YES, THERE IS LIFE AFTER DEATH OF THE PHYSICAL BODY!

People who use ESP (extra sensory perception) are able communicate with relatives, friends and other souls who have passed on from earth. Being able to see these disembodied souls, with their bodies of light, and their surroundings is called clairvoyance.

C. C. Zain, the author of the book THE NEXT LIFE was born clairvoyant and personally spent a lot of time investigating the circumstances of death and what existence is like in the here after. Others with similar abilities have also researched this area, including the great Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg in his book HEAVEN AND HELL, translated by George F Dole.

Zain wrote that there are many different levels of life after death, in the realms of light. On earth, birds live in the air, animals and humans live on the surface, fish live in the sea. In the after life there are many different levels including the astral, spiritual and celestial. Souls with varying degrees of character, integrity, love, purity and wisdom live in different areas. In the after life, like-minded souls naturally exist together in their own 'neighborhoods.' However, with effort at mood and thought control, a soul can extend his or her consciousness to another area or to a dissimilar person, for the purpose of communication. On earth we can likewise tune in different radio stations, one at a time, even though they are all broadcasting at the same time and from different locations.  Zain's course books available free on line, click here

HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS

"And because thoughts are readily perceived on the astral plane, such spirits have no difficulty in knowing what we are thinking about. Just as on the physical plane all those within earshot can hear what we say, so on the astral plane all those within our vibratory vicinity, as it were, can feel what we think. Thought communion is as common a property of astral life as vocal communion is common to physical life." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

THOUGHT-FORMS

"Thus, to think a thing intently, is to build it up out of astral substance (light). It then exists on the astral plane for a period determined by the amount of vitality supplied to it in the thinking...If I were called upon to mention the most striking difference between the world where we dwell after so-called death and the world where we now sojourn, I should unhesitatingly say that the thing which has made the most forceful impression on me is the immediate responsiveness of the next world to thought." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

THINGS BUILT WITH THOUGHT POWER

In the here after, "a robot can be created by thought-power to possess a particular kind of intelligence and activity. And the concentrated thought of many people holding the same mental image can create on the astral plane a whole environment of any particular kind, peopled by such robots. These thought-form robots have no souls, no more so than have the mechanical robots of the physical plane. But they act with apparent intelligence and perform the functions with which they have been endowed by the imaginations of their creators." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

THOUGHT IMAGES of HEAVEN and HELL

"Thus a complete heaven, according to the old Christian plan, with streets of gold, with precious jewels, with a great white throne, and angels around it playing on harps, and even Jehovah sitting on this magnificent chair as an earthly king might sit, can be created by the thought power of a group of devotees. And Jehovah, thus created, will talk like a human being, and render judgments such as this obsolete conception demands; and the angels will flap their wings as they fly, because they have been patterned in the mind somewhat after the manner of birds of flight. But these bird-like angels and this man-like Jehovah will be but robots, created by thought power, and carry out what they are expected to do as intelligently as a mechanical robot on earth does its work faithfully."

"Also a complete hell, with its smell of sulphur, and its imps, and a devil with a pitchfork and spear-like tail working amid flames, can be created by the same means. If there is a body of people who believe in just such a region, and they visualize it frequently, and have strong feelings about it that visualize it with emotional energy, such a region in all its details and denizens becomes fashioned on the astral plane...Not only do these regions and their robot population exist, but they continue to persist until the vitality imparted to them by thought processes and emotional attitudes dissipates. Then they dissolve..."

"But because such artificial and erroneous environments have been built does not make it necessary for people who are on the astral plane to live in them. If a person has held such an image in his mind with great faith, at the death of the physical body this faith is a force, acting through the law of affinity, to attract him to some astral, but artificially created environment of a nature corresponding to this faith, on the astral plane..."

