Finding Freedom in the Afterlife: How Understanding Death Frees the Soul
- Brooklyn Hadfield
- Feb 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 6
“The soul is not born, nor does it ever die; nor having once been, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless.”
– The Bhagavad Gita
Many of us carry misconceptions or a deep-seated fear of death, seeing it as the end of all we know. Yet, countless spiritual traditions teach that physical death is not an end, but a gateway—a transition where the soul continues its journey in the spirit realm. By letting go of fear and embracing a deeper understanding, we create the conditions for a peaceful passage into the light, ensuring that our consciousness thrives beyond the physical world as we continue our eternal journey.
✨Reframing Death: Consciousness Endures
Upon physical death, it is natural for a soul to return home to the divine, also known as "heaven", seamlessly transitioning into the next phase of its journey. As Plato so beautifully expressed,
"The soul takes flight to the world that is invisible, and upon arriving, she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise."
However, not all souls transition with ease. Some remain earthbound, tethered to the physical world by unresolved emotions, fear, denial of their passing, or unfinished business. These lingering souls, commonly referred to as ghosts, find themselves unable to fully move on, caught between realms.
When death is met with intense fear, deep confusion, or a lack of awareness about what comes next, some souls struggle to move forward. Instead, they may linger in a state of emotional distress, feeling lost or incomplete. In some cases, they attach themselves to the living, potentially causing physiological and psychological disturbances for the individual they connect with. This attachment not only disrupts the well-being of the living but also delays the soul’s transition into the light, preventing its reunion with loved ones and the peaceful continuation of its journey.
However, when we shift our understanding of death from ignorance, finality, or punishment to a natural continuation of the soul’s journey, fear begins to dissolve. This change in perspective enables souls to transition effortlessly, embracing healing, peace, and a joyful reunion with their loved ones. A smooth and peaceful passage into the light is shaped by awareness, acceptance, readiness and forgiveness. These simple yet profound states of being enable the soul to release resistance and move effortlessly beyond the physical world.
✨The Glory Be: A Prayer of Eternal Continuity
One of my favorite prayers, The Glory Be prayer serves as a powerful reminder of the infinite continuum of life beyond physical death. Grounded in wisdom, it acknowledges the eternal presence of God and life—past, present, and future—affirming that existence does not cease with the end of our earthly journey:
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
This sacred prayer speaks to the unbroken cycle of existence, reinforcing the idea that life transcends the material realm. It reminds us that the soul’s journey continues beyond what we can see, aligning with the greater spiritual continuum.
✨Transcending Death: A Meditative Journey into Pure Consciousness
Meditation transformed my understanding of death during my teenage years, as I began to meditate deeply and experience the direct presence of pure consciousness—the vast, infinite awareness that exists beyond the limitations of the physical world. Through these profound moments of silence, I learned to connect with my eternal self—a boundless field of consciousness that transcends time and space, flowing effortlessly across lifetimes, realms, and dimensions.
In these moments of pure awareness, I could feel the unbroken continuity of my being, untouched by the impermanence of the body. Any misguided and limiting ideas I held about death—so deeply ingrained from my human experience and upbringing as a Catholic, began to dissolve as I realized that what we call "death" is not the end, but merely a transition—one chapter in the ever-unfolding journey of the soul. With each meditation, I deepened my connection to this timeless essence, awakening to the truth that life and death are a part of the same divine continuum.
✨Spiritual Awareness: Preparing for a Peaceful Transition
"Death and birth are one and the same. To be born on the Earth we have to die there on the other side. And the reverse is true: to be born there we have to die here but all that means is that we change one form of existence to another." –Wanda Pratnicka
Renowned psychologist, parapsychologist, spiritual teacher, and exorcist Wanda Pratnicka has over 45 years of experience in the field of spiritual psychology. She has helped tens of thousands of individuals worldwide suffering from emotional and mental disturbances, as well as physical illnesses deemed incurable. In her book Possessed By Ghosts, she explores the profound connection between our perception of death and the quality of our transition beyond the physical world. She writes,
"I'm writing this, dear reader, to make you realize that what you know about death, what you think about it during your life, and what you expect of it bears on what will come to you after death, on how your fate will unfold in the future."
Pratnicka’s insights underscore the profound influence our beliefs and expectations have on both our experience of death and what unfolds beyond the physical realm. She suggests that fear, denial, or misconceptions about death can create barriers to a smooth transition, potentially leaving souls tethered to the earthly plane in confusion or unrest. By consciously examining our perceptions of mortality while we are still alive, we have the opportunity to cultivate a deeper understanding of the eternal nature of existence. This awareness not only fosters peace in life but also ensures a more seamless passage when our time comes.
✨Final Thoughts
Death can be seen and experienced as a homecoming—a joyous return to the source of creation and a natural step in our soul’s evolution. Much of the fear of death stems from uncertainty, yet trusting in the persistence of consciousness transforms this fear into an inevitable and peaceful transition. Freed from physical constraints, the soul continues its journey, growing, learning, and reconnecting with loved ones. In this view, death becomes a gentle, natural step forward rather than a final ending.
As the Tibetan Book of the Dead's poem, Death’s Messengers, reminds us, true freedom after death comes not from fear or ignorance, but from awareness and deeper understanding. Through wisdom and insight, we free ourselves from the possibility of becoming earthbound after physical death, allowing the soul to continue its journey beyond the material realm. By embracing death as a transition rather than an end and recognizing the continuity of consciousness, we create the conditions for a peaceful passage into the light—an experience divinely intended to be one of the most natural, profound and uplifting celebrations of our existence.
Death's Messengers
All they who thoughtless are, not heed,
What time Death's messengers appear,
Must long the pangs of suffering feel
In some base body habiting.
But all those good and holy men,
What time they see death's messengers,
Behave not thoughtless, but give heed
To what the noble doctrine says;
And in attachment frighted see
Of birth and death the fertile source,
And from attachment free themselves,
Thus birth and death extinguishing.
Secure and happy ones are they,
Released from all the fleeting show;
Exempted from all sin and fear,
All misery have they overcome.
– Anguttara-N'Kaya
Resources for Further Exploration:
Dawa-Samdup, Lama Kazi (Trans.) The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Montfort, Louis De. The Secret of the Rosary.
Fiore, Edith. You Have Been Before: A Psychologist Looks at Past Lives.
Haraldsson, Erlendur and Osis, Karlis: At the Hour of Death: A New Look at Evidence for Life After Death.
Myers, Frederic William Henry. Human Personality and It's Survival of Bodily Death.
Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita: A New Translation and Commentary with Sanskrit Text, Chapters 1–6.
Pratnicka, Wanda. Possessed By Ghosts: Exorcisms in the 21st Century.
