A Beginners Approach to Unseen Reality or Drops in the Ocean

A Beginners Approach

to Unseen Reality

or Drops in the Ocean

A Beginners Approach to Unseen Reality

Copyright ©2021 by Carol Horrigan

Cover photo by istockphoto

Cover design by Travis

ISBN xxxxxx

Smashwords Edition Copyright September 2021

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Photos of India

Photos of India 2

Photos of India 3

Chapter 1: Ideas Take Shape

Chapter 2: Looking at Reality Realistically

Chapter 3: The Astral Body and Astral Projection

Chapter 4: The Death and Near Death Experience

Chapter 5: Communications from the Spirit World

Chapter 6: Return to a Happier Place

Chapter 7: Unseen Healing Really Happens

Chapter 8: Meditation It's Magic

Chapter 9: Here we Are Again

Chapter 10: Glimpses into the Past

Chapter 11: Becoming familiar With the Ancient Wisdom

Chapter 12: Sai Baba - The God Man

Chapter 13: Experiences in India

Conclusion

Appendix 1 Animals - Where do they fit in?

Appendix 2 Rock of Truth

Appendix 3 Extra Sensory Perception

Bibliography

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to:

SWAMI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

SOUTHERN INDIA

PRASANTHI NILAYAM,

PUTTAPARTHI,

ANDHRA PRADESH,

INTRODUCTION

My parents professed to be Christians, strictly Church of England, of the variety who tried to practice Christian values in their lives, namely, 'Don't do anyone harm and help others when you can.' They only attended church for baptisms, weddings and funerals. Like so many other children, who grew up in the middle of the twentieth century, my parents thought they were doing the right thing by me by insisting that I attend Sunday School each week. They responded to my reluctance with remarks such as. 'It won't do you any harm to have a bit of religion in your life.'

My earliest memories of religion stemmed back to my childhood in London and were not particularly inspiring. Sunday school was held in a small, dreary church hall, which always felt cold and whose main stained glass windows shut out almost all trace of sunshine. I can still picture the Sunday School teacher, a small, mousey woman, whose two favourite hymns were apparently Lead, kindly light amidst the encircling gloom and For those in peril on the sea. Apart from singing those two hymns every week regularly, there was the occasional rendering of' Onward Christian Soldiers. The only other impressions I can remember having learned in the six years I attended, were that God was everywhere and all-knowing, and that our sins had been washed away by the blood of Jesus.

That hour from three to four every Sunday was the longest and most boring hour of the entire week. I resented being forced to go, as apart from the lack of any genuine interest in the proceedings, the timing itself was so inconvenient. After the traditional Sunday roast, many of my more fortunate friends, whose parents has less concern for their offspring’s’ religious instruction, were allowed to go and spend the afternoon in the local park or recreation ground. Joining them was out of the question for me. There was not enough time to go before Sunday School started and by the time it was over it was too late, as most people were making their way home for afternoon tea. Occasionally, on fine sunny days, I would pluck up enough courage to play truant, spending the collection money I had been given on penny ice lollies. I did not take this course of action very often, I might add, as two fears continually haunted me when I attempted to veer from the straight and narrow. At the time the worst and potentially imminent of these was that Mum and Dad might decide to walk up and meet me from church. Punishment would surely follow when they realised that in fact I had not been there. The other lesser, but nonetheless daunting thought was that even if they did not find out that I had been deceitful, God, who was watching me all the time, would certainly know and I might end up in hell.

At the age of eight years, I was enrolled in a church school, primarily because it was the closest school to my home. The school had strong connections with the Anglican Church of Saint Andrew. A weekly church service and regular religious instruction from the priest were an integral part of the school programme. Looking back it seems a great deal of valuable educational time was devoted to familiarising us with the Stations of the Cross and practising for the Christmas nativity play, held each year in the church. I suppose to a degree I was given a religious background during my impressionable years through the school I attended, but fortunately this aspect of my life was not really reinforced at home by my family.

