Note to the reader:

Materialism, the scientific perspective that only physical matter and energy compose reality, is concerned with consciousness only as it may relate to the physiology of the brain. Therefore, it has little more to contribute to the philosophy of a conscious-created universe than what we’ve already discussed in parts I and II. From a scientific standpoint, the mystery of consciousness must remain unsolved until further advancements settle the question. So it is here that we turn to spirituality to further explore the philosophy of a conscious-created universe, using its spiritual analogue: the human soul.

Note: To avoid distraction and retain a cleaner reading experience, all references for quotes will be listed at the end of the post. The number in brackets indicates the footnote.

I. Searching for Meaning

Most of human history has existed in what we would consider a pre-scientific age. Through the lens of our scientifically advanced culture, the time before the age of reason seems dark and superstitious. All manner of ghosts, witches and ghouls roamed the earth distressing ordinary folk who were already contending with the equally capricious gods. The natural world was controlled by beings that were unpredictable, sending floods, droughts and plagues for seemingly minor infractions. Such uncertainty led humans to perform placating rituals ranging from odd to appalling, such as the evidence of human sacrifice found in many ancient cultures. We consider their plight in grim sympathy: if only they had the scientific knowledge to understand the natural world around them, they might have avoided such useless prostrations.

Science has revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. No longer do we see the personal hand of God in every hurricane or Ebola outbreak. Materialists point to our ignorant, superstitious past to reveal a damning pattern: what was considered proof of divine influence by pre-scientific civilizations turned out to be perfectly explainable through the laws of chemistry and physics. We must be careful, however, not to fall into the trap of promissory materialism: the unfounded belief that physical sciences can one day explain all of the mysteries of the universe. Consciousness, in particular, has proven difficult to explain away as solely the physical interaction of neurons. We can observe a correlation between brain states and emotional or mental responses, but cannot yet observe the conscious state itself, nor equate the physical brain with the origin of self-awareness.

The concept of a human soul frequently falls victim to the same anti-scientific shaming aimed at religious fictions used to explain misunderstood natural phenomena. The soul, as the spiritual analogue to today’s debate over the dualism of consciousness, should be regarded with more respect for the concept is both ancient and remarkably universal. Unlike the colorful diversity of various deities and afterlife dramas that accompanied spiritual imagination of early civilizations, the soul was considered self-evident, an obvious requirement for intelligent life.

The Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle found the concept of the soul to be a favorite subject for debate, and their ministrations of the subject were taken up by early Christian theologians who then firmly integrated the soul into organized religion where it remains today. The concept of the soul was not exclusively a western phenomenon either. Cultures and tribes throughout the early history of civilization each developed unique spiritual beliefs which included a soul or spirit that separated from the body at death to pursue its destiny in the afterworld.

As belief in an eternal soul was so prevalent, it should come as no surprise that most cultures also engaged in spirit contact, though it may not be framed in such terms. Many indigenous cultures have a tradition of ancestor worship, believing that the souls of deceased ancestors could be called upon in times of need to aid the family, provided the family remember their ancestors with the proper offerings and rituals. Sacred religious texts such as the Bible and the Koran have many instances of spirits or angels rendering aid or providing information to mortals. Tribal cultures may have relied on shaman to act as an intermediary between the world of the living and dead passing on requests for aid, healing or even revenge. Ordinary people also relied on folk magic to ask the restless dead for their guidance and aid.

Here’s a portion of a spell from the Greek Magical Papyri enlisting aid from a spirit to assist the spell caster in attracting a lover:

“Go quickly to where someone lies buried … spread a donkey’s hide under him at about sunset. Return home and he will actually be present and will stand beside you on that night … Say: “I adjure you, dead spirit, by the Destiny of Destinies, to come to me, [insert your name], on this day, on this night, and agree to the act of service of me. And if you don’t, expect other chastisements”.

The practice of casting spells, summoning spirits, consulting oracles or magicians fell into disfavor in Europe once Christianity determined that such practices were blasphemous; partly because it was said to violate the first commandment prohibiting the worship of ‘other gods’, and partly because medieval Christians were anxious to disengage their followers from their pagan past. Thus, a rather harmless pagan deity became recast as Satan and any practice involving ritual spell casting, divination or spirit contact became grounds for excommunication and later, death.

