A fascinating look at the issue of what may happen after we die is offered by psychotherapist Dr. Michel Newton, who described what is known as an interlife between incarnations. Although he was not the first to encounter this experience, he has done the most work in helping people explore the interlife dimension. As Newton describes himself in his books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, he is definitely “old school and not a New Ager” who was “stunned” when he “unintentionally opened the gateway to the spirit world with a client.”
During the decade of the 80’s, working with individuals in a superconscious state during deep hypnosis, he was able to construct a “working model of spirit world structure” and came to realize that engaging in the exploration this dimension or state could be very therapeutic for them. A major discovery in working with these clients was
“that it did not matter if a person was an atheist, deeply religious, or believed in any philosophical persuasion in between—once they were in the proper superconscious state of hypnosis, all were consistent in their reports. (Newton, 2000, pp. xi – xiv)
Based on his work with 67 individuals, Newton summarizes the journey of the soul upon physical death as follow:.
At the moment of death our soul rises out of its host body. If the soul is older and has experience from many former lives, it knows immediately it has been set free and is going home. There are also souls who choose to remain at the scene of their death for a while, perhaps to comfort someone who is grieving or for other reasons. However, most wish to leave at once. In the early stages of their exit, just outside earth’s astral plane all souls encounter a “wispy cloudiness” around them that soon becomes clear, enabling them to look off into a vast distance. This is the moment when the average soul sees a ghostly form of energy coming toward her. This figure may be a loving soul mate or two, but more often than not it is her guide. In all his years of research, Newton has never had a single subject who was met by a major religious figure such as Jesus or Buddha. Still, the loving essence of the great teachers from earth is within the personal guides who are assigned to them. By the time souls become reoriented again to the place they call home, their earthliness has changed. They are no longer quite human in the way we think of a human being, with a particular emotional, temperamental and physical makeup. For instance, they don’t grieve about their recent physical death in the way their loved ones will. Right after death, souls suddenly feel different because they are no longer encumbered by a temporary host body with a brain and central nervous system. Some take longer to adjust than others.
Newton tends to think of souls as intelligent light forms of energy. The energy of the soul is able to divide into identical parts, similar to a hologram. It may live parallel lives in other bodies, although this is not common. Because of the dual capability of all souls, part of their light energy always remains behind in the spirit world. Thus, it is possible to see one’s mother, upon returning from a life, even though she may have died thirty earth years before and reincarnated again.
Souls experiences an orientation periods with their guides that is a quiet time for counseling, with the opportunity to vent any frustrations about the life just ended. Orientation is intended to be an initial debriefing session with gentle probing by perceptive, caring teacher-guides.
The returning energy of some souls, who were contaminated by their physical bodies and became involved with evil acts, is taken to special centers which some clients call “intensive care units.” Here their energy is remodeled to make it whole again. Depending upon the nature of their transgressions, these souls could be rather quickly returned to earth. They might well choose to serve as the victims of other people’s evil acts in the next life. Still, if their actions were prolonged and especially cruel over a number of lives, this would denote a serious pattern of wrongful behavior. Such souls could spend a long while in a solitary spiritual existence, possibly over a thousand earth years. A guiding principle in the spirit world is that wrongdoing, intentional or unintentional, on the part of all souls will need to be redressed in some form in a future life. This is not considered punishment or even penance as much as an opportunity for karmic growth. There is no hell for souls, except perhaps on earth.
Souls belong to groups that range in size between three and 25 members with the average having about 15. Reuniting with one’s soul group is experienced as a joyous homecoming with friends who greet them with deep love and camaraderie, often involving hugs, laughter and much humor, which seems to be a hallmark of life in the spirit world. There are times when souls from nearby cluster groups may want to connect with each other. Often this activity involves older souls who have made many friends from other groups with whom they have been associated over hundreds of past lives.
How individuals view their group cluster setting is based upon the soul’s state of advancement, although memories of a schoolroom atmosphere are always very clear. In the spirit world educational placement depends on the level of soul development. Simply because a soul has been incarnating on earth since the Stone Age is no guarantee of high attainment. It takes some students longer to get through certain lessons, just as in earthly classrooms. On the other hand, all highly advanced souls are old souls in terms of both knowledge and experience.
In Journey of Souls Newton broadly classifies souls as beginner, intermediate and advanced. Generally, the composition of a group of souls is made up of beings at about the same level of advancement, although they have their individual strengths and shortcomings. These attributes give the group balance. Souls assist one another with the cognitive aspects of absorbing information from life experiences, as well as reviewing the way they handled the feelings and emotions of their host bodies directly related to those experiences. Every aspect of a life is dissected, even to the extent of reverse role playing in the group, to bring greater awareness. By the time souls reach the intermediate levels, they begin to specialize in those major areas of interest where certain skills have been demonstrated.
In the spirit world no soul is looked down upon as having less value than any other soul. They are all in a process of transformation to something greater than their current state of enlightenment. Each is considered uniquely qualified to make some contribution toward the whole, no matter how hard they are struggling with their lessons.
Individuals have had a multitude of choices in their past, and that this will continue into the future. In the spirit world one is not forced to reincarnate or participate in group projects. If souls want solitude they can have it. If they don’t want to advance in their assignments, this too is honored. The prime motivator of souls is moving toward a greater goodness and a conjunction with the Source that created them. They have feelings of humility at having been given the opportunity to incarnate in physical form.
Once or twice between lives a soul visits a group of higher beings who are a step or two above their teacher-guides, a council of elders. Members of the council talk to them about their mistakes and what they can do to correct negative behavior in the next life. This is the place where considerations for the right body in the soul’s next life begin
As the time approaches for rebirth, the soul goes to a space where a number of bodies are reviewed that might meet its goals. There is a chance to look into the future here and actually test out different bodies before making a choice. Souls voluntarily select less than perfect bodies and difficult lives to address karmic debts, or to work on different aspects of a lesson they have had trouble with in the past. A soul might ask to go to a physical planet other than earth for awhile. When the new assignment is accepted, the soul is often sent to a preparation class to remind it of certain signposts and clues in the life to come.
Finally, when the time comes for their return, souls say a temporary goodbye to their friends and are escorted to the space of embarkation for the trip to earth. Souls join their assigned hosts in the womb of the baby’s mother sometime after the third month of pregnancy so they will have a sufficiently evolved brain to work with before term. As part of the fetal state they are still able to think as immortal souls while they get used to brain circuitry and the alter ego of their host. After birth an amnesiac memory block sets in, and souls meld their immortal character with the temporary human mind to produce a combination of traits for a new personality.