Posted by Roberta Grimes • May 29, 2021 • 44 Comments
Afterlife Research, Death, The Fun of Dying, Understanding Reality
We are the world.
We are the children.
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving.
There’s a choice we’re making.
We’re saving our own lives!
It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.
– Michael Jackson (1958-2009) & Lionel Richie, from “We Are the World” (1985)
The only way for humankind to entirely fix what is wrong with this world is to make it common knowledge now that every human life is eternal. No other attempt to repair a world gone so badly wrong would even make a dent, when compared with the transformative power of that one bit of crucial information! The truth about our eternal nature is far more than just peripheral knowledge. For everyone to know the truth right now would change everything.
I used to wonder about this. But as I said last week, now I am certain that it is true. And the reason I am so confident is that I have been widely teaching the survival of death for more than a decade now. I have heard from many people who have described the transformative difference overcoming the fear of death has made in their lives, and I have heard from others so traumatized by Calvinism and other fear-based Christian notions that they are rather hoping their death will be extinction and not eternal hellfire! I especially recall one young man who had grown up in a fire-and-brimstone church, and now he lived in an agony of fear that the God he had learned about in church might exist, and might be gunning for him now. I laid out a reading plan for that fearful young man, and I offered to answer his questions as he learned; but he simply went away. I hear from so many people that I lost track of who he was, but fortunately about two years later he emailed me as a response to that earlier emailed reading list. And he was altogether transformed! I had suggested in my email that he keep at it because becoming certain of the truth about death could take as much as two years of study, and he was pleased to report when he emailed me back that it had taken him exactly two years. He had read not just my suggested list, but a good part of my appendix booklist besides. He told me that he knows what is going on now, he looks forward with pleasure to dying someday, and meanwhile he is dating someone and getting down to the business of living. Dear God, if I can help no one else, his email has made my whole life worthwhile!
But in fact, I have watched a great many people come to realize that their lives are eternal. This is a revelation quite different from the almost mechanical process of raising our consciousness vibrations away from fear and toward ever more perfect love by applying the Gospel teachings of Jesus. And yet, the result in people’s lives and outlooks seems to be about the same. People who have learned enough about what actually is going on to become confident that death is an illusion, that God is love, and that their own lives never will end have the following characteristics:
A Lack of Fear
It was when I lost my own fear of death that I first noticed this lovely phenomenon. Since childhood I had been afraid of the dark, to the point where I now wonder whether my fear might have begun with that sudden flash of light in my darkened bedroom at the age of eight. I recall once in college explaining my fear of the dark to some boy I was dating. I blurted to him, “There might be anything there! Or nothing there!” My fear was primitive, and it was so overwhelming that prior to my marriage I needed a night-light to sleep. Then eventually, at about age forty, I was working at my computer one evening as the room grew dark around me. I paused briefly and looked around, and I was astonished to find that the room was pitch-black but I was not afraid! After seeing this same phenomenon in others, I have come to conclude that fear of death is the mother of all fears. When you no longer fear death, you no longer fear anything.
Living in an Eternal Frame
This term covers a cluster of characteristics. People who have internalized the certainty that they never will die begin to think in an eternal timeline. Death is going to end nothing for them! So:
As you can see, this shift toward living in an eternal frame is functionally close to the same as giving up on selfishness entirely. And in helping us to lose both fear and selfishness, our becoming certain that we never will die seems to be about as effective at raising our consciousness vibrations as is strictly following the Lord’s Gospel teachings.
What did Jesus say about eternal life? Actually, He said a great deal. As you know, Jesus told us that we must apply His teachings to our lives first of all! He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (JN 8:31-32). And He did in fact teach eternal living. We can’t be word-for-word certain about these quotations because we know that First Nicaea in 325 and some of the later first-millennium councils are guilty of editing the Lord’s words here and there; but these quotations seem to be largely genuine. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My Word he will never see death” (JN 8:51). And, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (MT 6:19-21). And, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (MT 5:11).
