HERO - THRESHOLD

HERO/INE'S JOURNEY #2

Threshold – the journey itself

A human cannot live and temper his/her metal without honor. There is deep within him/her a sense of heroic quest. Our modern way of life with its emphasis on security, its distrust of the unknown and its elevation of abstract collective values has repressed the heroic impulse to a degree that may produce the most dangerous consequences.”   L. Van der Post

Covid for many of us, is, and continues to be a dark night of the soul but we can make it part of our hero's journey.

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." 
J. Campbell

 "Entering the Covid cave" is an opportunity for radical transformation. Nature is a preferred environment or has been for the indigenous hero's journey but anything that offers a serious challenge is grist for the mill; a battle with cancer, losing one's job or partner etc...

“S/He who would be what he ought to be must stop being what he is.” M. Eckhart

In order to possess what you do not possess you must go by the way of dispossession. In order to arrive at what you are not you must go through the way in which you are not.” T.S. Elliot
                           

In the classical indigenous Threshold, one enters the sacred space of nature and the wild, and is immersed in the challenges of the fear inherent in the dark night of the soul. Covid does give us the opportunity to rent a cabin on a lake, in the mountains or anywhere else where one can be alone. Alternatively make your home your sacred space and dedicate it as such. Tidy up, get rid of things you do not need or have not looked at for the last few years. Burn sage, cedar or any incense. Protect and prepare yourself and your space for what is now new inside of you.

“The incense offering is the most potent antidote against dark forces...” The Zohar

“The meeting of oneself is, at first, the meeting of one's Shadow.” 
C.J. Jung
Covid can help us see our shadow side which often surfaces with our deepest inner fears.
"Your teaching is in the shadow of you experiences." The Ancestors 

The shadow allows us to see the light that is shining behind us and to connect with that which is truly us. Most of us are able to see our light (good inclination) that casts the shadow (evil inclination) and allow the knowing of it to let us take the higher road and be all of who we can be. Some, however, overcome by fear, allow their shadow to get the upper hand and we see the worst in them. Fortunately, although often the most vocal, they are the minority and would never understand what the Hero's journey is all about. We should show compassion for their plight but never share our heroic intentions with them - they are bound to scorn, invalidate and trivialize them. These days their voices are getting even louder.

 Fortify your space if you like with sacred plants and crystals. Be creative and use ritual or ceremony. The journey is a solo one and now is the time. In silence we confront our inner (spiritual and psychological) and outer fears (material survival.) The impetus for the journey can be Covid the “dragon” lying in wait for us creating a myriad of fears including the realization that life itself may never be the same. However, the death of one thing can lead to the rebirth of another if we choose.

“If we are willing to open up to it then it is just the unknown, the unplanned, the unexpected, the unfamiliar which can best teach us. In the tiny prefix “un” which so often spells trouble, lies the potential for change, for the new, for the hitherto unconsidered, unimagined, unrealized.” R. Hinshaw
The Phoenix can rise out of the ashes, the caterpillar can metamorphose into a butterfly.

The very thing we fear the most is the stimulus for change. We need to face our fears and prevail. Of the two - the physical and the psychological/spiritual – the latter may be the most difficult. The military use fear to train their forces by; increasing the level of danger confronted, giving less time to accommodate to what is ahead, increasing the complexity of the task and withholding information. No-one really knows what Covid is about, it is a completely novel virus.We do not know exactly how the "dragon" behaves, where it may be lurking or the remedies required to neutralize it. The greater the challenge the more the potential benefit.
The pandemic has been compared to being at war. Just going shopping has become an ordeal as can riding in an elevator. There is so much information and misinformation that it gets confusing and so on.
  What is fearful for one may not be so for another but fear forces us to go inward and recognize the limitations that are holding us back. Covid with all its implications for our future can be a gift if handled inwardly rather than outwardly, spiritually rather than materially. The hero's journey offers a template for change as well as the tension needed for us to actualize all three phases of the journey. Fear is a part of all three phases.

