When James Padgett describes the various spheres, he goes into a lot of detail. I don’t have time today to talk about all of those details, but I think what Jeanne has shared is a good start. It’s a good foundation for the idea that progression in the spheres is a vast part of our existence.
Our existence here on Earth is tiny, minuscule, compared to our existence in the spirit world. We set the tone for our desires and our actions, our service, our love, and also the darker things we end up doing. All of this sets a tone for where we will land when we pass over into spirit. Obviously, all of you here are interested in that subject. Otherwise, I don’t think you would be part of the Spiritualist Church.
On passing, most of us enter into the sphere of life called Summerland. This is a great gift to everyone. In spirit, you’re no longer dealing with material things. You’re dealing with yourself, your authentic self. When you’re in spirit, that veneer we’ve learned to carry in order to navigate the world disappears. Our true condition is revealed. Our faults are even known in the higher spheres, and we can’t play games anymore. We have to truly reconcile with ourselves—who we are and what issues we have to deal with.
If we can get ahead of the game, like many of you do here in this world, it’s such a benefit to ourselves. We flush out negativity, error, and any darkness within us. Since we grow up in this Earth plane, which our guides often call a dark place, we are going to accumulate bad stuff, encrustations on the soul.
It’s important to look within, to be honest with yourself in terms of your condition, mental patterns and thoughts, your judgements, and especially your lack of love, particularly toward yourself. For those of us who feel that way, about ourselves or about others, love is the currency in spirit.
Love is what brings us into higher planes. When you enter into the Second Sphere, you’ve learned, to some degree, how to love. You find yourself in this lovely environment of Summerland. You begin to loosen up. There’s more joy, because the stressors of material life are gone, and the intrigue of spirit life begins to reveal itself.
We begin to understand our gifts, our spiritual gifts, the gifts of the soul, the beautiful psychic qualities and abilities. These are the things many of you long for. You take courses, you want to understand what these gifts are for, how to see, how to feel, how to connect with spirits.
In spirit, you are obviously connecting with spirit, and the feelings are much wider, bigger, more expansive. The experiences with one another are rich. When people arrived here at the church, many embraced and joyfully greeted one another. That is very much like the spirit world, where love is shown freely and effusively.
In the Second Sphere, people learn how to do this. There’s progression. It’s a beautiful place, even better than Summerland. It’s more beautiful because spirits learn how to be creative with their spiritual abilities. They can manifest things. I’m a gardener. I’d love to manifest a garden just by thought. Doing it on Earth is hard work!
In spirit, you can do it with your thoughts and imagination, and learn to make it real. What a wonderful thing. People discover their interests, what they can do, what their gifts are. They get a lot of joy from that. They are still connected to and involved with their families and loved ones on Earth.
That connection is very important, especially in the lower spheres. There’s a lot of interconnection between spirits and mortals because of love, concern, and the desire to help. Spirits come to influence and bring love and thoughts. They can do that because within us is the receptivity to pick up on these things.
You may think a thought came from you, but often it comes from spirit. Spirits in the Second Sphere know how to influence life here and how to reinforce a better life there. As they perfect these abilities, they move up to the Third Sphere, which is more glorious than the Second or the First. It keeps progressing.
Spirits are progressing through the spheres and releasing the impediments to that progression. As they become more knowledgeable about spirit life and more loving, more filled with light, the doors open toward the next sphere of life. It is step by step, always step by step.
Within these spheres are many layers and many services that reflect the desires and interests of the spirits. You can’t expect someone who grew up in India to enter a sphere that looks like North America. There are spheres that reflect different cultures, ideas, and even religions. It’s a very complex place.
There are seven spheres and then the Celestial Heavens. Within those, there are many spheres. Hundreds, in fact. People are drawn by the Law of Attraction to the sphere that suits them. When they die, they go to a sphere that reflects their condition, their light, and their inhibitions.
We’ve spoken of friends who passed over, like our dear friend Lorna. She passed into the Third Sphere, which is exceptional. She was a loving person, generous, prayed for Divine Love, and was very connected to the Creator. She did a lot for many people. All of that brought her to the Third Sphere. She bypassed several, including the Second, and went straight to the Third. That’s possible. As you work on your own spirituality and true self, the challenges in the lower spheres can be bypassed.
I highly recommend that you do that, because who wants more challenges? Why not go for the good stuff? There’s a lot of joy in the Third Sphere. There’s a lot to experience, wonderful institutions of learning, music, art, creativity. For those of you who are artistic, this is paradise.
Those who arrive in the Third Sphere often think they’ve reached heaven, but they haven’t. It’s only the beginning. In the Third Sphere, there’s a lot of learning and letting go of earthly attachments. It’s not that people don’t love their loved ones anymore, but they aren’t as motivated to be involved with the Earth. They become more engaged in what’s happening in that sphere, with new relationships and activities.