"In time, short or long, depending on how fixed his faith is, some from another region will be able to gain his attention sufficiently to explain to him that there are a vast number of other regions of an entirely different character. His views may be so narrow that he will deem this visitor some deceiving imp direct from hell attempting to lead him astray. Or he may become sufficiently interested to desire to investigate." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

INFLUENCE OF DESIRES

"...all activities are tremendously intensified, in life and existence on the astral plane. Yet even on the earth plane, where we go and what we do is the direct result of desire...I do not mean that all one must do to be a great character, or to be very wise, or to perform some noble work, is merely to wish it strongly. But I do mean that wishing strongly to do the thing much more quickly brings the opportunity to try to do it. The environment more readily responds to the desires; and if one wishes strongly to be a great character, very soon opportunities are attracted that if grasped start one on the road to building a great character. Or if one desires ardently to be very wise, this desire, without much delay, attracts a teacher who is able to explain things, and a guide who is willing to act as pilot in journey here and there by which the range of information can be extended. Or if one wishes to do a certain noble work; one is attracted to those who are making similar endeavor, and is aided to get started doing it." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

LOST LOVES

"To be sure, certain affectional tangles present peculiar problems in the after life (for example:) The wife who has had several husbands through the death of some (and remarriage), and the husband who has several wives. And matters of injury to others, and of responsibility for leading some into downward paths. It takes time, and conferences, and the advice of wise teachers from still higher regions, to begin to straighten all these things out. But because, when more highly evolved, the affections by that evolvement readjust themselves on a truer basis, at a certain height of attainment each is united to his rightful mate." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

THE NEXT LIFE

"The next life is not some weird, strange place. With a few improvements, life is lived there very much as it is lived now on earth. Because they think more clearly and comprehensively, feel more intently, and act with greater seed, people there are much more alive than on this (earth) plane where everything is retarded by slow-moving matter. People in the next life know more than they do here, they do more than they do here without suffering fatigue, and they have greater delights and experience keener enjoyments...Those in the next life can do practically anything that those on earth can do, and many enjoyable things those on earth cannot do. Is it any wonder, then, that those who are above the lower levels of the astral life almost never express a desire to return to this rather sordid life of earth?" Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

AT PHYSICAL DEATH (AND BIRTH INTO THE NEXT LIFE)

"No two deaths, of course, are exactly alike and, therefore, no two births on the inner plane. Ordinarily, however, the person who passes out by illness or old age lies in bed. Usually the astral form moves toward, and gradually out of, the top of the head. Thus, the feet and hands become cold first, and then the coldness moves upward to the knees. Then as the astral body gradually moves out through the head, the coldness extends to the stomach, chest and vital organs, and finally to the throat."

"Because, in such separation of the astral from the physical, the last remnant of the connection between the two bodies is in the region of the brain, the brain may remain clear, to the end; or even when there has been unconsciousness, just before the complete departure of the last remnant, the person, now occupying the astral form which hovers over the physical, may vitalize the physical brain for a moment to permit one last glance in full consciousness at friends in the flesh, the saying of farewell to dear ones, or the delivery of some last message."

"...frequently the individual passes to the next plane through an illness of some duration, and is taken in charge immediately after his passing either by friends who have gone before him, or by those whose regular business it is to greet and take care of those newly arrived from the earth plane...Thus in spite of being very good, very bad, or merely indifferent, people when they move out of their physical bodies permanently do not at once gravitate to the realm which later they will occupy. There is a transition period in which, as a rule, they remain rather close to the level corresponding to their previous struggle for physical necessities, and gradually become accustomed to their new condition."

"(commonly) the individual after passing from the physical body falls asleep. In the case of the earth-bound soul this sleep does not take place until after the binding condition has been broken. With some the sleep may be of long duration, and with others of short duration. It may be only a momentary loss of consciousness. But in any case the individual moves in his astral form to the level and place where his new (non-physical) birth is to take place. This birth into the next life is under astrological law, quite as much so as the birth into the physical life." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

YOUR APPEARANCE

"The person, according to the thoughts he has held and the deeds he has performed may, immediately after his new birth appear much younger or much older, better proportioned or worse proportioned, more beautiful or more ugly, larger or smaller, nicely attired or merely wrapped in rags. These manifestations of his outward appearance represent his character as developed to date and are mapped by the astrological conditions at the time of his new birth...his features, his form, and even the garb in which he is thus born, express his inward characteristics. If he has, on earth, developed miserly traits, he will probably be smaller and shriveled. If he has been very licentious, this will show in the hideous leer of his countenance. If he has been vicious enough, he may even be crippled. But if his character as developed on earth is fine, his body will appear beautifully proportioned and his face may have the radiance ascribed commonly to an angel. If his thoughts have been somewhat sour he may appear older than when last seen on earth, but if his thoughts have retained elasticity and enthusiastic expectancy, even though the physical body was aged, he will have the appearance of being much younger than when he passed out." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