 The worst outcome spiritually is that we go back  to where we were before Covid and gain nothing spiritually. Most of us, are usually complacent when we have all our needs and wants met and we tend to neglect our inner being. Many are just hoping things will more or less return to where they were.  
This would be called the "fall" in the Incorporation of the hero. 
We do not simply want to return to what is unsustainable and unhealthful to the planet and our spiritual health. We can think globally but still be unable to change much except our Selves. 

There are many key factors to be aware of that will assist us in our quest.

A receptivity or openess to look at anything that this unique, bizarre insanity offers up and to see it as an opportunity. 
Intention is key - best structured in the three phases described by Van Gennep.
 Fear can help to subordinate ego to the higher Self when we recognize how insignificant we are in the relation to the cosmos.

“It must be a poor life that achieves freedom from fear.” 
Aldo Leopold.

"That to be totally fearless is foolish, that courage is to act in the face of fear. No fear means that no courage is required.”


“Fear can be a friend if it alerts, warns, and yes, tempts thus testing one's resolve. It is a magician in conjuring up all manner of images. What we do not reason with or dismiss become their own reality. Fear conquers when we let its possibilities project as realities directing and controlling our actions and decisions.” 

“Fear itself is not a foe but acquiescing to fear empowers it to be a formidable one.” Hillel

Sufficient time must be allowed for the lessons to present themselves. If we stay home in our newly designed and designated sacred space with the right intention and motivation we do not need a nature bound  environment. 
If one has more time and an inclination to take time out in nature then
I suggest five days, if possible.

The soft fascinations of nature can help us to go inward. The sounds of birds, the wind in the trees, the waves of the ocean, the babbling brook, the aromas and scents, the scenery, sunrises, sunsets and the moon’s magic, the daily and even the monthly and seasonal changes. We can entrain to the vibrations of nature around us anywhere we are.
Power animals may come our way to instruct with metaphors for our future lives. These so-called power animals are there to help us go deeper. Eagle, vulture and raptors – vision, raven, crow or coyote – trickster, heron or egret – spiritual transformational. These are all well and good but the smaller less dramatic animals can be even more profound; skunk - power in a small package, mouse - humility, ant - industriousness, spider - the bridge between the worlds - and anything you choose them to be - there are no rules here. Our power animal is not necessarily the animal we want, as a reflection of ego, but rather the one that we need. Moreover, the message the animal or even a plant or object may bring is not what anyone or any book says it is but what it means to you at that present moment.  With the right consciousness they may bring the exact message at that particular time. 
Sometimes the less auspicious the animal the more powerful the message when one fuses with it in an altered state of consciousness. The meaning should best arise inside of us without any effort to formulate it cognitively. Being in a meditative state is essential.

"To achieve is to be externally oriented but to attain deeper effects we need to let go of attachment to accomplish anything. Goal orientation and rapture are mutually exclusive in the present moment. We begin with a goal but once the intention is set we need to let go of the possible outcome. This is the crux between balancing the inner and the outer.” Dave Cumes Inner Passages Outer Journeys 

Humility: Anything that creates more humility is worth noticing. Covid  subordinates ego to the Higher Self. Nature does as well. We are no longer in control. Covid is part of nature albeit the dark side. The dark forces are there to test our spiritual metal. We are all capable of becoming spiritual "special forces."
God (or Self) cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride." Upanishads
"You cannot control results only your actions. You cannot control outcomes only your choices." The Ancestors

“There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. The sages tell us concerning the proud person; God says; “I and he cannot dwell together in the world.” Talmud

Connecting with our Primal Selves. The more primal we become the more we can peel away the layers of conditioning and toxicity imposed upon us by our upbringing to get to what really matters and to what is true for our unique selves. Being bound to a smart phone, computer, movies, T.V. (especially the news,)  or even a book can get in the way. These should be tempered. One should not get distracted by anything that might sabotage the process. Being alone in nature has an advantage in facilitating this. We need to get back to our childlike innocence, the ability to see the Magic in the Ordinary which is also extraordinary (e.g. meditating on the magic of a camp fire or a candle's flame.) 
When one depends entirely for survival on what nature provides, the sacredness of the Divine masterpiece becomes imbedded in the hunter gatherer. The closer we can get to that the better.