It’s a full life, not just sitting around on a cloud wondering what to do next. There are many projects, avenues of discovery, and opportunities to develop the self and release impediments to love and happiness. The Third is a wonderful sphere. I often think if I can get to the Third after I pass, that would be great.
When all these things are in maturity, the Third Sphere becomes a sphere of prayer and connection with the Divine. In this church, we talk about Divine Love. This sphere encourages and fosters Divine Love, the gift that God gives to us, an Essence from God’s Soul that we can receive through prayer.
It is transformative and healing. It opens and expands the soul and brings gifts that wouldn’t open without it. It’s what I call rocket fuel for the soul. In the Third Sphere, this is well understood. Many people are praying for this gift and receiving it. There are many prayer groups, and I believe they join us in prayer, too.
That’s why I want to go to the Third. It would be the most comfortable place for me. The Fourth, though, is a different kettle of fish. It’s a place of intellectual learning, scientific research, oratory, and skill development. Those who are focused on perfecting their minds are drawn to the Fourth and are very happy there.
They still must progress through the earlier levels, but once there, they feel they’ve arrived. There are more institutions of learning, beautiful gardens, and each person has their ideal home—and you don’t have to pay for it. Everything is free, materially. Yet spiritually, you have to earn it through your own progression.
It’s a lovely sphere, but for those of us more interested in the soul than the mind, it may not be as attractive. A dear friend of mine, Barbara Davis, my mentor, passed to the Fifth. That’s highly unusual. You’d have to be like Mother Teresa, a living saint. She helped so many in so many ways. She went down to visit the Fourth out of curiosity and said, “Yeah, it wasn’t for me.” She found it too intellectual, too snooty, full of professors going on about their knowledge and achievements. It felt egotistical. For those of us more interested in natural abilities and the growth and demonstration of our gifts, the Fourth Sphere helps with that.
People in the Fourth tend to affirm each other with “Great job!” whereas people in the Third say, “I love you.” It’s a different focus. The Fifth is like the Third, only better. They say the beauty of the Fifth Sphere is beyond imagination. The harmony, peace, and joy there are profound.
People are drawn by the Law of Attraction to what suits their nature. Birds of a feather flock together. Within the Fifth, there are also subsets and layers. Each soul meets others who are in harmony with them. There’s joy in these connections—people meeting friends, discovering kindred spirits, sharing creativity and beauty. There’s a lot of prayer. In the Fifth, people talk about their relationship with God and their Divine experiences. Those experiences are intense, magnificent, and full of joy and love. That’s where I’m going, one way or another.
The Sixth is Nirvana. It’s what the Buddha spoke of. The halls of perfection. All human conditions and impediments are gone. The soul feels complete. but it’s not an ending. There is still more expression, more unfolding of gifts and perfection, both intellectually and spiritually. They’ve let go of Earthly attachments. They may still serve, occasionally coming down to help in the lower spheres or on Earth, but they are mostly complete. The Law of Attraction determines their service.
To be honest, I don’t want to go there, because there’s another plane after that: the Seventh.
The Seventh Sphere is the gateway to heaven, the Celestial Heaven. The Sixth is the spirit heaven, the perfection of the mind. The Celestial Heavens are the spheres of the soul, not the mind. The Sixth is for the mind. Even the most brilliant person on Earth wouldn’t compare to someone in the Sixth Sphere.
The Seventh is about prayer, love, and release. It’s the final human position. When you enter the Celestial Sphere, you are no longer human. You’re still you, but the human qualities we know here on Earth are transformed. When you receive enough Divine Love, God’s Essence, you are transformed. The attitudes and perspectives of the mind are absorbed into the soul, and then the soul can enter the celestial heavens.
It doesn’t stop there. The Celestial Heavens contain an infinite number of spheres that go on for eternity. The Sixth and Seventh have their limits. The Celestial Spheres are unlimited. That’s where I want to go.
I’ve felt that Divine Love. I know what it has done for me. I know I don’t have a lot, but I have enough to feel it expanding within me. I’ve prayed for it for 50 years. That’s why I’ve dedicated my life to it. Now that I’m 71, I know I made the right choice for me. I encourage you to consider that choice. There are two paths: one to the perfect individual, and one to the transformed soul. The perfect individual does not become the transformed soul, and the transformed soul is something else entirely.
That’s why I want this higher Love and power. The pathway into heaven has many rewards and is full of love. And that’s what I want. It’s beautiful. I’ll leave it at that. We could do a whole talk on heaven, but we won’t today. This afternoon will be heavenly.
Question: If we’re developing and progressing, and let’s say I’m in the Second Sphere, do I pass into the Third, then the Fourth, then the Fifth? Or does it depend on what I’m choosing to develop?
You don’t skip. You don’t get a shortcut, but you may pass quickly. If you’re on the natural progression path, you might aim for the Fourth, because that’s where it’s happening. The third might seem boring. You’re just sitting around praying. Yet, you must go through it.
Thank you.