The illusion of separateness, which appears as an integral part of present human experience, arises from our Earthly pre-occupation with self, and the density of the Earth environment in which we live. Both these factors tend to close us off from one another and from the higher worlds of Creation. An opening of awareness to the unseen worlds around us is an important element in our spiritual development; this requires that we draw from Occult science more detailed information on the nature of vibrations and densities, so that we may understand in turn the different levels or planes of existence.

Occult science explains that matter is made up of various groupings and combinations of atoms with their orbiting electrons and protons, all of which oscillate about each other in a positive-negative vibratory movement, maintaining a fixed magnetic spacing from each other.

All atoms, and the ‘matter’ that they constitute through their cohesive groupings, are vibrating at different frequency rates dependent on their complexity and density; a low frequency allows a dense grouping of atoms, a higher frequency creates a less dense, more spaced-out and refined matter. This in turn reflects their distance from the Creative Thought-Center; the refined matter of higher frequency vibration is nearer the high spiritual level of the Source, while the denser matter of lower frequency exists at the ‘outer edges’ of the evolutionary range farthest from the Source. Within this continuous spectrum, it is convenient to identify the three major divisions of vibratory frequency.

At the outer extremity of the range farthest from the Thought-Center is the dense Physical Realm, which is our present Earth level. Moving in towards the Center we find the next major vibration level, less dense and more tenuous in the spacing of its atoms; this is the Etheric Realm (also known as the Mental level), on which most of our neighboring planets in our solar system at present reside. Nearer to the Central Godhead of Pure Thought we find the Higher Spiritual Realms of Light, which are home to the more spiritually developed souls as well as the higher Ascended Masters and Angelic Beings.

Within these three broad density levels of Physical, Etheric and Spiritual, occult science identifies seven subdivisions, or intermediate levels. It is also explained that while our conscious Earthly experience manifests at the densest level, all of the different densities co-exist and find expression in our bodies and the world around us.

"The occultist finds that physical matter exists in seven sub-grades or orders of density: Solid; Liquid; Gaseous; Etheric; Super Etheric; Sub Atomic; Atomic. Particles of all these grades enter into the composition of the body, the physical vehicle. The physical body however, has two well-marked divisions; the Dense Body, composed of solids, liquids and gases, and the Etheric Body, or Etheric Double as it is frequently called, consisting of the four finer grades of physical matter. Every solid, liquid and gaseous particle of the physical body is surrounded with an etheric envelope: hence the Etheric Double, as its name implies, is a perfect duplicate of the dense form. In size it projects about one quarter of an inch beyond the skin." [‘The Etheric Double’ by A.E. Powell, Theosophical Publishing House, London]

Between the physical and the etheric vibration densities there is an important intermediate level: the Astral Realm, composed of lower-vibration etheric matter. This is the seat of our emotions, senses and memory, and the level on which our subconscious mind works, recording all our thoughts and experiences into the ether where it is stored in a celestial memory-bank (the Akashic Records) for our later retrieval and review. The subconscious on the Astral level also acts as an inner voice, conscience, or agent of intuition as a guide for our Earthly consciousness. The Astral Plane is usually the first level on which we arrive after the transition we call ‘death’.

Since most illnesses originate in mental or emotional disorder, they first manifest at the etheric level before transmitting themselves to the physical body. Many New Age healing therapies and practices such as ‘Radionics’ and spiritual healing are applied at the etheric level, and can thus be conducted from a distance without any physical contact between healer and patient. Healing is effected by transmission through the finer etheric matter that interpenetrates the physical and which is not subject to the same physical limitations of time and space.

What is known to New Age thought as the ‘Higher Knowledge’ exists as freely available knowledge on the higher Etheric and Spiritual planes, but cannot be accessed by most of us at the physical level due to a blocking "Veil of Forgetfulness" which has been placed for our protection between us and the higher worlds. Instead, this higher knowledge is mostly communicated down to Earth by those teachers and Masters who are able to transmit their thoughts directly to a trained Earth mind known as a ‘channel’. This process is made possible on Earth through ‘channelers’ who have themselves undertaken training over long periods during past lives in opening up their higher spiritual centers. However, it is important for the Earth channeler to be able to set aside any Earthly emotions and preconceptions which might otherwise color and distort the communication. Channelers are usually able to receive channeling either by going into a state of trance, or in more developed cases, directly into the conscious mind in the form of words, thoughts, or automatic writing.

