About these souls, William Atkinson in his book "Life beyond
death" wrote the following:
« In the
works upon the subject of the Astral Plane, particularly if the work be by one
of the old authorities, there will be found many references to what are called “earth-bound”
souls. As a rule, these references are to the lower order of souls, which
refuse to lift their mental gaze beyond the things and scenes of earth, and
which haunt their old scenes of activity and life, finding therein the only
pleasure that is possible to them in their degraded condition.
But, in this
consideration, we must not neglect a mention of a higher order of souls who,
unfortunately, are slow to break their earthly bonds, and who cling closely to
those who have been left behind them. Let us consider this last class for a
moment.
It sometimes happens
that a soul who is naturally fitted for the normal life on the higher Astral
Planes, is so tied and attached to matters concerning earth-life,
that after its awakening from the soul-slumber it
at first refuses to participate in the normal Astral existence, but, instead,
busies itself with the affairs of earth-life
which it should have left behind it.
This unfortunate
condition arises generally from some sense of unperformed duty, remorse, or anxiety
about the welfare of some loved one left behind. In such cases it actually
hovers in space around the presence of the person or place in which it is
interested, and, under extraordinary psychic conditions it may actually make
itself visible to the senses of persons in the flesh.
To this class belong
the poor afflicted souls which wander about, haunting the scene of their
earthly misdeeds, their remorse causing them to make vain endeavors to undo or
atone for their misdeeds. Of course, these unfortunate souls are not fully
“wide-awake” on the Astral Plane, neither
are they wide-awake on the earth-life
plane. Instead, they act like somnambulists, on either plane, failing to
partake of the normal life of either phase of existence.
Akin to these are those
worried and tormented souls who feel that they have left some duty or task
unfulfilled, and who in a somnambulistic condition hover around their former
scenes of life, endeavoring dreamily to set matters right. A third class is
composed of a few who are so attached personally to souls left behind in the
flesh, that they brood over the loved persons, impotently striving to aid and
guide them.
In all of these
cases, there is but one duty for those in the flesh to perform — and that duty
is plainly marked. This duty consists in mentally advising the poor souls that
their proper scene of activity is on the Astral Plane; that their duty demands
that they cease brooding and hovering over earth scenes; and that they yield
themselves to the upward attraction, rise to their proper plane of Astral
existence, and enjoy the blessings thereof.
Those who are
conscious of the presence of disembodied souls of this type should not shrink
from this duty, no matter how much it may pain them to instruct the disembodied
soul in this way. It is like talking to a young child, in the majority of
cases, (owing to the semi-sleep
condition of the earth-bound soul
of this type). Although the soul may grieve and weep like a child, like the
child it should be bidden to do its duty and to go to its spiritual abode.
This advice will
often be heeded by the earthbound soul, and it will yield to the upward
attraction, and cease its troubled existence. However, in time, even without such
advice, the attraction of the higher spheres will prevail, and the soul will
rise to its rightful place on the Astral. We caution everyone against
encouraging the earth-bound soul
to remain. It is like encouraging the unborn child to remain in the womb, or
the unfolding butterfly to remain in the chrysallis stage. No good comes from
encouraging a violation of Nature’s laws, on any plane of existence, including
the Astral.
The lower class of
earth-bound souls belong to an entirely
different category from those just mentioned. This lower class is composed of souls
of a very low degree of spiritual development — those in which animality is
predominant, and brutish materiality the characteristic emotional attribute. These
souls are considered as “earth-bound” by
reason of the fact that the attraction of the material earth-plane
so overbalances the urge of the upward attraction that the latter is more than
neutralized, and the soul lives on a plane as near the material plane as is
possible to it.
In fact, the lower
planes of the Astral inhabited by this class of souls is so little removed from
the material plane that it may be spoken of as almost a transition stage
between the material and the astral plane — a blending of the two. It is as if
a very thin veil were placed between this plane and the scenes of material life
—a tantalizingly thin veil it is to these low souls— so that while these souls
may not actually participate in the earthly affairs, they may yet be dimly
conscious of them.
These low earth-bound
souls, as a rule confine their earth visitations and brooding to the actual
scenes which have attracted them in earth-life.
And these souls take a fiendish delight in trying to influence those of their
own kind still in the flesh, when in a muddled condition, urging them to fresh
infamies and often to actual crimes. In some extreme cases these low souls have
been known actually to seek their own discarded Astral shell, or even that of
another of their kind, and by a great effort cause it to materialize for a
short time in objective form as a “ghost.”