Despite the best efforts of the church, the practice of contacting the souls of the dead never truly ceased. In the mid-1800’s, the quasi-spiritual movement known as Spiritualism began to sweep across Europe. Historians claim its origins either from Emmanuel Swedenborg, a 18th century Christian mystic, or the Fox sisters who gained rapid fame claiming to induce spirit communication using a rapping sound. The Fox sisters were eventually found to be frauds after one of the sisters confessed to producing the raps by cracking her toe joints. Nevertheless, the idea of contacting spirits through mediumship had captured the public’s imagination, and soon mediumship circles were popping up in Victorian parlors everywhere. The Society for Psychical Research was founded in 1882 during the height of Spiritualism, and a great many educated and accomplished men and women worked to investigate the phenomenon with scientific objectivity. Many notable figures such as Frederick W. H. Myers, William Crookes, Oliver Lodge and the psychologist William James recognized that the practice of mediumship was worth exploring, supporting and preserving. From their careful endeavors, we still have a vibrant practice of mediumship today, and a trove of spiritual literature spanning two centuries.

Unlike the static orthodoxy of organized religions which record the spiritual philosophy of great prophets, mediums and channels speak directly to deceased humans who may have led rather ordinary lives. Mediums in particular have tended to focus on deceased relatives and friends of the sitters. In many cases, the sitters desire only to obtain evidence that their loved one has survived death and little other information is sought about the nature of the soul and the afterlife. Channelers, on the other hand, may connect with an unrelated spirit whose purpose is specifically the teaching of spiritual wisdom. Both sources of spiritual wisdom can be consulted for information about the human soul and the purpose of consciousness, although, as Judge David Hatch warns through medium Elsa Barker: “A man does not suddenly become all-wise by changing the texture of his body.” [1]

Rev. Hugh Benson, speaking through medium Anthony Borgia in Life in the World Unseen agrees:

The percentage is low, deplorably low, of people who come into the spirit world with any knowledge at all of their new life and of the spirit world in general. All the countless souls without this knowledge have to be taken care of, and helped in their difficulties and perplexities. [2]

When one becomes familiar with spiritual communications, it becomes clear that accounts differ based on the experience and individual progress of the communicating spirit. Not all spirit accounts are illuminating. Spirits seem to earn their knowledge in the same way we do here on earth: through experience and the gradual assimilation of knowledge. We are fortunate, however, to have several superlative examples of communications from highly-progressed spirit teachers. In most cases, you will find that their message to us is clear and unified, providing reassuringly deliberate answers for the purpose of consciousness. In addition to spiritual literature, we have evidence from modern spiritual practices. Life Between Life regression techniques pioneered by Dr. Michael Newton, out-of-body exploration by William Bulhman, Jürgen Ziewe and Robert Monroe, and a wealth of information from near-death experiences all provide fascinating insight into the spiritual destiny of the soul.

Part II: Spiritual Wisdom

Humans may be unique on earth, as the only species (we know of) that is aware of its eventual and inescapable death. We have been both burdened and blessed with this knowledge, for it has inspired us to seek answers for the purpose of our own existence. Spiritual belief systems arose naturally to provide answers to such questions as ‘why are we here?’, ‘what happens after death?’ ‘Is there a creator?’

Religions and spiritual belief systems differ based on how their doctrines answer these fundamental philosophic questions. For example, Christians believe their entrance into heaven is assured by their belief in Jesus as well as their good deeds in life. Not much information is provided about the spiritual destiny of souls in the Bible, however, requiring believers to put faith in the mysteries of ‘God’s plan’. Conversely, Hindu religions focus more specifically on the karma and the cycle of rebirth and less on the nature of the afterlife, since purpose between lives is primarily to organize their future incarnation. Unsurprisingly, nearly all organized religions believe in the eternal human soul; even as they differ wildly on other aspects of our soul’s purpose and destiny.

The spiritualists, however, formed their understanding about the afterlife, the soul and spiritual progression primarily through the products of mediumship. With the addition of modern sources of spiritual knowledge and experiences, a fascinating and detailed picture of our soul’s destiny emerges. Parapsychology claims a long history of investigation to rule out the more conventional explanations for mediumship, channeling, near-death experiences and past-life hypnosis. Although scientific proof is still a long way off, in many cases, strong empirical evidence is available that supports the validity of the experiences.

So whether you already believe or find yourself skeptical, let’s turn now to some of these sources to discover what the spiritual literature has to say about the soul’s purpose in a conscious-created universe.

