Soul Groups in the Spirit World

After my long-time partner, Ron Conroy, left his physical form in April 2013, he began communicating with me about the place where he now resides, which he calls “home,” and showing me what it’s like in the spirit world. What he described, and what I witnessed, closely matched what I later read in books by Michael Newton, PhD. 

In the realm of spirits, light-beings cluster together into groups in which some affinity exists––just as people on earth do. Not all souls associate with all others––though they could if they wanted to. As people do on earth, souls tend to hang out with beings who have similar interests or purposes.

In his book Destiny of Souls, Dr. Newton, writes that “primary groups”––somewhat like families––consist of three to twenty-five souls, who have close ties to each other. “Secondary groups” may contain 1,000 souls or more and resemble communities. The souls in these larger clusters may interact for various reasons, such as joining forces to assist in a particular project or to achieve a common goal.

Ron explained that primary soul groups may be self-contained circles, or they can overlap, like the intersecting rings of the Olympics logo. He said this means that although he and I are in the same primary soul cluster, some beings in other clusters overlap ours. As a result, some souls who are in my primary group aren’t in his, and vice versa. Souls in primary clusters are bonded forever. They work, learn, and play together in the spirit world, and often reincarnate together on earth or in other places. According to Dr. Newton, soulmates and beings from the same primary soul group don’t usually incarnate as humans within the same biological family, however, which I found interesting.

As well as sharing similar interests and purposes, beings within a primary group usually possess similar levels of knowledge. Beginner souls and master souls don’t cluster together in the same intimate group––although souls with varying degrees of knowledge may interact at times for certain reasons. I also got the impression that as one soul in the group advances, that being’s increased knowledge and experience aid the advancement of the entire group. (In future posts, I’ll discuss soul colors and levels as well as soul “types.”)

While looking at pictures of crop circles, I noticed a similarity to the soul clusters I’d seen in the spirit world and began to wonder: Are these mysterious designs that appear without explanation in fields across the earth actually images created to help us understand something about our existence as spirits?

Will You See Your Loved Ones Again?

The idea that some part of us survives physical death exists in many religions and in the belief systems of many people around the world. Christians, for instance, propose that after the body dies the soul goes to “heaven,” where it meets up again with the souls of loved ones and enjoys everlasting life with God. Lots of spiritual traditions embrace the concept of reincarnation, although they don’t all agree on exactly what’s involved. 

Prior to the year 325, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible contained references to reincarnation––until the Emperor Constantine decided to remove them; in 553, the Second Council of Constantinople made it heretical for Christians to believe in reincarnation. Reincarnation is also part of the teachings of the Hebrew Qabalah, though few contemporary Jews are familiar with these ideas. We find the tenets of reincarnation in Hinduism and Buddhism, too.

Researchers, including Ian Stevenson, MD, Brian L. Weiss, MD, Michael Newton, PhD, and many more, have studied reincarnation by guiding thousands of people back through previous lifetimes and by working with men and women who’ve had near-death experiences. Their subjects reveal remarkable information about other time periods and people whom they could not have known about through ordinary means. The case of Bridey Murphy, a Virginia housewife (1923–1995), is one of the best known. Director Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Little Buddha tells the story of a young boy whom Buddhist monks believed to be the reincarnated teacher Lama Dorje. You’ll find scores of compelling stories in the books of serious researchers, stories that cannot be explained by conventional science––so many, in fact, that after a while it becomes more ridiculous to deny the possibility of reincarnation than to accept it.

Children often speak of their past lives. Sometimes they recognize people they’ve never met this time around and know intimate details about those people. In the summer of 2013, I met a three-year-old boy who took an instant liking to me and showed me around the house where he was staying. He told me his name was Will. After we finished the tour, I met the boy’s parents and commented on what a nice boy Will seemed. They told me his name was Sami. Later, I asked the boy why he’d said his name was Will. He answered simply, “In my old body I was Will.”

Theories about reincarnation generally agree that we reconnect with some of the same souls again and again in our various earth lives. We don’t always assume the same types of relationships with them, however. In prior lifetimes, your current spouse may have been your mother, your brother, or your best friend. (In future posts, I’ll discuss this subject in more detail.) 

In his book Many Lives, Many Masters, Dr. Brian Weiss explains that one reason for becoming human is to experience relationships with other people. He writes, “ ‘You develop through relationships.’ ” Often, we choose to live many times with the same entities in order to learn certain things or to perform certain tasks. Other times, we may return to earth at the same time because we like being together. If you find yourself in a particularly close, intense, or meaningful relationship with someone now, chances are you’ve known each other before––and will be together again.

Where Do We Go When We Die?

Christians have their Heaven; Buddhists speak of Nirvana; Wiccans go to the Summerland when their earthly lives end. Many people who’ve had near-death experiences report being drawn through a dark tunnel toward a radiant light, emerging in a place where they feel suffused with love and joy. Their deceased friends and relatives, they say, greet them when they arrive in the hereafter, welcoming them back to their place of origin. Spirit guides also show up to usher the recently departed souls into a place of peace after their sojourns on earth. Virtually everyone who’s ever undergone a NDE or been regressed/hypnotized through a prior death describes pretty much the same thing––and what they describe sounds wonderful.

