Look around you at all the occupied spaces. Isn't the spirit world crowded with souls?
S: (laughs) Sometimes we do get lost-that's our own fault-this place is big! That's why it never gets crowded.
The two cases in this chapter represent different reactions from a beginner and a more advanced soul recalling the final phase of their return passages back to the spirit world. Every participant has their own interpretation of the panoramic view from the staging area to the terminus in their cluster group. Some of my subjects find the transition from the gateway to group placement to be so rapid that they need time to adjust upon arrival.
When recalling their memories between homecoming and placement, my subjects sometimes express concern that an important individual was not present in light form or did not communicate with them telepathically. Often this is a parent or spouse in the life just completed. By the end of the transition stage, the reason usually becomes evident. Frequently it has to do with embodiment.
We have seen how the average returning soul is overwhelmed by pleasure. Familiar beings are clustered together in undulating masses of bright light. On occasion, resonating musical sounds with specific chords guide the incoming traveler. One subject remarked, "As I come near my place, there is a monotone of many voices sounding the letter A, like Aaaaa, for my recognition, and I can see them all vibrating fast as warm, bright energy, and I know these are the disembodied ones right now."
What this means is that those souls who are currently incarnated in one or more bodies at the moment may not be actively engaged with welcoming anybody back. Another subject explained, "It is as if they are sleeping on autopilot-we always know who is out and who is in." Those souls who are not totally discarnated radiate a dim light with low pulsating energy patterns and don't seem to communicate much with anyone. Even so, these souls are able to greet the returning soul in a quiet fashion within the group setting.
The sense of a barrier between various groups, as experienced by Case 15, has different versions among my subjects, depending upon the age of the soul. I will have another perspective about mobility in the next case. The average soul with a great deal of basic work to do describes the separation of their group from others as similar to being in different classrooms in the same schoolhouse. I have also had clients who felt they were entirely separated in their own schoolhouse. The analogy of spiritual schools directed by teacher-guides is used so often by people under hypnosis that it has become a habit for me to use the same terminology.
As I mentioned earlier, after souls arrive back into their soul groups, they are summoned to appear before a Council of Elders. While the Council is not prosecutorial, they do engage in direct examination of a soul's activities before returning them to their groups. It is not unusual for my subjects to have some difficulty providing me with full details of what transpires at these hearings, and I am sure these blocks are intentional.
Here is a report from one case. "After I meet with my friends, my guide Veronica (subject's younger teacher) takes me to another place to meet with my panel of Elders. She is at my side as an interpreter for what I don't understand and to provide support for explanations of my conduct in the last life. At times, she speaks on my behalf as a kind of defense advocate but Quazel (subject's senior guide who arrived before Veronica) carries the most weight with the panel. There are always the same six Elders in front of me who wear long white robes. Their faces are kindly, and they evaluate my perceptions of the life I have just lived and how I could have done better with my talents and what I did that was beneficial. I am freely allowed to express my frustrations and desires. All the Elders are familiar to me, especially two of them who address me more than the others and who look younger than the rest. I think I can distinguish appearances which are male or female. Each has a special aspect in the way they question me but they are honest and truthful, and I am always treated fairly. I can hide nothing from them, but sometimes I get lost when their thoughts are transmitted back and forth in the rapid communication between them. When it is more than I can handle, Veronica translates what they are saying about me, although I have the feeling she does not tell me everything. Before I return to Earth, they will want to see me a second time."