THOSE WHO DIE YOUNG

"Children when born into astral life, are of the same size and usually not much changed in appearance, as when on earth. But they grow to maturity after their astral birth, and then present a mature form which corresponds in its lineaments with the inward character. On the inner plane the character shines through the outward form in a way that is unmistakable." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

"Yet in one respect the failure to grow to maturity and experience the vicissitudes of adult life on earth is apparently quite a handicap. For the impression is persistent that almost no amount of astral training alone can give the stability, the rigid resistance to forces, and the power to endure adversity, that is gained by more extensive experience in earth-life. No doubt, the cosmic requirements do not demand that those qualities be so strongly developed in some." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 6th chapter.

SUICIDES

"Suicides, and violent deaths occurring while the individual is participating in some revolting crime, commonly live for a more or less protracted period amid the distressing thought-forms they have created. The period of labor accompanying their birth into the after life is both prolonged and painful. But in the end some skillful physician of the astral cohorts is able to reach their consciousness and bring them through into a consciousness of where they are." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

EARTH-BOUND SOULS

"And there are those, not necessarily vicious, but yet uninterested in anything higher than physical gratification of some kind, who have so fixed their attention by an intense and permanent desire for some physical thing or condition, that even after they have lost their physical bodies they can register only impressions associated with the physical plane. They perceive the astral forms of physical things without knowing they are not the actual physical forms. They do not even know they have died. They are called earth-bound souls." Missionaries on the astral converse with and help these souls adjust to their new non-physical condition in the after life. Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 2nd chapter.

"Such earth-bound conditions are not normal, no more so than insanity is a normal condition of physical life." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 7th chapter.

YOUR DESTINATION

(In the after life) "he finds his own real moral level as surely as the surface of water seeks its level on the face of the earth. The strong thoughts and desires, further, attract him to an environment corresponding to their nature. If they are warlike, he is attracted to a place where there is strife. If they are greedy, he moves among greedy companions, where the weight of his body and possessions seem unbearable. The after-life is quite dissimilar to earth life in that those of like tastes herd together, and those of different inclinations do not intermingle."

"Nothing other than his own inclinations keeps the individual on the level where he thus finds himself, or amid the surroundings. He is not ordered to go there by any person, or by any supernatural being. He goes there because of the law of affinity. And he can move himself to any environment that he can cultivate a strong enough desire for, that will offset the desires and thoughts already organized that hold him where he now is."

"Nor does he have to remain on the level, or plane, where he now finds himself. But he cannot ascend to any level that has a vibratory rate higher than his own. If he would live on a spiritual level he must cultivate spiritual qualities, so that his dominant vibratory rates will be spiritual. And there are ministers, or teachers, who visit all realms, more than willing to instruct the inhabitants how to raise their vibratory rates, how to live better lives, and rise into better conditions."

"But even as on earth, teachers of spiritual things cannot force their great truths down the unwilling throats of all they meet. They are ever ready to dispense wisdom; but they cannot compel others to accept it. Advancement in the astral realm after death of the physical body, even as here, depends upon willingness and effort." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

VISITING LOVED ONES ON EARTH

"During the period of adjustment right after birth into the new life there is not uncommonly felt a great longing to go back to visit the loved ones left on earth. The person, sometimes, will not accept the statement of the nurse in charge of him that he is physically dead. He still has hands and feet, still has a hearty appetite, still has all the desires of his previous life; and the things about him, while some seem strange, are nevertheless quite as solid to his touch, and quite as substantial when he moves them about, as such things on earth. So he retains a doubt that he has passed form physical life."