Soon after my long-time partner, Ron Conroy, left his physical form in April of 2013, he began telling me about his experiences in the “world beyond.” He calls this place “home” because it’s the energetic realm where souls originate and where they return between lifetimes on earth (or other worlds, which I’ll discuss in future posts). Here, everything is made of light and resonance––nothing is physical. No longer encumbered by dense human bodies, souls feel a delicious sense of freedom. They can move about without restriction, communicate with one another via thoughts, and create whatever they choose instantaneously just by envisioning it. 

A beautiful web of pink light envelops all beings here and holds them together in a cosmic “hug.” This light of love unifies everyone through resonance, and reassures souls that no one is ever alone––we only experience fear and loneliness when we are separated into physical forms. In reality, we are all part of an infinite, loving, joyful network that has always existed and always will. When we realize that we all come from the same Source and are all linked energetically––that every being is part of the whole––racism, sexism, religious disputes, and other ego dynamics that divide us on earth quickly disappear after our bodies die.

In the early 1980s, I experienced a metaphysical occurrence that Canadian psychiatrist William Bucke called “cosmic consciousness.” Without intention, without doing anything at all to bring it about, I suddenly and inexplicably slipped into an altered state during which I felt myself dissolve into a realm of pure bliss. I lost all awareness of my body and merged with a beautiful, all-encompassing, infinite pink-white light. Everything in my earth-world disappeared. I felt totally immersed in a loving consciousness unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. All suffering, fear, and thinking evaporated. I have no idea how long that event lasted––seconds? A few minutes? But it was enough to transform my understanding forever. Much later, after Ron’s passing, I realized that in those few moments I’d reconnected with my place of origin, my “home.” This is where we go when we slough off our moral forms and soar back to the realm of love and light from which we emerged and will ever abide. This is the home that awaits us when we depart earth.

Knowing that this wondrous world now embraces our deceased loved ones can ease the pain of loss. But perhaps even more importantly, this knowledge can lessen our own fear of death. Regardless of what we’ve been taught about the hereafter––and many of us have been taught to fear retribution and suffering, hellfire and damnation––our real destination is a realm of infinite love and peace. It makes no difference what “savior” you believed in, what faith you followed (or none), or what rituals you enacted. No one gets turned away. The people we loved on earth who’ve gone on before us are reveling in that blissful state right now, and they’ll be there to welcome us back when our time comes. So will our guides and guardians, who’ve been with us since the beginning of time and will remain by our sides forever. 

Insights into the Afterlife

I haven't blogged for a long time, because many things in my life fell apart after the sudden, unexpected passing of the man I loved for thirteen years, Ron Conroy. But during the past eighteen months, I've undertaken a new type of writing––with his assistance. That probably sounds strange, but every day since he left this plane of existence, Ron has communicated with me from the so-called "other side," which he refers to simply as "home." 

What he's told me and shown me totally transformed my ideas about what happens after we leave Planet Earth. After Ron conveyed many experiences of life after death to me, I began reading books by researchers in the field. (The best, in my opinion, are Dr. Michael Newton's Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls.) To my surprise, many things I read concurred with what Ron had shared with me. I'd never heard most of this before, and just knowing that other people had similar experiences gave me comfort and confirmation.

So, being a writer, I started writing a novel about what I'd learned, titled The Three Wounds of Wisdom. At first I considered writing a nonfiction book, but many people have already done that, most of them MDs, PhDs, and folks with more "credentials" than I have.  Plus I like writing fiction better, and sometimes it's easier to present unusual or thought-provoking ideas as fiction, so readers don't feel the author is trying to convince them of something. I changed the characters, the storyline, the location, and lots more––but all the information about what transpires between our lives on earth and elsewhere came through to me during meditative trances and other experiences with Ron since he's moved on. My beta-readers and advisory group are examining the manuscript now, and I hope to make it available to readers soon. My goal is to help those of you who've suffered the devastating pain of losing someone you love, and to give you hope. I also want to open a forum for people who've had near-death experiences and other awarenesses to share what they witnessed. 


In the meantime, I decided to start blogging about "the great beyond." In each post, I plan to offer one or more pieces of information that Ron has conveyed to me. All of us have wondered what happens when we die and why we came to earth in the first place. In the last year and a half, I've received answers to those and other big questions. The most important, IMO, is why are we here? One reason: to bring love to the world. 

In our true "home" love is omnipresent. We carry some of that great love with us, in the form of energy, when we assume physical bodies here on earth. Our primary job is to radiate that love to everyone, everywhere, in everything we do. In this way, we overcome the force of fear that dominates our earth-thinking. Only two forces exist in the universe: love and fear. Each moment, we have the choice to operate from a place of love or a place of fear. It's that simple––and that difficult.