“The force of the primal self manifested as love is the glory of God. Those who awaken it in others and nurture the nurturers glorify Him.”
"There is nothing that is empty of the divine ...” 
“To sanctify the ordinary” is to recognize and acknowledge the sacred in every created being whether still or growing, wild or angelic or human... Learn the mystery, savor the wonder of it all."
The Ancestors

Whether at home in one's garden, in a park, on the beach or a cabin in the mountains we can attain altered states of consciousness. This can be anything from a relaxed alfa state to the more powerful Peak Experience of Maslow or even the Oneness Experience or Unity Consciousness described in yoga. This  phenomenon occurs when the Knower (that is you,) the Known (maybe a rainbow or a sunset,) and the process of you Knowing the sunset creates a feeling of bliss or profound equanimity and fuses into One thing and for a brief period of time you become the rainbow or sunset.

“Rapture” is a way of being, a way of experiencing whatever can be sought wherever one is. We can hear it in the sound of rain, feel it in a fallen feather and see it in a spider's web... 
The Ancestors

This description by Bunnell, one of the first white people to see Yosemite valley describes his Oneness Experience.

"Haze hung over the valley, light as gossamer and clouds partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision but increased the awe with which I beheld it and as I looked a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being and I found my eyes in tears with emotion.” L. Bunnell

"...What greatly differs is the vastness of the territory, variety of the forces, purity of the pristine and magnitude of the drama and majesty. The more splendid and awesome the less need for a teacher other than itself and you. 
Yet there are everyday wild wonders that are unheard and overlooked which seem far remote from wilderness until we realize how perception of the smallest bit of wild can connect to our Higher Self. Nature reveals, inspires, encourages and shows the way."

 “The most profound sound of all is that of silence - not the silence that is the absence of noise, of quietness, but that in which we hear the longings of our heart and ponder our response.” 

“God’s breath is heard in quietness and felt in stillness. Beware the noises and clamor of ego which drown out the Divine whisper.” 
The Creator wants a personal connection with each one of us - humility is the gateway. 

“The soul's fulfillment is through the experience of the senses.
The soul's conversation is not of the mind. It is best heard with the senses.” The Ancestors

Nature, music, dance, drumming, spiritual practice, somatic awareness and dreams can assist us. A journal is a good idea but not if it will distract. Resist taking a photo of anything mystical or magical on your smart phone - it will take you out of the moment and make you lose the power of the experience. Keep it simple. One can always journal in the Incorporation phase.

 “To experience the still beings of nature, you must touch them;
 the growing beings, you must listen to them; the wild beings, you must dance with them and the human beings you must feel with them. We are all connected, some of all in each. All are spirit manifestations an exist in one another.”

“If you want to learn the language of rocks and trees you must first slow to their pace which is different from animals and wild flowers.
Although they are soundless they are not silent, so listen long and deeply in order to hear what hearing ears do not.”

 “Being of the breath of God, all creation is responsive to love, gratitude and petition.
Each as it is acknowledged becomes receptive to giving and receiving.
That is how we experience the other.”
If you pick or harvest a plant say thank you or better still make a small offering.

 “An increased awareness of our natural connection with rocks, trees, plants, animals, all the still beings, the growing beings and the wild beings, not just the speaking beings, is transformative.
It will help us feel the spiritual kinship we have with earth, air, water, fire, sun, moon and stars and the sacred oneness of all creation…”    
The Ancestors
This is a good time to connect with the "Beings" and the elements in a deeper way wherever one is. It only requires intention, receptivity and gratitude.

One leaves the sacred space of Threshold and enters the Incorporation phase with a new awareness; an aha experience, a knowing who we truly are or may become, the grail of realizing the true Self or even a new appreciation of our own unique archetype or core strength. The real you was probably the you during the unfolding of the Threshold or during the evolution of the Incorporation phase to follow. The key outcome of the journey is to give the grail away and bring it back to the planet and all Beings; Still, Growing Wild and Talking.

Click on the link and play
01_Let_the_Days_Go_B..>


 01_The_Four_Beings.mp3
01_Travelers.mp3

For those interested there are two Zoom classes sponsored by the school below that you can attend next week and the week after.