"To enable him to realize his condition, and because his desires draw him in that direction so strongly, his nurse may go with him on a visit to his friends and relatives. He goes back to his old home, perhaps, and if his vibratory level as yet is not far removed from that of physical necessity, he many see his wife, his mother, or his sweetheart quite as plainly as he ever did. It is only when he speaks to such a loved one and no attention is paid to him, and when he touches someone and the other is unaware of his presence, and when he passes before the eyes of those there gathered and it is obvious that they do not see him, that he becomes completely convinced." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

SORROWING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED

Those left behind on earth "may weep and sorrow and thinking thus strongly of him (the departed), their grief stricken thought reach him with full intensity. He feels...all that they feel while they think of him. Their sorrow causes him agonies of distress, yet try as he may, he cannot relieve it...Even after he gives up in despair, and goes to take up the duties of his new life, their recurring thoughts of sorrow are able to penetrate to him because of the bond of sympathy...Grief over the physical death of a loved one usually is mostly the expression of self-pity." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE ON EARTH AND THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED ON

"If you practice this sort of sending and receiving messages, you first visualize as clearly as possible the image of the person on the other plane you wish to contact. This puts in the call, and if the thought has the proper quality and force to reach him, he feels it as a force coming from you. He then thinks as clearly as possible of your image, and attempts to modulate his thoughts to the same vibratory frequency (type) as those coming from you. He does not need to leave the level where he resides. The two of you merely try to tune in on the same wavelength. And if you are successful in this, both of you feel it as a sense of nearness. In your consciousness it will feel as if he were right by your side, just as the voice from your radio seems to come right from the room where the receiving set is located."

"This process when carried out between two persons both of whom occupy the physical plane (earth) is called telepathy, but when carried out between persons occupying different planes is called spirit communion." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 9th chapter.

WE MEET AGAIN

"But where, due to injury while on earth, one holds an attitude of deep resentment toward the other; or where, because of unjust actions, one feels that he has deeply wronged another; the potency of the thought-image tends, sooner or later, to draw these two again together. Thus, not only love, but hate, remorse, great gratitude, or other strong emotion associated with the image of another, tends to cause the individual in that after life to come into the presence of the one so strongly thought about."

"This is no new law. It is the operation of the same principle we constantly emphasize in regard to thinking on the earth. Whatever we think about strongly we tend to attract." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

JUDGMENT DAY

"When we pass to the next life we stand before the judge, who is ourself. The records, not only of our actions, but our motives for these actions, are plainly before us. And they are plainly in view of others also. We cannot there hide our insincerity; for whatever goes on within is plain to be read by all who have made any degree of progress above the lowest levels. Yet others do not pass judgment upon us; it is we who pass judgment upon ourselves."

"We perceive wherein we have erred, and why we have erred, and we realize that our progress, the level we are to occupy, and the environment we attract, depend upon the state of our character. And one way to remedy defects in character is through doing what we can to help those we have wronged. If they no longer need such help from us, we, at least, can balance the score by being helpful to someone who does need it."

"But in any case, if the injured one is to advance, he must lose all thought of revenge and desire for retaliation. He must feel that it is a privilege to forgive, and he must wish his injurer joy and happiness. He must help the one who injured him to discharge his obligation in such a way, and as quickly as possible, as will enable both to profit by the earlier error. The welfare and progress of the whole of creation is the motive behind all such balancing of accounts, and one who demands an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," must remain, because of the attractive power of such thoughts, within the dark foggy levels close to physical necessity (earth) until he gets a more enlightened and generous viewpoint." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

MONEY IN THE NEXT LIFE

Money "exists only in those lower realms where the miserly and greedy gravitate, and even there it possesses no real value. On the contrary, it merely binds these poor souls, who are dominated by the image of it, to those dull and dreary nether worlds. So long as they are unable to perceive the value of motives other than profit, they are chained by their own desires to this astral gold. They fight and scramble and struggle among themselves, in what might be termed financial hells, for possessions that have no real purchasing power whatever."

"Therefore, one of the first things to realize about the after-life is that money has no power to buy anything there, and the next thing of importance is to realize that any action prompted solely by a selfish motive is not rewarded by real gain."

