The meetings for materialization were held once a fortnight, and from the number of them I judged that about three months had passed, when I was told by Ahrinziman to prepare myself for a great change which was about to take place in myself and my surroundings, and which would mean my passing into a higher sphere. I have heard the spheres divided differently by different spirit teachers, and it is not very important that they should be all divided by the same standard, since these divisions are very similar to mapping out a country where the boundaries melt so imperceptibly into one another that it is not very essential to have the limits defined with perfect exactitude, since the changes in the countries and the people will of themselves mark their different states as you progress on your journey. Thus, then, some will tell you there are seven spheres and that the seventh means the heaven spoken of in the Bible; others say there are twelve spheres; others again extend the number. Each sphere is, however, divided into circles, usually twelve to a sphere, though here again some spirits will reckon them differently, just as your standards of measurement on earth differ in different countries, yet the thing they measure remains the same. For myself, I have been used to count that there are seven spheres above the earth and seven below it--using the terms above and below as signifying the nearness to, or distance from, the great central sun of our solar system, the nearest point of attraction towards that sun being considered to be our highest point of attainment (while in the limits of the earth spheres), and the farthest away being regarded as our lowest or most degraded sphere. Each sphere, then, being subdivided into twelve circles, which are blended so closely into each other that you appear to pass almost insensibly from one to the other. I had hitherto been in what is called the earth plane, which like a great broad belt circles around the earth and permeates its atmosphere. This earth plane may be said to comprehend within its bounds the first of the seven spheres above and the first of those below the earth, and is used commonly in describing the habitations of those spirits who are said to be earth-bound in a greater or less degree because they are not able to sink below the earth attractions nor to free themselves from its influences.
The materialization meetings occurred every two weeks, and I estimated about three months had passed when Ahrinziman told me to prepare for a significant change. This change would involve moving to a higher sphere. Spirit teachers divide the spheres differently, but the exact divisions aren't crucial. These spheres are like countries on a map, with boundaries that blend into each other. The changes in the environments and inhabitants naturally mark the different states as you progress. Some say there are seven spheres, with the seventh being the biblical heaven. Others claim twelve spheres, while some suggest even more. Each sphere is typically divided into twelve circles, though this can vary. It's similar to how measurement standards differ on Earth, but the measured object remains the same. I've been accustomed to counting seven spheres above Earth and seven below. "Above" and "below" refer to the proximity to our solar system's central sun. The nearest point to the sun is considered our highest attainment within the Earth spheres, while the farthest is seen as the lowest or most degraded sphere. Each sphere is subdivided into twelve circles that blend seamlessly into one another. Until now, I had been in the Earth plane, which encircles the Earth like a broad belt and permeates its atmosphere. This plane encompasses the first of the seven spheres above and below Earth. It's commonly used to describe the habitations of "earth-bound" spirits, who can't sink below Earth's attractions or free themselves from its influences.
I was now told that I had so far freed myself from the earth's attractions and overcome my desires for earthly things, that I was able to pass into the second sphere. The passing from the body of a lower sphere into that of a higher one is often, though not invariably, accomplished during a deep sleep which closely resembles the death-sleep of the spirit in leaving the earthly body. As a spirit grows more elevated, more etherealized, this change is accompanied by a greater degree of consciousness, till at last the passing from one high sphere to another is simply like changing one garb for another a little finer, discarding one spiritual envelope for a more ethereal one. Thus the soul passes onward, growing less and less earthly (or material) in its envelopment, till it passes beyond the limits of our earth spheres into those of the solar systems.
I was informed that I had sufficiently detached myself from earthly desires and attractions to advance to the second sphere. The transition between spheres often occurs during a deep sleep, similar to the death-sleep experienced when leaving the physical body. As a spirit evolves and becomes more refined, this transition process becomes increasingly conscious. Eventually, moving between higher spheres becomes as simple as changing into finer clothes, shedding one spiritual form for a more ethereal one. In this way, the soul progresses, its essence becoming less material with each transition, until it ultimately transcends the earth's spheres and enters those of the solar systems.
It happened, then, that upon my return from one of my visits to the earth, I felt overpowered by a strange unusual sense of drowsiness, which was more like paralysis of the brain than sleep.
Upon returning from one of my trips to Earth, I was overcome by an odd, intense drowsiness. It felt more like my brain had shut down than simple fatigue.
I retired to my little room in the Twilight Land, and throwing myself upon my couch, sank at once into a profound dreamless slumber like unto the unconscious sleep of death.
I went to my small room in the Twilight Land, lay down on my bed, and immediately fell into a deep, dreamless sleep that resembled the unconsciousness of death.
In this state of unconsciousness I lay for about two weeks of earthly time, and during it my soul passed from the disfigured astral body and came forth like a newborn child, clothed in a brighter, purer spiritual envelope, which my efforts at overcoming the evil in myself had created for it. Only I was not born as an infant but as a full grown man, even as my experience and knowledge had been those of a mature spirit. There are some mortals whose knowledge of life is so limited, whose minds have been so little cultivated, and whose natures are so simple and childlike, that they are born into the spirit world as mere children, however many years of earth life they may have known, but it was not so with me, and in assuming my new condition I also possessed the development in age which my earth life had given me.
During this period of unconsciousness, which lasted about two weeks in Earth time, my soul separated from the damaged astral body. It emerged like a newborn, but wrapped in a brighter, purer spiritual form that I had created through my efforts to overcome my inner darkness. Unlike an infant, though, I was reborn as a full-grown man, my experience and knowledge intact as a mature spirit. Some people, due to limited life experience, undeveloped minds, or simple, childlike natures, enter the spirit world as children, regardless of their earthly age. This wasn't my case. In my new state, I retained the maturity and development I had gained during my life on Earth.
In a state of perfect unconsciousness my newborn soul was borne by the attendant spirit friends into the second sphere, where I lay sleeping my dreamless sleep till the time came for my awakening.
Completely unaware, my new soul was carried by spirit guides to the second realm, where I remained in a deep, dreamless slumber until it was time for me to awaken.
The discarded astral envelope I had left was by the power of attendant spirits dissolved into the elements of the earth plane, even as my earthly body left at my first death would decay into the earthly material from which it had been taken,--dust returning unto dust again, while the immortal soul passed on to a higher state.
The spiritual shell I had cast off was broken down into its basic earthly components by helper spirits, much like how my physical body would decompose after my first death. Just as the body returns to dust, my immortal soul moved on to a higher plane of existence.
Thus did I pass through my second death and awake to the resurrection of my higher self.
This is how I experienced my second symbolic death and awakened to my true, enlightened self.