As Jesus was preparing His disciples for His impending crucifixion, He explicitly told them He was going ahead of them to prepare a place for them, in a process that afterlife researchers can confirm is pretty much what our loved ones are going to do for each of us! He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also (JN 14:1-3). Then later, on the cross, He gave one of those who was crucified with Him the same promise that very soon He is going to be giving to each of us. He said, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (LK 23:43). And of course, proving that death is not fatal was the entire point of His Resurrection! I have lately come to think that a certainty that we live eternally may have been the actual “truth” that Jesus was promising to share with us. And what He assured us it would “set you free” from eternally was the fear of death!
We know that every one of our minds is part of the great eternal Mind that continuously manifests this universe. And because that is true, once as few as ten to fifteen percent of all the people on earth have sufficiently raised their personal consciousness vibrations, the change in them must inevitably begin to raise the consciousness vibrations of us all! But to get there, we have been thinking that we would have to convince maybe a billion people to want to raise their own consciousness vibrations. And it is a sad fact that the notion of “growing spiritually” has little broad appeal. We might point out that this universe exists just to give us a place to grow spiritually, and we might even add that unless we can raise the consciousness vibrations of at least ten percent of the earth’s population we can have little hope of improving all the horrors that now torment this world. But even at that, we get just yawns and a shrug more than seven billion strong!
So let’s decide now to stop talking about spiritual growth altogether. You can sell only what people want to buy, and what they hunger for now is just the certainty that they really never are going to die. So let’s begin now to talk only about how happy you, and you, and you are going to be when at last you conquer your fear of death! Let’s develop a quickie two-year course from which the graduation degree will be a certainty of your own eternal life. Let’s give people a joyful hook where they can hang their lives and every bit of their happiness. Step right up! Spend two years getting your Ph.D. in learning what really is going on, and you will be able to live your most joyous life, both now and forevermore! Freedom from death is the Gospel promise of Jesus. And at this point, it is our one remaining hope if we seek to save humankind from its present death-
spiral into extinction. The Lord said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (JN 5:24). Amen, Lord!
There comes a time
When we heed a certain call,
When the world must come together as one.
There are people dying!
It’s time to lend a hand to life,
The greatest gift of all.
– Michael Jackson (1958-2009) & Lionel Richie, from “We Are the World” (1985)
Dear Roberta,
I really feel such hope in reading your blog today, and particularly what you share in your story of the young man. I found myself saying, “I want to do that too!” I have been finding lately, in contemplation of personal fears, that “death” and “end” are at the crux of it. I very much would like to engage in this study. Thank you,
Fran
Dear Fran, the young man I mentioned in this piece was the most extreme case that I can recall, but so many people have asked me for help in learning the truth. And all of them that I can recall who really applied themselves have been able to break through to becoming increasingly comfortable about the truth. It has been wonderful to watch! I still have always thought, however, that once people got past their fear of death, they still would have to do the spiritual work to raise raise their personal consciousness vibrations. But what I have lately come to see, as I meet more people who now know the truth, is that just learning enough to be free at last from the fear of death can raise our personal vibrations a good part of the way!
Roberta,
I really enjoyed reading your blog just now. I believe in God and Jesus his son, and have all of my life from childhood. I lose sight in times of trouble of the fact that I will have eternal life, subconsciously I have known this, but the troubles of living this life on earth get in the way. You have helped me to refocus. I recently lost my employer and my job to Covid 19 on April 2. I have never felt more sure that he is in heaven and enjoying the retirement he never had in this life but always talked about. I hope to find part-time work that will spiritually advance others. I am now 66. I do not want to get lost again in what will matter least to me in the future. I want Jesus to know that I tried.
Oh my dear Jennifer, I so deeply know how you feel. Mother Teresa used to talk about wanting to “do something beautiful for God.” I want to make the rest of my life a symphony for Jesus. I want to make Him happy! So I understand. And there is so much work to be done for Him, if only we will listen with our whole hearts!
Hi Roberta,
I think a nice appendix to this blog post would be a reading list of the most important books, and perhaps, for those who don’t enjoy reading, a list of podcasts/videos.
Blessings to you!
