After death we live for some time in the astral world in the astral body used during our life on earth, and the more we learn to control and use it wisely now the better for us after death.
At physical death man loses his consciousness of the flesh and becomes conscious of his astral body in the astral world. Thus physical death is astral birth. Later, he passes from the consciousness of luminous astral birth to the consciousness of dark astral death and awakens in a new physical body. Thus astral death is physical birth. These recurrent cycles of physical and astral encasements are the ineluctable destiny of all unenlightened men.
The sphere ... which is located beyond our physical world is called the earth zone. It is also known as the zone girdling the earth. This zone has varying degrees of density, the so-called sub-planes, into which human beings enter after they leave their physical bodies. This is the astral world that individuals enter into with their astral bodies after their physical death.
We create the possibility for a better human form in our next life if during our jamaloca existence after death, when we still have an astral body, we can have memories connected with music.
Beings with un-redeemed earthly karma are not permitted after astral death to go to the high causal sphere of cosmic ideas , but must shuttle to and fro from the physical and astral worlds.
The activities and effects of the Fire and Air elements in the astral sphere call forth the astral-electric fluid, and the activities and effects of the Water and Earth elements call forth the astral-magnetic fluid. The spirit-beings use these fluids to create the effects or rather the causes in our physical world. The Akasha Principle of the astral sphere maintains the harmonious equilibrium of the elements in the entire astral sphere.
When you die, i.e., when your physical body is finished with this earth ... and your astral entity goes on to the astral world ... it has to stand alone and answer for successes and failures.
Every man at time of Death,
Would fain set forth some saying that may live
After his death and better humankind;
For death gives life's last word a power to live,
And, lie the stone-cut epitaph, remain
After the vanished voice, and speak to men.
Knowledge of life in the astral world leads us to a conclusion of fundamental importance, namely that the physical world is the product of the astral world.
You can move in and through the astral worlds once you have gained control of your subtle body. The astral worlds are the back corridors of eternity!
Some people travel to other dimensions in their astral bodies when they meditate. But astral traveling doesn't bring a person lasting happiness. If astral traveling is not done properly, it can be quite dangerous.
... All these preparations clearly show that a human being must perfect himself in the physical world through his magical development in order to be prepared for the higher astral world after death.
Death is not a blotting-out of existence, a final escape from life; nor is death the door to immortality. He who has fled his Self in earthly joys will not recapture It amidst the gossamer charms of an astral world. There he merely accumulates finer perceptions and more sensitive responses to the beautiful and the good, which are one. It is on the anvil of this gross earth that struggling man must hammer out the imperishable gold of spiritual identity.
Many great works of art, poetry, and music are inspired by astral memories. The desire to do noble, beautiful things here on Earth is also often a carryover of astral experiences between a person's earth lives.
The "kingdom of heaven" to which he referred was the state of God-consciousness, not the beautiful astral heavens that most people visualize, where virtuous souls go after death.
Whatever life after death is, being with Christ which is far better, being in Paradise like the thief, etc, the many rooms where we go immediately... that is the temporary place. The ultimate life after life after death is the resurrection in God's new world.
In the past our glorious visions of the future - heaven, paradise, nirvana - were thought to happen after death. The newer thought is that we do not have to die to get there. We are not speaking here of life after death in some mythical heaven, but life more abundant in real time in history. We are speaking of the next stage of our social evolution.