<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surrounding and interpenetrating our earthly plane is the etheric world, which interfaces with physical life and form and conducts energy through the larger universe. In esoteric teaching, the astral plane is considered the source of much that is described as spiritual or psychic phenomena. It is the plane of desire, or kama-manas<\/em>\u2014the realm of ideas, dreams, fantasies, hopes, fears, passions, plotting, intrigue, despair, and all those experiences associated with emotion and desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything existing in the physical world is said to have its counterpart on the astral plane. Yet some forms may exist there that have never appeared physically. Dreams, fears, fantasies, and images created by human imagination may remain unmanifested, gradually fading away, while others may be strengthened through repeated thought and emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over long periods of time, collective imagination may contribute to the myths and legends of goblins, ghosts, monsters, and other mysterious inhabitants of the unseen world. Esoteric teachings have often cautioned against dwelling too intensely upon frightening forms because thought itself gives energy to form. In this sense, form follows thought<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Man possesses an astral body during physical incarnation that serves as the vehicle of desire and emotion. Our plans, dreams, hopes, fears, and desires create impressions upon this subtler plane. If they are not continually energized, these forms gradually disintegrate. One can only imagine the countless thought-forms created by humanity throughout history. Fortunately, most people are unable to perceive them directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may help explain why literature, mythology, and film repeatedly produce similar horrific creatures. Whether such beings originate entirely in imagination or whether imagination occasionally perceives something already existing on subtler levels remains an intriguing question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to esoteric teaching, both incarnate and discarnate beings may inhabit the astral plane. During sleep, human consciousness temporarily withdraws from ordinary physical awareness. Most people remain unconscious of their astral surroundings, although psychics, adepts, and trained students are said to retain varying degrees of awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A second class of inhabitants consists of those who have recently died. They are believed to retain many of the personality characteristics they possessed during physical life. Thus, death does not instantly transform an unpleasant person into a pleasant one, nor does it suddenly bestow wisdom upon someone who did not possess it before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who have lived kindly and with greater refinement are said to pass more easily into higher astral levels, assisted symbolically or literally by light-bearers, guides, or guardian angels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand these inhabitants more fully, we must consider the process of death itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Death need not be feared. It may be imagined as the shedding of the outer layers of an onion, except that the outer shell is the densest and each succeeding layer becomes more rarefied as the center is approached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Annie Besant described the transition after death as a gradual rearrangement and separation of the different densities of subtle matter. In this esoteric model, the dense physical body is abandoned first, followed eventually by the etheric and astral coverings. Consciousness gradually withdraws through increasingly subtle levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more strongly a person has identified with coarse desires and physical appetites, the more difficult this transition may be. Conversely, refinement of the physical, emotional, and mental nature during life is believed to permit an easier movement toward the subtler worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a common fear that the dead remain around us with mysterious supernatural powers. Yet if consciousness survives death, there is little reason to suppose that the individual suddenly possesses powers that were absent during life. The person continues, but under different conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, according to this teaching, the remaining subtle forms are discarded and consciousness moves into higher realms, where the experiences of the previous incarnation can be assimilated before another earthly life begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those strongly attached to physical desires may remain closer to the earthly atmosphere for a longer period. A person who has been intensely attached to alcohol, possessions, sensual pleasures, or familiar surroundings may continue to experience those desires even though the physical means of satisfying them are gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may also offer an esoteric explanation for certain uncomfortable atmospheres associated with particular places. Intense emotion\u2014fear, violence, grief, hatred, or passion\u2014may leave a strong impression upon the surrounding astral substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of a tragic or violent death, the repeated memories of surviving relatives may also strengthen the image of the event. An apparition appearing repeatedly on an anniversary might therefore be interpreted not necessarily as the conscious spirit of the deceased, but as a powerful thought-form continually renewed by memory and emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For an apparition to become perceptible, esoteric teaching suggests that either the form must become sufficiently materialized or the observer must be unusually sensitive to astral impressions. What appears as a \u201cghost\u201d might therefore represent several different phenomena: the lingering etheric impression of a recently deceased individual, an astral shell, the temporary projection of a living person, or a strongly energized thought-form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apparitions reported near the moment of death may have another explanation. A newly departed person, strongly concerned for family or friends, may direct a final thought toward them. Likewise, the intense emotions of those left behind may act like a magnet, drawing attention back toward the familiar earthly environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some spirits may remain attached to family, possessions, or unfinished business and resist moving toward subtler levels. In this view, a family ghost need not be frightening. Its personality would remain much as it was during life. A strong personality would continue to display recognizable characteristics even after leaving physical form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n S\u00e9ances and mediumistic phenomena have traditionally attempted to establish contact with such surviving impressions. Yet caution is appropriate. What communicates through a medium may not necessarily represent the complete consciousness of the deceased. It may instead be an astral shell or thought-form containing memories, habits, and recognizable fragments of personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, intimate knowledge offered during a s\u00e9ance does not necessarily tell us precisely what\u2014or whom\u2014the medium has contacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People who die suddenly or violently may, according to esoteric tradition, experience confusion and require assistance in withdrawing from the earthly sphere. Rather than holding them through grief or continually calling them back, it may be more helpful to surround them with thoughts of peace, goodwill, and light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps this is one of the most compassionate ways of thinking about ghosts: not as creatures to be feared, but as consciousness\u2014or the lingering impressions of consciousness\u2014still seeking release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When death comes, the most loving act may be to let the departed go forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Surrounding and interpenetrating our earthly plane is the etheric world, which interfaces with physical life and form and conducts energy through the larger universe. In esoteric teaching, the astral plane is considered the source of much that is described as spiritual or psychic phenomena. It is the plane of desire, or kama-manas\u2014the realm of ideas, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=274"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeannerossstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}