As I write this blog, and in The Three Wounds of Wisdom, my objective is to follow this mandate to the best of my ability. If I can lighten your fear and sadness in even the smallest way, I will feel I've accomplished my goal. The old Beatles' song says it best: "All You Need Is Love."

Happy Summer Solstice 2013

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice (or Midsummer) marks the longest day of the year. According to Celtic mythology, the Sun King has now reached the highest point in his journey through the heavens. In 2013, we celebrate Midsummer on June 21, when the sun enters 0 degrees of the zodiac sign Cancer (at 5:04 A.M. UT). This is a time of abundance, when the earth displays her bounty.

The Holiday’s Significance

In early agrarian cultures, Midsummer marked a period of plenty, when food was abundant and life was easy. Our ancestors celebrated this joyful holiday with feasting and revelry. At this point, however, the sun reached its pinnacle and began its descent once again. Celtic pagan mythology depicts this as the end of the Oak King’s reign as he is overthrown by the Holly King, who presides over the waning part of the year.

Folklore says that at Midsummer earth spirits abound—a belief that inspired Shakespeare’s delightful play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Apparently, life on every level rejoices in the fullness of the season. If you wish, you can commune with the elementals and faeries at this time.

Ways to Celebrate

Just as people have done for centuries, you may choose to celebrate the Summer Solstice with feasting, music, dancing, and thanksgiving. Remember to share your bounty with the animals and birds, too, and to return something to Mother Earth as a sign of gratitude.

Midsummer is also a good time to collect herbs, flowers, and other plants to use in magick spells. Some people say that if you wish to become invisible, you must wear an amulet that includes seeds from forest ferns gathered on Midsummer’s eve. Do spells for success and abundance on the Summer Solstice, too, to take advantage of the fullness of this sabbat.

The Five Moment Memoir

Recently I tried an exercise NYC writer Sarah Beauchamp recommended: the five-moment memoir. Because I write for a living, I'm not inclined to journal much. But this helps me keep track of what I've been doing and it only takes a few minutes. It also lets me decompress at the end of the day. Maybe you'll enjoy it too.

Simply note five moments that occurred during the day––things you did, ideas you thought about, people you encountered, emotions, or insights. Keep it brief, but jot down enough to jog your memory later on if you choose to come back and expand upon what you've written. Some examples:

1) Called Mom––she always seems appreciative when I do.
2) Cleaned the bathroom. It looks so nice, I should do it more often.
3) Started reading a new Barbara Kingsolver book. Love her writing.
4) Bought a dozen roses on sale at the local supermarket. Flowers make me smile.
5) Got a card from a friend that says "May there always be an angel by your side."

See how easy it is? 

Happy Ostara/Spring Equinox

Pagans celebrate Ostara (also known as Eostre) when the sun enters 0 degrees of Aries; this year that happens on March 20. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox ushers in warmer weather, days that are longer than nights, and the advent of new life. Christianity adopted this joyful period of the year for the celebration of Easter (which usually falls near the Spring Equinox). Ostara gets its name from the German fertility goddess Ostare; the word Easter derives from the same root. Both holidays celebrate the triumph of life over death.

The Holiday’s Significance

According to mythology, the Sun King’s chariot continues climbing higher in the sky, reaching the point at which day and night are of equal length on Ostara. Therefore, this sabbat is associated with balance, equality, and harmony.

The Spring Equinox marks the first day of spring and the start of the busy planting season in agrarian cultures. Farmers till their fields and sow seeds. Trees begin to bud, spring flowers blossom, and baby animals are born. Ostara, therefore, is one of the fertility holidays and a time for planting seeds—literally or figuratively.

Ways to Celebrate

On Ostara, sow seeds that you want to bear fruit in the coming months. This is an ideal time to launch new career ventures, move to a new home, or begin a new relationship. If you enjoy gardening, start preparing the soil and planting flowers, herbs, and/or vegetables now. Consider the magickal properties of botanicals and choose plants that represent your intentions. Even if you aren’t a gardener, you could plant seeds in a flowerpot to symbolize wishes you hope will grow to fruition in the coming months.

Witches connect each plant—herb, flower, and tree—with specific magickal properties. Sage, for example, is used for purification rituals. Mint and parsley can be added to prosperity talismans to attract wealth. White snapdragons ensure protection and roses play an important role in love magick.

Some popular Easter customs have their roots in Ostara’s symbolism. Eggs represent the promise of new life, and painting them bright colors engages the creative aspect of this sabbat. You might enjoy decorating eggs with magickal symbols, such as pentagrams and spirals. Rabbits, of course, have long been linked with fertility. In an old German story, a rabbit laid some sacred eggs and decorated them as a gift for the fertility goddess Ostara. Ostara liked the beautiful eggs so much that she asked the rabbit to share the eggs with everyone throughout the world.

(Excerpted from The Everything Wicca & Witchcraft Book)