I believe the greatest influence in our lives comes from learning experiences within the family situation and in my case there was little emphasis placed on religion. As a result, the ideas I absorbed which formulated my belief system only seemed to strike a superficial cord, so that later in life when I was introduced to alternative ideas about God and reality, I was easily able to consider them without finding them too threatening. Some people whom I have met are in a more disadvantageous position. So deeply have they been influenced at an early age by school, church and especially family, that eventually many years later as adults they fear to question or expand anything they have previous been taught. A small child has no defence against anything adults tell him or her. If these adults are significant people in his/her life, whose approval he or she craves, the child's natural instinct is to please by not attempting to question the higher authority. It is unfortunate if the information given is incorrect or incomplete. The child's lack of awareness makes it impossible for him to do anything other than to accept and believe what he or she is being taught.

During my teenage years I became friendly with a very devout church goer and for a couple of years we attended church together. At the age of seventeen, I began courting the man who was to become my husband. Attending church regularly gradually dwindled, as I chose to pursue other activities on Sundays. The friend, incidentally, eventually married a clergyman. Around this time, I began to engage in a lot of inner soul searching. Whether or not I attended church now seems irrelevant. God's omnipresence and Jesus having redeemed us from our sins had become much less of a reality. The question of paramount importance in my life seemed to be Do I believe in the existence of God? I found myself thinking about this issue constantly, and this led to a continual need in me to look for evidence of His existence. I would say to myself, There must be a god or how else could everything come into being? If there is no god, how do trees and plants grow? How do babies develop from such humble beginnings?

After about twelve months of churning over such thoughts I came to the conclusion that God was impersonal and must exist as nature itself. Conventional Christianity as such, together with attending church, were pushed to the back of my mind. Occasionally I would experience moments of anxiety, when I would consider the possibility that maybe I should try to be more 'religious'. At such times I would conclude that perhaps I would end up in hell after all. In the main. I managed to slip into the familiar pattern my parents has set, that is trying to lead a good life and attending church on special occasions. Eventually, after we came to Australia, I even sent my own children to Sunday School.

Basically I had developed the same attitude as my own parents in this respect. Without a doubt, a little religious instruction would do them no harm.

The essence of this book is an indirect account of why and how my own conventional but neglected belief system was gradually transformed into a 'knowingness,' which embraced a wider reality. Much of the body of this book is concerned with a review of some of the literature, which I found particularly helpful and enlightening in the early days of my search for knowledge and truth. I hope my readers will find my experience of some value in then own search.

Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. (563-483 BC) long ago addressed his monks, stressing the dominant theme that one should not necessarily believe the word of others, merely because they command higher authority, but one should form one's own conclusions from one’s own studies, examinations and evaluations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my husband John, and many of my friends for their help and support whilst I have been writing this book. These include Jan Radford, Aileen Rooney, Pamela Bunn, Geoff Palmer, Samantha Maddison, Carole Chantler, Kath Baker, Angela Lehmann and Anne Arnold. I would like to mention especially Mishka Carter and Mac Wells for their work on the PCW in preparing the final draft of the manuscript. Travis James for his work in the preparation of this book.

I would also like to acknowledge the importance of the work of other authors whose research has been invaluable to me in gathering information.

Finally, I would like to thank my spirit guides for increasing my awareness, and God for blessing me with an incarnation during the lifetime of Sai Baba.

PHOTOS OF INDIA

PHOTOS OF INDIA 2

PHOTOS OF INDIA 3

CHAPTER 1 IDEAS TAKE SHAPE

This book has been written after a great deal of serious thought. In writing it, my aim is not to convert people to my way of thinking, but to try to present the reader with some of the facts which they may possibly be quite unaware of. The topics which follow are occasionally mentioned by the media. In most cases they are usually presented on a very superficial level that is often coloured with a negative attitude and strong flavour of disbelief. Frequently the 'Occult' is falsely equated with 'Black Magic', even though 'Occult Teaching' actually means 'Hidden Teaching'.