Dawn
Dear Dawn, there are videos at the Video tab on this website, and at the Resources tab there is an updated version of the bibliography from my Fun books. We will need to do more – and we plan to do more! – but at least that gives people a place to begin.
Hi Roberta,
I could relate to the young man. I am ready to release the fear and move into the living from truth. I still need a nightlight, and I’m 59.
Like others have mentioned, I am also interested in the information you gave for healing.
Thanks
Sue🥰🙏🏽
My dear Sue, you might begin with the Video and the Resources tabs on this website, but we do indeed plan to do more! We expect to be in the concrete planning stage by sometime this fall. I know the need is so great!
Hello Roberta,
I agree whole heartedly with the need for common knowledge of eternal life and as you have said before we are the first to actually have the ” proof ” ! I love the idea of the booklist, course or whatever it takes to get it started.
Everything you say makes perfect sense to me all the time as I am sure it does and will for others !
I am with you ! and thank you !!
Dear Chris, thank you for this! I have been told by my primary spirit guide that my role is just to teach the basics – I am an elementary school teacher of the afterlife truths, as it were. So for you to say that the way I teach is working for you makes me very happy!
I’ll jump in here. I have followed Roberta’s advice where you can learn in 2 years of study about what happens when we shed these material bodies and move into the wondrous afterlife. Begin with Mikey Morgan’s book, a book that Roberta cowrote called “Flying High in Spirit”. This is about a 6th level being , named Mikey Morgan, that reincarnated back to an earthly body to live one more final lifetime. It will give you an accurate idea of what happens when we die. Next, listen to Roberta ‘s latest podcast where Roberta has interviewed Mikey’s mother for the 8th time. You will find how to obtain this podcast on her website. The podcast is called ” Seek Reality”. Next, Read Roberta’s book, The Fun of Dying. Also, there is a nice Appendix in the back of this book that lists all the important books you can read. Those 3 things will get you going. Before you know it, you won’t be able to stop yourself from exploring!!
I will second what was said above.
Dearest Roberta,
I am a little surprised that one book that you were perhaps directed to read is “A Course in Miracles”. A nice attribute of it is that can be obtained for free, albeit piecemeal, from the Miracle Distribution Center. It is best studied in a group. I have tried it solo and it is not easy. I would say that is probably a 700-level course that lasts a year, as a nice capstone for the PhD in living.
Cookie
Dear Cookie, actually for me the only book that my Thomas insisted I read was A Course in Miracles. It was nearly two decades ago that he pulled me off a highway one day, and into a Borders bookstore, and to the back of the store to find one copy lying face-out on an otherwise empty shelf. When I went to the cashier to pay for it, I learned that it wasn’t even in their system! So we negotiated a $10 price for that magically-appearing book. And yes, you need a study group to really do the Course well, but most Unity Churches offer them. And yes, once you have the basics of eternal life down, the Course helps you to fill in the details!
I too will attest to finding the Truth through knowledge and reading and listening to Roberta’s podcast regularly. I started this journey in 2019 after a painful loss of several family members. This Phenomenal women captured my attention through reading about her online and has definitely helped me to now understand so many things that once confused me about Religion and the complexed belief system I was raised to believe. I have such a sense of Freedom now knowing that this earthly life is a mere learning ground to experience life and becoming a truly loving and forgiving human being while God has prepared my eternal home that is full full of joy and love where He (God) and my loved ones await me at my planned or unplanned exit. Roberta you are a true blessing in our lives and I too am blessed to have found a better understanding what death entails, something I’ve been seeking entire adult life!
Oh my dear Darlene, thank you so much for saying these lovely things! Just knowing that I have been of help to you really makes my whole life feel worthwhile 🙂
Oh my dear David Wright, thank you for saying this! And yes, doing afterlife research is tremendously addictive. Once you get into it, you want to keep doing it and keep learning more and more! The reason is simple, of course. The afterlife is real, and the evidence is so abundant. It all fits together like the most gigantic puzzle; and best of all, it is all GOOD NEWS! I did it for decades, taking all my spare time, and I never could get enough because these truths are so gigantic and so beyond-amazement wonderful.