Apply & Register Now Saturday, June 6 & 13: Messages from the Ancestors, Wisdom for the Way with Dave Cumes, M.D.   The Ancestors’ teachings embrace universal spiritual truths. Experience profound insights on topics that include death and rebirth; the potential of scripted dreams; 'the soul,' free will and karma; spiritual practice and accessing the ‘Field;’ love and forgiveness; faith, belief, trust and hope; words, imagination and the subconscious; nature and the prima; healing, and how tricksters can interfere with our path. In-class meditations will celebrate the wisdom available from the other side of the 'veil' between worlds, and demonstrate how you can benefit from contact with your own spirit guides or ancestors. Saturday, June 6 & 13, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Class ID: 23375, Fee-Based Class: $38 Online (Zoom) Register Now You Can Zoom! “I have taken Adult Ed art classes and others for over 25 years. I was apprehensive about navigating the Zoom system but to my surprise, it was extremely easy.” -Christiane Richards, Extended Learning student A Note About Summer Registration PLEASE NOTE: Registration is available only online for summer classes at this time. In-person registration is not available at this time due to the statewide social distancing order. To apply and register online for tuition-free and fee-based classes, please go to http://www.sbcc.edu/extendedlearning/apply-reg.php For assistance applying or registering for classes, please email SELAdmissions@sbcc.edu Alternatively, call (805) 898-8160 to leave a voicemail message with Student Support Services.

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 Messages from the Ancestors - Wisdom for the Way has two sessions, each a week apart. 

Saturday, June the 6th and 13th both at 10 a.m.

 The flyer and talk content were drawn up way before Covid so my intention now has changed somewhat, so that the Ancestors' teachings can help guide us on the way to a much needed spiritual recovery. Our paradigm has changed and will continue to change radically and now is the time to go inward with some of their tools.

Unfortunately you will need to register on line and pay for the class to get the link. 

 There is a possibility, if there is a good response, that in the future they may be free. Zoom, however, has its vibrational and energetic limitations so all of this is on trial. For the first time, however, it gives me chance to reach folks outside of Santa Barbara County,
Maybe I will see some of you in cyberspace.

Go and stay well

Dave

THE HERO/INE’S JOURNEY #1 

May the Hero/ine awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow." Upanishads

SEPARATION

There has never been a better time to look at the archetype of the hero/ine. If we look at the challenges that Covid offers we can see all the parameters needed for a Hero's journey. Those in the front lines of the pandemic are heroes but the dynamics of the challenge need to be honored in order to be fully actualized. We all have this opportunity now, even if we are not in the Covid trenches.

“This above all, to thine own Self be true and it must follow, as the night follows the day, thou canst not then be false to any wo/man.” Shakespeare

“Hold to your vision. Be true to your myth!” Joseph Campbell

“There came a time when staying tight within the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” Anais Nin

“Zidele amathamba – Give yourself up, bones as well.”        Ndebele Saying

The search for the Self is intimately tied into the hero’s journey and our destiny. We usually go through life doing numerous hero’s or more likely warrior's journeys - the latter for our self-concept, self-mastery and self-actualization – all with the small s in mind. The true hero's journey is a step towards Self-realization or what the ancestors call “Becoming” and attaining a certain level of spiritual mastery. Whether it is a warrior or a hero’s journey will depend on whether we bring back the “grail” in order to help others. When we do this we are also fulfilling the principles of karma (service) yoga as long as do are doing it for its own sake and with no ulterior motive (the Mother Theresa archetype.) 

 "At first you must learn to do the humble things and often they are the most difficult to do. In those humble things ... to find true happiness. I do not know what your destiny will be but I know one thing, the only ones among your who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve." A. Schweitzer

The warrior keeps the grail for him or herself, the family or the corporation – the hero gives it away. Our modern way of life is replete with successful warriors in business, athletics and elsewhere. 
The hero’s journey is also one towards our ultimate destiny. It is my belief that we go through numerous such “journeys” to ultimately and hopefully arrive at what may be our final destiny mission. It is also my experience that the dynamic becomes more subtle and less dramatic as we get more sophisticated and become congruent with our true Self and unique archetype, “yoga type,” or core strength. I doubt, at least for myself, that there is ever only one “journey” that we take in the duration of a life time. It may also take future lifetimes to eventually get "there." 
The journey of the hero/ine is such a powerful one that the movie industry will often adhere to the three phases of the journey in their films because they are so powerful to the psyche and also popular. The tension between light and dark, good and evil where the former prevails is not only captivating but profitable. The hero has been there from the beginning of time not only in the bible but also in all our stories, legends, myths and fables. There are few hero’s today amongst our political leaders, but many heroes who go unrecognized and without praise.

