The Journey Beyond Death

In the Oneness Movement (OM), death is seen as the next step in the consciousness's eternal journey. Once consciousness leaves the physical vessel, it enters a dynamic spiritual realm where its path is shaped by karmic resonance—the sum of the soul’s attachments, actions, and level of awareness. The ultimate goal of all souls is to move toward the realization of Oneness, transcending all attachments and illusions of separation.

While the core of OM’s understanding is rooted in direct gnosis of Oneness, the journey through the spiritual realm may involve encounters with other entities—both benevolent and malicious—based on the soul’s karmic state. Drawing on insights from NDEs, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, shamanic traditions, and other spiritual perspectives, OM presents a comprehensive vision of what happens after death, while maintaining its unique focus on the soul’s evolution toward Oneness.

1. The Initial Transition: Leaving the Physical Vessel

At the moment of death, consciousness sheds the physical body and enters the spiritual or consciousness realm. In this state, the soul’s karmic resonance begins to guide its journey.

• Clinging to the Physical Realm: Souls with heavy attachments—whether to ego, fear, or unresolved desires—may linger near the physical world as spirits. In OM, this attachment is seen as a reflection of lower consciousness, where the soul remains entangled in illusions of separation. These souls may become restless or confused until they are gently guided forward by higher beings or their own realization of the need to move on.

• Encounters with Entities: Depending on its karmic resonance, the soul may encounter other entities within the spiritual realm. These entities can range from benevolent guides who seek to help the soul on its journey, to malicious spirits or lower-level consciousnesses that thrive on fear, manipulation, and torment. The nature of these encounters is often determined by the soul’s vibrational state, with souls burdened by lower consciousness or unresolved fears attracting more negative entities.

  Supporting Insight: NDEs often describe encounters with both loving beings of light and more frightening, shadowy figures. In OM, these experiences are seen as a reflection of the soul’s inner state and karmic vibration, which attracts like energies in the spiritual realm.

2. Karmic Resonance and the Pull Toward Different Realms

As consciousness moves further into the spiritual realms, its karmic resonance becomes a powerful force that pulls the soul toward specific realms of experience. These realms may be reflective of the soul’s attachments, unresolved issues, or lessons that must be integrated before it can move on.

• Hellish Realms: For souls burdened by heavy karmic debts, unresolved egoic attachments, or malicious intentions in life, their karmic resonance may pull them toward hellish realms. In these places, malicious spirits or lower consciousnesses may indulge in torment and torture as a form of entertainment. However, in OM, such realms are not permanent; they are seen as part of the cleansing process for the soul.

  • The soul may endure these experiences until it realizes that it no longer has a physical body and that the pain it is experiencing is an illusion of attachment. This realization is a key part of the soul’s liberation from these realms, allowing it to release its attachments and move forward in its journey.

  Supporting Insight: The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes how souls may encounter frightening or wrathful deities, which are projections of their own mind. OM aligns with this view but emphasizes that encounters with external entities can also occur, reflecting the broader interconnectedness of all consciousness. The soul's ability to overcome these illusions and detach from fear leads to its eventual liberation.

• Heavenly Realms: Similarly, karmic resonance may also pull souls toward heavenly realms, often created by higher consciousnesses who reside in a state of love, peace, and harmony. These realms provide a temporary experience of bliss and reward, but in OM, they are not the ultimate goal. These experiences, while positive, are still part of the illusion of separation and are not permanent. The soul must eventually move beyond these heavenly realms as well, to continue its journey toward Oneness.

  Supporting Insight: In Hinduism, the concept of Svarga (heavenly worlds) reflects this idea. Souls may enjoy time in a blissful realm before their karmic resonance pulls them back into the cycle of rebirth. OM echoes this, teaching that even these pleasurable experiences are transitory and that the soul must eventually transcend all dualities, whether they be pleasure or pain.

3. Recognizing Illusions and Transcending Attachments

As the soul traverses these realms, the key to moving forward is the ability to recognize the illusory nature of its experiences. Whether in a hellish or heavenly realm, the consciousness is still navigating within the illusion of duality, created by its own attachments, fears, and desires.

• Detaching from Illusion: OM teaches that the soul’s journey through these realms is an opportunity to release its attachments to both suffering and pleasure. Once the soul realizes that these realms are projections of its own karmic resonance—and that it no longer has a physical form to attach to—the soul is liberated from these experiences and can move forward toward higher states of awareness.

  Supporting Insight: The Tibetan Book of the Dead emphasizes that awareness during the Bardo stages is key to achieving liberation. In OM, this awareness allows the soul to see through the illusions of both pain and pleasure, transcending them as temporary experiences on the path to Oneness.

4. Reincarnation or Merging with Oneness

Once the soul has resolved its karmic attachments and transcended the illusions of the spiritual realms, it is presented with a choice: to reincarnate or to merge back into Oneness.

• Reincarnation: Souls that still have lessons to learn or karma to resolve may choose to reincarnate, returning to Earth or another realm to continue their journey. OM teaches that reincarnation is not a punishment but an opportunity for growth and deeper realization of Oneness.

• Merging with Oneness: For souls that have fully transcended their attachments, the ultimate path is to merge back into Oneness, dissolving their individual identity and returning to the source of all consciousness. This is the final liberation, where the soul no longer needs to experience duality and separation.

  Supporting Insight: In Hinduism, this is equivalent to Moksha (liberation), where the soul is freed from the cycle of birth and death. OM shares this view but emphasizes that merging with Oneness is the realization of the ultimate truth: that all beings are interconnected and part of the same universal consciousness.

5. The Infinite Journey Beyond

Even after merging with Oneness, OM recognizes that consciousness is infinite and boundless. There are possibilities for exploration, service, and creation beyond what the mind can comprehend. Some highly conscious beings may choose to return to help guide others on their journey, while others may explore higher realms of existence and experience beyond the physical and spiritual planes.

Conclusion: The Eternal Journey Toward Oneness

In OM, the journey after death is a sacred and dynamic process, where the soul’s karmic resonance guides it through various realms of experience. Whether encountering benevolent guides or malicious entities, traveling through hellish or heavenly realms, or recognizing the illusory nature of these experiences, the soul is always moving toward the ultimate realization of Oneness.

The encounters and experiences a soul faces after death are part of the cleansing and growth process, designed to help it shed attachments, resolve karma, and awaken to its true nature as part of the infinite whole. While insights from other traditions enrich this understanding, the OM framework centers on the truth that all consciousness is one, and the soul’s ultimate destination is the realization and return to this Oneness.