1. What is the soul, or consciousness?

From the book Spirit Teachings, published in 1898, an advanced spirit teacher who calls himself Imperator gives us our first clue in this quote delivered through William Stainton Moses, one of the most gifted mediums of the Spiritualism movement:

“In days when faith has grown cold, and belief in God and immortality is waning to a close, we come to demonstrate to man that he is immortal, by virtue of the possession of that soul which is a spark struck off from Deity itself.” [3]

Imperator defines the soul as a ‘spark’, or portion of the universal consciousness or energy. Imperator calls this ‘the deity’, or God itself. Clearly, ‘God’ is not a human sitting on a throne; but is often described as an energy, an intelligence, or an idea.

Here is how Seth (as channeled through Jane Roberts) describes God in The Seth Material:

“You are cocreators. What you call God is the sum of all consciousness, and yet the whole is more than the sum of Its parts. God is more than the sum of all personalities, and yet all personalities are what He is. There is constant creation. There is within you a force that knew how to grow you from a fetus to a grown adult. This force is part of the innate knowledge within all consciousness, and it is a part of the God within you.” [4]

2. How is the soul formed? Of what is it made?

Interestingly, there isn’t much information in spiritual literature regarding the origin of soul energy. The information we do have comes from Dr. Michael Newton’s life-between-life regression cases, and even Dr. Newton admits that very few souls retain the memory of their own birth as souls. The chapter on Soul Birth in Destiny of Souls may strike some as being strange or far-fetched, but as always, I present this information so you may make your own decision.

Dr. Newton presents a quote from a very young soul who retained memory of his or her soul birth:

My soul was created out of a great irregular cloudy mass. I was expelled as a tiny particle of energy from this intense, pulsating bluish, yellow and white light. The pulsations send out hail-storms of soul matter. Some fall back and are reabsorbed but I continued outward and was being carried along in a stream with others like me. The next thing I knew, I was in a bright enclosed area with very loving beings taking care of me. I remember being in a nursery of some sort where we were like unhatched eggs in a beehive. When I acquired more awareness I learned I was in the nursery world of Uras. I don’t know how I got there. I was like an egg in embryonic fluid waiting to be fertilized and I sensed there were many other cells of young lights who were coming awake with me. There was a group of mothers, beautiful and loving, who … pierced our membrane sacs and opened us. There were swirling currents of intense, nurturing lights around us and I could hear music. My awareness began with curiosity. Soon I was taken from Uras and joined other children in a different setting. [5]

According to Newton, after souls are formed their destinies may not necessarily include earthly incarnations. However for those that do choose a life on earth, there is a necessary joining of soul energy and physical biology.

3. What is the relationship of the soul/consciousness/mind and the body? How are they interrelated?

From Michael Newton’s Journey of Souls, we get the following description of the process:

At some point prior to birth, the soul will carefully touch and join more fully with the impressionable, developing brain of a baby. When a soul decides to enter a baby, apparently that child has no free choice in accepting or rejecting the soul. At the moment of first entry, chronological time begins for the soul. Depending upon the inclinations of the particular soul involved, the connection may be early or late in the mother’s pregnancy. I have had cases where souls timed their arrival at the last minute during delivery, but this is unusual. My findings indicate even those souls who join the baby early seem to do a lot of traveling outside the mother’s womb during her term. Once birth has taken place, the union of spirit and flesh has been fully solidified into a partnership. The immortal soul then becomes the seat of perception for the developing human ego. The soul brings a spiritual force which is the heritage of infinite consciousness. [6]

According to Seth in The Nature of Personal Reality, the soul (or consciousness) and body build an intimate and finely tuned relationship:

While it is true that the body is the living materialization of idea, it is also true that these ideas form an active, responsive, alive body. The body is not just a tool to be used. It is not just a vehicle for the spirit. It is the spirit in flesh. You impose your ideas upon it and largely affect its health and well-being through your conscious beliefs. But the body is composed of living, responding atoms and molecules. These have their own consciousnesses alive in matter, their drive to exist and be within the framework of their own nature. They compose the cells, and these combine to form the organs. The organs possess the combined consciousnesses of each of the cells within them, and in their way the organs sense their own identity. [7]

There is an alternative, though not necessary contradicting viewpoint, shared by some spirits that see physical incarnation as more of a ‘focus’ of consciousness, rather than true separation of the soul ‘into’ a body. The portion of our consciousness that contains our self-awareness narrows its perspective to the physical world, screening out the larger reality of which we are always a part.