“Be what you is, coz if you be what you aint, you aint what you is.” Tombstone in Arizona

Arnold Van Gennep looked at the initiation ceremonies in indigenous peoples and recognized three distinct phases of the process; 
Separation, 

Theshold - the journey itself,

Incorporation – returning with the “grail.” 

For most of us the grail may only be a small but meaningful change in direction or an aha response where we begin to see who we truly are. The hero’s journey belongs to everyone and not just to the few we read about in books or we see in the movies and that we aspire to be. 

“Balance is achieved by harmonizing polarities. Dualities come into harmony by negotiating a third or middle path, a path not of assimilation but a path of coexistence.” The Ancestors

“The fundamental notion of equilibrating the opposites is omnipresent in all beliefs. This universal truth is crucial to our understanding of how we, heal, transform and “Become.” Dave Cumes (Inner Passages Outer Journeys.)

Nature is usually a preferred environment for the journey when we can go back in time to when we were all hunter gatherers. Wilderness has many doors and windows to spirit that balance the polarities and help us find Buddha’s “middle way” and the metaphors that assist us in our transformation. Such as; up/down, hot/freezing, terrified/tranquil, day/night, hungry/satiated, thirsty/quenched, exhausted/rested ... When we encounter our indigenous or primal self apart from our religion, culture, education, and conditioning we may recognize this “self” as being closer to the real Self.” 
Going into wilderness may not be an option for many of us. We can, however, be creative with the different polarities in our current Covid related circumstances. For instance a woman battling breast cancer can formulate her experience into a heroine's journey if all three stages are recognized and validated. 
We are all being confronted with the dragon of Covid in the forest of our psyche. What are we going to do with it?

How shall I talk of the sea to the frog who has never left his pond? How shall I talk of the frost to the bird of the summerland if he has never left the land of its birth?  How shall I talk of life with the sage if he is prisoner of his doctrine? Chung Tau

Separation

“Accept surprises that upset your plans, shatter your dreams, give a completely different turn to your day and who knows, your life. Leave the Father free to weave the pattern of your days.”  Dom Helder Camara

“…put out to sea! Save your boat’s journeying soul and your own pilgrim soul, cost what it may.” Dom Helder Camara

“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the wind in your sails.
Explore, dream, discover.”  Mark Twain

“I only went out for a walk and finally decided to stay until sundown, for going out, I discovered, was actually going in.” John Muir
We can still take advantage of nature as a profound catalyst but we must go and be alone.

Fear is part of all three phases of the Hero’s journey. The first phase is a call to a spiritual adventure, to leave the safe harbor and what has been secure behind. It is a yearning for the extraordinary but one must overcome the first level of resistance. With Covid looming around us we have already left our safe harbor whether we know it on not or even like it or not. Covid is a calamity of biblical proportions. We need to build a metaphoric ship, like Noah did, to spiritually survive.

“…A possibility is a hint from God - one must follow it.”              Kierkegaard.

Classically the first step in the journey is separating from friends, colleagues, family and others warning you of the dangers ahead or the futility of your search. This can be challenging. But separation is essential, and if one submits to outside pressure one may always regret it. Once committed, the hero is given an instrument of power. In days of old the knight might have been given a sword to slay the dragon but in modern times it is likely to be less dramatic, such as reading an inspiring book or listening to a captivating lecture or a friend who has just been on a journey. 
Now the parameters for such a separation are somewhat different but the principles are the same. Most of us are together - maybe in cyberspace - but alone. The advantage is that the only level of resistance we have to face is our own reluctance for the undertaking and being creative in the process while still recognizing the three phases we are undertaking.

