There was a dramatic increase in the suicide rate during the Great Depression of the 1930s. If people who are losing their life savings in the current economic crisis are similarly inclined, they should reconsider. According to messages from the spirit world, they’ll just take their problems with them.

While there is a certain amount of conflicting information coming through mediums, the discerning student of mediumship comes to understand that spirits are not all-knowing, that some know little, if anything, more than they did when incarnate, that some are devious and intend to mislead, and that for the well-intentioned spirit, explaining celestial matters in terrestrial terms can be extremely difficult. Moreover, messages are often unintentionally “colored” by the mind of the medium, or they can be misinterpreted by the medium.

However, suicide is one subject on which the spirit messages all seem to agree. While there may be some conflicting messages relative to suicide by terminally-ill people, the messages overwhelmingly condemn traditional suicide. They strongly suggest that the individual who hopes to escape from his or her problems here in the material world does not do so.

Communicating through Gladys Osborne Leonard, a trance-voice medium, Claude Kelway-Bamber, a British pilot killed during World War I, told his mother that nothing can kill the soul. “You see, therefore, a suicide, far from escaping trouble, only goes from one form of misery to another; he cannot annihilate himself and pass to nothingness,” Claude stated.

In her 1964 book, Post-Mortem Journal, Jane Sherwood, an automatic writing medium, related information coming to her from a spirit known as “Scott,” a pseudonym for a spirit later identified as Colonel T. E. Lawrence, aka “Lawrence of Arabia.” Scott told of encountering one of his old friends in the afterlife, one who had killed himself. “He was in a kind of stupor and I was told that he might remain in this state for a long time and that nothing could be done about it,” he penned through Sherwood’s hand. “We watched over him and were loath to leave him in the misty half-region where he was found…Until he regained consciousness there he had to remain; had we forcibly removed him his poor body would not have been able to stand the conditions of our plane…Now and again I went back to find him still in the same quiet coma, and seeing the state of his astral form I almost dreaded his awakening.”

Scott went on to say that such long-lasting comas are common with suicides. “It is really a merciful pause during which some of the damage to their emotional bodies is quietly made good.” Scott and others attempted to help their old friend, but his condition was such that progress was slow.

“I am told that there is a belief that suicides remain in coma until the time when they would normally have died,” Scott added. “This is one of those propositions which are impossible of proof, since no one can say when their hour would have struck had they not anticipated it. It is a fact that this state of coma lasts for varying periods, but there is also a long period of unconsciousness in many who have come by violent deaths. A suicide differs from such a one because his emotional state is usually far worse and takes much longer to clear, but a long period of coma may supervene on death in either case…Eventually he must awaken and take on the task of fitting himself to enter his own appropriate sphere of being. This is where he can be and is helped. There is often a long convalescence before he can get free of the sin and suffering of his violent end.”

Lillian Bailey, a renowned medium, also received messages about suicide. One spirit communicated through her that the suicide will have to live through that which his physical body would have had to endure. “He will see the whole thing happening. He will be consciously living with the same problems, although there will be no one condemning him and there will be beauty all around him.”

The spirit went on to say that even though the suicide may feel he was justified in taking his own life, he is still a “gatecrasher” and that things are not ready for him in the spirit world. “It is very difficult to tell you how wrong it is. He can’t go very far. He can only reach a certain ‘half-way’ stage His dear ones may not be able to get to him – something like Berlin’s Wall…”

Another spirit communicating through Bailey said: “It isn’t what you’ve got, or whether you are blind, deaf or dumb, it’s how you meet it. It isn’t so much what you do; it’s the motive you have for doing it.”

Red Cloud, the spirit guide of Estelle Roberts, one of England’s great mediums, communicated that the person who commits suicide undergoes a premature birth into the spirit world. “He cannot immediately reach the plane of consciousness to which is evolution would entitle him had he fulfilled his allotted span on earth. Instead he remains suspended between the earth and the astral plane, which the first stage beyond earth. In this state he is deprived, for the time being, of the company of his loved ones in the spirit world, unable to cross the barrier raised by his premature birth. Only when he has advanced in his evolution to the required degree can he rejoin those he knew and loved.”

For more than 40 years, a spirit entity calling himself Silver Birch (believed to be a pseudonym for a collective spirit group) spoke through the entranced Maurice Barbanell. Frequently, members of the circle put questions to Silver Birch. When asked what the status of the suicide is in the spirit world, Silver Birch replied that he could not give an answer that applies to everyone. “It depends on the earthly life that has been lived,” he said through Barbanell’s vocal cords. “It depends upon the soul’s progress; and, above all these things, it depends on the motive. The churches are wrong when they say that all suicide comes in the same category; it does not. While you have no right to terminate your earthly existence, there are undoubtedly in many cases, ameliorating factors, mitigating circumstances, to be considered.. No soul is better off because it has terminated its earthly existence. But it does not automatically follow that every suicide is consigned for aeons ot time into the darkest of the dark spheres.”

Many similar messages have come through other mediums. In their 2006 book, Suicide: What Really Happens in the Afterlife? Pamela Rae Heath, M.D. , Psy.D. and Jon Klimo, Ph.D. examine scores of messages from the spirit world about suicide, some from the spirits who took their own lives. A good part of their book deals with suicide bombers and what happens to them in the afterlife. If they truly believe they are doing God’s will and see themselves as martyrs to the cause, are they judged harshly, or do they judge themselves harshly? While there is next to nothing on this subject in the historical literature, Heath and Klimo went looking for answers among modern channelers or mediums. The fate of the suicide bomber will be the subject of the next blog entry here, on October 25.