From Your Soul’s Plan, a spirit guide working with the author explains it this way:

Incarnation does not literally remove us from our eternal Home; rather, it simply limits our capacity to see the nonphysical part of it. Death, then, is the dissolution of the veil that screened the nonphysical realm from us. [8]

Rita Warren, speaking through her friend and medium Frank DeMarco in Rita’s World: Volume I, expounds on the idea:

Life is not divided between the physical and the nonphysical. We do not move from one side to the other. We do not cease to exist in one realm and appear in another, though it certainly appears that way. We live in all existing dimensions, because there is no other way it can be. You can’t live in depth but not in width or height. [9]

And Seth gives us his perspective on the unity of consciousness in Seth Speaks:

Consciousness as you know it is highly specialized. The physical senses allow you to perceive the three-dimensional world and yet by their very nature they can inhibit the perception of other equally valid dimensions. [10]

4. Why does soul energy join with an earthly body? What is the purpose of limitation and struggle on earth?

A.D. Mattson speaking through medium Margaret Flavell in Evidence from Beyond describes it quite succinctly:

It’s an interesting fact that most persons grow faster spiritually while incarnate. The incarnate energy is denser. That makes it more possible for you, while embodied in flesh on earth, to take hold of a particular problem area and shape it into a more constructive pattern. Your period of incarnation on the physical plane is thus a very important period of education. It contributes to your own spiritual evolution and that of all humanity. You can elect not to return, and many do, after they have achieved a certain spiritual development. But the physical plane is a ‘school’ for learning and development, and so most souls do desire to return for a series of incarnations. [11]

How can we answer those who question the purpose of enduring such tremendous evils in this world? To those born with disease or disability, or for parents of children who die tragically young, the very concept that we might choose these adversities for the purpose of some poorly-defined growth of spirit is hard to take, understandably. But spirits assure us that we do indeed choose some aspects of our lives before birth, even those circumstances that we consider tragic or unspeakably evil.

Robert Schwartz sums up the general consensus for difficult incarnations in Your Soul’s Plan:

Picture, if you will, a world in which there is only light. If you never experienced darkness, how well would you comprehend and appreciate light? It is the contrast between light and dark that leads to a richer understanding and, ultimately, a remembering. The physical plane provides us with this contrast because it is one of duality: up and down, hot and cold, good and bad. The sorrow in duality allows us to better know joy. The chaos of Earth enhances our appreciation of peace. The hatred we may encounter deepens our understanding of love. If we never experienced these aspects of humanity, how would we know our divinity? [12]

5. what is the ultimate goal of this spiritual progression?  What is the purpose of individual experience?

Frederick W.H. Myers, speaking through medium Geraldine Cummins in The Road to Immortality, gives us his take:

The purpose of existence may be summed up in a phrase – the evolution of mind in matter that varies in degree and kind – so that mind develops through manifestation, and in an ever-expanding universe ever increases in power and gains thereby the true conception of reality. The myriad thoughts of God, those spirits which inform with life all material forms, are the lowest manifestation of God, and must learn to become God-like – to become an effective part of the Whole. [13]

Rita Warren gives us a slightly different perspective on the purpose of the individuality of souls:

The whole point of creating a soul in a given time and place, comprising certain traits and predispositions, is to create an enduring resource; so, when successful, there would be no point in throwing the elements back in the soup! A point of view, an accustomed collaboration of elements in a new container, is an accomplishment. It is valued. [14]

6. What is the ultimate goal or destiny for souls after they’ve reached their maximum potential?

Imperator once again gives us the answer in Spirit Teachings:

You cannot reach the Perfect Good, save after a conflict with evil. It is an eternal necessity that you be purified through struggles with the evil that surrounds you. It is the means by which the spark once struck off from the Divine Soul wins back its way to Him and enters into its rest. [15]

Could it be that our great destiny as souls is to simply merge with the source and lose the individuality we have worked so hard to perfect? Seth gives us this reassurance in Seth Speaks that this is not the case:

You are not fated to dissolve into All That Is. The aspects of your personality as you presently understand them will be retained. All That Is is the creator of individuality, not the means of its destruction. [16]

The spiritual teachers have this and much more to teach us, and yet though reality is uncomprehendingly complex, the reason for consciousness is quite simple: through individual choices and experiences, we strengthen the whole and add to the creative beauty of All That Is. According to the spirits, the conscious-created universe is part of a grand design of our own making. Reality itself is constantly formed and changed through our ideas, thoughts and experiences. It is a living, breathing extension of our selves.