Click on the link to highlight and play.
02_Your_Search.mp3

MEDITATING ON DEATH #2

More songs to meditate on this time. I feel Covid is a huge wake up call, and is in a sense a gift, even if a bitter and tragic one.
Lets take the shit and make it into manure for the soul.

Click and play
05 Crossing Over.mp3

ARRIVAL IN THE ASTRAL

Most of us will arrive in the Astral realm because we have more spiritual work to do. 
We are carried with intention, will, passion (our hearts and love,) and karma to that vibration where we feel most comfortable. We navigate with our imagination and can create anything we wish. This sounds amazing but eventually becomes boring and the desire to do so dissipates. For instance the avid golfer can imagine the most spectacular golf course to play in but every strike, will be a hole in one. 
We lose touch with other vibrations. We cannot vibrate to higher realms but spiritual masters can travel freely throughout all the realms. To those in the Astral, the higher realms, are invisible. Each faith will have a different imagining and hence go to a different place. We usually will end up in the same vibration as our loved ones with the same belief systems. This is why we may want to do our karmic work before death - we may not want to end up similarly to where we have always been.

“When dead, you can influence on behalf of others but not for yourself. The last chance for determining and acting for your own mission and fulfillment, is with your last earthly breath. You are then stuck with how you are and where you were." 

Once in the Astral one faces a spiritual tribunal or "school for the Higher Self or soul." This is not "judgment day" in that sense. We are brought before this tribunal to reconcile with our karma. This is done in a loving and non-judgmental way but we are fully accountable to the spiritual laws of the cosmos. One's lawyer cannot help here. One is confronted with one's actions for which there will be inevitable consequences.  Karma is only alterable if the dead are forgiven for the sins perpetrated on those living. 

Forgiveness will release the soul from the consequences of that particular action only. This applies especially to our fathers, mothers, grand fathers and grandmothers and hence the commandment;

"Honor your father and mother so that your days can be long upon the earth."

 Why, that your days will be long upon the earth? Because they can help us from the other side as guides and they have the advantage of being non local in time and space and also having access to our Book of Life, they can assist us with our unique destiny. They gave us birth and without them we would not be in a sentient body. Therefore the onus for forgiveness is on their living progeny. For completion the dead also need to forgive the living for their misdeeds. This is why closure is so essential before death. It can be done after death but requires expert spiritual assistance that includes forgiveness rituals.

“There is no free will across the veil. The dead depend on the living to repair, complete, forgive and release them if such is needed.”          The Ancestors   

Forgiveness will release the spirit from their karmic sins and the implications thereof which otherwise could result in a suboptimal reincarnation. In the next lifetime they again will be required to overcome the challenges that defied them previously. This is why the dead sometimes haunt the living in order to be released from their karmic burdens.  

“Death asks not what have you but who are you. Life’s questions is not what have I but what am I.”  Swami Rama Tirtha

"Merit on a judgmental level is the balancing of evil and good deeds.

Merit is the credit we receive on the side of good.
This may occur due to an entire life of great piety or because of a single kind act, long forgotten, a generous giving of self that was prompted by the heart's compassion in response to someone's need or want.” 
The Ancestors

“Dying, dying, the world keeps on dying but none knows how to die. No one dies in such a way that he won’t die again.” 
Kabir

If one is “awakened” there will be no need “to die again.” These perfected souls have attained higher realms of consciousness where there is no need to return to further advance the soul's journey. They can, however, choose to come back voluntarily for a special mission or help from the other side. 

”The sages who have died are present in this world to a greater extent than when they were alive.”  The Zohar

"Enlightened beings, perfected souls have full use of their faculties and so do not need to incarnate although they may choose to do so to support and guide. The Ancestors

These spirits retain free will and reside in their own Self-realized vibration; the Causal realm in the case of the Yogis, the Pure Land for Buddhists or the Garden of Eden for Kabbalists .We create our own reality and will go to the realm we have earned, whether Astral or Causal. Achievements on their own count for very little unless done for the greater good. 

"God does not judge results, only intent and the fervor of your efforts."