From my own experiences, reading and research, I am attempting to give a broad overview of an alternative way of looking at reality, by presenting some facts and ideas that the average person may not have considered as yet. At the time of writing, I am not claiming to be an expert on the subject, but I have been studying these complex and important issues for about twenty years. As a result, I am convinced from the enormous amount of cumulative evidence in existence, from various sources, that survival after death and the related concept of reincarnation are distinct possibilities. I use the word evidence rather than proof, as only personal experience together with an inner intuitive 'knowing' can be the final proof for each individual.

On first discovering some of the evidence, my immediate reaction was that it all sounded too good to be true. I admit that I interpreted my own reaction as being largely due to wishful thinking. I anticipate that this could also be the reaction of some readers. However, I felt convinced that it could possibly be true, because it all sounded so feasible. I kept studying and was quite amazed at the amount of scientific evidence that seemed to verify age old mystical beliefs. There is indeed an enormous amount of evidence by prominent and reliable people in a number of well-established research fields. The possibility of survival after death, extrasensory perception, psychic healing and related subjects are generally regarded as belonging to the realms of the supernatural. They are in fact dependent upon natural laws, which are not yet fully understood.

My own studies have changed my whole attitude towards life and death and brought me a great deal of personal comfort. I hope that I will be able to help people, who have been brought-up with purely conventional ideas about the nature of life and death, come to more satisfactory terms with these realities. In our society, death is more or less considered, 'The Great Unmentionable' - Public Enemy No. 1. An event, which only seems to happen to other people. Of course we know deep down inside that it will happen to ourselves eventually. Most of us tend to think that we really do not have to bother thinking about it too much, because it is probably not going to happen to us for ages anyway. However, coping with the death of someone close to us, especially perhaps if that person is still young or has died under tragic circumstances, can be traumatic and totally devastating. Such an event will obviously take a long time to adjust to. During the weeks following the death of a much loved relative or friend, the emotions will certainly take over, and of course giving vent to feelings of grief must not be denied in those early days. However, the ordeal can be made more endurable, if that feeling of absolute despair over the loss, can be eased. Being aware that the loved one has not been snuffed out like a candle and lost to us forever can be a great comfort after bereavement.

Similarly, having to face our own death sooner or later can, with a greater understanding of the nature of life and death, eventually come to be considered as a perfectly 'natural event', rather than a moment of 'doom', to be dreaded and feared all through our lives.

In every known culture, belief in a continued life after death has been present. Surely there must be a basis of truth for such a universal belief. It seems unlikely that it has been just the 'wishful thinking' of millions of people since the dawn of time. There is, in actual fact, a great deal of evidence, both scientific and anecdotal, to suggest that the process of dying is merely a changing of our consciousness. I feel sure that when we die we are really going back to our natural home, the place where we existed before we were born into the material world. In other words, the true nature of man is spirit, which at times (during a lifetime) becomes physical for a while and after death returns to spirit. If one looks at it like that, death is really a rebirth into a happier, more pleasant, and natural state, where we actually belong.

I can look back over chance events, thoughts and feelings, which although sufficiently important to remember, seemed to have no connections or real significance at the time. It is sometimes only in retrospect that one can realise that a certain interest or attitude was slowly beginning to develop. I did not become aware of this new perspective, on a conscious level, for quite some time. Over the years, my own pointers became apparent, long before I realised which direction my spiritual development would lead me.

Many years before I had developed a conscious interest in Spiritualism or possible survival after death I remember seeing a séance advertised in our local paper in Blackpool. For some unknown reason I felt curious about what might happen at such gatherings and was tempted to go along and find out for myself. I changed my mind at the last minute, but a seed had been planted. A few years later, I had a particularly vivid dream in which I was with my father, who had died about six years previously. In the dream I could physically feel his arms around me as he said to me, 'You know I love you Carol'. This was a particularly pertinent remark as we were not