 

There are very extreme views as to what should happen to suicide bombers in the afterlife.   At one extreme, they are seen as heroic martyrs in the service of God and should be richly rewarded.  At the other extreme, they are nothing but savage murderers who should "burn in hell" for eternity.  Emotionally, at least, there seems to be no middle ground. 

As discussed in the last blog post here, suicide is one subject on which spirit communicators all seem to agree.  They condemn it.   At least, that is so with traditional suicide.   However, there is very little in the many communications that have come to us from the spirit world in recent centuries relative to non-traditional suicide, more specifically to what we call suicide bombers.  Of course, we are talking murder as well as suicide, which further complicates the matter.

Leaving emotion aside, the rational person can struggle in attempting to reconcile the act with the motive.  If the suicide bomber truly believes that he (or she) is sacrificing himself and taking the lives of those he kills for a greater good and is doing God's will,  it is difficult to believe that he will be judged harshly by a benevolent God.  If we judge ourselves, as many modern spirit messages seem to suggest, rather than standing before a tribunal of judges or before God, why should we think that the suicide bomber will suddenly realize the error of his ways and judge himself harshly? 

  

In their 2006 book, Suicide:  What really happens in the afterlife? Pamela Rae Heath, M.D., Psy.D., and Jon Klimo, Ph.D., recognize the dilemma and the lack of material on the subject.   "What ultimately lies behind the terminal behavior of a suicide bomber does not lend itself to simple analysis," they point out. 

Indeed, underneath their supposedly idealistic objectives, some suicide bombers may be driven by hatred, anger, envy, pride, fear, frustration, even lust in the case of those who expect to be greeted by 72 virgins.  If they see their afterlife as being better than their current squalor, it would seem that their reasons are more self-serving than altruistic.

At the same time, there may be some altruistic motives mixed in with the egoistic motives.   There may be some suicide bombers whose motives are predominately altruistic while the egoistic motives control to a much lesser extent.  In effect, it is not a black and white situation. There are various shades of gray that must be sifted through in analyzing the mindset of the suicide bomber and we should not expect them to be all of the same mindset.   Further, there is the issue of whether the seemingly altruistic motives are spiritual or material.  If the objective is to make one's relatives and friends better off materially rather than spiritually, then it may be misguided altruism.

It is difficult to believe that the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II were driven by hatred, anger, and rewards in the afterlife.   At least history has been kind to them in that respect, suggesting that they were driven, to the extent they had any choice,   by a sense of honor and loyalty to their emperor and country.  If the kamikaze pilots and the modern suicide bombers were all victims of "brainwashing," should they be punished severely in the afterlife for having been "simpleminded" and for not having been stronger in resisting more powerful minds?

 Because of the various shades of gray running through the minds of the suicide bomber, it seems reasonable to assume that they do not meet with equal "justice" in the afterlife.  Of course, the orthodox religionist who believes in only a dichotomous afterlife, i.e., the traditional humdrum heaven and horrific hell, may struggle to grasp that idea or totally reject it because it is not consistent with established dogma and doctrine.  Those not so fettered have come to see an afterlife with as many states as there are degrees of goodness and evil in this life.   As Christ said, "In my Father's house are many mansions."  

Heath and Klimo attempted to get an afterlife perspective on the situation by having several reputable channelers contact some of the suicide bombers or their guides in the afterlife.  While recognizing that channeled messages can be distorted, misinterpreted, or otherwise may not be what they are said to be, Heath and Klimo presented their findings for whatever they are worth.

"...in one channeling session, the guides that came through insisted that all terrorist souls are met by an entity, if only to make sure that their emotion does not contaminate the astral realm," Heath and Klimo write, going on to point out that one of the guides communicated that they are dealing in terms that do not exist in our realm and therefore it is difficult to describe.  But, generally, most of them seem to be bewildered and slow to recognize they are dead.

All terrorists spirits appear to undergo a life-review, as do all other spirits who pass over. However, as with many other spirits, this life-review is not so much about judgment as it is about learning.  "This may be a long and difficult period, as the spirits have to review not only their own life, but that of those they had harmed, along with the impact their actions had on others," Heath and Klimo point out.  "Their progress appears to be slowed down by the strength which terrorists hold on to their own belief patterns (and may not be helped by their argumentative nature).  Only one terrorist spirit claimed to have finished his life review (which could not be confirmed through other mediums); some appeared to be in the midst of it, while many did not appear to have started the process."

In effect, most of the terrorists contacted by the channelers still seemed to be floundering in the "ethers," what one guide referred to as the "gray area."    Another guide communicated that they appeared to be in a drugged state and slow to adjust to their new environment.   In some cases, the terrorists seem to be placed in something of a "holding pattern" until the guides feel they are capable of learning and advancing.  One guide pointed out that they can be in this state from a month to a thousand years in linear time.    The channeled messages also suggested that relatively few suicide bombers express regrets compared to traditional suicides.    

  

The bottom line seems to be that the suicide bombers do not realize the rewards they are told to expect, but neither do they experience the fiery hell of orthodoxy.   They may experience a "fire of the mind," especially if their motives were more self-serving than altruistic, but all are given the opportunity to learn from the experience and eventually advance.