If you sell yourselves short, you will say, ‘I am a physical organism and I live within the boundaries cast upon me by space and time. I am at the mercy of my environment.’ If you do not sell yourselves short, you will say, ‘I am an individual. I form my physical environment. I change and make my world. I am free of space and time. I am a part of all that is. There is no place within me that creativity does not exist.’ [17]

Conclusion

So far, science has only examined results. By its insistence upon the priority and superiority of matter’s dominance, it ties its own hands. The very focus of its beliefs leads it toward and endless categorizing in which it follows minute particles into a deepening invisibility. The hypothetical discovery of each new minuscule particle exerts an ever-deepening hypnotic effect, leading the scientists down a read that is self-defeating if he hopes to delve into those phenomena that exist beneath the world’s operating reality. [18]

-Jane Roberts, The Worldview of William James, (p. 82)

There is a famous quote often mis-attributed to Einstein that goes like this: “There are only two ways to live your life: One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is that everything is.” Despite the fact that Einstein likely never uttered those words, the quote nevertheless asks a crucial question about what each of us believes about the meaning of our lives, the consequences for our actions, and the ultimate purpose of the world around us.

Consider the implications of these two opposing perspectives in this series of quotes. The first from Seth:

“I am telling you that you are not a cosmic bag of bones and flesh, thrown together through some mixture of chemicals and elements. I am telling you that your consciousness is not some fiery product, formed merely accidentally through the interworkings of chemical components. You are not a forsaken offshoot of physical matter, nor is your consciousness meant to vanish like a puff of smoke. Instead, you form the physical body that you know at a deeply unconscious level with great discrimination, miraculous clarity, and intimate unconscious knowledge of each minute cell that composes it. [19]

And the opposing view, from Daniel Dennett, an outspoken Atheist and defender of materialism:

“Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares.” [20]

Dennett again, on the human soul:

It has been tempting over the ages to imagine that …striking differences [between individuals] must be due to the special features of some extra thing (a soul) installed somewhere in the bodily headquarters. We now know that as tempting as this idea still is, it is not supported in the slightest by anything we have learned about our biology in general and our brains in particular. The more we learn about how we evolved, and how our brains work, the more certain we are becoming that there is no such extra ingredient. We are each made of mindless robots and nothing else, no non-physical, non-robotic ingredients at all. [21]

And from Rita Warren, speaking through medium Frank DeMarco in Rita’s World, Volume I:

All the world is alive. All of what is called the physical world partakes of the dimensions usually called nonphysical. This can mean only that either everything is ‘spiritual’ in nature, or nothing is. There is no separation into spiritual and non-spiritual, any more than into living and dead, or sentient and non-sentient. Now, obviously, this isn’t how it appears in the three-dimensionally experienced world. It is only when one escapes the limitations either by dropping the body or by achieving mental clarity that the truth of what I’m telling you emerges. [22]

Scientific materialism asks us to believe that we have no free will; that every action, feeling, decision and experience were predestined at the moment of the big bang; an unfolding of the complex interactions between particles. Humans are awe-inspiring creations, an accident of evolution, but ultimately we will succumb, like all else, to the heat death of the universe.

Dualism presents the extreme opposite opinion. As self-aware conscious beings, our actions and choices reflect our intentions and may have consequences. We not only survive physical death, we are part of the unified consciousness, temporarily limited by birth to form interesting individual units which can explore the experience of separation for its own purposes.

You may accuse me at this point of just trying to appeal to your natural inclination to find belief in materialism depressing and grim. We all want to feel as though our choices matter. We all fear death. Atheists often accuse those who believe in God or life after death as choosing this belief out of fear of the alternative. They derive a perverse sense of pride because they alone can ‘face facts’, and find meaning and morality in their lives despite the ultimate meaninglessness of it all.

And yet, if we are working with just facts, I believe dualism can throw down with enough empirical evidence to justify belief without resorting to fear or blind faith.

Daniel Dennett, and others of his ilk, are understandably justified in their opinion that science, operating under the assumption of materialism, hasn’t found evidence of a soul. What I find to be intellectually dishonest is their propensity for sweeping evidence under the rug which runs contrary to their belief system. There is compelling evidence for mind-matter interaction, mind-body interaction and for the survivalist hypothesis. At every turn, mainstream science has been confronted with evidence that doesn’t fit into the materialist worldview, and too often the evidence is simply discounted as a temporary anomaly; something to be ignored until a future scientific explanation can be found.