"People are just as ambitious after they pass to the new existence as they were while on earth, but that ambition, except in the darker spheres, is not to gain something at the expense of another. They still desire to "be somebody," still desire, and quite as strongly, to do something worth while. Noteworthy performance is not, by any manner of means, frowned upon. But the only kind of performance that gains honor is doing something that benefits, in some real manner, someone else. There is only one kind of currency that is good in the next life, and that is the currency of constructive service."

"In this, also, the conditions differ from those that obtain in earth life; because, due to transparency of motives and visibility of thoughts, people are not evaluated falsely...Every motive is in plain view of everyone who contacts him; and his mental and spiritual development are apparent in the plane he occupies, in his countenance, and in the structure of his form. Both what he is and what he has done go with him as a part of himself for all who desire to do so to read (to perceive)." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 5th chapter.

ASTRAL HELLS

"...the next life is a joyous, glorious, exhilarating improvement over this one (on earth)...It is true that in that after realm there is a small region where things are not so blessed. It is microscopically small when compared to the illimitable vastness of the next-life realms...And still lower are those of a cold and vindictive wickedness. They have built for themselves, by their thoughts and desires, a region of darkness in what may be described as the astral hells. These are not people of impulse, but of premeditated and coolly calculated wickedness of the most cruel type. And in this region, devoid of all light except such as they can supply by artificial means, they practice their cruelty upon one another. In the astral hells force alone is the law of its denizens. The shrewdest and most unscrupulous reign supreme."

"Into such realms, even to the very lowest, go specially trained missionaries. They talk to the denizens of these gloomy lands, tell them of better conditions on higher planes (levels) and explain how those higher planes can be reached."

"When thus they perceive that someone has faith in their doctrines and begins to long for the higher life they describe, they go quickly to him and give him personal instructions." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 7th chapter.

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

"One of the things of which you should permanently disabuse your mind is the desire to receive something for nothing, or that, on the next plane (after life) you will get something worth while without effort. Effort is the mainspring of individual existence and the power behind all progression."

"...life is like a bank; if we accept the loan of opportunities to develop spirituality, we are expected to pay back that loan by using the spirituality developed for the advancement of all. And whatever talents we have, as indicated by our (astrological) charts of birth, we are not supposed to permit them to lie idle, but to put them to use in such a manner that not only ourselves, but others, will be benefited." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

LOVE AND AFFECTION

"In the after-life love and affection play quite as important a part as they do on earth. And because the form (light body) 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 (energy) and the complementary characteristics which enable them together to perform some useful work."

"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...Partnerships in the next life are formed only when the attractions and desires are mutual."

"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." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 8th chapter.

YOUR COSMIC JOB

"Each soul starts its cyclic journey to develop the ability to perform a specific function in the cosmic scheme of things. Its experiences, which are different from the experiences of any other soul, and may be quite unlike the experiences of most other souls, are all undergone to give it the education and ability ultimately to perform this work. And, because of this, when a soul is performing its proper function in the cosmic scheme, is doing the kind of work it is best fitted for and most likes to do, it experiences a joy and happiness in this work that can be obtained in no other way."

"You can, if you make proper effort, find this cosmic work while still in the flesh. But while still in the flesh, because there is no financial demand for it, you may be able to follow it only as an avocation, and may be compelled to make your living doing something else."

"For the true measure of a life is how much it contributes to universal welfare." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 4th chapter.

EMOTIONAL EDUCATION

"And in these astral schools devoted to emotional education the individual is shown just what kind of experiences he should seek, and what mental attitude he should take toward them, in order to reorganize his finer body so that he will not only be free from irritation and discontent, but also so he can exercise his particular gifts (abilities) to full advantage."

"Yet it should not be thought that the next life, even on the highest planes, is free form discords. Discords are present, and necessary, on every plane of being. They are necessary to the progress of life even as they are necessary to music. Either life or music free from any hint of dissonance would be tepid. It is not the entire absence of harsh notes that is desired, but that all dissonances should be resolved into final concord."

"...however, because the individual now perceives his function in the cosmic scheme of things, and because of his own desire to fulfill his mission, to make the utmost progress, and to render the greatest service possible, he does not avoid obstacles and difficult problems. Instead, he goes forth to meet them." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 6th chapter.