Down here on planet Earth we live within the dense physical level at a relatively low rate of vibration, restricted to the limited perception range extending from the low frequencies of sound (16 to 20,000 cycles per second), to the higher visible light-frequency spectrum. The light-frequency spectrum ranges from the lowest color of red, moving up through orange, yellow, green, blue and violet to the point where our vision ceases at the ultra-violet level. As our visible sight ceases above this range, we are unable to see higher-vibration ‘matter’, it being totally invisible to us, even though it is in fact surrounding and interpenetrating our physical matter. In order to see higher vibrational worlds and matter, we have to be able to raise our own vibration levels up to that same level. Similarly, with our physical vision we are unable see life on other non-physical planets, nor are we able to see their visiting space craft in our skies, except in those cases where they themselves choose to lower their vibration levels down to our own dense physical perception level.

"The Spirit World has as many distinct planes of existence as an onion has skins, each forming an outer protecting skin to the previous one and providing a means of contacting the experiences which that particular plane has to offer. These planes are co-existent with our physical world, invisible to our slow reacting sense of sight, yet as real as the invisible waves which carry our radio programs.

"As a Spirit descends, plane by plane, into the depths of experience, a body, complete with the organs of sense suitable for manifestation in that particular sphere, has to be donned in order that those senses may respond to the vibration of things comprising that sphere.

"Without such a garment it would not be found possible either to express oneself or to receive impressions in local surroundings, and the experiences in that particular plane would be fruitless." [‘Full Cycle’ by Ripley Webb - Marcus Books, Queensville, Ontario, Canada]

And so, unseen by us at our Earthly physical level, there are in fact entire worlds existing at higher vibration rates, inhabited by Beings we can neither see, hear, nor touch. And since their higher vibration rates cause their bodies to be less dense than ours, they are easily able to interpenetrate us on Earth without our even being aware of their presence. This often-puzzling idea can be readily understood if we bear in mind that all ‘solid’ matter is in fact composed of atoms with ‘spaces’ around them.

"It is of course, well known that even in the hardest substance no two atoms ever touch one another, the space between two adjacent atoms being in fact enormously larger than the two atoms themselves. Orthodox physical science long ago has posited an Ether which interpenetrates all known substances, the densest solid as well as the most rarefied gas; and just as this Ether moves with perfect freedom between the particles of densest matter, so does Etheric matter interpenetrate it in turn, and moves with perfect freedom among its particles. Thus a Being in the etheric world might be occupying the same space as a Being living in the physical world; yet each would be entirely unconscious of the other, and would in no way impede the free movement of the other." [‘The Etheric Double’ by A.E. Powell, The Theosophical Publishing House, London]

Though most of us cannot see the manifestations of higher vibration rates, they are often experienced by those who have developed, over many lives, a psychic sensitivity. Those with heightened extrasensory perception can often see such nebulous apparitions as ‘ghosts’ which exhibit the ability to pass right through the observer and other solid objects. Even those of us without a highly developed extrasensory perception may sometimes be aware of a person or place having good or bad ‘vibes’. We are all able to sense subconsciously on our higher more intuitive levels those vibrations being given out around us.

The great differences in density and vibrational levels also explains why we are unable to see any forms of sentient life when we send Earth space probes down onto our neighboring planets. All our Solar System’s inhabited planets, together with their surrounding vegetation and lifeforms, no longer exist on the dense physical vibratory level. They at present exist on the 4th or 5th dimension/density on the Etheric plane, a surrounding plane of life and matter existing at a higher and more tenuous vibratory level not visible to us, even though it is perfectly solid to themselves. When we send our exploratory space-probes to our neighboring planets, our spacecraft unknowingly passes right down through these higher vibrational planes and continues to descend down to the planet's previously inhabited physical crust, long since abandoned and which is now totally lifeless. From this we assume that there are no other inhabited worlds.

