The Afterlife, the Oversoul, and the Nonlocal You
The more I work in the field of afterlife studies and the more people I meet from the “other side,” the more I have to question current concepts of the afterlife. Most people assume that the afterlife is local, meaning it has a definite place or location, spatially as well as temporally. Of course, this is not true. If it were true, the dead would never know when to meet you, let alone where, because they too would be bound by place and time. But they are not. Hence they know when and where to find us with uncanny precision. They know exactly where we lie on our deathbeds and when it’s time to come get us. The abundant evidence of deceased friends and relatives warning the living of impending danger is perhaps the simplest demonstration of the dead’s nonlocality. They can roam into our futures and peer into any physical location or event, whether it has happened yet or not.
Time is not totally meaningless to them though. It is something that they can return to when they want, something that is bendable to their needs. A moment to us can be experienced as an eternity to them or as time standing still. Conversely, those stretch of years before we reunite with our departed loved ones usually have no time significance whatsoever to the dead. They never have to wait! Since the dead seem to be able to project themselves into any time and place, including their own past and future reincarnations, why then do we call “when” and “where” they are in the afterlife?
To complicate matters further, in my work I frequently see those who are not yet born alongside those who have already died. Is the afterlife, then, also the “beforelife?” The answer seems to be yes, although existential experiences may differ. Still, the preborn speak with the same mature, rational clarity as the dead. It is clear that the non-physical state of being, whether after death or before birth, cannot be described in terms of sequential time. There are, however, decisive indications that even in nonlocal realities borders exist, presumably psychological borders, a subject that I hope to tackle in the future. Perhaps we should attempt to abandon the convenient idea that the life we are in now is somehow sandwiched in between birth and the afterlife. But then, where should we situate our lives?
This is what I am playing with now, the notion that we, like the dead, are projections into a plane where we create with the illusions of time, place, and matter. This leaves open the all-important question of what part of us might be doing the projecting. If we look at the dead and the preborn for models, 
we see that they project into our world not just from a nonlocal reality but also from a standpoint of impossibly heightened awareness, meaning, from their immortal selves. Is that true of us as well? Are we projecting from that greater portion of our identities not focused in physical reality? Is our existence nothing more than a toe in the water? But surely like any toe, this toe, our lives, our projection, is sentient and sends its experiences back to the whole self. And like any toe, it would be in constant communication with the whole, receiving impulses, impressions, and drives from many portions of the self, including the transcendent self.
But would knowing this actually help us? Would we live better, more purposefully, more joyfully, if we knew deep down that we are merely projections? That the far greater portion of ourselves lives outside physical reality?
I believe we would. I believe it would relieve us of the colossal burden to live and die in socially approved ways. We would be more original in our creativity, more playful. We would act more from our authenticity and take more risks. I also believe we would take advantage of this awareness to willingly project into other zones, physical or not. Projection would open up many aspects of the self, from incarnations, past and future, from the transcendent self, and potentially, from the mighty entity that spawned us. Instead of being sandwiched in, we would know that what we are at this present moment is a point in our greater existence on which we are now focused.
What if that toe became aware of all the other toes, each one in their own pond, each one an independent life but profoundly connected to the other, even acting in unison. And then, suddenly the whole form opens up, the entire body, and the mind that creates that body and maintains its parts?
While I was writing this, I thought to myself, why not try it? I tapped into my greater self, that massive entity often called the oversoul. This identity that gave birth to me and to all the incarnations connected with me, alive and dead. That gave me the gift of independence and free will. As soon as I felt the connection, a huge spurt of energy poured into my body. I became instantly relaxed, inwardly calm and joyful. Finally, for a moment at least, I felt fully integrated.
This isn’t the end of it though. That night I caught myself in a dream. I was sending a new script out to all portions of myself, in all the dimensions that are of concern to me now. A new script! My mind trying to grapple with the immensity and instantaneity of such an act turned the new script into an email blast of zip-locked folders! Could it be that this tiny spurt of awareness led to an action on the scale of an entity, affecting every aspect of my greater identity, regardless of what pond or ocean or cosmic sea it’s in? I can’t wait to find out!
Annie
2013-05-10 @ 3:34 AM
I have recently read your book ‘the Last Frontier’ and have found so much there that resonates with me. Most of exciting of all, for me is that you have validated my experiences. For this validation I cannot thank you enough, Julia.
I would like to have some input into your article here based on my experiences. Is it possible that there is another realm that we can access? I wonder if my son was aware of this before, though if not, I feel so very strongly that he has discovered this place now. I am not sure if it is a place full of spirits passed over or if it is his unique place based on his previous passions and a new reality he has created for himself.
My son passed away 2 -1/2 years ago. He was 29 years old with a love for the outdoors and our natural world. He was a very compassionate and deep person who from a very early age felt he didn’t fit into society. His passion was for extreme sport, abseiling, climbing, white water rafting and kayaking and riding the fine line between life and death. He often told me he couldn’t get enough of the feeling of being one with the river. About 6 weeks before his death he said to me “I am not meant to be here”. My son lived his dream, he became one with the river. He had many years of experience in his sport and was respected for his skill and dedication. He was with two friends at the time and they have both assured me that the rapid was well within his capability. He came down the rapid and he and his kayak submerged under the white water which isn’t unusual, but he didn’t resurface.
