Between Death and Life: Conversations with a Spirit

by Dolores Cannon

there only good spirits where you are now? S: E...

not dealing with the problems that are thrust out, problems that they themselves help to choose. They think that because they have no control over what happens to them, why should they have to work at it. Life has to be worked at; it can’t be just skated through from day to day.

lifetime. What purpose would that serve? S: Sometimes that’s not all the person that is doing it. Sometimes it is other forces getting in on that. And it doesn’t serve a purpose except showing others that this is how low a person can fall to. In that manner it serves its purpose. But no matter how far that person, or that soul goes down, there is always room to bring themself out of it—by work and preparation and by facing the problems they’ll have. This is what needs to be worked on.

It is not expected of humans to become perfect, although some have. This is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. To strive to be perfect is the lesson.

lessons, which is very difficult on the Earth plane. S: One learns what is perfect by experiencing that which is not. So it is as important to learn what is not perfect as it is to learn what is.

thought I understood you to say that we had to have the bad in order to understand the good. S: There is no rule which says that the bad must be experienced. There is however the reality of the insight which comes from experiencing the one in order to fully understand the other. This is not a rule; this is a fact.

That is accurate. And so it would be appropriate to look with compassion on those who seem to be in their most negative state, as they are learning those lessons which will allow them to become most positive.

have negative experiences if they had a choice. S: That is accurate. One should look beyond the experience itself at the lessons gained in order to understand why one would choose such an experience.

wholesome personality involved were one to derive pleasure from this or that “bad” experience. The disharmony is a lesson in and of itself in order to more fully appreciate and to comprehend that which is of the harmonious nature. The lessons are learned, however, in this manner.

that entity to experience the complimentary reality, or to be on the other end of the stick, so to say.

involved. Many energies of a physical nature are pleasant but are harmful when indulged excessively. And one could then possibly lose sight of one’s path due to an overindulgence of any particular energy.

that a person learns something from the experience? S: That would be the whole reason and justification for the experience in the beginning.

making the same mistakes. S: Until they eventually learn. And then it would not be necessary to repeat these mistakes.

aware of your fellow beings; to the point that you don’t want to hurt them,

in one direction. Some have a few more sidetracks along the way but everyone can learn from all these things and would be a more well-rounded person for doing so. By being close minded you lose much of the experience of life. You should never rely on one path as being the way, the ultimate. For in all paths there lies truth and in all paths there lies falsehood. You must spend your life sifting through them to find what is your truth—to discover what you know to be truth for yourself. It does not have to necessarily be truth for others and you must accept this. It is not an easy path to be different.

why this would happen. This could be a taught function. That is, many are taught through parental neglect or abuse

which speaks of stepping out of social boundaries; that is, overstepping those boundaries which are socially acceptable. Of course, with varying social customs it could be seen that some activities at one point, even in one culture, could be criminal and yet in that very same culture in another time frame would not be. From a spiritual standpoint there is no such thing as criminal as this is a social phenomenon which speaks of overstepping social boundaries. We would ascribe to the philosophy of doing harm by retarding one’s forward progress.

criminal activity. This could be a manifestation of a spiritual imbalance. However it would not be spiritually criminal, it would be socially criminal. Actions manifested on a physical plane w...

would they punish themselves? S: They can choose to go back and, for instance, have to leave that existence at the prime of their life when they are the happiest. In that way they are punishing themself because they are putting themself in the place of the person whose life they cut down, at whatever time. They have to know what it feels like. They have to see it from the other side.

murdered by someone else. A sword for a sword, so to speak. S: There are other alternatives. Because if it were true that the only way he could work it out was to be murdered himself, then that would shift the negative karma to someone else. This would simply be shifting the load around rather than working it out and getting humanity in general past that.

rather drastic means of working it out. There are other alternatives which are the soft way, as some people would call it. And it works out better in the long run, working it out

gentle way.

earlier chapter, it may be worked out by having to return and be a servant or a protector of the one they had killed, thus dedicating their life to that person in that manner.

this plane for awhile to learn more and to advance more. Because the learning and preparation you do here carries over in your subconscious and in your attitudes about whatever wisdom you are able to gain. In this way you’re more successful in your karma.

messed up and confused and complain, “Why doesn’t anything ever go right?” It is because they came back disorganized.

too soon and were ill prepared. If they could have waited just a little bit and organized themselves, then things would have gone much better. Now sometimes if a spirit just doesn’t seem to want to change, they are kept in a special place between lifetimes to help them grow and develop for the next incarnation. But it’s kept on a very delicate balance and it is done very carefully.

atmosphere would it be? S: It’s like a retreat. D: Keeping them in isolation away from the others? S: No, it’s like going to a monastery to meditate and contemplate. There they meet with others that have similar problems and with a spiritual guide. They must work out these problems and figure out why they did what they did and where they need to develop to overcome these things.