SPIRITUAL EDUCATION

"...on the higher levels they act more in the capacity of kindly and benevolent advisers; the missionaries acting as private guides and helpers, and those I call preachers, for want of a better name, delivering inspiring talks about spiritual things to public gatherings."

"But in addition to these, as higher planes (levels) are reached there will be found also schools that devote their energy to imparting correct information about spiritual things, and instructing individuals who they can make the greatest spiritual progress."

"...In all spiritual instruction, wherever given, emphasis is placed upon the desire to be helpful to others, upon the refinement of the desires and emotions, and upon the necessity of building a more perfect character which when sufficiently developed will enable the individual to function in a realm still above the astral." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 6th chapter.

GREAT LESSON

"It is one of the great lessons both here and there (after life) to learn how to transmute discords into harmony." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 3rd chapter.

AFTER THE ASTRAL LEVEL TO SPIRITUAL AND CELESTIAL EXISTENCE

"Any description of the next life, to be even moderately adequate, should not be confined to the conditions that obtain merely on the various astral levels. It should contain also some details of the still higher velocity spiritual world, and those ranges of velocity above the spiritual called the celestial world. Because the velocities in these worlds are so high as to impart additional properties to all objects and persons of such realms, they are more intense, more conscious, and more real worlds than either the astral or the physical."

"But even in a description of the higher astral levels we might exhaust all the pleasant adjectives of the English language and yet fail to convey any idea of the majesty, glory, beauty, and exquisite joys. How, then, is it possible to impart even a meagerly correct impression of the still higher realms that await the human soul?" Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 10th chapter.

GREATER STATES OF AWARENESS

"It seems to be the chief function of the animal kingdom to confer Simple Consciousness, and the chief function of life in the physical human form to confer Self-Consciousness. Man may also, while on earth in the physical body, through cultivating extra-sensory perception, acquire Cosmic Consciousness and Divine Consciousness. But more commonly he gains Cosmic Consciousness only after he passes to the next life, and acquires Divine Consciousness as a permanent asset only after he moves above the astral levels and discards all remnants of the astral form to function solely in a spiritual body in the still higher velocity spiritual world."

"Furthermore, each succeeding higher level of the after-life possesses certain definite advantages over the next lower. The higher life progresses the more free does it become, the more power does it exercise, the broader the range of its consciousness, the more ecstatic its joys, and the more exhilarating does it find existence."

"As your body becomes more refined, you thus progress from one astral level to another. Gradually you are building a spiritual body. But while you are still on earth, or after you pass to the next life until you leave the astral world, you do not function in this spiritual body. It is nevertheless, being built by your high aspirations, by your mental attitudes, and by your desire to benefit others. You gradually eliminate the coarser astral particles of your body. And with every higher level you reach in the astral world you increase your dominant vibratory rate."

"Because of this higher rate of vibration, a person from a higher level usually appears very bright. This brightness may be so great as to dazzle, even when the person has modified his dominant vibration enough to visit and be seen on some lower level." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 10th chapter.

SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT

"All effort expended on earth for spiritual advancement yields many fold the degree of progress that a similar effort would if delayed until physical life is past." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 10th chapter.

CONTACTING GOD

"The all-pervading intelligence of Deity can be contacted and realized on any plane or any level, but it cannot be thus realized by rational consciousness. It can only be apprehended by the extra-sensory faculties." (These skills can be learned and developed while living on earth.) Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 10th chapter.

ANGELS

"Passing then, from the physical or astral levels to the spiritual world, it is a function of that world to confer Divine Consciousness. The result of this state of consciousness insures that your life and activities at all times are directed by Divine Guidance."

"The possession of such a spiritual form, and the Divine Consciousness conferred by it, will in reality lead to your progress up to the seventh (highest) state of the spiritual world. Here the permanent union with your soul-mate will take place, and as a result of this, after a period of adjustment to the new condition thus engendered, you will also pass as an Angel quite beyond the spiritual world into the celestial. With this transition you will also pass beyond what it is possible for embodied man clearly to comprehend." Reprinted from THE NEXT LIFE by C C Zain, copyright 1996, The Church of Light, 10th chapter.