The nature of these
entities changes but little by their transition to the Astral, and they take
the same delight in “rough-house”
performances, practical jokes, etc., as in their days in the flesh. Many
instances of ghostly appearances, the throwing about of physical objects, etc.,
have been due to this class of disembodied earth-bound
souls. They always may be dismissed and caused to disappear by the person in
the flesh showing them that he understands their real nature, and bidding them
begone. A bold front, and authoritative command, coupled with words showing
that their pretenses are “seen through” will always rout these creatures, and
send them back where they belong, crestfallen and abashed.
Another favorite
amusement of a certain class of this kind of low disembodied souls, is that of
appearing in Astral form, by taking advantage of an Astral shell, in
spiritualistic seances, or other gatherings in which the psychic conditions are
so sufficiently strong and favorable as to aid in the materialization. In such
cases these creatures often impudently strive to impersonate other souls,
either of some friend or relative of some one present, or else of some
historical character. Anyone who has ever attended spiritualistic seances and
seen “George Washington,” or “Julius Caesar” appear and converse in the tone
and words of the Bowery, of Whitechapel, will readily understand the reason
thereof. A knowledge of this fact will serve to throw light on many perplexing
phases of psychic phenomena.
These lower class
souls, however, spend but a short term on the Astral Plane, and very soon pass
on to reincarnation in surroundings corresponding with their natures, and to
which they are attracted by spiritual laws. Their whole attraction being toward
the physical and the material, there is nothing to hold them on the Astral
Plane, and their abode there is of very brief duration, in the majority of
cases. And, yet, even in the very worst and most brutal person, then is always
a little of the good, and a spark of spiritual glow, which brightens a little
during each visit to the Astral Plane. And, in the course of time, this little
spark is sufficiently kindled to manifest a tiny blaze, which lights the way of
the poor soul and illumines the road toward higher things.
So that even among
these poor entities there is at least a certain degree of hope and promise. But
the majority are degenerated and fallen souls —descended from a once higher
state— who, if they fail to profit by the pains of the material life, are apt
to tend still further downward until kind Nature wipes them out as independent
entities, and resolves them back to their original spiritual elements.
There are sub-planes
of the Astral so low and degraded that we hesitate to mention them. They are
inhabited by the very lowest and most degraded and degenerate souls — souls
which are on the sure descent to annihilation, being unfit to serve as carriers
of the sacred plane. Of the details of these sub-planes,
we shall not speak at this place. Enough to quote the words of two distinguished
occultists, one of a former age, and one of today. The old sage said of these
sub-planes:
-
“What manner of place is this I see. It hath
no water. It hath no air. It bath no light. It hath no foundation. It is
unfathomably deep. It is as black as the blackest night.”
The latter-day investigator says:
-
“Most students find the investigation of this
section an extremely unpleasant task for there appears to be a sense of density
and gross materiality about it which is indescribably loathsome to the liberated
Astral body, causing the sense of pushing its way through some black viscous
fluid, while the inhabitants and influences there are unusually undesirable.”
(The second text was written by Charles Leadbeater in chapter two of his
book "The Astral Plane," and
surely to affirm that he relied on the first text which is an extract from the
Egyptian Book of the Dead.)
It should scarcely be
necessary to warn persons not to dabble in psychic phenomena of a material
character, which brings them more or less into contact with these lower planes
of the Astral. But, nevertheless, we do wish to set forth this warning in this
place, just as we have elsewhere in our works.
For there is always
the temptation and fascination of the unknown for many persons, usually those
who are not familiar with the phenomena of the Astral Plane. Such persons, like
“fools, rush in where angels fear to tread,” and attract to themselves all
sorts of undesirable Astral entities and conditions.
Our
general advice on this subject is: keep the mind fixed on the higher truths of
the spirit, and the higher life of the soul; and turn the face resolutely away
from the lower forms of psychic phenomena; in fact, do not seek “phenomena” at
all, but seek ever the Truth which, when known, makes all other things clear.
Seek ever the sunshine of Spirit, and avoid the baleful glare of the psychic
moon. »
(Chapter 16)
OBSERVATION
I agree with William
Atkinson's warning, although his explanation is largely incorrect, since he pretends that all humans wake up
in the astral, when in reality the masters explained that most humans fall into
a deep sleep after die and remain asleep during their stay in the astral plane,
except for a small group that for various reasons they wake up. And here
William Atkinson pointed out two cases: those who wake up because they are very
attached to the earthly life, and those who are very evil. But there are also other
cases which I detail in the blog.
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