Hi Roberta,
My testimony of going from fear to love echos that of many others. As a child I began calling on Jesus to set me free from fear with truth. I began to recognize the truth gradually in things that I read or heard that I knew in my heart –not through my fickle emotions nor through my rigid “this or that” logic– were correct. It has taken me a lot longer than two years –more like 50– and a two-year curriculum would have been nice, lol.
Thank you for the books that you penned; they have been a big part of my journey.
Dear Gee, it took me decades as well! I began my seeking at the end of the sixties, when there was almost nothing available in the popular press but ghost stories. It wasn’t until the wonderful Dr.Raymond Moody published Life After Life in the mid-seventies and introduced the term near-death experiences that a general interest in life after death began to develop, and then I discovered the wealth of afterlife communications that had been received around the turn of the twentieth century. I worked forward from there! But it did indeed take me close to half a century of study before I felt that I knew enough to be teaching it. Now, however, when people like Craig Hogan the Zammits, and Sandra Champlain have also deeply plowed that ground, beginners who put their minds to it can pretty much get to where we are now within a couple of years. We owe such a debt to those pioneers!
Hi Roberta,
They asked me to preach this morning in church to give our pastor a break. It is Trinity Sunday. I presented ideas from near-death experiences and A Course in Miracles as part of the sermon. God in making Adam in his image and giving him breath, gave him a soul that returned to God on Adam’s death. Citing evidence of veridical out-of-body experiences, I cited many verses of scripture that state we live eternally in God. Finally I portrayed the Trinity in heaven, God radiating light throughout creation, Jesus as the brightest light being, and the Holy Spirit in the points of light and the atmosphere of overwhelming love, acceptance, peace and reassurance – knowing this is the true home. Thank you for your message today. I get great consolation from your work, your books.
Dear Charles, I’m so glad to be of help to you! And isn’t it wonderful that people want you to speak to them? It’s a tremendous blessing, and a gift to them when you have so much knowledge to share. Please consider yourself hugged!
Dear Roberta
I agree 1000% with what you have just stated that, if people could truly believe they were eternal, fear – and all its attendant negative behaviours – would be, at the very least, modified, if not eradicated.
The question is, how? I am subtle and never push my beliefs onto others but, at every (relevant) opportunity, I gently try to introduce our ‘eternalness’ to others. But most don’t want to know. I can tell from their reaction they either do not believe or think I’m deluded and the conversation never progresses.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
With love and gratitude, Kristian
I’m in the same boat, Kristian. No one believes me and I even got yelled at by someone who told me there is no proof of what I believe to be true, and that everything we believe to be true is merely speculation.
Totally agree, a member of my family thinks that communicating with ” the dead”, doing Yoga and doing Reiki is a total sin . I no longer bring it up around him even though I feel I have alot to offer.
Dear David, I think a lot of us have this difficulty! People who aren’t religious don’t want to hear what we have to say, and people who are religious in a traditional sense want to hear it even less! But simply by learning the truth and sharing it with anyone who is open-minded enough to hear it, we are doing a tremendous service, nonetheless.
Dear Kristian, I have found that for us to share what we have learned with others does too often get their backs up. It is mainly practicing Christians who react this way, in my experience, and when I try to understand why and really listen to what they say and the way they act, I generally conclude that they feel they have made a deal with God, and their end is to maintain this ignorance – even if they are afraid – because otherwise God won’t let them have the get-out-of-hell-free card that they think Jesus died to give them. They would rather be terrified and ignorant than to mess with that! So now I think that what the world needs is a simple, facts-base place on the Internet that people can venture into on their own. And we are working on that. We would have begun it by now, but Thomas delayed it due to the Covid distraction. Next year, apparently!
What you said is true, Roberta. The more invested these people are in their fears, the more they resist change – even going so far as to call it a “sin” to think any other way.
2 things:
1. Dr. Karen Wyatt at End of Life University (eolu) has been talking about death education. she even offered a course where potential teachers could learn how to present the topic.