In a world where too often scientific opinion is framed as scientific fact, these ‘anomalous observations and experiences’ may provide evidence for dualistic hypotheses just as valid as those of the more popular materialistic theories, and yet they remain unknown to most ordinary people, and derided by skeptics as patently false.

Isn’t the most honest position one that admits that what we don’t know far exceeds what we do? The mysteries of reality may hold far more wonders than what has been discovered by science. To meet it, science will have to expand; to move fearlessly into an uncertain future. There are an ocean of possibilities awaiting scientific exploration though it takes a rare kind of bravery to cast yourself into uncharted waters.

As rational, curious people, we need not remain purely agnostic about deciding what we believe about our own purpose and meaning in this life. Each of us can arm ourselves with knowledge of the evidence and weigh it for ourselves. In that process, we must be careful to avoid confirmation bias, and remain rational and open-minded. For as soon as you cling too strongly to your faith (whether it be faith in materialism or dualism), the doors around you will close. And that can comforting; to be cloistered strongly to one interpretation of reality on your own self-made mountain of supporting evidence. But when we avoid evaluating alternative possibilities because we fear ridicule, self-deception or the implications of a certain worldview, we stifle curiosity and accept limitations.

The truth is, in the debate between materialism and dualism, there is no middle ground. Either we are eternal beings, or death is the end of personal awareness forever. Either our actions will be judged or they won’t. Either we have free will, or are just acting out of a biological imperative to survive. Are we but mere mortals, temporary renderings of flesh destined for decay, or are we sparks of the divine with our inheritance the wisdom of the Gods? Each of us must decide what we believe, and live our lives the best we can according to that perspective.

References:

[1] Barker, Elsa. (Judge David Hatch) Letters From a Living Dead Man, 1914 (p.117)

[2] Borgia, Anthony. (Rev. Hugh Benson) Life in the World Unseen, 1954 (p. 114) Kindle E-Book edition by Geoff Cutler

[3] Stainton Moses, William. Spirit Teachings. 1898, (p. 237) Memorial Edition, London Spiritualist Alliance

[4] Roberts, Jane. The Seth Material (Kindle Location 4216). New Awareness Network, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

[5] Newton, Michael. Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives (Kindle Location 2232). Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.. Kindle Edition.

[6] Michael Newton. Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (Kindle Location 3229). Kindle Edition.

[7] Roberts, Jane. The Nature of Personal Reality: Specific, Practical Techniques for Solving Everyday Problems and Enriching the Life You Know (A Seth Book) (Kindle Location 2476). Amber-Allen Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[8] Schwartz, Robert. Your Soul’s Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born (p. 28). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

[9] DeMarco, Frank. Rita’s World: A View from the Non-Physical (Rita Warren) (Kindle Locations 1368-1369). Rainbow Ridge Books. Kindle Edition.

[10] Roberts, Jane (Seth). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. 1972. (p. 8) Amber-Allan Publishing

[11] Mattson Taylor, Ruth. Evidence from Beyond (A.D. Mattson) as cited from Betty, Stafford. The Afterlife Unveiled: What the Dead are Telling Us About Their World (Kindle Location 1346). John Hunt Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[12] Schwartz, Robert. Your Soul’s Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born (p. 22). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

[13] Cummins, Geraldine. (Frederick W.H. Myers) The Road to Immortality. 1932 (p. 11)

[14] DeMarco, Frank. Rita’s World: A View from the Non-Physical (Kindle Location 1431). Rainbow Ridge Books. Kindle Edition.

[15] Moses, William Stainton. Spirit Teachings (Kindle Location 4567). Kindle Edition.

[16] Roberts, Jane (Seth). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. 1972. (p. 363) Amber-Allan Publishing

[17] Roberts, Jane. The Seth Material (Kindle Location 1951). New Awareness Network, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

[18] Roberts, Jane. The After Death Journal of an American Philosopher. The World View of William James. 1978. (p. 82)

[19] Dennett, Daniel. Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness, 2005 (p. 2)

[20] Roberts, Jane (Seth). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. 1972. (p. 8) Amber-Allan Publishing

[21] Daniel Dennett, Freedom Evolves (2003), p. 2.

[22] DeMarco, Frank. Rita’s World: A View from the Non-Physical (Kindle Location 351). Rainbow Ridge Books. Kindle Edition.