advanced Souls who work there in various capacities. Because of the special handicaps involved in doing aphysical lifetime on Earth, most people who die do not understand that they are dead. So, the first problemfacing the staff is to explain to these people that their physical lifetime has ended. In a "normal" death, theSoul gets to take advantage of the services offered on the Astral plane. During the time it spends there,which could easily be a thousand years or more in Earth time, it gets to attend Spiritual classes. Counselorswill go over the Soul's past lives with it. Think of individual lifetimes as courses in a liberal arts college.While a single course represents a narrow field of knowledge, when all courses are seen together they resultin a well rounded education. So, the counselors will look at what courses [as lifetimes] the Soul has alreadypassed and then determine what classes remain to be taken. Souls will do lifetimes as both sexes and in avariety of social settings. Relatively "good" or "bad" lifetimes are seen as just more "course material" which,when all combined, will complete the required total experience. Souls preparing for a new physical life getthe advantage of choosing their parents and of being allowed to look across time to see what their future lifewill be. Unfortunately, they consciously forget all this shortly after taking birth because of the characteristicsof the bodies available on Earth. In other civilizations located elsewhere in the Physical universe, Soulsretain these memories.
Souls continue to "bounce back and forth" between the Physical world and the Astral world essentiallyindefinitely until, somehow, they are initiated into what are generally called "The Mysteries". "TheMysteries" are simply the truth about the Creation. However, this basic knowledge is not easy to obtain onthe Earth.
Not all lifetimes are routine. For example, people who commit suicide, most likely because they by intoscientific atheism and believe that death is final and an easy way out of life's problems, are handleddifferently. Remember that, prior to beginning the lifetime, the Astral staff spent time and effort to help theSoul choose the best circumstances for further development. Now, all their efforts have been for naughtbecause the person destroyed a perfectly good body. So, no one is going to waste time helping them again.These Souls are "stored" in isolation cells. They are comfortable but they will not be allowed to interact withanyone for the duration of their stay on the Astral plane. They will spend this time, effectively, in solitaryconfinement. They will eventually begin a new physical lifetime but without the benefit of any guidance orpreparation. Obviously, anyone who knew the penalty that awaited them would never do this. However,people easily forget on a planet dominated by atheist philosophies.
Another common issue is abortion. Although it is correct to say that a female owns her body, she does notown the new body because it is the property of the Soul assigned to use it for a new lifetime. Actually,because Souls check future time, the new Soul could have been waiting and have been assigned to the newbody prior to the pregnancy. Choosing not to become pregnant is a personal right, but abortion is consideredto be murder and will be charged against you under the Law of Karma. For example, when you are on theAstral plane waiting for a new physical body, you may have a long wait.
ASTRAL LIFE
Since most people will end up somewhere on the Astral plane after death, it is important to understand thebasic attributes of this plane. Fundamentally, you will need to recognize that you are on the Astral plane and