2.Here’s a song I wrote inspired by Dannion Brinkley who often declairs: “Nobody Dies!”
Thank you for this, Lorie! And I tried to use your link as an actual link, but apparently it isn’t quite right. Will you please email the right link to me so we can embed it and everyone can hear it? And do you have a link for Dr. Karen Wyatt as well?
Dannion Brinkley is truly a piece of work, as my sainted aunt used to say! He was living a pretty violent life, and then he had his NDEs and they shaped him up wonderfully. I love what he is doing now!
Dear Roberta,
I’d like to recommend, for anyone who is just beginning to do research on the Afterlife, any of Professor Stafford Betty’s excellent non-fiction books on the topic of Evidence for the Afterlife:
1. The Afterlife Unveiled: What the dead are telling us about their world (2011)
2. Heaven and Hell Unveiled: Updates from the World of Spirit (2014)
3. When did you ever become less by dying? Afterlife: The Evidence (2016)
Thank you!
Dear Kris, Dr. Stafford Betty is one of the generation of wonderful scholars of the old original afterlife materials who also include Michael Tymn. Everything they have written for us is wonderful! And since they have done the work and put it together, they make researching and learning about the afterlife now so much easier for so many people. Thank you for this suggestion!
Hi Roberta and fellow eternal friends .. I have an abnormal fear of death annihilation from the age of 10 (with a pal hit by a car) I searched for God and Jesus from “within an iron rod of hellfire “ .. I have even been hospitalized because of the anxiety and fear I’m now 59!!!! When I go down the rabbit holes of academics like Richard Dawkins and many others who vehemently deny any truth in the afterlife .. I’m absolutely terrified by their “absolute certainty” .. please Roberta snd fellow seekers any suggestions, tips as to how continue on my road of hope.. thank you for all the book references already stated .. I will defo look into .. sorry for long winded text don’t want to play a victim however this fear has dominated every decision made in my life .. how I have prayed for a Nde, or experience to find find some comfort .. love and kindness to all much love louise
Dear Louise, the only way to combat this level of fear is simply through long and patient learning. The truth is readily available and consistently wonderful, but it does require that we seek it out! I have done a great deal of research, and if you would like any of my books that summarize what I’ve learned I will be happy to send them to you in PDF – please just email me through the green contact block!
Louise, start your quest for knowledge today. Once you pick up any of these books suggested you won’t be able to stop. Roberta ‘s books are very simply written that you can read them in a night. Most of us started out like you so you are not alone. Once you start exploring, those negative thoughts you now have will start to fall away. For me, it happened rapidly.
Dear David, thank you so much for all the kindness and support you offer to so many people!
Hi Roberta. If only the Soul Phone, or some similar form of electronic communication with the afterlife (generally called instrumental transcommunication or ITC for those reading who may not be familiar with this area of research) could get to a point where it would be usable on a mass scale, it would blow things wide open! I can’t think of anything else that would boost your cause as much as that. A century ago physical mediumship helped so many people learn the truth, but it is vanishingly rare nowadays. With a new viable approach through ITC, so many could be reached, and people would be breaking down your door to do that course!
Regarding the Course in Miracles, as discussed above, I’ve been wanting to delve deeper into it myself. I drive all day for a living, so I can use that time to listen to all sorts of lectures or podcasts such as yours. (This podcast approach might work for a lot of people doing your proposed 2 year course. So many folks learned the value of going virtual during lockdown) Is there anyone out there who has done a podcast series on ACIM that you would be able to recommend? I recently stumbled across one at a site called ATL Ministries and have listened to some of her talks, but I’m not sure what I think of her yet.
Dearest Roberta,
I’ve really prospered since learning more about the Afterlife at your suggestion. 👍 I’ve been feeling growth happening since I chose to actively follow The Way of Jesus. 🙏🏼 Your idea again!
And since I’ve been reinvigorated in my knowing and growing, after many thin years of seeking, I have had significant and sometimes sharp life learning opportunities. That is I had to resort to The Way for things to work out at all. Had I just gone along in habitual fashion without faith, forgiveness, reflection at heart, gratitude and especially love – things would simply not have worked out.
