by Tony Stubbs, author of An Ascension Handbook
Living with Soul and Death Without Fear
Chapter 16: Soul Plane Activities
[Note: The abbreviation after the name of the contributor refers to the title of the book in which the contribution was originally published.]
Introduction
Here we learn of the myriad activities available on the soul plane for work and play, but because work is often playful and play taken seriously, the line of often blurred. And almost all work has some element of service to others. This chapter makes mockery of the phrases “laid to rest” and “rest in peace.” Life over there is anything but idle.Spirits Do NOT Spend Their Time in Prayer and Praise
(Monsignor Benson, MALIWU.) The spirit world is at all times a place where human beings can live in such comfort and happiness as they were meant to do from the beginning. We do not, therefore, spend our eternity in constant ‘prayer and praise’ because that mode of life would be not life at all, not even mere existence. We do not occupy our time – or waste it – in profound theological discussions upon obscure theories, nor upon the more commonplace ones for the simple reason that we have something much better to do, in every way more profitable and infinitely more entertaining and enjoyable. Our conversation is at all times rational, natural, and normal. We do not speak to one another in terms of religious texts and scriptural quotations, nor are we endowed with wide knowledge and keen intellectual perception the instant we set foot in the spirit world at our dissolution. We are deeply thankful that we are ourselves and not as others would have us to be.
The Urge to Work
(Ruler of the Spirit Realms to Roger, MALIWU.) As you have seen for yourself, there is an abundance of useful things for you to do, the doing of which will bring great happiness to yourself and provide for your progress and advancement through the realms of this world. You will have seen too, my son, how we all perform our different tasks for the general welfare without thought of personal reward. Yet the rewards come, nonetheless – lavish rewards – and so you will discover for yourself.
Whenever you feel so disposed, the work awaits you, but that is not to say you must curtail your present explorations. No one in these or other realms would wish – nor, indeed, would they have the right – to put a definite term upon your desires for knowledge gained at first hand in this way. But there does come a time when the activity of the mind is such that there is a compelling wish to be doing something actively rather than to be a mere witness passively, as it were, to what is going on around you.
Working as Architects, Engineers, and Masons
(Monsignor Benson, LIWU.) The act of building in the spirit world is essentially an operation of thought. It will not be surprising, therefore, when I tell you that nowhere were there to be seen the usual materials and paraphernalia associated with earthly builders, the scaffolding and brocks and cement, and the various other familiar objects. We were to witness, in fact, an act of creation – and as such no ‘physical’ equipment is necessary.
A bright beam of light descended upon the architects and masons. All eyes were now upon the vacant spot beside the main building, to which we noticed that a second beam of light was passing directly from the ruler and the masons. As the second beam reached the site of the annex, it formed itself into a carpet of coruscation upon the ground. This gradually grew in depth, width, and height….
Slowly the form gained in size until it reached the required height. We could now see plainly that it matched the original structure in general outline, while the carved devices [on the walls] similarly corresponded.
While it was in this state, the architects approached and examined it very closely. We could observe them moving within it, until at length they passed from view. They were gone but a moment when they returned to the ruler with the report that all was in order. …
The downstream of light now became very much more intense, while the horizontal stream from the ruler and his collaborators assumed, after the lapse of a minute or two, a similar degree of intensity. We could now perceive the nebulous form acquiring an unmistakable appearance of solidity as the concentration of united thought laid layer upon layer of increased density upon the simulacrum.