What is the Purpose of Life? + Autopsy and the Afterlife

QUESTION

“I have read many NDEs because of tragic circumstances which lead me to learn all I could. I, however, have never had one. I have talked to a man that says his NDE taught him we just are, and when we die our experience here is then joined into the river of life, so to speak. He says there is no deity that benefits our life one way or the other. That we are basically a random act. The end. I don’t know if this is so but I must tell you I have no reason to believe this or not. In other words, nothing in my life has lead me to believe there is a deity or not. My question is, if you would be so kind as to answer - do we reincarnate? Do we come back as humans to live on this earthplane? This man says no. I then have to ask myself, what is the purpose [of life] if there is no purpose?”....Michele

ANSWER

You need to talk with many other experiencers, Michele, not just with the man you did. The vast majority return head over heels in love with God (That Greater Intelligence) and know absolutely that God is real and no kind of fairy story. Many of them, however, stop using the term “God” and call That Greater Intelligence something else. . . like “Source” or “The All.”

There is a sense of progression with all the stories told by near-death experiencers; progression at the soul’s will, that we are a soul, a divine being, and that we progress from one level or dimension to another, as we learn and grow. All sacred texts essentially say the same thing. For instance, a Bible passage says “We are gods in the making.” The understanding with this passage is that we are becoming co-creators with The Creator. Yes, the “River of Life” is quite real and reported by many, yet I challenge the man’s interpretation you heard about that River. Experiencers do indeed come back speaking of Oneness, quoting almost word-for-word the Perennial Philosophy: One God, One People, One Family, One Existence, One Law - The Law of Love, One Commandment - Service, One Solution to Problems - Forgiveness. The Perennial Philosophy traces back to Plato and beyond. It is a commonality found in all religious and spiritual texts, in all narratives of transcendent episodes, in all transformative breakthroughs into higher consciousness.

The majority of near-death experiencers become interested in reincarnation after their episode. Some even experience past-life scenes during their near-death scenario. I speak of one of them in my book, Coming Back to Life (towards the back of the book - the woman who saw herself in this life marrying the same man she had previously married in a past life).

Obviously no one can prove reincarnation, but the theory does fit as an explanation for a whole lot of things. So does the concept of soul groups, soul cycles, and the soul’s will (I go into these subjects in my book We Live Forever).

Please, in listening to near-death narratives and reading experiencer books, keep the “view screen of your mind” wide open. No one experiencer, not even a group of experiencers, can even begin to define or describe what really exists on the “Other Side” of death, or how big it is, or how everything works. All anyone can do is glimpse what’s there, and sense where those images we experience might lead us.

Many blessings, PMH


QUESTION

“I have recently begun, after having a great Aunt who has passed away, questioning my own mortality. I read your article about the body being a jacket that we temporarily wear, and how we basically bounce from plane to plane until we reach the plane we are intended to be in. But my question is this: does an autopsy affect this state of being? My husband and I have a lot of concerns about having an autopsy performed, as we feel it may interrupt the eternal sleep process.”....Connie

ANSWER

No one knows for certain how we progress from life to life after we leave this one, or if we pursue or are guided to a different path altogether. There is ample evidence to suggest that we are drawn to or go through various levels in an “afterlife,” until we are ready to take on another round of physicality in the earthplane or elsewhere. What is consistent in mystical teachings and revelations, and in near-death studies, and in the visionary process, is that always there is life - whatever form, wherever, or under what circumstances - always there is life.

The condition of the body at death and what that might mean is controversial. Older and ancient traditions across the globe and across time, insist that there must be a waiting time after death has occurred before the body is “put away” - most say three days. And those three days are held sacred by numerous religions. There is no consistent reason for this. Some psychics, like Edgar Cayce, indicate that if the body is destroyed too quickly, the departing soul will bounce back or be drawn back into another life much too quickly - before it is ready to come back (an example used by some people is what happens in India where bodies are quickly burned; their birthrate is skyhigh; parents are ill-prepared to raise their babies). The idea here being that the soul, as it exits, draws energy and sustenance from the decaying body for a time, to aid in its healing and redirection. This is vividly depicted in Natalie Wood’s last movie, entitled “Brainstorm.” Another idea is that the soul may change its mind and desire to return or even be sent back (as in a near-death experience), and its vacant body needs to be available for such reanimation. Regardless of tradition, though, waiting for a while before disposing of the body was once held sacrosanct.

These traditions are being sorely challenged by today’s cultural needs: autopsies (as you pointed out), organ donations, public health issues. What difference these new realities will make for the departing soul can only be conjectured. From what I have seen both in this plane and in others, is that the dying process can be adjusted by the soul to fit its own needs. Certainly, dying conditions can interfere with soul growth. I will not argue this point. (Just look at what happens in wars and with murders - the abundance of ghosts or “the unquiet.”) Still, the soul is powerful enough to overcome obstacles. Plus, there are beings on The Other Side to help and people on this side more than willing to offer prayers of protection and healing.

Before I would “jump to judgment,” I would be in prayer, asking for guidance, understanding, and peace. Each person is different. Each need is unique. Each challenge to what we think is right or “should be done” is worth considering. I have found answers in prayer and meditation that fill my heart with a comfort that guides me in the decisions that must be made. I offer the same for you. Autopsies, organ donations, public health issues can aid or be aligned with the departing soul. Follow your heart as to your response. Blessings, PMH