I guess too, my Guide in Spirit has augmented my learning and bolstered my resolve with some particularly difficult life lessons.
My question to you my dear is: Do the frequency and toughness of life lessons increase after deciding to follow The Way?
It has been over two years now since I first ‘found’ your blog. (Actually I was ‘nudged’ rather strongly to look at it closely.😉) And I wouldn’t forgo this path for anything.
👍🙏🏼🕊❣️
Dear Wonderful Efrem, it really is astonishing how rapidly you literally can feel your own consciousness vibration rising when you are closely following the Lord’s Gospel teachings. It’s amazing! This feels like resurrecting an ancient secret, like being archaeologists of the Spirit: Christians have always ignored those teachings, but we find when we apply them that they are a magical key.
To answer your question, I have to say that I’m not really sure whether the lessons get more difficult as we follow the Way than they would have been if we were simply living our lives. I, too, have had some harder lessons to process of late, and I have handled them much better than I would have done without the Lord’s teachings, so we are a sample of two. But, who knows??
Dearest Roberta,
You have outlined something that is so fascinating about this process; we are discovering so much as we go. This is not the staid, even moribund, province of immovable religious conditioning. Rather this process is a living, growing and unfolding transformation.
We are a sample of two, but all of us in this blog family (including all of us who read but don’t reply in writing) will be able to attest to how these changes work, as time passes. Isn’t it great to discover new horizons together?
Following The Way (including learning about the Afterlife) is indeed a ‘magical key’ when we actually apply this teaching. And the harder lessons of late have only succeeded in showing me of the power of love, forgiveness and gratitude in moving the most stubborn, previously intractable mountains in my own life. 🙏🏼❣️🌅⛰
My dear Efrem, you have hit on something that I have wondered about, myself. As you know, these blog posts and my books are essentially a collaboration, and the lead collaborator in our case is Thomas. He urged me a decade ago to take the Gospel teachings of Jesus literally, and he taught me a couple of hacks that worked well. They worked too well, actually: they helped those teachings have a transformative effect in my life in only months. I thought that was just me. But then he insisted that we write and publish The Fun of Growing Forever. I did it, but with a lot of trepidation! I still was thinking that my reaction to those teachings had been unusual. It was only as I began to hear from readers who were saying the equivalent of, “Hey! That works!” that I began to realize that perhaps I had been (joyously) used by Spirit. And now, here you are saying something similar. But it is all Jesus and His servant, Thomas. I am always just the scribe!
Hi Roberta, hi everybody!
As we read through all of these great resources we gradually become aware that all life is eternal and there is strong evidence.
Then we realize the difference between existence and experience—and that our eternal existence incorporates a diversity of simultaneous experiences. This particular experience we perceive as incarnation is, although it is an illusion, an experience we have chosen to focus on for the benefit of our actual existence.
The benefit is something Roberta has discussed in other blog entries—it comes down to growing in Love, Wisdom, and Joy!
Oh my dear Mike, this is nicely said! Our existence is eternal. The fact that we are eternal is what defines us, and when we allow ourselves fully to inhabit that fact we can achieve a whole new happiness set-point. We live forever. We can choose to have every conceivable possible experience in due course. So, frankly, how bad could anything be?
Hello.
Jason decided, while doing Lesson 26 of A Course In Miracles, to ride a magic carpet over to Roberta Grimes’ blog to see what was written, and she breathed a sigh of relief that I did not throw a monkey wrench into the comment section this week.
Roberta Grimes is writing another map of the spiritual process! This should be fun, and I think I will look at your course when it comes out. And relax about it, if humanity goes into a death spiral to extinction, I guess we will all have to become Arcturans. 🙂
Dear Jason, I always love having you comment here! No worries about that. But no, I’m not writing “another map of the spiritual process.” The only effective map I know is the Gospel teachings of Jesus, and actually A Course in Miracles is the same set of lessons but at a much more sophisticated level. Same author – Jesus led the group that dictated the Course – and same process. And all quite wonderful!!