"Those in the higher Causal realms can make themselves known to those in the lower Astral realms. However, those in the Astral realms cannot vibrate to a higher level at their own volition or aspiration. Those of higher vibrations can hear and respond to lesser ones in addition to  seeking them out." 

The Ancestors

 There are just as many paths in death as in life and countless numbers of vibrations and possibilities depending on what we have created for ourselves. Those that go to the Astral will need to reincarnate or may be assigned to become spirit guides before doing so. As a spirit guide we can do karmic service by helping someone on the earth plane. 

Although one looses free will in the Astral one can work as a spirit guide through the free will of someone living that the spirit is assigned to help. This guide will usually have had a similar mission during his/her prior life time/s and therefore is most able to help the one living. For instance, the spirit guide who helps me in my bone divination was a sangoma in her previous life and is now completing work she never completed in her last incarnation. In this way, by working through my free will, she helps me with my destiny and improves her karmic profile at the same time. One may be able to graduate to a higher spiritual vibration through this work. Those living, because of free will, will have to ask very specifically about needs or wants. The guide cannot assist the living without permission and clear direction. 

Click on the link to meditate
10_Remember_Us.mp3

Guides usually retain their persona, apparel, language, beliefs and idiosyncrasies although they have been purified and given a reality check during reconciliation. The religious fundamentalist will retain his/her belief but may no longer be a zealot and someone who never believed in an after-life will now know the truth.

There is nothing good or quaint about being haunted. Earth bound entities can create energetic dysfunction with their presence even though it may not be intentional and they appear harmless. The best example is an elderly, lonely person who had a confused death and now inhabits the house s/he lived in. In certain states in the U.S.A. one is obliged to tell prospective buyers if someone had died in the house.                  

Thus the ancestors need our help just as we need theirs. Forgiveness, love and gratitude are how we help them.”                               

Dysfunctional spirits who have not been forgiven for their sins are faced with the prospect of redoing the previous incarnation all over again and being presented with the same challenges that defied them the last time. Because this is an onerous prospect these spirits will intrude on the living seeking forgiveness This can cause various energetic dysfunctions similar to an earthbound spirit in one’s home. These include somatic symptoms, depression, anxiety, bad luck, difficulty with relationships and negative dreams about the one who has past. 
If forgiveness is granted from the living for sins, such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse or hampering a child’s destiny by the imposition of parental will, then the karmic slate is cleansed of those particular sins and the next incarnation can be more favorable. This is all the more important because these spirits often reincarnate back into the same blood line. Far better that the ex alcoholic comes back into that family released and forgiven, than not.
 Earthbound spirit can be directed back to the light by those with the right expertise. This is a simpler task than those who have wronged another. 
Ahimsa  - do no harm - is unforgiving karmically, if not rectified by forgiveness.
The unforgiven, dysfunctional spirit must be cleansed with forgiveness rituals through someone skilled and knowledgeable with the help of his or her spirit guides.

In summary: 
There has never been a better time than now to get our karma in order and adopt some spiritual path to get ready for this great event. 
We should be aware of those principles that facilitate an easy crossing.  We can learn the principles by studying ancient wisdom but the details will differ according to one's own particular belief. Our own spiritual trajectory will differ accordingly and this maybe why the Dalai Lama teachers that we should use Buddhism as a tool but still retain our own religion or belief. We truly create our own reality with our thoughts and intentions on the other side.

Apart the benefits realized in releasing the negative effects of intrusive entities, neuroscience is now showing that forgiveness is healthful. Though sometimes difficult, the one doing the forgiving gains as much if not more than the one forgiven. One relieves oneself of an albatross hanging around one's neck or in the words of an African American song ...
"I'm gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, aint gonna study war no more."

We should be aware of the fact that the Astral realm has deficiencies and can be a type of hell. We lose free will and although we can imagine and create anything and everything that we wish we are trapped into coming back into another life time or maybe being assigned as a guide to someone on the earth plane. Moreover, these days the sentient life is not looking as compelling as it used to be, confirming the song I had once in a dream; 

“O please don't let me take this trip again.”

Click on the link to meditate

12_Coming_Home.mp3