From, the book "Jung On Life After Death", available from Amazon
After a serious heart attack in 1944 Carl Jung wrote during his recovery some letters about his experiences. One begins:
‘What happens after death is so unspeakably glorious that our imagination and our feelings do not suffice to from even an approximate conception of it.’
Jung believed at this time that ‘the dissolution of our time-bound form in eternity brings no loss of meaning. Rather does the little finger know itself a member of the hand.’
In a longer letter to Kristine Mann an American analytical psychologist who was terminally ill he wrote of what he experienced during the attack. The longer account is given in his autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections. Whilst greatly weakened physically he notes that fortunately his head hadn’t suffered:
‘On the whole my illness proved to be a most valuable experience, which gave me the inestimable opportunity of a glimpse behind the veil … When you can give up the crazy will to live and when you seemingly fall into a bottomless mist, then the truly real life begins with everything you were meant to be and never reached. It is something ineffably grand. I was free, completely free and whole, as I never felt before.’
Jung then describes his near death experience of floating above the earth and seeing it as an immense globe in an inexpressibly beautiful blue light; he sees the southern end of India shining in a bluish silvery light with what was then Ceylon, now Sri Lanka like a shimmering opal in the deep blue sea. He goes on:
‘I was in the universe, where there was a big solitary rock containing a temple. I saw its entrance illuminated by a thousand small flames of coconut oil. I knew I was to enter the temple and I would reach full knowledge.
At this moment a messenger appears summoning Jung back to the world and the whole vision collapses. However during his recovery in a state alternating between sleep and wakefulness Jung experiences what he calls ‘the complete vision’. He felt in a deep union with somebody or something that was itself united – ‘the mystic Agnus’. The experience was permeated by ‘an incomparable, indescribable feeling of eternal bliss, such as I never could have imagined as being within reach of human experience.’
In the letter Jung says that death is the hardest thing from the outside but once inside ‘you taste of such completeness and peace and fulfilment that you don’t want to return.’ The experience was so overwhelming that as he recovered Jung suffered from black depressions which felt like dying as he returned to ‘this fragmentary, restricted, narrow, almost mechanical life, where you were subject to the laws of gravity and cohesion, imprisoned in a system of 3 dimensions and whirled along with other bodies in the turbulent stream of time. There was fullness, meaning fulfilment, eternal movement (not movement in time).’
Jung finishes by saying that throughout his illness he had felt carried by something and that ‘my feet were not standing on air and I had the proof that I have reached a safe ground.’ He urges Kristine Mann to do whatever she does with sincerity and that this will become the bridge to her wholeness, ‘a good ship that carries you through the darkness of your second birth, which seems to be death to the outside… Be patient and regard it as another difficult task, this time the last one.’
From " On Life After Death" from his autobiography. The book is available on Amazon.
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce described life after death as a continuous soul journey through distinct spiritual dimensions, where death is simply a transition rather than an end. His trance-readings detailed a step-by-step process of the afterlife, focusing on spiritual review, karma, and eventual reincarnation back to Earth.
- The Hall of Records: Upon leaving the physical body, the soul enters a state of review. Cayce spoke of a realm often associated with the Akashic Records (or the Book of Life), where the soul reviews its entire past life—not for judgment from a higher power, but for the soul to assess its own progress.
- Dimension of Choice & Preparation: Souls progress through various dimensions or "planes of consciousness" depending on their spiritual development. Here, they can rest, process past experiences, and choose the circumstances for their next incarnation.
- Learning the Curriculum: Cayce famously summarized reincarnation with the phrase: “Earth is a school, life is a classroom, karma is the teacher, and reincarnation is the curriculum.”
- Purpose of Incarnation: The soul returns to the physical plane to learn specific lessons, overcome karmic debts (often described by Cayce as "memory in action"), and grow in spiritual awareness.
- Impact of Grief: Cayce’s readings cautioned that intense, prolonged grief from loved ones left behind can act as "chains" on the newly departed soul, hindering their transition into higher spiritual realms.
- Soul Connections: He emphasized that bonds of love are never broken by death. Loved ones are never far away, and souls can often communicate with or guide the living through dreams and expanded consciousness.
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a renowned Swedish polymath, scientist, and Christian mystic. After a prolific career in science and engineering, he experienced a spiritual awakening in the 1740s, claiming to visit heaven and hell. His extensive theological writings later inspired the establishment of the New Church.
- The Afterlife: His most famous book, Heaven and Hell (1758), describes the spiritual realm not as a hazy mystery, but as an active, organized society where people continue to learn and grow based on their earthly lives.
- Doctrine of Correspondences: Swedenborg taught that physical reality is a direct reflection of spiritual truths, suggesting a deep, mystical interconnectedness between the natural and spiritual worlds.
- Reinterpretation of Christianity: He rejected the traditional view of a three-person Trinity, advocating instead that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in a single person: Jesus Christ.
John Edwards
Psychic medium John Edward teaches that the afterlife is not a place with "VIP lines" or judgment, but an environment of continued consciousness where the soul evolves. He asserts that our deceased loved ones retain their personalities, are fully aware of the living, and are accessible for ongoing communication.
John Edward, famed for his television shows like Crossing Over and his ongoing worldwide tours, regularly shares his perspectives on what happens after we die. His core teachings about the afterlife include:
- Continuity of Consciousness: Edward believes that while the physical body dies, the soul and consciousness survive. The deceased are still very much present and connected to us.
- No Judgment: In his decades of doing readings, Edward emphasizes that souls on the other side do not judge or express disappointment about the lives of those still on Earth. Judgment and anger are earthly traits; the other side offers compassion and expanded awareness.
- No VIP Section: He believes the afterlife has no "red velvet ropes". Loss is a universal equalizer, and everyone experiences the same transition regardless of their fame, wealth, or status in life.
- Theory on Reincarnation: Edward believes in reincarnation, but proposes that only a part of the soul's energy reincarnates at a time. Because the entire soul does not return all at once, our loved ones remain completely accessible to us in spirit.
- Signs are Subtle: He stresses that people do not necessarily need to hire a medium to communicate with a loved one. The connections are already there. He teaches that signs are highly personal and subtle, encouraging people to trust how an experience feels rather than looking for grand, theatrical validations.
- Grief and Acceptance: Edward views a medium's role not as a way to fix grief, but as a mechanism to help people realize that life and love are eternal. He advises grieving individuals to give themselves sacred space to process their emotions and stay open-minded to the signs around them.
For those interested in exploring his philosophies further, you can read his books on the subject, such as After Life: Answers from the Other Side.
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