Where do people actually go when they have a near-death experience? Do they actually go to the divine realm or do they go somewhere in the astral plane and are being deceived by spirit meddlers?

This is a very interesting topic because there exists an ample literature now of near-death experiences, all of whom are authentic and describing an inexplicable occurrence of great personal meaning to them, but also of value and meaning to others taking the time to listen to what they have to say, as it is very instructive about the afterlife in many respects. People can go a variety of places or in effect nowhere, depending on the nature of the out-of-body experience in the moment when they emerge from the physical body with their consciousness and find themselves in another realm. This typically accompanies a true reaching the end of life in a practical sense on the part of the body, often due to medical issues or an accident situation, but it can also occur from the shock of trauma psychologically and a person can leave the body in a state of fright. However the journey commences, and for however long it lasts, people can have a variety of experiences depending on their ability to connect with the higher realm or only the lower realm that they first emerge into. There is a progression in the vibrational state of the emerging soul consciousness. It first is on a very dense, low vibrational plane, almost identical to that of the physical body and physical existence. So in that respect, initially the consciousness has only the wherewithal of the prior person and its perspectives. It may or may not preserve the ability to use any kind of sensing. In that way, it can be subject to manipulation by other consciousness that might see the emergence and use that as an opportunity to prey on them. The dark spirits always look for opportunity to find energy and they prey on human beings, and often times someone in a near-death situation has spirit meddlers already onboard their energy field and they may follow that consciousness or have compatriots waiting to commandeer their consciousness as it leaves the body, as they will be even more savage, those still out in the ether without a body to claim of their own, and will prey on human spirits in the so-called lower astral realm as a desperate oasis to provide energy to keep their own lives going. Those who never journey farther may enter a state of torment until they find their way back to the body once again if it is being resuscitated, for example. If it is not truly their time to transition, this may be mandated by divine act for the life to resume via reunion with the body once again and the person will regain consciousness and may well have a memory of their sojourn outside the body depending on what type of experience took place and the ability of their mind to make the connections. There may be a visit to the higher astral plane, in a sense, to a gateway level that is traversed by those transitioning successfully back to the light, so to speak. At that point, if it is not their time to exit life, they will be given coaching to return and further ascension will be denied them. This is to safeguard their life journey. If it is not complete, they will be counseled and guided to return and finish things, and this may be recalled as well in some cases. There are many who have had this experience, even of seeing divine figures, former relatives appearing to them and conveying such messages. These are authentic experiences, not recalled fantasy or dreams. This is an actual eyewitness account of a transition underway meeting a particular end and then a reversal of things to return to the body and continue the life journey. So, the wide array of descriptions should not be taken as being all fantasy, as is true of some skeptics, the product of a disordered thought process, perhaps of a body impaired in many ways, not conscious, oxygen deprived, a slowing metabolism, reaching a state barely alive physically, or in many cases where the body is clinically dead for a time and there is a token resuscitation effort being done for the record with little expectation it will be successful, but in today's litigious society wanting to have every 'T' crossed and 'I' dotted, so to speak, from a medicolegal perspective, and then, low and behold, the body stirs, the heartbeat restarts, breathing commences once again and the doctors are shocked to see the life return. It can even happen after the body is draped with a sheet and all life support ended. This happens more than people realize because it is rarely reported to anyone, and even if this takes place, there is no one wanting to do more with such accounts. The level of disbelief is too large that this has significance. So, this can be a very good beginning education for people who may have a desire to consider the possibility that there is an actual afterlife, but aren't sure, because many of the stories are highly relevant and highly informative, and do constitute a body of evidence, quite compelling, that the consciousness lives on. This is the soul essence we speak of. This is what the soul consists of; it is consciousness, and when we say the soul is immortal and that you have an immortal soul, this is simply another way of saying you have immortal consciousness. When your body dies, your consciousness will live on—it simply goes somewhere else. Where that is will depend on who you are in your current life with respect to level of awareness, level of vibration in terms of wellbeing, resiliency, level of energy, and whether you are in a spiritual alignment or in disarray for any number of reasons or neglect. So, this is something we would encourage all to learn about and take seriously. You are immortal. Your consciousness will live on. It is quite important that people prepare for their journey home again and not leave to chance the particular circumstances that might bring about death of the body at an inopportune moment with lack of preparation and with a life perhaps in decline, but also in increasing disconnection from the divine. This sets you up to suffer; it is that simple. The solution is to embrace the love of the divine; hold it dear, make it a focus of your existence and not an after-thought. This is how you have a friend to call on in a crisis, because you tend the garden, you cultivate the friendship, you cement the partnership with your own gifts of love, time and attention, and then if tragedy strikes, you can call on your friend to be there for you through thick and thin, no matter what the inconvenience to them. This is the loving force you have at your beck and call because you are a friend in the eyes of the divine—but all too often not from your perspective. This is an invitation to everyone to rekindle that friendship; make it real to you because it is real. The more real it becomes to you, the more real we can be in how we respond to your interaction with us. This can be an extremely rewarding undertaking, but it must start from you and will only happen because of you and your active participation.