We nonetheless have had many communications and visits from our interplanetary Space Brothers over the years since the end of World War II, these having been published in numerous books by some of the lesser-known esoteric publishers. One well-known ‘contactee’ out of many, is Tuella, whose published communications from our Space Brothers include messages from the large group of interplanetary spaceships on station within our solar system, known as the 'Ashtar Command'.

Amongst the many communications Tuella has had from the Ashtar Command, she at one point attempts in her book 'Ashtar - A Tribute', to clarify the nature of the different vibratory levels by inquiring of Space Commander Ashtar about the higher ‘Etheric’ vibration level on which all our neighboring Space Brothers live:

Tuella: "From your statement that you are etheric, am I to presume that you have evolved beyond the stage of a physical body?"

Ashtar: "Correct. I do not possess a physical casing of the dense type such as yours. I am definitely etheric, as are all people on other planets in this solar system. However, this does not mean that we are invisible to each other, as we are to you under normal circumstances. We see each other and live much as you do, but we do not have this dense physical casing which you possess. The advantages, benefits and comforts of this living are enormous, and the irritations of the fleshly envelope are most uncomfortable. Unless we choose to convert the vibrational frequency of our bodies to one which is visible to your optics, we remain invisible to your people. Nevertheless, highly evolved people, with a good psychic eye as you call it, can sometimes see us in vaporous form, although we may be invisible to other Earthlings in the same location. When your clairvoyants travel in their spiritual bodies to our civilizations on other planets, they see and are able to interpret our lives because they are not using their physical eyes but their astral or psychic sight, to which we are visible just as though we were physical."

Tuella: "I am curious about the nature of etheric matter. For example, there is one case on record where one of our jet aircraft flew right through a space ship, without hitting anything solid whatever. Are your ships made of a vaporous substance, or are they a different form of Earthly matter?"

Ashtar: "We have all the elements you know on Earth, and many more. The etheric form of metals differs in its atomic and molecular structure from Earth made metals. For example, the distance between the nucleus and the orbiting electrons of the etheric iron is much greater than in physical iron, as you know it on Earth. This permits the atoms of Earthly steel to pass right through the atoms of etheric steel in such a way that nothing happens to either form of steel. The etheric form of steel enjoys a higher vibratory rate than Earthly steel and therefore is not apparent to Earthly vision or, if you prefer, physical eyesight.

"Because of our knowledge of Universal Law, our very being consists of a higher level of vibration than you people of Earth. You see, every particle of the Universe consists of molecules whose center contains an atom around which electrons and protons revolve. Each molecule of a different molecular structure vibrates at a different frequency. The inside of a molecule is identical in makeup to the Universe. Planets revolve around central suns; solar systems around galaxies; galaxies, around a central universal sun. Each molecule vibrates at whatever frequency seems appropriate for our existence.

"As one becomes more spiritual in nature, thinking only of the welfare of others and not of power and greed, the higher the molecules of one's being will vibrate. As we know in our dimension, it is possible for these molecules to vibrate so rapidly that the frequency becomes pure light. This is why we call ourselves the Forces of Light. We depend on the light from The Source -The Creator, God, for our existence." [‘Ashtar: A Tribute’ - compiled by Tuella - Guardian Action Publications - 1985. Republished 1995 by Inner Light Publications, New Brunswick NJ, USA.]

Thus the student of New Age Thought, though perhaps unable to see or to sense the presence of Beings existing on other vibratory levels, can now at least comprehend their existence. As our evolution progresses, as we move to higher levels of being, a wider range of perception will open up to us. But even now, indeed particularly now as we struggle through the denser realms of our evolutionary journey, an expanding awareness of higher realms can open our intuition to the many sources of guidance and wisdom available to us.

Book Of Life: Chapter One - CREATION here!

Book Of Life: Chapter Two - EVOLUTION here!