Although I have struggled with all consuming grief there is a part of me that just knows that my boy is now free and is no longer restrained in a world that wasn’t right for him. There was always more to him, so much more and I wonder if he instinctively knew there was another realm where he could be free in our natural world that he loved so much.
My son has come into my mind many times, both in dreams and when I have been awake. On the first anniversary of his death I went back to the spectacularly beautiful place where he paddled his last rapid. I went alone and instead of feeling the peace I was hoping to find, I became very distressed, reliving his last moments in my mind. I was standing on a flat rock overlooking the gorge where deep below the rapids raged and my thoughts turned to jumping, to be with my boy. I suddenly started feeling ant bites and realised I was covered in ants. I turned, crying and clambered back up the overgrown track and a bush turkey appeared and started chasing me. It chased me right back to my car, quite a long way. Every time I turned back it was there right on my heels. I have no doubt that once I became distressed my son wanted me out of there and ensured that I didn’t even contemplate turning back. That night he came into my dream, he and I were sitting on the side on a track somewhere incredibly beautiful, high in the mountains. He was so happy and we laughed and chatted. I woke up smiling and still felt his warmth. After my distressing day, longing for him and contemplating being with him by ending my own life, he was showing me that he was okay, happy and free and could be where ever he wanted to be.
I have had many such experiences with my son, though I haven’t yet communicated with him in two way conversation. (I hope to start working on this now with help from your book Julia) My son is often there, reassuring me and cheering me up. I have kept in touch with some of his kayaking friends and they each have their own stories to tell, of Dale still paddling with them on the rapids and helping them get out of the many tricky and sometimes life threatening situations that the rivers present.
There is so much more I could tell you, but I guess what I am trying to convey through what I have experienced is that my son now dwells in his own utopia. His Heaven is the rivers and mountains, the natural world that he loves so much. And it seems he can be there, and here with me, and looking out for his sisters and paddling with his friends. He is everywhere.
I am so very thankful to you Julia – you are opening my mind further in the most delightful and liberating way. I look forward to learning much more, exploring possibilities and maybe helping to promote new realites.
Julia
2013-05-11 @ 11:04 PM
Annie, thank you so much for writing. What you have shared here shows your great inner beauty and depth. It also shows that your son is alive and indeed still riding the white waters. I feel so much love around you. Please keep in touch.
Dave
2013-05-14 @ 6:32 PM
What a great post, Julia. It pairs nicely with your recent interview on Skeptiko which I just listened to and will return to again. It was great to hear some mind-stretching and novel ideas about consciousness, death, the afterlife and existence in that interview. I’ve heard these ideas before from the likes of Robert Monroe, Seth (also the Oversoul books by Jane Roberts) and August Goforth’s book The Risen. The idea of co-existing incarnations has always rang truer to me than a linear reincarnation cycle that seems to be the accepted explanation among the open minded. Thanks for such a well articulated and fascinating book!
Chris
2013-07-05 @ 5:24 PM
Julia, I am currently reading your book. I was intrigued when you discuss how individual personalities from different incarnations can coexist in the afterlife. One of the things that has always bothered me about reincarnation was the idea that one incarnation supplants the other, so that a personality can become lost. I am encouraged by your argument that this does not happen, but I am also confused. I guess I need clarification on the difference between “soul” and “personality.” What is the relationship between these different incarnations, if they are capable of generating different personalities? Something of a sibling relationship, or something akin to asexual reproduction, where an organism (the soul) splits to become two separate entities (incarnations)? I realize I am trying to force these concepts into earthly terms, but I don’t really know how else to make myself understand it.
Julia
2013-07-06 @ 10:33 AM
Actually, Chris, you’re doing a great job. Incarnations are simultaneous, issuing from the same source, the oversoul, like light issues from a light bulb–in all directions at once. There is nothing to stop the oversoul from creating incarnations in what we regard as the same time zone. It happens. Consciousness is enormously elastic. Anything goes.
Does this help?
Julia
Chris
2013-07-07 @ 2:02 AM
I think so. I think I always equated the soul with personality. But it seems like the soul is actually a wellspring from which personalities come? Is that correct?
Julia
2013-07-08 @ 10:06 AM
Well, the oversoul is. The oversoul creates and sends out incarnations, each being a soul in your terminology, each connected to the other and the oversoul itself. This is consciousness at work, creating endless versions of itself, endlessly spawning. Generally, I don’t use the term soul because it implies a state of being without a body. Consciousness transcends that implication.
Caroline
2013-08-20 @ 2:03 PM
I’m deeply touched by your writings, I have a real fear of the idea of being dead, and being non-religious makes me doubt everything I read about ghosts and the afterlife. My grandma firmly beliefs there is nothing after death, because she made a deal with her mom to give her some sign after she died. She never got a sign from her, so to her that was proof there was no afterlife. My mother and I both have never had any contact with the dead either. This made me believe that our family just isn’t capable of contact. Many of my friends have seen their dead family, get signs, or have a ghost in their house. I feel left out and wonder if there is any way I can open my mind.
Julia
2013-08-21 @ 9:11 AM
Try making contact! My book will walk you through. There are plenty of books out there besides my own too. Reading about it will open you up and prime you for contact. Everyone is capable of after-death communication. Everyone. But it sounds like your family is just resistant.