Hell. It wouldn’t be like that? S: No, that is a notion developed by the Christians. It really doesn’t apply. It was mainly developed as a political device to help build the power of the orthodox church and to help overcome the influence of the gnostics. This is a plane where you go to learn and

contemplate your mistakes and what you have done. There are always advanced souls who are there voluntarily to help you develop and to help you prepare for the next life. Because it’s a growing process. It’s like bringing up a child. When a child does something wrong, you wouldn’t throw him into the oven. Which would be figuratively similar to our belief of Hell. Throwing the sinner into the fire. S: You set the child down and talk with them about what they did wrong, and help them to realize why it was wrong and try to find a better action to use in a similar situation in the future.

anyway? S: If they’re not ready to go back into the physical they cannot because everything must be balanced just right for them to be able to go. If they have not learned anything from seeing a major mistake, then things are not in balance yet and they are given some more time. Sometimes if someone still hasn’t learned anything from a particular mistake and refuses to listen, they are sent back into a similar situation and they’ll have a further chance to realize alternative actions. The masters try to do this in a way that will not have a serious consequence on the spirit’s karma so it will not be as difficult for them to progress.

gains you make are so minuscule that it’s hard to keep track of them, and it’s a very slow process. Mostly advanced spirits work with these because it takes an inordinate amount of patience and knowledge.

into the final outcome. That which happened reflected mainly on his father’s karma rather than his. D: (This was a surprise.) I wouldn’t think of it that way. S: Because the root of the problem started when his father refused to let him study creative things.

It’s almost like a classroom assignment. The person says, “Well, this is what I will try to get accomplished in this lifetime.” Now, if they don’t get it all accomplished it does not reflect badly on them. The fact that they are working on it and trying, this is what matters.

away? S: Yes. As long as you also learn to surround yourself with what is good. This will keep away anything that is negative. There is no good or bad; there is only positive and negative. Any experience that is learned from is never negative.

other direction? S: By opening yourself up to perceive what the final outcome of what they are recommending will be.

That part of you which craves the sundae is asking for gratification. And yet the higher part of you, which recognizes the need for diet, is saying, “No, we shall not.” So you can see there is a division within yourself.

feel very right. He will never make you do anything, he would only suggest.

not an accurate word. The guides and helpers do not try to influence. Assist or enlighten would be more accurate.

imaginary destiny; you create your own destiny. The same thing can be said for you while you live in the physical. You should help each other unselfishly.

like you must help, regardless of your emotional state at that time. You should give help when you want to; then you can give the best quality help. What we are saying to you is this: Please don’t feel you must help everyone all the time. Feel only that you should help when you feel you want to help. Forced help is worse than no help at all.

forced help is worse than no help at all.

(selfishness, envy, jealousy, etc.), we would probably create chaos. We are not as pure minded in our intentions, and they have said before that the intent is the most important thing about what we wish to materialize.

right is quite capable of doing the job each is assigned. A guide may know more of the physical. A counselor may know more detail.

or the principal of the school for more advanced advice regarding a student. The teacher would naturally know the pupil on a more intimate basis because he is with him every day. The professor or principal might not be familiar with the student at all, but can offer advice because they have much more knowledge and experience. The principal also has not related to the pupils in the classroom on such an intimate level for quite a while. They are more removed from the situation, but as such they can give a much more unbiased opinion.

will speak to you when it is necessary or relevant. There are really no names used here on the spirit plane; there are only sounds, vibrations and colors. Naming is a habit peculiar to the human race. It allows for easy identification. But these names which you like to give to guides are somewhat derogatory or misleading, for names have a vibration and attaching

assigning a name to a guide can give it the wrong vibration. So it is best to know a guide more by vibrations

particular spiritual plane. Once you’ve attained this plane you can be either a guide or sit on the general council

spiritually mature manner without flubbing up.

doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped all your growing because someone more advanced than you is still helping you with your growing, while you in turn are helping someone else who’s not as advanced with their growing. And that’s the way the whole system works.

Everything is seen in the form of energy here. Every thought and intention has energy that is apparent.